he doesnt really answer the question, but he does bring up another point that is interesting to me. ive tried to explain quite a few times that there are entire concepts in other cultures and entire ways of thinking that an american will never understand unless they spend time in that culture. and maybe not even then. i dont think very many people will stop to think about it long enough to really understand it, but i think Neil might help me out a little with his assertion that language shapes thought. of course, language is also shaped BY thought. its a two way road, and the proof of that is the fact that many languages dont have a direct translation into other languages. thats why translators are often called interpreters. you have to first translate the words, and then interpret what idea those words were supposed to convey. but then sometimes you come up against a phrase that just will not fully translate without writing an entire essay on one sentence or phrase. and its because the basic idea itself doesnt translate. and thats a hard thing to really grasp, and at least for me, impossible to really explain; that one human being can have an idea that another human being is incapable of understanding. but maybe it could help to think of it this way... what goes through neil degrease tysons mind when someone asks him a question, vs what goes through my mind when asked the same question. i promise you there are things rattling around in there that i wouldnt begin to understand. even people within the same culture can think differently. hes able to break it down and put it into words we can understand, but only because we have a similar cultural background.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 02:59:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015