Sunday, July 27, 2014

Assorted Links

1.) It's apparently possible to "try too hard" in learning a language.
"The findings support a theory of language acquisition that suggests that some parts of language are learned through procedural memory, while others are learned through declarative memory. Under this theory, declarative memory, which stores knowledge and facts, would be more useful for learning vocabulary and certain rules of grammar. Procedural memory, which guides tasks we perform without conscious awareness of how we learned them, would be more useful for learning subtle rules related to language morphology. 
"It's likely to be the procedural memory system that's really important for learning these difficult morphological aspects of language. In fact, when you use the declarative memory system, it doesn't help you, it harms you," Finn says."
2.) Talent vs. Training in Runners: More support for the idea that one can't teach speed. The charts are illuminating, and worth a gander.

3.) Thomas Friedman asks, "What is News?"

4.) A great youtube channel on life in Japan: Stumbled upon this earlier in the week, full of fascinating reporting.

5.) The Great Instability: on the changing economics of the family

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