Continuing on with the word treasure hunt from the last post.
One thing I will note here is that as much as I have liked all of his books, Cal Newport uses a lot of high-level words, which goes against recommendations to keep your writings simple and at a low-grade reading level (see Book Brew 47 for more on this). Despite the “recommendations,” I appreciate his use of “big” words because it grows my vocabulary and stretches my mind.
Today’s Word Gems
- Bloviate (verb) - talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way
- Deep Work, pg 48 - “Indeed, many deploy the Serum project management methodology, which replaces a lot of this ad hoc messaging with regular, highly structured and ruthlessly efficient status meetings (often held standing up to minimize the urge to bloviate).”
- Fungible (adjective) - of goods contracted for without an individual specimen being specified able to replace or be replaced by another identical item, mutually interchangeable.
- Deep Work, pg 55 - “And even then the outcome is fungible…”
- Simulacrum (noun) - an image or representation of someone or something; an unsatisfactory imitation or substitute.
- Deep Work, pg 60 - “Instead of trying to manage their time and obligations themselves, they let the impending meeting each week force them to take some action on a given project and more generally provide a highly visible simulacrum of progress.”
- Anachronistic (adjective) - belonging to a period other than that being portrayed.
- Deep Work, pg 65 - “Viewed objectively, however, this concept is anachronistic.”
- Denigrate (verb) - criticize unfairly, disparage.
- Deep Work, pg 186 - “To be clear, I’m not trying to denigrate the benefits identified previously - there’s nothing illusory or misguided about them.”
- Thinking Fast & Slow, pg 4 - “However, the focus on erro does not denigrate human intelligence any more than the attention to diseases in medical texts drives good health.”
Ponder This
- How can enhancing your vocabulary impact your professional communication and networking skills?
- In what ways can a rich vocabulary improve your ability to understand and convey complex concepts in your business?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Books
- Deep Work - Cal Newport
Comments