Your language makes you Think Different.

Lera Boroditsky's findings about how our language decides how we think about things is a captivating read. I think this research supports my notion that we will require a common world language to be able to truly communicate as equals, and to be able to progress as a peaceful species. She comes with many examples on how the differences affect fundamental things in our lives. I did not actually know that Russians think of death as a woman, but it explains a lot :)

It turns out that in 85 percent of such personifications, whether a male or female figure is chosen is predicted by the grammatical gender of the word in the artist's native language. So, for example, German painters are more likely to paint death as a man, whereas Russian painters are more likely to paint death as a woman.