I actually really dislike it when people sign up for lists and then
complain about their content...it is, after all, somebody else's venture.
This said, I thought it might be worth a little constructive criticism,
since I like the idea of a Chomsky mailing list so much. My initial thought
was simply to sign off, but...

It have been extremely interested in the discussion regarding Attachment
theory, but there is a great deal else about Chomsky that I think is worth
writing about and discussing.

My background is in media theory, not science or linguistics, and that's
the route that I came to Chomsky through. I was rather disturbed by posts
from people who were criticizing others for "merely" discussing theory and
becoming angry because their own proposals are ignored, either partially or
in full. It made me reluctant to post anything, because it felt/feels as
though there were an unstated agenda (narrower than Chomsky) that was
supposed to be discussed on the list. And I am certainly _very_ disturbed
at the thought that a list advertised as unmoderated would have a kind of
secret moderation going on.

There are any number of threads that would seem to me fascinating to share
about Chomsky: his relationship (or lack thereof) to postmodern theory, his
linguistic theories, his analyses of media systems, the model for system
analysis that he tends to utilize throughout his work. However, what could
I say about them that wouldn't be reduced to "five o'clock tea talk". I'm
not someone who's technically qualified to address the scientific issues
that have been raised thus far, and can only read in fascination. Is the
underlying message here that one must be interested specifically in
applying Chomsky's theory in an activist fashion to a particular branch of
the sciences in order to participate in this forum?

I apologize for the complaining nature of this post, but it comes from a
genuine interest in the subject combined with uncertainty about whether I
belong here.



Cheryl Gilbert
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http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9519/
...........................................
Whoever God is I keep making telephone calls to him.
I’m not sure that’s religion.  --Anne Sexton