4.2 Borge

When/Where: Being the science geek that I am, I often watch the Science Channel. I was watching a show called "Aliens: The Definitive Guide". Featured in the episode was an astrobiologist  who described the probable characteristics of aliens. He stated aliens most likely did not function as individuals but rather as borgs.

Familiarity: I've heard the word cyborg before, but I'm not sure that I've heard just "borg". I've heard "cyborg" when watching sci-fi movies, usually involving space and aliens.


Definition:

From Google:
cy·borg

"A fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body."

From Wikipedia:
Borg is a collective proper noun for a fictional alien race that appears as recurring antagonists in various incarnations of the Star Trek franchise. The Borg manifest as cybernetically enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked by subspace radio.

Reflection: I believe the scientist that used the word borg, meant a combination of the two definitions
above. I understand his message better, now that I know what he was referring to. The featured scientist actually had a computer chip implanted into this eye, and some of his thoughts were then transferred to a computer. Ultimately it gave him the control to flex a mechanical hand remotely, by flexing his own hand - hence the use of the term cyborg. The scientists continued by saying that those with this mechanical ability
would most likely also be able to communicate as a collective group, where one thought was transferred to the masses. This is replicated somewhat in nature, where certain groups of animals work as a collective group, each having their own part to complete a task.

4.1 - Consternation

When/Where: I was reading aloud the The Cheshire Cheese Cat and came across the following sentence: "Henry heaved a great sigh of consternation". This is my second time reading through the book, and I'm continuously amazed at the amount of words I'm unfamiliar with.

Level of familiarity: I've never heard this word before. Well, not true. I must have read it my first time through this book, but skipped over it because I didn't know it. I'm interested in learning this word because I have no idea what it means, however in terms of my  I gathered from the context of the book, consternation was not associated with good or excited feelings, but I did not foresee the word meaning it's definition.

Definition by Merium-Webster:

con·ster·na·tion

A strong feeling of surprise or sudden disappointment that causes confusion or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion.

 

 

Reflection: I have felt consternation before. The last time I was acutely aware of this feeling was when I opened up a birthday present from my husband. As I unwrapped the much anticipated gift, I slowly released a not-so-suttle sigh of consternation as I gazed down at my brand spanking new... pedometer. Awesome Wednesday gift, but birthday gift? I was disappointed and confused as to where my wonderful husband had come up with such a... thoughtful gift! Furthermore, I was not sure how to act for I did not want to give him any positive reinforcement less he got any more bright ideas! 

3.2 "Churlish"

When/Where: The Cheshire Cheese Cat provided me not only the first vocab word for this week, but also the second: "Churlish". I found the term "Churlish" one night as I was reading this book before bed. I dutifully typed churlish into my iPhone's notepad app and continued with my reading. Of course now I'm trying to find the sentence that I read containing this specific term and the book has turned into a sepulcher. Ah ha! See what I did there?! If the term sepulcher causes you to pause, please refer to blog post 3.1! 

Level of Familiarity: While I don't specifically remember a time a place that I heard this word, I feel that it not completely new. It may be that I'm thinking of words that sound similar however, such as "girlish".

Definition by Bing:

churl·ish

1. crass: characteristic of somebody with bad manners
2. unkind and grumpy: surly, sullen, or miserly

Reflection: While I don't remember the exact sentence that I read, I had to really consider what I thought of this term to go on my boondoggle through the book. I knew that I was most likely looking for an unpleasant conversation between two characters. I do remember that churlish was used to describe a response. As I skimmed the pages, I was looking very closely at text which involved the protagonist Skilly and the antagonist Pinch. I also expanded this search to include any situation where there was some type of negative interaction. This is important to note, because I had to reflect on what churlish meant and consider how it was most likely used. I unintentionally spent (useful) time reflecting more deeply on this new term

3.1 Sepulcher

When/Where: I'm currently reading The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale (2011) by Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright. While this book is written for middle-schoolers, I found that it had interesting and rich words sprinkled through out the text. The sentence which contained this word read: "Where secrets are concerned, I am a veritable sepulcher." (pg. 25). I think that this word is a used as a metaphor to explain someone that can keep a secret safe.

Level of Familiarity: I had never heard of this word before!

What it Means: Google states that a sepulcher is: "a small room or monument, cut in rock or built of stone, in which a dead person is laid or buried." The picture to the right is meant to represent the meaning behind sepulcher. In fact this box could be made into a sepulcher if one buried a favorite pet in it and threw away the key. Try googling "sepulcher", I dare you! Believe me, this is a much more pleasant way to represent the term!

Reflection: Ah ha! I was correct in my prediction. I will say that this word was not one that was extremely challenging. That is, in thinking about vocabulary instruction, if my own students were reading this book I wouldn't spend time explicitly teaching the word, the context helps one infer a reasonable meaning. Sepulcher does make sense in this context because tombs tend not to be open once the are closed, keeping whatever is inside hidden away, which is similar to how a secret is supposed to be kept. Even though I could deduce the definition of the term, I chose this word because I was surprised to see a term that I had never heard before in a "children's" book .