Genie 2

1.                   What was so significant about Chomsky's argument?

Chomsky’s argument is significant because it goes directly against the accepted idea that we are all born as ‘blank slates’. That we aquire language simply by every aspect of it being taught or presented to us. Chomsky felt that we are not infact blank slates at birth, that there is some type of innate ability to be able to understand the structure of language, and that as we learn vocabulary and meaning it is applied into this structure, and formulated into communication.

2. What do you make of Chomsky's bird argument on p. 36?

I think that the bird argument is very concise way to state his theory. Since he believes that language is innate, and not something learned he states that a human raised by an animal would still walk, and not travel the way that animal does. If a child raised by birds doesn’t learn to fly, then how do we know that we do not know language? It could be just as innate as walking.

3. Do you agree with Chomsky's claim about the island at the end of Chapter 7? Please explain your answer.

I do agree with Chomsky. Most languages have similar structures to them. I think that language is innate. There are two many similarities between languages that have never had contact with each other when created for their not to be. Also there are so many un written rules, that are not taught that people know without being able to explain.

4. In Chapter 10, why were Genie's observers pleased to see her hitting other children?

Genies observers were pleased because before this all of her rage had been expressed inwardly, but now she was becoming angered with someone else, and trying to hurt them not herself.

5. Describe how Genie's language was developing.

She was expressing interest in learning what things were called, she would walk around with caretakers and point to things and want the name for what she was pointing to. However even though she was trying to expand her vocabulary she was unable to speak more than a few utterances, but it was clear to her caretakers that she was understanding much more then she could say.

 
6. After reading Chapter 11, what are the primary differences between the reading and the film?

The main differences is that the reading does not say he learned to say the word “lait” and that it seems to stress the importance of the relationship between Dr. Itard and Victor, which I do not think was as strong as it is being expressed in the reading.

7. How did the film, Wild Child impact the symposium members? What is meant by: "all of us  saw in the movie what we were prepared to see to confirm to our own biases."?

This film can be interpreted many ways. Dr. Itard  uses many different techniques to teach Victor language and it is impossible to accurately state how accurate they were since some things seem to bend both ways in the blank slate vs. innate ability debate. What the quote means is that people were able to view the film, perceive it their own way, and use it to support their theories.

8. What do you think of Dr. Elkind's quote on p. 59? How do you feel about Dr. Freedman's suggestion on p. 59-61

I think that Dr. Elkind’s quote makes some valid points. If genie starts to connect speaking language correctly to getting attention and love then she will only be doing it for the reward, and there is no way to tell if she is actually learning and comprehending it. Similar to Wild Child. However I think that Dr. Freedman’s suggestion is just as valid. If Genie has someone to relate to and trust then she may be able to be more interactive and see other humans as people not objects in her life, however if this suggestion was to be taken it should have been taken with the caution of what Dr. Eklind said.

9. Why was it important for Itard to teach Vistor to "imagine the needs of others (p. 73)"? Does CAS do this? Why or why not?

It is important for Itard to teach Victor this because if he doesn’t imagine the needs of others he may not connect to the idea that other humans are just like him, and he will instead view them as objects in his scenery, not as something to interact with. CAS does this in some of it’s goals. For example the one about doing something of global importance, it makes us connect to other people that we would normally not connect with. As students, and people in general, we are not constantly thinking about the needs of everyone else in the world. Everyone else in the world seems to be scenery to our day-to-day interactions. By investing time into something of global importance yo uare breaking that barrier, and connecting to more people

10. After reading Chapter 14, do you agree that Truffaut's film ending was too optimistic?

I do think Truffault’s ending was too optimistic. It ended with him returning to his studies as normal and everyone with a smile on their face. It also ended after he had made huge progress by returning to Dr. Itard, making the audience feel like things can only get better now, when in fact that is not what happened at all.