The biolinguistic thesis states that language is a biological system internal to an individual of the species Homo sapiens sapiens for generating structured linguistic expressions over a potentially unbounded range; the design of the system is determined by a genetic endowment, external stimuli, and natural laws. With such an expansive scope, the thesis can be thoroughly explored only through interdisciplinary enterprises—the organization of which is the desideratum of the Cambridge Biolinguistics Initiative (CBI). We welcome you to participate in this most exciting endeavor. (Continue this manifesto.)

26 January 2012

Meeting Monday 7th November

Taking a tangent from poverty of the stimulus arguments, this week we discussed mathematical models of learnability, in particular Gold's theorem, including how it does and doesn't relate to the logical problem of language acquisition. Along with Gold's original 1967 paper, we considered Osherson et al.'s later results in learning theory, but focused mainly on Johnson's 2004 accessible characterisation of Gold's theorem and its relevance to cognitive science. Thanks to George Walkden for suggesting these readings!
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