Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 23:30:09 -0700 From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> To: Greg 'groggy' Lehey <grog@FreeBSD.org> Cc: pgreen <polytarp@m-net.arbornet.org>, Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@online.fr>, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Language in danger: Language loss Message-ID: <3CF1D271.321A6B21@mindspring.com> References: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0205261919370.49175-100000@m-net.arbornet.org> <3CF17486.F06F3E6A@mindspring.com> <20020527104558.B43610@wantadilla.lemis.com>
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Greg 'groggy' Lehey wrote: > >>> Your ability to think about certain concepts is constrained by the > >>> language(s) in which you are able to think. > >> > >> No, it isn't. > > > > Provide a counter example. > > Done. > > Of course, I can't communicate it to you, because to do that I would > have to put it in language. Har. Your failure to cbe able to communicate it to me in language indicates that the language you would use to try to do so is inherently constrained from representing certain concepts, such as the one you can't communicate in it. 8-). > Imagine you're driving down a crowded freeway and a car in front of > you suddenly stops. You have to avoid it. How do you do it? "Well, > if I veer to the left, I may hit the gravel on the side of the road, > if I veer to the right, I may hit the central reservation, but there's > not enough space between the lanes for me to get through, so maybe the > gravel's the least risk"? Of course not. Putting thoughts into > language is too slow for your own thoughts. Personally, I would avoid it by stopping, since I maintain at least 1.5 times my reaction time in distance between myself and the car in front of me. I rather imagine that stupid people smack into the car. There's a reason that, in the U.S., the driver who rear-ends another automatically gets the ticket. 8-). In the case of a semi-instantaneous stop (e.g. the car ahead smacks into a stopped car in front if it, without throwing on its brakes to signal the stop), you change lanes, because your stopping time is 5 times your lane changing time. Having been in this situation before, I can guarantee you that the reason reaction times are pegged at about 2 seconds is because your brain actually processes the information: it's not reflex action, as you are apparently trying to imply (for the curious: I changed lanes, and was not personally involved in the accident; ask Wes Peters about "Riverdale Road"; it's an accident prone stretch of highway between Weber State University and the [now defunct] only 70mm movie theater in Northern Utah, the Cinedome 70). -- Terry To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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