Noam who?

[luiz]

Whose theories don't really get that much traction these days.

Yeah I can't really comment on that but it's also my impression that his theories aren't adhered to anymore by the mainstream linguists. And apparently empirical studies on how children develop language skills have largely negated Chomsky's universal grammar. But that's just what I've been told by more knowldgeable people on the subject.

 

[Arwon]

Universal grammar is a long way from his only contribution and as an initial speculation has been as much built on as invalidated. That is, the search itself for what is (if anything) actually universal about the structure of language has been very fruitful. Like most theories, it's probably going to end up in synthesis with other innovations.

The existence of a literal language acquisition device in the basis with precoded structures? Probably untrue. But the existence of universals in how we do language, based on facts of neurology and cognition? That I think is a lot more likely even if the bounds of those universals are looking more and more restricted thanks to the work of, say, Everett.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Here is fake Chomsky reviewing Lord of the Rings
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/...platinum-series-extended-edition-dvd-part-one

Chomsky: We should examine carefully what’s being established here in the prologue. For one, the point is clearly made that the “master ring,” the so-called “one ring to rule them all,” is actually a rather elaborate justification for preemptive war on Mordor.

 

[brennan]

A once great intellect, he's become bitter and is not entirely intellectually honest. He freely ad-homs his opponents and when he says something stupid he sticks his heels in rather than retract and refine his opinions.

 

[Atticus]

As pointed out, he's pretty important guy in linguistics, and at least one of his theorems there is important in the theory of computing too.

When it comes to politics, I find it delightful how he really tries to argument rationally, I don't remember a single ad hominem from him, and how he tries to think things rationally rather than emptionally.

However, he's to confident with his views to my taste. I often get a feeling that he doesn't really acknowledge things possibly being more complicated than he'd like to think. His books are well sourced, but often I wonder, whether he's been picking things that just fits his views, and whether the sources are as very good.

Those are minot issues though, I like his thoughts, but don't think them as authoritative.

And his opinion on porn is of course wrong. There's a lot of good porn that isn't about female humiliation too. I'd add references, but that would earn me an infraction.

 

[Masada]

I've read him a few times. I find his writing quite difficult to parse. I sometimes find myself agreeing with his positions - but that's sorta rare - and very rarely for the same reasons as he does.

He's not bad. A little unrefined on areas outside his expertise (I've seen a lot of pushback on his writings concerning East Timor), but it's always fun to see him take a sledgehammer to the stuff he feels especially passionate about; the liberal intellectual establishment, the implicit assumptions of American foreign policy, the Vietnam War, Israel-Palestine, and how awesome Pol Pot was

This cannot be stressed enough.

 

[El_Machinae]

I like him, because he's clear and articulate. I often disagree with him, but it's very clear why I'm disagreeing with him. He presents his arguments well, and I find that I can easily apply the Principle of Charity when listening to him.

 

[cybrxkhan]

My father was a big fan of him (and would probably still be if he kept up to date with current politics more), so growing up I heard about him frequently enough. While he does make some good points, I can't say I always agree. I probably agree with him more than the average American, though, whether I realize it or not.


Also having dabbled with conlanging, and thus linguistics to some extent, I am aware of his contributions to linguistics, though unfortunately it's been a while, and I'm also not really good with the stuff he specialized in, so I'm a bit fuzzy on that.

 

[Traitorfish]

I've read some of his political commentary, and I generally like it. You could probably have figured that out for yourself, mind, given that it's 2014, this is the internet, and my signature reads "ask an anarchist". Certainly the AK Press anthology Chomsky on Anarchism was quite influential on my politics, if perhaps mostly by pointing me towards other texts.

The one thing I will say that for all his declared anarchism, which I'm sure is sincerely held, he more often than not defaults to a pretty vague populism, and while that's not always a bad thing, it certainly makes his work more accessible, it does render some of his commentary a bit glib.

 

[Masada]

My father was a big fan of him (and would probably still be if he kept up to date with current politics more), so growing up I heard about him frequently enough. W

South Vietnamese... does not compute.

 

[cybrxkhan]

South Vietnamese... does not compute.

Well, technically my grandparents were from the north... (3 out of 4 of them, actually, my maternal grandfather is central)

Really, though, both sides of my family, but especially my father, tend to have somewhat... unusual opinions for south Vietnamese refugees. While my father has no love for the communists, let's just say if he voiced some of his opinions among the overseas Vietnamese community he might get death threats. (I think there are several reasons why he's like this, but that'll be going off topic.)

 

[Masada]

Well, technically my grandparents were from the north... (3 out of 4 of them, actually, my maternal grandfather is central)

Catholic, landowners or both?

Really, though, both sides of my family, but especially my father, tend to have somewhat... unusual opinions for south Vietnamese refugees. While my father has no love for the communists, let's just say if he voiced some of his opinions among the overseas Vietnamese community he might get death threats.

Yeah, that'd be a tough crowd to politically come out as being anything but a hardcore right-winger.

 

[Traitorfish]

You should try being Irish instead. With us you can have pretty much whatever opinion you like provided you finish with "and in conclusion, Brits out".

But God help you if you forget that last bit.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Catholic, landowners or both?

My father's side were landowners before the communists swooped down, traditional Confucian scholar-gentry and all that (since at least the early 1600s, though probably since before that as well). That said my paternal grandfather was extremely low in the family hierarchy (eldest son of my great-grandfather's 4th wife), so I'm not sure exactly how much he would have inherited anyways. Wouldn't have mattered since he fled the north in his early 20s. Surprisingly though somehow our ancestral tomb/graveyard/mausoleum/whatever seems to have survived to the present day and is still owned by distant relatives. My mother's side I'm not as certain, but I'm pretty sure they were landowners as well.

Anyways, neither side of my family was or ever has been Catholic (except my eldest uncle who converted sometime during the Vietnam war, but I get the impression he's pretty much agnostic), which I do find a bit interesting as my grandfather was rather high up in the south Vietnamese government for a non-Catholic.

Both sides of the family were Western educated, though, for what it's worth.

Yeah, that'd be a tough crowd to politically come out as being anything but a hardcore right-winger.

Yeah, pretty much. My family tends to do some collective facepalming every time we hear about south Vietnamese politics, for lack of better wording, but we have to do it privately of course lest we want 12974791379413974 people protesting outside our door.

 

[Masada]

Yeah that'd be enough to have caused problems, I guess. I'd have run South too.

Yeah, pretty much. My family tends to do some collective facepalming every time we hear about south Vietnamese politics, for lack of better wording, but we have to do it privately of course lest we want 12974791379413974 people protesting outside our door.

I wonder if your grandparents and parents Buddhism helps inform that. Anyway thanks. It's an interesting sort of issue.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I wonder if your grandparents and parents Buddhism helps inform that. Anyway thanks. It's an interesting sort of issue.

I don't think Buddhism has much to do with it (but it does fuel some mild anti-Christian sentiment), but it does help (though most overseas Vietnamese Buddhists are pretty right-wing anyways or at least sympathetic to it from my experience); personally I think it's because my parents and grandparents had vastly different life experiences compared to most overseas Vietnamese, even other first wave refugees (who, as you probably know, would share the closest similarities with us in terms of background).

It is definitely interesting, that's for sure.

 

[timtofly]

I've read him a few times. I find his writing quite difficult to parse. I sometimes find myself agreeing with his positions - but that's sorta rare - and very rarely for the same reasons as he does.


This cannot be stressed enough.

Why is Pol Pot any more awesome than Israel in regards to human rights?