4 ms·

Speaking as a Brit. I don't think we have the capacity to learn many times faster. I suppose there is something in our culture. A lot of inventions and science

Speaking as a Brit. I don't think we have the capacity to learn many times faster. I suppose there is something in our culture. A lot of inventions and science has come out of the UK. There's also an (I assume) cultural phenomenon of tinkering in the garden shed. I suppose there's the Protestant work ethic, the ethic of self improvement, a general acceptance and perhaps celebration of odd balls and tinkerers. It the field of computing, it probably helps that we speak the same language (ISH) as the us, where a lot of this tech came from, but didn't have the money to just buy solutions. But I don't really have any experience of other cultures in this context to say whether these things are unique.

_0ffh 4y ago
>It the field of computing, it probably helps that we speak the same language Then again, I think working through untranslated English material for my computer hobby helped me gain language proficiency more quickly than many peers.
- mdp2021 4y ago
  My first word in English had most probably been 'ready' ;)
- benj111 4y ago
  True. But if I'm reading z80 documentation, I'm going to be able to read it more easily. Plus I don't have to be also willing to learn a second language. Of course in the end you have computing skills and a second language. Slightly off topic question though. Are programming constructs based around or influenced English making it easier to learn as an anglophone? Would (true)if be more common, or do{}while(true) be more common if English weren't the Lingua Franca? I know you could find examples of these in many languages, but they aren't 'standard'
  - Brian_K_White 4y ago
    I have wondered about that. Every time a new language or framework attempts or claims to be more natural, I think "for who?"
mdp2021 4y ago
> a general acceptance and perhaps celebration of odd balls and tinkerers Paradise! (No, really, that is respectful and intelligent - if in general people can perceive that "the guy has something", that is already a big social asset.) > other cultures Other cultures may be quite diffident and promoting different "values" - in the streets you will more often find "socialites". At the extreme, a Siberian once told me: "They would go and beat up the different. «You are different», they would say, and beat you up".
- benj111 4y ago
  Well I don't want to over egg our acceptance of 'different', there are certainly differences that aren't accepted, and certainly weren't in the past.
kolleykibber 4y ago
For me, as a kid back then it was the magazines. I would wait all month and then devour the latest Felix Denis publication end to end. The editors of these magazines could be considered the orchestrators of the UK 8 bit scene. Manuals were out of my financial reach.

_0ffh 4y ago

>It the field of computing, it probably helps that we speak the same language Then again, I think working through untranslated English material for my computer hobby helped me gain language proficiency more quickly than many peers.

mdp2021 4y ago
My first word in English had most probably been 'ready' ;)
benj111 4y ago
True. But if I'm reading z80 documentation, I'm going to be able to read it more easily. Plus I don't have to be also willing to learn a second language. Of course in the end you have computing skills and a second language. Slightly off topic question though. Are programming constructs based around or influenced English making it easier to learn as an anglophone? Would (true)if be more common, or do{}while(true) be more common if English weren't the Lingua Franca? I know you could find examples of these in many languages, but they aren't 'standard'
- Brian_K_White 4y ago
  I have wondered about that. Every time a new language or framework attempts or claims to be more natural, I think "for who?"

mdp2021 4y ago

> a general acceptance and perhaps celebration of odd balls and tinkerers Paradise! (No, really, that is respectful and intelligent - if in general people can perceive that "the guy has something", that is already a big social asset.) > other cultures Other cultures may be quite diffident and promoting different "values" - in the streets you will more often find "socialites". At the extreme, a Siberian once told me: "They would go and beat up the different. «You are different», they would say, and beat you up".

benj111 4y ago
Well I don't want to over egg our acceptance of 'different', there are certainly differences that aren't accepted, and certainly weren't in the past.

kolleykibber 4y ago

For me, as a kid back then it was the magazines. I would wait all month and then devour the latest Felix Denis publication end to end. The editors of these magazines could be considered the orchestrators of the UK 8 bit scene. Manuals were out of my financial reach.