The hottest Language Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

BharatGPT’s Hanooman Coming Soon

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM β€’ 19 implied HN points β€’ 05 Mar 24
πŸ•Ή Technology AI Ethics Open Source Language Software
  1. The new AI model, Hanooman, aims to promote ethical use of technology, inspired by the character Hanuman, known for using his power responsibly.
  2. Hanooman will have four different versions with various sizes and will support conversations in 11 Indian languages at launch.
  3. Future plans include expanding language support to cover all 22 official languages of India, enhancing accessibility for many users.

The Struggle for Survival, Information, and Immortality

Ulysses β€’ 59 implied HN points β€’ 13 Mar 23
πŸ”¬ Science Evolution Genetics Language Memory Writing
  1. Living beings navigate the world by ingesting information to survive and evolve, as genes constantly adapt and species evolve through the exchange of genetic material.
  2. Human survival relies heavily on memetic information stored in our minds, with language playing a crucial role in passing on knowledge and shaping societies.
  3. Writing is a powerful tool for achieving a form of immortality by transferring ideas and knowledge across generations, transcending biological limitations.

On creativity and language models

Philosophy bear β€’ 50 implied HN points β€’ 15 Feb 24
πŸ”¬ Science AI Creativity Language Models Philosophy
  1. Creativity involves putting things together in a new way, whether it's useful, thoughtful, beautiful, or admirable. It's all about recombining existing elements.
  2. The level of creativity depends on how new and good something is. Any new sentence can be seen as somewhat creative, but the degree varies.
  3. There doesn't seem to be a definite line between different levels of creativity; they all involve rearrangements of existing elements. It's a spectrum of newness and usefulness.

Heroic Appearances

Painful Signs, Or, Joel's Substack β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 26 Oct 23
🚌 Education Literature Mythology Language Research
  1. The ethnicity and appearance of ancient heroes, like Helen, may not align with modern concepts of race and beauty. Ancient depictions and concepts of color and appearance were likely different.
  2. Descriptions of heroes in ancient Greek literature, such as Helen, were often open to interpretation and projection by the audience, allowing for individualized ideals of beauty.
  3. Homeric poetry intentionally left physical descriptions of figures like Helen vague, encouraging audience engagement and diverse interpretations rather than prescribing fixed appearances.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

The Mystic and the Poet

Carefree Sketches β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 18 Jul 23
πŸ“š Literature Poetry Language Philosophy
  1. The mystic and the poet both relate to language in unique ways, with the mystic going deeper into questioning conventional language while the poet focuses on capturing fleeting moments.
  2. The mystic wants a total overhaul of language usage to communicate reality accurately, whereas the poet prefers creating sensory impressions with language.
  3. Prose can act as a mediator between the poet and the mystic, balancing between capturing moments and expressing eternal truths.

New words #5

Mutual Information β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 22 Sep 23
🚌 Education Language Science Mathematics Medicine History
  1. Discover new words by looking them up when encountered in podcasts or readings.
  2. Some new words include pluriennial, isoprene, trammel, polysemy, coruscate, mezuzot, kasher, sheikha, and more.
  3. Words like xenotime, mountebank, salubrious, and antepenultimate highlight the vast diversity in the English language.

Tech Mahindra Finally Takes on OpenAI

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 28 Aug 23
πŸ•Ή Technology AI IT Innovation Language Business
  1. Tech Mahindra is developing a new language model called Project Indus to improve communication in various Indian languages, starting with Hindi. This is a big step for Indian IT companies in the AI field.
  2. The project aims to cover 40 different Hindi dialects initially and later expand to other Indian languages. They plan to reach a significant portion of the world's population with this technology.
  3. Led by CP Gurnani, this initiative is part of Tech Mahindra's Makers Lab, showcasing their commitment to innovation and challenging existing AI leaders like OpenAI.

Words, Words, Words

Let's Get Psychophysical ! β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 15 Mar 23
πŸ“– Philosophy Language Emotions Action Thought Self-awareness
  1. Arguments online often center around words, their definitions, and emotional reactions they provoke, rather than the actual content being discussed.
  2. Our brains are wired to react emotionally to words, and it's important to understand and control these reactions.
  3. To escape the power words hold over us, it's essential to use words purposefully as tools for action, rather than letting them control our thoughts and movements.

Short Thoughts on Desire

Autoscriptorium β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 05 Apr 23
πŸ“– Philosophy Human nature Language Ethics
  1. There is a human compulsion to organize and categorize information to make sense of the world.
  2. Rating everything one encounters is a common habit to communicate feelings in a quantified manner.
  3. The concept of 'love' has evolved over time, from acts of ostenstion to self-oriented positive feelings.

An β€œAI Breakthrough” on Systematic Generalization in Language?

AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans β€’ 47 HN points β€’ 07 Jan 24
πŸ”¬ Science AI Language Neural Networks Generalization Machine Learning
  1. Compositionality in language means the meaning of a sentence is based on its individual words and how they are combined.
  2. Systematicity allows understanding and producing related sentences based on comprehension of specific sentences.
  3. Productivity in language enables the generation and comprehension of an infinite number of sentences.

Math is a Language. This is how you should learn it. [Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple β€’ 99 implied HN points β€’ 14 Jun 22
🚌 Education Math Language Learning Teaching Self-study
  1. Math is a language that helps express complex ideas in quantifiable ways, and understanding it is crucial for technical careers like AI and Engineering.
  2. Many people struggle with Math because they try to learn topics without understanding the context around them, similar to trying to learn a language without knowing any words or sentence structures.
  3. Learning Math effectively involves treating it like learning a language, starting with simple 'sentences' for specific situations, practicing, and gradually branching out to more complex ideas.

On not reading (in English)

The Leftovers β€’ 79 implied HN points β€’ 11 Aug 22
πŸ“š Literature Fiction Non-fiction Translation Critique Language
  1. Taking a break from Anglophone literature and exploring works in different languages can introduce fresh themes and perspectives.
  2. Reading works by authors from various backgrounds, like Alberto Prunetti's, can provide unique and endearing storytelling experiences.
  3. Exploring literature in original languages, like Italian in the case of Prunetti's book, can offer a deeper understanding of the language nuances and cultural diversity.

Walk This Way

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind β€’ 99 implied HN points β€’ 20 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Nature Travel Language Literature Observation
  1. Animals move in different ways, like marmots and chipmunks scurrying quickly, while bears just stroll. Observing these movements can make us appreciate the natural world.
  2. Walking slowly and enjoying our surroundings, like with the Italian concept of struscio, helps us take in details and connect with our environment and others.
  3. Exploring a city by strolling can reveal hidden details and experiences. It's a great way to learn about new places or rediscover familiar ones.

An Antiquarian Abecedary

Autoscriptorium β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 01 Mar 23
πŸ“š Literature Language Words Meaning History
  1. The post discusses unique, old English words and their origins, shedding light on their fascinating meanings.
  2. Many of the words presented originate from the sixteenth century, showcasing the richness of the English language during that period.
  3. The examples given range from terms relating to emotions and actions, to ones describing physical elements like frost or speech patterns.

On Corporate Rhetoric

Autoscriptorium β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 03 Feb 23
🎭️ Culture Language Corporate Practices Ethics Communication Workplace dynamics
  1. Corporate rhetoric can often be confusing and more about obfuscating than communicating.
  2. Success in the corporate world is a mix of individual effort and market forces, leading to a superstitious environment.
  3. Three principles of corporate rhetoric include reflection, sublimation, and momentum, each playing a unique role in communication and decision-making.

Using AI in education, Part 1

Solresol β€’ 19 implied HN points β€’ 12 Dec 23
🚌 Education AI Language Accessibility Translation Globalization
  1. Consider using AI for translating educational materials to make learning more accessible to students with different language backgrounds.
  2. Engaging students by providing educational content in their native language can improve their learning experience and motivation.
  3. Discuss the evolving importance of improving English fluency versus providing education in native languages to cater to global diversity.

Update #68: Whispering Indigenous Languages and Neural Net Training Dynamics

The Gradient β€’ 27 implied HN points β€’ 13 Feb 24
πŸ•Ή Technology AI Language Data Research Ethics
  1. Papa Reo raised concerns about Whisper's ability to transcribe the Māori language, highlighting challenges faced by indigenous languages in technology.
  2. Neural networks learn statistics of increasing complexity throughout training, with a focus on low-order moments first before higher-order correlations.
  3. Including native speakers in language corpora and model evaluation processes can substantially improve the performance of natural language processing systems for languages like Māori.

Found in translation

Mindful Musings β€’ 62 implied HN points β€’ 14 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Language Cuisine City life
  1. Learning new languages and phrases in a foreign country is fun and reveals unique cultural aspects.
  2. Accents, local phrases, and sayings are key to understanding local culture and history.
  3. Unique phrases like 'Fuhgeddaboudit' and expressions like 'You're so good' offer insights into language and community experiences.

Humans, LLMs, and the symbol grounding problem (pt. 2)

The Counterfactual β€’ 59 implied HN points β€’ 07 Dec 22
πŸ•Ή Technology AI Language Cognition Philosophy Psychology
  1. Understanding language might not need physical experiences. This means that Large Language Models could potentially understand language differently than humans do.
  2. People can grasp abstract concepts and visual information even without direct experiences, like those who are blind or those with aphantasia. This challenges the idea that you must physically experience something to understand it.
  3. Using language itself can be a way to learn about the world. Language helps us form ideas and understand concepts, even if we haven't experienced everything firsthand.

Language, Understanding and Medicine

Journal of Gurdjieff Studies β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 01 Jan 23
πŸ“– Philosophy Language Medicine Understanding Consciousness Healing
  1. Language plays a significant role in understanding and medicine according to Gurdjieff's teachings, suggesting that understanding is dependent on language.
  2. Gurdjieff's exploration of language, human mentation, and understanding is closely linked to his teachings on medicine, hypnotism, and consciousness.
  3. The concept of understanding is viewed as a form of medicine, serving as a harmonizing factor in our lives.

Overloading and appropriation

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 17 May 23
πŸ“– Philosophy Language Knowledge Epistemology Uncertainty
  1. Overloading 'risk' means using the word for many situations that aren't really risky. This can lead to confusion and poor decision-making because we apply the wrong methods to deal with those situations.
  2. Appropriating 'uncertainty' refers to using the term in ways that suggest it can be easily measured or controlled. This misleads us into thinking we can manage all unknowns when some can't be quantified and should be treated differently.
  3. Both overloading and appropriation give us a false sense of comfort. They make scary unknown situations feel more manageable when, in reality, we might be ignoring important nuances.

Perhaps something has occurred in the history of the concept of structure

Internal exile β€’ 28 implied HN points β€’ 12 Jan 24
πŸ“– Philosophy Language Cultural transmission Interpretation
  1. Jacques Derrida's lecture 'Structure, Sign, and Play' launched post-structuralism in 1966.
  2. Language models like LLMs create structured language instantly, blurring the origins and history.
  3. LLMs operate without embodied knowledge, relying on statistical relationships of tokens rather than real-world experience.

The hottest new programming language is English! Or maybe not.

Marcus on AI β€’ 21 HN points β€’ 15 Feb 24
πŸ•Ή Technology Programming Language AI Software Engineering
  1. Programming in English is a concept that has been explored but faces challenges in implementation.
  2. Despite the allure of programming in English, classical programming languages exist for their precision and necessity.
  3. Machine learning models like LLMs provide a glimpse of programming in English but have limitations in practical application.

New words #4

Mutual Information β€’ 19 implied HN points β€’ 14 Feb 23
πŸ“š Literature Vocabulary Language Books
  1. New words encountered can be researched and recorded for future reference.
  2. Different biological terms like ecotone and phyllosphere describe specific regions and habitats.
  3. Vocabulary expansion can be beneficial, offering insight into various scientific fields.

Awareness is Fun

mindmagic β€’ 19 implied HN points β€’ 01 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Awareness Behavior Language
  1. Increasing and sustaining awareness can be done through innovative methods.
  2. Engaging in arbitrary day-long rules can lead to unexpected situations and personal growth.
  3. Exploring different cultural practices, like Russian smileys, can offer new perspectives and challenges.

The Sound of Encroaching Footsteps, by X.T.X. (Part 2)

Chinese Meme β€’ 19 implied HN points β€’ 18 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Music Language Literature
  1. The song 'The Sound of Encroaching Footsteps' by X.T.X. explores different reactions people have to situations, like fear, happiness, singing aloud, or hiding.
  2. The song emphasizes the importance of understanding and respecting that everyone reacts differently to life's ups and downs.
  3. The lyrics of the song highlight the theme of hidden emotions, showing the significance of expressing inner feelings rather than concealing them.

Nicaraguan Sign Language

The Weekly Gazette β€’ 7 HN points β€’ 06 Aug 24
🎭️ Culture Language Community Education Identity Communication
  1. Nicaraguan Sign Language was created by deaf children who together formed a new way of communicating during the 1970s. They had to find ways to express themselves since there was no existing sign language before.
  2. The language evolved quickly as younger generations added complexity and grammar rules to it, showing how language can grow and change in a community.
  3. Claudia Avila, who learned NSL later in life, became a role model for others by teaching and spreading the language, which has helped many deaf children connect and express themselves.

Have You Heard This Annoying Expression?

The Reclamation Era β€’ 39 implied HN points β€’ 15 Feb 23
🎭️ Culture Gender Issues Self-care Motherhood Language Society
  1. The phrase 'taking a selfish' is seen as a demeaning way to describe women taking care of themselves. It makes self-care sound bad or wrong.
  2. Women often shrink their choices to trendy terms instead of proudly pursuing what makes them happy. This reflects societal pressures and expectations.
  3. It's important to recognize that self-care decisions shouldn't be labeled as selfish, especially when men rarely face the same judgement for doing things they enjoy.

Things I love about Chernobyl, the HBO series

Mindful Musings β€’ 41 implied HN points β€’ 02 Jul 23
🎭️ Culture TV Series History Language Drama
  1. The show Chernobyl displayed restraint by keeping the content concise and focused on the reality of the events.
  2. The excellent use of language in the show added depth and authenticity to the characters and setting.
  3. The attention to detail in portraying the 1980s Soviet Union, from clothing to equipment, enhanced the immersive experience for viewers.