[Causality1]

The bigger issue is there's like five entirely separate theses that he kind of tries to ramble through in a single article that should've been split up. Some of his points are excellent but some of them are silly and childish, the products of someone who lives in academia and not the real world.

[rex_gallorum2]

It's a narrative, not a technical manual. I found it beautifully written and filled with insight.

[causi]

Beautifully written as it is, it's missing huge chunks of the picture. How can you talk that much about translation, natives and learned speakers, international and immersive culture, and never once mention the internet? This would have been an immensely powerful essay in 1985. Now it seems like a dusty tome in a corner of the library with a burned-out lightbulb. It has insights, sure, but he's not living in the same world we are.

[rex_gallorum2]

I think, in a way, that was exactly his point. And I have a feeling I might be living more in his world than in yours.

[causi]

His thinking isn't bad, though. I would enjoy having his insights without ignoring the elephant in the room.