[sundarurfriend]

> Imagine having to do math with no symbols. that means 1+1 is now one plus one. Now imagine having to do that in the context of graduate levels mathematics.

That's a good way to put it. It's pretty hard to convey this to someone who hasn't actively tried and solved real problems in such languages though. You don't realize how much the "words get in the way" (as Granny Weatherwax would say) until you give an array language a good chance.

Another pop-culture quote that resonated in this regard is from The Matrix:

> Your brain does the translating. I don't even see the code. All I see is blonde, brunette, redhead.

All I see is range, sum-over, divide. The symbols turn into the concepts directly in your head - not as conscious translation, but in the way I imagine Chinese or Japanese kanji characters translate directly in the head of a native speaker.

[why218]

Yes as someone who was exposed to kanji as a child I can say that at least for me the experience is nearly identical