Comment Re:Wilkins' "universal" language is English? (Score 1) 183
I think you're on the right track but what's so different about this language versus any other language? You still need a translation table from your native language to this universal language.
A useful anology is the "universal language" of mathematics. If you go up to a Chinese person and say:
"Twenty-three times eleven equals two hundred fifty-three."
they won't have the slightest idea what you're talking about, whereas if you write down:
"23 x 11 = 253"
they can grok it no problem -- even if they might use a slightly different system (like * instead of x).
(Oddly enough, a couple years ago I read something about Wilkin's universal languages in a book picked at random while waiting in a library. Fascinating concepts...)
A useful anology is the "universal language" of mathematics. If you go up to a Chinese person and say:
"Twenty-three times eleven equals two hundred fifty-three."
they won't have the slightest idea what you're talking about, whereas if you write down:
"23 x 11 = 253"
they can grok it no problem -- even if they might use a slightly different system (like * instead of x).
(Oddly enough, a couple years ago I read something about Wilkin's universal languages in a book picked at random while waiting in a library. Fascinating concepts...)
