cheaphack: Excellent Quote: Chomsky on English Spelling

24 August 2009

Excellent Quote: Chomsky on English Spelling

conventional orthography is ... a near optimal system for the lexical representation of English words.

Chomsky, N. & Halle, M. (1968) The Sound Pattern of English

Compare to Mark Twain's "Spelling Reform: A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling,"

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

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My philosophy

I ride a bike. I ride a bike because I enjoy it. I ride a bike because I don't like being in cars. I ride a bike because I like to experience my surroundings, not be separate from them. I ride a bike because it clears my head, and makes me stronger. I ride a bike because it makes my world bigger. I ride a bike because I believe we are in peak oil. I ride a bike because it gives me freedom.

I write software. I write software because I think it can be beautiful. I write software because I imagine myself in the machine. I write software because I always see something lacking in my computer. I write software because I have always written software. I write software as if I were writing poetry in mathematics.

I like computer science too. I like CS because I know the distinction between CS and writing software. I like CS because it is mathematics. I like CS because I like proving that LALR(1) languages are a subset of LR languages, that mergesort is optimal, or that the knapsack problem is the same as graph coloring. I like CS because I know how to use hamiltonian paths to prove my identity.

I do electronics. I do electronics because electronics is the fine art of approximation. I do electronics because sometimes you want to touch your software, and electronics makes it physical. I do electronics because it amuses people that I have a room full of tiny components in labeled drawers, and because chicks dig oscilloscopes. I do electronics to create the devices that the market can't make enough of a margin from.

I have a lot of tools. I have a lot of tools so that I'll always be prepared. I have a lot of tools, because without tools, I'm always stuck dreaming of inventions, instead of inventing. I have a lot of tools to turn my imagination into reality.

cheaphack

24 August 2009

Excellent Quote: Chomsky on English Spelling

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