[AmishDude]

OK, maybe you can answer this. I've heard his stuff in linguistics is no more complicated than Venn diagrams. Is it really impressive to somebody who knows any math at all?

[Mr. Mulliner]

It's not really that simple. Perhaps someone thought they had it figured out based on seeing some of his "tree diagrams" which were used to illustrate his earlier "Transformational Grammar," but I wouldn't characterize his stuff as simple.

Interestingly, Transformational Grammar, which really made Chomsky the best known linguist in the world, was later scrapped after criticism finally caused it to sort of crumble. But Chomsky put himself back on top with a new theory called "Government Binding Theory." It has nothing to do with politics.

Because Chomsky is so prominent in linguistics, he's also a favorite target. Many people have made a career out of opposing him and trying to win against him. He's so dominant in the field of linguistics, though, that even if someone outdid him in theory, few people would acknowledge it.

By the way, Chomsky is often asked, or used to be, to lecture on mathematics. I am told that there is even a branch of mathematics named after him.