A Deadly Wandering: Part Two

by Matt Richtel
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Matt Richtel explores the profound influence of technology on society in this account of a tragic car accident and its aftermath.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. introspective
    given to examining own sensory and perceptual experiences
    The man with their leads stuffed in the pockets of his orange fleece is Dr. Atchley, the Kansas University psychologist, an introspective former army captain turned scholar.
  2. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    The Drs. Atchley think of this place as their quiet, protective cocoon, and also part architectural novelty that they still seem bemused the bank ever let them borrow to build.
  3. stoicism
    an indifference to pleasure or pain
    Toward the end of 2006, when Terryl first approached Jackie outside of gymnastics and asked how she might help, Jackie showed typical stoicism and said: “I think we’re good.”
  4. cliche
    a trite or obvious remark
    He had a stock cliche: No news is good news.
  5. contraption
    a small mechanical device or tool
    In a small windowless room in Fraser Hall at the University of Kansas, a junior named Maggie Biberstein sits in a contraption that resembles a driving video game at an arcade.
  6. vernacular
    the everyday speech of the people
    The dry vernacular of the science paper read: “The current data shows the need to text now may simply reflect the need to engage in a behavior that only has value in the short term.”
  7. simulation
    the act of imitating the behavior of some situation
    The simulation is not intended to measure how well Maggie texts and drives, though the researchers confirm that she and other participants are horrible at it.
  8. predilection
    a predisposition in favor of something
    An additional factor that can dictate how compulsively we use our devices has to do with individual personality and predilection.
  9. exhilaration
    the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
    For Terryl, the exhilaration around learning was a sign of the enthusiasm she tried to instill in her children, tried to exhibit for them.
  10. substantive
    having a firm basis in reality and therefore important
    For Terryl, the step was substantive and symbolic; one of the few things she felt good about her own childhood—other than her devotion to the church and reading—was that she didn’t watch a lot of television.
  11. sedentary
    requiring sitting or little activity
    Heavy television watching creates a sedentary lifestyle, less activity, more weight gain, even obesity.
  12. amorphous
    having no definite form or distinct shape
    And now he had this amorphous, ominous, legal cloud.
  13. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    And he was impressed by this new investigator: “He was meticulous. He was very, very particular.
  14. culpability
    a state of guilt
    It would’ve helped if Briana could have said something to the effect that Reggie had confessed culpability, or said something about texting, or even coached her to obstruct the investigation.
  15. semantics
    the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text
    To Dr. Greenfield, it’s mere semantics. “Whether the word is ‘impulse,’ or ‘compulsion,’ or ‘addiction,’ clearly there is an overtaking of rational, logical processing of information and judgment like we see with other drugs,” he says.
  16. isotope
    atom with same atomic number, different number of neutrons
    The chemical is also a radioactive isotope, which means it can be visualized using a PET scan.
  17. predicate
    involve as a necessary condition or consequence
    That word choice is crucial because, while there is interesting emerging science around Internet addiction, there is a predicate question being asked by many scientists: Can behaviors be addictive, or just substances?
  18. counterintuitive
    contrary to what common sense would suggest
    And the parallel stems from a concept that is quite counterintuitive: the Internet, smartphones, and other devices are addictive because they often deliver us worthless information.
  19. satiated
    supplied, especially fed, to satisfaction
    An American author named Frank Scoblete once wrote that slot machines “sit there like young courtesans, promising pleasures undreamed of, your deepest desires fulfilled, all lusts satiated.”
  20. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
    A 2012 report from Symantec, a company that builds software to block computer viruses, found that around 67 percent of email is spam. The big number probably comes as no surprise and, doubtless, much of those unwanted missives are blocked.
  21. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
    As Singleton began to amass evidence, and Baird saw that a potential case was coalescing, he let these thoughts percolate.
  22. jettison
    throw, as from an airplane
    Just a few days earlier, across the mountains in Idaho, an eighteen-year-old driver had been sending a text message when she lost control of her car, jettisoning a fifteen-year-old passenger through the windshield.
  23. euphoric
    characterized by a feeling of well-being or elation
    Reggie felt euphoric. His first pitch seemed to have gone well.
  24. aggrieve
    cause to feel distress
    This was right in her strike zone: an aggrieved victim, a remorseless alleged perpetrator, and no one taking up the fight.
  25. quintessential
    representing the perfect example of a class or quality
    The July 6 memo was written in a style that her colleagues think of as quintessential Terryl: deeply passionate but somehow dispassionate enough, and just to the point.
  26. caveat
    a warning against certain acts
    The caveat: There was no precedent. He wrote, “There is virtually no case law whatsoever in the entire United States that has addressed it. The technology is just too new.”
  27. expletive
    profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
    When he tells the story, he has to pause, for maybe a minute, choking back grief. He whispers, “Fudge,” a kind of expletive.
  28. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    Since 1990, when Dr. Strayer had begun digging into the issue of driving and attention/distraction, he’d studied the subject from numerous angles, amassing a host of papers on various nuances.
  29. acuity
    sharpness of vision
    Even if they’re looking at the road, he’d found, their visual acuity was impaired by the cognitive demand of the phone.
  30. ramification
    a consequence, especially one that causes complications
    “This kid was on an LDS mission, and that is highly regarded in this valley. We knew we’d have to pull him off the mission,” he recalls. “The political ramifications were very high.”
  31. belligerence
    hostile or warlike attitude or nature
    Leila and the others were struck by what she called Bunderson’s “belligerence.”
  32. travesty
    a comedy characterized by broad satire
    They might well have been reacting to what they saw as a travesty of justice.
  33. overzealous
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    Both sides came in with guards up; the family thinking Rindlisbacher overzealous.
  34. contentious
    showing an inclination to disagree
    That was the context going into the interview, which Singleton would later describe as “the most contentious I’ve ever had in twenty-four years in law enforcement.”
  35. succinctly
    with concise and precise brevity; to the point
    These exchanges are important because they frame a debate that was never so succinctly argued in the courtroom, given the long and drawn-out legal process.
  36. introvert
    a person who tends to shrink from social contacts
    He was an introvert to the max.
  37. relevant
    having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
    “We felt it was time to revisit this issue because screens are everywhere now, and the message is much more relevant than it was a decade ago,” Dr. Brown told the paper
  38. forensic
    used in the investigation of facts or evidence in court
    Four days before the hearing, they’d received the results from a study done by a forensic sciences firm in Salt Lake City that had asked the question: Was it likely that Reggie had hydroplaned?
  39. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    As Dr. Strayer began, Bunderson, sitting next to Reggie, had a powerful, initial visceral reaction
  40. credible
    appearing to merit belief or acceptance
    This Dr. Strayer sounded very credible, like a good witness.
Created on Mon Apr 13 20:54:35 EDT 2015 (updated Wed Sep 05 16:49:05 EDT 2018)

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