Mind Matters is edited by Jonah Lehrer, the science writer behind the blog The Frontal Cortex and the book Proust was a Neuroscientist.
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Gary Marcus discusses babies, computers and his new book
Mind Matters is edited by Jonah Lehrer, the science writer behind the blog The Frontal Cortex and the book Proust was a Neuroscientist.
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2 Comments
Add CommentAmbiguity (polysemy) seems to me so valid and useful a tool as specificity. It often is an intentional part of communication, and also allows for surprisingly rich uses (as in poetry). Languages inter-individual function begs space for messages where the speaker leaves ample areas of meaning undefined. What the author points to as flaws may very well be the basis for a good deal of the functional richness in human language, growing from meaning associations and loose semantic clusters.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with augustogr that there can be a lot of value to ambiguity in some contexts. Gary Marcus' points about the human brain are still true, but i'm not certain that lack of ambiguity is the proper measure of an ideal language. In the scientific context, lack of ambiguity might well be essential, but in human emotional communication, I rather doubt it.
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