In Search of Memory 1 Flashcards
demagogue
n. a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.
“It was from Karl Lueger that Hitler first learned the power of demagogic oratory and the political benefits of anti-semitism.”
MD a DEMAgogue is a DEMON - able to possess the masses by appealing to popular desires and prejudices.
plebiscite
n. a vote by which the people of a country or region express their opinion for or against an important proposal
“Faced with Hitler’s threatened aggression from without and the rebellion of the Austrian Nazis from within, Shuschnigg took the offensive and boldly called for a plebiscite to be held on March 13, a mere month after his meeting with Hitler.” (16)
MD plebeians - Latin plebis scitum law voted by the comitia, literally, decree of the common people
compunction
adj. a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed).
“One therefore could remove them from the other human races without compunction.”
MD - He was was better than most punks because he felt comPUNKtion.
coherent
adjective
- logical and well-organized : easy to understand
- able to talk or express yourself in a clear way that can be easily understood
- working closely and well together
“Each has a coherent and meaningful relationship to the rest of one’s psychic life.”
MD - a coHEARent argument or someone who speaks coHEARently is easily heard
repertory
n. another name for repertoire. the entire range of skills.
“This search began with Charles Darwin’s idea that human behavior evolved from the behavioral repertory of our animal ancestors. That idea gave rise to the notion that experimental animals could be used as a models to study human behavior.”
MD - To represent means showing off your repertory. Lebron - jump shot, dribbling, rebounding, passing
habituation (psychology)
n. the diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a frequently repeated stimulus
“In habituation the animal learns to ignore a stimulus because it is trivial, whereas in sensitization it learns to attend to a stimulus because it is important.”
MD - HaBITCHuation - we tend to become less bitchy to repeated stimuli
sensitization
n. the strengthening of a physiological response to a certain stimulus; make sensitive
“In habituation the animal learns to ignore a stimulus because it is trivial, whereas in sensitization it learns to attend to a stimulus because it is important.”
MD - SENSitization - SENSitive - we become more sensitive
innervate
v. supply nerves to (some organ or body part)
“The spinal cord receives sensory information from the skin through bundles of long axons that innervate the skin.”
MD - IN (the body) nerve
id
primitive instincts and energies underlying all psychic activity
“It is not governed by logic or by reality but by the hedonistic principle of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain” (55)
MD - I’d like - what you’d like is not governed by logic or reality, but by primitive instincts and energies
action potential
n. a large transient electrical signal about 1/10 of a volt in amplitude and 1 to 2 milliseconds in duration that propagates along the axon to the neuron’s presynaptic terminal without failure or flagging. At the presynaptic terminal, the action potential triggers the release of neurotransmitter onto target neurons.
MD - PotTentiAL - presynaptic terminal because it triggers release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic terminal
epochal
highly significant or important especially bringing about or marking the beginning of a new development or era.
“Hodgkin and Huxley’s epochal work had solved the long-standing mystery of how electrical signals are generated within neurons, but how does signaling occur between neurons?” (90)
MD - epoch - a period of time that is very important in history. epochal brings this about.
synapse
n. The specialized site of communication between two neurons. A synapse consists of three components: a presynaptic terminal, a postsynaptic cell, and a zone of opposition-the synaptic cleft in between. Depending on the nature of the zone of opposition, synapses can be categorized as chemical or electrical, each using a different mechanism of synaptic transmission.
“For one neuron to ‘talk’ to the next neuron in line, it would have to send a signal across the synapse, across the gap between the cells.”
MD - without nerve impulses crossing the syNAPse, we’d be napping.
despondent
adj. low in spirits from loss of hope or courage
“…in this despondent state, he underwent a great intellectual transformation for which he was forever grateful.” (96)
MD - desPAWNdwent - the despondent pawn stood by his King surrounded by the enemy.
refute
v. prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove: these claims have not been convincingly refuted.
“Science proceeds by endless and ever refining cycles of conjecture and refutation.” (96)
MD - Refute - fute –> FAlse - prove something false
propagate (with reference to motion, light, sound, etc.)
v. 3. transmit or be transmitted in a particular direction
propaGATE - think of horses at a gate light, motion, or sound will move like a horse in a direction
