Language: The Cognitive Revolution - Noam Chomsky

Professor Noam Chomsky delivers the 20th annual James R. Killian, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award and Lecture, titled "Language: the Cognitive Revolutions," on April 8, 1992. The Killian Award was established in 1971 to recognize extraordinary professional accomplishments by full-time members of the MIT faculty. A faculty committee chooses the recipient from candidates nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to their fields, to MIT and to society.

[@joshuaevett5441]

What's shocking to me is you can watch every interview, talk, etc., he has ever given and he never gets a word wrong or mangles his syntax, while discussing cutting edge linguistic science, philosophy, history, you name it. Remarkable.

[@mattblack118]

Yet he gets everything wrong about covid, climate and capitalism... weird.

[@johnhelm6231]

I will have to always either 😅

[@IlhamTauf]

​@@mattblack118how do you know he was wrong?

[@mattblack118]

@@IlhamTauf Because his predictions were incorrect. That's how this works.

[@IlhamTauf]

@@mattblack118 can you tell me more about it or maybe give me some references?

[@fabiengerard8142]

Best teacher ever… True humanist mind.

[@ebrahimcarstens1035]

Humanist? Stop talking kak

[@makimakipapura7543]

Really dressed as well. No offense, but I assume you have no idea how hard it is to get it all right as he does here.

[@mattblack118]

He is a socialist and disgusting excuse for a human being.

[@BraniG-psyc03]

Exactly

[@mattblack118]

Only if you are an America hating Marxist idiot.

[@melodyjang2876]

Transcript of this talk would be such a treasure.

[@ragemsaid8697]

Rare human. Great scholar of the century’

[@braylonleon8257]

Instablaster...

[@mattblack118]

He's a not so rare example of a leftist turned totalitarian monster.

[@ganeshb9339]

Whether languages are learnable or not is an empirical matter to discover. Languages are not usable to a large extent. Thunderous clapping, what a wonderful lecture by MIT prof.

[@englishplusacademy9211]

Very nice! Thanks to the channel for such an event.

[@KeskinCookin]

Chomsky = Walking encyclopedia

[@juliolamprea4064]

+ critical thinking= genius.

[@sadhanaidu5918]

Total amazement of scholarly outflow.. limitless it is.

[@eismar5]

instant noam: 5:25

[@shaneanderson5569]

good man

[@dylansmith2550]

[@mindsigh4]

agnostic amen

[@mattblack118]

Horrible man.

[@chandrashekharupadhyaya6530]

Excellent deliberation 🙏

[@atheoma]

what a lecture wow! thanks for sharing

[@khaldounkhader6750]

God bless the benevolent knowledge and its champions and knights.

[@BraniG-psyc03]

I adore him 🎉

[@ichtube]

This might be one of his best talks.

[@johnhelm6231]

This was unmatched performance

[@carlitosgl]

a genius, Chomsky

[@mattblack118]

He\s a moron

[@t33nyplaysp0p]

@@mattblack118 He's* the master of linguistics. And you can't even use an apostrophe correctly

[@mattblack118]

@@t33nyplaysp0p He's still a moron.

[@emersonfelipecardonasilva2785]

Chomsky is the GOAT

[@mattblack118]

He's a senile moron

[@doreekaplan2589]

So much better visual without his current over long grey frizzled hair on his face. Hes a nice looking man. I can listen without watching the later ones. Appreciate all these talks and interviews with him. Thanksalot

[@mariagildesagredo8690]

❤

[@zeinebbehim1556]

So thankful for grasping some insights from such a great man!

[@mattblack118]

He's a communist idiot

[@itssanti]

Descartes didnt make it to the top ten... That's astonishing

[@martinezlopez4699]

@ Uploader or other contributors; is there any way to upload this GREAT Video again in a HIGH resolution and MOST importantly though if the SUBTITLE could be added too

[@bryanl.morrison552]

I'm very new to his work as a linguist, having only been exposed to his perspectives on politics and history (which I don't particularly agree with.) I am utterly stunned and impressed.

[@dfghj241]

lol you don't? so what you think its all wine and flowers?

[@stevenhines5550]

He's a pretty smart guy

[@sansamman4619]

Just one thing to keep in mind, he has never made a wrong prediction when it comes to politics…

[@TheLarousse89]

Sorry for finding this 3 years later; I'm not sure how you could disagree with much of what he says. He cites sources and draws pictures around ideas that he's selling and then drills into the idea. He does it over and over. He also gives great context as to what/how/why everything operates the way it does now. Also his politics are literally let people self govern and don't kill people (that's dumbed down but I am pretty sure I've landed on the general essence)

[@Saber23]

@@dfghj241 he just doesn’t agree with his political views

[@ivannegri7724]

The word house is a fantastically complex concept, involving abstract ideas of exterior and interior and an observers physiceal relation to those two states. A Some autistic people have singular visual representations of the category house, so if they imagine what houses look like they don't have a variety of possible exterior design structures to choose for internal representation, but rather a single house exemplar image. The cog. normative brain makes this same conceptual operation if you ask the normal person to visualize home; I find this interesting.

[@AnHebrewChild]

Can you explain your last sentence? You make a distinction between house and home (which, of course, there is) but you seem to suggest that "home" invokes a conceptual image in the 'normal' brain much like 'house' does in some autistics. This seems counter-intuitive to me. Did I read you correctly?

[@ivannegri7724]

@@AnHebrewChild I sort of confused myself, I can only assume that I meant that for a non-autistic house is a particular that needs no singular mental representation, meaning everytime you think about a house you might very well think of a different house every time, but because home is your personal relationship to house, you have a sort of Platonic singular representation, for example my parents had several residences when I grew up, but I always associated home with one particular house, the house on Green meadow Dr. so for me that was representative of what the feeling of the word home invokes. Sorry about the confusing nature of my not well formulated thoughts.

[@AnHebrewChild]

@@ivannegri7724 Ah, now I get what you're getting at. Thank you for the explanation. The word 'platonic' there helped me out. Interesting idea that the non-autistic will unconsciously select a former residency, presumably one with the highest degree of imprinted emotions, to express the "HOME," that's very interesting. Whom should I credit this idea to? You or xyz famed psychologist? :D lmk

[@edwardmurdoch5070]

Lecture starts at 5:10

[@mindsigh4]

geeze thank u ,opening statements are only good if u think sermons at church was foreplay

[@edwardmurdoch5070]

@@mindsigh4 Amen!

[@nyworker]

I like Terence Deacon's ideas of absences. Linguistic expression and meanings are just as much about what is said vs what is not said in an expression.

[@theinspector7882]

As long as there's no Theory of Everything we're just speculating on the properties of the brain and of the mind.

[@grandmasterhiram]

I'd say, normally, technology works 80% in favor of the skilled, whom are also the good, let's face it... Until money comes in, and it's 80% on them's favor. We need people of integrity.

[@Vifnis]

1:32:58 Oh, whoa.... 90min tape limit here!?

[@nyworker]

At 1:14:30 Noam was having a language processing problem interfacing with the external environment. Somehow his brain figured it. Actually computer higher languages mimic brain processing by operations like pointers which are efficiancy tools.

[@noisepuppet]

Skip the first 6:00 or so 😊

[@sadhanaidu5918]

Academics, the curriculum dotter, gets reconfigured.

[@waindayoungthain2147]

🙏🏻, if’s I cared for your mercy, I am only dusting, I have never seen anything about the senses and awareness one’s figured out how’s the world going with democratic catalyst, on the way of military made for independence, on the organization of world disruption in conflict without prosperity by the democratic on social disruption but egotistical 😊🙏🏻.

[@sahulianhooligan7046]

Rest in peace Noam

[@niewiem3887]

he didn't die

[@4lynneterry]

He’s still alive!

[@fabiengerard8142]

?!?!?

[@fluxo_musical]

9 months into your comment and Chomsky's still standing

[@atheoma]

@@fluxo_musicala year now, still there ❤‍🩹

[@debarshiarathdar7278]

is it Lex Fridman at 1:20:33 ?

[@polymathpark]

he would have been like 5 years old then..

[@Noor-vv9sm]

Can someone tell me who is " Lennon " ,, because it doesn't make sense with Google search results.... 3:35

[@zay7192]

Vladimir Lenin

[@EuDouArteHipHopArtCulture21]

1:25:20

[@pippop4693]

Just to get acquainted with the contrasting view, does anyone know what is the best overall refutation of Chomsky's ideas about language? Maybe Everett's? Is there a lecture where one can find a summary of the main criticisms to Chomsky's doctrine?

[@mindsigh4]

@Pip pop_comic books & the bible

[@polymathpark]

nope, chomsky is our guiding light in language. Wittgenstein went very far into language philosophy as well though, profound observations from both.

[@ernststravoblofeld]

The thing is, he nailed it. Refutations never age well. Every once in a while someone finds a language that doesn't appear to have some minor thing he said was universal, but it turns out wrong or extremely nitpicky even for scientists. The main idea, that there's some a priori knowledge backing up the acquisition of language, is almost universally accepted.

[@charleswood2182]

The fact of naming ceremonies means we are smart enough to know we can be named. That's a recognition which could be made independent of other communities and without saltation. If you look at folk history of California native Americans, first came name for me, then for you, then for direction, etc. That's a new technology. And naming ceremonies for teens is common. And also, In the beginning was the word.... is an abstract expression of how important worded expression became. In animistic religion, you get a name under cave art where the animals are god like. Now you get a name to place you in a community of likes. And once you have a name for yourself, art can flow as naming devices, educational devices for a new idea. Look at Anne Sullivan. Teaching a new technology to Helen. It spreads.

[@ralluzarebon]

Alerts ocean

[@Mykaeil]

VVORLD WE LIVING IS NOA-H GOMSKY INTER-CEPTION____NOE PREVARA___NOVY PRVOPOCIATOK___THANK U NOE FOR NOE ARCHA NOE CIVIL ORDER___ AMEN

[@waindayoungthain2147]

🙏🏻my Father’s I am only dust or the truth disturbing , it’s twisted in the Manufacture offensive, please. How’s the day going with thorns and fangs around on the products of earths’ propaganda rights, and violations please 🥺🙏🏻.

[@waindayoungthain2147]

My Father’s 🙏🏻, I looked at what’s the any science of proof means to justifying what’s happening if’s to learn in combination, if’s I love linguistics and literature feel and science is fair or only the fact to proof😊🙏🏻, what’s ever if’s the manipulation cultures 😸. So sorry I feeling like the alien 👽😊🙏🏻.

[@iknownothingneonlights4284]

Anyone how has listened with admiration Mr Noam Chomsky especially in America as an American citizens, while being able to vote and of a voting age, which has not voted for Donald Trump in the last two elections, does not understand a single word this gentleman speaks. Am I lying in stating that....?

[@terabyter9000]

ChatGPT enters the chat.

[@carlitosgl]

I like it when he touches his neck, he does that kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpnddIKphq9ricU

[@Worldlyknowledge7]

If you want to listen to this man. 1.25x or 1.5x You're welcome

[@vicvinegar845]

Wasn't this guy friends with epstein?

[@sandorrabe5745]

What is this man blabbing about when talking about the "stable mental state" and the "input signal" being modulated to keep the system stable. 16:14 He seriously thinks we can put a bridle on that and start to manipulate the input signal to produce a state of euphoria and sell tickets to the public who'd like a dose of that. I pass thanks mate.

[@atheoma]

ahahahahahahahah

[@ainstolkiner2063]

just silly

[@MrRalph2000]

Language is unusable? Only beautiful?! Really??? Some strange elements just at the end...

[@alexadam6998]

What is thought?

[@thedivewithjacksonhinkle6999]

L

[@martinkennedy2400]

...Chomsky defines boredom

[@mindsigh4]

timestamp?

[@christopherhamilton3621]

Your response defines wilful incomprehensibility.

[@ansschapendonk4560]

Chomsky, a nice man, but not someone who did really understand the soundhelix (klankhelix, Lauthelix), rediscovered by Ans Schapendonk. Now, the university of Leiden did present this 'Language as a timemachine' which is the Oracle of Delphi, men never did study seriously. Ausgerechnet die deutschen Universitäten mischen sich hier ein, während die Professoren hier Plagiat betreiben (Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutsche Sprachatlas, Jürgen Erich Schmidt. Zitat: "Zu Frauen die mir nichts zu sagen haben, spreche ich nicht"! Eben, hält den Mund, weil Männer, im Gegensatz zu den Hohepriesterinnen, überhaupt nichts von Sprache verstanden haben.

[@mattblack118]

Chomsky, is not a "nice man". He would of jailed people for not taking covid vaccines. He is a living piece of shit as are all that think like him.

[@user-zu6kj8fv2w]

I have a hard time listening to Noam Chomsky, he talks so slow and he makes the most drawn out points without really painting a rich narrative. Big ADHD.

[@BenVPulgar]

1674 that’s actually what I like about Chomsky! He sort of fills all the holes. It’s not fancy and shiny to lure speakers but the way he explains things, is just wow

[@touatitbelkais6072]

omg how dare you say that about chomsky lol

[@mindsigh4]

@1674_thank u , a musician he aint, over due for the Heimlich maneuver. even tho he's clearer here than most,his style is annoying. are the books less stodgy?