iPhone Vocabulary Fail: Topography and Palingenesis
In post from Damn You, Auto Correct!, a romantic moment is ruined by obscure math references:
The best definition I could find for topology is, “The mathematical study of the geometric properties that are not normally affected by changes in the size or shape of geometric figures. In topology, a donut and a coffee cup with a handle are equivalent shapes, because each has a single hole.”
If you’ve ever heard this word before, it might be in the context of a topographical map, which shows surface features such as mountain ranges, glaciers, and valleys.
This post introduced a similarly obscure word from theology:
Palingenesis has a couple of definitions:
Theology: The doctrine of transmigration of souls; spiritual rebirth through metempsychosis of Christian baptism
Biology: The repetition by a single organism of various stages in the evolution of its species during embryonic development.
This all makes sense if you know that palin is a Greek root meaning “again,” and genesis, of course, means birth or creation.
The root palin (not sure if there’s a connection to the former governor of Alaska) also occurs in palindrome, a word that can be read the same way forwards or backwards (Mom! Dad! Wow!) and palimpsest, parchment from which earlier writing has been removed to clear it for new writing.
Manhattan Prep’s blog is written by one of our real-live GRE instructors. She teaches in New York. To learn about Manhattan Prep’s classes, go here. To suggest a word or topic for the blog, email jen@manhattanprep.com.