December 7: Noam Chomsky

Linguist, philosopher, and political radical Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia on this date in 1928. A professor at MIT for 55 years and the author of more than 100 books, Chomsky opened up a modern understanding of linguistics as a branch of cognitive psychology, with insights about language leading to insights about human nature and our mental architecture. Chomsky has also been a lifelong critic of unregulated capitalism, imperialism, and political authoritarianism. His father was a professor of Hebrew at Gratz College and a member of the IWW, and Chomsky’s politics reflect, in many ways, anarcho-syndicalist and libertarian socialist perspectives. He has been highly critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and what he calls “Israel’s very clear choice of expansion over security.” Chomsky has been awarded honorary doctorates by some forty universities. The world’s largest garden gnome, in Accord, New York — the hometown of JEWDAYO — is named “Gnome Chomsky.”

“Everybody’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it.” —Noam Chomsky

Watch the trailer for Michel Gondry’s new animated documentary, Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?: An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky (2013). See how to watch full movie online at IMDB.com