Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The type of ear and hearing problem that involves a malfunction or disorder in the inner ear or the nerves that carry sound to the brain. Sensorineural losses are permanent and more severe than conductive losses; at the present stage of medical knowledge, they cannot be cured or even reduced by a doctor’s treatment, but…

A type of vegetarian diet that excludes red meat but allows some poultry and fish. Semivegetarian is the type of vegetarian who excludes only red meat from his or her diet.  

Originally a period of six months, but in education today, two equal periods that often make up the school year, each far short of six months; common alternatives are trimesters (three equal periods) or quarters (four equal periods).  

A somewhat restricted policy toward admission to a school.  

A philosophy that is seen as focusing on the good of humanity over religious belief; used as a pejorative term by many fundamentalist Christians, who see public schools as teaching secular humanism. As a result, many have founded or placed their children in private schools with a strongly Christian orientation.  

A kind of tumor started by malignant cells originating elsewhere in the body, as opposed to a primary tumor that originated at the site where found.  

Documents kept confidential by the court, not available for open inspection. In cases of traditional adoption, records are generally open only to the court and the adoption agency, though some laws and other forms of adoption have allowed the records to be somewhat more accessible, such as to the adopted child (on reaching adulthood). Records…

Alternate term for student records, as covered under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1976. The cumulative file on a student’s progress through a school, including basic identifying information, comments about student and family, some kinds of physical and health information, comments about behavior, notes about discipline or counseling given, attendance data, scores…

In medicine, one of various techniques to give a picture of the body’s internal organs. Some kinds of scans, such as a CT scan, ultrasound, and MRI, are not invasive, requiring no injections or other intrusions to prepare the body for the test. Many other scans are invasive, requiring the injection of foreign materials into…