[Colonel Flagg]

I was recently thinking about language.

When I hear the word, I usually equate it to English, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian. In that respect, I am monolingual - English witha smattering of French, nowhere near enough to achieve fluency.

About 10 years ago I was introduced to a scientist from Italy. He spoke virtually no English, so the admin showing him around was just introducing him quickly then moving him through the company. I started talking about chemical reactions that I was learning about in conjunction with the business when the admin rudely interrupted "He doesn't understand any of this!". He turned to her, and said "No, I understand!" We spent the next 2 hours talking chemistry, with no other language other than tone of voice or facial expressions.

In another instance, I had a close friend in high school who went on to study mathematics in college and later in grad school, where our paths crossed again. I chatted with him briefly about my work in grad school, and he chatted about his, and we agreed that we no longer understood one another. And it was true - the terminology and language we were using had no meaning for either of us.

It's not that I find this so unusual, but the specific experiences I've had have given me an appreciation of communication on a more visceral level.