Monday, November 14, 2016

Mind Out of Time: Arrival, Ted Chiang, and Sapir-Whorf



Arrival is based on a short story by Ted ChiangStory of Your Life.

Despite what some have said, the main plot idea (as I remember from the story; I have yet to see the film) goes well beyond the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis -- it also requires that human consciousness (potentially) extend beyond the confines of the usual time span we perceive. This is a modification of fundamental physics, not just of cognitive linguistics.

See also A Modern Borges? and Beyond Human Science.

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