uplift4.brightnessreef-第96节

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pre…literate　trading　clans；　I'm　afraid　I　can't　bring　myself　to　accept　your　general　theory。〃
　　Sara　didn't　find　it　surprising。　Her　conclusions　ran　counter　to　everything　the　man　believed　in。
　　〃That's　the　way　of　science…a　cycle　of　give…and…take。　No　dogmatic　truth。　No　rigid；　received　word。〃
　　〃As　opposed　to　my　own　slavish　devotion　to　a　few　ancient　scrolls　that　no　human　had　a　hand　in　writing？〃　The　flinty　man　laughed。　〃I　guess　what　it　es　down　to　is　which　direction　you　think　people　are　heading。　Even　among　conservative　Galactics；　science　is　about　slowly　improving　your　models　of　the　world。　It's　future…oriented。　Your　children　will　know　more　than　you　do；　so　the　truth　you　already　have　can　never　be　called　'perfect。'
　　〃That's　fine　when　your　destiny　lies　upward；　Sara。　But　tradition　and　a　firm　creed　are　preferable　if　you're　embarked　on　the　narrow；　sacred　road　downhill；　to　salvation。　In　that　case；　argument　and　uncertainty　will　only　confuse　your　flock。〃
　　〃Your　flock　doesn't　seem　confused；〃　she　acknowledged。
　　He　smiled。　〃I've　had　some　success　winning　these　hard　men　over　to　true　orthodoxy。　They　dwell　much　of　each　year　on　the　Plain　of　Sharp　Sand；　trapping　the　wild　spike…sloths　that　lurk　in　caves；　under　the　dunes。　Most　don't　read　or　write；　and　their　few　tools　are　handmade；　so　they　were　already　far　down　the　Path。　It　may　prove　harder　convincing　some　other　groups。〃
　　〃Like　the　Explosers　Guild？〃
　　The　former　scholar　nodded。
　　〃An　enigmatic　clan。　Their　hesitation　to　do　their　duty；　during　this　crisis；　is　disturbing。〃
　　Sara　raised　her　eyes　toward　Kurt　and　Jomah。　While　the　senior　exploser　snored　atop　an　ambling　donkey；　his　nephew　held　another　one…sided　conversation　with　the　Stranger；　who　smiled　and　nodded　as　Jomah　chattered。　The　star…man　made　an　ideal；　uncritical　audience　for　a　shy　boy；　just　beginning　to　express　himself。
　　〃Maybe　they　figure　they　can　blow　it　all　up　just　once；〃　Sara　mented。　〃Then　they'll　have　to　scratch　for　a　living；　like　everyone　else。〃
　　Dedinger　grunted。　〃If　so；　it's　time　someone　reminded　them；　respectfully；　of　their　obligations。〃
　　She　recalled　Jop's　talk　of　taking　Kurt　somewhere　to　be　〃persuaded。〃　In　more　violent　times；　the　expression　carried　chilling　implications。
　　We　may　be　headed　back　to　such　times。
　　The　flinty　insurgent　shook　his　head。
　　〃But　never　mind　all　that。　I　really　want　to　discuss　your　fascinating　paper。　Do　you　mind？〃
　　When　Sara　shrugged；　Dedinger　continued　in　an　amiable　tone；　as　if　they　sat　in　a　Biblos　faculty　lounge。
　　〃You　admit　that　proto…Indo…European；　and　many　other　human　mother　tongues；　were　more　rigorous　and　rational　than　the　dialects　that　evolved　out　of　them。　Right　so　far？〃
　　〃According　to　books　carried　here　by　the　Tabernacle。　All　we　have　is　inherited　data。〃
　　〃And　yet　you　don't　see　this　trend　as　an　obvious　sign　of　decay　from　perfection？　From　original　grammars　designed　for　our　use　by　a　patron　race？〃
　　She　sighed。　There　might　be　weirder　things　in　the　universe　than　holding　an　abstract　chat　with　her　kidnapper　under　a　desert　sky；　but　none　came　to　mind。
　　〃The　structure　of　those　early　tongues　could　have　risen　out　of　selective　pressure；　operating　over　generations。　Primitive　people　need　rigid　grammars；　because　they　lack　writing　or　other　means　to　correct　error　and　linguistic　drift。〃
　　〃Ah　yes。　Your　analogy　to　the　game　of　Telephone；　in　which　the　language　with　the　highest　level　of　shaman　coding…〃
　　〃That's　Shannon　coding。　Claude　Shannon　showed　that　any　message　can　carry　within　itself　the　means　to　correct　errors　that　creep　in　during　transit。　In　a　spoken　language；　this　redundancy　often　es　embedded　in　grammatical　rules…the　cases；　declensions；　modifiers；　and　such。　It's　all　quite　basic　information　theory。〃
　　〃Ffm。　Maybe　for　you。　I　confess　that　I　failed　to　follow　your　mathematics。〃　Dedinger　chuckled　dryly。　〃But　let's　assume　you're　right　about　that。　Does　not　such　clever；　self…correcting　structure　prove　those　early　human　languages　were　shrewdly　designed？〃
　　〃Not　at　all。　The　same　argument　was　raised　against　biological　evolution…and　later　against　the　notion　of　self…bootstrapped　intelligence。　Some　folks　have　a　hard　time　accepting　that　plexity　can　emerge　out　of　Darwinian　selection；　but　it　does。〃
　　〃So　you　believe…〃
　　〃That　the　same　thing　happened　to　preliterate　languages　on　Earth。　Cultures　with　stronger　grammars　could　hang　together　over　greater　distances　and　times。　According　to　some　of　the　old…timer　linguists；　Indo…European　may　have　ranged　all　the　way　from　Europe　to　Central　Asia。　Its　rigid　perfection　maintained　culture　and　trade　links　over　distances　far　beyond　what　any　person　might　traverse　in　a　lifetime。　News；　gossip；　or　a　good　story　could　travel　slowly；　by　word　of　mouth；　all　the　way　across　a　continent；　arriving　centuries　later；　barely　changed。〃
　　〃Like　in　the　game　of　Telephone。〃
　　〃That's　the　general　idea。〃
　　Sara　found　herself　leaning　on　the　donkey　as　fatigue　prickled　her　calves　and　thighs。　Still；　it　seemed　a　toss…up…aching　muscles　if　she　stayed　afoot　versus　shivering　on　a　bruised　coccyx　if　she　remounted。　For　the　little　donkey's　sake；　she　chose　to　keep　walking。
　　Dedinger　had　his　teeth　in　the　argument。
　　〃If　all　you　say　is　true；　how　can　you　deny　those　early　grammars　were　superior　to　the　shabby；　disorganized　dialects　that　followed？〃
　　〃What　do　you　mean；　'superior'？　Whether　you're　talking　about　proto…Indo…European；　proto…Bantu　or　proto…Semitic；　each　language　served　the　needs　of　a　conservative；　largely　changeless　culture　of　nomads　and　herders；　for　hundreds　or　thousands　of　years。　But　those　needs　shifted　when　our　ancestors　acquired　agriculture；　metals；　and　writing。　Progress　changed　the　very　notion　of　what　language　was　for。〃
　　An　expression　of　earnest　confusion　briefly　softened　the　man's　etched　features。
　　〃Pray；　what　could　language　be　for；　if　not　to　maintain　a　culture's　cohesion　and　foster　munication？〃
　　That　was　the　question　posed　by　members　of　Dedinger's　former　department；　who　spurned　Sara's　theory　at　its　first　hearing；　embarrassing　her　in　front　of　Sages　Bonner；　Taine；　and　Purofsky。　Had　not　the　majestic　civilization　of　the　Five　Galaxies　been　refining　its　twenty　or　so　standard　codes　since　the　days　of　the　fabled　Progenitors；　with　a　single　goal…to　promote　clear　exchange　of　meaning　among　myriad　citizen　races？
　　〃There　is　another　desirable　thing；〃　Sara　replied。　〃Another　product　of　language；　just　as　important；　in　the　long　run；　as　cohesion。〃
　　〃And　that　is？〃
　　〃Creativity。　If　I'm　right；　it　calls　for　a　different　kind　of　grammar。　A　pletely　different　way　of　looking　at　error。〃
　　〃One　that　weles　error。　Embraces　it。〃　Dedinger　nodded。　〃This　part　of　your　paper　I　had　trouble　following。　You　say　Anglic　is　better　because　it　lacks　redundancy　coding。　Because　errors　and　ambiguity　creep　into　every　phrase　or　paragraph。　But　how　can　chaos　engender　inventiveness？〃
　　〃By　shattering　preconceptions。　By　allowing　illogical；　preposterous；　even　obviously　wrong　statements　to　parse　in　reasonable…sounding　expressions。　Like　the　paradox…'This　sentence　is　a　lie'…which　can't　be　spoken　grammatically　in　any　formal　Galactic　tongue。　By　putting　manifest　contradictions　on　an　equal　footing　with　the　most　time…honored　and　widely　held　assumptions；　we　are　tantalized；　confused。　Our　thoughts　stumble　out　of　step。〃
　　〃This　is　good？〃
　　〃It's　how　creativity　works；　especially　in　humans。　For　every　good　idea；　ten　thousand　idiotic　ones　must　first　be　posed；　sifted；　tried　out；　and　discarded。　A　mind　that's　afraid　to　toy　with　the　ridiculous　will　never　e　up　with　the　brilliantly　original…some　absurd　concept　that　future　generations　will　assume　to　have　been　'obvious'　all　along。
　　〃One　result　has　been　a　profusion　of　new　words…a　vocabulary　vastly　greater　than　ancient　languages。　Words　for　new　things；　new　ideas；　new　ways　of　paring　and　reasoning。〃
　　Dedinger　muttered；　〃And　new　disasters。　New　misunderstandings。〃
　　Sara　nodded；　conceding　the　point。
　　〃It's　a　dangerous　process。　Earth's　bloody　past　shows　how　imagination　and　belief　turn　into　curses　unless　they're　acpanied　by　critical　judgment。　Writing；　logic；　and　experimentation　help　replace　some　of　the　error…correction　that　used　to　e　embedded　in　grammar。　Above　all；　mature　people　must　consider　that　most　unpleasant　of　all　possibilities…that　their　own　favorite　doctrines　might　prove　wrong。〃
　　She　watched　Dedinger。　Would　the　man　catch　on　that　she　had　aimed　that　barb　at　him？
　　The　exiled　pedagogue　gave　Sara　a　wry　smile。
　　〃Has　it　occurred　to　you；　Miss　Sara；　that　your　last　statement　could　apply　to　you　and　your　own　beloved　hypothesis？〃
　　Now　it　was　Sara's　turn　to　wince；　then　laugh　aloud。
　　〃Human　nature。　Each　of　us　thinks　we　know　what　we're　talking　about　and　those　disagreeing　are　fools。　Creative　people　see　Prometheus　in　a　mirror；　never　Pandora。〃
　　Dedinger　spoke　with　an　ironic　edge。　〃Sometimes　the　torch　I　carry　scorches　my　fingers。〃
　　Sara　could　not　tell　how　much　he　meant　the　remark　in　jest。　Often　she　found　it　easier　to　read　the　feelings　of　a　boon；　or　g'Kek；　than　some　members　of　her　own　enigmatic　race。　Still；　she　found　herself　enjoying　the　conversation；　the　first　of　its　kind　in　quite　some　time。
　　〃As　for　trends　here　on　Jijo；　just　look　at　the　new　rhythmic　novels　being　published　by　some　of　the　northern　urrish　trib