Originally posted by Arroch
I don't think mathematics is the universal language - it isn't a language at all because you can only express a very limited amount of things, it has no individuality
And as soon as there is individuality/feeling/personality, it isn't mathematics anymore.A language goes beyond language itself, it has nuances, it can be humorous or serious, sad or lighthearted, but mathematics is cold and because of its universality clear, leaving no room for misunderstandings or also emotions.
1+1=3 is and will always be the same, but you can say "I hate you" in a thousand different ways.
1+1= 2 actually 🤨
Originally posted by silent_kisses
1+1= 2 actually 🤨
Different units can be converted,
-So can different languages.
Originally posted by Lady von Tramp
I think she meant that 1+1=3 is always going to be wrong, therefore it will always be the same.
Everybody knows the basics of mathematics, which makes it universal, and completely unlike any other language.
Originally posted by Gregory
Well, but by that definition, there can be no universal language, because you'll never have something that everybody understands.
Or art. Think of cave drawings - we understand nearly everything it says, and so did the people 2000 years ago and will do in 2000 years; today, we are often unnecessarily complicating things. Is grammar necessary? Is trigonometry necessary for communication?
Finding/inventing more knowledge always means building boundaries, limits that didn't exist before.
And the more we know, the more we're distancing from a universal language.
Mathematics only is universal for those who know it
And that is, sadly, only a small percentage - 70 percent of us do not know to write or read, I doubt that most of them understand mathematics, at least not in the universalized way we use it.
At it's basic level, mathematics is very, very simple--much simpler and easier to learn than any other language.
Originally posted by Arroch
Or art. Think of cave drawings - we understand nearly everything it says, and so did the people 2000 years ago and will do in 2000 years.
Nope. You can put art with music on this point; I don't understand modern art, and never will. I think that most of the art by the old masters is pretty, but if it's supposed to convey any sort of message, it completely eludes me.
Different units can be converted in the context of mathematics. I have absolutely no conception of how many kilometers three miles is, but I can convert three miles to kilometers anyway, because conversion is a mathematical process. I also have no idea what the word "tree" is in French, and I can't convert it, because conversion is not an English process.
You're right about the smile; it's been proven that all cultures display emotions using basically the same facial expressions.
Maybe you don't understand how basic the basics I'm talking about are. I'm talking about things like 1+1=2. It doesn't matter if you've never had a mathematics course in your life, if you take one object and then put another by it, you will know that there are two objects. There are absolutely no other languages (except perhaps body language) that everybody is able to grasp (even if only on a basic level) more intuitively than mathematics.
As much as I like math, I don't believe it is a universal "language". Sure, everybody in the world does math pretty much the same way (2+2 will always equal 4), but you can't communicate using a set of numbers. (unless you're talking in binary of course) So I think art and music are... It's amazing how you can go on talking about something forever, and people don't understand what you're saying, then you show them a picture, and they all of a sudden get it. Music can sometimes do the same thing, if the person likes the same kind of music you do.
Call me crazy when I say that art is the most effective way to convey a message, but I really have experienced what I described myself...
Originally posted by Darth Revan
Call me crazy when I say that art is the most effective way to convey a message, but I really have experienced what I described myself...
Enough people seem to agree with you that I won't call you crazy, but I'll point out that it certainly isn't true for everybody.
People are saying that math isn't a language because it can't convey certain ideas; well, no language can convey all ideas. You can't learn to integrate with art, you can't express empotion with math; the closest thing to an all-purpose language is what we're using right now, and there are still ideas that it's not very useful for conveying. No language can convey all ideas; if it could, we wouldn't have so many. You can communicate with math; you just can't communicate the same ideas.
Originally posted by Darth Revan
You have a point there... It's surprising how many things math can describe or explain. So I guess it depends on what your definition of "universal language" is.
*coughs so much she chokes*
😗
Isn't that what I have been trying to say? How would you define "universal language"?
Originally posted by Vampiree
And i'm going to be all old-fashioned and say that latin is TEH universal language. It's a shame people don't learn it anymore 🙁
Here, we still can learn Latin at school... I do... but the antique "Universal Language", like modern-day English, was probably rather Greek
Still, the language was limited to the mediterranean regions, far from being universal
One of the most universal languages in the sense of independance and also global understanding without being bound to any region is probably Esperanto [though its based on indoeuropean languages in vocabulary and phonetics], as well as other artificial, planned languages - Tolkien's Elvish languages for example. Of course there aren't too many people understanding them, but like those understanding mathematics they dont live all in one country but are spread over the whole world
Originally posted by Storm
Over here, Latin and Greek are still taught. I' ve studied it.But it isn' t a universal language.
uhm.. the language doesn't belong to any country... andevery nation speaks it (well... maybe not anymore)
isn't taht what we call a 'universal language'? I'll be learning latin from september this year, and i have to say that it was a good way to communicate. Hey, if it worked for centuries, why wouldn't it work now?
puhlease... nobody speaks esperanto... 😬 nobody i know for sure.. it's just not popular enough.
Latin WAS neough
Originally posted by Vampiree
puhlease... nobody speaks esperanto... 😬 nobody i know for sure.. it's just not popular enough.
It's true, more people know Latin than Esperanto, but it's still quite a popular language; several official sites for example are offered in English and Esperanto.
Most important, Esperanto isn't bound by etymology to one country, but it's main purpose is to be easy to learn, avoid misunderstandings and even if foreign always sound familiar;
Learning basic Esperanto is surely easier than learning basic maths
When I was in high school, they only offered two languages required for college entrance: spanish and french, pretty much related to latin but theoritically vulgar to the 100th degree latin...
Latin being universal during the time of the Roman's world maybe, but now, no...used for medical and scientific terms yes and with some greek but more latin.
the language used most often in global economics is imo english but that doesn't make it universal...
esperanto i've heard of but i never thought it universal, i could be wrong, but it's a funny language...
but as more and more people are influenced by the media and american entertainment such as music and movies, english is pretty damn near there; or at least the american attitude...