slavior (to (en)slave + suffix ior, like in savior) Ð the prince of this world, the one who imitates the Savior and promises to save people but makes them slaves.
Outwardly the distinction between Savior and Slavior may be as subtle as one letter difference in their names.
For many old-believers, the Slavior is already here, in our very midst, and they refuse to serve this self-appointed sovereign.
by Mikhail Epstein November 03, 2003
chronomania n (Greek khronos, time + Greek mania, obsession, madness; cf. megalomania, balletomania) - obsession with time and speed; inclination to utilize every moment and to submit one's life to a total time control.
America suffers from chronomania. Faster, faster, faster! Why not to stop and to look in tranquility where we stand and into which future we have been rushing headlong.
Chronomania may become dangerous for your mental health. Try to find a different focus of life, apart from schedules and deadlines.
Chronomania may become dangerous for your mental health. Try to find a different focus of life, apart from schedules and deadlines.
by Mikhail Epstein November 09, 2003
happicle n (happy + diminutive suffix Ðicle, like in "particle," "icicle") Ð a particle of happiness, the smallest unit of happiness; a single happy occurrence or a momentary feeling of happiness.
There is no happiness in this world, but there are happicles. Sometimes we can catch them, fleeting and unpredictable as they are.
Like photons, happicles have zero mass at rest--the inertial mass that we identify with happiness. Happicles just flash and go out in passing. They may be as transitory as a fragrance in the air, or a yellow falling leaf, or a glance of a passerby on the street.
Happicles make life worth of living, even in the absence of stable happiness.
Like photons, happicles have zero mass at rest--the inertial mass that we identify with happiness. Happicles just flash and go out in passing. They may be as transitory as a fragrance in the air, or a yellow falling leaf, or a glance of a passerby on the street.
Happicles make life worth of living, even in the absence of stable happiness.
by Mikhail Epstein November 08, 2003
sanitas insania (from Latin: sanitas, health + insania, mania.) Ð obsession with health and wellness characteristic of many Americans. Thus, sanitas insania is an oxymoronic phrase. To be obessed with health is unhealthy.
Hugh suffers from sanitas insania, that's why he is unable to be in love with anybody except his own body.
by Mikhail Epstein November 06, 2003
ghostalgia n. (ghost + Gr. algos, pain, grief, distress; cf. nostalgia) Ð a mystical longing or wistful affection for ghosts, angels, miracles, aliens, and other otherworldy characters and mysterious phenomena.
Ghostalgia is a form of nostalgia in that we experience the other world as our genuine lost home.
I am agnostic, but sometimes I feel ghostalgic.
On the eve of deep historical crises, ghostalgia can grip the souls of entire nations.
I am agnostic, but sometimes I feel ghostalgic.
On the eve of deep historical crises, ghostalgia can grip the souls of entire nations.
by Mikhail Epstein November 15, 2003
etceteric adj (from etcetera, "and so forth")- somebody or something usually included in the "etcetera" rubric, one among "the others," "the like," "the rest," not named individually; marginal, anonymous, obscure.
I'm afraid you have never heard about Andrew Lynch. No, he is not an exoteric writer. He is simply an etceteric writer.
Alan has worked in zoology for almost forty years, and he still remains an etceteric researcher. Isn't this a shame? Let's find a way to give some tribute to him.
Kaluga is not an etceteric Russian provincial town, it is known for the best preserved cityscape and architecture of the 19th century.
Alan has worked in zoology for almost forty years, and he still remains an etceteric researcher. Isn't this a shame? Let's find a way to give some tribute to him.
Kaluga is not an etceteric Russian provincial town, it is known for the best preserved cityscape and architecture of the 19th century.
by Mikhail Epstein November 06, 2003
an error of reducing higher or more complex processes, such as human behavior and thinking, to its elementary components or material bearers, such as physiological structures or chemical reactions.
Reductive fallacies abound in the popular works of Carl Sagan. For example, he wrote in his best-selling book The Dragons of Eden": "My fundamental premise about the brain is that its workings--what we sometimes call "mind"--are a conse`uence of its anatomy and physiology and nothing more".
by Mikhail Epstein November 06, 2003