Bertrand Russell taught Ludwig Wittgenstein, who in turn taught Margaret Masterman. Masterman is one of the founders of computational linguistics, as is my teacher, David Hays. I don’t know much about their intellectual relationship, but I know it was substantial. Hays had a white sweater which she had knitted for him and she was a close intellectual confidant. Hays hired one of her students, Martin Kay, to work with him at RAND.
These four relationships, 1) Russell & Wittgenstein, 2) Wittgenstein and Masterman, 3) Masterman & Hays, and 4) Hays & Benzon, are all substantial ones and not of mere acquaintance. Did I get any “juice” from Russell through that chain that I hadn't already picked up by reading Russell and Wittgenstein before I ever even knew about Hays?
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