Anthropology

Judi Lynn

(160,542 posts) Wed Dec 21, 2022, 03:16 AM Dec 2022

An Ancient Puzzle Posed 2,500 Years Ago Now Has an Ingenious Solution

HUMANS
18 December 2022
ByCARLY CASSELLA

An 18th-century copy of Pāṇini's work. (Cambridge University Library)

Thousands of years ago, a man living in what is now India wrote down all the grammatical guidelines that govern Sanskrit; one of the earliest documented languages in the ancient world.

His name was Pāṇini, and his 4,000-some grammatical sūtras, or rules, are supposed to work like an algorithm that can generate grammatically correct words from a base and suffix.

For centuries, linguists have been trying to rebuild this 'language machine' using the thousands of steps described by Pāṇini in his legendary text, the Aṣṭādhyāyī. And yet it never really has run as it should.

A PhD student at the University of Cambridge, Rishi Rajpopat, thinks he's finally cracked the ancient puzzle, and his solution is impressively simple. All that it does is change the interpretation of one 'metarule' outlined by Pāṇini, and voila, the machine runs by itself with almost no exceptions.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/an-ancient-puzzle-posed-2500-years-ago-now-has-an-ingenious-solution

3 replies

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An Ancient Puzzle Posed 2,500 Years Ago Now Has an Ingenious Solution (Original Post) Judi Lynn Dec 2022 OP

Fascinating Easterncedar Dec 2022 #1

I can't imagine that kind of intensity and belief in one's abilities required to do this. Judi Lynn Dec 2022 #2

This puzzle sat unsolved for 2,500 years -- until one student had a 'eureka moment' Judi Lynn Dec 2022 #3

Easterncedar

(2,298 posts)

1. Fascinating

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Dec 21, 2022, 07:32 AM

Dec 2022

The “aha” moment there is fun to imagine. Another topic I knew nothing about. Thanks again, Judi Lynn. You make life more interesting!

Judi Lynn

(160,542 posts)

2. I can't imagine that kind of intensity and belief in one's abilities required to do this.

Reply to Easterncedar (Reply #1)

Thu Dec 22, 2022, 11:27 PM

Dec 2022

Overwhelming!

Thank you for reading this article.

Judi Lynn

(160,542 posts)

3. This puzzle sat unsolved for 2,500 years -- until one student had a 'eureka moment'

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Thu Dec 22, 2022, 11:35 PM

Dec 2022

BY MOIRA RITTER
DECEMBER 16, 2022 2:09 PM

An ancient grammar problem has left experts stumped for 2,500 years. Now the code has been cracked by a Ph.D student.

Rishi Rajpopat was conducting research for his University of Cambridge thesis, which was published Dec. 15, when he solved a centuries-old puzzle surrounding a rule taught by Pāṇini, known as the father of linguistics, according to a news release from the university.

The discovery has been called “revolutionary” and will allow any Sanskrit word to be derived using Paṇini’s “language machine,” the university said. It could also mea that for the first time, Paṇini’s grammar can be programmed and taught to computers.

Sanskrit is an ancient language deriving from South-Asia and is the “sacred language of Hinduism,” according to the university. It has also been used in some of India’s scientific, philosophical and secular literature.

STUDENT’S THEORY IS KEY FOR SOLVING ‘RULE-CONFLICTS’

While Pāṇini’s rules have provided scholars the means to understand Sanskrit, some rules are can be applied in the same circumstances, causing confusion among experts.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article270104257.html#storylink=cpy

or,

https://archive.ph/BueH2

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