The Grandmother Tree Walk WHAT: Celebrate the bicentennial by taking this self- guided tour of 12 historic trees in the Arboretum. WHO: Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum WHEN: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: Nichols Arboretum As part of its eighth annual Marshall M. Weinberg Symposium on Saturday, the Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science hosted Noam Chomsky, an MIT professor, linguist and cognitive scientist. The interdisciplinary symposium titled “The Architecture and Evolution of the Human Language Capacity” showcased speakers from the fields of philosophy, psychology, linguistics and cognitive science. The event itself appealed to people from many backgrounds, including Naila Ashraf, a University of Michigan alum. “I’m not a linguist,” she said. “I don’t know anything about cognitive science. I came to see him because he’s a living legend. I am really interested about his political activism and his critique of American democracy as well as global political systems.” Chomsky’s presentation centered on the Galilean Challenge, where Galileo urged linguists to show how just a few sounds can construct “an infinite variety of expressions (that) reveal all the secrets of the mind.” University alum Mahela Ashraf questioned the challenge’s premise of infinite language. “Isn’t there going to be a point at which you come to a realization that everything meaningful that had to be said will have been said by 2050, and from then on, you are only trying to interpret those really original thoughts?” Chomsky explained how he has addressed this aim and how the challenge itself has evolved, asserting the challenge had not been taken up until the mid-20th century because the intellectual tools were not available. However, mathematicians have established a theory of computability, which illustrates how our brains can generate infinite variations of expressions. In doing so, mathematicians have made possible the “basic property” of human language — the ability to digitally build an infinite amount of structured expressions, which can be interpreted into a thought and externalized. The product of this is what he calls “the language of thought,” or the system of thoughts that, when externalized, can be used for communication. “The language faculty of the human brain provides the means to construct a digitally infinite array of hierarchically structured expressions,” he said. “Each of which is semantically interpreted as expressing thought, and each of which can be, and sometimes is, externalized in one or another sensory modality.” However, Chomsky believes internal language is used more than external language. Internal language refers to the linguistic knowledge inside the mind of the speaker; therefore, external language is only internal language Famed linguist Noam Chomsky discusses linguistics and thought MIT professor, social activist talks emergence of language with human evolution NICOLE TSUNO For the Daily CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Agupacion Xango WHAT: This will be the first day in a two-day workshop series about issues that affect Argentina’s Black population, led by LGBTQ and Black rights activist Carlos Alvarez Nazareno. WHO: Center for Global and Intercultural Study Ambassadors WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pond Room The 27th Golden Apple Award: The Unexpected Benefits of Pain, Passion and Pets WHAT: Economics professor Edward Cho will give a his “ideal last lecture,” open to the public, as the winner of the Golden Apple Award. WHO: Golden Apple Award WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School, auditorium String Quartet Recital WHAT: String quartets composed of student performers will play music by Mendelssohn, Debussy and Shostakovich. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: Walgreen Drama Center, Stamps Auditorium Dinosaur Tour WHAT: This docent-led tour leads dinosaur fans through the Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur exhibits. WHO: Museum of Natural History WHEN: 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. WHERE: Ruthven Museums Building Scan the Plan: LSA’s 6-Month Progress Report WHAT: Visit a Dean’s Office representative to get the LSA’s DEI progress report scanned onto your phone and a free donut. WHO: LSA WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall , Angell- Haven connector Annual Copernicus Lecture: The Glory and Poverty of the ‘68 Generation WHAT: Adam Michnik, a historian and journalist, will give a lecture about the landmark year of 1968 in Eastern Europe. WHO: Copernicus Program in Polish Studies WHEN: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Museum of Art University Choir WHAT: The University choir will perform several selections at this free concert. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor residents and Detroiters alike worked together for the University of Michigan’s largest day of service learning this past weekend, as over 900 University students traveled to the city for a series of volunteer projects centered around clean-up and farming. The event was organized by The Detroit Partnership, a student-run nonprofit aiming to unite Ann Arbor residents and Detroiters. This year marked the 17th annual day of service connecting students to volunteer sites across the city. “Volunteers participate in various hands-on projects throughout the city of Detroit, from urban gardening, to clean up and demolition with a focus on community revitalization,” the organization’s website reads. Twenty-one service sites from around the city participated in DP Day. At each site, Community Coordinators helped to run volunteer projects and lead reflections at the end of the day, with assistance from student site leaders. This year, University students also partnered with volunteers from University of Detroit Mercy, Wayne State University and UM-Dearborn. LSA sophomore Myka Yamasaki is a member of the education team of The Detroit Partnership. She participated in the day herself, volunteering at Greydale Farm in the Brightmoor neighborhood. “It’s an urban farm, so we did mostly a lot of trash pickup,” she said. “A lot of people were helping create dirt piles that will be used to help grow produce.” Yamasaki said she and other student participants felt they were really making a difference through DP Day, and were glad they could offer real assistance to the farm’s owner. “The woman who owns the farm … said she was really happy we were there,” Yamasaki said. “She said that the amount of trash pickup on the farm and in the surrounding area, and the woodchip and leaf litter piles, would’ve taken her three months to do on her own. It was pretty good to hear that we could actually do something helpful for them, instead of them just feeling like they’re hosting us.” The stated goal of the day was to involve students in the city and begin to build a connection, and Yamasaki said she saw students becoming more invested. She said there was a lot of interest in The Detroit Partnership’s weekly volunteer programs, which connect students to the city throughout the school year. “People were really willing to ask me questions about what (else) Detroit Partnership does besides DP Day … which is really cool, because that’s something we want to encourage,” she said. “It’s not just one day, volunteering and forming a partnership with Detroit, so it’s really great to see.” - MAYA GOLDMAN ON THE DAILY: SPRING INTO VOLUNTEER WORK JOSHUA HAN/Daily University of Michigan-Dearborn political science professor Ronald Stockton speaks about Muslim gravestones in Southeast Michigan and what it means to be Muslim in America at the School of Social Work last Monday. CULTUR AL E XPLOR ATION Tweets Michigan Dining @MichiganDining Announcing our newest menu item at Beanster’s in the League: the Chicken Bacon MoJo Cookie Sandwich! Avail- able 4/3 Follow @michigandaily Dr. Mark Schlissel @DrMarkSchlissel A 3 OT thriller! Congrats to the @UMichwbball #WNIT champions #GoBlue!! Angela Dillard @adillard4 Worked all weekend & am delighted -- overjoyed -- to have my Inbox down to 25 emails. How is this my life? What happened? #RightToBeLazy Liliana Gorsuch @lilianag719 St Fratty’s Day and hash bash or the only times you’ll see green at umich The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $225 and year long subscriptions are $250. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 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