Yes, indeed, the facility with which we can learn languages expressed by hand motions (and the fact that control of language and fine motor control for the hands is intimately bound up in the brain) is one of the reasons that I think that language and imitating manual skills are strongly related.
--Josh On Saturday 02 December 2006 12:46, William Pearson wrote: > On 02/12/06, Ben Goertzel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I think that our propensity for music is pretty damn simple: it's a > > > side-effect of the general skill-learning machinery that makes us > > > memetic substrates. Tunes are trajectories in n-space as are the series > > > of motor signals involved in walking, throwing, hitting, cracking nuts, > > > chipping stones, etc, etc. Once we evolved a general > > > learn-to-imitate-by-observing ability it will get used for imitating > > > just about anything. > > > > Well, Steve Mithen argues otherwise in his book, based on admittedly > > speculative interpretations of anthropological/archaeological > > evidence... > > > > He argues for the presence of a specialized tonal pattern recognition > > module in the human brain, and the specific consequences for language > > learning of the existence of such a module... > > Hmm, from the surface that theory would seem be hard pressed to > explain occurances like this > > http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/25/60II/main188527.shtml > > Unless it has more complexity than you have described. > > Will Pearson > > ----- > This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email > To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: > http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=303 ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=303
