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MonsterCrack
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15 Nov 2015, 7:13 pm

kraftiekortie
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16 Nov 2015, 12:33 pm

He has some good theories



Starfoxx
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19 Nov 2015, 3:45 pm

I think he is interesting and I like some of his theories too



SciFiCoyote
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19 Nov 2015, 7:23 pm

He has some good theories, but he suffers from the same problem other modern anarchists do:

He's frickin' boring as h*ll.


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DeepHour
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19 Nov 2015, 8:41 pm

^ The stuff I've read by Chomsky has been written in a lucid and thought-provoking manner, certainly not boring. I've only seen his political works though, can't comment on his linguistics material, which may well be tougher to get through.

One of the most astonishing things about him is the fact that, despite being very much on the far left of the political spectrum, he wrote an introduction to a book by the French Holocaust Denier Robert Faurisson about 35 years ago, albeit essentially to justify its right to be published on the grounds of Free Speech. Somehow his academic career survived that, and one can only speculate as to how or why (though I'd rather not).

Some of his most interesting contributions have been on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Here's a debate in which he his case clearly prevails (in my opinion) over that of the dismal Alan Dershowitz: http://www.democracynow.org/2005/12/23/ ... rshowitz_a

I know nothing of Chomsky's own theories of Linguistics, Generative Grammar and the rest, but I do recall an interview in which he said that the language of Structuralism was utterly fraudulent, pretentious and meaningless. A very harsh verdict on a discipline which has spawned thousands of books, tracts and academic careers, but one with which I very much sympathize.



Dox47
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20 Nov 2015, 9:41 pm

I find his Cambodian genocide denial/apology distasteful.


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RushKing
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20 Nov 2015, 10:58 pm

I think he is a little too reformist for my liking, to the point where he sounds like a social democrat who just has nice things to say about anarchism. But I don't think the majority of the stuff he says is harmful at all.



luan78zao
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20 Nov 2015, 11:23 pm

1. Lives in the US, enjoying the freedom of speech available in this society, not to mention the considerable material benefits afforded a Professor Emeritus at MIT.

2. Hates the US and everything it stands for, in both domestic and foreign policy. Denounces and smears the US at every opportunity, portraying it as a neo-Nazi society responsible for most of the evil in the world. Sympathizes with and apologizes for every enemy of the US.

Unless you're interested in the field of formal linguistics, that's all you need to know about Noam Chomsky.


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calgehrig
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25 Nov 2015, 2:22 am

I really believe that anarchism is the only way to truly liberate us autists/aspies and others with disabilities. Noam Chomsky is my hero and I highly recommend other aspies check him out



Omerik
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26 Nov 2015, 9:18 pm

I don't agree with everything he says, but I also don't think he's clueless. He speaks reason, even if I don't always agree with his analysis and/or conclusions.

Also, he's a great linguist who's contributed to linguistics A LOT.