The Gene 1 Flashcards
avuncular
- relating to an uncle -suggestive of an uncle especially in kindliness or geniality — Craig Unger But my father knew-and I knew-that there was more than just avuncular love at stake for him in these visits. Moni is not the only member of my father’s family with mental illness.” (2) MD Georgie. Avuncular love for her and behaves in an avuncular manner
culmination
the highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time “The story runs that he was stricken with pneumonia after spending two nights exercising in the winter rain-but the pneumonia was the culmination of another sickness.” (2) MD - During the summer solstice, the sun culminates over the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere.; also : to be directly overhead
mica
a silicate mineral with a layered structure that can readily separate into very thin leaves. It is used as a thermal or electrical insulator. “My grandfather had died a decade earlier in 1936-he had been murdered following a dispute over mica mines-leaving my grandmother to raise five young boys.” (2) - Mike poured mica over the commutator to insulate the electricity. mike and mica can withstand high temperatures.
delineate
to indicate the exact position of a (border or boundary) “But it also delineates a limit, a warning, an outer boundary of sobriety. Beyond overjoy, as we shall see there is no over-overjoy; there is only madness and mania.” (3) MD - Line line with over joy delineating the boundary between sobriety and madness
Phantasm
a figment of imagination. “By 1975, deeper cognitive problems had had emerged: he had visions, phantasms, and voices in his head that told him what to do. He made up conspiracy theories by the dozens…” Etymology - root “phan” comes from Greek verbs that mean “to appear or seem” or “to present to the mind.” Does “phan” bring to your mind any other English words, in addition to “phantasm”? Indeed, this root appears in several English words that have to do with the way things seem or appear rather than the way they really are. Phantasmagoria and diaphanous are examples. Also from this root are words such as “fanciful” and “fantasy,” in which the imagination plays an important part. MD - phantom (ghost) if you don’t believe in ghosts, a phantom is a phantasm
confabulate
- to have an informal conversation - to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication A major characteristic of brain-damaged patients is the tendency to confabulate—to hide and dissemble about their damage. — Peter R. Breggin - MD - come from latin word fabula - which means “conversation, story.” Another fabula descendant is fable. “…he had ‘mounds of cash’ stashed away that would buy ‘a thousand’ vases in replacement. But this episode was symptomatic: even his love for me involved extending the fabric of his psychosis and confabulation.” (3) MD - making fantastic fabrications. “So if got ya mind on my money, I put some money (perfect aim) on ya mind” Fabolous’s street cred are a result of him never confabulating. People believe what he says!
partition
division The Partition of India was the division of British India[a] in 1947 which accompanied the creation of two independent dominions, India and Pakistan. “Partition, they knew, had split apart not just nations, but also minds; in Saadat Hasan Manto’s ‘Toba Tek Singh’ - arguably the best known short story of Partition - the hero, a lunatic caught on the border between India and Pakistan, also inhabits a limbo between sanity and insanity.” (4) MD - image of a parition. What was once one state is now two states.
Calcutta (now Kolkata)
a port and industrial center in eastern India, capital of the state of West Bengal, the second largest city in India; population 5,080,500 (est. 2009). It is situated on the banks of the Hooghly River near the Bay of Bengal. Former name (until 2000) Calcutta. “In Jagu’s and Rajesh’s case, my grandmother believed, the upheaval and uprooting from East Bengal to Calcutta had unmoored their minds, although in spectacularly opposite ways.” (4) MD - Map of India Calcutta (calculator because it’s a port and industrial center) .
cataclysm
a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition. “He grew increasingly fearful. The evening excursions to the gym became more frequent. Then came the manic convulsions, the spectral fevers, and the sudden cataclysm of his final illness.” (5) MD - catalyst - change -
geniality
the quality of having a friendly and cheerful manner Gene Gershenhorn started a transition center for retired men. His friendly and cheerful manner made him the perfect
upheaval
a violent or sudden change or disruption to something: major upheavals in the financial markets | times of political upheaval. MD. huffing and heaving. violent or sudden change or disruption to something, ups the heaving rate
unmoor
to release the ropes, chains, or anchors by or to which a boat, ship, or buoy is moored: “In Jagu’s and Rajesh’s case, my grandmother believed, the upheaval and uprooting from East Bengal to Calcutta had unmoored their minds, although in spectacularly opposite ways.” (4) MD - MOOR picture the ropes being released from the o’s which are holes for the boat to be moored.
psychotic
of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis (a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions from Greek psyckhe - mind. think of a cot. person sleeping and having dreams that have defective or lost contact with reality hallucinations or delusions
fugue (psychogenic amnesia, dissociative amnesia)
It is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality, and other identifying characteristics of individuality. The state is usually short-lived (ranging from hours to days), but can last months or longer. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity. “My father had at least two psychotic fugues in his life-both precipitated by the consumption of bhang (mashed-up cannnabis buds, melted in ghee, and churned into a frothing drink for religious festivals).” (8) MD
delusion
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder: the delusion of being watched. Nuance: delusion, illusion, hallucination, mirage mean something that is believed to be true or real but that is actually false or unreal. delusion implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind. 〈delusions of persecution〉
