Pages 489-508

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489 · Back to Steeply and Marathe

Page 489

Y.D.A.U.

plexus
an intricate network

tête
French: head

Page 490

I/O
Input/Output

C'est ça
French: that's that

Page 491

ALGOL
a short term for Algorithmic language

491 · Flashback to Himself's Childhood

Page 491

Endnote 208

Institut für Neutronenphysik und Reaktortechnik, Kernforschungszentrum
German: Institute for Neutron Physics and Reactor Engineering, Nuclear Research Center (a real organization)

Karlsruhe
a city in Germany about 90 miles south of Frankfurt (Main)

U.R.G.
probably United Republic of Germany

Y.T.M.P.

Springer-Verlag
one of the largest publishers in Germany

Wien
the German name for Vienna, capital of Austria

Page 491 (cont'd)

Bazin
André Bazin (1918-1958) was a French film theorist and director.

Page 492

Eureka
Ancient Greek for "I've found it," made famous by Archimedes

metastisate
He means "metastatize."

gibber
to chatter unintelligibly

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Synchronicity
the state of happening simultaneously

Concord
agreement

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declivity
downward slope or hill

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hypotenuse

the longest arm of a right triangle

right dihedral triangle
A right triangle is one whose largest angle is 90º. Dihedral means "having two sides."

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ebullient
zestfully enthusiastic

caster
wheel

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rodential
like a rodent

stalactite
the kind of V-shaped rock formations in caves that come down from the top

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Powell's Peeping Tom
Michael Latham Powell (1905-1990) was a British filmmaker, and Peeping Tom was one of his films.

hex
i.e., hexagonal, having six sides

L'Hôpital
Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l'Hôpital (1661-1704), was a French mathematician.

Bernoulli
Jacob Bernoulli (1654-1705) was a Swiss mathematician.

Brachistochrone
a reference to a brachistochrone curve

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503 · NA Meeting

Page 503

anechoic vestry
Anechoic means "characterized by a low level of reverberation"; a vestry is where the priests' vestments (clothing for mass) are kept between ceremonies.

lassitude
weariness of body

catalepsy
suspension of sensation, which bodily rigidity

circadian arrhythmia
sleep disturbance

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anhedonia
inability to feel pleasure

peristyle
a colonnade surrounding an open space, or the space so encircled

astrolabes
a type of navigational device used before the invention of the sextant

prickets
sharp metal points on which to stick candles

Knights of Columbus
a Catholic fraternal order

Penn Station
the chief national train station in New York, at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue

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styptic
contracting tissue

dis
act of disrespect

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anorak
a hooded pullover jacket

bonhommic
a neologism, meaning "denoting good-heartedness"

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Keds
a brand of sneaker

507 · More Steeply and Marathe

Page 507

C'est la guerre
French: That's war

Perseus
the constellation of the flying horse

jongleur
a wandering minstrel

pantalone
a stock mime character, often the butt of jokes

Castor and Pollux
stars in the constellation Gemini, named for twin sons of Zeus and Leda in Greek mythology

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