Which way is the future?

March 14, 2011

In the Aymara language the past is in front and the future is behind. It is rare for languages (at least existing ones) to have the metaphor turned this way.  But it makes sense to me — maybe it’s the quant in me.

We can see the past, and the most recent past is the most clear to us.  We can’t see the future.  We are flying backwards.

Questions

What would be different if our native languages used the Aymara metaphor for time?

  • Would we be less overconfident in our predictions?
  • Would we take more notice of events farther in the past?
  • Would risk management be held in higher esteem?

Epilogue

But time is a story and there will be more

From Time is a Lion by Joe Henry

The map is from the Wikipedia article on the Aymara language.

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