I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Al Kaeda is degraded to the point of "significant inefficiency". This does not guarantee peace and security for me, or even my hosts "my cohsins" the US of A, but it would be very hard for me to not believe that the USA holds all the aces. I would advise General Bhutto and General Hindu to negotiate candidly, unlike Pakistan did yesterday. Then maybe your children will have hope. America is once again geographically isolated. All Al Kaeda in America is GOT!
;-)
I';ll be in DC forthwith...
("standby for takeoff sojourner 1...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
(The End... "...and to the people of Baghdad...
"...and so he lived, and lived... then lived again...
1 gaga ekeh, president of the united states?
"certainly, he lived in 2031. in those days, yore was the evile in mynes hartz...
The Judgment of America
Blackout. But netlog lives... so it is truly our last chance.. I'm skeptical... but, hey.. America has won the olympics fairly before... roight?
x
x
in other news...
for the last time have I told America who I am... so now everybody is in check again..
but this time you're fucking around with total disaster... we all have one more shot..
Atlanta is now out of the question... Nigeria is open... very wide open.. and I expect to be fully engaged with her... by 5pm...iz jowke...
g
but this time you're fucking around with total disaster... we all have one more shot..
Atlanta is now out of the question... Nigeria is open... very wide open.. and I expect to be fully engaged with her... by 5pm...iz jowke...
g
it turns out...
...that who I believed was the Queen was merely the daughter of the head of uss 1
...merely... as in someone similar to chelsea clinton.. the question, for the jene6, is why she is amharic.. and why a jew runs uss ;-)
She was there to contextualize me for my subsequent meeting with Sade...
g
...merely... as in someone similar to chelsea clinton.. the question, for the jene6, is why she is amharic.. and why a jew runs uss ;-)
She was there to contextualize me for my subsequent meeting with Sade...
g
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Greater Ethiopia
...is ... was twenty four when we met. A black out had occurred in DC and people were acting noticeably tense. I was taken to safety by an Eritrean priest but we both figured out that if the Queen of Ethiopia was not there, then I, not he, was going to jail. Now, I love to fashion conspiracy, so I shall never expect anyone to read this and attempt to understand what I have seen with my own eyes and on my own honor, save those who have been attentive and dilligent.
I don't recall her name. It is unimportant. Not only was it more than likely that such a lady had often been harassed by aggressive adolescents, it was evident in her scorn for men. She, after all, was richer than several countries.
To describe her is somewhat revealing. She was almost caucasian and would be mistaken for such but for her hair. Her accent was deep Sudan... very... appealing and funny... because she looked white. She was studying Economics ...somewhere.. but people like that don't live on earth. Why was I there? At the time she was the one person more intelligent than me.. she had mastered the Nagast... like joke like joke...
;-)
...Things have a way of working out... because I had met a woman I deeply loved just the day before, whom I had just met that morning, I was not depressed when HM left... but it is hard to appreciate what it's like for the two of us... often...
I don't recall her name. It is unimportant. Not only was it more than likely that such a lady had often been harassed by aggressive adolescents, it was evident in her scorn for men. She, after all, was richer than several countries.
To describe her is somewhat revealing. She was almost caucasian and would be mistaken for such but for her hair. Her accent was deep Sudan... very... appealing and funny... because she looked white. She was studying Economics ...somewhere.. but people like that don't live on earth. Why was I there? At the time she was the one person more intelligent than me.. she had mastered the Nagast... like joke like joke...
;-)
...Things have a way of working out... because I had met a woman I deeply loved just the day before, whom I had just met that morning, I was not depressed when HM left... but it is hard to appreciate what it's like for the two of us... often...
Asa
Was "rumored" to be about eight feet tall and perfectly proportioned. He was
seven three and played pro basket ball in canada... a very ... introspective man...
and fun... and fun...
seven three and played pro basket ball in canada... a very ... introspective man...
and fun... and fun...
Truth (47)
Every Pyramid is built by one Greek Slave
There are about sixteen in Yoruba history...
We are on the verge of a race riot.. ;-)
There are about sixteen in Yoruba history...
We are on the verge of a race riot.. ;-)
Yoruba and Greece: Valid Comparisons
Complex Pantheons
Complex Cosmetics
Alpha and Alafia
I'll have to go with B...
"We were right...
"Burn down...alright.. they have three minutes...
Complex Cosmetics
Alpha and Alafia
I'll have to go with B...
"We were right...
"Burn down...alright.. they have three minutes...
Being Independently Wealthy
First I should say that I am no longer in love with Paris Hilton! I am now offically engaged to Adama! :-) ;-) ;p
Alright... my family gives me no support because they do not know I am rich. I saw my wealth in atlanta and almost had a heart attack... me and my boy, name now witheld, was slanging beats... he picked up two pieces of Ice... I was looking at them like "is joke?"
but later found it not to be joke ... 50K... jus like dat... they reinvested... knowing that we have that connection open..
I am able to Specialize 1099 because of my training at SetFocus Academy where I earned the prestigious number 2 ranking ;-) Within one year I've been able to draw down a debt of seventy two thousand to thirty k... and I dont' think I shall slow down over three years... to accomplish the impossible...
It's...relaxing for if I had support, I'd be a billionaire.. but it is vindicating when people don't support me... because I always ..rise...
Alright... my family gives me no support because they do not know I am rich. I saw my wealth in atlanta and almost had a heart attack... me and my boy, name now witheld, was slanging beats... he picked up two pieces of Ice... I was looking at them like "is joke?"
but later found it not to be joke ... 50K... jus like dat... they reinvested... knowing that we have that connection open..
I am able to Specialize 1099 because of my training at SetFocus Academy where I earned the prestigious number 2 ranking ;-) Within one year I've been able to draw down a debt of seventy two thousand to thirty k... and I dont' think I shall slow down over three years... to accomplish the impossible...
It's...relaxing for if I had support, I'd be a billionaire.. but it is vindicating when people don't support me... because I always ..rise...
Ed and Elaine: Shocking Files the Government Does not Want ME to reveal
I met the leader of the Moorish temple a couple of years ago. He was spewing a whole lot of yang that I had neither the expertize nor inclination to challenge. But he'd been in front of a judge and he was not joke. I was of the sense they planning a major putsch... but he felt me to be a friend since I was not scared of hanging with him.. why would I be? I'm Amir Ekeh.. he's not... anyway. sha... got on muah!space and found Ed and Elaine to be... intriguingly similar... and I did the research...
And knew what was up...
One day, I went to the King's house... as we spoke a Latin Lord walked by and flashes his ring.. searching for weed... I flashed back, say, "how nah" .. Now he know, from the signal, that I don't sell it... but he's happy to find a fellow traveler so me and him yarn for minute ... i forgot the king of the moors was there... and he was "lost" as such to speak... we both noticed, this Lord and I, and seeing as he needed something positive to offer the FBI AND the investigators from Treasury (dollar fraud yawl) he captured the moor! Well... I protest fest... but im packing... so I smile and wave..
and then the next day .. I hear tht Ed and Elaine is capture... so I gouwn undergrand...
;-)
And knew what was up...
One day, I went to the King's house... as we spoke a Latin Lord walked by and flashes his ring.. searching for weed... I flashed back, say, "how nah" .. Now he know, from the signal, that I don't sell it... but he's happy to find a fellow traveler so me and him yarn for minute ... i forgot the king of the moors was there... and he was "lost" as such to speak... we both noticed, this Lord and I, and seeing as he needed something positive to offer the FBI AND the investigators from Treasury (dollar fraud yawl) he captured the moor! Well... I protest fest... but im packing... so I smile and wave..
and then the next day .. I hear tht Ed and Elaine is capture... so I gouwn undergrand...
;-)
The Gold and Black
Again, when you abandon a decent citizen to the system, he finds a gang to join "on the inside"... i'm unashamed about being able to converse in ... Latin... All I can say is that we make the best of the situation since I am neither criminal nor violent...
g
g
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
someone asks...
"so, gaga, is this what you do all day?"
LOL...(lull)...
Not really... I'm trying to decide between a job in Washington DC and a return to the one i turned down in atlanta, but I can't
smoke weed if I accept the one in DC... but because its a lot of money I'm trying to figure if I can detox for like three years... ;-)..
g
LOL...(lull)...
Not really... I'm trying to decide between a job in Washington DC and a return to the one i turned down in atlanta, but I can't
smoke weed if I accept the one in DC... but because its a lot of money I'm trying to figure if I can detox for like three years... ;-)..
g
done...
for example, have interns parse html streams into constituent forms...
then...
markup each composite field...e.g. first name, middle initial and last name
will all be marked up as being NAME...
now when the user asks for john to love mary,
the dialog will simply connect to the page, mark it up with well known tags,
then ask "is ngozi REALLY married..."
...or...perhaps.. "what is your name" and parse the resultant input
either way.. Ngozi became ...Ngozi...
then...
markup each composite field...e.g. first name, middle initial and last name
will all be marked up as being NAME...
now when the user asks for john to love mary,
the dialog will simply connect to the page, mark it up with well known tags,
then ask "is ngozi REALLY married..."
...or...perhaps.. "what is your name" and parse the resultant input
either way.. Ngozi became ...Ngozi...
more marching orders
but this is where i must leave... have a gig in the morning that pays big box...
c++ (imogin... legacy code...b ut they're using it modern style.. another emergency. someone broke a code that is about to set off electronic reactions for several fake.. motions...but there mighht be one real one since they did live wire in 94 and 2004...
and there is always the probability that in haste a live motion was left untarnished by garbage collection...
so...
all we have to do is transform all databases into graphs of propositions...
and then insert cleverly... rules of traversal that are native to the structure inherent in each individual data graph... very simple..but a shit load of work (i've done it before...took me three years.. and i'm a pro...
c++ (imogin... legacy code...b ut they're using it modern style.. another emergency. someone broke a code that is about to set off electronic reactions for several fake.. motions...but there mighht be one real one since they did live wire in 94 and 2004...
and there is always the probability that in haste a live motion was left untarnished by garbage collection...
so...
all we have to do is transform all databases into graphs of propositions...
and then insert cleverly... rules of traversal that are native to the structure inherent in each individual data graph... very simple..but a shit load of work (i've done it before...took me three years.. and i'm a pro...
Covalent Bonding
It is still unreasonable to trust in nanotechnology... but I appreciate, from my experience, that even a novice such as I can detect evidence of pairs of atoms given parity in any nuclear reaction... and yet.. to be sure that it is ONLY 2!!! given the rate of innovation in 2006... I am very skeptical.. and this will result in a shuttle repair... before or after take off...
Finite means "2"
There are only two states of cognition, input and output...
the third "state" is merely 2 servers demonstrating "either input or output"
von neuman arc...
the third "state" is merely 2 servers demonstrating "either input or output"
von neuman arc...
Nurudeen A, the second chin chin
the hardest concept for any mathematician to grasp is conditional probability because
it makes the unstated assumption that common sense in fact relies on red green and blue and the implications of having a vision system be obvious evidence of consciousness simply being the "presence of space in awareness". so...
take facebook...
gaga joins face book at time t
niyi joins face book at time t2
gaga invites niyi to be a friend at time t3
niyi invites isi to be a friend at time t4
niyi invites naira to be a friend at time t5
gaga invites jade to be a friend at time t6
the probability that gaga has a correlational effect on the relation between niyi
and isi is a conditional one because, first, it is a probability of a correlation upon a relational-entity, and second, the gaga domain can produce, if modeled
within reasonable bounds, information that will allow determine if, in fact, gaga introduced niyi to isi... and so furth...
it makes the unstated assumption that common sense in fact relies on red green and blue and the implications of having a vision system be obvious evidence of consciousness simply being the "presence of space in awareness". so...
take facebook...
gaga joins face book at time t
niyi joins face book at time t2
gaga invites niyi to be a friend at time t3
niyi invites isi to be a friend at time t4
niyi invites naira to be a friend at time t5
gaga invites jade to be a friend at time t6
the probability that gaga has a correlational effect on the relation between niyi
and isi is a conditional one because, first, it is a probability of a correlation upon a relational-entity, and second, the gaga domain can produce, if modeled
within reasonable bounds, information that will allow determine if, in fact, gaga introduced niyi to isi... and so furth...
the conspiracy is true...
ask someone named desalu, the jews did not go to work on 9 11... but why?
(only 2 did...
(only 2 did...
Curator of NASA era et al...
Gabrial, the historical, Arch Angel i and ii (he has twins and curly hair so his race is going to go from black to white so he's the new israel)...
My Peers
Samson, the historical, Arch Angel II
Michael, the historical, Arch Angel II
Orion, current (new) Arch Angel I
Oranmiyan, current (new) Arch Angel I
Sheyla, current, (incidental), Arch Angel I
Jackie, Head of US Intelligence... and... a very sick woman.. but good...
(as in very evil in the head and requires loads of therapy... but a baaaadd biatch.. she's black... (from, as all they, kentucky..!!!
...
Michael, the historical, Arch Angel II
Orion, current (new) Arch Angel I
Oranmiyan, current (new) Arch Angel I
Sheyla, current, (incidental), Arch Angel I
Jackie, Head of US Intelligence... and... a very sick woman.. but good...
(as in very evil in the head and requires loads of therapy... but a baaaadd biatch.. she's black... (from, as all they, kentucky..!!!
...
CMMi 5?
A question from Emory Riddle.
You ever heard the saying "You ain't gouwn belie dis shit...
It is, quite literarilly, the culture at Nasa... um... I was abduct ed into the
"hangar" at the age of 27 because the head of the us secret service was convinced that i was jesus the historical... well... he's often not wrong... and may now be dead...
You ever heard the saying "You ain't gouwn belie dis shit...
It is, quite literarilly, the culture at Nasa... um... I was abduct ed into the
"hangar" at the age of 27 because the head of the us secret service was convinced that i was jesus the historical... well... he's often not wrong... and may now be dead...
just so you know
I also interned at Oracle for three days.. and ... em learned, along with many bright fellows... something about program management and forecasting...
Nurudeena A, National Honors II
um...
A table in a database represents information that is abstract but made material on servers. so in discussing application level reporting, one must be aware that all planar components of the application domain (.net) (i.t.i.o.f.d. I interned at MicroSapi in 99 and demoed at COMDEX) must be redundant so that even though the table is abstract only when there are at least two servers instantiated at all times is there even the possibility to start the discussion on .. "isolation management"... this is real cash o.. use it for music...
A table in a database represents information that is abstract but made material on servers. so in discussing application level reporting, one must be aware that all planar components of the application domain (.net) (i.t.i.o.f.d. I interned at MicroSapi in 99 and demoed at COMDEX) must be redundant so that even though the table is abstract only when there are at least two servers instantiated at all times is there even the possibility to start the discussion on .. "isolation management"... this is real cash o.. use it for music...
Senegal and Gambia in Checkmate
"for...um... good purposes... they are also both technically in
tri hyper meta stasis..
i.e. abdulaye wade can only think when he is breathing and will not be able to adjust this before he sees the vision of african unity crumble into...
tri hyper meta stasis..
i.e. abdulaye wade can only think when he is breathing and will not be able to adjust this before he sees the vision of african unity crumble into...
Truth (47)
I work for a team in D/Arpa where we are r.e.q.u.i.r.e.d. to submit our craziest idea by noon on Friday. It's not a joke... you can't slack.. so we have to be like clock work. Here's my craziest so far... and it is how we measure statistics (*based upon the 'likelihood' of historical correlation)
yoruba sacrifice
tribal marks
tears
blood
sorrow
nature
leaf
kah
read
koh
write
koh leaf
tribal mark
rain
(the three gods preside--the three flags now face east in submission to beauty)
"allah" "ifa" "uhuru"
he is my son...
yoruba sacrifice
tribal marks
tears
blood
sorrow
nature
leaf
kah
read
koh
write
koh leaf
tribal mark
rain
(the three gods preside--the three flags now face east in submission to beauty)
"allah" "ifa" "uhuru"
he is my son...
one nation under God
even if we accept that it is illegal to have God's name before that of the state,
in essence of "our God and King" it is politically unwise to attempt to make that change "at this time."
That is, since we cannot prove, now, or at any other time ever, the existence of God, when such time permits as it is politically savy, i, gaga ekeh, decree that God shall no longer be the cover of the usa... as democracy and atheism agree...
in essence of "our God and King" it is politically unwise to attempt to make that change "at this time."
That is, since we cannot prove, now, or at any other time ever, the existence of God, when such time permits as it is politically savy, i, gaga ekeh, decree that God shall no longer be the cover of the usa... as democracy and atheism agree...
for bono
the central question at nicea was
"i believe in god the father almighty?
or
"i believe in 1 god the father almighty...
the latter provoked disbelief... Christianity was born...e.
"i believe in god the father almighty?
or
"i believe in 1 god the father almighty...
the latter provoked disbelief... Christianity was born...e.
The Scam
There was no legal land grant given any where in ethiopia..
"obviously... go on..
"em... em...
"obviously... go on..
"em... em...
judgment
um... i will not be working till january 2nd... meaning three and a half more
years of maximum uncertainty...
years of maximum uncertainty...
Stasis
is when you can be silent enough so that your frequency of breathing is such
that you realize when you are not breathing that you have stopped breathing but
that you have no need to yet inhale but you are thinking... at that time...that
realization forces inhale...
later on... you will be able to stay under water for longer periods... it is
called reincarnation and it works...one more think...water is called atrillion...
that you realize when you are not breathing that you have stopped breathing but
that you have no need to yet inhale but you are thinking... at that time...that
realization forces inhale...
later on... you will be able to stay under water for longer periods... it is
called reincarnation and it works...one more think...water is called atrillion...
was i wrong?
yes, Bobby Brown had a heart attack...
"was that my fault?
"no...
"soimeting about that and that...
"studynig the bible..
"oh...that...
"was that my fault?
"no...
"soimeting about that and that...
"studynig the bible..
"oh...that...
The Deciding Vote
It was a matter of expediency. When there was only one thing at stake, which
coincidentally there was, who would the American people HAVE CHOSEN to respond
to the aggression I now witness...
gaga ekeh,
(psp)
coincidentally there was, who would the American people HAVE CHOSEN to respond
to the aggression I now witness...
gaga ekeh,
(psp)
Oba-16-Oba-16
Why does it sound like an alien name or a prison tag? I suppose it is both.
Am I 'the President of the United States, c. 2000 "or so..?'
"I am...
"Please be seated...
"I am...
thank you...
Am I 'the President of the United States, c. 2000 "or so..?'
"I am...
"Please be seated...
"I am...
thank you...
The Trial of Judy Asuni
Greco Roman wrastling, in its pure form, is sheer adultery at best. The darkness
in the souls of evil men has long been studies but shyly understood. Why, even
the most wicked of scholars, Solomon Ibn-Raheem...
"Rise...
in the souls of evil men has long been studies but shyly understood. Why, even
the most wicked of scholars, Solomon Ibn-Raheem...
"Rise...
Ur, Lanre Tomori (as we like to sez...*
"iz jowke...
;-)
(...em... we go jam for...'yonder loun...2..s...
;-)
(...em... we go jam for...'yonder loun...2..s...
The Rape
Jackie Chandler, "Headmistress of US Intelligence"
"He's trainable. What can I do for you?"
'I need some knee action..
"For what?"
"For .. em... to dance the ... em... I need a suitable expression that sounds like berries and ice cream...
"War?"
"Yes, darling... for ...'war...
"He's trainable. What can I do for you?"
'I need some knee action..
"For what?"
"For .. em... to dance the ... em... I need a suitable expression that sounds like berries and ice cream...
"War?"
"Yes, darling... for ...'war...
Marlowe Rodney
Mr. Romney, G. there was a mysType..fit...
"How do you see me...
As a fizzy mass of four particles...
"How fizzy?
"My capacity to imagine you is less relevant than why youa re the father of a presidential candidate...
"Is my son worthy of being a President?
"Surely... but he has blood on his hands.. .Iraq and Sudan...
"But has he raped a fourteen year old..."
"I think I can speak, Mr. Romney, on God's behalf 'as to this matter?'";
g
"How do you see me...
As a fizzy mass of four particles...
"How fizzy?
"My capacity to imagine you is less relevant than why youa re the father of a presidential candidate...
"Is my son worthy of being a President?
"Surely... but he has blood on his hands.. .Iraq and Sudan...
"But has he raped a fourteen year old..."
"I think I can speak, Mr. Romney, on God's behalf 'as to this matter?'";
g
A Day at the "No Such Agency"
I'm at Hartsfield Jackson at six PM. The Coffee is late. I'm not upset but my stomach will move slightly shortly and if this idiot is not...
"Sir..."
"Thank you..."
"Do you have fifteen cents?"
"If I don't catch you on my way back... what's your nephew's name?"
"Akindele?"
"Akindele..."
"Sir..."
"How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen sir, I just graduated..."
"From where?"
"Airforce Academy, Black Sojourner Truth..."
"Troupe..."
"Black Sojourner truth..."
"Mr. Ekeh..."
"I'll be there shortly..."
"Buy him a watch and then tell Jackie..."
"Cool beans.... sir..."
"I'm a bit ... tired..."
"Yes sir..."
"Sir..."
"Thank you..."
"Do you have fifteen cents?"
"If I don't catch you on my way back... what's your nephew's name?"
"Akindele?"
"Akindele..."
"Sir..."
"How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen sir, I just graduated..."
"From where?"
"Airforce Academy, Black Sojourner Truth..."
"Troupe..."
"Black Sojourner truth..."
"Mr. Ekeh..."
"I'll be there shortly..."
"Buy him a watch and then tell Jackie..."
"Cool beans.... sir..."
"I'm a bit ... tired..."
"Yes sir..."
George Bush Junior, President.Of.The.United.States
"and commander in chief of her armed forces"
General Tong Shwey, if this is his name, is not nearly as evil as Saddam. I see
no reason to involve ourselves. There are no weapons of mass destruction in Burma.
Let the monks die jo...
assholes..
g
General Tong Shwey, if this is his name, is not nearly as evil as Saddam. I see
no reason to involve ourselves. There are no weapons of mass destruction in Burma.
Let the monks die jo...
assholes..
g
Makes Sense
Chinanza is now head of R&D for obvious reasons.
The following is true.
i. Letters are counted down from Z to A. We know this because C represents
the near completion of a circle/cycle. b represents birth or the aperture
left to traverse. B represents the woman and a straight line/alif as in | w
It represents matrilineal order. A represents the normal curve, as you know.
The line that connects the two sides of the triangle is a mathematical
phenomenon more important than the mean, median or mode. The area above the horizontal
line is the true relevant probability space.
ii. a is an association (all curves are)
iii. So, what we need to help Chinanza to do (she has exams coming up) is
create a regular graph from Z to A. It is regular, depth wise, so it is
the container for all semantics since it is defined by regular syntax.
The following is true.
i. Letters are counted down from Z to A. We know this because C represents
the near completion of a circle/cycle. b represents birth or the aperture
left to traverse. B represents the woman and a straight line/alif as in | w
It represents matrilineal order. A represents the normal curve, as you know.
The line that connects the two sides of the triangle is a mathematical
phenomenon more important than the mean, median or mode. The area above the horizontal
line is the true relevant probability space.
ii. a is an association (all curves are)
iii. So, what we need to help Chinanza to do (she has exams coming up) is
create a regular graph from Z to A. It is regular, depth wise, so it is
the container for all semantics since it is defined by regular syntax.
Nikki Larry: The Repressed Memory
How it came to be that of all my girlfriends, and very much against the man code,
I failed to tell you about the most beautiful of them... remains a mystery. And in not telling that story, I missed out on the OTHER story, of my only true Nigerian girlfriend. These, friends, are the two most important episodes--the reasons for these posts.
Nikki:
...was a biracial butterfly. One of those. She was, without any sort of doubt,
the most beautiful young lady on campus. As fate would have it, she worked on the third floor, I on the second. As destiny would have it, I had just become famous on campus for my writings. Her mum was and still is an international christian evangelist. Within weeks we were dating... serious stuff... to the point of marriage... She was, I always tend to think, my first TRUE girlfriend... but then many many things happened... to both of us.. psychologically... and we broke up... remained friends for a while... but then she has a complex life and had a tragic childhood... lupus ... used to swig vodka by the bottle... no jawke...so, no, at the time I couldn't handle her.... she woh wild... but boy was she gorgeous... She became, later, assistant pastor at church.. we spoke of marriage... but that didn't work out... anyone who marries such a woman is the luckiest man alive.. me? well if I saw her today and it was still there, that's a bet... she's a lawyer in DC now... high level.
Jackie:
My first TRUE nigerian-girlfriend-in-the-diaspora.
We were just two young bunnies, free from previous constraints... got me to thinking that I can marry a naija woman... she's, like the others, a big woman today... jet setting executive.. .but she called three weeks ago and we talked... they both, jackie and nikki, still harbor a grudge against me.. i am now convinced it is eternal.. .
I saw Nikki last just before I entered grad school... we had lunch and then she was off to take her bar... chastizing me all the way..
I wanted to ask about her lupus... but ... it didn't happen... but she was sharp... very very sharp... had grown tremendously.. and ws just, in everyway, an outstanding black woman.. .or, as someone called her that day, "a stunner"... I don't have low self esteem, but I can't compete with her... I know what I'm saying...
..
so... that's it...
I failed to tell you about the most beautiful of them... remains a mystery. And in not telling that story, I missed out on the OTHER story, of my only true Nigerian girlfriend. These, friends, are the two most important episodes--the reasons for these posts.
Nikki:
...was a biracial butterfly. One of those. She was, without any sort of doubt,
the most beautiful young lady on campus. As fate would have it, she worked on the third floor, I on the second. As destiny would have it, I had just become famous on campus for my writings. Her mum was and still is an international christian evangelist. Within weeks we were dating... serious stuff... to the point of marriage... She was, I always tend to think, my first TRUE girlfriend... but then many many things happened... to both of us.. psychologically... and we broke up... remained friends for a while... but then she has a complex life and had a tragic childhood... lupus ... used to swig vodka by the bottle... no jawke...so, no, at the time I couldn't handle her.... she woh wild... but boy was she gorgeous... She became, later, assistant pastor at church.. we spoke of marriage... but that didn't work out... anyone who marries such a woman is the luckiest man alive.. me? well if I saw her today and it was still there, that's a bet... she's a lawyer in DC now... high level.
Jackie:
My first TRUE nigerian-girlfriend-in-the-diaspora.
We were just two young bunnies, free from previous constraints... got me to thinking that I can marry a naija woman... she's, like the others, a big woman today... jet setting executive.. .but she called three weeks ago and we talked... they both, jackie and nikki, still harbor a grudge against me.. i am now convinced it is eternal.. .
I saw Nikki last just before I entered grad school... we had lunch and then she was off to take her bar... chastizing me all the way..
I wanted to ask about her lupus... but ... it didn't happen... but she was sharp... very very sharp... had grown tremendously.. and ws just, in everyway, an outstanding black woman.. .or, as someone called her that day, "a stunner"... I don't have low self esteem, but I can't compete with her... I know what I'm saying...
..
so... that's it...
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The Chronicle of Lillith Abayomi-Oranmiyan
1. Pauline Agassi
Pauline was an awon girl and I woh joh a young rascal break dancing and feeling free. I don't even remember when or how we broke up... I was 10 she was 11...
2. Patricia Molokwu
A full five years after Pauline. Patricia's boyfriend was then the budding head
of the eiye demonic confraternity. Of course, had I known this, or even realized what her name could mean, I would have been less.. handsome to her... She and later became good friends... but we dated for only three days, according to Brother Dale... if that...
3. Sharia Mohamed
My first real girlfriend. I was sixteen and in the Universe of Ibadan. She was a lagos girl and therefore superior. What was a small boy like me doing with such major yansh? Well, it's complicated... but it is important for the entire world to know tht despite my pressures, we didn't have sex.... she was muslim...
4. Lara Oshofisan
Took my virginity... I wasn't cheating... but since my real girlfriend was muslim...
5. Michelle Raja
Australian. Lesbian. Great kisser. Lovely to talk to. Don't know what she saw in me. This was my first six months in Ameh college.
6. Regina Player
We used to gbensh just before my math 143 class in the afternoon o...
7. Mariah Santos
Latina. Hot fire. Big yansh. MASSIVE breastises. Ingrid-style. When there was passion.. wow... but then after we ceased... I saw her again in NYC... we hung out and I'm thinking, like Wendy Williams, "free dillies..." ... but the passion wasn't there... she became a spirit-filled christian shortly thereafter... and still sings professionally... has been around the world with certain multi major celebs... and was on arsenio once...
8. Linda Witness
In this era, me and awon boyz was wild.. the summers of 94/95... you ought to be kidding me... I didnt have nearly as much gbenshitos as my boys... but we was wild'n.
Linda was... a freak from the clubs... who took to me... and really really wanted to make me a freak too... as in... different styles that I don't do, if you understand me.. just can't get with some things... she was even willing to... be pornographic.. but it didn't work out because I realized she was trying to get pregnant... but even after this realization we still jam ourselves at the club... from time to time... and .. you know... postulated... without condom... after the aids test for immigra, I swore never to be so stupid and I have not been since..
9. Michelle Rotary
She told me that she was 23 and not married... so we were frolicking.. then one day her husband come into the club and she hide with him.. when he leave, she say we should go and sex... I say "is that your huhband?" she say "it doesn't matter"... before God, yes, I committed adultery twice... then repented and never saw her again... I still think of her a lot. .why? It was the first time the sex was...
um... reciprocal...
10. Lisma Lorrie
I had become mature, a political figure.. so they sent me a black queen..and di rest is history...
X... since then I haven't had any physical relationships... celebate since 1998.
I havent gotten over sex... I'm just too relaxed to do what mortals have to do to get it... or keep it... I can't, won't jeopardize my freedom for ANYTHING... even sex...
...
So who is my current girl? Wyle... over the past few years I've been rebellious and so she's been keeping me... in good spirits... we don't have sex... with each other... she's cool like dat... but... it's complicated... she's very rich and very public and I'm very quiet and very quiet... so all we do is chill.. she's like my best friend... and I often wonder why we don't gbensh.. .well.. I prefer her as friend... it's not that the opportunity hasn't arisen with her or others in the past years.. I just ... don't know... I don't know... but I really like Madam Eaton...
really enjoy her company... she's a Niggette from the hood whose father is an admirable black man... and loves me to pieaces... fancy that...
Pauline was an awon girl and I woh joh a young rascal break dancing and feeling free. I don't even remember when or how we broke up... I was 10 she was 11...
2. Patricia Molokwu
A full five years after Pauline. Patricia's boyfriend was then the budding head
of the eiye demonic confraternity. Of course, had I known this, or even realized what her name could mean, I would have been less.. handsome to her... She and later became good friends... but we dated for only three days, according to Brother Dale... if that...
3. Sharia Mohamed
My first real girlfriend. I was sixteen and in the Universe of Ibadan. She was a lagos girl and therefore superior. What was a small boy like me doing with such major yansh? Well, it's complicated... but it is important for the entire world to know tht despite my pressures, we didn't have sex.... she was muslim...
4. Lara Oshofisan
Took my virginity... I wasn't cheating... but since my real girlfriend was muslim...
5. Michelle Raja
Australian. Lesbian. Great kisser. Lovely to talk to. Don't know what she saw in me. This was my first six months in Ameh college.
6. Regina Player
We used to gbensh just before my math 143 class in the afternoon o...
7. Mariah Santos
Latina. Hot fire. Big yansh. MASSIVE breastises. Ingrid-style. When there was passion.. wow... but then after we ceased... I saw her again in NYC... we hung out and I'm thinking, like Wendy Williams, "free dillies..." ... but the passion wasn't there... she became a spirit-filled christian shortly thereafter... and still sings professionally... has been around the world with certain multi major celebs... and was on arsenio once...
8. Linda Witness
In this era, me and awon boyz was wild.. the summers of 94/95... you ought to be kidding me... I didnt have nearly as much gbenshitos as my boys... but we was wild'n.
Linda was... a freak from the clubs... who took to me... and really really wanted to make me a freak too... as in... different styles that I don't do, if you understand me.. just can't get with some things... she was even willing to... be pornographic.. but it didn't work out because I realized she was trying to get pregnant... but even after this realization we still jam ourselves at the club... from time to time... and .. you know... postulated... without condom... after the aids test for immigra, I swore never to be so stupid and I have not been since..
9. Michelle Rotary
She told me that she was 23 and not married... so we were frolicking.. then one day her husband come into the club and she hide with him.. when he leave, she say we should go and sex... I say "is that your huhband?" she say "it doesn't matter"... before God, yes, I committed adultery twice... then repented and never saw her again... I still think of her a lot. .why? It was the first time the sex was...
um... reciprocal...
10. Lisma Lorrie
I had become mature, a political figure.. so they sent me a black queen..and di rest is history...
X... since then I haven't had any physical relationships... celebate since 1998.
I havent gotten over sex... I'm just too relaxed to do what mortals have to do to get it... or keep it... I can't, won't jeopardize my freedom for ANYTHING... even sex...
...
So who is my current girl? Wyle... over the past few years I've been rebellious and so she's been keeping me... in good spirits... we don't have sex... with each other... she's cool like dat... but... it's complicated... she's very rich and very public and I'm very quiet and very quiet... so all we do is chill.. she's like my best friend... and I often wonder why we don't gbensh.. .well.. I prefer her as friend... it's not that the opportunity hasn't arisen with her or others in the past years.. I just ... don't know... I don't know... but I really like Madam Eaton...
really enjoy her company... she's a Niggette from the hood whose father is an admirable black man... and loves me to pieaces... fancy that...
It was the woman that you gave to me...
I didn't cease being self-conscious till about april of 2001, and subsequent to that
I've been working on my physics and philosophy... so I'm not much of an awon boy
as far as women go... I hang out though.. mostly with women of the night... since
they don't judge... but I don't sex them.. but they sex my friends... however,
since I've tried to rehabilitate myself, I've come across this amazingly ridiculous trait of many women I've met with whom there is mutual attraction... if they are in a relationship of their own or feel that you will not give them your all, then they quite viscerally wish for you to die... saying they wish they never met you... it is quite stupid, I must say... there is a reason for maturity...
I have a girlfriend, currently, who I never see.. quite literarilly ... so we don't have sex... what kind of relationship is that? But we talk when she's free or I'm free, like once a week, for 2 hours... and yes she has sex... with men.. and I am now told, with a woman... but we'z cool... iz jowke.. why is she my gurl? because she knows how to be silent... Would I marry such a woman? Well.. her father owns a lot of monies.. so yes..
;-)
I've been working on my physics and philosophy... so I'm not much of an awon boy
as far as women go... I hang out though.. mostly with women of the night... since
they don't judge... but I don't sex them.. but they sex my friends... however,
since I've tried to rehabilitate myself, I've come across this amazingly ridiculous trait of many women I've met with whom there is mutual attraction... if they are in a relationship of their own or feel that you will not give them your all, then they quite viscerally wish for you to die... saying they wish they never met you... it is quite stupid, I must say... there is a reason for maturity...
I have a girlfriend, currently, who I never see.. quite literarilly ... so we don't have sex... what kind of relationship is that? But we talk when she's free or I'm free, like once a week, for 2 hours... and yes she has sex... with men.. and I am now told, with a woman... but we'z cool... iz jowke.. why is she my gurl? because she knows how to be silent... Would I marry such a woman? Well.. her father owns a lot of monies.. so yes..
;-)
War is declared
against the interests, descendants and monarchy of the "Sovereign Kingdom of
Oyotunji", a bastard province of Rome.
g
Oyotunji", a bastard province of Rome.
g
Monday, October 8, 2007
extensible propositional semantic networks
semantic networks cannot learn any new information unless they have a methodology for replication of valid paths through graph space. adjudicating valid paths means being in possession of a meaningful path code with the following unique constraint--its meaning is found within the last spatial cycle only... it is a new word in the lexicon and exists as an insertion in the graph exactly at the point where words are stored in graph theory... adama... so, valid paths are stored in the lexicon as inner gravity or iner(t) gravity and compared with the path taken to find the node which stores the code... these two pieces of information are where i am now..
(i think it's quite silly for a computer to come up with an arc named "isa" when it is implicit in its index... what shapiro et all study is the glyph of semantic networks, not the codes of them...
(i think it's quite silly for a computer to come up with an arc named "isa" when it is implicit in its index... what shapiro et all study is the glyph of semantic networks, not the codes of them...
In order words (i have been to the mountaintop)
What business case is there for any other input than digits? even with
search engines? especially with search engines...? CARTs (classification and regression "threes") are about logarithmically
(sensing) differentials in inheritance implications and the probabilities for their executive function in the procedural stream (in the day that God made men...
search engines? especially with search engines...? CARTs (classification and regression "threes") are about logarithmically
(sensing) differentials in inheritance implications and the probabilities for their executive function in the procedural stream (in the day that God made men...
the "alpha" "beta" (elipsis)
20 8 5 0 17
"or"
t h e space quote alpha quote beta parenthesis e l i p s i s
caelum et terrahn
"or"
t h e space quote alpha quote beta parenthesis e l i p s i s
caelum et terrahn
"Seven...
The paper is concerned with the mechanisms through which children learn the meaning of words. Accordingly, the authors suggest that there are two ways in which the process occurs. The first is through explicit instruction, the second is implicit via the use of verbal contexts. The paper describes a study conducted on a set of children divided into five age groups of twenty-five children each. Each child was tasked with finding the meaning of an artificial word as it appeared in six differing contexts. The results showed that there were two categories of children, according to the way in which they interpreted the artificial words. The first category of children, mostly the younger ones, consisted of those unable to differentiate between the meaning of the single word and the meaning of the entire sentence. That is, they attributed to the entire sentence, their interpretation of the word. An interpretation of this sort is described by the authors as a “sentence-core concept.” As the word was encountered in its varying contexts, the children simply applied this sentence-core concept to fit the new sentence by a process the authors call “assimilation.” The second category of children was able to make the distinction between word meaning and sentence meaning. However, their interpretation of the words lacked situational focus. These interpretations are described as “simple holophrastic concepts.” Because of the nebulous nature of the interpretations, in this case, when the word was encountered in its different contexts the children were able to “expand” it to fit the new contexts. This is termed “holophrastic expansion.” In some cases, there was a more rigid expansion that the authors describe as “pluralization.” The authors mention two other forms of interpretation based on holophrastic expansion: “generalization by juxtaposition,” whereby the children applied a concept from one context to a second context by rationalizing based on spatial relations, and “generalization by chain,” whereby the children performed the same action, rationalizing, however, based on temporal relations. The paper provides statistics describing the categorization of the children, then concludes by suggesting that the data also suggested that there is a link between semantic and grammatical perception.
The age groups involved in the study cited in the paper range from 81/2 to 131/2 years of age. SNePS as a KR&R system, with the learning algorithms, is designed to be a bit more mature in the mechanisms by which it acquires new words. The rationalization process, the level of an inferencing mechanism expected for the CVA project certainly exceeds the levels exhibited by at least half of the children citied in the study. On the relationship between “meaning and structure” that the paper suggests exists, for SNePS this is nothing that a good grammar cannot take care of. In short, the CVA project is concerned with certain levels of competence that a significant percentage of the subjects of the study in this paper are not suitably endowed with at their age level. The paper did indicate that the older children, as expected, did perform better than the younger children, insofar as they did not ascribe to the whole sentence the meaning of the artificial words encountered. But, it was also stated that their interpretations of the words were not “circumscribed.” These children would be candidates for a CVA-SNePS induced curriculum that would assist them better acquire new words from context.
all words found in a lexicon amount to their numeric equivalent in the alphabet. of what practical use this information is is anyone's guess...
The age groups involved in the study cited in the paper range from 81/2 to 131/2 years of age. SNePS as a KR&R system, with the learning algorithms, is designed to be a bit more mature in the mechanisms by which it acquires new words. The rationalization process, the level of an inferencing mechanism expected for the CVA project certainly exceeds the levels exhibited by at least half of the children citied in the study. On the relationship between “meaning and structure” that the paper suggests exists, for SNePS this is nothing that a good grammar cannot take care of. In short, the CVA project is concerned with certain levels of competence that a significant percentage of the subjects of the study in this paper are not suitably endowed with at their age level. The paper did indicate that the older children, as expected, did perform better than the younger children, insofar as they did not ascribe to the whole sentence the meaning of the artificial words encountered. But, it was also stated that their interpretations of the words were not “circumscribed.” These children would be candidates for a CVA-SNePS induced curriculum that would assist them better acquire new words from context.
all words found in a lexicon amount to their numeric equivalent in the alphabet. of what practical use this information is is anyone's guess...
8?
Encounters with unknown words in different contexts generate a cognitive process utilized in determining their meanings. The paper seeks to shed light on these “transformations” as words are encountered over a range of contexts, and this is done by way of two experiments. Both experiments are described, compared against an “ideal acquisition process” analogous to P.H. Winston’s “arch” concept acquisition process. This ideal process involves the ability to adapt new information and resolve ambiguities in previous word hypotheses. For both experiments, a test was used to select a random cross-section of “high verbal” and “low verbal” subjects from a population sample. For the first experiment, the paper describes how an unknown word was to be learned purely from context, without any prior information given. The subjects were asked to provide think-aloud protocols in order for an assessment about the process of word acquisition to be made. Based on these protocols, parameters were created to be scored. The paper describes how, despite the significant differences in the approaches taken by low and high verbal subjects, reflected in higher scores for high verbal subjects according to the scored parameters, the score relating to word definition was not significantly different. The high verbal subjects are shown to have utilized a process similar to the ideal acquisition process. The second experiment differed from the first with the proffering of specific background information relating to the unknown word. In this experiment, the paper shows that on all counts, the high verbal subjects scored markedly higher than the low verbal subjects. The results are said to support the idea that higher verbal subjects were more proficient in learning new words due to the approaches used as reflected in the think-aloud protocols. The paper concludes by summarizing the findings of the experiment, the key point being that while there were indispensable similarities in approaches to word acquisition by both high and low verbal subjects (such as the use of “models” to replace unknown words upon the initial encounter), the fundamental approach to determining the meaning of the words, reflected in the series of cognitive transformations that occur, are the primary indicator determining the ability to learn new words.
At the heart of the CVA project is the utilization of think-aloud protocols to provide insight into the strategies of what the authors would refer to as high verbal subjects. In this regard, the paper essentially reflects the aspirations of the CVA research team—to gain a fuller understanding of the processes involved in quality vocabulary acquisition. That there is a generally accepted “ideal acquisition process” is debatable, although the authors did not make so vast a claim. The ideal process they describe seems to be made in reference to their own experiment, but it does point to the fact that algorithm and curriculum refinement, towards a more perfect CVA technique, is a driving force behind the CVA project.
the process is intuitive.
i. is there a linear relationship evident between all letter bigrams?
yes do this
no do dat...
At the heart of the CVA project is the utilization of think-aloud protocols to provide insight into the strategies of what the authors would refer to as high verbal subjects. In this regard, the paper essentially reflects the aspirations of the CVA research team—to gain a fuller understanding of the processes involved in quality vocabulary acquisition. That there is a generally accepted “ideal acquisition process” is debatable, although the authors did not make so vast a claim. The ideal process they describe seems to be made in reference to their own experiment, but it does point to the fact that algorithm and curriculum refinement, towards a more perfect CVA technique, is a driving force behind the CVA project.
the process is intuitive.
i. is there a linear relationship evident between all letter bigrams?
yes do this
no do dat...
9...
The paper is concerned with the type of contexts that surround words and how these contexts affect the learning of unknown words. The paper informs that it is traditionally accepted that vocabulary learning is most effective using context-based as opposed to definition-based and other word acquisition methods. Two types of contexts are referred to: pedagogical contexts, which are created with the intent of illuminating unknown words, and natural contexts, which are less directed. Natural contexts are said, by the authors, to constitute most of the reading material used in vocabulary development. The authors describe a hypothesis they generated regarding the latitude of effectiveness of natural contexts, speculating that on one end of a “continuum” the contexts would be effectively unhelpful in word acquisition, and on the other end, the contexts would be “directive.” They report that the hypothesis was tested and the data supported the notion of the continuum. Strategies are presented to supplement vocabulary learning, as it is noted that these are likely to benefit less skilled readers, those “most in need of vocabulary development.” The place of teachers is discussed, with suggestions made on how to aid students’ vocabulary development, and, in concluding, the paper makes recommendations about how vocabulary development in general can be more effective—by the use of pedagogical contexts and by the supplementary methods discussed.
If the authors’ experiment is to be taken seriously, and it ought to be, the general idea of context categories is particularly relevant to the CVA project as it raises the issue of how, by design, SNePS exhibits a “sense” of context differentiation. It also raises the issue of how to reconcile the authors’ suggestion that pedagogical contexts be the primary source for vocabulary development, and the idea of the intuitively natural contexts of STEM texts. In the event that the authors’ leanings in this regard, however well-informed, are impractical, the development of a curriculum based on the computational theory underlying the SNePS approach offers an alternative. This is to say that whatever the shortcomings of the contexts available in STEM texts, with the implications concerning reader comprehension, SNePS may well provide a way to counter any resulting ill-effects. As for the goal of creating AI systems that operate independent of human assistance, there is little need to be concerned about the types of contexts available, as these systems would most likely not be involved in tasks where they are privileged to choose preferred contexts.
a "word" is a graph with a root letter and an arithmetic series of probabilities with in abc space... context is constrained by how relevant any output is to its counterpart in tension... so... whose shit is better?
If the authors’ experiment is to be taken seriously, and it ought to be, the general idea of context categories is particularly relevant to the CVA project as it raises the issue of how, by design, SNePS exhibits a “sense” of context differentiation. It also raises the issue of how to reconcile the authors’ suggestion that pedagogical contexts be the primary source for vocabulary development, and the idea of the intuitively natural contexts of STEM texts. In the event that the authors’ leanings in this regard, however well-informed, are impractical, the development of a curriculum based on the computational theory underlying the SNePS approach offers an alternative. This is to say that whatever the shortcomings of the contexts available in STEM texts, with the implications concerning reader comprehension, SNePS may well provide a way to counter any resulting ill-effects. As for the goal of creating AI systems that operate independent of human assistance, there is little need to be concerned about the types of contexts available, as these systems would most likely not be involved in tasks where they are privileged to choose preferred contexts.
a "word" is a graph with a root letter and an arithmetic series of probabilities with in abc space... context is constrained by how relevant any output is to its counterpart in tension... so... whose shit is better?
10...
Owing to the inherently unconstrained nature of the domain, natural language processing systems would be well-served to accommodate the ability to learn new words encountered during the process of natural language analysis. The paper briefly touches on the FOULUP program which utilized scripts to learn words from context, and discusses, in-depth, an algorithm-based “incremental learning” approach implemented in the system POLITICS. POLITICS uses “goal-driven” inference methods in the process of natural language analysis. This is a key factor in the system’s ability to provide contextual information necessary for inducing the meaning of unknown words. As an example, the paper discusses the way in which POLITICS analyzed the following input text, “Russia sent massive arms shipments to the MPLA in Angola,” where the acronym MPLA was an unknown word to the system. The POLITICS algorithm for learning a new word, the “project-and-integrate method,” includes the use of syntactic and semantic analyses, contextual enrichment, and belief revision in order to arrive at a best-fit, semantically, for unknown words. The paper, then, looks at ways in which word-senses may be abstracted to a lowest common denominator of sorts in order for the words to be semantically relevant in context. The paper concludes by enumerating a few strategies for developing the abilities of a natural language system and gives brief insight into each.
The paper, while indicating an interest in the general improvement of the “language understanding capabilities” of natural language systems, is primarily slanted to deal with a system’s ability to learn unknown words from context. Insofar as the project-and-integrate method is a true algorithm for generating word-definitions from unknown words, it is similar to the CVA strategy. That is, no miracles occur. The paper is concerned with what the author refers to as “incremental learning,” which, in its own right, is not divergent from the CVA project’s aspiration to allow the SNePS system enrich its own vocabulary solely from context. Both approaches require a lack of outside assistance such as dictionaries, etc.
letters are the primary unit of natural language processing.
the axioms..
the letter C represents a Complete cycle. The letters b and B represent the analyses of the relevant cycle. They birth in binary 3 and produce an association composed from the relation of the superclass to the two relevant subclasses and all regular expression matches in the entire graph space that, in any way, can be structurally controlled by this association...
The paper, while indicating an interest in the general improvement of the “language understanding capabilities” of natural language systems, is primarily slanted to deal with a system’s ability to learn unknown words from context. Insofar as the project-and-integrate method is a true algorithm for generating word-definitions from unknown words, it is similar to the CVA strategy. That is, no miracles occur. The paper is concerned with what the author refers to as “incremental learning,” which, in its own right, is not divergent from the CVA project’s aspiration to allow the SNePS system enrich its own vocabulary solely from context. Both approaches require a lack of outside assistance such as dictionaries, etc.
letters are the primary unit of natural language processing.
the axioms..
the letter C represents a Complete cycle. The letters b and B represent the analyses of the relevant cycle. They birth in binary 3 and produce an association composed from the relation of the superclass to the two relevant subclasses and all regular expression matches in the entire graph space that, in any way, can be structurally controlled by this association...
tempo (meter)
(why? to speed things up...
the proposition is that "john loves mary"
1. loves is an attribute of "to love"
2. can object john of type 'man' "toLoveView" object mary of type woman?
3. since a human is a human and is polarizes, if "to love" polarizes in five minutes, then, "yes, john can "to love" mary".
4. The Interrupt (Mr. "HelloWorld!": John doth Loveth Mary
5. The C++ programmers : "SHUT THE FUCK UP BIATCH!!!!
the proposition is that "john loves mary"
1. loves is an attribute of "to love"
2. can object john of type 'man' "toLoveView" object mary of type woman?
3. since a human is a human and is polarizes, if "to love" polarizes in five minutes, then, "yes, john can "to love" mary".
4. The Interrupt (Mr. "HelloWorld!": John doth Loveth Mary
5. The C++ programmers : "SHUT THE FUCK UP BIATCH!!!!
Chinanza Igwe, National Honors Society (Undergrad)
The Propositional Semantic Network.
The Turin machine is also known as the "turning" machine. It is a single bournvita
box that if you shake it the lion or chinese man inside it will either growl or
not. if your mother born you well, then you can decrypt the thing the lion or chinese man has said. either way, you would do well to wonder what a list processor is doing as a computer programmer. you are an architect my dear.
so, it is a linear array of a recursive type. you take the first bit. you go
down to the bottom of its inheritance chain and divide the information into all relations "conceivable" by a rational agent. then you use rules to decide what you know about this object.
em... madam president, ...
(...and luv...
The Turin machine is also known as the "turning" machine. It is a single bournvita
box that if you shake it the lion or chinese man inside it will either growl or
not. if your mother born you well, then you can decrypt the thing the lion or chinese man has said. either way, you would do well to wonder what a list processor is doing as a computer programmer. you are an architect my dear.
so, it is a linear array of a recursive type. you take the first bit. you go
down to the bottom of its inheritance chain and divide the information into all relations "conceivable" by a rational agent. then you use rules to decide what you know about this object.
em... madam president, ...
(...and luv...
Optimism!
get the fuck out m'face...:-)
thanx...
(for rayle... with "the athlete's...
or is Szusaburo deaf?
thanx...
(for rayle... with "the athlete's...
or is Szusaburo deaf?
On November Knight
...
Persia...
(e....m....well... we won... im going to hang out with the athletes...
payce.. :-)
then breakfast... nah mean...
Persia...
(e....m....well... we won... im going to hang out with the athletes...
payce.. :-)
then breakfast... nah mean...
Of Omonolola Ogunyemina
If Isi owns three secondary schools, at a cost of one thousand dollars per month
per university in israel, then lola owns.. letme see... thirty...
so we have a conglomeration of thirty villages in the "upper savanah"
(seven more small tings we can do...
per university in israel, then lola owns.. letme see... thirty...
so we have a conglomeration of thirty villages in the "upper savanah"
(seven more small tings we can do...
Judgment
We broke synch with mr olanikpekun by four seconds, so I'll be brief.
Compromise is unacceptable. judgment against islam. one trillion (us)...d...
f"ine...()4the*
Compromise is unacceptable. judgment against islam. one trillion (us)...d...
f"ine...()4the*
The Moorish Science Temple of Drew Noble Ali
I was introduced to their oga 2 years ago... two months ago he forgot something...
which he never does... I took advantage... and now they're also in Check. Mate...
(iz jowke... ;-) (I feel VERY safe...
which he never does... I took advantage... and now they're also in Check. Mate...
(iz jowke... ;-) (I feel VERY safe...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The First Item Is...
...the original manuscript of "the Arubala of Persia," a tale of an American's
journey to find her original "center" at 8 Crowther Lane, University of Ibadan.
Several years ago, a short-haired American lady stopped by the house while Iyare
and Noruwa and Ahaz and Olympio and Innocent were tapping soccer. She came to
take pictures. Said she, she once live there.. where I then lived. I didn't
know that white people had a history before Mrs. Thompson, curator of the garden of eden. The bidding starts with Isi Joan Okogun, at $1.00. I'm sure she can afford
that given her "salary" (she owns three secondary schools near sapele).
here's the first excerpt.
...
The Throne Room
“Need we kill you immediately?”
“It serves no immediate purpose, Your Majesty.”
Pharaoh exhaled ruefully then pulled on his pipe. The witch had filled it with tobacco. Nonetheless, the aroma was acceptable.
“You should kill him. Remove his heart and eat it!” she yelled suddenly. Pharaoh’s court, by now used to the tirades of Her Majesty, bowed to the floor while the visitor waited for his fate to be decided.
“I am Pharaoh and this is Her Majesty, Daughter of Eden. For what reason might you be worthy enough to exist in my presence? I barely have time for foolishness.”
“Surely, one as wise as Her Majesty might delight in the presence of that whom His Majesty seems threatened by.”
“Guards! Guards!” Pharaoh roared, “Send His Majesty to the guest mansion and prepare a feast.”
“If it pleases His Majesty,” the visitor bowed quietly, “I will need specific ingredients for my evening bath.”
“What you wish for you will have, bountifully, Son of God.”
“Kill him! Kill him!” Her Majesty yelled again.
Pharaoh, again, exhaled ruefully, then dismissed the Son of God with a bored salute. This was the third monarch in three months to visit. They wanted rain. They wanted grain. They wanted peace. And all he had to do, day in day out, was listen to Her Majesty’s madness. But, then, such is the way of the Kingdom of the Sun.
“Perhaps I should take a walk in the garden,” Pharaoh pondered out loud.
“Your Excellency,” Arubala whispered cautiously, “Her Majesty is pregnant. Perhaps it is unwise.”
“Is it my child?”
“Such matters are at the discretion of God, Your Excellency.”
“You will be rewarded with fourteen prostitutes.”
“Sir, one as holy as you need not concern oneself with worldly matters.”
“Suit yourself.”
“But if it pleases His Majesty.”
“Speak, Son of God!”
“My nephew, Arubala’s battalion is in need of replenishment.”
“He is a tyrant! He seeks to destroy our kingdom by tarnishing my reputation in all the land. Why, even in Arabia, they wonder how such an undisciplined lout can claim to be an ambassador of Osiris. Why might I not gauge his eyes out and feed them to Her Majesty? Were it not for you, I would have him back in the university. He is ill-trained and uncultured. Such a cultureless buffoon ought not have an army. Why does he lead a brigade?”
“Sir, his army is the pride and joy of our kingdom. They subdued the Yoruba rebellion in the West, brought peace to Canaan, and have established wonderful relationships with His Royal Majesty, the King of Arabia.”
“Then it is settled. He shall have whatever he wants. Give me a blade.”
“Get a blade, quickly!” Arubala yelled.
Her Majesty excitedly handed a blade to Pharaoh with which he dutifully cut a small line against his arm and let the blood drip upon a piece of paper. With it he signed his name and handed the paper to Arubala.
“His Majesty is gracious.”
“Your wisdom has sustained our Kingdom.”
“Perhaps Pharaoh might wish to get some rest for the meeting of the Royal Priests tomorrow?”
“One who dares utter the name must wish for immediate death.”
“I will leave you now Your Majesty.”
“And I you.” And with that, Pharaoh glided off the throne and into the arms of Heaven.
The Visitor
“Hey, young man! Take me to your leader!”
“What are you an alien?”
“Ah, you know the line eh? Theo is the name. Theo Adams.”
“Are you American?”
“Yes, petulant fellow, I am American.”
“I wish to travel there one day.”
“Ah, tis indeed a beautiful place.”
“I have heard many things of it.”
“And I have heard many things of this your strange and magical civilization. What is your name?”
“I am Amkah, son of Pharaoh.”
“Er, as in Pharaoh, ruler of the sun and all that jazz.”
“And all that jazz.”
“Not to make light of the situation, but shouldn’t Pharaoh’s son be surrounded by hordes of heartless soldiers and those people with feathers?”
“Ah, you visited the temple.”
“It inspired fright in me.”
“My father is Pharaoh. He understands power.”
“And you, you just walk around like a… er, peasant.”
“I haven’t had money to buy new clothes recently.”
“Hmm. Pharaoh’s son. If you say so.”
“You know, my father is going senile these days.” Amkah said rather curiously. “One of his decisions I have actually questioned.”
“To his face?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That I was a rebel and that I should be put in a den, chained to the wall and fed bread and water for ten years.”
“Was he serious?”
“He is wise so it is hard to say. But after so many years of wisdom, a person begins to sound senile. However, I do believe that since he lives with the Lord and can still bring about rain and still communes with the Queen of our Sacred River, he is qualified to make some decisions.”
“Some decisions, eh? What are you a policy analyst?”
“I am the heir to the throne so I can displace Pharaoh and Her Majesty at my discretion and take over their Kingdom if they disobey Osiris.”
“And you would know Osiris, I suppose?”
“Are you evil?”
“I try not to be.”
“Then I will show you a secret. Follow me.”
A path suddenly appeared in the bushes and the duo trudged silently into the quiet of the forest, birds following the last Son of God available to protect the security interests of the Unified States in times of war. This was his job, Amkah, son of Pharaoh.
“How old are you, fella?”
“I am fifteen.”
“Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
“I have eight degrees.”
“Ah, yes, Pharaoh’s son.”
“If I told you I was the Son of God, would you be intelligent enough to understand it?”
“Well, you know… Who is God?”
“God of God and Country, you know?”
“Ah, that God. I thought it was the one on the throne.”
“You are obviously slightly smart, but a tad uncultured sir. I will have you schooled while you are in this land so that you do not get mauled by rebels.”
“Is rebellion a big thing?”
“It is the only thing a king worries about.”
“And how does a king sustain his civilization for as long as yours has been sustained?”
“I can tell you, but then I’ll have to kill you.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Without warning a Lion roared and a flock of birds departed the earth.
“Maybe you will take your chances later. Yes?”
“Em, if you insist. Where are we going?”
“To see Abimelek.”
“He sounds familiar. Wasn’t he in the Bible?”
“His mother is from Israel.”
“And he lives in the forest.”
“There’s his house!”
It was a large, square house. It was made of clay and it seemed to own the forest. From a chimney, one of four, rose gray smoke. It was just as well, the evening had become slightly chilly. Theo stopped for a second then proceeded to take a picture of this lonely abode in the middle of a forest, yards away, ostensibly, from a lion which would devour all who learned the secrets of Pharaoh. This was one for the ages.
Amkah bellowed, “Wise sage, highest of all the Priests of the Sun, less I, show me your attire!”
“Maybe,” a voice retorted from within, “This is the one who left me a meal this morning who did not understand the necessity of salt?”
“Her Majesty has blocked all trade routes from the south because of the insolence of a prince. Salt will be forthcoming from Persia as soon as that can be arranged.”
“And how? How shall I do my job without salt?! Perhaps Her Majesty would like to see her darling son crushed into powder and used to spice my meal?”
“Perhaps. She spends her days attempting to share her thighs with the chief bodyguard of the most high. I cannot imagine that her lust will be dampened by this event.”
“Maybe it is true that she is pregnant?”
“Maybe it is true. Shall I be jealous?”
“You are heir to the throne.”
“And I intend never to forget that till that day I assume my role.”
“You will assume your role this evening. I need you to act on my behalf.”
“You shirk your duties once again, oh great priest. Where shall this take me this time?”
“Before Pharaoh’s throne.”
“I have not the attire to be before one as holy as he.”
“This will be remedied.”
“Strangers do not help much. Your theory is inefficient.”
“Then who is this stranger you have brought on holy ground?”
“Er, I’m Theo. Theo Adams.”
“Remove thy shoes! Thou art on holy ground!”
Theo looked at Amkah. Amkah peered intently forward then shook his head at Theo.
“You don’t have to,” he whispered, “Unless he comes out.”
“Maybe the stranger will help you?” the voice growled from within.
“Well, I’m a visitor here, and, em, I can loan the lad a few bucks. You like U.S. Dollars here, eh?”
“Amkah! Son of God! Depart from me!”
“I just need some new clothes.”
“Then have the stranger buy you some clothes.”
Amkah looked at Theo. Theo shrugged. Why not?
“The stranger has agreed.”
“Then he will be a guest at Pharaoh’s court this evening!”
“Before I leave, Osiris.”
“Yes?”
“Beware of Her Majesty’s guile. I think you, too, are falling in love with her.”
Silence.
“Amkah.”
“Abimelek.”
“You will rule this land one thousand years. But you will do so with kindness, for despite our ways, you have treated me with nothing but.”
“You chain me with your sarcasm”
“Depart from me!”
Arubala, Conqueror of Persia
“General Arubala, your presence needs no announcement.”
“Yet you honor me with these elaborate furnishings and fine wine, Kujala.”
“And yet I fill as though I have not done enough. You have done us proud.”
“And I am proud to be of our blessed people. Tell me, Kujala, was Her Majesty aware that I would be returning?”
“Such a question is mysterious in its import.”
“What would our kingdom be without the priestesses? There is none here to greet a wary soul. While I am certainly disposed of happiness to see the young cadets here to celebrate our kingdom, I find it troubling that I do not see the queens of our Sacred River.”
“Do not attribute their absence to anything special, Arubala. These days there is much to do for the likes of them. We are ever in need of rain, you know?”
“Somehow your explanation fails to tickle my bone marrow. I think Her Majesty remains displeased with me because of my handling of the Yoruba affair.”
“Yemoja knows her people well. She is fond of them. But she is aware that you had a job to do and you did it. I cannot imagine Her Majesty bearing a grudge against one who has so often brought such good fortune to our kingdom.”
“I should call you naïve, Kujala, had I not known that you are a peacemaker. Her Majesty has always been suspicious of me. The Yoruba episode only made it worse.”
“Arubala… Arubala. Why do you speak of things like this? I am the high priest of the temple of the Olodus. I should know a thing or two about Yoruba affairs. The truth is, Her Majesty is eager to reconcile the Yoruba realm with the rest of the Unified Kingdom, but her zealousness in this regard does not overtake her love for what we represent. There is none like us and never shall there be.”
“So you say, oh wise priest. And these young cadets, they look sharp, but they embezzle wine freely and without concern. How is their training?”
“They are eager, General, to join our armies at the fronts. We have many notables amongst them.”
“I am told by a bird that my battalion is to be fully replenished and restocked beyond our needs. I must thank you, Kujala. You have always taken care of us.”
“Although I am your guardian, this time it was not my doing.”
“And so, whose was it?”
“Pharaoh itself.”
“Pharaoh itself?”
“Itself.”
General Arubala whistled expressively. “How did such a thing come about?”
“I spoke to your uncle and he worked his magic. He has the ear of our Lord. You will receive everything you need by the end of next week. Then you can continue the magnificent work that you have done. Your name rings forth from Arabia to Banyamulenge.”
“It is all for the glory of our kingdom, Kujala.”
General Arubala surveyed the hall. The young cadets were involving themselves with food and drink, jabbering all the way about this then that. Kujala said there were notables amongst them. He was never wrong. But he was not right about Her Majesty. Yemoja was a wily one. It was impossible to know what she was thinking at any point in time. But that she was unimpressed with his handling of the Yoruba affair was not a matter he doubted. He should have known to tread carefully, given her sensitivity about the place from which her spirit was brought forth. Then again, what could he have done? The work of a General is to maintain the unity of the kingdom and it is a duty none can shirk from.
“Arubala, you will be joining Pharaoh for dinner this evening.”
“It will be days before I am worthy, by which time I will have to be returning.”
“Never fear, Arubala. The Royal Priests are meeting tomorrow. Pharaoh’s perfection is currently beyond comparison. Any in his presence at this peak season will escape reproach for it is not possible to be anything but lesser than he at this time. If you wait till after the meeting, and he returns from the highest realms, then you stand to be compared against his imperfection, and dear friend, there is none for whom such a comparison might bear the fruits of joy.”
“Then I shall dine with Pharaoh this evening. Will Her Majesty be there?”
“Would you expect any less of her on the eve of Pharaoh’s flight to the heights of the universe?”
“Then I need to excuse myself at this time and elevate my consciousness. She will surely test me.”
“I do not doubt this to be the case, Arubala, but please attach no hidden agendas to her behavior. You know how she is.”
“And my uncle?”
Kujala stared away from the General’s face. “He prophesies his departure, Arubala.”
“He has said this to you?”
“And to no one else, Arubala. I am the high priest of Olodumare, the force that holds the answer to all mysteries. Arubala wishes to join the almighty.”
“Is he ill?”
“Who is not ill that has seen the face of Yemoja?”
“You speak not a lie. Can I see him?”
“Wait till tomorrow, Arubala. Then we will go together.”
“If you think it best.”
“I think it best.”
“I will depart now. Maybe you will dine with Pharaoh also?”
“Alas, I must elevate my own consciousness for the meeting of the Royal Priests tomorrow. You, you must relax and enjoy yourself. You have worked hard and you deserve a break.”
“The work of a General is never done, Kujala.”
“I will seek you out after the meeting tomorrow, Arubala, and we will speak to your uncle. He does not attend the meetings anymore.”
“He is beyond rebuke, I take it.”
“Has he not always been?”
“Till tomorrow then…”
“Till tomorrow.”
Spiritual Wickedness
“You are the American tourist, are you not?”
Theo looked at the man. He wore a hooded robe and one could barely make out his face in the darkness of the corner where he stood. His green eyes gleamed mischievously. Theo was standing by a row of wooden frames with silk hanging from them. He was in the store of a merchant who sold clothes to the priesthood. It was a large, gloomy, warehouse-like space, with silk and velvet everywhere—on wooden frames, rolled up in bundles, made into clothes and robes. Theo stared intently into the darkness of the corner that concealed the man. He only succeeded in seeing more of the man’s eyes. They were almost luminescent.
“I am an American explorer, yes.”
“Explorer. Hmm. Why are you here?”
“A friend of mine is trying out some clothes.”
“No, no. I mean, why are you in the kingdom?”
“I am an explorer. You know, an explorer?”
“A quick wit. A quick wit. You will need it here. Tell me, what have you seen so far?”
“Well, I’ve only just gotten here…”
“And why are you here?”
Theo was about to speak then stopped. He considered asking the man to step out from the darkness. It would make him feel better. As though reading his mind, the man stepped forward and a little bit of sunlight that filtered in from a small aperture near the roof softened his eyes. Theo relaxed slightly, then spoke.
“I heard about this strange and wonderful place and I decided to see it for myself.”
“Many have heard about this strange and wonderful place, but few have made it. You have the hand of God upon your soul. Tell me, what is your name?”
“I’m Theo… and you?”
“They call me Spiritual Wickedness.”
Theo felt a chill run down his spine as well as the urge to guffaw. It was a strange feeling.
“Spiritual Wickedness? As in the one wrestled with in high and low places?”
“You have read scripture! Good! Good! It will serve you well in this land.”
“There is so much religion here.”
“It is not religion, my dear man. You have come to the place where God speaks. Here live the holy but flawed, children of the living God. Here live prophets and sages, the wisest of all spirits and the richest of all souls. These are, my dear man, the children of the sun. This is where the most high sit upon the thrones of the chosen ones. And you, you must have been chosen.”
“Me? Well… I’m flattered but…”
“Do not shortchange yourself, oh sojourner. Destiny has brought you to this place and you must follow its course until you have accomplished that which was set out for you.” The man’s eyes gleamed. Theo stared into them, hypnotized by their intensity. The eyes twinkled and the man leaned towards Theo, revealing a portion of his face. It was a deep, chocolate brown, bony and intense.
“Tell me,” he said, “What do you think about our women?”
“Your women?”
“Yes, our women.”
“I.. well, I... I don’t know how to answer that.”
“They are the most beautiful you will ever see. There is nothing as unto a beautiful woman. Do you not agree?”
“I can agree with you there… But this is not all there is to life.”
“But think carefully, now, think carefully. What is more beautiful than a beautiful woman? Not the most mellifluous melody. Not the most exquisitely crafted art. Not the most delicately prepared cuisine. The woman is God’s gift to creation.”
“That’s interesting.”
The eyes twinkled some more and the man leaned back into the darkness.
“I will tell you a secret. Our women are curious about foreigners. You will attract the best of them. But I see a flaw in you. You will succumb to the temptation of lust and you will discover that our women are unlike any you have ever met.”
Theo was curious. “Exactly what do you mean by that?”
The man giggled. “Ah, you are curious?”
“Well… now that you’ve brought it up.”
The man lowered his voice and spoke conspiratorially, “The people of this land have their ways. There are rules that have been formed over a long period. These are informal rules, but rules nonetheless. To attain the highest standard of glory is to find one’s soul mate. Our men and our women, they spend their lives perfecting themselves, searching for their soul mate. But you must know, must you not, that without one’s soul mate, one is not a complete being? You do know this, yes? You DO know this?”
“Well, not precisely…”
“Not precisely? Not precisely? What do you mean not precisely? That you know this in a way that is inaccurate? You will need sharper wits than that, my dear fellow. This is the land of Pharaoh! Now listen to me, and listen very carefully. Every man must find his soul mate and every woman must find her soul mate. When this union occurs, the circle is complete and both souls attain the highest standard of glory. The closer one gets to discovering one’s soul mate, the more… er… pleasurable the encounters can be. I think you catch my drift.”
“I’m listening.”
“They say that if the union between you and your soul mate happen to be of a higher standard than Pharaoh and his soul mate…” the eyes twinkled again.
“Yes?”
“Then perhaps you will sit in Pharaoh’s place.”
“But you are not sure?”
“No one has ever attained such glory, yet I see something in you.”
“Fascinating stuff, Mr. er, Wickedness, but I didn’t come here to search for my soul mate.”
“Ah, you! You are too hasty. Listen to what I have to tell you. I’m about to tell you the secret of this civilization. Do you want to hear it or not?”
“Well you’re probably going to tell me anyway.”
“Again I ask, do you want to hear it or not?”
“Fine. Tell me.”
“The one who sits by Pharaoh’s side, they call her Yemoja. She is the queen of our Sacred River and daughter of the living God. For a very long time now Her Majesty has been bored. Someone like you will make her curious again. Now listen. If by some chance, by some divine stroke of luck you find yourself in Pharaoh’s court and you find yourself with the opportunity to command her attention, then you must do this thing.” The eyes twinkled yet again, the mischief now at its height. The man paused.
“I’m listening.”
The man’s voice broke into a whisper. “You must look directly into her eyes.”
No sooner had the man said this than did Theo break out of his hypnotic gaze and get a hold of himself. He had been entranced by this man’s sordid tale. He spoke abruptly, “Thank you for your advice. I’ll take it into consideration.”
The man muttered something, then vanished into the dark corner, presumably making his way to the front of the store and out through the entrance.
“Who were you talking to?” Amkah arrived.
“Oh nobody. Just some old man who wanted to know who I was.”
“I see. How do I look?”
Theo took a step back and gasped. The young lad looked absolutely regal. He was dressed in baggy silk trousers, deep red in color, a shiny black undergarment with gold embroidery in intricate patterns down the sides, and a red-colored silk gown that flowed to the ground.
“I wasn’t expecting something so….”
“Regal?”
“Yes,” Theo said, “Regal. I hope I can afford it.”
“Don’t worry, the palace will make up the difference. Whatever you give will be the down-payment.”
They walked to the front of the store and the owner, a short, shifty-eyed sort who walked with a limp, with a vigorous moustache and a pot-belly, opened his arms and exclaimed.
“Your Majesty! You look absolutely fabulous!”
“How much will this one cost, Abdul?”
“Well, let me see…”
He snapped a pen from behind his ear and began doing some calculations on a piece of paper. After what seemed like an eternity, replete with corrections and recalculations, the man sighed.
“Will he be putting the down-payment?” he asked, nodding at Theo.
“Yes.”
“Then tell him to give me whatever he can.”
Theo was intrigued. He had no idea how much to give. “Can you give me an idea? How much?”
“Anything you think is appropriate,” Amkah said. “Anything at all. Like I said, the palace will make up the difference.”
Theo fished in his wallet and was about to give the store owner a twenty-dollar bill, then thought better of it. A strong intuition took hold over him and he gave the man a hundred-dollar bill.
“Ah, he has the hand of God upon his soul!” the man said.
“Well we must be going now,” Amkah said.
“Yeah, well, goodbye sir,” Theo said.
“The light of the almighty guide your footsteps, Servant of God!” the man replied.
Amkah and Theo departed into the cool evening. The sun was now hiding behind a cloud and the birds had started singing their lullabies. In the distance Theo could hear the sound of singing and drumming. It got progressively louder as they walked. As Theo would find, it was coming from the palace. As Theo would find.
Commander Shango
Alaafin Shango spoke with birds that carried messages from Oyo to Morocco. The rumor was he was in love with a damsel from those parts and that her newly ordained father would have nothing of this. And yet, Shango's reputation preceded him so that the royal priest eventually sent envoys to Oyo to bless the land with linen and silk. Shango sent back one hundred and thirty-nine Agbadas made of Khaki, and a gleaming sword. Shango's reputation conjured thunder. He was, after all, the one whom Olodumare greeted with a thunder clap on the day he was born.
And yet, Alaafin Shango confided in one young boy drunk with the wine of the gods, that he was displeased with the ways things were going with the families. The petulant youngster responded to the Alaafin that it was because he was not using Banubian Astronometry that things were not going so great. The Alaafin was astounded. He had been taking one of his morning walks, his hands behind his back, his trademark striped khaki Agbada dancing with the morning breeze. In the air was the sound of a woman from Morocco. Or so the rumors suggested. It was certainly amusing to the Alaafin that his people spent so much time attempting to understand what he was muttering when he walked through the settlement and spoke with spirits as he smiled quietly with the market women and young men who deposited the food from the farms, always managing to catch His Eminence on time. Everyone wanted a blessing from this holy man, thin and stern with a bronzed, bony face and inset eyes. His face, a smile that could transform into a frown or confused look without much of a change in expression, was his escape into space. His guards, forty paces away in sixteen directions around the Alaafin, began chanting. Their harmony needed something extra. Aderotun would be sure to take care of this. He always noticed these things.
On the outskirts of the royal settlement there was a security breach. The young lad had stumbled into the Alaafin between guards fifteen and sixteen. As always, the Alaafin's magnetism was never called into question. But at the royal settlement, how should a drunk person be pulled so close to the Alaafin? And a young lad at that!
The Alaafin initiated the dialog.
"Young man, shouldn't you be elsewhere?"
"I am drunk, sir," the lad responded.
"I see. I am very busy now. Can I help you?"
"Yes, sir. I need money to travel."
"Where do you wish to go?"
"The great city."
The Alaafin laughed and the clouds darkened. He felt the elements and knew Olokun would speak today.
"Young man, if you solve my problem, I will give you money to go to the great city."
"I can solve your problem, sir," the young lad responded.
It was then that the Alaafin confided in the young man about the way in which things were going. The families had grown so big, accurate divination was becoming a problem. The voice of Olodumare was becoming obscured by familial squabbles over petty things, and the way into the future was blurry. Furthermore, in each of the sixteen cities founded by the patriarchs, there was no longer a singular deity to represent their access to Olodumare. New gods were popping up by the handful as the farmers attempted to best each other with soil more fertile and rain more abundant on their plots. This was a prescription for chaos. The young lad nodded his head and listened intently. Quiet thunder begun to rumble and soon the rain had started sprinkling His Eminence, the guards and the young lad. The market women, who were two hundred paces away, sighed exasperatedly. Alaafin or not, this rain would cost them business!
"Banubian Astronometry," the young lad said.
"Banubia?"
"Banubian Astronometry, sir. You are not using Banubian Astronometry."
It was a puzzled look on the Alaafin's face. Banubian Astronometry.
"What is your name, son?" Alaafin Shango asked of the boy.
"I have no name."
"A boy with no name. Where are you from?"
"My earliest memories are of the city of Ile Ibn Ogi’ahmen-re. It was there my journey began."
The weather turned darker, gloomier. Shango's guards were now humming the fifteenth chant.
"Am I familiar to you?" Shango asked.
"You remind me of something, sir, but I cannot think of what it is."
"Where did you journey through to find this place?"
"Six times I left Ile Ibn Ogi’ahmen-re. Six times I found myself in the city again, wondering how it was that I arrived back at that place. Then from there I made it three times to Gangan. It is from there that I was sent in this direction by the birds and an old, blind man."
"How old are you, son?"
"They say I am at least five hundred years old."
Shango raised his right eye-brow. "You have gotten my attention. Your language is not full, yet from it your tongue is laced with wisdom. Who has sent you? Or is this your command of the language of the Orishas a product of the wisdom of your years?"
"All I can tell you, sir, is that it is imperative that I make it to the great city."
"I see."
Shango signaled to Ade-ranti who disembarked from his horse and made his way to His Eminence, bowing as he did. Shango whispered something to the young cavalry leader whose job it was to police Shango’s body guards, encircling them constantly to ensure that order prevailed at the primary concentric circle from which all power emanated and radiated forth to all the families. Ade-ranti looked at Shango, somewhat alarmed, then bowed quietly. He walked back to his horse and sped off to the north, leaving dust in his wake, but not before barking instructions to the first set of the foot-soldiers who formed five lines, each foot-soldier fifty yards from the next, back to the royal household.
News that Shango was breaking the magnetic motion towards him by venturing out of the royal settlement filtered into the palace one foot-soldier after another. They claimed that he was headed to a place called Banubia to find the language of a five hundred year-old boy. Abikeh, the grand caretaker, immediately ordered a six-month supply of dried ewedu, akara, eko, and smoked fish to be prepared. The last time Shango had embarked on one of these journeys it was three months before they saw him again. Abikeh would not be caught off-guard this time. What concerned her most was that it was possible that Shango was being pulled by another magnetic force. The man could be absent-minded when he chose to be, and this could lead to instability in Greater Oyo. Once, just outside the city of Ile-Agbaro, His Eminence's entourage had run into the entourage of a nobleman from one of the sixteen families who had been visiting his sister. A war almost broke out because it could not be decided whose magnetic sphere had pulled whom to whom. Of course, when word got to the nobleman that he was engaged in conversation with Alaafin Shango, he sent his profuse apologies and both entourages were allowed to occupy space without intruding on the other. Shango, holy man chosen of Olodumare, was graceful in this regard. He could have ordered his drummers and singers and security detail to act the part, after it was revealed who he was, but he simply continued his journey without much fanfare. On that occasion, he was searching for a tree that bore a specific fruit. He did not find it and returned, moody, to the royal settlement.
By late afternoon, the entire royal settlement was abuzz. Everyone was employed in the service of His Eminence. The palace saw a steady stream of visitors, entering and leaving with instructions and provisions. Looking as a bird from the sky, one would notice that they formed something of a straight line in agreement with the direction of the Alaafin's motion. He was headed north.
journey to find her original "center" at 8 Crowther Lane, University of Ibadan.
Several years ago, a short-haired American lady stopped by the house while Iyare
and Noruwa and Ahaz and Olympio and Innocent were tapping soccer. She came to
take pictures. Said she, she once live there.. where I then lived. I didn't
know that white people had a history before Mrs. Thompson, curator of the garden of eden. The bidding starts with Isi Joan Okogun, at $1.00. I'm sure she can afford
that given her "salary" (she owns three secondary schools near sapele).
here's the first excerpt.
...
The Throne Room
“Need we kill you immediately?”
“It serves no immediate purpose, Your Majesty.”
Pharaoh exhaled ruefully then pulled on his pipe. The witch had filled it with tobacco. Nonetheless, the aroma was acceptable.
“You should kill him. Remove his heart and eat it!” she yelled suddenly. Pharaoh’s court, by now used to the tirades of Her Majesty, bowed to the floor while the visitor waited for his fate to be decided.
“I am Pharaoh and this is Her Majesty, Daughter of Eden. For what reason might you be worthy enough to exist in my presence? I barely have time for foolishness.”
“Surely, one as wise as Her Majesty might delight in the presence of that whom His Majesty seems threatened by.”
“Guards! Guards!” Pharaoh roared, “Send His Majesty to the guest mansion and prepare a feast.”
“If it pleases His Majesty,” the visitor bowed quietly, “I will need specific ingredients for my evening bath.”
“What you wish for you will have, bountifully, Son of God.”
“Kill him! Kill him!” Her Majesty yelled again.
Pharaoh, again, exhaled ruefully, then dismissed the Son of God with a bored salute. This was the third monarch in three months to visit. They wanted rain. They wanted grain. They wanted peace. And all he had to do, day in day out, was listen to Her Majesty’s madness. But, then, such is the way of the Kingdom of the Sun.
“Perhaps I should take a walk in the garden,” Pharaoh pondered out loud.
“Your Excellency,” Arubala whispered cautiously, “Her Majesty is pregnant. Perhaps it is unwise.”
“Is it my child?”
“Such matters are at the discretion of God, Your Excellency.”
“You will be rewarded with fourteen prostitutes.”
“Sir, one as holy as you need not concern oneself with worldly matters.”
“Suit yourself.”
“But if it pleases His Majesty.”
“Speak, Son of God!”
“My nephew, Arubala’s battalion is in need of replenishment.”
“He is a tyrant! He seeks to destroy our kingdom by tarnishing my reputation in all the land. Why, even in Arabia, they wonder how such an undisciplined lout can claim to be an ambassador of Osiris. Why might I not gauge his eyes out and feed them to Her Majesty? Were it not for you, I would have him back in the university. He is ill-trained and uncultured. Such a cultureless buffoon ought not have an army. Why does he lead a brigade?”
“Sir, his army is the pride and joy of our kingdom. They subdued the Yoruba rebellion in the West, brought peace to Canaan, and have established wonderful relationships with His Royal Majesty, the King of Arabia.”
“Then it is settled. He shall have whatever he wants. Give me a blade.”
“Get a blade, quickly!” Arubala yelled.
Her Majesty excitedly handed a blade to Pharaoh with which he dutifully cut a small line against his arm and let the blood drip upon a piece of paper. With it he signed his name and handed the paper to Arubala.
“His Majesty is gracious.”
“Your wisdom has sustained our Kingdom.”
“Perhaps Pharaoh might wish to get some rest for the meeting of the Royal Priests tomorrow?”
“One who dares utter the name must wish for immediate death.”
“I will leave you now Your Majesty.”
“And I you.” And with that, Pharaoh glided off the throne and into the arms of Heaven.
The Visitor
“Hey, young man! Take me to your leader!”
“What are you an alien?”
“Ah, you know the line eh? Theo is the name. Theo Adams.”
“Are you American?”
“Yes, petulant fellow, I am American.”
“I wish to travel there one day.”
“Ah, tis indeed a beautiful place.”
“I have heard many things of it.”
“And I have heard many things of this your strange and magical civilization. What is your name?”
“I am Amkah, son of Pharaoh.”
“Er, as in Pharaoh, ruler of the sun and all that jazz.”
“And all that jazz.”
“Not to make light of the situation, but shouldn’t Pharaoh’s son be surrounded by hordes of heartless soldiers and those people with feathers?”
“Ah, you visited the temple.”
“It inspired fright in me.”
“My father is Pharaoh. He understands power.”
“And you, you just walk around like a… er, peasant.”
“I haven’t had money to buy new clothes recently.”
“Hmm. Pharaoh’s son. If you say so.”
“You know, my father is going senile these days.” Amkah said rather curiously. “One of his decisions I have actually questioned.”
“To his face?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That I was a rebel and that I should be put in a den, chained to the wall and fed bread and water for ten years.”
“Was he serious?”
“He is wise so it is hard to say. But after so many years of wisdom, a person begins to sound senile. However, I do believe that since he lives with the Lord and can still bring about rain and still communes with the Queen of our Sacred River, he is qualified to make some decisions.”
“Some decisions, eh? What are you a policy analyst?”
“I am the heir to the throne so I can displace Pharaoh and Her Majesty at my discretion and take over their Kingdom if they disobey Osiris.”
“And you would know Osiris, I suppose?”
“Are you evil?”
“I try not to be.”
“Then I will show you a secret. Follow me.”
A path suddenly appeared in the bushes and the duo trudged silently into the quiet of the forest, birds following the last Son of God available to protect the security interests of the Unified States in times of war. This was his job, Amkah, son of Pharaoh.
“How old are you, fella?”
“I am fifteen.”
“Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”
“I have eight degrees.”
“Ah, yes, Pharaoh’s son.”
“If I told you I was the Son of God, would you be intelligent enough to understand it?”
“Well, you know… Who is God?”
“God of God and Country, you know?”
“Ah, that God. I thought it was the one on the throne.”
“You are obviously slightly smart, but a tad uncultured sir. I will have you schooled while you are in this land so that you do not get mauled by rebels.”
“Is rebellion a big thing?”
“It is the only thing a king worries about.”
“And how does a king sustain his civilization for as long as yours has been sustained?”
“I can tell you, but then I’ll have to kill you.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Without warning a Lion roared and a flock of birds departed the earth.
“Maybe you will take your chances later. Yes?”
“Em, if you insist. Where are we going?”
“To see Abimelek.”
“He sounds familiar. Wasn’t he in the Bible?”
“His mother is from Israel.”
“And he lives in the forest.”
“There’s his house!”
It was a large, square house. It was made of clay and it seemed to own the forest. From a chimney, one of four, rose gray smoke. It was just as well, the evening had become slightly chilly. Theo stopped for a second then proceeded to take a picture of this lonely abode in the middle of a forest, yards away, ostensibly, from a lion which would devour all who learned the secrets of Pharaoh. This was one for the ages.
Amkah bellowed, “Wise sage, highest of all the Priests of the Sun, less I, show me your attire!”
“Maybe,” a voice retorted from within, “This is the one who left me a meal this morning who did not understand the necessity of salt?”
“Her Majesty has blocked all trade routes from the south because of the insolence of a prince. Salt will be forthcoming from Persia as soon as that can be arranged.”
“And how? How shall I do my job without salt?! Perhaps Her Majesty would like to see her darling son crushed into powder and used to spice my meal?”
“Perhaps. She spends her days attempting to share her thighs with the chief bodyguard of the most high. I cannot imagine that her lust will be dampened by this event.”
“Maybe it is true that she is pregnant?”
“Maybe it is true. Shall I be jealous?”
“You are heir to the throne.”
“And I intend never to forget that till that day I assume my role.”
“You will assume your role this evening. I need you to act on my behalf.”
“You shirk your duties once again, oh great priest. Where shall this take me this time?”
“Before Pharaoh’s throne.”
“I have not the attire to be before one as holy as he.”
“This will be remedied.”
“Strangers do not help much. Your theory is inefficient.”
“Then who is this stranger you have brought on holy ground?”
“Er, I’m Theo. Theo Adams.”
“Remove thy shoes! Thou art on holy ground!”
Theo looked at Amkah. Amkah peered intently forward then shook his head at Theo.
“You don’t have to,” he whispered, “Unless he comes out.”
“Maybe the stranger will help you?” the voice growled from within.
“Well, I’m a visitor here, and, em, I can loan the lad a few bucks. You like U.S. Dollars here, eh?”
“Amkah! Son of God! Depart from me!”
“I just need some new clothes.”
“Then have the stranger buy you some clothes.”
Amkah looked at Theo. Theo shrugged. Why not?
“The stranger has agreed.”
“Then he will be a guest at Pharaoh’s court this evening!”
“Before I leave, Osiris.”
“Yes?”
“Beware of Her Majesty’s guile. I think you, too, are falling in love with her.”
Silence.
“Amkah.”
“Abimelek.”
“You will rule this land one thousand years. But you will do so with kindness, for despite our ways, you have treated me with nothing but.”
“You chain me with your sarcasm”
“Depart from me!”
Arubala, Conqueror of Persia
“General Arubala, your presence needs no announcement.”
“Yet you honor me with these elaborate furnishings and fine wine, Kujala.”
“And yet I fill as though I have not done enough. You have done us proud.”
“And I am proud to be of our blessed people. Tell me, Kujala, was Her Majesty aware that I would be returning?”
“Such a question is mysterious in its import.”
“What would our kingdom be without the priestesses? There is none here to greet a wary soul. While I am certainly disposed of happiness to see the young cadets here to celebrate our kingdom, I find it troubling that I do not see the queens of our Sacred River.”
“Do not attribute their absence to anything special, Arubala. These days there is much to do for the likes of them. We are ever in need of rain, you know?”
“Somehow your explanation fails to tickle my bone marrow. I think Her Majesty remains displeased with me because of my handling of the Yoruba affair.”
“Yemoja knows her people well. She is fond of them. But she is aware that you had a job to do and you did it. I cannot imagine Her Majesty bearing a grudge against one who has so often brought such good fortune to our kingdom.”
“I should call you naïve, Kujala, had I not known that you are a peacemaker. Her Majesty has always been suspicious of me. The Yoruba episode only made it worse.”
“Arubala… Arubala. Why do you speak of things like this? I am the high priest of the temple of the Olodus. I should know a thing or two about Yoruba affairs. The truth is, Her Majesty is eager to reconcile the Yoruba realm with the rest of the Unified Kingdom, but her zealousness in this regard does not overtake her love for what we represent. There is none like us and never shall there be.”
“So you say, oh wise priest. And these young cadets, they look sharp, but they embezzle wine freely and without concern. How is their training?”
“They are eager, General, to join our armies at the fronts. We have many notables amongst them.”
“I am told by a bird that my battalion is to be fully replenished and restocked beyond our needs. I must thank you, Kujala. You have always taken care of us.”
“Although I am your guardian, this time it was not my doing.”
“And so, whose was it?”
“Pharaoh itself.”
“Pharaoh itself?”
“Itself.”
General Arubala whistled expressively. “How did such a thing come about?”
“I spoke to your uncle and he worked his magic. He has the ear of our Lord. You will receive everything you need by the end of next week. Then you can continue the magnificent work that you have done. Your name rings forth from Arabia to Banyamulenge.”
“It is all for the glory of our kingdom, Kujala.”
General Arubala surveyed the hall. The young cadets were involving themselves with food and drink, jabbering all the way about this then that. Kujala said there were notables amongst them. He was never wrong. But he was not right about Her Majesty. Yemoja was a wily one. It was impossible to know what she was thinking at any point in time. But that she was unimpressed with his handling of the Yoruba affair was not a matter he doubted. He should have known to tread carefully, given her sensitivity about the place from which her spirit was brought forth. Then again, what could he have done? The work of a General is to maintain the unity of the kingdom and it is a duty none can shirk from.
“Arubala, you will be joining Pharaoh for dinner this evening.”
“It will be days before I am worthy, by which time I will have to be returning.”
“Never fear, Arubala. The Royal Priests are meeting tomorrow. Pharaoh’s perfection is currently beyond comparison. Any in his presence at this peak season will escape reproach for it is not possible to be anything but lesser than he at this time. If you wait till after the meeting, and he returns from the highest realms, then you stand to be compared against his imperfection, and dear friend, there is none for whom such a comparison might bear the fruits of joy.”
“Then I shall dine with Pharaoh this evening. Will Her Majesty be there?”
“Would you expect any less of her on the eve of Pharaoh’s flight to the heights of the universe?”
“Then I need to excuse myself at this time and elevate my consciousness. She will surely test me.”
“I do not doubt this to be the case, Arubala, but please attach no hidden agendas to her behavior. You know how she is.”
“And my uncle?”
Kujala stared away from the General’s face. “He prophesies his departure, Arubala.”
“He has said this to you?”
“And to no one else, Arubala. I am the high priest of Olodumare, the force that holds the answer to all mysteries. Arubala wishes to join the almighty.”
“Is he ill?”
“Who is not ill that has seen the face of Yemoja?”
“You speak not a lie. Can I see him?”
“Wait till tomorrow, Arubala. Then we will go together.”
“If you think it best.”
“I think it best.”
“I will depart now. Maybe you will dine with Pharaoh also?”
“Alas, I must elevate my own consciousness for the meeting of the Royal Priests tomorrow. You, you must relax and enjoy yourself. You have worked hard and you deserve a break.”
“The work of a General is never done, Kujala.”
“I will seek you out after the meeting tomorrow, Arubala, and we will speak to your uncle. He does not attend the meetings anymore.”
“He is beyond rebuke, I take it.”
“Has he not always been?”
“Till tomorrow then…”
“Till tomorrow.”
Spiritual Wickedness
“You are the American tourist, are you not?”
Theo looked at the man. He wore a hooded robe and one could barely make out his face in the darkness of the corner where he stood. His green eyes gleamed mischievously. Theo was standing by a row of wooden frames with silk hanging from them. He was in the store of a merchant who sold clothes to the priesthood. It was a large, gloomy, warehouse-like space, with silk and velvet everywhere—on wooden frames, rolled up in bundles, made into clothes and robes. Theo stared intently into the darkness of the corner that concealed the man. He only succeeded in seeing more of the man’s eyes. They were almost luminescent.
“I am an American explorer, yes.”
“Explorer. Hmm. Why are you here?”
“A friend of mine is trying out some clothes.”
“No, no. I mean, why are you in the kingdom?”
“I am an explorer. You know, an explorer?”
“A quick wit. A quick wit. You will need it here. Tell me, what have you seen so far?”
“Well, I’ve only just gotten here…”
“And why are you here?”
Theo was about to speak then stopped. He considered asking the man to step out from the darkness. It would make him feel better. As though reading his mind, the man stepped forward and a little bit of sunlight that filtered in from a small aperture near the roof softened his eyes. Theo relaxed slightly, then spoke.
“I heard about this strange and wonderful place and I decided to see it for myself.”
“Many have heard about this strange and wonderful place, but few have made it. You have the hand of God upon your soul. Tell me, what is your name?”
“I’m Theo… and you?”
“They call me Spiritual Wickedness.”
Theo felt a chill run down his spine as well as the urge to guffaw. It was a strange feeling.
“Spiritual Wickedness? As in the one wrestled with in high and low places?”
“You have read scripture! Good! Good! It will serve you well in this land.”
“There is so much religion here.”
“It is not religion, my dear man. You have come to the place where God speaks. Here live the holy but flawed, children of the living God. Here live prophets and sages, the wisest of all spirits and the richest of all souls. These are, my dear man, the children of the sun. This is where the most high sit upon the thrones of the chosen ones. And you, you must have been chosen.”
“Me? Well… I’m flattered but…”
“Do not shortchange yourself, oh sojourner. Destiny has brought you to this place and you must follow its course until you have accomplished that which was set out for you.” The man’s eyes gleamed. Theo stared into them, hypnotized by their intensity. The eyes twinkled and the man leaned towards Theo, revealing a portion of his face. It was a deep, chocolate brown, bony and intense.
“Tell me,” he said, “What do you think about our women?”
“Your women?”
“Yes, our women.”
“I.. well, I... I don’t know how to answer that.”
“They are the most beautiful you will ever see. There is nothing as unto a beautiful woman. Do you not agree?”
“I can agree with you there… But this is not all there is to life.”
“But think carefully, now, think carefully. What is more beautiful than a beautiful woman? Not the most mellifluous melody. Not the most exquisitely crafted art. Not the most delicately prepared cuisine. The woman is God’s gift to creation.”
“That’s interesting.”
The eyes twinkled some more and the man leaned back into the darkness.
“I will tell you a secret. Our women are curious about foreigners. You will attract the best of them. But I see a flaw in you. You will succumb to the temptation of lust and you will discover that our women are unlike any you have ever met.”
Theo was curious. “Exactly what do you mean by that?”
The man giggled. “Ah, you are curious?”
“Well… now that you’ve brought it up.”
The man lowered his voice and spoke conspiratorially, “The people of this land have their ways. There are rules that have been formed over a long period. These are informal rules, but rules nonetheless. To attain the highest standard of glory is to find one’s soul mate. Our men and our women, they spend their lives perfecting themselves, searching for their soul mate. But you must know, must you not, that without one’s soul mate, one is not a complete being? You do know this, yes? You DO know this?”
“Well, not precisely…”
“Not precisely? Not precisely? What do you mean not precisely? That you know this in a way that is inaccurate? You will need sharper wits than that, my dear fellow. This is the land of Pharaoh! Now listen to me, and listen very carefully. Every man must find his soul mate and every woman must find her soul mate. When this union occurs, the circle is complete and both souls attain the highest standard of glory. The closer one gets to discovering one’s soul mate, the more… er… pleasurable the encounters can be. I think you catch my drift.”
“I’m listening.”
“They say that if the union between you and your soul mate happen to be of a higher standard than Pharaoh and his soul mate…” the eyes twinkled again.
“Yes?”
“Then perhaps you will sit in Pharaoh’s place.”
“But you are not sure?”
“No one has ever attained such glory, yet I see something in you.”
“Fascinating stuff, Mr. er, Wickedness, but I didn’t come here to search for my soul mate.”
“Ah, you! You are too hasty. Listen to what I have to tell you. I’m about to tell you the secret of this civilization. Do you want to hear it or not?”
“Well you’re probably going to tell me anyway.”
“Again I ask, do you want to hear it or not?”
“Fine. Tell me.”
“The one who sits by Pharaoh’s side, they call her Yemoja. She is the queen of our Sacred River and daughter of the living God. For a very long time now Her Majesty has been bored. Someone like you will make her curious again. Now listen. If by some chance, by some divine stroke of luck you find yourself in Pharaoh’s court and you find yourself with the opportunity to command her attention, then you must do this thing.” The eyes twinkled yet again, the mischief now at its height. The man paused.
“I’m listening.”
The man’s voice broke into a whisper. “You must look directly into her eyes.”
No sooner had the man said this than did Theo break out of his hypnotic gaze and get a hold of himself. He had been entranced by this man’s sordid tale. He spoke abruptly, “Thank you for your advice. I’ll take it into consideration.”
The man muttered something, then vanished into the dark corner, presumably making his way to the front of the store and out through the entrance.
“Who were you talking to?” Amkah arrived.
“Oh nobody. Just some old man who wanted to know who I was.”
“I see. How do I look?”
Theo took a step back and gasped. The young lad looked absolutely regal. He was dressed in baggy silk trousers, deep red in color, a shiny black undergarment with gold embroidery in intricate patterns down the sides, and a red-colored silk gown that flowed to the ground.
“I wasn’t expecting something so….”
“Regal?”
“Yes,” Theo said, “Regal. I hope I can afford it.”
“Don’t worry, the palace will make up the difference. Whatever you give will be the down-payment.”
They walked to the front of the store and the owner, a short, shifty-eyed sort who walked with a limp, with a vigorous moustache and a pot-belly, opened his arms and exclaimed.
“Your Majesty! You look absolutely fabulous!”
“How much will this one cost, Abdul?”
“Well, let me see…”
He snapped a pen from behind his ear and began doing some calculations on a piece of paper. After what seemed like an eternity, replete with corrections and recalculations, the man sighed.
“Will he be putting the down-payment?” he asked, nodding at Theo.
“Yes.”
“Then tell him to give me whatever he can.”
Theo was intrigued. He had no idea how much to give. “Can you give me an idea? How much?”
“Anything you think is appropriate,” Amkah said. “Anything at all. Like I said, the palace will make up the difference.”
Theo fished in his wallet and was about to give the store owner a twenty-dollar bill, then thought better of it. A strong intuition took hold over him and he gave the man a hundred-dollar bill.
“Ah, he has the hand of God upon his soul!” the man said.
“Well we must be going now,” Amkah said.
“Yeah, well, goodbye sir,” Theo said.
“The light of the almighty guide your footsteps, Servant of God!” the man replied.
Amkah and Theo departed into the cool evening. The sun was now hiding behind a cloud and the birds had started singing their lullabies. In the distance Theo could hear the sound of singing and drumming. It got progressively louder as they walked. As Theo would find, it was coming from the palace. As Theo would find.
Commander Shango
Alaafin Shango spoke with birds that carried messages from Oyo to Morocco. The rumor was he was in love with a damsel from those parts and that her newly ordained father would have nothing of this. And yet, Shango's reputation preceded him so that the royal priest eventually sent envoys to Oyo to bless the land with linen and silk. Shango sent back one hundred and thirty-nine Agbadas made of Khaki, and a gleaming sword. Shango's reputation conjured thunder. He was, after all, the one whom Olodumare greeted with a thunder clap on the day he was born.
And yet, Alaafin Shango confided in one young boy drunk with the wine of the gods, that he was displeased with the ways things were going with the families. The petulant youngster responded to the Alaafin that it was because he was not using Banubian Astronometry that things were not going so great. The Alaafin was astounded. He had been taking one of his morning walks, his hands behind his back, his trademark striped khaki Agbada dancing with the morning breeze. In the air was the sound of a woman from Morocco. Or so the rumors suggested. It was certainly amusing to the Alaafin that his people spent so much time attempting to understand what he was muttering when he walked through the settlement and spoke with spirits as he smiled quietly with the market women and young men who deposited the food from the farms, always managing to catch His Eminence on time. Everyone wanted a blessing from this holy man, thin and stern with a bronzed, bony face and inset eyes. His face, a smile that could transform into a frown or confused look without much of a change in expression, was his escape into space. His guards, forty paces away in sixteen directions around the Alaafin, began chanting. Their harmony needed something extra. Aderotun would be sure to take care of this. He always noticed these things.
On the outskirts of the royal settlement there was a security breach. The young lad had stumbled into the Alaafin between guards fifteen and sixteen. As always, the Alaafin's magnetism was never called into question. But at the royal settlement, how should a drunk person be pulled so close to the Alaafin? And a young lad at that!
The Alaafin initiated the dialog.
"Young man, shouldn't you be elsewhere?"
"I am drunk, sir," the lad responded.
"I see. I am very busy now. Can I help you?"
"Yes, sir. I need money to travel."
"Where do you wish to go?"
"The great city."
The Alaafin laughed and the clouds darkened. He felt the elements and knew Olokun would speak today.
"Young man, if you solve my problem, I will give you money to go to the great city."
"I can solve your problem, sir," the young lad responded.
It was then that the Alaafin confided in the young man about the way in which things were going. The families had grown so big, accurate divination was becoming a problem. The voice of Olodumare was becoming obscured by familial squabbles over petty things, and the way into the future was blurry. Furthermore, in each of the sixteen cities founded by the patriarchs, there was no longer a singular deity to represent their access to Olodumare. New gods were popping up by the handful as the farmers attempted to best each other with soil more fertile and rain more abundant on their plots. This was a prescription for chaos. The young lad nodded his head and listened intently. Quiet thunder begun to rumble and soon the rain had started sprinkling His Eminence, the guards and the young lad. The market women, who were two hundred paces away, sighed exasperatedly. Alaafin or not, this rain would cost them business!
"Banubian Astronometry," the young lad said.
"Banubia?"
"Banubian Astronometry, sir. You are not using Banubian Astronometry."
It was a puzzled look on the Alaafin's face. Banubian Astronometry.
"What is your name, son?" Alaafin Shango asked of the boy.
"I have no name."
"A boy with no name. Where are you from?"
"My earliest memories are of the city of Ile Ibn Ogi’ahmen-re. It was there my journey began."
The weather turned darker, gloomier. Shango's guards were now humming the fifteenth chant.
"Am I familiar to you?" Shango asked.
"You remind me of something, sir, but I cannot think of what it is."
"Where did you journey through to find this place?"
"Six times I left Ile Ibn Ogi’ahmen-re. Six times I found myself in the city again, wondering how it was that I arrived back at that place. Then from there I made it three times to Gangan. It is from there that I was sent in this direction by the birds and an old, blind man."
"How old are you, son?"
"They say I am at least five hundred years old."
Shango raised his right eye-brow. "You have gotten my attention. Your language is not full, yet from it your tongue is laced with wisdom. Who has sent you? Or is this your command of the language of the Orishas a product of the wisdom of your years?"
"All I can tell you, sir, is that it is imperative that I make it to the great city."
"I see."
Shango signaled to Ade-ranti who disembarked from his horse and made his way to His Eminence, bowing as he did. Shango whispered something to the young cavalry leader whose job it was to police Shango’s body guards, encircling them constantly to ensure that order prevailed at the primary concentric circle from which all power emanated and radiated forth to all the families. Ade-ranti looked at Shango, somewhat alarmed, then bowed quietly. He walked back to his horse and sped off to the north, leaving dust in his wake, but not before barking instructions to the first set of the foot-soldiers who formed five lines, each foot-soldier fifty yards from the next, back to the royal household.
News that Shango was breaking the magnetic motion towards him by venturing out of the royal settlement filtered into the palace one foot-soldier after another. They claimed that he was headed to a place called Banubia to find the language of a five hundred year-old boy. Abikeh, the grand caretaker, immediately ordered a six-month supply of dried ewedu, akara, eko, and smoked fish to be prepared. The last time Shango had embarked on one of these journeys it was three months before they saw him again. Abikeh would not be caught off-guard this time. What concerned her most was that it was possible that Shango was being pulled by another magnetic force. The man could be absent-minded when he chose to be, and this could lead to instability in Greater Oyo. Once, just outside the city of Ile-Agbaro, His Eminence's entourage had run into the entourage of a nobleman from one of the sixteen families who had been visiting his sister. A war almost broke out because it could not be decided whose magnetic sphere had pulled whom to whom. Of course, when word got to the nobleman that he was engaged in conversation with Alaafin Shango, he sent his profuse apologies and both entourages were allowed to occupy space without intruding on the other. Shango, holy man chosen of Olodumare, was graceful in this regard. He could have ordered his drummers and singers and security detail to act the part, after it was revealed who he was, but he simply continued his journey without much fanfare. On that occasion, he was searching for a tree that bore a specific fruit. He did not find it and returned, moody, to the royal settlement.
By late afternoon, the entire royal settlement was abuzz. Everyone was employed in the service of His Eminence. The palace saw a steady stream of visitors, entering and leaving with instructions and provisions. Looking as a bird from the sky, one would notice that they formed something of a straight line in agreement with the direction of the Alaafin's motion. He was headed north.
in the holy name of...
"God, the Father...
"and also in the name of his son, Jesus, the Christ 'of Nazareth'...
"...and with the commitment to excellence evident in the Holy Ghost of Judah...
Mwalekum Salam...
(forever, my love... Sing quiet like in peace pretty child...
"and also in the name of his son, Jesus, the Christ 'of Nazareth'...
"...and with the commitment to excellence evident in the Holy Ghost of Judah...
Mwalekum Salam...
(forever, my love... Sing quiet like in peace pretty child...
Luciano
I suppose, given their temperament, it would not be wise to let Jomo dem know that I am good friends with Luciano. Forget Tony Rebel... it's amazing, being an unknown celeb... it's the fucking bomb... and comes with weed... ;-)
(high grade)
(high grade)
The Kwaanza Machine
* Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
* Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
* Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.
* Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
* Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
* Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
* Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
It looks like rubbish right now... have to think about it...
* Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
* Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.
* Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
* Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
* Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
* Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
It looks like rubbish right now... have to think about it...
Darfur 911
There's something really fishy going on in Darfur. The popular mythology, that the arabs are attacking and enslaving black people, does not add up. The Ganjaweed want something. I think I know what it obviously is... so... Quadrant 3, SE is a priority, sir... and we can no longer rely on the polity for the safety of our wealth and the wealth we give the polity... it would be wise to implement that "trade"... if you understand what I am saying to yew...
g
shall be used for sandals... is a bet..
g
shall be used for sandals... is a bet..
To Jabon: Re: Our Friday Night Meetings
Yesterday was the second weekend in a row when the gods and earths focused on me.
Twaz fun... but there are more important matters at stake. At four pm I meet Baba Issa and demo an ATrillion Natural Language Portal. Because of how, as you saw last night, black people are known to behave, it would take more than Baba's evident mastery of mysteries and his stellar character for me to deploy in the black community. In other words, the debt is in my direction...
but I had fun... don't hang out next weekend o! Police will capture you!!!
;-)
Twaz fun... but there are more important matters at stake. At four pm I meet Baba Issa and demo an ATrillion Natural Language Portal. Because of how, as you saw last night, black people are known to behave, it would take more than Baba's evident mastery of mysteries and his stellar character for me to deploy in the black community. In other words, the debt is in my direction...
but I had fun... don't hang out next weekend o! Police will capture you!!!
;-)
Kini Ile Opkara fi ra?
Kilo'Kpara'fra? not ta? either way, they called her my sister during the nineties,
because the lead singer in my band used to press her breasts but she loved me instead..
it was a tragedy... anyway, i finally listened to her song WHILE DRIVING... talk about
mistakes!!! :-)... I laugh taya... so, this one goes out to lishkeys... I only mention petrol because of its relevance...
So this is 2 milla... though she don't need it (donate it to AFrica...)
Intelligence is about the regulation of polarity. So...
Input: "John Loves Mary"
Algorithim
1. Search transaction space for john-transaction, loves-transaction, mary-transaction
Result: loves-transaction is an attribute of composite-key row, "to love"
ii. If found (which is true), then
(since the otherwise loops back to 1, we call this the initial transition function, the tension relevant to finding "to love" from "loves".. it has everything to do with table design, primarily...)
iii. Identify subset of sets in space for which "to love" is a relevant transaction.
NOW...
Every other set in space is one which "to love" does not apply, so OUR FIRST SEMANTIC PRODUCTION is that all sets not belonging in "to love" MUST therefore belong in "to not love" and its gradient base, "to hate (or dislike intensely)...
These rules are the foundation of scalability and polymorphism. I'll come up with others tomorrow... also for lishkeyz...
because the lead singer in my band used to press her breasts but she loved me instead..
it was a tragedy... anyway, i finally listened to her song WHILE DRIVING... talk about
mistakes!!! :-)... I laugh taya... so, this one goes out to lishkeys... I only mention petrol because of its relevance...
So this is 2 milla... though she don't need it (donate it to AFrica...)
Intelligence is about the regulation of polarity. So...
Input: "John Loves Mary"
Algorithim
1. Search transaction space for john-transaction, loves-transaction, mary-transaction
Result: loves-transaction is an attribute of composite-key row, "to love"
ii. If found (which is true), then
(since the otherwise loops back to 1, we call this the initial transition function, the tension relevant to finding "to love" from "loves".. it has everything to do with table design, primarily...)
iii. Identify subset of sets in space for which "to love" is a relevant transaction.
NOW...
Every other set in space is one which "to love" does not apply, so OUR FIRST SEMANTIC PRODUCTION is that all sets not belonging in "to love" MUST therefore belong in "to not love" and its gradient base, "to hate (or dislike intensely)...
These rules are the foundation of scalability and polymorphism. I'll come up with others tomorrow... also for lishkeyz...
Introducing Shazal Asa, Executive Director, Strategy and Implications
Our priority, Asa says, is to monitor distributed transactions in "a way that is
meaningful." My only contradiction, I'd have said "a meaningful way."
Approved...
We celebrate with Asa, America's newest (and [one of the] youngest) millionaires.. (iz jowke.. with inflexion...)
g
meaningful." My only contradiction, I'd have said "a meaningful way."
Approved...
We celebrate with Asa, America's newest (and [one of the] youngest) millionaires.. (iz jowke.. with inflexion...)
g
Kingz and Queenz: My Marching Orders
When I dialog with Lish, there is no baggage, no controversy. Nigerians say
"no leave no transfer." !
When I dialog with Yolly or Madama, no baggage, no contro.
When I dialog with Whitnee, despite Uma, there is no leave no transfer (uma just
has one billion dollars on her mind ALL THE FUCKIN GTIME).
When I dialog with the Queen of Solon "of yore," it's so fucking peaceful sometimes
she has to generate energy and chase me away because she is married... but we's
cool like dat...
And in my own part of Solon, I'm mellow... Circumstances sometimes keep me in
a situation and my pride won't let me leave until truth is constant. As of tonight,
seeing that there is a statistically significant constituency of women who are not
superstars whom I dialog with in peace, I see no need to dialog with second graders...
in space... why? I'm not a teacher... I'm not here to take anyone's baggage for
them... and neither do I give mine, as evidence will show... I have none...
So... because we're now in American Space officially... no baggage...
But I will remember them well... the ones who no longer mean anything to me...
Masalam...
Now I have to build Baba Issa An "ATrillion Kwanza Portal" by tomorrow... and
demo it too! Well it's all about requirements... and Kwanza has them;.. 6...
the seventh accounts for intelligence... John Loves Mary!!!!
"no leave no transfer." !
When I dialog with Yolly or Madama, no baggage, no contro.
When I dialog with Whitnee, despite Uma, there is no leave no transfer (uma just
has one billion dollars on her mind ALL THE FUCKIN GTIME).
When I dialog with the Queen of Solon "of yore," it's so fucking peaceful sometimes
she has to generate energy and chase me away because she is married... but we's
cool like dat...
And in my own part of Solon, I'm mellow... Circumstances sometimes keep me in
a situation and my pride won't let me leave until truth is constant. As of tonight,
seeing that there is a statistically significant constituency of women who are not
superstars whom I dialog with in peace, I see no need to dialog with second graders...
in space... why? I'm not a teacher... I'm not here to take anyone's baggage for
them... and neither do I give mine, as evidence will show... I have none...
So... because we're now in American Space officially... no baggage...
But I will remember them well... the ones who no longer mean anything to me...
Masalam...
Now I have to build Baba Issa An "ATrillion Kwanza Portal" by tomorrow... and
demo it too! Well it's all about requirements... and Kwanza has them;.. 6...
the seventh accounts for intelligence... John Loves Mary!!!!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Distributed Tutorial
1. How old is the phone "rho" ?
2. How old is the phone "man" ?
3. How old is the phone "Jer" ?
Rho is at least ten thousand years before Christ, according to popular mythology.
Something about the Myceneans and Etruscans. Jer, or Ger, according to modern
racism, is even older. In Klan theory, then, Rho-man and Ger-man coexisted.
"Roger..."
So...
The economic advantage of distributed processing is not for big numbers, even though that is relevant. It is instead because certain processes can run in smaller numbers for vast numbers of services and others, within this same set of services, run in larger numbers. Distributed computing is about a methodology for determining, from a requirements specification, what processes are critical and what processes are intelligent.
Why not? Chinanza... (madam bonanza )
:-)
2. How old is the phone "man" ?
3. How old is the phone "Jer" ?
Rho is at least ten thousand years before Christ, according to popular mythology.
Something about the Myceneans and Etruscans. Jer, or Ger, according to modern
racism, is even older. In Klan theory, then, Rho-man and Ger-man coexisted.
"Roger..."
So...
The economic advantage of distributed processing is not for big numbers, even though that is relevant. It is instead because certain processes can run in smaller numbers for vast numbers of services and others, within this same set of services, run in larger numbers. Distributed computing is about a methodology for determining, from a requirements specification, what processes are critical and what processes are intelligent.
Why not? Chinanza... (madam bonanza )
:-)
Len Talmy's Glasses
(and, at that, his intratonal hearing ability... a strange thing)...
The stated intention of this paper is to explore the role of language in human cognition. And yet, such a goal is admittedly ambitious, considering the scope of the fundamental units of the topic—language and cognition. This being the case, this paper will be focused in its approach to tackling the breadth of the issues involved by carefully delimiting the parameters within which such the topic can be discussed given the space available. We will begin by looking at cognition.
Cognition, as a subject, is fraught with challenges that require, at the very least, some philosophical groundwork to be laid in order to be able to systematically, if methodologically, approach an understanding of it. To underscore why this is necessary, let us identify some of the popularly held definitions of what cognition is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cognition is the act or process of knowing including both awareness and judgment. Dictionary.com, an online dictionary, describes it as the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment. Yet another dictionary suggests it to be the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired or processed. We could continue looking up the meaning of the word. But, indeed, should we undertake such the exercise we would find that the underlying theme common to the various definitions of cognition is the act of acquiring knowledge or information by way of exercising the brain. These definitions, adequate enough for now, conveniently escape the degree of precision necessary to speak to the issue of the actors involved in cognition. A process of knowing or awareness presupposes an agent on whose behalf such knowledge or awareness exists. This leads us to the issue of human consciousness and the mind. For cognition to be possible, some connection has to exist between the seat of the cognition (which is popularly accepted to be the brain) and a cognitive agent made manifest through human consciousness. This connection, it is believed by many, is something we have come to know as the mind. But there is a wide variety of opinions regarding what the mind is, if it exists, and what role it plays in human consciousness and cognition. Indeed, before we can progress we are confronted with the time-tested philosophical debate on mind and body, or, in our case, mind and brain.
How are the mind and the brain related? Modern tradition insists of us that, in appreciating the significance of the brain, we do not obscure the higher-order importance of the mind. This is why political forces seek to win hearts and minds as opposed to hearts and brains. We know what the brain is, but what is the mind? The brain, the cognitive center of all human beings, is essentially a physiological organ. While the Ancient Egyptians may have believed the heart to be the seat of power in the human body, we know today that the brain is the relevant physiological authority whose functioning is necessary for the existence of a human being. The mind, however, is an entity associated with identity and consciousness. Given the wide-ranging debate on the mind and issues arising thereof, while it may not be necessary to delve into the arguments on monism and mind-body dualism, it is important to take a position on the issue which will be the theoretical foundation for the rest of the paper. For the purposes of this paper, then, the mind will be defined as an entity for which its physical manifestation is the brain of a living human being. This position falls short of completely separating the mind and the brain as two distinct entities, and it makes no mention of either the mind or brain being in control of the other. It does imply, however, a relationship, perhaps even an interdependence, between the mind and brain. And it will even go one step further. Considering that the brain is not just some arbitrary physiological organ, but the center of activity for conscious beings, this position postulates that the functioning of the brain can be said to be mirrored within the mind and that the converse is also true—that the activity of the mind is mirrored within the brain. So, we may consider the brain as being representative of the mind and vice-versa. This now leads us to the next phase of our philosophical framework.
To varying degrees, we are able to observe the brain, but we are only able to theorize about the mind as a reflection of the brain and its activities. This is especially relevant, considering the subject under discussion. Observing the brain during a cognitive process gives little or no insight into the state of mind of a cognitive agent. And we are very much interested in this state of mind, as it can lead us to answers about how language, for instance, plays its role in cognition. In attempting to illuminate upon such a phenomenon, then, we find imposed upon us methodological constraints that place us at the doorstep of another time-tested philosophical debate—that one about empiricism versus rationalism. As with all bipolar debates, it has been suggested that there lies middle ground between the empiricist tradition and the rationalist tradition. As the old saying goes, “the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.” For our purposes, and considering the nature of the subject under discussion, this compromise, this middle ground is essential. Empiricism without a supporting, well-reasoned theory may be argued to be groundless data collection without aim or direction, the argument goes. What good is experience without an abstract framework within which to understand it? As for rationalist thinking, it can be very effective in logically explaining phenomena. But, most especially in the case of language and cognition, rationalism without even a little empiricism cannot be justifiable. Again, this paper will take a position which will add to the theoretical foundation that will underlie the discourse heretofore. As regards the study of cognition, and given the limitations of technology vis-à-vis an empirical approach to a robust understanding of the cognitive process, rational theory can go a long way in providing insight into the workings of the mind and brain. With some empirical data available on the workings of the brain, however, it would be unwise to abandon what these data may do to shed light on any theories. To the extent possible, this paper will defer to empiricism where possible, while attempting to approach the issue from a rationalist perspective. This is necessary for, while there is limited access to the brain’s workings in terms of empirical data, there are logically persuasive arguments concerning how the mind must function given what we currently know about the universe within which the mind finds itself operative. To this end, the paper will concern itself, from the empirical perspective, with examples from aphasia and child developmental psychology, and from the rationalist perspective, with theories of cognition and models of the mind that seek to give reason to observed phenomenon or provide a rational framework concerning how the mind must operate for the empirical data to be justified. These preliminary philosophical matters dispensed with, it is now possible to go on to look more carefully into the issue and provide a more refined definition of cognition.
We have defined the brain as a physiological organ whose working mirrors the mind of a conscious entity. The mind itself operates within a universe that is often thought to be infinite. What we will concern ourselves with, however, is the operation of the mind within the known universe as it relates to cognition. We now want to understand how the conception of this universe is organized within the mind as mirrored in the brain and its activities. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein held that the world consists totally of facts. Such a view is attractive, if only because the world, and by extension, the universe, can consist of nothing other than just that. That is, regardless of the perception or lack thereof of it, a truth exists. Thankfully, there is a perception of this truth that exists and the mind is the central agent in perceiving this truth—this state of affairs that is the entirety of facts Wittgenstein believes the word consists of. For example, humans are endowed with the ability to perceive the color red as red, the color green as green, and the color blue as blue. These truths, the existence of primary colors in the perceivable universe of humans, are facts that the universe consists of and, as well, there is uniformity in their perception. This uniformity may be seen as the fundamental precursor to what Adolfo Bastian called the “psychic unity of mankind.” And so we will agree with Wittgenstein in suggesting that there are facts which the world, and by extension, the universe consists of. We hasten to add that, of course, aside from the facts, the mind is also concerned with such things that cannot be defined as facts—things such as concepts, ideas and thoughts. But we will deal with these very shortly. We wish, first, to situate the mind within the universe. To do this, it is postulated that the mind, as the center of intention of a conscious entity, has the ability to represent information. And it represents information utilizing concepts, ideas, and thoughts, such mechanisms as earlier mentioned. This statement ought not be controversial. The very fact that the mind is aware of what exists suggests that it has the ability to represent knowledge. Again, there are a variety of schools regarding just how the mind can represent information or knowledge. Even as science makes advances in the study of the brain, at this point it is healthy to invest some energy into rational thought concerning just how the mind, as mirrored in the brain, can represent information or knowledge.
An intuitive theory of representation would be that the mind is a symbolic system. That is, it represents information by means of symbols. A symbol is simply an abstract object which is a representation of a thing. This theory, of the symbolic representational capability of the mind, is that which we will subscribe to for the purposes of this paper, because it allows us to generalize over any manner of representation available to the mind. This includes representations similar to or in the form of semantic networks, analogy, images, scripts, and frames. At the highest level of abstraction, all schemes to represent information or knowledge must involve symbols of the information or knowledge being represented. To make this clear, music, for example, or sound frequencies, can be represented symbolically. The symbol of a musical note, transliterated by the brain’s electrochemical mechanisms, may evoke in the mind the experience of the musical note. The use of the term symbol, in this sense, may be in fact argued to be analogous to the term concept, but only as a means of explicating upon what this paper would consider a symbol system to exist as in the mind. In this sense, there is a subtle differentiation between what this paper considers a symbolic system to be and what, say, Allen Newel would consider a symbolic system to be. The model of cognition subscribed to by this paper is a fine-grained one which gives deference to the mind as the knower of all things relative to the cognitive agent and accommodates the most fundamental cognitive processes that can occur consciously or otherwise.
Now that we have talked about the capability of the mind to represent
information, we can now go on to redefine cognition. First, we define a mental state as a specific representation of information in the mind. This representation is the truth of the mind at any given point in time. We now define cognition as the process involved in the change of mental states—that is the process involved when the mind transforms from one symbolic representation to another. This definition of cognition takes into account any form of cognitive activity. So, to use a simplified example, a mental state could involve the complete state of awareness of a being at time t. This state might be represented symbolically to signify all the parameters within which the mind finds itself extant in the universe—parameters such as light level, air intake, decibel level of varying frequencies, and so on and so forth. For every change in these parameters, there is necessarily a concomitant transformation of the symbolic representation in the mind in order to reflect the mind’s awareness of the dynamics of the situation. That very transformation is the cognitive process. In its most simplified sense, cognition, by this definition, is a continuous process consisting of a series of discrete transformations.
Following the example of the psychologist, Alexander Luria, it is now helpful to classify cognition according to its manifestations. There are basically two types of cognition1. The first is perceptual or sensory cognition. This manner of cognition is involved with a cognitive agent’s functioning as it acquires information from the universe within which it exists. An example of sensory cognition, and perhaps the most celebrated owing to the body of knowledge about it, is visual perception. The second type of cognition is rational cognition. Although rational cognition covers a broad area, we can traverse most, if not all, of its terrain by equating it with the sum total of voluntary acts, problem-solving, and thinking. Psychologists define voluntary acts as intentional actions undertaken by a human being at the behest of the thing that drives intention. We will see later its implications for the role of language in cognition. Problem-solving, deceptively named, is not limited to intellectual challenges, for instance, of the mathematical sort. Problem-solving is used in everyday life and it includes such seemingly mundane but intentional tasks as opening doors, driving cars, and scrubbing dirty plates. Thinking, for its part, is simply what it is, thinking. This paper will be concerned with the role of language in rational cognition.
We have discussed cognition and laid some the theoretical groundwork that will underlie our approach to understanding what role language plays in it. Now we are confronted with the next question, what is language? It seems that at every turn we find ourselves immersed in age-old debates that have not resolved themselves, forcing us, for the purposes of this paper, to lay claim to a position, or, at least, an idea concerning how we will approach the issue. Language, we know, is a form of expression. It is also a means of communication. These two facts are generally accepted. But such a vague definition allows for a wide range of living creatures to be equipped with language. These are controversial waters and we will chart our course accordingly. There is the school of thought which states that language is that ability which differentiates humans from all other living things. That is, no beings but human beings have language. That it is not merely a means of communication and form of expression, but that it is a complex set of rules which form the framework within which communication and expression can operate. Furthermore, as a social phenomenon, the extent to which language is made manifest points to a latitude well beyond mere communication and expression. And then there is the school of thought which adheres to the position that some animals have some form of language. Within the ranks of believers in this school are those who have attempted to show that animals have the capacity to learn to communicate with humans and each other utilizing a form of language. Chimpanzees, those genetic cousins of man, have been the most controversial of such subjects. The literature on chimpanzees and language is vast, but the consensus is small. As far as this debate goes, for the purposes of this paper we will take the least controversial path available, abstracting away the features of language that are agreed upon, leaving the rest of the specifics out of the fray. So, we are committed to the vague but still accurate notion that language is a form of expression and a means of communication utilized to convey information or describe states of affairs for the benefit of or at the behest of a cognitive agent. It should be pointed out that language is a two-way phenomenon. That is, the definition given assumes that language use involves being on the receiving end of the expression and communication as much as it involves being on the producing end.
Let us now explore language within the brain. In her book, “Aphasia,” Libby to be located in the left hemisphere”2. This is consonant with the view from neurolinguistics which holds that damage to the left-hemisphere of the brain, in right-handed people, will result in language impairment. This state of affairs in which the left-hemisphere is dominant in language processing is known as lateralization.
From the late 1700s to the beginning of the 1800s, a new theory of the brain known as phrenology, imagined at the time to be a science, took root at the behest of a Viennese physician, Franz Joseph Gall. Phrenology postulated that the mind, as seen through the brain, was composed of various faculties which were located in specific and distinct organs of the brain. Phrenologists thus believed that they were able to read the skull of a human being and determine the measure of the various faculties of the brain. Such a process was used for “character divination.” Phrenology blossomed after this era but was eventually discredited as a valid science. Nonetheless, the idea of localization in the brain is one that holds particular interest for those involved in language within the brain. Perhaps the most prominent localization theorist for language function in the brain was Paul Broca who, in 1861, based his theory of language centers in the brain on the autopsy of two aphasic patients. Broca noted that the patients, who both had the same language impairment—the inability to articulate speech—had sustained damage to the third frontal convolution in the brain. This portion of the brain has since come to be known as Broca’s area and the language impairment described has come to be known as Broca’s aphasia. Another prominent localization theorist, Carl Wernicke, witnessing lesions in the temporal lobe, identified the first temporal convolution as being key to auditory reception and language comprehension. As with Broca, that portion of the brain has come to be known as Wernicke’s area. Both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are located in the left-hemisphere of the brain. There are two more areas of note in the brain that play a role in language. The first is the motor cortex which is responsible for muscle movement. Studies have shown that the part of this cortex close to Broca’s area is utilized in controlling the movement of the face, jaw, tongue and larynx, necessary for speech articulation. The second area is the arcuate fasciculus which serves as a transmission link between Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.
Localization theory of language function, however, has not always been accepted by all. Hughling Jackson and Sigmund Freud, among others, were not convinced that a localization theory could account for the complex nature of aphasia. They did not entirely discount localization theory, but considered it too convenient an approach for a vastly complex problem. Similarly, Paul Pierre Marie performed a reexamination of the two brains that Broca had based his theory on and came to the conclusion that Broca’s evidence did not support the notion that damage to the third frontal convolution caused language impairment.
But despite these criticisms, localization is generally accepted today as the approach to a theory of language function in the brain most consonant with medical observation. A major objection to the localization theory suggests that portions of the brain are interdependent upon other portions and damage to one part of the brain has, if not global repercussions, effects on other portions. For example, Penelope Myers has suggested that right-hemisphere communicative disorders are due to what she terms “inference failures”3. These inference failures cause patients afflicted with these disorders to not understand humor, irony, hints and such notions as would require judgments of truth based on propositional analysis. The point is that, as has been pointed out often, the right-hemisphere does have role to play in the language process. For the purposes of the paper, owing to the body of evidence that supports at least a certain degree of localization, we will operate under the fundamental assumption that language is, to a variable extent, an independent faculty located in various centers of the brain. This said, we should now defer to the empiricist within and see what the evidence about language in the brain can do to give us insight into a theory of language and cognition. We begin by looking at aphasia and, subsequently, child developmental psychology. These two areas will lead us to our focal point, rational cognition, and the role of language in it.
What is aphasia? George Yule, in his book “The study of language,” states that aphasia is defined as “an impairment of language function due to localized cerebral damage which leads to difficulty in understanding and/or producing linguistic forms”4. Libby Kumin in her book “Aphasia,” calls it “language impairment following cerebrovascular accident or trauma resulting from brain damage caused by lack of oxygen to brain tissue”5. Finally, Frederick Darley, in his book also aptly entitled “Aphasia,” quotes the Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary as defining aphasia as “Defect or loss of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or of comprehending spoken or written language, due to injury or disease of the brain centers”6. It is to be noted that aphasia is not a speech impairment but an impairment of the language faculty.
The two major types of aphasia are Broca’s aphasia, otherwise known as motor aphasia, and Wernicke’s aphasia. As stated earlier, Broca’s aphasia causes the inability to produce or articulate speech while Wernicke’s aphasia causes the inability to comprehend speech. There are other types of aphasia, but, in general, when a patient suffers from a combination of Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia, the situation is known as global aphasia. A summary of the symptoms associated with aphasia may produce some insight into the role that language plays in cognition. Aphasic patients may suffer from what is sometimes called word deafness. This is the inability to recognize single words. This is manifest, for instance, in the inability to select an object, having been told its name. Even when aphasics with this impediment are able to recognize words, they may have problems comprehending entire sentences. As observed by Hildred Schuell, they are hampered by the lack of what is known as an auditory retention span7. That is, they cannot remember word sequences. This problem is not limited to spoken language, but written language as well. Aphasic patients may have problems in finding adequate words to use when speaking, as well as show a lack of organization in expressing their thoughts. They also may be unable to write properly or use the wrong words when they do write.
How does aphasia affect rational cognition? There have been several studies on how aphasia affects the intelligence of patients. Yet, the evidence for or against reduced intelligence as a result of aphasia is contradictory. Some studies, utilizing various modes of testing various cognitive skills, are said to indicate a loss of intelligence as a result of aphasia. Other studies claim that aphasic brain-damaged patients do no worse than non-aphasic brain-damaged patients in intelligence tests. For instance, Carl Lubin undertook a study, a comparison of hemiplegic patients with aphasia and hemiplegic patients without aphasia on “non-verbal tasks of intellectual functioning” 8. Alluding to theorists who postulated a relationship between language and abstract functioning, as well as others who made what he calls a “direct identification between language and thought,” Lubin’s rationale was that brain injury accompanied by language loss ought to have a greater impact on intellectual functioning than brain injury without accompanied language loss if these theorists were correct. The null hypothesis for his experiment was that “no consistent relationship exists between ability to engage in non-verbal intellectual tasks and language disturbance.” Tests such as the Goldstein-Sheerer Cube Test, designed to gauge the ability for abstraction, and other such tests were administered. The data from all the tests were said to reveal that the null hypothesis that no consistent relationship exists between ability in non-verbal intellectual tasks and language disturbance was correct. But this is just one in a number of experiments that have been conducted attempting to shed some light on aphasia and intelligence. Lebrun and Hoops demonstrated that there was no reduction in intellectual performance in patients who had undergone neurosurgery and had become severely aphasic9. These patients had been tested psychometrically before the surgery. So why do different tests seem to produce different perspectives? According to Frederick Darley, it is because these tests require various levels of verbal mediation on the part of the subjects. And this is of interest to us, this issue of verbal mediation during rational cognition.
Verbal mediation, the terms irresistibly conjures the idea of inner speech. In his book “Language and Cognition,” the psychologist Alexander Luria attempts to demonstrate that inner speech is intricately linked to rational cognition. He calls it the “Problem of the Voluntary Act”10. Luria, a disciple of Lev Vygotsky, suggests that, but for Vygotsky and his team, psychologists have failed to provide a suitable explanation for the voluntary act. Many psychologists have simply attributed it to a spiritual force. Others ignored it. Others yet attributed it to instinct or habit. Vygotsky’s theory was that voluntary acts begin at a very early age, when communication is established between a mother and a child. According to this theory, the child learns to act in reaction to the mother’s commands. At this stage, the mother’s command Vygotsky calls the source of the voluntary act. Later on, the child utilizes its own speech, initially external, in the process of or preceding voluntary action. Finally, this speech is internalized and serves as the mediating factor in rational cognition resulting in voluntary action. Luria goes on to describe experiments he carried out, continuing along the path of Vygotsky’s own experiments, which seem to support the theory. To show how, at an early age, a mother has directional influence on a child’s action, the example is given of how, when a child is breast-feeding and the mother whispers to the child, the child ceases breast-feeding for the duration of the mother’s speech. The experiments further cited show how, at varying stages of children’s development, they first learn to direct their voluntary actions in accordance with their mother’s commands, then they themselves regulate their own volitional acts with externalized speech. The studies show the utility of verbal mediation in children’s problem-solving and the eventual internalization of the speech.
But something ought to have caught our attention at this point. By the time the child becomes an adult, it no longer seems efficient to utilize inner speech to regulate voluntary acts. Consider a person sitting down who is in the process of making the decision to stand. Such a person is hardly likely to first pronounce to himself that he wishes to stand before standing. The decision is made almost instantaneously. For this Luria has an answer. His experiments show a phenomenon among children as their external speech is observed when they regulate their voluntary acts with it. As children grow older, such regulatory speech becomes more and more abbreviated until it is just linguistically functional enough to accommodate the intent of the child. According to Luria, inner speech, then, is not just the popularly believed phenomenon of speech without concomitant motor action. It is, instead, a much more abstract phenomenon that manifests itself at different levels, ending up as complete syntactically correct forms. What is more, at its most abstract level, it is the language of intention. Luria further states that studies indicate that even aphasics are able to regulate their voluntary acts using inner speech.
We are indeed concerned with inner speech and voluntary acts as manifestations of rational cognition. We are also concerned with verbal mediation and problem solving as a manifestation of rational cognition. For, both voluntary acts and problem-solving are necessary in everyday life, and without them a person could not function. If we are to take at face value Luria’s assertion that inner speech is necessary for voluntary acts, then it would follow that verbal mediation is a key component of problem-solving, although we may not be able to make the stronger claim that it is necessary for all problem-solving. We may also be inclined to believe that, as with inner speech, verbal mediation can take on forms ranging from the abbreviated and abstract to the syntactically expressive. Luria gives an example to bolster his theory that abbreviated language is not only possible within the human, it may be the norm at some point in a child’s development. Consider a child in the holophrastic stage of linguistic development who utters single words, mostly nouns, to identify objects. Luria points out that studies have shown that children at that stage of development are able to utilize single words to express more complex concepts. For instance, a child may point to the bed that his sister regularly sleeps in and utter her name even when she is not there. There is a thought process in this scenario, and it involves the child’s associating the bed with his sister, and attempting to express an idea regarding the situation. But even if pre-linguistic children or children at early stages of linguistic development can be said to have thoughts, some primitive, some more complex, as Luria suggests, it is not the case that during the course of development they do not imbibe behaviors which determine their method of cognition as they come into being as mature humans. Vygotsky’s theory of learned regulation of voluntary acts through speech is one such example.
According to Luria’s perspective, words are associated with objects in the real world not only for communication, but also for thinking. This is in line with the proponents of the theory that language and thought are inextricably bound and there is no thought without language. Jerry Fodor, on the other hands, holds the view on the other end of the continuum in this debate by suggesting that the mind represents the external world symbolically, and these symbols, or tokens, are used within the framework of an internal conceptual language he calls “Mentalese.” The Fodorian viewpoint upholds the independence of Mentalese from normal language, although Mentalese is argued to have rules similar to language.
So we should ask ourselves, what exactly is thought? Thought is the direct manipulation of the representation of the universe that a mind is aware of at the behest of the consciousness on whose behalf the mind operates. Since the days of Socrates and Plato, the debate on whether language and thought are inextricably bound has raged, and very passionately at that. Peter Carruthers explains the debate as one being between what he calls the “communicative conception of language,” a view which proposes that the role of language is the communication and expression of thought, and the “cognitive conception of language,” the view which postulates that thinking occurs in natural language11. There has been no consensus, except that many agree that without thought there could not be language. This is hardly surprising. What would a person say who thought of nothing? But is language necessary for thought? Scholars in the debate have taken positions ranging from the idea that thought is totally independent from language, to the idea that all thought is carried out through language. For the most part, this debate is carried out within the framework of a rationalist tradition, for there is little way of garnering information about the nature of thought except for observing and analyzing one’s own thoughts. But there are cases of human beings who were raised without the benefit of language that provide the slightest insight into how language and thought might be related. The most infamous case is the unfortunate one of Genie, a thirteen year-old girl who had been tied to a chair for most of her life and had been beaten if she as much as made a sound. Genie had no contact with any other humans but for her father and brother, who were not socially inclined with the girl, and with her mother, for a few minutes a day, who was permitted only to serve her food. When she was admitted to the children’s hospital in Los Angeles, she was severely language impaired. In fact, she could not utilize language. Eventually she did learn to communicate although never quite to the level required of those her age. Regarding the debate on language and thought, we know that Genie’s language faculty was underdeveloped. But, considering the psychological trauma she underwent, it would not be justifiable to explain any cognitive deficiencies that she might have displayed as being resultant of the state of her language faculty. But it does raise the question.
Other cases, however, are known of so-called “wolf children” who managed to be raised without language. In one case, it was discovered that the child had learned to classify objects as colors and not as objects. And, finally, there is the case of twin girls who were thought to be mentally impaired because they spoke what was believed to be gibberish, but what was later discovered to be an authentic language that they both could understand. What these cases tell us is that there is much more study to be done before any definitive conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between language and thought.
The debate on language and thought, and by extension, language and cognition, is sure to continue for quite a while. As has been the case, new scientific evidence will be interpreted to suit the arguments of the different sides in the debate. But through it all, consensus might find a space to exist as the varying theories inevitably provide common ground. For example, although their positions may seem entrenched on opposite sides of a continuum, Alexander Luria and Jerry Fodor are perhaps not as far apart in their views. Fodorian Mentalese seems to qualify as the most fundamental manifestation of Luria’s version of inner speech. Both are the language of intention. The placeholders for concepts. In this view, Mentalese as the basest form of inner speech would evolve into syntactically expressive inner speech, and then to external speech if necessary. This, also, is not too far-removed from Noam Chomsky’s Logical Form, the interface between the cognitive system and the language faculty. Some might suggest that language-less thought is imaginable. But what we are attempting to consider is not whether language in its expressive form is necessary for thought or cognition, but instead, if the language faculty necessarily organizes intention as involved in rational cognition. The question becomes one of whether the language of intention is possible without the language faculty. To this question there is no ready answer. As such, there is also no ready answer as to exactly how rational cognition is hindered without language. Certainly, there is a compelling case to be made that language in its expressive form is relevant in a lot of thought. Expressive language, in many cases, serves a purpose in the identification of objects stored in the mind as symbols as well as plays a mediating role. The evidence from problem-solving experiments suggest that the role and manifestation of language during rational cognition, may, in fact, be tied to the degree of complexity of voluntary acts and problems that require solutions. Language, in this view, would have an organizing function in the brain, coming into play when it is necessary to systematize the brain’s representation of reality in such a way that the cognitive agent can readily grasp the import of the situation. But language in its kernel form, its most abstract form, this is where the argument now stands. No one disputes that expressive language is too wieldy to be a convenient factor in all thought. It just takes too much time to express thought in whole sentences. What is less certain, however, is whether there is a form of language that is so logically structured that it gives expression to that thing that drives intention, allowing it instantaneously mentally articulate the purpose of a conscious being, whether it be as regards voluntary acts, problem-solving, or thinking itself. In the most fundamental sense, then, the argument is about whether there exists a conscious recognition of intent by a cognitive agent. And therein lies the key. For without conscious recognition of intent, how shall we suppose that intent is intentional? And yet, conscious recognition of intent presupposes the ability to articulate said intent, in some manner, shape or form, to the cognitive agent. Is this articulation the root of language? Is this where the language faculty originates? Or is this articulation a distinct phenomenon from language? That is where the debate is. Again, there is no ready answer. But this is our accomplishment, identifying the location of the debate as it has evolved. In questioning the role of language in cognition, we question the form of language, from its most abstract to its most expressive. What we can say, is that language does play a very important role in cognition. And that without language, some cognitive tasks would certainly be, at the very least, considerably problematic.
As improving technology sheds more light on the workings of the brain, our theories about the mind are bound to become more accurate. And then, a fuller understanding will come into being, of what the role of language may be in cognition.
References
1) Luria, Alexander (1981), Language and Cognition, 18.
2) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 12
3) Myers, Penelope S. (1991), “Inference Failure: The Underlying Impairment in Right-Hemisphere Communication Disorders”, Clinical Aphasiology 20(16):167-179.
4) Yule, George (1985), The Study of Language, 167.
5) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 12.
6) Darley, Frederic L. (1982), Aphasia, 1.
7) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 26.
8) Lubin, Carl Kenneth (1969), Language Disturbance and Intellectual Functioning, 37.
9) Darley, Frederic L. (1982), Aphasia, 22.
10) Luria, Alexander (1981), Language and Cognition, 88.
11) Carruthers, Peter and Boucher, Jill (1998), “Introduction: opening up options”, Language and Thought, Interdisciplinary Themes, 1.
12)
The stated intention of this paper is to explore the role of language in human cognition. And yet, such a goal is admittedly ambitious, considering the scope of the fundamental units of the topic—language and cognition. This being the case, this paper will be focused in its approach to tackling the breadth of the issues involved by carefully delimiting the parameters within which such the topic can be discussed given the space available. We will begin by looking at cognition.
Cognition, as a subject, is fraught with challenges that require, at the very least, some philosophical groundwork to be laid in order to be able to systematically, if methodologically, approach an understanding of it. To underscore why this is necessary, let us identify some of the popularly held definitions of what cognition is. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cognition is the act or process of knowing including both awareness and judgment. Dictionary.com, an online dictionary, describes it as the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment. Yet another dictionary suggests it to be the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired or processed. We could continue looking up the meaning of the word. But, indeed, should we undertake such the exercise we would find that the underlying theme common to the various definitions of cognition is the act of acquiring knowledge or information by way of exercising the brain. These definitions, adequate enough for now, conveniently escape the degree of precision necessary to speak to the issue of the actors involved in cognition. A process of knowing or awareness presupposes an agent on whose behalf such knowledge or awareness exists. This leads us to the issue of human consciousness and the mind. For cognition to be possible, some connection has to exist between the seat of the cognition (which is popularly accepted to be the brain) and a cognitive agent made manifest through human consciousness. This connection, it is believed by many, is something we have come to know as the mind. But there is a wide variety of opinions regarding what the mind is, if it exists, and what role it plays in human consciousness and cognition. Indeed, before we can progress we are confronted with the time-tested philosophical debate on mind and body, or, in our case, mind and brain.
How are the mind and the brain related? Modern tradition insists of us that, in appreciating the significance of the brain, we do not obscure the higher-order importance of the mind. This is why political forces seek to win hearts and minds as opposed to hearts and brains. We know what the brain is, but what is the mind? The brain, the cognitive center of all human beings, is essentially a physiological organ. While the Ancient Egyptians may have believed the heart to be the seat of power in the human body, we know today that the brain is the relevant physiological authority whose functioning is necessary for the existence of a human being. The mind, however, is an entity associated with identity and consciousness. Given the wide-ranging debate on the mind and issues arising thereof, while it may not be necessary to delve into the arguments on monism and mind-body dualism, it is important to take a position on the issue which will be the theoretical foundation for the rest of the paper. For the purposes of this paper, then, the mind will be defined as an entity for which its physical manifestation is the brain of a living human being. This position falls short of completely separating the mind and the brain as two distinct entities, and it makes no mention of either the mind or brain being in control of the other. It does imply, however, a relationship, perhaps even an interdependence, between the mind and brain. And it will even go one step further. Considering that the brain is not just some arbitrary physiological organ, but the center of activity for conscious beings, this position postulates that the functioning of the brain can be said to be mirrored within the mind and that the converse is also true—that the activity of the mind is mirrored within the brain. So, we may consider the brain as being representative of the mind and vice-versa. This now leads us to the next phase of our philosophical framework.
To varying degrees, we are able to observe the brain, but we are only able to theorize about the mind as a reflection of the brain and its activities. This is especially relevant, considering the subject under discussion. Observing the brain during a cognitive process gives little or no insight into the state of mind of a cognitive agent. And we are very much interested in this state of mind, as it can lead us to answers about how language, for instance, plays its role in cognition. In attempting to illuminate upon such a phenomenon, then, we find imposed upon us methodological constraints that place us at the doorstep of another time-tested philosophical debate—that one about empiricism versus rationalism. As with all bipolar debates, it has been suggested that there lies middle ground between the empiricist tradition and the rationalist tradition. As the old saying goes, “the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.” For our purposes, and considering the nature of the subject under discussion, this compromise, this middle ground is essential. Empiricism without a supporting, well-reasoned theory may be argued to be groundless data collection without aim or direction, the argument goes. What good is experience without an abstract framework within which to understand it? As for rationalist thinking, it can be very effective in logically explaining phenomena. But, most especially in the case of language and cognition, rationalism without even a little empiricism cannot be justifiable. Again, this paper will take a position which will add to the theoretical foundation that will underlie the discourse heretofore. As regards the study of cognition, and given the limitations of technology vis-à-vis an empirical approach to a robust understanding of the cognitive process, rational theory can go a long way in providing insight into the workings of the mind and brain. With some empirical data available on the workings of the brain, however, it would be unwise to abandon what these data may do to shed light on any theories. To the extent possible, this paper will defer to empiricism where possible, while attempting to approach the issue from a rationalist perspective. This is necessary for, while there is limited access to the brain’s workings in terms of empirical data, there are logically persuasive arguments concerning how the mind must function given what we currently know about the universe within which the mind finds itself operative. To this end, the paper will concern itself, from the empirical perspective, with examples from aphasia and child developmental psychology, and from the rationalist perspective, with theories of cognition and models of the mind that seek to give reason to observed phenomenon or provide a rational framework concerning how the mind must operate for the empirical data to be justified. These preliminary philosophical matters dispensed with, it is now possible to go on to look more carefully into the issue and provide a more refined definition of cognition.
We have defined the brain as a physiological organ whose working mirrors the mind of a conscious entity. The mind itself operates within a universe that is often thought to be infinite. What we will concern ourselves with, however, is the operation of the mind within the known universe as it relates to cognition. We now want to understand how the conception of this universe is organized within the mind as mirrored in the brain and its activities. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein held that the world consists totally of facts. Such a view is attractive, if only because the world, and by extension, the universe, can consist of nothing other than just that. That is, regardless of the perception or lack thereof of it, a truth exists. Thankfully, there is a perception of this truth that exists and the mind is the central agent in perceiving this truth—this state of affairs that is the entirety of facts Wittgenstein believes the word consists of. For example, humans are endowed with the ability to perceive the color red as red, the color green as green, and the color blue as blue. These truths, the existence of primary colors in the perceivable universe of humans, are facts that the universe consists of and, as well, there is uniformity in their perception. This uniformity may be seen as the fundamental precursor to what Adolfo Bastian called the “psychic unity of mankind.” And so we will agree with Wittgenstein in suggesting that there are facts which the world, and by extension, the universe consists of. We hasten to add that, of course, aside from the facts, the mind is also concerned with such things that cannot be defined as facts—things such as concepts, ideas and thoughts. But we will deal with these very shortly. We wish, first, to situate the mind within the universe. To do this, it is postulated that the mind, as the center of intention of a conscious entity, has the ability to represent information. And it represents information utilizing concepts, ideas, and thoughts, such mechanisms as earlier mentioned. This statement ought not be controversial. The very fact that the mind is aware of what exists suggests that it has the ability to represent knowledge. Again, there are a variety of schools regarding just how the mind can represent information or knowledge. Even as science makes advances in the study of the brain, at this point it is healthy to invest some energy into rational thought concerning just how the mind, as mirrored in the brain, can represent information or knowledge.
An intuitive theory of representation would be that the mind is a symbolic system. That is, it represents information by means of symbols. A symbol is simply an abstract object which is a representation of a thing. This theory, of the symbolic representational capability of the mind, is that which we will subscribe to for the purposes of this paper, because it allows us to generalize over any manner of representation available to the mind. This includes representations similar to or in the form of semantic networks, analogy, images, scripts, and frames. At the highest level of abstraction, all schemes to represent information or knowledge must involve symbols of the information or knowledge being represented. To make this clear, music, for example, or sound frequencies, can be represented symbolically. The symbol of a musical note, transliterated by the brain’s electrochemical mechanisms, may evoke in the mind the experience of the musical note. The use of the term symbol, in this sense, may be in fact argued to be analogous to the term concept, but only as a means of explicating upon what this paper would consider a symbol system to exist as in the mind. In this sense, there is a subtle differentiation between what this paper considers a symbolic system to be and what, say, Allen Newel would consider a symbolic system to be. The model of cognition subscribed to by this paper is a fine-grained one which gives deference to the mind as the knower of all things relative to the cognitive agent and accommodates the most fundamental cognitive processes that can occur consciously or otherwise.
Now that we have talked about the capability of the mind to represent
information, we can now go on to redefine cognition. First, we define a mental state as a specific representation of information in the mind. This representation is the truth of the mind at any given point in time. We now define cognition as the process involved in the change of mental states—that is the process involved when the mind transforms from one symbolic representation to another. This definition of cognition takes into account any form of cognitive activity. So, to use a simplified example, a mental state could involve the complete state of awareness of a being at time t. This state might be represented symbolically to signify all the parameters within which the mind finds itself extant in the universe—parameters such as light level, air intake, decibel level of varying frequencies, and so on and so forth. For every change in these parameters, there is necessarily a concomitant transformation of the symbolic representation in the mind in order to reflect the mind’s awareness of the dynamics of the situation. That very transformation is the cognitive process. In its most simplified sense, cognition, by this definition, is a continuous process consisting of a series of discrete transformations.
Following the example of the psychologist, Alexander Luria, it is now helpful to classify cognition according to its manifestations. There are basically two types of cognition1. The first is perceptual or sensory cognition. This manner of cognition is involved with a cognitive agent’s functioning as it acquires information from the universe within which it exists. An example of sensory cognition, and perhaps the most celebrated owing to the body of knowledge about it, is visual perception. The second type of cognition is rational cognition. Although rational cognition covers a broad area, we can traverse most, if not all, of its terrain by equating it with the sum total of voluntary acts, problem-solving, and thinking. Psychologists define voluntary acts as intentional actions undertaken by a human being at the behest of the thing that drives intention. We will see later its implications for the role of language in cognition. Problem-solving, deceptively named, is not limited to intellectual challenges, for instance, of the mathematical sort. Problem-solving is used in everyday life and it includes such seemingly mundane but intentional tasks as opening doors, driving cars, and scrubbing dirty plates. Thinking, for its part, is simply what it is, thinking. This paper will be concerned with the role of language in rational cognition.
We have discussed cognition and laid some the theoretical groundwork that will underlie our approach to understanding what role language plays in it. Now we are confronted with the next question, what is language? It seems that at every turn we find ourselves immersed in age-old debates that have not resolved themselves, forcing us, for the purposes of this paper, to lay claim to a position, or, at least, an idea concerning how we will approach the issue. Language, we know, is a form of expression. It is also a means of communication. These two facts are generally accepted. But such a vague definition allows for a wide range of living creatures to be equipped with language. These are controversial waters and we will chart our course accordingly. There is the school of thought which states that language is that ability which differentiates humans from all other living things. That is, no beings but human beings have language. That it is not merely a means of communication and form of expression, but that it is a complex set of rules which form the framework within which communication and expression can operate. Furthermore, as a social phenomenon, the extent to which language is made manifest points to a latitude well beyond mere communication and expression. And then there is the school of thought which adheres to the position that some animals have some form of language. Within the ranks of believers in this school are those who have attempted to show that animals have the capacity to learn to communicate with humans and each other utilizing a form of language. Chimpanzees, those genetic cousins of man, have been the most controversial of such subjects. The literature on chimpanzees and language is vast, but the consensus is small. As far as this debate goes, for the purposes of this paper we will take the least controversial path available, abstracting away the features of language that are agreed upon, leaving the rest of the specifics out of the fray. So, we are committed to the vague but still accurate notion that language is a form of expression and a means of communication utilized to convey information or describe states of affairs for the benefit of or at the behest of a cognitive agent. It should be pointed out that language is a two-way phenomenon. That is, the definition given assumes that language use involves being on the receiving end of the expression and communication as much as it involves being on the producing end.
Let us now explore language within the brain. In her book, “Aphasia,” Libby to be located in the left hemisphere”2. This is consonant with the view from neurolinguistics which holds that damage to the left-hemisphere of the brain, in right-handed people, will result in language impairment. This state of affairs in which the left-hemisphere is dominant in language processing is known as lateralization.
From the late 1700s to the beginning of the 1800s, a new theory of the brain known as phrenology, imagined at the time to be a science, took root at the behest of a Viennese physician, Franz Joseph Gall. Phrenology postulated that the mind, as seen through the brain, was composed of various faculties which were located in specific and distinct organs of the brain. Phrenologists thus believed that they were able to read the skull of a human being and determine the measure of the various faculties of the brain. Such a process was used for “character divination.” Phrenology blossomed after this era but was eventually discredited as a valid science. Nonetheless, the idea of localization in the brain is one that holds particular interest for those involved in language within the brain. Perhaps the most prominent localization theorist for language function in the brain was Paul Broca who, in 1861, based his theory of language centers in the brain on the autopsy of two aphasic patients. Broca noted that the patients, who both had the same language impairment—the inability to articulate speech—had sustained damage to the third frontal convolution in the brain. This portion of the brain has since come to be known as Broca’s area and the language impairment described has come to be known as Broca’s aphasia. Another prominent localization theorist, Carl Wernicke, witnessing lesions in the temporal lobe, identified the first temporal convolution as being key to auditory reception and language comprehension. As with Broca, that portion of the brain has come to be known as Wernicke’s area. Both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are located in the left-hemisphere of the brain. There are two more areas of note in the brain that play a role in language. The first is the motor cortex which is responsible for muscle movement. Studies have shown that the part of this cortex close to Broca’s area is utilized in controlling the movement of the face, jaw, tongue and larynx, necessary for speech articulation. The second area is the arcuate fasciculus which serves as a transmission link between Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.
Localization theory of language function, however, has not always been accepted by all. Hughling Jackson and Sigmund Freud, among others, were not convinced that a localization theory could account for the complex nature of aphasia. They did not entirely discount localization theory, but considered it too convenient an approach for a vastly complex problem. Similarly, Paul Pierre Marie performed a reexamination of the two brains that Broca had based his theory on and came to the conclusion that Broca’s evidence did not support the notion that damage to the third frontal convolution caused language impairment.
But despite these criticisms, localization is generally accepted today as the approach to a theory of language function in the brain most consonant with medical observation. A major objection to the localization theory suggests that portions of the brain are interdependent upon other portions and damage to one part of the brain has, if not global repercussions, effects on other portions. For example, Penelope Myers has suggested that right-hemisphere communicative disorders are due to what she terms “inference failures”3. These inference failures cause patients afflicted with these disorders to not understand humor, irony, hints and such notions as would require judgments of truth based on propositional analysis. The point is that, as has been pointed out often, the right-hemisphere does have role to play in the language process. For the purposes of the paper, owing to the body of evidence that supports at least a certain degree of localization, we will operate under the fundamental assumption that language is, to a variable extent, an independent faculty located in various centers of the brain. This said, we should now defer to the empiricist within and see what the evidence about language in the brain can do to give us insight into a theory of language and cognition. We begin by looking at aphasia and, subsequently, child developmental psychology. These two areas will lead us to our focal point, rational cognition, and the role of language in it.
What is aphasia? George Yule, in his book “The study of language,” states that aphasia is defined as “an impairment of language function due to localized cerebral damage which leads to difficulty in understanding and/or producing linguistic forms”4. Libby Kumin in her book “Aphasia,” calls it “language impairment following cerebrovascular accident or trauma resulting from brain damage caused by lack of oxygen to brain tissue”5. Finally, Frederick Darley, in his book also aptly entitled “Aphasia,” quotes the Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary as defining aphasia as “Defect or loss of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or of comprehending spoken or written language, due to injury or disease of the brain centers”6. It is to be noted that aphasia is not a speech impairment but an impairment of the language faculty.
The two major types of aphasia are Broca’s aphasia, otherwise known as motor aphasia, and Wernicke’s aphasia. As stated earlier, Broca’s aphasia causes the inability to produce or articulate speech while Wernicke’s aphasia causes the inability to comprehend speech. There are other types of aphasia, but, in general, when a patient suffers from a combination of Broca’s aphasia and Wernicke’s aphasia, the situation is known as global aphasia. A summary of the symptoms associated with aphasia may produce some insight into the role that language plays in cognition. Aphasic patients may suffer from what is sometimes called word deafness. This is the inability to recognize single words. This is manifest, for instance, in the inability to select an object, having been told its name. Even when aphasics with this impediment are able to recognize words, they may have problems comprehending entire sentences. As observed by Hildred Schuell, they are hampered by the lack of what is known as an auditory retention span7. That is, they cannot remember word sequences. This problem is not limited to spoken language, but written language as well. Aphasic patients may have problems in finding adequate words to use when speaking, as well as show a lack of organization in expressing their thoughts. They also may be unable to write properly or use the wrong words when they do write.
How does aphasia affect rational cognition? There have been several studies on how aphasia affects the intelligence of patients. Yet, the evidence for or against reduced intelligence as a result of aphasia is contradictory. Some studies, utilizing various modes of testing various cognitive skills, are said to indicate a loss of intelligence as a result of aphasia. Other studies claim that aphasic brain-damaged patients do no worse than non-aphasic brain-damaged patients in intelligence tests. For instance, Carl Lubin undertook a study, a comparison of hemiplegic patients with aphasia and hemiplegic patients without aphasia on “non-verbal tasks of intellectual functioning” 8. Alluding to theorists who postulated a relationship between language and abstract functioning, as well as others who made what he calls a “direct identification between language and thought,” Lubin’s rationale was that brain injury accompanied by language loss ought to have a greater impact on intellectual functioning than brain injury without accompanied language loss if these theorists were correct. The null hypothesis for his experiment was that “no consistent relationship exists between ability to engage in non-verbal intellectual tasks and language disturbance.” Tests such as the Goldstein-Sheerer Cube Test, designed to gauge the ability for abstraction, and other such tests were administered. The data from all the tests were said to reveal that the null hypothesis that no consistent relationship exists between ability in non-verbal intellectual tasks and language disturbance was correct. But this is just one in a number of experiments that have been conducted attempting to shed some light on aphasia and intelligence. Lebrun and Hoops demonstrated that there was no reduction in intellectual performance in patients who had undergone neurosurgery and had become severely aphasic9. These patients had been tested psychometrically before the surgery. So why do different tests seem to produce different perspectives? According to Frederick Darley, it is because these tests require various levels of verbal mediation on the part of the subjects. And this is of interest to us, this issue of verbal mediation during rational cognition.
Verbal mediation, the terms irresistibly conjures the idea of inner speech. In his book “Language and Cognition,” the psychologist Alexander Luria attempts to demonstrate that inner speech is intricately linked to rational cognition. He calls it the “Problem of the Voluntary Act”10. Luria, a disciple of Lev Vygotsky, suggests that, but for Vygotsky and his team, psychologists have failed to provide a suitable explanation for the voluntary act. Many psychologists have simply attributed it to a spiritual force. Others ignored it. Others yet attributed it to instinct or habit. Vygotsky’s theory was that voluntary acts begin at a very early age, when communication is established between a mother and a child. According to this theory, the child learns to act in reaction to the mother’s commands. At this stage, the mother’s command Vygotsky calls the source of the voluntary act. Later on, the child utilizes its own speech, initially external, in the process of or preceding voluntary action. Finally, this speech is internalized and serves as the mediating factor in rational cognition resulting in voluntary action. Luria goes on to describe experiments he carried out, continuing along the path of Vygotsky’s own experiments, which seem to support the theory. To show how, at an early age, a mother has directional influence on a child’s action, the example is given of how, when a child is breast-feeding and the mother whispers to the child, the child ceases breast-feeding for the duration of the mother’s speech. The experiments further cited show how, at varying stages of children’s development, they first learn to direct their voluntary actions in accordance with their mother’s commands, then they themselves regulate their own volitional acts with externalized speech. The studies show the utility of verbal mediation in children’s problem-solving and the eventual internalization of the speech.
But something ought to have caught our attention at this point. By the time the child becomes an adult, it no longer seems efficient to utilize inner speech to regulate voluntary acts. Consider a person sitting down who is in the process of making the decision to stand. Such a person is hardly likely to first pronounce to himself that he wishes to stand before standing. The decision is made almost instantaneously. For this Luria has an answer. His experiments show a phenomenon among children as their external speech is observed when they regulate their voluntary acts with it. As children grow older, such regulatory speech becomes more and more abbreviated until it is just linguistically functional enough to accommodate the intent of the child. According to Luria, inner speech, then, is not just the popularly believed phenomenon of speech without concomitant motor action. It is, instead, a much more abstract phenomenon that manifests itself at different levels, ending up as complete syntactically correct forms. What is more, at its most abstract level, it is the language of intention. Luria further states that studies indicate that even aphasics are able to regulate their voluntary acts using inner speech.
We are indeed concerned with inner speech and voluntary acts as manifestations of rational cognition. We are also concerned with verbal mediation and problem solving as a manifestation of rational cognition. For, both voluntary acts and problem-solving are necessary in everyday life, and without them a person could not function. If we are to take at face value Luria’s assertion that inner speech is necessary for voluntary acts, then it would follow that verbal mediation is a key component of problem-solving, although we may not be able to make the stronger claim that it is necessary for all problem-solving. We may also be inclined to believe that, as with inner speech, verbal mediation can take on forms ranging from the abbreviated and abstract to the syntactically expressive. Luria gives an example to bolster his theory that abbreviated language is not only possible within the human, it may be the norm at some point in a child’s development. Consider a child in the holophrastic stage of linguistic development who utters single words, mostly nouns, to identify objects. Luria points out that studies have shown that children at that stage of development are able to utilize single words to express more complex concepts. For instance, a child may point to the bed that his sister regularly sleeps in and utter her name even when she is not there. There is a thought process in this scenario, and it involves the child’s associating the bed with his sister, and attempting to express an idea regarding the situation. But even if pre-linguistic children or children at early stages of linguistic development can be said to have thoughts, some primitive, some more complex, as Luria suggests, it is not the case that during the course of development they do not imbibe behaviors which determine their method of cognition as they come into being as mature humans. Vygotsky’s theory of learned regulation of voluntary acts through speech is one such example.
According to Luria’s perspective, words are associated with objects in the real world not only for communication, but also for thinking. This is in line with the proponents of the theory that language and thought are inextricably bound and there is no thought without language. Jerry Fodor, on the other hands, holds the view on the other end of the continuum in this debate by suggesting that the mind represents the external world symbolically, and these symbols, or tokens, are used within the framework of an internal conceptual language he calls “Mentalese.” The Fodorian viewpoint upholds the independence of Mentalese from normal language, although Mentalese is argued to have rules similar to language.
So we should ask ourselves, what exactly is thought? Thought is the direct manipulation of the representation of the universe that a mind is aware of at the behest of the consciousness on whose behalf the mind operates. Since the days of Socrates and Plato, the debate on whether language and thought are inextricably bound has raged, and very passionately at that. Peter Carruthers explains the debate as one being between what he calls the “communicative conception of language,” a view which proposes that the role of language is the communication and expression of thought, and the “cognitive conception of language,” the view which postulates that thinking occurs in natural language11. There has been no consensus, except that many agree that without thought there could not be language. This is hardly surprising. What would a person say who thought of nothing? But is language necessary for thought? Scholars in the debate have taken positions ranging from the idea that thought is totally independent from language, to the idea that all thought is carried out through language. For the most part, this debate is carried out within the framework of a rationalist tradition, for there is little way of garnering information about the nature of thought except for observing and analyzing one’s own thoughts. But there are cases of human beings who were raised without the benefit of language that provide the slightest insight into how language and thought might be related. The most infamous case is the unfortunate one of Genie, a thirteen year-old girl who had been tied to a chair for most of her life and had been beaten if she as much as made a sound. Genie had no contact with any other humans but for her father and brother, who were not socially inclined with the girl, and with her mother, for a few minutes a day, who was permitted only to serve her food. When she was admitted to the children’s hospital in Los Angeles, she was severely language impaired. In fact, she could not utilize language. Eventually she did learn to communicate although never quite to the level required of those her age. Regarding the debate on language and thought, we know that Genie’s language faculty was underdeveloped. But, considering the psychological trauma she underwent, it would not be justifiable to explain any cognitive deficiencies that she might have displayed as being resultant of the state of her language faculty. But it does raise the question.
Other cases, however, are known of so-called “wolf children” who managed to be raised without language. In one case, it was discovered that the child had learned to classify objects as colors and not as objects. And, finally, there is the case of twin girls who were thought to be mentally impaired because they spoke what was believed to be gibberish, but what was later discovered to be an authentic language that they both could understand. What these cases tell us is that there is much more study to be done before any definitive conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between language and thought.
The debate on language and thought, and by extension, language and cognition, is sure to continue for quite a while. As has been the case, new scientific evidence will be interpreted to suit the arguments of the different sides in the debate. But through it all, consensus might find a space to exist as the varying theories inevitably provide common ground. For example, although their positions may seem entrenched on opposite sides of a continuum, Alexander Luria and Jerry Fodor are perhaps not as far apart in their views. Fodorian Mentalese seems to qualify as the most fundamental manifestation of Luria’s version of inner speech. Both are the language of intention. The placeholders for concepts. In this view, Mentalese as the basest form of inner speech would evolve into syntactically expressive inner speech, and then to external speech if necessary. This, also, is not too far-removed from Noam Chomsky’s Logical Form, the interface between the cognitive system and the language faculty. Some might suggest that language-less thought is imaginable. But what we are attempting to consider is not whether language in its expressive form is necessary for thought or cognition, but instead, if the language faculty necessarily organizes intention as involved in rational cognition. The question becomes one of whether the language of intention is possible without the language faculty. To this question there is no ready answer. As such, there is also no ready answer as to exactly how rational cognition is hindered without language. Certainly, there is a compelling case to be made that language in its expressive form is relevant in a lot of thought. Expressive language, in many cases, serves a purpose in the identification of objects stored in the mind as symbols as well as plays a mediating role. The evidence from problem-solving experiments suggest that the role and manifestation of language during rational cognition, may, in fact, be tied to the degree of complexity of voluntary acts and problems that require solutions. Language, in this view, would have an organizing function in the brain, coming into play when it is necessary to systematize the brain’s representation of reality in such a way that the cognitive agent can readily grasp the import of the situation. But language in its kernel form, its most abstract form, this is where the argument now stands. No one disputes that expressive language is too wieldy to be a convenient factor in all thought. It just takes too much time to express thought in whole sentences. What is less certain, however, is whether there is a form of language that is so logically structured that it gives expression to that thing that drives intention, allowing it instantaneously mentally articulate the purpose of a conscious being, whether it be as regards voluntary acts, problem-solving, or thinking itself. In the most fundamental sense, then, the argument is about whether there exists a conscious recognition of intent by a cognitive agent. And therein lies the key. For without conscious recognition of intent, how shall we suppose that intent is intentional? And yet, conscious recognition of intent presupposes the ability to articulate said intent, in some manner, shape or form, to the cognitive agent. Is this articulation the root of language? Is this where the language faculty originates? Or is this articulation a distinct phenomenon from language? That is where the debate is. Again, there is no ready answer. But this is our accomplishment, identifying the location of the debate as it has evolved. In questioning the role of language in cognition, we question the form of language, from its most abstract to its most expressive. What we can say, is that language does play a very important role in cognition. And that without language, some cognitive tasks would certainly be, at the very least, considerably problematic.
As improving technology sheds more light on the workings of the brain, our theories about the mind are bound to become more accurate. And then, a fuller understanding will come into being, of what the role of language may be in cognition.
References
1) Luria, Alexander (1981), Language and Cognition, 18.
2) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 12
3) Myers, Penelope S. (1991), “Inference Failure: The Underlying Impairment in Right-Hemisphere Communication Disorders”, Clinical Aphasiology 20(16):167-179.
4) Yule, George (1985), The Study of Language, 167.
5) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 12.
6) Darley, Frederic L. (1982), Aphasia, 1.
7) Kummin, Libby (1978), Aphasia, 26.
8) Lubin, Carl Kenneth (1969), Language Disturbance and Intellectual Functioning, 37.
9) Darley, Frederic L. (1982), Aphasia, 22.
10) Luria, Alexander (1981), Language and Cognition, 88.
11) Carruthers, Peter and Boucher, Jill (1998), “Introduction: opening up options”, Language and Thought, Interdisciplinary Themes, 1.
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