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0 pointsskeoh6y ago0 comments

From http://learnthesewordsfirst.com/Lesson-12F.html#12-21

12-20. right.

[X is on the right side of your body.] = X is on this side of your body: Most people write using the hand they have on this side of their body.

[I use my right hand when I draw pictures.]

12-21. left.

[X is on the left side of your body.] = X is on this side of your body: Most people do not write using the hand they have on this side of their body. They write using their other hand.

[My child held my left hand.]

0 comments

raldi6y ago

I would think a true minimum set of bootstrapping words would be enough to teach the language to hypothetical aliens who might not have access to a group of humans to poll about handedness.

ISL6y ago

To tell an alien about handedness definitively, without an artifact, may require that both parties are aware of the CP-violation present in the weak interaction.

Put another way, how can we know that aliens won't reconstruct an electromagnetic message as a mirror image of what we sent?

raldi6y ago

Make use of the right-hand rule, which will suffice so long as they're not made of antimatter.

2 more replies

dredmorbius6y ago

The definition proposed doesn't differ strongly from 1913 Webster:

Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other side; -- opposed to left when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied to the corresponding side of the lower animals.

http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=*&Query=rig...

bladedtoys6y ago

I’d actually like to see a minimum set of _concepts_ necessary to communicate among humans then choose the language that best uses them.

Such a list would be great to have for many reasons actually.

thelazydogsback6y ago

For a early super-minimal example, see: https://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave.Marshall/AI2/node69.html

Later efforts (for attributed grammars, semantic networks, etc.) used many more primitives. Semantic primitive / "Interlingua" based formalisms never quite caught on for the most part, however.

the <"X---" == left> and <"---X" == right> example is an example of an analogical representation -- these have sensorimotor/perceptual groundings and mimic how we actually learn some concepts, but although there has been some research in AI in utilizing analogical representations internally, it is not typical.

masklinn6y ago

The actual dictionary definition uses the normal position of the heart instead (though it assumes no situs inversus): https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/left

It links to definitions for some sub-concepts (e.g. containing or heart) but oddly enough not others (e.g. body), I'm guessing because body is part of the core 360 words.

fit2rule6y ago

I once had to describe left and right to my kids as they grew up, and the best [ * ] way to do that in my opinion is with this sentence:

"Left is on this side of the sentence, and at the end of it is right."

[ * - as in: they didn't 'get' it until I formulated it this way]

psychoslave6y ago

Can you come with the Arabic translation, please? (-:

fit2rule6y ago

اليمين على هذا الجانب من الجملة ، وفي نهايته هو اليسار.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsskeoh6y ago0 comments

From http://learnthesewordsfirst.com/Lesson-12F.html#12-21

12-20. right.

[X is on the right side of your body.] = X is on this side of your body: Most people write using the hand they have on this side of their body.

[I use my right hand when I draw pictures.]

12-21. left.

[X is on the left side of your body.] = X is on this side of your body: Most people do not write using the hand they have on this side of their body. They write using their other hand.

[My child held my left hand.]

0 comments

raldi6y ago

I would think a true minimum set of bootstrapping words would be enough to teach the language to hypothetical aliens who might not have access to a group of humans to poll about handedness.

ISL6y ago

To tell an alien about handedness definitively, without an artifact, may require that both parties are aware of the CP-violation present in the weak interaction.

Put another way, how can we know that aliens won't reconstruct an electromagnetic message as a mirror image of what we sent?

raldi6y ago

Make use of the right-hand rule, which will suffice so long as they're not made of antimatter.

2 more replies

dredmorbius6y ago

The definition proposed doesn't differ strongly from 1913 Webster:

http://www.dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=*&Query=rig...

bladedtoys6y ago

I’d actually like to see a minimum set of _concepts_ necessary to communicate among humans then choose the language that best uses them.

Such a list would be great to have for many reasons actually.

thelazydogsback6y ago

For a early super-minimal example, see: https://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave.Marshall/AI2/node69.html

Later efforts (for attributed grammars, semantic networks, etc.) used many more primitives. Semantic primitive / "Interlingua" based formalisms never quite caught on for the most part, however.

masklinn6y ago

The actual dictionary definition uses the normal position of the heart instead (though it assumes no situs inversus): https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/left

It links to definitions for some sub-concepts (e.g. containing or heart) but oddly enough not others (e.g. body), I'm guessing because body is part of the core 360 words.

fit2rule6y ago

I once had to describe left and right to my kids as they grew up, and the best [ * ] way to do that in my opinion is with this sentence:

"Left is on this side of the sentence, and at the end of it is right."

[ * - as in: they didn't 'get' it until I formulated it this way]

psychoslave6y ago

Can you come with the Arabic translation, please? (-:

fit2rule6y ago

اليمين على هذا الجانب من الجملة ، وفي نهايته هو اليسار.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse