Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Oh. And by the way Barry. History is full of the kind of students you
describe that were not satisfied with the conventional wisdom. Here's a list
of a few of them you might have heard of:

Leonardo da Vinci (not happy with the conventional view of relative
dimensions of human beings)
Galileo (not happy with the idea the earth is the centre of the universe)
Isaac Newton (not satisfied with conventional views of physics went on to
formalise mechanics of particles)
Micheal Faraday (not happy with a lot of things, amongst which understanding
of waves)
Albert Einstein (not happy with Newtonian Physics, provided a slightly
better model still in much need of improvement)

If you don't learn how to challenge conventional wisdom Barry. You are
unlikely to do either of the following:

a) prove its worth to you to a level where you can defend it
b) find its weaknesses and help research advance by providing a better
alternative explanation


James Christian

2010/1/24 James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>

> Barry. We've said this so many times before and it looks like we will have
> to say it again. We are not interested in the opinions of 'experts'. If we
> were interested only in the opinions of 'experts' we would all still believe
> the earth was flat and the sun revolves around it along with the stars and
> the rest of the universe.
>
> Those of us who actually contribute to discussions and question the
> received wisdom are interested in data. I'll say that again for emphasis. We
> are interested in data. i.e. experts x, y and z say that Akkadian phonemics
> was such and such and therefore I insist that the conclusions be in line
> with this assumption. So what? Where is the data? If this is the foundation
> you lie prove that it is stable. If you cannot it is because you have done
> nothing more to prove is to yourself than 'experts x, y and z say it is so
> it must be'.
>
> If this is your attitude and approach to objective study then why did you
> bother studying classics? Just read a translation that the 'experts' made
> for you.
>
> James Christian
>
> 2010/1/24 Barry <nebarry AT verizon.net>
>
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------
>>
>> From: "James Christian" <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 9:09 AM
>> To: "Barry" <nebarry AT verizon.net>
>> Cc: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Language modelling
>>
>> > why don't you contribute to discussions? That's what we do here! We
>> > discuss
>> > things! It's not a classroom with a single teacher with authority to
>> > dictate
>> > what the students must learn. It's a place where we discuss things. If
>> you
>> > don't like the direction discussions take. Then make an effort to direct
>> > discussions in the direction you would prefer. The amount of effort you
>> > have
>> > put into the direction of the discussions is indicative of the amount of
>> > effect you have had in steering that direction. That is to say - none.
>>
>> My reading proficiency in Hebrew and Aramaic is pretty good.  My knowledge
>> of historical linguistics for Semitic languages is minimal, to say the
>> least, and I have never
>> studied cognate languages such as Ugaritic or Akkadian.  However, I have
>> studied sufficiently for classical languages (by training I'm a
>> classicist)
>> that I can recognize the fact that you are whistling in the outer darkness
>> somewhere left of Pluto in the Oort cloud.
>>
>> You really need to listen to people who have studied these languages to a
>> much higher level than either you or I.  Do you think that none of them
>> have
>> studied comparative historical Semitic linguistics?
>>
>> N.E. Barry Hofstetter
>> Classics Instructor, The American Academy
>> http://www.theamericanacademy.net/
>> Mentor, The North American Reformed Seminary
>> http://tnars.net
>>
>> And me:
>>
>> http://mysite.verizon.net/nebarry
>> http://my.opera.com/barryhofstetter/blog
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> b-hebrew mailing list
>> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
>>
>
>