I mean, this is the whole point of linguistic determinism, the concept under discussion here. These folks believe that our ability to think in recursive terms (

I mean, this is the whole point of linguistic determinism, the concept under discussion here. These folks believe that our ability to think in recursive terms (as is necessary when dealing with numbers) is acquired through language. I don't really believe it, and most linguists haven't since the early 20th century, but that's the claim he made.