| Front | noetic \noh-ET-ik\ |
|---|---|
| Back | adjective Of, relating to, or based on the intellect. ["Noetic" derives from the Greek adjective "noetikos," meaning "intellectual," from the verb "noein" ("to think") and ultimately from the noun "nous," meaning "mind." ("Nous" also gave English the word "paranoia" by joining with a prefix meaning "faulty" or "abnormal.") "Noetic" is related to "noesis," a rare noun that turns up in the field of philosophy and refers to the action of perceiving or thinking. The most notable use of "noetic" might be in the name of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a research organization based in California that is devoted to studies of consciousness and the mind.] "This `noetic Casanova,' as Gleick calls him (Richard Feynman), put science next to sex, where it belongs in alphabetical order. His books are full of brainy pranks and skirt-chasing honed to a science of its own." - Thomas A. Bass, Casanova of the Mind, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (book review), The Los Angeles Times, Nov 1, 1992. "The former literature professor (Paul LeBlanc) says: `Before the invention of writing, the most important intellectual skill you could possess was the ability to memorize. After writing was invented, however, our noetic economy shifted.'" - Linton Weeks, Ten-Track Mind: We Do Everything at Once. But Are We Forgetting Something?, The Washington Post, May 26, 1999. |
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