Back to school

Classes started again on Monday. Although I am glad to still be in school – as this is a refuge from the real world- life on campus without Jeanine or Philip feels really odd. So far I am enrolled in Physics and Independent research for economics – none of which excites me to the least.

I am, however, excited by my newest project (it’s been a while since I’ve head a project of my own): Studying language. I’ve decided to undertake this project for a simple fact: anything I might ever want to announce to the world will have to be in words. I’ve came to terms with this fact, so it’s probably a good idea to attempt to understand my means of communication.

I’ve always thought that passion, initiative, and interesting thoughts are often born out of boredom. I still believe that. It’s been quite a while since I felt bored – I’ve rather felt overwhelmed through out the five years I’ve inhabited this country. This summer, for the first time in a while, for the fact I was single, the fact that I did not have a job for most of it, I was finally beginning to feel, well, bored. And with it came the wonderful desire to learn. A desire I haven’t felt since I was 18. It feels good – and I hope it will last even though school has started. You shouldn’t let school get in the way of your education. That is often how I feel.

So I went nuts and bought 4 or 5 books on language, in addition to Lolita and Catch 22, which are books on language on their own way. I am, of course, reading them all simultaneously (is there any other way?) and as fast as I can, so I can read more and other things. I plan on hiding from any social life this semester – with the exception of ACM events – and dedicating myself to my new friends: the books. Noam Chomsky is excellent. Nothing he has said so far (I’ve only read 50 pages) on his On Language has been new to me, yet the concise way in which he presents his points, the clarity and specificity with which he addresses these issues, as well as the great examples he explores make this book absolutely phenomenal, and a delight to read.

Language in Thought and Action on the other hand has proved to be less than exciting. Its writing, while eloquent, is far from beautiful, and its content so far is quite childish and dull. It talks of how different humans are from other animals for we can 1. learn from other humans (who communicate their experiences to us through language – verbal or written) and 2. because we can make use of symbols that stand for something. Although those are both valid points, I find them to be rather common knowledge and I don’t see the need for discussing it as thoroughly as they have in this book. I have, however, only read 30 pages of this book, so I still have hopes for it.

More on other books later – but just as a teaser, as far as I can tell (again, I’ve only read 20 pages worth of it) Empires of the World, A Language History of the World is quite the work of art.