Everything Evolves

What is evolution? There are three main components to evolution: variation, heredity, and differential fitness. The best definition I have seen is in Robert Brandon’s Concepts and Methods in Evolutionary Biology:
The following three statements are crucial components of the Darwinian (or neo-Darwinian) theory of evolution:

Variation: There is (significant) variation in morphological, physiological and behavioral traits [...]

Why Computational Linguistics?

I was thinking about what to say to a student who is contemplating a career in computational linguistics. How can I convey my enthusiasm? How can I explain my fascination with language? Here are some of the things that came to mind:

Language Affects Perception

Here’s an update to my post on the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Lera Boroditsky answered the question, “What have you changed your mind about?” as follows:
I used to think that languages and cultures shape the ways we think. I suspected they shaped the ways we reason and interpret information. But I didn’t think languages could shape [...]

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is sometimes expressed as “language determines thought”. This is a fascinating concept, suggesting that speakers of another language might have a view of the world very different from our own. The artificial language Loglan (Logical Language) was originally intended to test the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. The idea was that a logical language [...]