People's likes and dislikes are pretty interesting. What do you like? What do you dislike? That's pretty easy to answer. Certain items might not be that easy to answer for, but when we talk about why we like or dislike something, that is where it gets interesting.
I get asked about food that I like or dislike a lot. When I first came to Japan, I was asked if I like sushi, natto, or sake. I'm still asked those questions regularly. There is some entertainment value in the questions. For example, "Do you like bitter gourd"? Some people like it, like me. Some people don't. There is some excitement attached to those kinds of questions. I think it is linked to the asker's likes or dislikes.
If the asker likes bitter gourd, and I answer, "Yes," then there is something to talk about. If I answer, "No," then there is something to talk about, too, but it's very different. That is a fun way to have a conversation.
Preferences might not be as strong as likes and dislikes, but they are powerful forces on our behaviors. I prefer coffee to tea. I prefer green tea to black tea. I prefer dogs to cats. I enjoy all of those things from time to time. I certainly enjoy cats, but if I had the choice of which one I'd rather live with, I'd choose a dog. Likewise, if offered tea or coffee, I'd choose coffee, but I drink both.
But why do we have those likes, dislikes, or preferences? Are likes and preferences cultural? Biological? Both? It seems that they are a little of both. Babies prefer sweet tastes, and often reject bitter flavors. There is a gene that affects how people taste bitterness. When that gene changes, there will be a change in how children and adults taste bitterness. This also affects how sweetness is tasted in children. This gene stops affecting how adults taste sweetness, though in this case, genes do affect the way people taste foods and drinks.
That may be why adults develop a taste for coffee or beer as they grow older. Of course some people never develop a taste for coffee or beer. Those genes can be tricky, can't they!
People also have cultural preferences for food. In an experiment done in Spain, researchers found that people choose food that symbolically links them with their own culture. They said that it is because the food gives the person a sense of belonging.
This is not only about food choices, though. Food is just one example. There is a lot of information on food preferences. There is even more information on why a person prefers one kind of person over another as a mate.
Some universal preferences are based on where we live. One study showed that people who live in bigger cities preferred manly men and more feminine women. It may also have something to do with the harshness of the environment where they live.
Likes and dislikes are partially determined by genetics, but also by culture. It seems that preferences in mates is similar. Answering what we like or dislike might be easy, but answering why we like it might be more complicated.
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Making Learning Groups, 3 Reasons
Groups are essential for learning. Look around and you will find all kinds of groups dedicated to learning. The easiest one is a school. Children attend school for a bunch of reasons, but one reason is that people learn better in groups than by themselves. Churches, temples, synagogues are all devoted to spiritual learning in groups. Classes at the community center are all about collecting people together to learn something, yoga, cooking, dance. Groups are essential.
Yes, individual learning and practice is essential. Learning to play an instrument, learning how to hook yarn efficiently when crocheting. Those are things we have to do by ourselves, because in the end, those skills won't get learned by a group. I get it, but practicing to perform in a group or getting together with your group of knitters bolsters everyone's individual practice.
There are three reasons to make a group for language study. First, no on learns languages alone. Small children learn from their elders, and even as adults we learn languages best when surrounded by others who depend on them for routine, meaningful communication. The second reason is that alone we are only one, with the input and bandwidth of an individual. In a group we are many with combined powers. Thirdly, it is just more fun to learn together.
Watch children soak up language. From everyone around them, and without fear or prejudice, they mimic what they hear, and cobble together utterances, learning new language all through their lives. On the contrary, are there children who don't learn in a group? There is a rather special, and very unfortunate case, of Genie, a child who was abused by her father. He kept her isolated until she was rescued by local authorities when she was 13 years and 7 months old. Though she received excellent care for a few years afterward, she never acquired a first language. We need groups of people to communicate with.
Have you ever been engaged in a project by yourself, and then had someone else come in to cooperate? I have. Work went much smoother, and in directions that I had never dreamed. When learning a language the same is true. One is one. Two is four. The effect of a team is geometric, not + but x. When others come, they bring their ideas, influences, and web of relationships with them. That is far more powerful than going it alone.
Finally, learning with others is just more fun. There will be chances for sharing ups and downs, good food and experiences that none of you would have been able to experience alone. When I have taught small groups of people, we have always benefited from the dynamics of the group. There are cases where conflict happens, some disagreement about how the group should proceed or how one person dominates the group or something. Those conflicts should be times when the group negotiates solutions. After all, language is useful in fun, happy situations, as well as serious, sometimes painful ones.
I just gave three reasons for making a group for learning English together. Now it's up to you do get the job done. It can be a group with virtual meet ups, or one in meat space. Either way, they are essential. You don't need to pay anyone, and there are loads of spaces that you can use for free or for the price of a cup of coffee.
Yes, individual learning and practice is essential. Learning to play an instrument, learning how to hook yarn efficiently when crocheting. Those are things we have to do by ourselves, because in the end, those skills won't get learned by a group. I get it, but practicing to perform in a group or getting together with your group of knitters bolsters everyone's individual practice.
There are three reasons to make a group for language study. First, no on learns languages alone. Small children learn from their elders, and even as adults we learn languages best when surrounded by others who depend on them for routine, meaningful communication. The second reason is that alone we are only one, with the input and bandwidth of an individual. In a group we are many with combined powers. Thirdly, it is just more fun to learn together.
Watch children soak up language. From everyone around them, and without fear or prejudice, they mimic what they hear, and cobble together utterances, learning new language all through their lives. On the contrary, are there children who don't learn in a group? There is a rather special, and very unfortunate case, of Genie, a child who was abused by her father. He kept her isolated until she was rescued by local authorities when she was 13 years and 7 months old. Though she received excellent care for a few years afterward, she never acquired a first language. We need groups of people to communicate with.
Have you ever been engaged in a project by yourself, and then had someone else come in to cooperate? I have. Work went much smoother, and in directions that I had never dreamed. When learning a language the same is true. One is one. Two is four. The effect of a team is geometric, not + but x. When others come, they bring their ideas, influences, and web of relationships with them. That is far more powerful than going it alone.
Finally, learning with others is just more fun. There will be chances for sharing ups and downs, good food and experiences that none of you would have been able to experience alone. When I have taught small groups of people, we have always benefited from the dynamics of the group. There are cases where conflict happens, some disagreement about how the group should proceed or how one person dominates the group or something. Those conflicts should be times when the group negotiates solutions. After all, language is useful in fun, happy situations, as well as serious, sometimes painful ones.
I just gave three reasons for making a group for learning English together. Now it's up to you do get the job done. It can be a group with virtual meet ups, or one in meat space. Either way, they are essential. You don't need to pay anyone, and there are loads of spaces that you can use for free or for the price of a cup of coffee.
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