From: jl@glen--canyon.com   
      
   On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:42:27 +0100, Jeroen Belleman   
    wrote:   
      
   >On 1/31/26 16:34, john larkin wrote:   
   >> On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 11:21:44 +0100, Jeroen Belleman   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 1/31/26 00:53, john larkin wrote:   
   >>>> On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 22:49:12 +0100, Jeroen Belleman   
   >>>>  wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> On 1/30/26 21:00, Nioclás Pól Caileán de Ghloucester wrote:   
   >>>>>> Bill Sloman  wrote:   
   >>>>>> |--------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------|   
   >>>>>> |"Languages aren't learned any faster if you learn them y   
   ung"           |   
   >>>>>> |--------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------|   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> It is much easier for a child to learn a language than it is for an   
   >>>>>> old person.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> An often repeated myth, entirely untrue.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Adults can learn a new language in much less time than a   
   >>>>> child, provided they are motivated and immersed. Those are   
   >>>>> the keys, motivation and immersion.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Jeroen Belleman   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Adults rarely acquire a new accent at native level.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> https://news.mit.edu/2018/cognitive-scientists-define-criti   
   al-period-learning-language-0501   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> John Larkin   
   >>>> Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   >>>> Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
   >>>   
   >>> True, but those natives probably don't have the linguistic   
   >>> abilities of the foreign speaker. Your thinking is shaped   
   >>> by language, and speaking more languages is enriching.   
   >>>   
   >>> I'm native Dutch, but I've been told I have a French   
   >>> accent now.   
   >>>   
   >>> Jeroen Belleman   
   >>   
   >> Which language is best for thinking about electronics?   
   >>   
   >> I think circuits in pictures, not words, but people are very   
   >> different.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> John Larkin   
   >> Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   >> Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
   >   
   >   
   >That has to be English, I think. Anyway, for quite some time now,   
   >English has been the common language of science and technology,   
   >electronics included. It has been French for a while, and Latin   
   >for a long period before that. And ancient Greek before that, and   
   >and ,,,   
   >   
   >Jeroen Belleman   
   >   
      
   English is shockingly irregular. One word can mean six things and   
   there are a zillion words to express a concept. Plus there are places   
   like the UK with their own weird versions.   
      
   Given the concept that ambiguity generates creativity, maybe English   
   is a good language to invent in.   
      
      
   John Larkin   
   Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)