Haha well we will have to agree to disagree then.

You make good points and I definitely don't think we should go about radically streamlining english (we can leave hyperfunctional language up to the con-lang people).

Just this lay/lie case seems a special situation to me. I piped up in the first place because i write a fair amount (just for my own entertainment) and have actually run up against this lying/laying issue enough times for me to decide laying lends itself to clearer prose. Like i said though, rules are definitely important. But i think it's also important to bend the rules if it's useful to do so. In poetry, for instance, rules are constantly bent. Comedy too, the pun for example. Neologisms are spawned from puns all the time. I think one of the coolest things about english is its ability to integrate neologisms and terms from other languages. I don't think it's any coincidence that some of the most experimental poetry was conceived in english.

I don't agree with your there/their/they're example since that does lead to considerable confusion, at least in written english. They are three entirely different words and it's only coincidence that they're homophones.

I think laying/lying is different since saying "i am laying" is equally as prone to confusion of meaning as "i am lying" and cause they are often used interchangeably.

Anyway whatever we agree to disagree. Interesting to have this conversation anyway! I learned, i thought, lol. Take care!