{"product_id":"the-secrets-of-words-9780262046718","title":"The Secrets of Words","description":"\u003cb\u003eTwo distinguished linguists on language, the history of science, misplaced euphoria, surprising facts, and potentially permanent mysteries.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Secrets of Words\u003c\/i\u003e, influential linguist Noam Chomsky and his longtime colleague Andrea Moro have a wide-ranging conversation, touching on such topics as language and linguistics, the history of science, and the relation between language and the brain. Moro draws Chomsky out on today's misplaced euphoria about artificial intelligence (Chomsky sees \"lots of hype and propaganda\" coming from Silicon Valley), the study of the brain (Chomsky points out that findings from brain studies in the 1950s never made it into that era's psychology), and language acquisition by children. Chomsky in turn invites Moro to describe his own experiments, which proved that there exist impossible languages for the brain, languages that show surprising properties and reveal unexpected secrets of the human mind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003eChomsky once said, \"It is important to learn to be surprised by simple facts\"--\"an expression of yours that has represented a fundamental turning point in my own personal life,\" says Moro--and this is something of a theme in their conversation. Another theme is that not everything can be known; there may be permanent mysteries, about language and other matters. Not all words will give up their secrets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNoam Chomsky\u003c\/b\u003e is Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics Emeritus at MIT and Laureate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Arizona, where he is also the Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice. He is the author of many influential books on linguistics, including \u003ci\u003eAspects of the Theory of Syntax \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Minimalist Program\u003c\/i\u003e, both published by the MIT Press. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrea Moro\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of General Linguistics at the Institute for Advanced Study (IUSS) in Pavia, Italy. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eImpossible Languages\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boundaries of Babel\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eA Brief History of the Verb To Be\u003c\/i\u003e (all published by the MIT Press), and other books.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50620281422098,"sku":"9780262046718","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f9c457b8-f567-4029-90cb-22109d3bf02b.jpg?v=1732562517","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-secrets-of-words-9780262046718","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}