21–30 of 37 posts
Especially when for some insane reason the group was the entire class of kids with a spread of at least six grade levels in literacy, and it took so long to go around that you could be multiple chapters ahead by the time your turn came back up.
Do you find it easier to write code if you can talk to yourself while you do it? I don’t do it very often since there’s usually people around, which would make it pretty awkward. But somehow I find it makes it easier to stay on track - it’s as if a thought spoken out loud is easier to remember even after your mind has shuffled through five other thoughts. Almost like there’s an echo lingering in the room.
It externalizes my inner monologue which is multithreaded and makes it more or less single-threaded so I'm able to stay focused. It also serves as a check on my brain.
I suspect this is why Pointing-and-Calling reduces errors in Japanese workers [1].
Unfortunately it's not socially acceptable to talk to yourself. If only there was an invention like headphones, but for speech, a sort of a "cone of silence", I suspect it would improve my effectiveness by 10-20%.
Do you find it easier to write code if you can talk to yourself while you do it? I don’t do it very often since there’s usually people around, which would make it pretty awkward. But somehow I find it makes it easier to stay on track - it’s as if a thought spoken out loud is easier to remember even after your mind has shuffled through five other thoughts. Almost like there’s an echo lingering in the room.
FTA: "With schools having largely withdrawn from the practice of making students memorize poetry, few of us today have anything approaching the interior resources of a rhapsode.” My son attends school in France and learning by heart and then reciting poems is something he does regularly as part of his homework. Professionally, I’ve found that reading aloud is how I most easily catch the errors in text that I’ve writt…
Interestingly, I've started to enjoy reading aloud to my kids and find that I don't stutter while doing so. My older daughter prefers to read on her own now most of the time, though my 4 year old has a mountain of books and loves being read to, so bedtime usually involves reading 3-5 books and has become a pleasant routine.
A few years ago, my daughter insisted I volunteer to read to her class at school, which also turned out to be a good experience and I think the kids enjoyed listening to "Jack and the Beanstalk" as well.
I've been thinking about signing up for something like toastmasters for a while, though a reading group for adults sounds like a good way to start fighting the fear of public speaking as well.
My eldest child is three and we both enjoy story time before bed; they are some of my fondest memories of my childhood. As I recall my father was a fantastic narrator and I feel I need to put some effort in!
My wife and I recently started enjoying this! It's a very calming way to wind down in the evening instead of another installment of $TV_SHOW. I've been narrating Bram Stoker's Dracula, and I must say, the imagery and scenes stick in my mind much better than when I (quite quickly) read silently. It's fun doing the voices, and taking time every now and again to discuss what happened gives us a more engaged sort of rela…
Do you find it easier to write code if you can talk to yourself while you do it? I don’t do it very often since there’s usually people around, which would make it pretty awkward. But somehow I find it makes it easier to stay on track - it’s as if a thought spoken out loud is easier to remember even after your mind has shuffled through five other thoughts. Almost like there’s an echo lingering in the room.
I find I do most things with more focus if I can talk through the process. It externalizes my inner monologue which is multithreaded and makes it more or less single-threaded so I'm able to stay focused. It also serves as a check on my brain. I suspect this is why Pointing-and-Calling reduces errors in Japanese workers [1]. Unfortunately it's not socially acceptable to talk to yourself. If only there was an invention…
Does anyone have any book or website recommendations for getting better at reading aloud? For impersonating voices and accents? My eldest child is three and we both enjoy story time before bed; they are some of my fondest memories of my childhood. As I recall my father was a fantastic narrator and I feel I need to put some effort in!