A Glossary of Ultimalogical Terms

by John Tennison, M.D.

 

Aspects of Reality, The:  For the sake of more precise philosophical discourse, ultimatology divides reality into 13 different aspects, with regard to time, probability, and degree of subjective or consensual experience.

Assessment of Potentials (AOP):  The standard clinical ultimalogical workup, during which it is determined what unfulfilled potentials an individual likely has available.  From this information, the individual can then make a more highly conscious decision as to which of these potentials to pursue.  The AOP consists of an extensive interview, various standardized aptitude and other tests, all of which are correlated with measures of happiness/fulfillment.  The AOP is not complete unless aptitudes are correlated with measures of happiness, as one can be quite capable or skilled in a given activity, yet still be miserable doing this activity for the rest of one's life.

Enorma:  An acronym for "Energy Or Matter."  Derived from the first two letters in each word:  "ENergy OR MAtter."  Enorma is used as a word to refer to that stuff in the universe that takes the form of either matter or energy.  Rather than saying that "matter" has a "wave-like" nature, and "waves" have a "particle-like" nature, I just call it all enorma, unless there is some reason that I need to call attention to matter-like or energy-like behavior.  Thus, enorma, as defined, can take on an "energy" phase or a "matter" phase.


Fundamental Construct, The:  Value of Life (VOL).  The positive area  (above the x axis) minus the negative area (below x axis) on a curve plotting Quality of Life on the Y-axis and Quantity of Life (lifespan) on the X-axis.


God Concept:  This term refers to how someone conceives of a god or gods, if at all.  Regardless of whether or not a god or gods exist, ultimatology recognizes that a belief in a god or gods appears to improve the quality of life for some people.  However, ultimatology also recognizes that some people seem to experience a higher quality of life as a result of not believing in any god at all.  Thus, part of any ultimalogical workup for a given individual will involve an inquiry into the effect that believing in a god(s) might have on the quality of life of that individual.  This inquiry is independent of the question of whether or not the god in which someone believes actually exists. 

Geccun:  An acronym for "geographically consolidated complete university."  This word refers to universities that have a minimum of undergraduate, graduate, medical, law, and business schools all on a single continuous campus.  Such arrangements generally create an infrastructure in which the surrounding community is able to experience a greater quality of life as a result of the intellectual synergy of having such a large variety of intellectual perspectives in one location.  (Since the presence of a geccun generally improves quality of life for those who live near the geccun, "geccun" is included in the ultimalogical lexicon.)

Perfect Life, The:  A life in which both Quality-of-Life and Quantity-of-Life approach infinity.  This "perfect life," is regarded as the goal of ultimatology, although practically, we will always fall short of its perfection.  However, aiming for perfection tends to push us towards fulfilling more of our potential than we otherwise might.  Past philosophers have used the expression, "the good life," to refer to a similar idea to "The Perfect Life."  However, since "good" is a rather non-specific adjective, I chose the more superlative "perfect" to decrease ambiguity.

Time:  A change in the spatial relationship between one system of enorma and another system of enorma.  Time is a completely subjective entity, in that it's existence depends entirely on which systems of enorma you have chosen to consider in relation to each other.  For example, on the face of a clock, we know that time has occurred as a result of a change in the spatial relationship of the hands on the clock to each other and to the numbers printed on the face of the clock.  For time to proceed, there must be at least two reference points that can change in relationship to each other.  Some might contend that time would be proceeding even if the hands of a clock were not moving.  That is, someone might contend that one can detect the passage of time while their eyes are closed and without reference to any external changing elements.  Yet, in such an example, that person would be referencing changes in their own internal neuronal activity/oscillations.  That is, molecular changes are occurring at the sub-cellular level in which sub-cellular elements are changing in relationship to each other.  These changes ultimately influence the verbal centers of the brain, in such a way that we experience time.  If no identifiable elements of reality were changing in relation to each other, time would cease to exist.

Value of Life (VOL):  The "Fundamental Construct" of Ultimatology.  The positive area  (above the x axis) minus the negative area (below x axis) on a curve plotting Quality of Life on the Y-axis and Quantity of Life (lifespan) on the X-axis.


Other ultimalogical terms will be added to this glossary.  Glossary last updated on April 29, 2005


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