Michael Ventris, the Decipherment of Linear B, and the Value of Cross-Fertilization (via A Thinking Person)

Al Bredenberg makes an interesting connection between the work of a great linguist and the value of collaboration:

Reading Andrew Robinson’s fascinating book Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World’s Undeciphered Scripts (2002, McGraw-Hill), I recently learned the amazing story of the decipherment of the Linear B script by amateur philologist Michael Ventris in the 1950s. The story brings home some important lessons about innovation: Be willing and eager to collaborate Take advantage of cross-fertilization by bringing in perspectives and skills from diverse d … Read More

via A Thinking Person