Anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, and writing systems
Once again, the awesome students in my Language and Societies graduate class here at Wayne State have done amazing scholarship this semester. Their research abstracts can be found at the course website of the same name, still running now after 17 years. This year s papers run the gamut across linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and allied areas. From the Continue reading "Language and…
As you may know, my dad, Peter Chrisomalis, was an educator throughout his career, working as a classroom teacher and later as a school principal until his retirement. And, as surely everyone knows, educators value the three Rs: reading, riting, and rithmetic. But also, as I desperately hope everyone knows, and as the educators reading Continue reading "Peter Chrisomalis (1942-2025): A life in…
I learned the sad news today that Helen De Cruz has died (Daily Nous). Helen was a philosopher whose work spanned cognitive science, religion, archaeology, epistemology, evolution, and numerous other fields. At the time of her death she held the Danforth Chair in Humanities at Saint Louis University. I never met Helen in person but Continue reading "Helen De Cruz (1978-2025)"
If you re one of the folks who follows me over on Bluesky (which, by the way, is a pretty cool place for nerds to gather; come check it out!) I ve been promising a Sooper Seekrit project for weeks, throughout my European vacation. Turns out those two things are related! I spent the last two weeks Continue reading "CatCh ‘eM aLL? DIsCoVerIes In VeXIng seCret sIgns"
Normally I scoff at folks who are too quick to dismiss the Roman numerals as cumbersome or awkward. Any cultural thing that survives more-or-less intact for a couple millennia surely has some value for the people who use it. And no one at the time seems to have complained about the Roman numerals, even when Continue reading "A record-setting subtractive numeral?"