How Language Shapes Thought | Lera Boroditsky

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? For example, how do we think about time? The word "time" is the most frequent noun in the English language. Time is ubiquitous yet ephemeral. It forms the very fabric of our experience, and yet it is unperceivable: we cannot see, touch, or smell time. How do our minds create this fundamental aspect of experience? Do patterns in language and culture influence how we think about time?
Do languages merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express? Can learning new ways to talk change how you think? Is there intrinsic value in human linguistic diversity? Join us as Stanford cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky re-invigorates this long standing debate with data from experiments done around the world, from China, to Indonesia, Israel, and Aboriginal Australia.
"How Language Shapes Thought" was given on October 26, 02010 as part of Long Now's Seminar series. The series was started in 02003 to build a compelling body of ideas about long-term thinking from some of the world's leading thinkers. The Seminars take place in San Francisco and are curated and hosted by Stewart Brand. To follow the talks, you can:
Subscribe to our podcasts: longnow.org/seminars/podcast
Explore the full series: longnow.org/seminars
More ideas on long-term thinking: blog.longnow.org
The Long Now Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to fostering long-term thinking and responsibility. Our projects include a 10,000 Year Clock, endangered language preservation, thousand year+ data storage, and Long Bets, an arena for accountable predictions.
Become a Long Now member to support this series, join our community, and connect with our ongoing work to explore and deepen long-term thinking: longnow.org/membership
Like us on Facebook: / longnow
Follow us on Twitter: / longnow
Subscribe to our channel: / longnow

[@Rich-py5ci]

I find Lera's presentations captivating.

[@farukhshaikh8575]

She is studying human Linguistic so its easy for her

[@mihaelayordanova5848]

I would very much appreciate if Lera Boroditsky makes a similar presentation bringing into perspective the Slavonic languages and how native speakers of these languages differ in their perceptions of the world from native English speakers, or bilingual speakers for that matter.

[@lora97006]

This was truly fascinating, thank you. I'm still processing, but wanted to at least leave a comment of appreciation for this presentation. Lera is quite captivating, I look forward to learning more.

[@101estudiantes]

thank you Lera, I learned a lot of things!

[@dalegamburg8995]

The word for this linguist is delightful.

[@gxstevexgclix]

A very Informative presentation. I have gained new thoughts to consider when talking w/ family, friends, and colleagues who have a different native languages.

[@HellCatLeMaudit]

I was discussing with a non-mathematical friend the idea from physics that an electron is a particle moving forward in time while the anti-electron is the same particle but it is moving backwards in time. I was referring to the Feynman-Wheeler Absorber theory and as someone with mathematical training it was quite easy for me to visualize what this means. It's just negative time. However, my friend cannot understand what it means for something to travel backwards in time! I had to say things like, we are moving forward in time but if an electron is moving from yesterday to today and we encounter it we would see it as having positive charge. It looks like a different particle to us but it's just the same particle. She knows the idea of time travel from the movies but she cannot comprehend how the electron can actually travel the time line in the reverse direction. For her, time travel means you are in 2023 and the next moment you are in 1511---just like in the movies. She cannot comprehend that to travel backwards in time means you have to travel through 2022, 2021, 2020, etc. ..., all the way to 1511 and that you are bound to meet someone or something moving forward in time in the opposite direction. The point I am making is that mathematics is also a language and having mastery of this language allows us to understand concepts that would be alien to us if we did not have mastery of this language.

[@bedi09]

My 5 year old does not speak my native language Hindi. But totally knows when to correct me when I get grammatical genders wrong. She somehow knows enough language through listening.

[@helenamcginty4920]

That is how we learn language. There are language teachers following research that shows faster fluency aquisition in students who spend the 1st 6 months just listening and speaking before progressing to learning grammar.

[@kbqvist]

Very interesting, thanks!

[@aMulliganStew]

"The best way to not be unhappy is to not have a word for it." -- Douglas Adams

[@davidtrindle6473]

The purpose of language is to “spin” thoughts. The purpose of thought is to “spin” reality.

[@charlisity]

You succeeded.

[@richardgardner9330]

If the distinction is culturally important, the language will reflect this important distinction. Ethno-linguists have demonstrated this connection between thought (cognition) and language. Language is a continuum of typification, it reflects how the speakers of a language cut up and classify the world around them, their known world.

[@stuartdryer1352]

She totally convinced me, and I was very skeptical of that idea before I watched the video (based on stuff I read circa 1990). And now that I reflect, as I learned French, with all its pronomial verbs, I have to admit it changes the way, I think. And, by consciously changing the way I think, it facilitated learning the second language.

[@frankkneeland955]

On the surface this topic seems almost silly. As someone that has had people's lives, which I cared about ruined over their definitions of words, which I took for granted--it becomes far more serious. This was the best KZbin video I've seen in a year. Other than Gangam Style:)

[@GPS509]

Wow 👌 She's very bright 🌞 ✨️ She reminds me of a very young Noam Chomsky.

[@Unique_Leak]

28:44 yes 40:08 exciting to see different maps of reality

[@TheRealJamesWu]

As a mandarin speaker watching this, as 44:23, i went "of course! the past has to be on top!" lol

[@bedi09]

Is that how your calendar/personal scheduler is designed too? I remember buying a calendar from an oriental market that was designed like a scroll and the months were printed top to bottom. (It may be just a design)

[@muma8207]

Maybe chicken/egg thing ... maybe how a group of people thought (pre-language) shaped the development of the language they speak which is reinforced by the way they think (reflection of what they perceive in sensory input of their surroundings). So there will be gradual evolution of the language and the way they think ... and, indeed, influenced by other languages and the transmission of ideas between groups of different language speakers. The (type of) turmoil of today is, in part, due to the criss crossing communication and sharing of cultures throughout the world because of the ease with which information can be transmitted. It can be overwhelming and generate fear trying to incorporate so much information.

[@lunainezdelamancha3368]

I speak 3 languages... English, Spanish, and Italian; presently learning Portuguese. I know for fact that I think differently depending on what language I speak.

[@KG-if2oc]

Environment must play a big part. The Kuuk T. must live in a place that NEVER gets dense fog! My sister has come to the conclusion that i have a magnet in the tip of my nose, but i become hopelessly lost in dense fog at night. Also in whiteouts during skiing. So i know i just have a subconscious sundial keeping track of light & shadow directionallity. So now that ive heard your talk, i developed this theory that, since english developed in britain, which probably has frequent fog, it would be natural to develop a language of relative directions vs absolute. Maybe someone might find it interesting to study the effects of climate on language?

[@frankkneeland955]

I wanted to elaborate on what I meant by people's lives ruined over their definitions of words. I worked in the casino industry and was referring to disordered gamblers. Their internal definitions of words such as, "Winning", "random", "lucky", etc...are almost always askew and add to the cognitive distortion present in most pathological gamblers.

[@exekow]

Thank you, very interesting. I don't know if there are any datas on this, but do we know if the idea of time travel could be absolutely unintelligible for some cultures, for some language speakers ?

[@joegage1255]

There's a native American language which is not able to speak about an event happening elsewhere at the present tense (i.e. my mother is in Mexico drinking tequila right now). Because they know Mexico is far and it would take time to travel there and be a witness to this event, they can only talk about it in the future tense.

[@nateh.6075]

Benjamin Lee Whorf, known for his work behind the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, in his landmark paper The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language, discusses differences between what he calls "Standard Average European" languages and the Hopi Native American language. The Hopi don't see time as an object, but as a "growing later." Tomorrow isn't another day, but the day coming again. Thus, traveling through time would be a completely foreign and irrelevant concept, as time is not an object or medium through which one could travel, but rather a simple process of "getting later."

[@helengrives1546]

Very awesome talk. I get inspired. How do large language models deal with these subtleties? Could we make them detect these patterns? Instead of substitute everything with ‘freedom”?

[@josephwoodworth1888]

I wonder about the bridge / adjective study - were the adjectives at all influenced by the design of the bridge? I can imagine architectural style influencing the adjectives chosen

[@catchaslug9634]

Weird that nobody brought up the movie "Arrival" in the questions.

[@sahararubin]

Oh, yeah! That movie is also a masterpiece!

[@ii42]

This talk was recorded in 2010, six years before “Arrival” came out.

[@shanewatkins7491]

​@@ii42..but if you learn the Heptapod language, then that shouldn't matter.

[@albertakesson3164]

1:04:12 - This is Maslow's golden hammer! The so called _law of instrument._

[@Flicka362]

I'm going to learn how to orient myself. I've no idea the outcome or why but I'm going to do it 😅

[@user-kk3lm8lx1c]

очень увлекательно

[@anirbellahcen5551]

So, amazing. but I would say that Wittgenstein was wrong about inferring Clarinet sound because in my native language we name things on the sound they produce. I think that Wittgenstein question to infer clarinet instrument rather than something else is in itself an evidence of the influence which a language has, as a cultural tool, on the human thought.

[@sudarshanhs]

FYI, like in Aimara, the Tamizh language also has past in front & future behind.

[@llexkosz2476]

You surely mean தமிழ். The international term is Tamil and not Tamizh. Rafael E. Núñez and Eve Sweetser's research has not provided enough evidence to prove that the Aymara language has a unique model of time. What makes you think that the Tamil language is any different?

[@sudarshanhs]

@@llexkosz2476 I don't know what makes me think that the தமிழ் language is any different, as I am yet to think so. What makes you make that assumption about what I am thinking? :-)

[@world_musician]

@1:34:45 "eventually they all figure it out" do they though?

[@llexkosz2476]

For one thing, Amele, a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in Madang Province of Papua New Guinea, is claimed to have not five but four past tenses: today's past, yesterday's past, the remote past and the habitual past.A closer examination, however, reveals that today's past is primarily used when a past action has a relevant effect continuing into the present and, therefore, corresponds to the present perfect. Yesterday's past refers to a time earlier than before now -which is this day or to-day - and is almost always used with 'a fortnight' or the Amele word for what some researchers assumed to mean 'yesterday' - the time frame no researcher of the above mentioned language has given a definition of. English speakers may not see this as overly surprising as in Germanic cultures the day began at sunset and not at sunrise and the word 'fēowertyne niht' (14 nights) describes the day that is halfway through the lunar month. The remote past is a narrative tense used to talk about events that happened ereyesterday or at any other time in the past. So Amele speakers do not use different past tenses to talk about events that happened within a month or within a year. I do not think that the habitual past requires explanation. For another, like in any other language, in Russian there are many different ways to convey the same meaning. Take 'X will read Y' you can either use vague language and say 'X посмотрит / почитает работу Y' ('X posmotrit / pochitayet rabotu Y' = X will read Y's thesis) or make the meaning clear 'X прочитает / прочтёт работу Y' ('X prochitayet / prochtyot rabotu Y' = 'X will read the whole thesis').

[@HarryNicNicholas]

yoiks, could you be more vitriolic?

[@dalegamburg8995]

Dude,brother, I totally like totally appreciate your point ,however it would be more like totally appreciated ,IF you used constructive criticism rather than derogatory,we are a ALL 👙 swimming in a sea of ignorance together at this point in history.

[@llexkosz2476]

@@dalegamburg8995 We all do, but few showcase it. And fewer still call it science. Thank you for taking the time to read my comment and sharing your opinion. I have taken it on board.

[@dalegamburg8995]

@@llexkosz2476 its just I really liked your comment such detail!

[@MarinaUganda]

Irrelevant. Any language has different mechanisms to express remote past or close past.

[@StephanieSoressi]

Light blue is as linguistically different from blue as pink is from red. Litebloo is a different from bloo. You should do a test without two different shades to compare, because if one is dark & one light, it is easy to tell which is lighter in color. If someone called a pink shade red, that would be like calling a light blue simply blue. Otherwise you are asking them to compare, not to identify shade.

[@danielshade710]

Honestly, is there nothing Amy Poehler doesn’t do very well? Kudos Amy for branching out. Just amazing

[@juuzou861]

10:55 isn’t that quote from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

[@turkia9254]

Omg I literally imagined Bill on the right

[@afterlightstorytime]

Stewart Brand near the end sounded a little jerky, like he had a superiority complex he wanted fed, but Lera Boroditsky handled it well. I imagine he speaks to Mexicans that realize he doesn't speak Spanish so they dumb it down for him.

[@JoaoSantos-lv4rc]

48:00 "If the past is visible and the future is hidden [..] then it means you must be facing the wrong way. " :)) not to call anyone a troll it's just sound logic

[@sonnycorbi4316]

THE WAY TO PUT A HANDLE ON “LANGUAGE”, IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WORDS ARE NOT THINGS - WORDS ARE DESCRIPTIONS OF THING AND SUBJECT TO CURRENT CONNOTATIONS -

[@drolifeetc3460]

What languages are best for expression of thought ?

[@farukhshaikh8575]

Arabic

[@epheymind8475]

russian pretty good

[@shanewatkins7491]

The language that you speak

[@sahararubin]

Lera: Russian people have two names of blue! Me(polish girl): oh, you're right, actually in polish we have three names of blue 😂 (błękitny, niebieski, granatowy) Lera: lots of languages differ gender of words - they're male or female Me: god, again we have something more, in polish we have three genders 😆 - male, female and neuter. That's when you realise why your language is so difficult to learn by foreigners 😆🇵🇱

[@paladro]

tha'ts when you realized she's lacking in her presentation...

[@MarinaUganda]

Neuter is not a gender. It's the lack thereof.

[@communist754]

Russian also has 3 genders, by the way. Makes sense, since both are Slavonic languages.

[@thomasdequincey5811]

My response to this lecture - so what? Language shapes thought - so what?

[@ConanDuke]

Here's a question: Why do Lera Boroditsky and I use precisely the same font in our presentation materials?

[@patarnababan6440]

Funny :)

[@bartalist]

@@jonrobinson9408 what's wrong with you? man just shares and you don't have to be edgy to be cool.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

given the numbers involved the real question should be why didn't you use a different font?

[@mustafaceren3861]

Whats with the fiberglass powerboats and relativism relation? Could not get the joke.

[@jimsvoboda288]

The joke is semantic: relativism is a lofty abstract concept that encompasses much of modern thought, and fiberglass powerboats are a niche object that most people do not have an opinion on at all. Essentially, the two opinions deal with such different things, so it doesn't make sense to compare them; it is a minor absurdity and is therefore amusing.

[@appuswami6611]

And now I have a crush on her! A bilingual cognitive scientist who steals beers in a banana Trojan.

[@dalegamburg8995]

Me too.got the girl next with a brain down.

[@aktchungrabanio6467]

She might a sociopath! Be careful.

[@dalegamburg8995]

@@aktchungrabanio6467 aren't they all?

[@aktchungrabanio6467]

@@dalegamburg8995 Not really. Just pay attention to those who don't show any remorse when it comes to taking advantage of others. It's very easy to fall in love with them because they use sex as a weapon.

[@rponce30]

06:00

[@johngeorge5684]

She My girl

[@bournazianvahan]

"An egg that got away from him broke": se le solto = got away from him/her

[@janedoe4305]

Мой родной язык - русский, но я НЕ ПОНИМАЮ когда говорят "вверх по улице" или "вниз по улице", потому что мой город стоит на болоте и тут всё плоское.

[@dmtk10]

My language (Hungarian) doesn't have genders or any "discriminative" way to describe anything that we share our life with. There is sense of oneness in the language and also in our folk tales. I don't agree that we are as sexist as other nations, our language at least not a motivating factor to any sexism that may be present.

[@clifb.3521]

14:35 The word for light blue in Russian is also the word for gay

[@pololsct9086]

This is a really great talk. Lots of incredible insights. As a french guy, I really laught here → 1:08:20 PS : L. Boroditsky is very beautiful, but on several occasions I found that the slides skiped too fast, which makes the presentation harder to follow

[@mylifewithaspiehubby]

Pause the video to freeze the image then, tap again over the screen to make disappear the icons.

[@richarddemeyer98]

ngl, it was a good joke, but what bothers me is that she uses the example of french fries, which are actually Belgian, so it's just based on a lie, on wrong information. And as a Belgian it hurts me that still so many people don't know.

[@user-sl4ep8tw1s]

01:28:50 Everybody know that a bird is the word)

[@thirdrailelectrocution]

I speak English but fart in French.

[@mattbutler6742]

But Dawn is a woman from Greek personification

[@xXxserenityxXx]

Pretty sure she's summarising the business model of Google

[@hassan38489]

I'm Arab and sorry but the Nestle is not a good example. We can understand the sense without problem :( We read and write from right to left but we don't think or understand things with directions hahaha

[@shanewatkins7491]

That's really interesting. With Nestle, she seemed to be extrapolating to make a point. I wondered if that were an actual problem for real speakers. It is not. Just curious: as an Arab, would you NATURALLY illustrate time from right to left? As an English speaker, I just automatically go from left to right (but as you point out, I could make sense of an ad that goes from left to right)

[@BlackBlue-bg8vp]

Examine the possible fact that the author of the langu sought power and slavs

[@isawamoose]

Elaborate.

[@Kyrana4102]

Gender in language is beautiful, keep it

[@user-uj9jv6ut9z]

The reality is the same for all, only the way of metaphor change in every language, every human think different, there is no other thought.

[@XxxcloackndaggerxxX]

Disagree

[@yingyang1008]

Who knows

[@richardgardner9330]

Among English speakers, all kinship terms reflect gender, except one term. Can you guess which Kinship term that is?

[@richardgardner9330]

The English Kinship "Cousin" term does not reflect gender.

[@hooplehead1019]

@@richardgardner9330 What about parent? Grandparent? Child?

[@kevinreardon2558]

If we thought differently, we would not be able to understand reason, regardless of language. We think the same, but we emphasize different things. We may emphasize direction in one culture, while gender might be another emphasis.

[@llexkosz2476]

I would go as far as to say that not only do speakers of different languages think in much the same way, but they also do not emphasise different things.

[@kevinreardon2558]

@@llexkosz2476 Depends I guess. Some Indian languages the verbs change tense based on the direction you are facing.

[@llexkosz2476]

@@kevinreardon2558 I am a tough audience. Anyway, if you could please cite the source.

[@kevinreardon2558]

@@llexkosz2476 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_and_spatial_cognition

[@llexkosz2476]

@@kevinreardon2558 Thank you for the link. I am sure a lot of people will find the article useful even though it only provides a list of different perspectives on space and a brief description of some loosely interpreted results obtained from poorly designed experiments to test Lera Boroditsky and Alice Gaby's fuzzily formulated hypothesis or rather prove the universalist theory wrong and bring her political views into the limelight. Unfortunately, there is no mentioning of languages in which verbs change tenses depending on the direction the speaker is facing.

[@JavierBonillaC]

You put a big rock at the right of the cave, next day on the left side. You repeat this pattern for days. Then you keep alternating pointing at the rock and saying today, you go to where the rock is not today, you point to the place and say yesterday. Pretty soon your wife gets the meaning of the word yesterday. Specially when you add another activity that alternates and leaves a trail. I guess. Or maybe it comes from a past life as a bird.

[@shanewatkins7491]

But how did YOU learn "yesterday" so you could then teach it to your wife?

[@richardgardner9330]

Language does not literary shape thought. Rather language reflects thought (cognition). Language is a continuum of typification. It reflects how we cut up and classify the world around us, our awareness of the world. Ms. Boroditsky has the relationship backward. Ethno-linguistics has demonstrated this relationship.

[@hooplehead1019]

I can understand that a group of people had a way of thinking - and generated a language to reflect that thinking. Is this what you said? But today, if one is born to learn a native language, then that native language will influence you (you dont shape the language, you learn it). This is what if I present this correctly, what Boroditsky´s studies have shown.

[@binimbap]

It's not that hard to grasp it goes both ways.

[@sreeradhaseth176]

She looks like the female version of Elijah Wood

[@alwilson7998]

Let's consider the way Political Correctness is changing how we think, and censer our thoughts

[@shabnamsingla9566]

ooh that's an interesting perspective!

[@HarryNicNicholas]

"censor"

[@jazwegpukdeg2666]

The intelligent tsunami disappointingly colour because breakfast putatively overflow failing a quiet brown. guiltless, handsome tempo

[@JavierBonillaC]

Give me 2 with lots of onion please.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

that's not haiku.

[@areadneG]

so so many greek words here

[@locke8847]

How thought shapes language! haha can't trap this old dog ya beezy clap

[@HarryNicNicholas]

so you think in pictures?

[@locke8847]

@@HarryNicNicholas I can think in words, pictures, or analogous algorithms. I've never really explained it or organized it... I'd say I have on average 3-4 thinking styles. If you include feeling or emotional language/intuition, synchronization, symmetrical- mirroring- complimentary telepathy etc.. sometimes it's visions, or streams of words or bits. Sometimes they seem alien and very mathematical, and syntactical. Usually if I'm not here caught up in here and my body, I am detached in a place behind myself and basically looking over my visual screen and talking to myself and killing time. Imagine your mind is like a UFO and your body blends in to society. You sit inside and watch shit and make choices and evaluations. The entire matrix system adapts to your conclusions and creates a new puzzle or touring program. It could be a new job with a hot secretary that eyeballs you. Or your favorite restaurant closes. W.e. there are forces or programs that shapeshift. They are of thought and language. They are curious. Language is alive. Either way it has no meaning without us. We give it meaning to synthesize, and it creates solutions and solvents. Sugar gum and salt acid. Fusing and splitting. The DNA is an acidic base with a sugar backbone. A scroll of honey that tasted sweet, but bitter in the stomach. Biblical jargons. Anyways language is closely linked to inorganic beings and they formulate our world like nano bot technology. Our intentions and will directive gives them the information to create the world around you. They can help you step beyond this world and many others. The (waves W vibration) w- ord. The (90degree angle (angel) (arch angles) L-ord. It's all around us man.

[@Retrosenescent]

Atrocious audio quality.

[@estepanycedillo5424]

she needs to use different examples. she uses the same ones on every talk she gives...

[@llexkosz2476]

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Besides, research usually takes a huge amount of time, effort, money, and sacrifice while public lectures are less time- consuming, comparatively effortless and more profitable.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

yes, agreed, i found her quite a few years ago and although the subject and her research are fascinating if you've heard it once.........

[@XxxcloackndaggerxxX]

I just came from Sean Carroll's podcast where Lera spoke in dialogue, and she talked word for word with Sean! And Lera laughed a lot, but here she didn't laugh at all, interesting. Lera kept sucking her lips that was very annoying for me to listen to. A habit from her mother tounge??

[@jonrobinson9408]

I appreciate that you said it was annoying for YOU (personally), and I can relate to that concept. However, in these presentations is it the "performance" of the speaker that is important? or is it about the content? I would have been more interested in your opinion on the content. :)

[@echoli40]

As much as I liked the topic and the speech... the speakers first insult turned me off, at least made it very clear her political stance and how she thinks... Don't get me wrong... I also think Sarah Palin is an airhead,, but imagine the hypotheticals like the following "Democrats want to Shrink the government" or "Bernie Sanders start his own business" would that get the same laugh from the audience? I really dislike when scientist inject their political views into their studies/expertise/ etc . They are expert in their area of study, which is great, but chances are Ms. Boroditsky is not an expert in say economics or political science, so... political left leaning scientist.... we like listen to you on topics of which you are experts, please stop shoving your political views into our throats.

[@amandamuller3762]

A conservative snowflake. What a surprise.

[@echoli40]

@@amandamuller3762 oh...Look...An SJW triggered.

[@paulm749]

And here I thought Ms. Boroditsky was simply expressing an inexplicable hostility in her perception of humor; Michael Palin is such a lovely comedian after all. It turns out she was merely doing a bit of performative in-group signalling whilst stroking her audience's exalted self-perception.

[@edenwalsh1014]

and what an irritating, excessive use of ah ah ah. otherwise good.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

tough luck mate, people (like scientists) all have an opinion and if you're on the internet it's no place for the think skinned. and it's a great place to call out crap like politics, religion, astrology, homeopathy and all the pixie worshipping crap half the world still swallows.

[@executivesteps]

A lip smack at the end of each sentence is generally not required to communicate in English.

[@falkaa88]

Neither is it forbidden. And Lera is a great speaker, hands down.

[@jonrobinson9408]

Seriously? That is what you fixated on during this informative presentation? That's like standing on the dock critiquing the ticket and missing the cruise.

[@adamgibson473]

@@jonrobinson9408 You're in love. :)

[@jonrobinson9408]

@@adamgibson473 You are right! I am in love with learning! and improving my mind!, and my world view! and my understanding other people! AND I very much appreciate people like Professor Boroditsky who spent thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars to study and understand certain topics then share it with us for free! With all that we have to learn with, more than any generation that ever existed, I sometimes get annoyed with small minded lazy people (trolls) that abuse KZbin by making foolish childish comments. Did you happen to notice any of the intelligent comments that we can learn further from? Did you learn anything at all from this video? Tell us Raymond...what did you learn from Professor Boroditski in this lecture? Give us an intelligent useful comment.

[@llexkosz2476]

@@jonrobinson9408 You can't be serious. Are you saying that Professor Boroditsky funded the research out of her own pocket? Knowing the system all too well, I woudn't be so sure. The question here is who is picking up the tab? While I'm at it, the size of a research grant heavily depends on the reseacher's typical time spent on a particular research topic. However, the amount of time most of which is spent in the library on campus does not correlate with the actual scientific value of the research. The presenter's motive, therefore, remains unclear as the line between altruistic sharing and self-promotion is way too thin.

[@siriemapantanal6894]

Non sense. The only think that shapes the way you think is your personality. The language is merely a toll for comunication. Nothing more than that.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

lol. who died and made you princess?

[@HarryNicNicholas]

"The seriemas are the sole living members of the small bird family Cariamidae" did you know that?

[@siriemapantanal6894]

@@HarryNicNicholas Small birds? You are completely misinformed.

[@catchaslug9634]

@@siriemapantanal6894 the bird family is small (has few members), the individual birds are not small (around 90 cm). ​ @Harry Nicholas I would assume they know this, since the Pantanal is part of these birds' range, according to Wikipedia.

[@elm4nsuri]

just a bunch of ultimately trite reflections, the kind we all do, but which she decided to make a 100 minute talk about ...

[@Calango741]

I was actually very interested in this presentation and it is a fascinating subject, but I became so preoccupied by the fact that in the very act of talking about language, you repeatedly said "uh" or "um" so many dozens, if not hundreds of times, that it was so annoying to me, that I stopped listening.

[@pollyclarkson6623]

it’s a shame that you think this way.. “uh” and “um” are fillers, which means they are used to fill a gap in one’s utterance when they need time to think about their point. I’m unsure as to why you find it annoying; some people think it suggests unintelligence, but that clearly can’t be the case here. Besides, how can you expect someone to talk for over an hour without using some “ums”? Especially when they’re talking about so many revolutionary linguistic concepts! I just think it’s a shame that such a minute and insignificant detail put you off this presentation.

[@Sirnkissako]

Lera, with all due respect. I studied many diverse languages and find your discourse most interesting. However, you do not seem to be familiar with Far Eastern and South Eastern languages that are so radically different from the world you are from. You do not even seem to have studied Sanskrit or Dravidian languages. All of which questions your authority.

[@shanewatkins7491]

In defense: Boroditsky goes deep into a few languages to illustrate a point. If this were a survey of languages, I might agree with you. But here, she gives an invitation to test these concepts against even more languages.

[@agveran]

useless talks

[@jonrobinson9408]

useless comment

[@agveran]

@@jonrobinson9408 hahahaha))) poor thing(s)

[@jonrobinson9408]

@@agveran Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Plato.....go ahead...keep responding if you must.

[@agveran]

@@jonrobinson9408 yes baby yes 😀😀😀 Amicus Plato ..

[@jonrobinson9408]

Plato was right (of course)...heh heh Check mate...and good bye. :)