How language shapes thinking

Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive psych prof at Stanford, describes how language shapes our very perceptions of time, space, and self.

There are some places where asking "which direction is Southeast" would yield immediate correct responses from everyone, including people who are 5 years old. Even indoors. It's just not something that we keep track of.... The Kuuk Thaayorre of Australia don't use words like left and right to divide up space. Instead, everything is expressed in terms of north, south, east and west. And by everything I mean everything at all scales. So you say things like there's a dog trying to bite your east leg. Can you move your cup to the north-northwest a little bit. The boy standing south of Mary is my brother. In order to speak a language like this you must stay oriented.

Covered beautifully by Radiolab. Also check out her Scientific American article and her Long Now Foundation talk.