throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

Cool, thanks for the reply. Do you see the "6-7 actual / 8 attempted" thing to be "inevitable", like that's the maximum ratio people can reasonably sustain, or do you think that with better environment and habits, we could/should get up to 8/8? (I'm obviously not talking "eliminate lunch", though. More like "eliminate needless chichat/mindwandering/newsreading")

throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

Good point. Furthermore, the devices that are becoming more and more popular recently (tablets, phones, etc.) do a really good job of insulating you from the nitty-gritty of your computer. Even if something DOES goes wrong, how are you supposed to even start figuring out what it is? I have no idea how to pop open the Terminal on my iPhone. I assume there's a UNIX way down there, but how to see it...?

Related example: We've had electric lights for years and use them constantly, but how many people actually understand electricity either? It's because electricity, like the iPhone, is set up in a really "opaque" way to outsiders. Not only are we used to it "just working", like the parent said, we have no idea how we'd even BEGIN to address a problem if one came up. Go inside the wall? Do something with wires? I don't know.

I'm really good at figuring out why my computer is broken, I program for a living, but when my "smart phone" doesn't work right I'm helpless. So even if there's a will, there sometimes doesn't seem to be a way.

throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

What's the optimal amount for "computer people" to work each day, in your experience? What percent of "working time" do you think consists of actual "work"?

Do you have any opinions about optimal work spaces?

throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

Yeah, glad to help!

Remember to try it the other way too, foreign language -> your language. Feedback isn't as reliable but it's a nice easy break and good for vocab/idiom acquisition.

Another thought... If you have trouble with active learning from language tapes, have you tried passive listening? This is where you just put on some background noise of people chatting in the language you want to learn (radio, podcast, Let's Play), maybe put some wordless music on over it, and then just listen for hours and hours while you work or commute with no expectation of understanding anything, like you're sitting in a coffee shop and the language is just washing over you. I've been trying this for a while and I do think it helps to improve the instincts & ear. Also anyone with an internet connection can do it, you can do it for HOURS at a programming job without anyone noticing, and it takes so little willpower (you just turn on the radio) that it's easy to maintain the habit over long periods of time. Most importantly, you can pick podcasts and games you are interested in... you're not just stuck with whatever boring situation is in the tape, like anigbrowl said. Maybe not as efficient as a conversation partner, but it's good for building confidence and good if you don't have a lot of time to ACTIVELY devote to language-learning. I'm not sure how well this would work if you knew next to nothing about the language in question, but that's obviously not your situation. So, yeah... maybe try audio again, but this time give up "trying". (:

throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

> One idea is to write some blog posts on mobile (n900, with keyboard and git, yeah) and then push it to github to allow pull requests. But I can't expect that some one will correct me.

Ah, but if you contribute to Wikipedia, someone DEFINITELY will correct your mistakes, AND in a way with rudimentary version control, so you can compare what you wrote to how it looks after the editors swarm in. Find a page on Wikipedia in your language about something that interests you and translate it into English. I personally use this technique to maintain & keep learning my (non-English) foreign languages, and if I can get a response from non-English wikipedia you can DEFINITELY get one from English Wikipedia.

throwaway1184

11 anni fadiscuss

> There could be many reasons for this. People have limited time, especially those with GF's/wives and families. Adding new people to their social circle may just seem like something they don't have time for right now, and if that is the case it isn't a slight against you personally.

This is a critical point. My dear dead grandmother had a supremely wise rule of thumb: "If people are being weird or cruel, it's probably due to something that's up with them, and not something you did." People are so wrapped up in their own problems. They can't help it, none of us can, we're trapped inside ourselves and our own perspective, everything we do and feel seems so important to us that we naturally assume it's a primary cause for other people's actions and reactions, too. Humans sometimes take this really, really far... They think that if they are bad, they'll offend the god(s) and get struck by lightning. Nowadays many people mock belief like this---any notion that nature or the universe somehow care what you do---but even the staunchest atheist can still be caught assuming that everyone else's bad moods, cruelty, indifference, and poor behavior are primarily due to STUFF THEY DID. This rule of thumb can seem depressing---nobody cares about me!---or you can view it as freeing, consoling, calming. Which is how my grandmother (and now I) mean it. Someone being cranky? Someone doesn't want to hang out? Don't jump to the conclusion it's because you did something. Maybe they are just worried about bills. Maybe they just really have to poop. Rejoice that your own bowels are fine and look for someone less grouchy to hang out with.

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