[spodek]

From the post: "Speakin' in a different language changes the way you think—it's a well attested phenomenon."

A great answer for the perennial questions "why should I learn math or science." It changes the way you think -- only instead of learning about culture you learn about patterns and nature.

I got a physics degree before leaving the field. People who didn't take science ask if I still use it. How do I answer so they'll understand that I use it in every thought?

[simonsarris]

"A different language is a different version of life" - Fellini

I agree completely. And I would certainly agree that learning to think in Math/Biology/Evolution is just as important as learning to think in French.

Slightly related, one of the reasons I love English so much is that there are so many words and the creation of new words is not discouraged. There are an enormous amount of ways to describe how a thing is or how we feel and I think a certain level of expressiveness is very important for doing good work.

By the same token, knowing the language of say evolution or math - knowing all the terms and how to describe what's going on - can be just as important for say visual or program design as knowing the more 'industrial' words.

[tdr]

Every experience changes the way you think.

The question is: how and by how much?

(could you please post links to best 2-3 studies)