Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and social critic. He is widely known as one of the fathers of modern linguistics and is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar. Chomsky has written over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, philosophy, politics, and mass media. He is a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a joint appointment at the University of Arizona. Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.