From (pdf) one apparently in the know:
Linguists are like vacuum cleaners. Philosophers are rather like blackholes. Philosophers react to every theory by constructing arguments against it. Linguists react to every theory by taking it in and using it to explain some of their millions of examples.
Originally spotted by Rachele.
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2 comments:
I'm really not sure I follow that analogy. Both vacuums and blackholes suck things in, I don't remember vacuums using household dirt to explain their theories... And I'm sure I know philosophers fitting both types described. There are probably linguists too, though I don't know them.
But blackholes squish things into an infinitely heavy infinitely small thing, whereas vacuum cleaners just suck things up.
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