Language and thought

[The Vagabond]

Asher, I dug out the following fragment of your discussion. The innermost quote is by Agathon, which is followed by your reply.

In either case mathematics is not wholly conventional. The symbolism we use to express mathematical statements is conventional but the truths they express are not.

Again, you should figure out what mathematics is.

Now you seem pretty much to agree with this quote, but back then you seemed to disagree.

[Asher]

I don't see me saying I disagree with anything he said.

That quote is just telling him to go look up what mathematics means. Mathematics doesn't contain the "truths they express", by the definition of it, which is why I told him to find out what mathematics is.

The entire time he misunderstood my position because he assumed some weird, non-standard definition of mathematics. And the entire time I kept telling him that's not what mathematics is defined as, but he kept going and complaining whenever I ignored all the irrelevant tangents he shot off into...

[Ben Kenobi]

Agathon:

Do you think there is such a thing as an untranslatable language?

Yes.

Don't we have some already that we have lost all conceptual connections? Linear B, I believe.

In order to translate, we require someone with footings in two languages. Over time, unless one can find some script, how could we translate both languages?

However, this would be untranslatable in the sense that we should be able to understand, but current conditions prevent us from doing so.

I guess, I would rephrase your question. Are there any languages that have always been, and will remain untranslatable?

[The Vagabond]

Anyway, Asher, don't be so bitter about it. It has been a nice discussion.

[Asher]

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Anyway, Asher, don't be so bitter about it. It has been a nice discussion.

It was absolutely dreadful.

[tinyp3nis]

It seems to me that Asher, you are (or were) pretty much confusing math with physics.
Most your points of how philosophy in University is useless, would also make you to think that pure mathematics is also.