mikhail epstein's definitions

chronomania

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.

by Mikhail Epstein November 9, 2003

etceteric

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.

by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003

Paleonoic era

Paleonoic era adj Greek palaios, ancient + Greek noos, mind; cf. Paleozoic era, from Greek zoe, life Ð the current epoch of ancient mind, of the first intelligent machines; the era that in the history of consciousness takes place similar to that of Paleozoic era in the history of life.

Looking at ourselves from the perspective of a distant future, we appear to be people of Paleonoic era when the first non-biological forms of mind were just emerging, when the forces of thinking just got released from the prison of cranium in creating computers and other increasingly more self-organising forms of artificial intelligence.

by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003

relicious

reLIcious adj relic + religious Ð religiously devoted to relics, to the preservation of the past.

Nothing in contemporary life carries meaning for him. He is a deeply relicious person, not simply nostalgic.

Some people think that Eastern Orthodox spirituality is more relicious than truly religious.

by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003

conaster

conaster n from Latin cum, with + Greek astron, star - literally with star, the exact antonym to disaster; the fortunate outcome of an almost imminent disaster; the sensation of a catastrophe narrowly averted and later remembered from the vantage point of safety.

There were several conasters in my life that I cannot recall without thanking God for his undeserved mercy.

You were born under a lucky star. This conaster is an amazing mixture of chance and miracle.

by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003

chairy

chairy adj (chair + suffix y) Ð someone who likes to chair meetings, to preside, to

be a master of ceremonies.

Jimmy is every bit as chairy as Andrew, which spells trouble at a small institution like ours.

She is a wonderful person, but maybe just a touch too chairy to share a household with her.

by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003

dreadvertise (verb; dread + advertise)

to advertise by dread, to engage in military propaganda.

There are skilled dreadvertisers in our government.

by Mikhail Epstein October 2, 2003