October 2010 Archives
Necropsy: pathological dissection of a corpse, belonging to any life form; particularly to determine cause of death. A dissection is a minute and detailed examination.
Autopsy, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψία ("the quality of being seen for oneself"): dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death. A cadaver is a dead body, a human corpse. By extension to human artefacts and activities: an after-the-fact examination, especially of the causes of a failure (more common term in this context: post-mortem).
In my experience, and that of others I've spoken with, reading Ayn Rand's works has often elicited a feeling of recognition -- yes, this is how the world works, this is how I've been operating -- but with the tremendous addition of a whole system, integrated principles, knife-sharp definitions, and vivid descriptions. Of course, it felt like coming home, being welcomed on Earth by a benevolent, far-seeing mind that would not preach self-sacrifice or mysticism; reading ideas towards which one had groped but never quite found the right words for; and understanding thoughts one didn't know had been developed, illustrated, and presented with such a degree of rationality. She was a towering giant, and the only reason we are close to her is that we had what it took to approach her, something in common before we even heard about her.
