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Most linguists think it’s Just Not Done to say that a speaker population is evolving its own language out of existence ESR == Steve Sailer No matter what he's

Most linguists think it’s Just Not Done to say that a speaker population is evolving its own language out of existence ESR == Steve Sailer No matter what he's writing about there will always be a mention of how he can see situations more clearly than other people, but only because he's fearless in the face of the overbearing political correctness to which other people succumb. He's just so unafraid of thinking "taboo" thoughts.

gustavo_duarte 17y ago
I think you underestimate his ego. What you describe is true, but it's not all. For example, he's also smarter than all physicists: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=690 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=690 Oy! For relief, I suggest his epic spanking in the Linux Kernel Mailing List: http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0202.1/1909.html http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0202.1/1909.h... Which is actually a good thread to understand kernel development.
- davidmathers 17y ago
  I think you underestimate his ego. You're right. Painfully right. "Eric realizes that if he’d had a bit more courage and self-discipline, and moved from mathematics into physics rather than programming, he would have been rather likely to have invented decoherence theory himself and become a physicist renowned for kicking the props out from under the Copenhagen Interpretation." From the followup: "I just turned 51. That means, in order to believe that I could do really strong and original physics work now, I’d have to start with a justified belief that I’m as talented as Hawking or Einstein. This is almost certainly not the case. I would say “certainly”, except that my general track record of creativity and insight is far enough off the mean to raise just the tiniest smidgen of realistic doubt about this. And I was, after all, ahead of the physics literature on something conceptually important at least once - even a lot of physicists never manage that." One reads such words, and what can one say but... "esr."

gustavo_duarte 17y ago

I think you underestimate his ego. What you describe is true, but it's not all. For example, he's also smarter than all physicists: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=690 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=690 Oy! For relief, I suggest his epic spanking in the Linux Kernel Mailing List: http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0202.1/1909.html http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0202.1/1909.h... Which is actually a good thread to understand kernel development.

davidmathers 17y ago
I think you underestimate his ego. You're right. Painfully right. "Eric realizes that if he’d had a bit more courage and self-discipline, and moved from mathematics into physics rather than programming, he would have been rather likely to have invented decoherence theory himself and become a physicist renowned for kicking the props out from under the Copenhagen Interpretation." From the followup: "I just turned 51. That means, in order to believe that I could do really strong and original physics work now, I’d have to start with a justified belief that I’m as talented as Hawking or Einstein. This is almost certainly not the case. I would say “certainly”, except that my general track record of creativity and insight is far enough off the mean to raise just the tiniest smidgen of realistic doubt about this. And I was, after all, ahead of the physics literature on something conceptually important at least once - even a lot of physicists never manage that." One reads such words, and what can one say but... "esr."