> only in synchronous conversation will you get the back-and-forth "wait what? How's that work?"
There is something to be gained from synchronous conversation, but what you've listed can be done asynchronously.
In either case, my point was IRC doesn't have to always be synchronous. When you're both available, the conversation can be synchronous.
I agree that there is a huge benefit from having a synchronous, spoken conversation, but my reply was contesting that "Understudy gives you is a one-to-one relationship with another person who cares" in contrast to IRC. IRC can do exactly that, so what sells Understudy is certainly something different.
Re:Show HN: Learning SICP with Understudy
by darkheartfelt on Wednesday April 09, 2014 @04:30PM
(#7562142)
Studying SICP (or anything) can involve different "modes":
Reading and doing exercises will often be solitary. Q&A could definitely be asynchronous (IRC works great for that!). But we're talking about explaining what you've learned; only in synchronous conversation will you get the back-and-forth "wait what? How's that work?"
A hard part of learning is figuring out exactly what you don't know; conversation is remarkably effective at elucidating that. Where do you feel uncomfortable while speaking? Where does your partner look especially confused or skeptical? The human connection gives you expression, body language, tone of voice, etc. in a quick feedback loop.
(disclaimer: not involved in creating Understudy, but I'm a happy user!)