How Languages Effect Thinking

As we discussed in class Thursday, one of the reasons to learn a new programming language is because the languages we know impact how we think about solving problems. Natural languages impact thinking also. The New York Times Sunday Magazine has an article on Does Your Language Shape How You Think?. The most interesting examples are about how people who speak languages with only geographic coordinates (North) instead of egocentric ones (to my left) perceive the world and make memories differently. Not quite the same as whether you think about objects, procedures, or assignments when you write a program, but not entirely different either!

Print PDF