From theNYT article discussing a tribe of Andes "Indians":
"But the Aymara call the future qhipa pacha/timpu, meaning back or behind time, and the past nayra pacha/timpu, meaning front time. And they gesture ahead of them when remembering things past, and backward when talking about the future.
These are not mere mannerisms, the researchers argue; they are windows into the minds of Aymara speakers, who have a conception of future and past that is different from just about everyone else's.
The authors say the Aymara speakers see the difference between what is known and not known as paramount, and what is known is what you see in front of you, with your own eyes.
The past is known, so it lies ahead of you. (Nayra, or "past," literally means eye and sight, as well as front.) The future is unknown, so it lies behind you, where you can't see.
If they are right, this is bigger than anything the 60's tossed up.
Is it possible that human concepts of time can vary this much because of language and culture? And what would it be like to think this way?"
3 comments:
wow. kurt vonnegut would have loved these guys.
Is it possible that human concepts of time can vary this much because of language and culture?
i believe so. the only way we learn about time is through language - as infants & toddlers, we have some vague conception of day/night and the interval between showings of sesame street but it doesn't mean anything - not until someone 'explains' it to us. and us parents muck it up even further when pull stunts like telling your kid we're leaving in five minutes when we really mean a half-hour - but you've got to get the kid into a going-home mindset.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
I'll bet these people have awesome gods and goddesses.
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