Re: Stacking up on standard works

From: Brian M. Scott
Message: 69139
Date: 2012-03-31

At 12:32:25 PM on Saturday, March 31, 2012, Tavi wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott"
> <bm.brian@...> wrote:

>>> The worst thing which can happen to science is when it
>>> becomes *dogma*.

>> Ah, yes. While this is perfectly true, it's also the all
>> too familiar song of the crackpot.

> I've just lost count of the times you've **insulted** me,
> Mr Scott.

I simply refuse to pretend that you're doing serious
linguistics.

[...]

> I'm still expecting for you to refute anything I said.

You have yet to say anything that both requires refutation;
you merely offer your arrogant opinions. You have never,
that I can recall, offered a closely reasoned argument to
support one of these opinions. You rely on highly
questionable sources (e.g., Starostin), and your
'methodology' appears to be little better than Greenbergian,
if that.

You really ought to read and take to heart Section 3.8 of
Roger Lass, _Historical Linguistics and Language Change_.
(Actually, you could benefit from the whole book, though I
have no real expectation that you actually would do so, even
if you read it.)