David1917 wrote:PeterMollenburg wrote:I must be the only one around here... I just don't see the point of this data/information.
Maybe long run - in a world where "polyglottery" is considered as real a goal as anyone else, who might be encouraged to pursue this endeavor? Someone who tinkers with every toy might become an engineer, etc. I think it's all part of Prof A's quest to legitimize the conscious learning of multiple languages as a worthy pursuit rather than just a (very time consuming) hobby. The "Price of Polyglottery" video and the "Mental Exercise and Discipline" video from the Polyglot Gathering are sort of why I think this.
Yes, perhaps, but it also risks limiting those who tick all or most the boxes to be the ones with the right to learn languages or encouraged more to do so. I think most of us here would feel that if you have a desire to learn languages, regardless of background and personal attributes, you
ought to try it. Plenty of short basketball players out there who love to play baketball (and some are excellent players), artists who don’t paint well but love to do so, or people who have succeeded despite not apparently possessing the ideal characteristics. I say each to their own. Do we always need to strive for the best (people in our society to do certain things)? We are neither robots nor machines, so throw out the stats and go where the motivation resides, as most of us here realise this is more important than being categorised if we want to succeed in learning another language.