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Re: Books to read
alternaut #37143 11/13/15 08:13 AM
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grelber Offline OP
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It's a bit dated but well worth the read:
Listening to Whales : What the Orcas Have Taught Us by Alexandra Morton (2002).
However, combined with Gabriela Cowperthwaite's poignant documentary Blackfish (2013, available on DVD, 83 min), it's a strong indictment of the entertainment industry which exploits sentient and intelligent beings.
If that doesn't turn you into an 'animal activist', nothing will. (A good start would be to scuttle SeaWorld exhibits wherever they are and by whatever methods you feel comfortable with.)

Re: Books to read
grelber #41686 09/11/16 03:44 PM
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Despite its provenance and raucous formulations Tom Wolfe's The Kingdom of Speech is a treatise to be reckoned with.

A recent review in Books of the Times will get you started:
Tom Wolfe’s ‘The Kingdom of Speech’ Takes Aim at Darwin and Chomsky.

And should you care to try to wrap your mind around the subject a New Yorker article by John Colapinto is a good place to start:
The Interpreter : Has a remote Amazonian tribe upended our understanding of language?

EDIT
And this is the May 2014 article on The Mystery of Language Evolution that moved Wolfe to run amok.

Last edited by grelber; 09/12/16 07:59 AM. Reason: Additional info
Re: Books to read
grelber #41704 09/12/16 05:44 AM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
And should you care to try to wrap your mind around the subject a New Yorker article by John Colapinto is a good place to start:
The Interpreter : Has a remote Amazonian tribe upended our understanding of language?

Thanks, great article.

Re: Books to read
grelber #41732 09/14/16 08:44 AM
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I remain unconvinced that language is an artifact, which would have to be invented anew ontogenetically. Physiological substrates are necessary for its acquisition and production, even if no specific LAD (language acquisition device) or universal grammar can be effectively enlisted.
About the only treatise I haven't read is Everett's "Language : The Cultural Tool"; once I do, I might have a better idea how he construes the notion of artifact.
His seminal paper on 'Cultural Constraints on Grammar and Cognition in Pirahã' (2005) is almost totally observational; the underpinnings with respect to language and its evolution had yet to be worked out.
Being retired (but not yet retarded) perhaps it's time to return to my intellectual roots and get to scribin' ... after all, Noam's a mere 87 and still kicking.

Re: Books to read
grelber #42921 11/29/16 08:48 AM
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Born a Crime : Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)

Review: ‘Born a Crime,’ Trevor Noah’s Raw Account of Life Under Apartheid

Re: Books to read
grelber #42926 11/29/16 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
Trevor Noah’s Raw Account of Life Under Apartheid

I never understood why they called it "Apartheid"... it's just racism? "Life Under Racism"? Maybe due to it being codified in law. But then why doesn't anyone refer to the 50's in the US as "Apartheid"?


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Books to read
Virtual1 #42928 11/29/16 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted By: Virtual1
I never understood why they called it "Apartheid" ... it's just racism? "Life Under Racism"? Maybe due to [its] being codified in law. But then why doesn't anyone refer to the ['50s] in the US as "Apartheid"?

First off, the word is Afrikaans, literally 'separateness', from Dutch apart 'separate' + -heid (equivalent of '-hood').

"Adopted by the successful Afrikaner National Party as a slogan in the 1948 election, apartheid extended and institutionalized existing racial segregation. Despite rioting and terrorism at home and isolation abroad from the 1960s onward, the white regime maintained the apartheid system with only minor relaxation until February 1991."

When/Why would anyone use a foreign word for segregation qua racism in the US?! Especially given the marginal intelligence/ethics/morality of those who practice/promote such.

Re: Books to read
grelber #42932 11/29/16 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
Especially given the marginal intelligence/ethics/morality of those who practice/promote such.

I know some genuinely intelligent people who are convinced it is their ethical duty and moral obligation to be superior to anyone of color or whose primary language is Spanish. Racism is not a function of intelligence, ethics, or morality. Rather it is a function of ignorance and fear. Ignorance of anything or anyone outside of their narrowly constrained lives and fear of their own ability to compete and succeed in a world where their kind are not in control and can subjegate anyone and everyone who thinks, acts, or looks "different." Skin color is a convenient and highly visible means of determining "difference."

If you don't believe intelligent people can be ignorant there are a number of otherwise intelligent politicians who apparently take great pride in their ignorance of science. One was just elected President.

Neither is racism regional. It has been said that in the North they love the race but hate the individual while in the South they hate the race but love the individual. I'm not sure which is the more egregious because in the final analysis the result is equally destructive.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Books to read
joemikeb #42935 11/29/16 05:49 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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Au contraire. Every counterargument/example you proffered is proof positive of substantial lack of intelligence and/or ethics and/or morality — by definition.

If the premises are false/flawed, rationality (in all those spheres) dictates that any conclusions which derive from them are likewise false/flawed.

And do recall Mencken's comment (supplied in another forum by Pendragon):
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H.L. Mencken (July 26, 1920)

Re: Books to read
joemikeb #42936 11/29/16 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Skin color is a convenient and highly visible means of determining "difference."


And racism needs to be taught/learned, it is not genetic.


On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
Re: Books to read
Virtual1 #42970 12/01/16 12:22 AM
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Originally Posted By: Virtual1

I never understood why they called it "Apartheid"... it's just racism? "Life Under Racism"? Maybe due to it being codified in law. But then why doesn't anyone refer to the 50's in the US as "Apartheid"?


Actually, some people do refer to racial segregation in the US (and mandatory legal racial segregation in general) as "apartheid."


Photo gallery, all about me, and more: www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Re: Books to read
grelber #42978 12/01/16 02:22 PM
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I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Books to read
Virtual1 #42983 12/01/16 04:20 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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True dat.

On the other hand, ah luvs naps — any time, anywhere.

Re: Books to read
grelber #45951 08/09/17 07:01 AM
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Finding Gobi by ultramarathoner Dion Leonard (2017).
While its focus is "a little dog with a very big heart", the first half especially is chockfull of descriptions of the author's running experiences. Eminently readable.

Re: Books to read
grelber #52595 10/06/19 04:45 PM
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Permanent Record by Edward Snowden.
New York: Metropolitan Books / Henry Holt, 2019.
ISBN 978-1-250-23723-1

First sentence of Chapter 1: "The first thing I ever hacked was bedtime." (The night he turned 6.)

And the memoir just grows and gets better from there. Beyond the autobiographical reminiscences is the fascinating glimpse into the so-called Deep State and the ways in which the techno-universe functions or rather malfunctions. My naïveté may be showing, but this is a great ~ informative read for techies or techie wannabes, as well as for anyone who wants to try to understand another's mind and behavior and the grim realities of the world's surveillance structure.

Re: Books to read
grelber #52639 10/09/19 12:07 PM
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12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson. I think everyone on Earth should read it and watch some of the YouTube videos where he is interviewed by the press.

I for one would like to see Edward Snowden tried to treason.

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