The Browser - Obscure Maps

The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows

Maria Popova | Marginalian | 12th April 2024

John Koenig’s “imaginative etymologies” supply words where we lack them, to match the complexity of our experiences. Examples: Craxis — the unease of knowing how quickly your circumstances could change. Zielschmerz — the dread of finally pursuing a lifelong dream. Anoscetia — the anxiety of not knowing “the real you”. “Despite what dictionaries would have us believe, this world is still mostly undefined” (1,200 words)

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Revolutionary “Maps” Of Time

Alyson Foster | Humanities | 11th April 2024

Joseph Priestley’s 1765 Chart of Biography “offered a never-before-seen picture of time itself” — a scroll of famous figures dating back three millennia. “Anyone could run his eye across the chart and immediately gain a sense of the temporal lay of the land. Who came first: Copernicus or Newton? How many centuries separate Genghis Khan from Joan of Arc? The chart was a masterful blend of form and function” (3,700 words)

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