Watched Improve your memory in 4 minutes with Yanjaa from YouTube
Yanjaa, the IKEA Human Catalogue shares her mind palace technique. Perfect if you want to remember passwords, anniversaries or if you want your child to do well in studies via creative learning.
This is a clever bit of marketing on Ikea’s part. She gets to show of some memory techniques and in doing so she highlights some of their products.
Watched My Body Is Bad at Sports by John Mulaney from Comedy Central Stand-Up | YouTube
John Mulaney admits he’s always struggled with math and explains what it’s like to be a benchwarmer. Original airdate: April 3, 2009
David Dylan Thomas mentioned to me that he appreciates Mulaney’s storytelling style and actively studies it. Sampling a few examples to see what Dave sees in it.
Watched Divergent (2014) from Amazon Prime
Directed by Neil Burger. With Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney. In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she's Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.

Rating: ★★★½

I remember watching this sometime after it came out. Interesting and frustrating. There’s an oddity to watching it now in 2020 with the current political factions.

Watched How to learn any language in six months by Chris Lonsdale from TEDxLingnanUniversity | YouTube
Chris Lonsdale is Managing Director of Chris Lonsdale & Associates, a company established to catalyse breakthrough performance for individuals and senior teams. In addition, he has also developed a unique and integrated approach to learning that gives people the means to acquire language or complex technical knowledge in short periods of time.
Attention, meaning, relevance and memory

Five Principles

  1. Focus on language content that is relevant to you (We learn tools fastest when they are relevant to us)
  2. Use your language as a tool to communicate from day 1
  3. When you first understand the message you will unconsciously acquire the language (Krashen ,2013)
  4. physiological training
  5. Psycho-physiological state matters, learn when happy and don’t get frustrated

7 actions for rapid language acquisition

  1.  Listen a lot (brain soaking)
  2. Focus on getting the meaning first (use body language)
  3. Start mixing and be creative
  4.  focus on the core
    1. Week 1: The Tool box (learn to say the following all in the target language)
      * What is this
      * How do you say?
      * I don’t understand
    2. Week 2-3 pronouns, common adverbs, adjectives
    3. Week 4 glue words, but and, though
  5. Get a language parent to help you understand
    1. works to understand what you are saying
    2. does not correct mistakes
    3. confirms understanding by using correct language
    4. uses words the learner knows
  6. Copy the face
    1. Work on the muscles and look at native speakers
  7. Direct connect to mental image (visual association)
Watched Gaelscoilis -- error-laden pidgin or creative creole by Breandan mac Ardghail from TEDxFulbrightDublin | YouTube
Breandán Mac Ardghail's talk is entitled Gaelscoilis: An error-laden pidgin or a deviously creative creole? By exploring the weird and wonderful linguistic features of the language spoken in Irish immersion schools, he offers an alternative perspective on the non-native schoolyard Irish of Gaelscoil pupils. In 2012, Breandán was a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of Montana.
Watched Deconstructing Myths about the Irish Language by Colm Ó Broin from TEDxBallyroanLibrary | YouTube
Colm Ó Broin is an Irish speaker from Clondalkin, Dublin, and a member of Conradh na Gaeilge. He has been involved with Áras Chrónáin in Clondalkin and Cainteoirí Chill Mhantáin in Wicklow Town organising social events for Irish speakers for several years. He worked as a journalist for the Irish language newspapers Gaelscéal and Lá and has spoken and written widely about the many myths that surround the Irish language, including articles in The Irish Times, The Journal and Broadsheet.ie Colm Ó Broin is an Irish speaker from Clondalkin, Dublin, and a member of Conradh na Gaeilge. He has been involved with Áras Chrónáin in Clondalkin and Cainteoirí Chill Mhantáin in Wicklow Town organising social events for Irish speakers for several years. He worked as a journalist for the Irish language newspapers Gaelscéal and Lá and has spoken and written widely about the many myths that surround the Irish language, including articles in The Irish Times, The Journal and Broadsheet.ie This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx