The Great Lies…
Part 1: Learning languages, inborn talent, and the lie of “learning types”…
The great LIES…
We know them.
These are ideologies which hold us back.
Here are some of them:
1. The BIG LIE of Inborn Potential
Talent does not exist.
There, I said it.
Quote me if you want.
There is no scientific evidence of “talent” or “potential”.
There are, however, certain tests that can measure your abilities to do certain things at certain points in your life.
Nobody is born with mathematical abilities or the ability to use logical reasoning. That is something that has to be learned.
Just like everything you do in your life…
Everything has to be acquired in one way or the other.
You are not born with the ability to talk or walk.
But, just like every other human being, you can learn these things.
Feel free to comment on this:
- Do you have a talent for something if you never use it? Could I then claim I had a talent for flying an Apache Helicopter?
- Maybe there were people in 100 000 BC who had a talent for programming, but they never used it so we can’t tell.
- What is “talent”?
- What is “intelligence”?
2. FAKE NEWS: Children Learn Faster Than Adults.
No they do not.
They just have more time available.
And they do not have the stress of working for their existence in order to be able to afford a living…
If, however, you stop learning at some point in your life, it might be harder to get back into it. Which is probably why, in many cases, adults tend to learn slower than children. Many people are discouraged from dealing with difficult topics and that is why they stop too quickly.
It could be that children are more resilient in that sense…
That does not mean that children generally learn faster than adults. If you look at the studies, they claim that a protein γ-aminobutyric acid aka GABA increases faster in children, but
“…it has been reported that GABAergic inhibitory processing is not fully matured yet in children compared with adults.”
Source: Frank et al. Efficient learning in children with rapid GABA boosting during and after training
Just remember how long it takes children to speak a language — also take into account that “speaking” often means “speaking a few words”.
“Oh, look, he can speak!”
Source: Every damn parent…
So why are you so hard on yourself when you learn a new language?
You could learn a few words in a few minutes, a few sentences in an hour, and learn to hold a whole conversation in only one day.
Don’t be so hard on yourself…
3. WRONG AS WELL: Learning Types exist…
There is a concept called “Lerntyp” (learning type) by which a person would be better suited for learning something through audio rather than text, or video rather than reading…
Ten years ago, I dismissed this concept completely as I found out that I did not meet any of these types in particular — all of them and none of them applied to me, it really depended on the material, the topic, and I how motivated I was to learn everything at that time.
I did not have “learning difficulties” because I did not know my “learning type”, but because I thought that such a thing exist…
Ten years ago, it was “common knowledge”…
Today, it is dismissed as wrong.
And I am pretty sure the same will happen with the concept of “talent” and the belief that “children learn faster than adults”…
I just wait another few years for that to happen…
Meanwhile, follow me on Medium and read my books.
A lot what I write might not be common knowledge today, but maybe in another year or two…
Take Care!
🔥 Genius Mastermind is a persona that is still being developed. More things need to be learned, more books need to be written. Follow for more articles on Book Writing and how to write your own book.
📚 Books:
📒 Beyond Simplicity
📘 Speed Reading Genius
📕 The Secrets to Learn Any Language
📗 Why Everything You know About Making Money Is Wrong
