Summer 2015 Flashcards
Heuristic
Rule of thumb
“Simplifying heuristics can lead us to judge incorrectly.”
For example saying that a orderly person is more likely to be a librarian than a farmer relies incorrectly on a heuristic and ignores statistical facts.
Sentient
Noun: Having the power of perception by the senses.
E.g., feeling compassion for all other sentient beings
Cagey
Adj. Cautious, wary, shrewd
“Boyd was being cagey and wouldn’t make a decision.”
Iridescent
Adj. displaying a lustrous play of colors like that of a rainbow
Boon
Noun: something to be thankful for; a blessing or benefit.
“Artificial intelligence might be bad for language interpreters, but it would be a boon for everyone else. (Especially the middle-class with Skype accounts.)
Chagrin
Shuh-grin
Noun: a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment or humiliation.
“Humans are the only earthly species that experience guilt. We never see our pets acting chagrined for forgetting their manners or eating too much food.
Clandestine
Clan-DES-tin
Adj: done in secrecy or concealment for the purpose of deception.
“Real winners never sneak to finish lines by clandestine or compromised routes.”
Gaffe
Noun: social blunder; faux pas
“Directors often fire CEOs when an ethical gaffe is exposed”
(Pronounced gaf)
Phlegmatic
Adj: self-possessed, calm, composed. (Sometimes means apathetic and unemotional)
Apparently my personality temperament is phlegmatic, which means I am a relationship-oriented introvert.
Doting
Adj: excessively fond (of offspring)
“She was happily married and a doting mother of several children.”
Serpentine
Adj: having a winding course, like a road; or shrewd and cunning. (Basically characteristics of a serpent.)
“Investment Banking’s serpentine tentacles are rooted in nearly every well-regarded university.”
Sycophant
Sik-uh-funt
Noun: A self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.
“The Q&A sessions were an opportunity for the sycophants of the student body to shine.”
Bucolic
Byoo-call-ick
Adj: suggesting an idyllic rural life.
“I want to drop it all and live a bucolic life on a ranch.”
Tetchy
Tech-ee
Adj: irritable, touchy
“She was in a tetchy mood all day after she failed her test.”
Insolent
In-suh-lunt
Adj: boldly rude or disrespectful; insulting.
“Churchill’s speech was one of the most insolent ever heard in Parliament.”
Precocious
Pri-KOH-shush
Adj: unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development.
“Julie was precocious because she read fluently at four years old.”
Pernicious
Adj: causing insidious harm or ruin; deadly or fatal
“Hindsight bias has pernicious effects on the evaluations of decision makers.”
Insidious
Adj: deceitful; intended to entrap or beguile
“The temptation to be dishonest often comes in insidious ways.”
“Climate change is insidious and uncertain.”
Ostensibly
outwardly appearing as such
“in Spain, where Stalin was ostensibly supporting a democratic Spanish government”
Intrepid
Adj: resolutely fearless; dauntless
“An intrepid group of doctors observed that wherever in the world people adopted the western diet, health problems ensued.”
Autotelic
aw-tuh-TEL-ick
Adj: having within itself the purpose of existence
“An autotelic experience is an end in itself. The activity that consumes us becomes intrinsically rewarding.”
Panoply
PAN-uh-plee
Noun: wide-ranging and impressive array or display
“Despite being surrounded by an astounding panoply of recreational gadgets and leisure choices, most of us go on being bored and vaguely frustrated.”
Scion
Sayh-uhn (like Zion)
Noun: a descendent
“Muhammad entered life as the scion of a distinguished family, but as poor as a penniless aristocrat.”
Bedouin
bed-oo-in
Noun: an Arab of the desert. A nomadic wanderer.
“It took some time for Amina to locate a Bedouin woman who was willing to take Muhammad.”
