Language Overflow

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CowperKettle

05:34

> Previous work in the researchers' lab had found that for infants at 3 to 4 months, listening to both human vocalizations (their native language) and nonhuman primate vocalizations (lemur calls) boosted cognition. But it remained unknown whether all human languages would have this advantageous effect.

medicalxpress.com/news/…

This could interest you, @snailboat

1 hour later…

CowperKettle

06:43

> In the classic categorization task, infants first view a series of “familiarization” images from one object category (e.g., dinosaurs). Then they simultaneously view two new “test” images: a new exemplar from the familiarized category (e.g., another dinosaur; “familiar object”) and a new exemplar from a novel category (e.g., a fish; “novel object”). Infants’ ability to distinguish between the familiar and novel test images, measured by looking times, indicates whether they have formed the object category.

nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39511-9

userr2684291

@SamBC Oh, that doesn't sound fun.

I just remembered that last year I did use a dictionary with bible-paper pages.

Norvig's Modern AI (or such) also has rather thin pages, and it's funny you compared thin, almost completely translucent pages to those you'd find in a Bible, because when my friend showed me the book I said the same (despite not having heard that description before). The font in that book is okay, however.

userr2684291

07:15

I've just checked, it's AI: A Modern Approach.

Anyway, the third edition I think is still fine.

M.A.R. ಠ_ಠ

@userr2684291 The traditional, non-modern approach was . . . erm, "AI AI captain"?

1 hour later…

userr2684291

08:25

No, everyone sells themselves as approaching the topic in a modern way.

Before, it was just I: A Modern Approach.

2 hours later…

SamBC

10:33

@userr2684291 proper bible paper is thin but hard wearing and low-reflection, has good archival properties and so on. But in casual usage, people use it for any sort of very thin paper. Heck, most bibles use the cheaper sort now, because people don't really care that bibles last years and years and be easy to read.

The book I use is a legal reference that has to be updated every year for any amendments to regulations and to reflect new case law. I'm just glad I don't have to cart it between home and work - there's always a copy there.

userr2684291

@SamBC I didn't know that, thank you.

@SamBC I see. I assumed it either had something to do with law or some statistics thing (demographics perhaps).

I remembered our teacher bringing this big blue book to geography class and then having us learn some new, exciting stats.

She didn't quite get the irony of the situation, I don't think.

But law is exciting, I have to admit. It's similar to linguistics, but better, I'd say, because the way you state laws also matters, so it's not just about sort of putting the right general idea on paper.

SamBC

10:58

The exact wording of a statute or contract can matter, but most importantly any term not defined in statute or the specific contract (and statute definitions often only apply to the statute, not to contracts made under them) are said to "take their natural meaning", leaving it to the jurists to decide what they mean, because English doesn't have authoritative definitions of anything.

(I'm not actually a lawyer, btw, I just do a job that means I have to interact with the law, and I can't go into more detail than that.)

userr2684291

Hm, I see.

Jasper

@userr2684291 I used wrongly as an adverb there, just like I used correctly as an adverb there.

userr2684291

11:13

@Jasper I don't think either of those can be anything other than adverbs.

Jasper

@userr2684291 Good thinking. =)

userr2684291

That use of wrongly isn't common among native speakers of English in such a context, is what I suggested. I might use it, but I don't count anyway, haha.

So I thought perhaps it was deliberate.

3 hours later…

ColleenV

14:06

@userr2684291 I would have preferred “incorrectly”: I always pronounce it incorrectly. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m opinionated and find it hard to accept that I might be “wrong” though ;)

2 hours later…

SamBC

15:49

@ColleenV "wrong" does carry additional connotations of moral or ethical failings.

So that might be relevant.

ColleenV

@SamBC Well my husband does ask me whether it's dull to be right all the time...

And two wrongs don't make a right be three will get you back on the highway...

"Wrong" and "right" are interesting words I think

I would rather a teacher tell me, no that's incorrect than no that's wrong

Seems less judgemental

even though the meaning is pretty much identical