On: 500 days of Duolingo: What you can and can’t learn from a language app

[msvan]

I don't think this is true. I've spent lots of money on "necessary equipment" for my hobbies, and that hasn't made me commit more time to them. People buy expensive running shoes because they see themselves as being runners, and then they never put them on.

[chungleong → msvan]

Running shoes don't integrate from lack of use. A membership at a health club, on the other hand, goes to waste if you don't use it.

[isbvhodnvemrwvn → chungleong]

Your language skills deteriorate without use as well. I used to know German at a passable level at school, I no longer do. I can see patterns ans know some words, but it's definitely heavily degraded.