Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (, Polish: [ˈalfrɛt kɔˈʐɨpskʲi]; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950) was a Polish-American independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, the field of semantics. He argued that human knowledge of the world is limited both by the human nervous system and the languages humans have developed, and thus no one can have direct access to reality, given that the most we can know is that which is filtered through the brain's responses to reality. His best known dictum is "The map is not the territory".
1879Jul, 3
Alfred Korzybski
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Events on 1879
- 8Feb
Sydney Riot of 1879
The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked during a riot during a match in Sydney. - 15Feb
Rutherford B. Hayes
Women's rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. - 5Apr
War of the Pacific
Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific. - 21Oct
Incandescent light bulb
Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. - 22Oct
Thomas Edison
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasted 13½ hours before burning out).