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Noam Chomsky

Linguist

Born 1928

Biography

Noam Chomsky, born December 7, 1928, is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and social critic. Often heralded as the father of modern linguistics, he is best known for his theory of transformational-generative grammar, as introduced in his 1957 book "Syntactic Structures." In the 1960s, Chomsky revolutionized the field of linguistics with his concept of the "Chomsky hierarchy," a classification of formal languages. He is also noted for his critical analysis of media and political discourse, particularly in works like "Manufacturing Consent," co-authored with Edward S. Herman in 1988. Chomsky has been a prolific commentator on U.S. foreign policy, consistently challenging mainstream narratives.

About

Born December 7, 1928

Birthplace Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Nationality American

Education PhD in Linguistics

School University of Pennsylvania

Popular Quotes

"The bigger concern may be that now we have a rapidly growing economy and ample capital, but a failure of the government and society, to allocate it properly."

Society Government Governance Social responsibility

"See, people with power understand exactly one thing: violence."

Influence Power Control Authority

"There are no magic answers, no miraculous methods to overcome the problems we face, just the familiar ones: honest search for understanding, education, organization, action that raises the cost of state violence for its perpetrators, solidarity with the oppressed and their struggles everywhere."

Education Action Social justice Problem-solving

"If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion."

Mindset Perception Psychology Belief

"Either you repeat conventional doctrines without thought, or else you say something true, and it will sound like it’s from Neptune."

Philosophy Individuality Truth Critical thinking

"Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media."

Control Media Authoritarianism Obedience

"To some degree, it matters who’s in office, but it matters more how much pressure they’re under from the public."

Politics Democracy Public opinion Civic engagement

"Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation."

Creativity Communication Expression Language

"As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss."

Philosophy Decision-making Human behavior Uncertainty

"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state. "

Democracy Power dynamics Manipulation Freedom of speech

"How it is we have so much information, but know so little?"

Wisdom Learning Knowledge Understanding

"Nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It's something you have to find out for yourself."

Personal growth Wisdom Self-discovery Learning

"It's not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true."

Philosophy Perspective Perception Truth

"The United States is unusual among the industrial democracies in the rigidity of the system of ideological control - 'indoctrination,' we might say - exercised through the mass media."

United states Political systems Indoctrination Ideological control

"The Internet is an elite organization; most of the population of the world has never even made a phone call."

Communication Internet Connectivity Information age

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