Riley Harris

  • Can We Ditch the Myth of Language Fluency?

    Imagine someone taking their friends out in Japan, comfortably conversing and joking with the waiter before ordering for everyone. Are they ‘fluent’? Their friends think so, and perhaps they are until they walk outside to the street and realise, they don’t know how to ask for directions.

  • Two Approaches to Learning

    Josh Kaufman argues you can learn anything in less than 20 Hours. This seems to contradict research that says it takes (on average) 10,000 hours to master a skill. Josh Kaufman doesn’t mean it takes you 20 hours to master a skill, it just takes that long to get “good enough”. This article explains two…

  • Don’t Learn Latin, Don’t Use Translations, Don’t Be a Hack.

    I recently read my first book in Spanish. To celebrate, I’m reflecting on how I got here. It was an arduous journey and there are many pitfalls to avoid. Three principles guided my way: Don’t be led astray Eliminate the unimportant Go slow to go fast

  • The Missing Puzzle Piece

    Recently, I decided to go back to basics, and learn mathematics from the ground up. You will find that post here. Calculus was first on the list. I’m taking the MIT course in single variable calculus, it’s available for free online. It’s tempting to try and jump a few rungs. We understandably want to learn…

  • So I’ve Decided to Learn Math

    I might want to do an Economics PhD My undergraduate degree was in economics, now I’m studying a master’s in philosophy. I absolutely love philosophy, and I’m excited by the opportunity to dive in deep. Yet there are reasons I’d consider further study in economics, rather than philosophy. Importantly, the job prospects for even the…