Phineas Gage: What We Thought About How We Thought

by John Fleischman
This work of scientific nonfiction tells the story of Phineas Gage, a railroad construction foreman from Vermont who, in 1848, suffered an injury that revolutionized neuroscience.

Here are links to our lists for the book: "Horrible Accident" in Vermont, What We Thought About How We Thought, Following Phineas Gage, Putting Phineas Together Again
15 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. exposure
    the act of allowing light to reach film in a camera
    Photographing anyone or anything moving is difficult because the light-sensitive plates are very slow, and a single exposure can take a full minute.
  2. exaggeration
    making to seem more important than it really is
    Phineas appears in person at Dr. Bigelow's lectures to convince the assembled doctors that his case is neither an exaggeration nor a fraud.
  3. equanimity
    steadiness of mind under stress
    "A physician who holds in his hand a crowbar, three and a half feet long, and more than thirteen pounds in weight, will not readily believe that it has been driven with a crash through the brain of a man who is still able to walk off, talking with composure and equanimity of the hole in his head. Yet there is every reason for supposing it in this case literally true."
  4. cadaver
    the dead body of a human being
    They learn as students of gross (a term for "large-scale") anatomy by dissecting the cadavers of paupers, prisoners, and the unclaimed.
  5. coordinate
    bring into common action, movement, or condition
    The neck flap covers your cerebellum, which coordinates movement.
  6. vital
    performing an essential function in the living body
    None of this vital activity is visible in gross anatomy.
  7. splice
    join the ends of
    Neurons never actually touch one another or splice together.
  8. paralysis
    loss of the ability to move a body part
    They do know that cutting the spinal cord results in paralysis.
  9. originate
    come into existence; take on form or shape
    The Whole Brainers believe that thoughts and commands can originate anywhere in the brain jelly/cloud and flash into action.
  10. sophisticated
    having worldly knowledge and refinement
    In the early twentieth century, scientists will invent more sophisticated and less dangerous ways to "see" brain activity.
  11. critical
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    The tamping iron has not killed him because the damage is limited to specific organs that are not critical to life.
  12. intolerable
    incapable of being put up with
    Sizer tries to disguise the source of his report to the American Phrenological Journal in 1851, writing, "We have been informed by the best authority that after the man recovered, and while recovering, he was grossly profane, coarse, and vulgar, to such a degree that his society was intolerable to decent people."
  13. localized
    confined or restricted to a particular place
    Different areas of the cortex let you recognize letters in a book or faces in a crowd, or know whether you are standing upright. Yet many of these localized functions are also controlled by interactions with other parts of the brain.
  14. interaction
    mutual or reciprocal dealings or influence
    Different areas of the cortex let you recognize letters in a book or faces in a crowd, or know whether you are standing upright. Yet many of these localized functions are also controlled by interactions with other parts of the brain.
  15. credibility
    the quality of being believable or trustworthy
    Phrenology lost credibility as science found better ways to probe the brain.
Created on Wed Apr 08 08:22:06 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Apr 10 17:26:55 EDT 2026)

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