The playful wonderland behind great inventions | Steven Johnson

Important Vocabulary Words From The Video

caveman

A caveman is a person who lives in the past, who is not as advanced as people today. They are usually very conservative and they believe in traditional values.

  • The caveman argued that the new law was wrong, because it was too progressive.
  • The caveman argued that the new law was right, because it was traditional.
preposterous

The word preposterous means absurd, impossible. When you say something is preposterous, you are saying that it is impossible for that to be the case.

  • The idea of preposterous is to set something up so that it cannot possibly be true.
  • The preposterous idea was that he could fly.
sparking

When something sparks is when it starts to work or when it starts to produce an effect. When you light a match, the spark starts to produce heat.

  • The article sparked a lot of controversy.
  • The new feature sparked a lot of interest on the blog.
momentous

A momentous event is something that is very important. It might be something that you were hoping to happen, or something that you were afraid would happen.

  • The momentous decision was announced at the conference.
  • The momentous event was the death of the president.
harpsichords

A harpsichord is a type of keyboard that is used to play the harpsichord. It is a very old instrument, and it is usually played by a musician.

  • The harpsichord is a very old instrument, and it is usually played by a musician.
  • The harpsichord is a very beautiful instrument, and it is usually played by a musician.
harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument that is usually played by a person. It is a type of keyboard instrument, and it has a lot of strings that are played with a keyboard.

  • The harpsichord is too expensive, so I'm going to have to get a pianoforte instead.
  • The harpsichord is a very old instrument, and it's not very popular anymore.
thinkable

To thinkable is to be possible or conceivable. When you say that something is thinkable, you mean that it's possible to think about it and deal with it.

  • The idea of moving to another city is thinkable, because it's possible to plan and organize something like that.
  • It's thinkable to think about living in a world without capitalism.
playthings

To play with something is to enjoy it, to have fun with it. Children often play with toys, and adults sometimes play with hobbies or other interests.

  • She was playing with her dolls all day.
  • He plays with his cars all the time.
workspaces

Workspaces are places where people work. They can be in offices, at home, or anywhere else.

  • I need to find a new workspace because my current one is too small.
  • His current workspace is too small, so he's looking for a new one.