AlexAndScripts

Logical fallacies apply to structured, proof-like logical arguments. Many can still be useful heuristics.

I'm actually looking around for courses/textbooks at the moment. I'd say the things I'm looking for are: - Speaking practice and a focus on getting OK pronunciation early. At least according to the German Discord, it's important to get pronunciation correct from the start. If you don't it becomes very difficult to break bad habits across many hundreds of words.

- Effectiveness over dogma: I would prefer a course that focuses on teaching effectively through multiple different methods rather than being hyperfocused on one of them. If your secret is really as good as you claim you might not need this, but I'm sceptical.

- Practical vocabulary. Duolingo etc have a reputation for teaching you absolutely useless words and phrases. Particularly at the start it would be useful to beeline for a target, be that "get by on holiday" or "have a conversation with another learner/a native simplifying their language".

- Spaced repetition. I'm using Anki, but the decks aren't very good. Spaced repetition is basically a cheat code to learning, and if you integrate a good algorithm it will absolutely differentiate a course.

- Cost. I'm a student doing this in my free time. I don't want to spend lots of money, particularly when there are lots of good resources already out there. Why buy this over just using the many available resources? You have to offer something.

- Realism. I'd prefer "Learn in one year, one hour a day" that is truthful and realistic to "Learn in 3 months 10 minutes a day!" because I just know that that's untrue. - CEFR alignment. It just makes things easier. - Corniness gets on my nerves. Some videos are alright but please don't try to act.

I would recommend going into language learning communities - reddit, discord, etc - to see what they're looking for. You'd also benefit a lot from sharing some more details about your course.

I've been learning German recently - at a slow pace, I'm busy. I'm intrigued, though skeptical. I'll certainly give it a shot if there's a German version.

If your tool is really as good as you claim you'll have a lot of word of mouth recommendations in the language learning community, but everyone has seen "fluent in 3 months through x special method" so I doubt people will give it a shot if it's paid.

I recommend offering a free trial of the start of the course so that people can see for themselves.

20 minute conversations sounds like B1 at a minimum. Four months to B1 is pretty much impossible even with people studying all day, at least with German. How did you do it? How many hours of study are done in these four months? What's your approach?

I presume you're a native French speaker (the "help you" rather than "helps you" is a Frenchism in my experience). How do you intend to create the other courses?

Good luck. This sounds interesting.

Thank you - really - for such an in-depth reply. I was aware of Foreign Affairs, but I didn't know of any of the other publications you mentioned. This is invaluable.

It was really striking when I came back (to the UK) from a short trip to Switzerland. In Switzerland, or at least the touristy parts of Geneva, orderliness, respect, and civility were assumed - and, at least as far as I can tell, followed. While I couldn't read everything (merely the psuedocomprehensibility you get with related languages), I only saw a single "behave yourselves" message. We discussed it at the time and our French speaker said that he had also only seen that one. In Britain there were multiple giant billboards about not harassing various people (mostly staff) before you even got to customs.

I'm skeptical of their effectiveness, and while I hesitate to make broad statements based on just a few days in a country it seems to me to be indicative of a major cultural difference.

Could you recommend places to read professional IR material?

They will once people start talking about an AI gap with China.

Obsidian has nested folders. Using tags to organise flatly is a choice. I organise with a hierarchy just fine - what are you looking for

As I understand it different regions of Europe use different messaging apps, but none use SMS, though the UK uses it more. As far as I know Telegram is particularly popular in Eastern Europe.

I find it beneficial to just keep asking why. Sure, the answer is sometimes "because universe", but asking why (not just how) over and over again helps me build my mental model.

On that topic... Does anyone have any clue how and why magnetism works? I have a A Level Physics test next week :)

Brisbane seems to be decent.

Have you got an example you could show? I'm curious

"invaluable" means "very valuable". Weird, I know.

How about starting a charity going into schools and helping people with tech?

Aren't water and lithium a terrible combination in general?

I had this discussion last week. I say the former because it's more consistent (nobody says "prenunced").

If this were the 1950s I'm sure somebody would have tried nukes!

I would be terrified of "learning" falsehoods.

Could you send the screenshot? It sounds awesome