Why poor people just don't get rich?

You might not lack discipline but most people that lacks it have a really hard time doing this:

"if you need to learn something, set a schedule like an hour each morning before anyone else is up, and take control and learn it."

I started writing this before you updated your comment. I'm glad I saw the change, because I was going to reply with a similar level of snark!

In my case, I'm learning German. My wife already knows a good bit of German (which she learned in "real" classes, not Duolingo) so I have a captive practice buddy. We speak German with each other sometimes, and she has coached me through some things Duolingo can't - like properly articulating the German "ch" sound.

I like your approach, by the way - it's almost exactly what I use for my photography. I wake up with the sun, about 2 hours before my wife, and I go make photos.

The thing about HN comment threads is that you don't know who anyone is. So, the natural(?) assumption ends up being that anyone who disagrees with you is the perfect strawman for your own side of the argument. In my case, I have a support structure outside of Duolingo, I have an active interest in taking my learning outside the app...

and I still find the gamification and notifications helpful. I just don't feel very motivated some days, but I still get a few lessons in! Something in me wants to be high up on that leaderboard. Is this the healthiest way to harness behavioral psychology to learn a language? I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. In any case, I'm practicing German every day, and that's pretty cool.

With Duolingo, I think the ends justify the means. FWIW you can turn off the notifications in your phone's settings, and emails are easy to direct to junk/spam/whatever black hole you prefer.

Thanks for the detailed response. Sounds like what I do too, but for the social component I try and find someone learning the same thing. Sometimes that’s easy, sometimes not.

Like most people with young kids these days, I’m struggling with the reduced willpower people are trading for their digital conveniences. My original comment took that reflexivity too far and ignored the obvious utility of apps (I have ones I use too!) with a blanket assumption.

Cheers!

> If it’s important, why cede control of your own discipline to a notification loop of a for-profit company?

What makes you think all minds are equally capable of controlling their own discipline? (look up executive dysfunction)

I generally don’t think all people are equally capable. I have a kid with fairly severe adhd, and i am mildly affected myself. I’m very familiar with executive dysfunction. What I have found is that it’s a muscle I can exercise and keep in shape, and if I start slacking on it it’s very easy for my discipline to fall apart. It took a couple of years to build up that fitness as well.

I have fairly severe ADHD myself, and while it's possible for me to be vaguely functional, it already takes all of my energy just to not quit my job, and then there is no energy left for my personal time.

(I love my job, but that unfortunately doesn't stop it from being made nearly impossible for me. thanks, ADHD)

Because language learning generally sux, is horribly boring and I don't get enough of sleep enough anyway.

So, if there is an app that makes me want to open it, enjoy the process, then it is pure gain. Sometimes I get double motivated and do extras (content consumption, reading grammar), other times I just keep the streak.

But if I had to wake up every day an hour sooner to study language, then I would be forgetting everything in two weeks, because that would genuinely lowered my quality of life.

And yes, I am ok with idea that you will learn faster then I will.