Analyzing Cognitive Cost in Language Processing

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The chapter explores the concept of cognitive cost in language processing, discussing methods like assessing sentence acceptability and analyzing brain activation based on dependency lengths. It delves into the complexities of connecting cognitive cost to dependency length, comparing it to creating a formula like E equals MC squared. The conversation also examines the structure and dependencies of words in human language, including the role of working memory and interference between words.

Edward Gibson is a psycholinguistics professor at MIT and heads the MIT Language Lab. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/edward-gibson-transcript

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:53) – Human language
(14:59) – Generalizations in language
(20:46) – Dependency grammar
(30:45) – Morphology
(39:20) – Evolution of languages
(42:40) – Noam Chomsky
(1:26:46) – Thinking and language
(1:40:16) – LLMs
(1:53:14) – Center embedding
(2:19:42) – Learning a new language
(2:23:34) – Nature vs nurture
(2:30:10) – Culture and language
(2:44:38) – Universal language
(2:49:01) – Language translation
(2:52:16) – Animal communication