
How memory research can help you learn a new language - jonbaer
https://aeon.co/ideas/how-memory-research-can-help-you-learn-a-new-language
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jasonlfunk
I was excited to read this article because I am trying to learn a new
language... but I found it quite lacking. What was the advice? Just to sleep
more?

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kafkaesq
The gist of his advice, by my reading, is this: "Immersive contexts are
generally helpful because they activate different neural centers in the brain
-- which leads to what researchers call 'integrated' memories, which are more
durable and easier to recall."

Many, many people have advocated immersive contexts for second language
learning, of course. But what the author seems to be saying is that
researchers are starting to find specific neural mechanisms that would support
such learning approaches, based on fMRI measurements and other data.

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Bromskloss
> say that you bought a pair of brand Y shoes. If someone then compliments you
> on the shoes, you are more likely to buy brand Y again, even if the
> compliment had nothing to do with brand Y.

What? Isn't that perfectly expected and reasonable?

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Jtsummers
If I buy a pair of Merrell boots and get complimented on them, it doesn't
follow that I should also buy Merrell running shoes, but per the article I'm
more likely to. The brand is irrelevant to the compliment: I'm not being
complimented on my Merrell's, I'm being complimented on my _boots_. The
rational and reasonable thing would be to identify what about the boots is
worth complimenting and aim to mimic that in future purchases. It _could_ be
the brand, but likely it's the cut, the shape, or some other visual quality.

OTOH, sometimes it _is_ the brand that gets complimented.

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leereeves
If you like what you know of someone's work (the boots), it makes sense to try
more of it (the shoes).

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Jtsummers
Yes. You're correct.

 _BUT_

What the study revealed was that people would buy more of a brand based on
_compliments_ not how the product by the brand actually _functioned_ for
themselves.

I have very, very blue eyes, and a generally well-shaped face (attractive, not
movie star handsome, but good looking when I'm fit). But my eyes get the most
compliments and notice from women. I bought a shirt from Joseph A. Banks, it
happened to be blue-dominated in its coloring (checkered/plaid pattern), that
quality of the shirt makes it very well liked by my girlfriend. The rational
thing to do is to buy other shirts with blue in them (which may be Jos. A.
Banks). The irrational thing, which people seemed to do per the study, was to
buy more shirts from Jos. A. Banks. If I go back and buy a red plaid shirt, it
won't get the same reaction as the original because it doesn't have the same
quality that got the original compliments.

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leereeves
In that specific example, yes, but compliments are often given because of the
design, and in those cases it makes sense to give credit to the designer.

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weinzierl
>Tell me if this sounds familiar: you just turned off the light, your head is
on the pillow, your eyes are closed, and yet, instead of drifting off to
dreamland, you find yourself thinking about something that happened earlier in
the day.

Hmmm no, doesn't sound familiar to me. I fall asleep quickly and it has always
been this way. My sleep tracker says my average time to sleep is seven
minutes. I always wondered how common this is?

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fefifofu
Since this is the internet, I am free to reply with hearsay... I read that if
you fall asleep that fast, you might not be getting enough sleep the previous
night.

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bryanlarsen
I've heard the same thing from doctors; falling asleep in less than 10 minutes
is generally considered indicative of sleep issues of one sort or another.

OTOH, ~90% of the population uses caffeine regularly, and given that it takes
~48 hours to completely purge your body of caffeine, I think that saying is
only relevant to caffeine drinkers.

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weinzierl
Coffee or no coffee, 10h sleep or 4h, it's all the same for me.

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tclover
I started learning Vim a couple days ago, it feels like a new language to me
also

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zappo2938
Vim can be adventurous. [0]

[0] [http://vim-adventures.com/](http://vim-adventures.com/)

