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Noam Chomsky

• qqq 18y ago
  But he writes nonsense. What did he ever get right? Besides the obvious point that "we learn language by copying sentences" can't explain where new sentences come from.
  • rms 18y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Contributions_to_linguistics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Contributions_to_l...
    • qqq 18y ago
      Can't think of anything that sounds impressive and fits in 2 sentences?
      • rms 18y ago
        Absolutely not. But linguistics seems like a legitimate enough field, and Chomsky is considered rather influential there. His work seems to follow logically from Wittgenstein's point that a lot of philosophy comes down to the precise meanings of words.
        • qqq 18y ago
          So you're just going by his reputation? I have read about some of his ideas and formed the opinion that they are bad (apart from the one i mentioned).
          • rms 18y ago
            Ignore his politics, though I personally have a great deal of respect for people with extreme politics. The Chomsky hierarchy -- a method of classifying formal grammars. Seems computer science-y enough that you'll consider it as something real. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky_hierarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky_hierarchy
            • deleted 18y ago
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