A little update on my studies.
I've always been very much interested in technical subjects such as math and programming. But recently my interest in these subjects has been very weak. I still have an interest, but every time I try to dive into any of these I just don't feel that interested. At the start of the year I did get involved with scheme and with operating systems, and currently I am still somewhat interested in learning more about low level programming and the Linux kernel. But every time I think of these things I think a better use of my time would be in developing my learning of languages, more on that later.
Besides the usual topics of math and programming I have a few other interests, mainly in science. There is physics, which I suspect would be a very useful thing to know, also with electricity and electronics, and I have a few things I would like to do with it, such as a rain-powered generator. But, being in nature and working with plants, I am more drawn towards the life sciences, especially ecology, and as a sort of ancillary subject, chemistry. But still, all these subjects take the back seat as my main interest in languages takes most of my time.
Indeed, I am much more drawn toward language learning right now, and in the long run. I've been making some effort in learning Russian lately, and trying not to neglect the Chinese. I have noticed that my ability to read Chinese is a lot better than it used to be. I am still far from being able to read an arbitrary text, but I am at a point I wouldn't have believed a few years ago, which motivates me to put more effort in it. I am also trying to listen to more native speakers so that I can better understand spoken Chinese, which has always been a weak spot for me. I also want to be able to take an HSK test at some point, and it requires some listening ability. To be fair, I was content just learning to read chinese, and I was emphasizing Classical Chinese for the last couple years, but language enters better through the ear, and I can do a lot more passive input by just listening. Reading hanzi exhausts me pretty quickly, actually.
Russian turns out to be a lot easier to listen to than Chinese, it should be no surprise, partly, too, because the writing is alphabetical, but also because the phonetics are a lot closer to the languages I already know. The language itself can present some problems, but it being an indo-european language, much of it is already familiar, so my main focus is on getting the "feel" of the language and slowly acquiring the vocabulary, as it were, by sort of osmosis.
Recently I discovered that I had set aside a notebook for classical languages: Latin, Ancient Greek, and Sanskrit. I won't make any serious attempt at learning either of these languages, but it's nice to have them on the horizon, and I also like having a notebook written with these strange-looking scripts. And Latin, well, it is very userful for me, speaking two latin-descendant languages (and yes, English does have a lot of Latin, so it does count!)
And so my journey with computers is at a pause right now, but I am training myself to write with the Russian keyboard, and also with the Cangjie input method, albeit at a much slower pace.
Actually, regarging math and programming, I think these are very useful things to know and understand, even if just socially. I don't really engage much with the job market or any of that, but I feel that if I am able to say "I know a certain amount of math, computer programming, and maybe some physics" that has a greater appeal for anyone who might want to use my services.
On that last subject, there is a different kind of path I would like to take, a different way to make myself useful, but I am not ready to talk about it just yet.
I haven't made a post in a while, and I wanted to do this more, but I haven't had much to write about. I could write about some of my insights but they are probably just silly opinions and though I appreciate the lack of feedback (read: flames) I get by writing here, I don't really want to put myself out there with personal opinions on which everybody has something to say, usually unkind words. Maybe I am just too jaded by the usual imageboard culture of putting down others. I am slowly distancing myself from that crowd, though I still go and visit a couple of these sites from time to time when I am feeling bored.
Up next: sound, the teleological universe, a shamanistic science.