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Circularity at the dawn of language

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Today’s Bizarro takes us back to the early days of language:

(If you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Dan Piraro says there are 3 in this strip — see this Page.)

But then there’s the circularity. Caveman A announces that he has thought of a word W with a novel property. But then he characterizes this property by using W. How can Caveman B understand this characterization if he’s unfamiliar with W?

(Meanwhile, of course, Caveman A talks in Cavemanese.)



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