Noam Chomsky set the field of linguistics and cognitive science back 50 years by proposing that there was a module in the brain specifically devoted to language, and that all grammar is innately stored in the human brain at birth. His theories were widely accepted by the linguistics community because of his constant evangelism, but he had no evidence whatsoever beyond “humans are special.” His theories have been time and again proven wrong by evolutionary biologists.
Even in modern times, he continued to push false pseudoscientific theories in artificial intelligence, a field where he has absolutely no experience. He claimed that AIs and animals can never become conscious because they can’t have the special magical consciousness module that humans have, again with no evidence. Similar arguments were used by phrenologists to justify the abuse of Blacks during the slave era, and are still used today to justify the abuse of animals on factory farms.
Noam Chomsky set the field of linguistics and cognitive science back 50 years by proposing that there was a module in the brain specifically devoted to language, and that all grammar is innately stored in the human brain at birth. His theories were widely accepted by the linguistics community because of his constant evangelism, but he had no evidence whatsoever beyond “humans are special.” His theories have been time and again proven wrong by evolutionary biologists.
Even in modern times, he continued to push false pseudoscientific theories in artificial intelligence, a field where he has absolutely no experience. He claimed that AIs and animals can never become conscious because they can’t have the special magical consciousness module that humans have, again with no evidence. Similar arguments were used by phrenologists to justify the abuse of Blacks during the slave era, and are still used today to justify the abuse of animals on factory farms.