If true we are well and truly screwed! Just look at your typical American (expecially young person) today and think about it.
It also could explain why so many people ('liberals' for example) have such a hard time dealing with FACTS when placed before them.
www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_962307,00040010.htmAbsence of linguistic skills could hamper thinking ability
Asian News International
London, August 21
Not being part of a culture with a highly developed language, could limit your thoughts, at least as far as numbers are concerned, reveals a new study conducted by a psychologist at the Columbia University in New York.
According to New Scientist, the researchers experimented with a Brazilian tribe called Pirahc, whose language allows counting only upto two. They found that when the members of the tribe were shown more objects they were unable to tell the difference between four objects placed in a row and five in the same configuration.
Scientists say that this study, which has been published in the journal Science Express, is the first convincing evidence that Ša language lacking words for certain concepts could actually prevent speakers of the language from understanding those concepts.
Previous experiments had also shown that while babies and intelligent animals, such as rats, pigeons and monkeys, are capable of precisely counting small quantities, they can only approximately distinguish between clusters consisting of larger numbers, the report added.
"There are certainly things that we can think about that we cannot talk about. But for numbers I have shown that a limitation in language affects cognition," the report quoted Peter Gordon, the lead researcher as saying.