Porthos
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Language translation: Like Mathematics?I often wonder if the process the mind uses for calculating math problems is the same process used for translating from one language to another, while converting words, and simultaneously converting word order and other grammatical differences. It feels the same way in my brain. When I'm translating between two languages, I get the same mental sensation that I get when solving advanced math problems. You have to compute the input in a very similar way.
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Tiorthan
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I happen to know someone who is an excellent translator but cannot even solve intermediate math problems.
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Liz
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I don't. I was good at maths but hopeless at translating from one language to the other...and I still am because normally I don't translate to my mother tongue in my brain when reading in a foreign language.
However, there must be similarities.
Correction: I was good at algebra and combinatorics but very very very bad at geometry. 
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Tiorthan
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The reason why automated translations always produce rubbish is maths don't use context. It will always work the same no matter how and uppon what you apply it. Language is highly dependant on context the same sentence can have a hundred of meanings (in some languages at least) when the wider context changes.
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