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I actually emailed Noam Chomsky asking questions about Manufacturing Consent and actually got a reply. I always thought he was really cool for being so accessi

by cbanek 2y ago

I actually emailed Noam Chomsky asking questions about Manufacturing Consent and actually got a reply. I always thought he was really cool for being so accessible to those who just had honest questions. I really hope he gets well soon.

nomilk 2y ago
Documentary of the same title for anyone curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2m3rvsO0I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2m3rvsO0I
- cbanek 2y ago
  I honestly think the documentary is shorter and better than the book, thanks for the link.
  - me_me_me 2y ago
    The book is very much still relevant
graphe 2y ago
When did you ask him? I hope it was recently.
- cbanek 2y ago
  September 2022
llmblockchain 2y ago
I emailed him in ~2012 and got a response as well. Keep in mind, I was not a student at his university and I emailed him out of the blue. Incredible guy!
benbreen 2y ago
Same. I emailed him about whether he'd ever met Margaret Mead, John C. Lilly, or Gregory Bateson in the 1960s while researching my book. I got this reply within hours: "Afraid I never met any of those you mention, though I’ve followed their work for many years. I’ve never been close to intellectual elite circles, including people I very much admire." The time stamp for my email was Tuesday, Nov 26, 2019 at 2:19 PM. It was answered by chomsky@mit.edu at Tuesday, Nov 26, 2019 at 9:29 PM. Pretty remarkable.
- arresin 2y ago
  > I’ve never been close to intellectual elite circles That is very humble
  - exe34 2y ago
    is this sarcasm? I read it as "I'm not welcome to parties because I don't toe the line"
    - arresin 2y ago
      No, no sarcasm and that's how I read it too.
      - vasco 2y ago
        So how is it humble? He is just saying he didn't hobnob with known intellectuals - isn't that just a statement of fact?
        dotancohen 2y ago
        Chomsky has very controversial opinions on some subjects and I suspect that precludes him being invited to many parties.
        DSingularity 2y ago
SequoiaHope 2y ago
Same! I emailed him asking for his thoughts on robotics and anarcho-communism and he replied pretty promptly. He said it was an important subject and that he was moving offices (this was his move to Arizona), but I could ask again another time. I never quite had the time to prepare for what I would have asked for, some kind of discussion I could record, which he was doing a lot at the time, but I was very happy just to have gotten a supportive reply the first time. For anyone curious, here is Chomsky in 1976 discussing the relevance of automation and anarcho syndicalism to modern productive economies: https://youtu.be/h_x0Y3FqkEI https://youtu.be/h_x0Y3FqkEI I truly believe we can build a world where everyone benefits from automation, getting the freedom and time to do what we will that every person deserves. The reason I develop open source farming robots is to explore concepts of community ownership of the means of production and community oriented engineering. Noam Chomsky’s work heavily inspired the thinking that got me where I am today.
- cbanek 2y ago
  That's definitely a big question. I asked a pretty open ended question about how he thinks the internet (and filter bubbles in specific) might have changed some of his thoughts in manufacturing consent as the main media went from TV / newspapers (broadcast) to internet (personalized). He said that basically the big companies own it all anyway.
- vasco 2y ago
  What makes you believe this would work? Specifically any form of anarchism? Have you seen groups of people operate for large periods of time successfully like this? Anything I've looked into shows me human nature would make any anarcho-anything system fail due to infighting.
  - ngcazz 2y ago
    What makes you believe anything would work? Things take people wanting them.
    - vasco 2y ago
serf 2y ago
Same. When I was young I emailed him with a question something like "I am too young to have witnessed the events of the Vietnam War, can you please recommend me some reading material or push me in the right direction?" That question turned into 5 or 6 (long) emails back and fourth that i'll always cherish that delved into his unique perspective on what the war was like as a protestor from the West, which papers got released that actually had some truth in them, among a lot of other valuable insights into the time period I had no access to myself. At the end of our conversation he advocated finding a group that needs volunteers and effort. He didn't care what group that might be, he only cared that individual political concern of individuals be empowered by the necessary groups and collective effort. I think that kind unequivocal support of 'being political' is something that is truly special. I hope the best for him -- I view him as one of the only 'truly accessible' academics in this world; just as happy to slowly and carefully explain his thoughts to 'the rabble' as he would be while explaining the same thoughts to high academia and the press. A great man.
- graphe 2y ago
  What did he recommended?
YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago
I also wrote to Chomsky and got a reply, once. It seems he really replied to anyone who emailed him. It's amazing how he could do that. But, look here. He's 95 years old and just had a stroke. He's not going to get well soon, or at all.

by cbanek 2y ago

nomilk 2y ago

Documentary of the same title for anyone curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2m3rvsO0I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2m3rvsO0I

cbanek 2y ago
I honestly think the documentary is shorter and better than the book, thanks for the link.
- me_me_me 2y ago
  The book is very much still relevant

graphe 2y ago

When did you ask him? I hope it was recently.

cbanek 2y ago
September 2022

llmblockchain 2y ago

I emailed him in ~2012 and got a response as well. Keep in mind, I was not a student at his university and I emailed him out of the blue. Incredible guy!

benbreen 2y ago

Same. I emailed him about whether he'd ever met Margaret Mead, John C. Lilly, or Gregory Bateson in the 1960s while researching my book. I got this reply within hours: "Afraid I never met any of those you mention, though I’ve followed their work for many years. I’ve never been close to intellectual elite circles, including people I very much admire." The time stamp for my email was Tuesday, Nov 26, 2019 at 2:19 PM. It was answered by chomsky@mit.edu at Tuesday, Nov 26, 2019 at 9:29 PM. Pretty remarkable.

arresin 2y ago
> I’ve never been close to intellectual elite circles That is very humble
- exe34 2y ago
  is this sarcasm? I read it as "I'm not welcome to parties because I don't toe the line"
  - arresin 2y ago
    No, no sarcasm and that's how I read it too.
    - vasco 2y ago
      So how is it humble? He is just saying he didn't hobnob with known intellectuals - isn't that just a statement of fact?
      - dotancohen 2y ago
        Chomsky has very controversial opinions on some subjects and I suspect that precludes him being invited to many parties.
        DSingularity 2y ago

SequoiaHope 2y ago

Same! I emailed him asking for his thoughts on robotics and anarcho-communism and he replied pretty promptly. He said it was an important subject and that he was moving offices (this was his move to Arizona), but I could ask again another time. I never quite had the time to prepare for what I would have asked for, some kind of discussion I could record, which he was doing a lot at the time, but I was very happy just to have gotten a supportive reply the first time. For anyone curious, here is Chomsky in 1976 discussing the relevance of automation and anarcho syndicalism to modern productive economies: https://youtu.be/h_x0Y3FqkEI https://youtu.be/h_x0Y3FqkEI I truly believe we can build a world where everyone benefits from automation, getting the freedom and time to do what we will that every person deserves. The reason I develop open source farming robots is to explore concepts of community ownership of the means of production and community oriented engineering. Noam Chomsky’s work heavily inspired the thinking that got me where I am today.

cbanek 2y ago
That's definitely a big question. I asked a pretty open ended question about how he thinks the internet (and filter bubbles in specific) might have changed some of his thoughts in manufacturing consent as the main media went from TV / newspapers (broadcast) to internet (personalized). He said that basically the big companies own it all anyway.
vasco 2y ago
What makes you believe this would work? Specifically any form of anarchism? Have you seen groups of people operate for large periods of time successfully like this? Anything I've looked into shows me human nature would make any anarcho-anything system fail due to infighting.
- ngcazz 2y ago
  What makes you believe anything would work? Things take people wanting them.
  - vasco 2y ago

serf 2y ago

Same. When I was young I emailed him with a question something like "I am too young to have witnessed the events of the Vietnam War, can you please recommend me some reading material or push me in the right direction?" That question turned into 5 or 6 (long) emails back and fourth that i'll always cherish that delved into his unique perspective on what the war was like as a protestor from the West, which papers got released that actually had some truth in them, among a lot of other valuable insights into the time period I had no access to myself. At the end of our conversation he advocated finding a group that needs volunteers and effort. He didn't care what group that might be, he only cared that individual political concern of individuals be empowered by the necessary groups and collective effort. I think that kind unequivocal support of 'being political' is something that is truly special. I hope the best for him -- I view him as one of the only 'truly accessible' academics in this world; just as happy to slowly and carefully explain his thoughts to 'the rabble' as he would be while explaining the same thoughts to high academia and the press. A great man.

graphe 2y ago
What did he recommended?

YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago

I also wrote to Chomsky and got a reply, once. It seems he really replied to anyone who emailed him. It's amazing how he could do that. But, look here. He's 95 years old and just had a stroke. He's not going to get well soon, or at all.