{ New Charging Method Could Slash Battery Recharge Times | The Physics arXiv Blog | full story }
photo { A Department of Defense satellite image of the Korean Peninsula showing wide illuminated areas in South Korea and the relative darkness of the North, September 2003 | Jason Reed/Reuters }
Claude Hagège is a classically trained fieldwork linguist who conducts research in the Cameroons, British Columbia, Micronesia and wherever languages exist that have not yet been studied. (…)
Theoretician and polyglot as well, in addition to speaking several oral-tradition languages, Claude Hagège has perfect command of the main international languages and is known to lecture in a number of Germanic and Semitic languages, Chinese, several Slavic and Romance languages. Both as a researcher and a university professor, he has always made it a rule not to accept any simplifying model: his critical essays on generative grammar explain his refusal of abstract universalism (logicism), the primacy of a single dimension in language (syntax) or any idealized model of linguistic competence minimizing the importance of variations. On this point, he says [in L’Homme de paroles]:
The obsession with being scientific has led it [linguistics] to clothe itself in a false and artificial rigour for which there is no model, even in the most rigourous of sciences. The fascination with formalism has confined it within the narrow space of a technical discourse whose object, however difficult that may be to imagine, is the man of words. For not only has this space been emptied of a historical and a social dimension, but therein, the human element is a definitive abstraction, and words say nothing.
This very innovative criticism, formulated by Claude Hagège in respect to formal grammars and chomskyism - the theories of Chomsky and his disciples, whose generative models date back to the 60s - is one of the contributions that gave a new start to research in typology, linguistic comparison and cognitive gramar, fields currently recognized and reemerging throughout the world. Thus, without too much theoretical pretension, it can certainly be said that this cautious and reserved approach has played a catalyzing, if not pioneering role.
I. RESEARCH
My research is founded on extensive fieldwork, carried out in all parts of the world, supplemented by vast bibliographical explorations and constant correspondence with scientists of all nationalities. My work spans four essential areas: general linguistics, typology, sociolinguistics and specific linguistic domains. In general linguistics I examine linguistic theory, including phonology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, translation theory, the origins of language and languages, and the history of linguistics. In typology, I focus on language types, language universals and grammaticalization. In sociolinguistics, I delve into language planning and reform, the status and function of languages, field work, along with creolistics, mixed languages, Jewish languages, and language death. The specific linguistic domains I am interested in are French, Indo European, Uralic, Semitic, African, Amerindian, Sino Tibetan and Austronesian languages. More marginally, I explore the areas of semiology and literary semiotics, as well as philosophy of language. The results of these studies appear regularly, either in published form (books, articles, reviews) and/or as presentations.
II. TEACHING
General linguistics is the study of both language as defining capability of the human species, and languages as the historical and social manifestations of this capability. My Chair in Linguistic Theory at the Collège de France, which I have held since 1989, illustrates this polarity. In effect, at one end one finds language, studied from the perspective of child acquisition, as based upon innate capabilities supplemented by contributions from the social environment, at the other end one finds languages, studied in their diversity. This diversity is highlighted through typological studies, which seek to establish language types in the areas of phonology, morpho syntax and semantics. Typological categories may or may not coincide with genetic relationships, namely the grouping of the diverse human languages into one or another of the large families: Indo-European, Semitic, Uralic, Altaic, Bantu, Caucasian, Amerindian, Sino Tibetan, Austronesian, etc. The symbolic content of languages depends on their powers of identification, in other words the image they give of the diverse nations. The attachment of the latter to their languages is often very powerful and may be a source of conflict. Over the last four years, my courses at the Collège de France have focused on the following four themes. In 1999-2000, I attempted to define what a realistic vision of language phenomena could be, through the study of the role played by the context in the definition of categories, and through the revision of the opposition between associative and syntagmatic relations. In 2000-2001, I examined six different aspects of how inter-individual and social relations are reflected in linguistic utterances: the illusion of syntactic autonomy , morphosyntax as dependant on semantic phenomena, morphosyntax as dependant on pragmatic phenomena, the dialogal relation as sole domain where certain morphemes are used; the extinction of languages; and lastly, dyshyponoesis, the outline of a hypothesis concerning the neurological bases of pragmatic commands in language phenomena. 2001-2002 was devoted to the introduction of a linguistic study of affects: after having defined the object of my study, I presented the expression of affects in daily conversation; I then questioned whether languages have structures exclusively assigned to the expression of affective utterances. In continuation of this study, 2002-2003 was devoted to a typological essay on affects: after defining the field, I, in turn, studied the cases of affect specific markings and the lack thereof. Furthermore, I have been teaching at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) since 1977, where I serve as Study Director in Structural Linguistics. My syllabus over the past four years has mainly focused on phenomena in the fields of syntax, semantics and enunciation theory.
III. SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Beyond the previously mentioned work carried out in the field, my scientific activities and responsibilities take the form, of multiple conferences and teaching sessions as visiting Professor, in France and abroad, as well as serving on several editorial boards. My activities also include presiding various professional societies and scientific committees, such as the Société de Linguistique de Paris.
I have also participated, as director, panel member or approval committee member, in a large number of doctoral theses bearing on languages spoken all over the world, and on a great variety of theoretical issues in modern linguistics.
{ Claude Hagège | Collège de France | L’Homme de paroles : contribution linguistique aux sciences humaines is the Claude Hagège book to read first, unfortunately/apparently not translated in english. }
Will booze make you skinny? (…)
Best case scenario is the study has indeed accounted for all variables and the association is causal and if you’re a woman, drinking 2 glasses of wine daily will help you not gain roughly a third of a pound extra per year.
Worse case scenario? The study proves just how difficult it is to study nutritional variables and that it’s one of those association doesn’t prove causality pieces.
{ Weighty Matters | Continue reading | unsourced photo }
Building a nuclear weapon has never been easier. NATO’s Michael Rühle provides step-by-step instructions for going nuclear, from discretely collecting material to minimizing the fallout when caught. These simple steps have worked for the likes of Israel, Pakistan, and North Korea, among others. The nuclear club is open to your country, too.
Scientists have spent the past decade making great strides in the field of brain-computer interfaces (BCI). By attaching a series of electrodes to a human brain, researchers can feed neural impulses from the brain into a computer to allow the direct control of robotic devices. One major downside, of course, is that the electrodes through which the subject controls these robotic devices have to be placed directly on the brain. This drawback had been in large part considered unavoidable, as electrodes placed outside the skull were thought to gather insufficient information to successfully operate a mechanical device. But in a study published last week in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers were able to use an array of 34 electrodes attached to test-subjects’ scalps to deduce the subjects’ 3-dimensional hand movements. The importance of this work is clear: It may help patients who have lost a limb to operate a replacement robotic prostheses with their brain.
related { Brain-Computer Interface Live demonstration of a brain-controlled Adams Family pinball machine | video }
I am currently ensconced in my plush executive hotel suite in an international location, ready to attend an international marketing conference.
Quite rightly, I’ve been given the VIP treatment because I’ll be one of the conference’s key speakers. At 3am on Sunday in the Herman Goerring Room, I will address a select audience on ‘Female Stereotypes in Advertising’. (They couldn’t have picked a better person, to be honest. I fucking love female stereotypes! I use them all the time!)
I’ll post more on that when I get back, but for now, I thought I’d shine a light on the real goings-on at events such as these.
What do the various attendees want from the event? What do they bring in terms of insight and skillsets? What do they hope to take away with them?
The answer to all those questions is nothing, fuck-all and diddly-squat. But here’s what they’ll actually be up to.
{ I am the client | Continue reading | via copyranter }
makeup { Zach Bowens }
Let’s define the term “value” as “a fair equivalent in money for something sold.”
Let’s define “devalue” as “to lessen the worth off something sold.”
So does a $1.99 price point for ebooks constitute their value? Or does that price devalue the work?
In a capitalist economy, under the rules of supply and demand, things cost money to produce, and their price is dictated by how many things are produced and how many people want to buy them.
An item usually costs a determined amount to create (which tends to go down as more items are produced), and then wholesalers and retailers sell this item for what the market will bear, trying to make a profit.
A few years ago, when the Nintendo Wii was a hot item and hard to find, people who were able to get Wiis sold them on eBay for more than double the $199 list price. The Wii’s value was higher, because demand was higher.
Now you can buy used Wii’s for less than $100. There is a big enough supply for everyone, so the price comes down.
So how do ebooks fit into this?
For the moment, let’s ignore the hard work the author has put into writing the book.
To bring an ebook to market, a book needs to be edited, proofread, put into a proper layout and format, and given cover art and a product description.
These costs can fluctuate. But they are one-time costs.
Once an ebook is created, it can be reproduced indefinitely for free. There are no printing costs or shipping costs. Distributing ebooks to readers costs about 5 cents per download.
{ Why do we believe, and are atheists really more intelligent? | Artwork: Andrea Mantegna, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ, 1470-75 }
How to rate the sportsmen and women of the day against the stars of yesteryear.
There’s no easy way to make meaningful comparisons when sports change so dramatically over the years. Even in endeavours like baseball where player stats have been meticulously kept for almost a hundred years, comparisons across the decades can be odious. Is it really fair to compare players from the 1920s against those of the last 20 years when so many external factors have changed such as the use of new equipment, better training methods and, of course, performance enhancing drugs?
In 1914, the National League Most Valuable Player was Johnny Evers with a batting average of 0.279, 1 Home Run and 40 Runs Batted In. That was impressive then but these stats would embarrass even a second rate player in today’s game.
But what if there were a way to remove the systematic differences to reveal intrinsic talent? Today, Alexander Petersen at Boston University and a few pals explain just such a method that “detrends” the data leaving an objective measure of a player’s raw ability.
For some of our beliefs, our minds don’t offer much in the way of reasons. We say these beliefs are more “intuitive.” In a hostile debating context this response can seem suspicious; you might expect one side in a debate to refuse to offer reasons just when they had already tested those reasons against criticism, and found them wanting. That is, we might expect a debater to pretend he didn’t have any reasons when he knew his reasons were bad.
{ A 32-year-old Kentucky woman who said she didn’t know that she was pregnant delivered her newborn son on the floor of her laundry room by herself and even cut the umbilical cord. | AP/The Advocate-Messenger | Continue reading }
In the era of globalization, the land of the samurai and the salaryman has acquired a strange new identity. Japan now shows itself to the world as a country of “pink-clad girls, animated fantasies, and winking Kitty logos,” writes Christine R. Yano, a professor of anthropology at the University of Hawaii.
Kawaii, or “Japanese cute,” has become a global phenomenon. The rage for cute stretches from the prepubescent haunts of the world’s shopping malls to the catwalks of haute couture. At New York City’s Fashion Week last year, one show featured the work of 30 cutting-edge designers inspired by Hello Kitty, the iconic mouthless cartoon kitten that engendered Japanese cute. In Times Square, shoppers flocked to a newly opened Sanrio Luxe boutique peddling diamond-encrusted Hello Kitty watches and fine luggage.
Sanrio is the company that launched Hello Kitty and the whole cute phenomenon in the 1970s. Founder Tsuji Shinitarou saw the cartoon figure as “the Japanese cat that would overtake the American mouse,” according to Yano. He is the de facto father of “pink globalization.”
