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thanatagog

thanatagog or thanatagogue (Greek thanatos, death + Greek agein, to lead; cf. pedagog, demagog, mystagog) - one who prepares old or terminally ill people for dying.


He is a thanatagog by vocation and occupation. He works at a hospice.

by Mikhail Epstein November 8, 2003


oneirogenic

oneirogenic adj (from Greek oneiros, "dream" + genic; cf. photogenic, telegenic) Ð having a propensity to appear in somebody's dreams.


Some people are photogenic while others are oneirogenic. These characteristics rarely coincide. A person who is plain and unnoticeable in real life may haunt our dreams and imagination.

Have you noticed that cats are more oneirogenic than dogs?

To surprise your friends at a party, ask them: "Do you find me "oneirogenic"? If the answer is "yesÓ, ask them to recall your adventures in their dreams.

by Mikhail Epstein November 3, 2003

5πŸ‘ 11πŸ‘Ž


netscapism

netscapism n (net + escapism) - an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities into the electronic network, or virtual world.

In the past, the wild nature and remote countries were the favorite refuge for escapists. Now netscapism, especially among adolescents, has grown into a serious social problem.

by Mikhail Epstein November 8, 2003

9πŸ‘ 2πŸ‘Ž


infinition

infinition (definition + infinitity) Ð an infinite process of defining something that cannot be fully or precisely defined; an endless list of possible definitions.

Certain fluid concepts in their emergent state are subject to in-finition--infinite dispersal of their meaning--rather than to definition. To infine is to suggest the infinity of possible definitions of a certain term or concept and therefore to problematize its meaning and the possibility or the benefit of defining it. If definition circumscribes a specific conceptual area, then infinition releases the concept from restricting demarcations and places it in an indeterminate zone. For example, Jacques Derrida never defines his method of deconstruction but only infines it in numerous passages. Infinition is for the humanities what for mathematics is a transcendental number with its "infinite decimal expansion" expressed by a non-periodic decimal fraction: an endless approximation to and escape from a discrete definition.

by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003

23πŸ‘ 3πŸ‘Ž


infinition


infinition (definition + infinitity) Ð an infinite process of defining something that cannot be fully or precisely defined; an endless list of possible definitions.

Certain fluid concepts in their emergent state are subject to in-finition--infinite dispersal of their meaning--rather than to definition. To infine is to suggest the infinity of possible definitions of a certain term or concept and therefore to problematize its meaning and the possibility or the benefit of defining it. If definition circumscribes a specific conceptual area, then infinition releases the concept from restricting demarcations and places it in an indeterminate zone.

by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003

7πŸ‘ 1πŸ‘Ž


transvert

transvert n Lat. trans, across, over + vertere, to turn; cf. intravert, extravert - a psychological type that alternates between introversion and extraversion and combines features of both types.



I don't know who I am, an extravert or an introvert? Or am I a transvert? If so, then the entire classification crumbles.

His life moves from one extreme to another, from complete self-absorption to wild partying at random places with random people. He is a typical transvert.

by Mikhail Epstein November 3, 2003

8πŸ‘ 3πŸ‘Ž


syntellect

syntellect n (Greek syn, with, together + intellect) Ð the unified mind of civilization that integrates all individual natural and artificial minds through the mediation and accumulative effects of informational networks.



Intellectual network--inteLnet--will connect all thinking beings into one communicational network that gradually will develop into a new form of consciousness--syntellect. The syntellect will absorb and condense the potentials of all thinking beings and will operate on both biological and quantum levels.

by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003

5πŸ‘ 3πŸ‘Ž