On Thinking About Thinking

“On Thinking about Thinking” Endnotes by CRW 221 students Fall 2009 McCarthy

Projections (Thomas, Lewis 151) “To imagine (a thing or oneself) in another situation or another person’s feelings or a future time.” (Oxford American Dictionary 716) Thoughts that are similar to each other, creating connections.

– Alexandra Boeri

“Symbionts” (Thomas,Lewis pg 152) “decorated all over with other creatures living as symbionts” Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Thomas uses this term to explain how two or more groups form together and even though they are not the same, they all fit in.Symbionts-Function: noun Etymology: probably from German, modification of Greek symbiount-, symbiōn, present participle of symbioun Date: 1887 1.: an organism living in symbiosis; especially : the smaller member of a symbiotic pair1 : the living together in more or less intimate ASSOCIATION or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism 2 : a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups)

--Dorothy Gaeta

“The Art of the Fugue” (Thomas, Lewis pg 154) "fugue" Function: noun Etymology: probably from Italian fuga flight, fugue, from Latin, flight, from fugere Date: 1597 1 a : a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts b : something that resembles a fugue especially in interweaving repetitive elements 2 : a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Thomas uses this term so that a reader could understand the processes of thinking and the term “fugue” is a quick thought, not thinking about any thing and the thought comes to mind.

--Dorothy Gaeta

“Bach”(Thomas, Lewis 154) “Joan Sebastian”. 1685-1750. German composer and organist. (The American Heritage Dictionary pg62) Lewis Thomas uses this composer’s person and music in order to explain how “thinking” is a process that takes place " here and there "in the human brain to form or create memory and thought, the same way Bach takes hare and there from different musical notes to form a complex musical piece.

--Rafael Galva

“shimmering”(Thomas, Lewis 153): adj.To shine with a flickering light. (The American Heritage Dictionary pg755) Lewis Thomas uses this term in order to help us understand how the membranes of the brain are full of life and vitality in order to get closer to each other and help the process of thinking and memory.

--Rafael Galva

“Caroming” (Thomas, 151) “To strike and rebound.” (Merriam-Webster.com) This term is used to show how the mind works as flowing notions bumping and bouncing off of one another.

--Chris Giaimo

“Receptors” (Thomas 151) “any of a group of substances, mainly proteins, found esp. on the surface of a cell, that combine with specific molecules, hormones, antibodies, drugs, viruses, etc.” (yourdictionary.com) my interpretation is that receptors are proteins found in the outer surface of a cell. Thomas used interdisciplinaries such as biochemistry and physiology to explain how the proteins are found.

--Mariel Santos

“Conjoined” (Thomas, 152). “Combined, brought together” (Oxford American Dictionary, 180). Thomas uses this term to explain how random thoughts can sometimes come together to form an idea.

–Mark Hester

Docking (Thomas, Lewis 152) “ A loading platform for trucks or trains.” (The American Heritage Dictionary 251) Random thoughts coming together to form an idea and changing directions searching for other pairs of newly formed ideas.

–Alexandra Boeri

Gravitational force, n. (Thomas 152) “The force of attraction between massive bodies due to gravitation. The measure of the gravitational force of a given body on earth is the weight of that body.” (Academic Press Dictionary Online). Thomas uses this term to describe the attraction of everything else in the mind to a particularly dense idea.

--Jill Fleck

“Signal” (Thomas, 152). “A sign or gesture giving information or a command” (Oxford American Dictionary, 849). Thomas uses this word to describe how certain thoughts relate to each other.

–Mark Hester

“black hole”(Thomas, p.152-3) “An area of space-time with a gravitational field so intense that nothing can escape, not even light." (The American Heritage Dictionary, p.92) Thomas uses the term black hole as a metaphor, comparing it with the mind as someone falls asleep. Aggregates, or thoughts are whizzing around in the mind and one thought sucks up the rest and turns the whole mind into nothingness where not one thing can escape.

--Aaron Fleishman

“Counterpoint” (Thomas, 153) “The technique of combining two or more melodic lines so that they establish a harmonic relationship while retaining their linear individuality” (The American Heritage P. 202). Thomas uses the term counterpoint and compares it to dance. He shows how counterpoint is one aspect of a bigger picture and if you take it away the process cannot be complete. This is also the case for dance if you take a piece of dance away it would not work.

--Katie Starr

Motoric, adj. (Thomas 153) “3. Of a piece of music, its performance, rhythm, etc.: marked by precision or repetitiveness suggestive of mechanized action or movement.” (Oxford English Dictionary Online). Thomas uses this adjective in his comparison of the development of thoughts to the structure of the Brandenburg Concertos, exemplifying that thinking is a patterned process.

--Jill Fleck

“Harmony” (Thomas, 153) “A combination of parts into a pleasing and orderly whole; congruity” (yourdictionary.com) Thomas used harmony to describe when the mind is working properly and thinking clearly that everything is working in harmony.

--Phil Jenkins

“Membrane” (Thomas 153) “a thin pliable layer of plant or animal tissue covering or separating structures or organs” (The American Heritage 530 @ Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, copyright @ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company) an example would be a thin layer of skin, tissue covering an organ. Thomas introduced Chemistry and cell biology are interdisciplinary used to explain critical thinking in a way to clarify how the brain works.

--Mariel Santos

“motile”(Thomas, p.153) “Moving or having the power to move spontaneously." (The American Heritage Dictionary, p. 553) Thomas uses the word motile in describing many particles organizing to form a single structure. The particles Thomas is speaking of are moving in a specific direction, but have the freedom to move spontaneously.

--Aaron Fleishman

“Nervous System” (Thomas, 154) “All the nerve cells and nervous tissues in an organism, including in the vertebrates, the brain, spinal cord, ganglia, nerves, and nerve centers: it coordinates and controls response to stimuli and conditions behavior and consciousness” (yourdictionary.com) Thomas uses this term to say music is an effort to explain what are brains are feeling and how it is working, saying that if you listen to music, it is a product of the whole nervous system.

--Phil Jenkins

“Transfixed” (Thomas, 154) “To render motionless as with terror” (The American Heritage P. 865). Thomas uses this term to demonstrate how the brain is a complicated device by comparing it to listening to Bach’s music which is also viewed as complicated.

--Katie Starr

“ Transient” (Thomas, 154) “1a: Passing especially quickly into and out of existence b: passing through or by a place with only a brief stay or sojourn 2: affecting something or producing results beyond itself.” (merriam-webster.com) This term is used to explain how Bach’s thought process is thrown around his mind in a transient notion, passing through quickly and then disappearing.

--Chris Giaimo

The following notes need revision:

**Empiricism (Thomas, 158) defined as the practice of medicine that disregards scientific theory and relies solely on practical experience (The American Heritage @ Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, copyright @ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Thomas uses this term ‘empiricism’to mean that since time immemorial, medicine got along by trial and error method .

--Charles Amanfo

**Millennia (Thomas,158) is defined as a span of one thousand years (The American Heritage @ Dictionary of the English language,Fourth Editionn. Copyright @ 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Thomas uses the term ‘millennia’ to mean a period unknown in medical history

--Charles Amanfo

** “Symbionts” (Thomas,Lewis pg 152) Thomas uses this term to explain how two or more groups form together and even though they are not the same, they all fit in.

**“The Art of the Fugue” (Thomas, Lewis pg 154) Thomas uses this term so that a reader could understand the processes of thinking and the term “fugue” is a quick thought, not thinking about any thing and the thought comes to mind. Definitions from Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online

**Symbionts-Function: noun Etymology: probably from German, modification of Greek symbiount-, symbiōn, present participle of symbioun Date: 1887 1.: an organism living in symbiosis; especially : the smaller member of a symbiotic pair1 : the living together in more or less intimate ASSOCIATION or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism 2 : a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups)

--Dorothy Gaeta

**fugue Function: noun Etymology: probably from Italian fuga flight, fugue, from Latin, flight, from fugere Date: 1597 1 a : a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts b : something that resembles a fugue especially in interweaving repetitive elements2 : a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed

--Dorothy Gaeta

**"Notions" A mental image or representation; an idea or conception. (Webster Dictionary) "Notions" (Thomas Lewis 151) "The mind is made up of dense clouds of these structures, flowing at random from place to place, bumping against each other and caroming away to bump again, leaving random, two-step tracks like the paths of Brownian movement".
--Fadia Delva-Hoffman

**"Elliptical" Relating to extreme economy of oral written expression. (Websters Dictionary)"Elliptical" (Thomas Lewis 152) "Loops around the center of the mind, rotating slowly as it goes. Now it is an idea".

--Fadia Delva-Hoffman