There’s a myth that children’s brains are sponges that just soak up language, thus quickly and effortlessly acquiring fluency in their mother tongue.

Constant repetition, an always-by-your-side guide (often the mother), an existence mostly free from social barriers and distractions, as well as unapologetic total physical response are just some of the components that for a child to be able to successfully grasp their “first language.” An ignored deficit in any of these components could predict communicative-related challenges for the child’s future.

As a once-fluent but now less-than-fluent French speaker with a not too dissimilar level of Japanese, I find…

A monthly-expiring access to a basic-needs-meeting amount of “cash” in the form of a credit card.

Andrew Yang called it a “freedom dividend” during his 2020 Presidential campaign. It’s most often referred to as UBI, and I’ve also seen it as BIG (Basic Income Guarantee.) Discussing and researching the purpose, merits, history, current climate of this concept is fascinating for me. Although I don’t agree with everything that he says, I agree with Elon Musk when he said that not only is he “in favor of universal basic income,” but that “some form of UBI will be necessary over time.”

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Here’s a rather unorthodox and definitely controversial alternative to the current toxic climate of console scalping. This is not a “capitalism is broken” cry, nor is it a perfect solution. Consoles, sneakers, concert tickets; so many anti-scalping strategies have been attempted, from lotteries to limited production runs to a complete hands-off approach.

I propose this approach: For the PS5, Sony should have made a clear schedule for their sales such as below.

November 12th: 1500$ (for the standard edition)

December 1st: 1200$

December 15th: 1000$

January 1st: 700$

January 15th: 500$

I’m sure they could make a system with retailers…

To preface, I’m a native English speaker with an entire primary and secondary education in French immersion. I was once fluent, living and working a fully-immersive-French life, though due to lack of use, I believe it my French communication abilities may be a little rusty. After a decade in Japan, I am somewhat fluent in Japanese depending on who you ask and the time of day. As a self-taught learner using a mostly communicative-approach, I’m quite proud of my abilities today.

Over the years I’ve collected a virtual filing cabinet of essays, research papers, sticky notes and everything in between…

So many of us are seemingly in a constant search for some semblance of balance with our own relationships to technology such as our smartphones and the apps we use.

And by now, you’ve probably seen or at least heard of The Social Dilemma; it clearly outlines the addictive qualities of these devices.

What are we to do? Quit cold-turkey and go back to pen and paper? Attempt fully-anonymous digital existence? Buy a flip phone?

Below is a simple outline of my own recommendations for a first step into the world of loosening the shackles your phone or such connected…