EDUC 0915 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Jared Diamond, Spell Checker
24 Jan 2017
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Video - new sign language in nicaragua. According to the nativists, these children created their own unique human language, empowered by (1) their desire to communicate with teach other and (2) the human language instinct. Topic 2 - writing systems (orthographies) of the world. Orthography is arguably the most important human invention of all times - more important that the wheel, agriculture, the light bulb, the computer, electricity, contraception, the spell checker. Without the ability to record our thoughts, we wouldn"t be here! Writing is arguably the greatest invention humans have ever made. There are only two places on earth where writing was indisputably invented from scratch: Sumer - located in present day iraq and kuwait, in about 3000 bce. Sumerian cuneiform consisted of wedge-shaped from pressed into clay tablets. Most we have today are mercantile - like noah owes me 3 sheep, he only paid.
