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2015년 1월 14일 수요일

PE 1/13 David Foster Wallace Speech – Part 2

Given the triumphal academic setting here, an obvious question is how much of this work of adjusting our default-setting involves actual knowledge or intellect. This question gets tricky.
* tricky: complicated; more difficult than it appears
ex> My uncle is about to solve tricky crossword puzzles while watching TV.

Probably the most dangerous thing about college education, at least in my own case, is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract arguments inside my head instead of simply paying attention to what’s going on right in front of me.
* get lost in: to become distracted or confused by something
= get absorbed in; get immersed in; get engrossed in
ex> Jason was late for school again because he got lost in watching some ants on the sidewalk.
Note> Be careful not to confuse this expression with “Get lost!,” which is a very direct way to tell someone to stop bothering you.

As I’m sure you guys know by now, it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head.
* by now: after this passage of time
ex> Don’t you think our daughter should be earning her own money by now?
* hypnotize: ~에게 체면을 걸다

It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to, and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.
* conscious: aware; having knowledge of
ex> She was conscious of the rain beginning to fall outside, but hoped it would stop soon.

Think of the old cliché about “the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.” This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth.
* lame: feeble; unconvincing
ex> Brandon’s teacher thought his excuse was lame, so she gave him a detention.
ex> They’re only offering a five percent discount? That’s lame.


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