Today’s episode critiques the dominant analytic frameworks of language acquisition, particularly those rooted in Behaviorism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The author of the source article, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, argues that these frameworks systematically erase and delegitimise Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) by treating it as a “null hypothesis”—something presumed not to exist or as mere noise until proven otherwise. Dr. Hoerricks details how institutional biases, methodological rigour, and the narrow definition of evidence—often facilitated by tools like AI-enhanced search interfaces—conspire to dismiss lived experience and non-linear communication patterns like echolalia. Ultimately, she frames the struggle for the recognition of GLP not as a scientific debate but as a political and ontological fight against a system built on the control and compliance advocated by figures like B.F. Skinner, challenging the very notion of what constitutes valid human language and dignity.

Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-science-of-erasure-gestalt-processing

Here’s an ‘explainer version,’ a beta feature of Google’s NotebookLM.

Let me know what you think.

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