Thread by @cedricboeckx

Some reflections on my new paper with @ptsgmartins in @PLOSBiology, where we argue against #Chomsky & Berwick's view on how human #language evolved. [Thread]
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/ar…
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@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology We were inspired by points made (frequently and compellingly) by e.g. @WiringTheBrain and @ProfSimonFisher about what one can (and cannot) infer from the phenotype about the genotype and vice-versa. 2/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher In some sense, the main point we make should not be news. But it bears repeating especially if alternative views (like #Chomsky's) are bound to be influential, and are used to refuse to engage with the complexity of the underlying biology 3/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher Arguing like Berwick and Chomsky do for a particular (highly implausible) scenario 'out of logical necessity' is wrong. As Lewontin loved to say, in biology "it ain't necessarily so" 4/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher We all like simplicity, but in this particular case (Berwick/Chomsky's narrative) I feel like quoting HL Mencken: "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong" 5/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher There is wonderful work showing how complex the evolution of our species was (see, e.g., @ChrisStringer65 , @DrEleanorScerri @huw_groucutt ). There is no reason to believe that the evolution of (core aspects of) our modern language capacity was simple, sudden, etc. 6/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher @ChrisStringer65 @DrEleanorScerri @huw_groucutt Full disclosure: Much of what I know about human language I learned directly from Noam Chomsky. But on the topic of language evolution, we disagree. 7/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher @ChrisStringer65 @DrEleanorScerri @huw_groucutt I want to thank editor @RoliRoberts for commissioning 4 thoughtful reviews (+ comments by Berwick/Chomsky), and handling the whole process in a remarkably fair, even-handed, and careful fashion. 8/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher @ChrisStringer65 @DrEleanorScerri @huw_groucutt @RoliRoberts Arguing with some linguists can be quite, well, ummm, difficult. @RoliRoberts did a superb job making sure everyone's point of view was respected and the tone of the exchange remained civil 9/

@ptsgmartins @PLOSBiology @WiringTheBrain @ProfSimonFisher @ChrisStringer65 @DrEleanorScerri @huw_groucutt @RoliRoberts Last, but not least, kudos to @ptsgmartins for keeping a cool head during the review process and taking the lead in this project. He deserves the credits.