Colorless Green Ideas 02 - an attempt for interpretation

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

Many have attempted to construe some sense out of this nonsensical sentence.  Finding sense in everything is something that humans always try to do. We humans just cannot leave something senseless or "non-categorized". The sentence can come to some understanding if we can make some sense out of the "colorless green" and "sleep furiously". Let's try interpreting it here.

<colorless>
without color or very pale / not interesting

<green>
having the color of grass or the leaves of most plants and trees / not yet ready to eat / young and lacking experience

So "colorless green ideas" can be understood as "monotonous immature ideas".

"Sleep furiously" is a little more difficult to interpret. The agent in the act of sleeping is in an unconscious state, which contradicts with the state of "furiously" where the agent actively and aggressively take part in the action. But how about having  a nightmare? You are sleeping but you are having a frightening experience in your dream, I consider that similar to 'sleeping furiously'.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.　
                     ≒　
Monotonous immature ideas have a nightmare.

Is it now comprehensible?

Colorless Green Ideas 01 - what takes us 'above reality'

"Colorless green ideas sleep furiously".

This is a famous sentence made by the distinguished linguist Noam Chomsky demonstrating the distinction between syntax and semantics. The sentence is grammatically correct but semantically nonsensical. One can read it but cannot derive any meaning or understanding from it.

I first saw this phrase in a text book of linguistics I was reading in graduate school. It is said one cannot derive any understanding from it, but it sort of blew me into the world of "Alice in Wonderland." I like the phrase very much, it is simple, poetic, and me with my wild imagination it is easy to imagine "ideas sleeping furiously". Some might say 'how can green be colorless?' or 'how can you sleep furiously?' and I would just answer, 'Why not?'

This sentence shows that syntax and semantics can operate independently in people's minds, and I think this is how metaphors, poetry and fantasy are born, people have the mind to appreciate them and why there are surrealists. The autonomy of the functions are the source of our creativity, what take the human mind 'above reality'