GammaGlobulin

Many of us have found that condo-living has its challenges, such as noise from all sides due to thin-wall construction, zero soundproofing, and the fact that very few condo owners in Thailand have wall-to-wall carpeting. I have noticed that if the guy above me drops a 10-Baht coin on his floor, I can easily hear it bouncing through my ceiling. If you happen to have a 100 kilogram male walking back and forth in the unit above you, mostly on his heels, then you are facing loud pounding sounds at all hours. Living on the top floor of the building is one option to solve the noise issue, but then there is often extreme heat generated by solar radiation, 24-hours, due to poor engineering and insulation. The concrete roof of the condo building acts as a heat sink and stores a tremendous amount of heat. I have found many more issues while living in condos in Thailand. Finally, I gave up and rented a completely detached house. Anyway, thank you for this detailed input. I searched, myself, but I was unable to find this information.

A TESLA house built entirely of Steel and Concrete and EPS foam? Will these Tesla Homes be impervious to Thailand's flying ants (termites)? Termites can eat almost anything, but will they be able to eat a Musk House? For Thai homeowners, termites are a nightmare, as you can see from this video: Excellent vlog work by this Expat living in Thailand!

Dear Friends, Wouldn’t you just LOVE to import and live in your very-own TESLA Home here in Thailand? I know I would. But, how much would you be willing to pay to do so? You could plunk down your TESLA Home on almost any plot of land of your choice, probably via a long-term lease. You could easily upstakes and transport your TESLA Home to other locations, probably almost in the blink of an eye. You would not need to worry about connection to any utilities, electric, water, etc., in most cases. Here is a link in Thai for TESLA Powerwall if you might need extra power to run UV Grow Lights for various reasons: https://www.tesla.com/th_th/powerwall Thailand is known for adequate rainfall during the raining season. And one could store the water in a TESLA cistern, for example, if they offer them. And, they probably do offer water storage technology, too. Sorry, People, this TOPIC is solely concerned with possible benefits of the TESLA HOUSE, mostly manufactured in a factory. Therefore, it would not be on-topic if one were to post comments about Musk, such as those made by people who opine that Musk is Our Savior of the Earth, or that Musk is The Greatest NitWit-in-Chief, etc., etc., etc. Personally, I find Musk an extremely interesting enigma, a puzzle within a riddle, whose mind was bent by his attempt at Penn to study Quantum Physics at a slightly deeper level while an undergrad. But, that is neither here nor there for the purposes of this Topic. Musk is a very nice human, I believe, but human at best. I find the idea of living in a TESLA House appealing for many reasons. I also am interested in accessorizing my TESLA House with TESLA Home-related products, when they become available. But I would never add a Tesla automobile because I don’t like to go fast; speed is wasted on me at my age. I really like the idea of owning a TESLA house, and there are rumors, according to this article, that Musk actually lives, or has lived, in his own TESLA house, not surprisingly…. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-tiny-house#the-spacex-connection-1 The concept I find most appealing is that this mini-dwelling seems to require no utilities connections, and provides freedom to move…. I have found all sorts of TESLA Home pricing on the internet, so I will not add a dreamed-up purchase price here. And then, you would probably need to pay currency conversion costs, international freight & logistics charges, import charges, port charges, customs clearance fees, import duties & taxes and local delivery. So then, does living in a TESLA House on your own leased piece of ground in Thailand sound like fun to you? And, what does it feel like to walk around inside a Musk House? Does this video accurately portray the experience?: Regards, Gamma

Please note that the graph (top) was taken from the Journal of the International Neurophysiological Society, but it's behind a paywall, and I won't pay, so I cannot cite the exact source. Anyway, referring to this interesting graph, Speed decreases dramatically from age 20 to age 90, while Vocabulary Knowledge peaks at age 63 before entering a gradual decline. Most of us here have already seen this data, and so we are not surprised. Still, this is just a reminder to us of a sliver of good news. There are more more-detailed graphs we can post here, if we want to post them, showing changes in cognitive function, verbal abilities, visual memory, etc, in a more granular way, throughout the aging of healthy humans. But then, isn't it more interesting to find these graphs through one's preferred search engine, oneself? By the way, I am sure that you, too, know how to easily obtain any research article, for free, utilizing a well-known website. Maybe I am not allowed to post the link to this service on this forum, IDK, but I will not post it here. Just google it yourselves. Also, if you still have ties to a dynamite university, as do I, then your university may offer alumni full library services, as well as many other research services, for FREE. And then you can use JSTOR, ResearchGate, etc., to obtain restricted-access articles. Somebody's always gotta pay, of course, but it won't be you. Actually, I would not say for "FREE", because the tuition and fees at my uni amount to: USD58,620.00 for the year 2023-2024. Alumni at my school, therefore, should get, at least, a few goodies after graduation, and for life. Of course, I will not be able to post these restricted-access articles here, and this goes without saying. Sorry.

Fear thee NOT, at least in the case of THIS Original Post. Please refer to the following graphs, and all shall be made crystal clear concerning loss of linguistic ability, as well as other types of cognition, as a result of normal aging in mostly healthy humans. I have no doubt that you have often seen much of the same data presented from other sources, from time to time. In color: Above Graph Explanation, just because I think it useful to include such: "Three speculative models of cognitive change across the lifespan. (a) A single 'mirror-image' view; performance rises in childhood, is maintained in middle age and declines in late adulthood. (b) The different lifespan trajectories of crystallized intelligence ('cognitive pragmatics') and fluid intelligence ('cognitive mechanics'); the former is well maintained at older ages whereas the latter declines. (c) A more realistic version of (b), in that representations are generally well maintained at older ages, but some knowledge is either lost (especially with lack of practice) or becomes inaccessible. Control processes develop at different ages and also decline differentially, depending in part on the brain areas involved. " Is this information, as well as the research upon which it is based, useful for us? I believe it is useful. I also believe it is interesting and valuable information for many of the readers here. I am not sure what the average age might be on the forum, but even if one is 13, if one is a student of science, then a better understanding of human cognition is both important and interesting. These days, AI is a hot topic. Therefore, a closer look into how cognitive abilities change over time is both warranted and timely. This is my justification for posting this topic today.

I now post just one pertinent, and highly anticipated, link to a paper which may demonstrate a significant correlation between syntactical sentence complexity and observed early/late onset of cognitive decline and/or various types of dementia. This paper suggests that such a simple tool as measuring written-sentence syntactic complexity might be used as a measure of, or predictor of, ongoing or future cognitive decline. What I find so fascinating about this potentially valid tool for non-invasive testing of cognitive decline is that, if this tool proves valid, then both you and I might be able to use this syntactic complexity metric for gauging the cognitive health of people who run for election, even before we cast our ballots. More importantly, as this paper seems to point out, we might use this tool to test ourselves if we can devise a test which can be validated on a significant and suitable population of test volunteers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2021.749758/full In addition, here is a link to just one of many papers which seems to imply a significant correlation between cognitive impairment and reduced syntactic complexity in writing. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02687038.2020.1742282 I have read better articles on this general topic. Unfortunately, I forget where I bookmarked them, several years ago. No doubt, if I am patient, it will come to me. The article I have been searching for shares data concerning syntactic complexity of paragraphs written by pre-dementia volunteers and progression of cognitive decline and onset of later stages of dementia. Such a nice paper, too. I really wonder where I put it. When I find it, eventually, I will post it. Such a nice paper, too. Sorry, I already said that. So, here is food for thought: Do you ever wonder about the state of your written paragraphs? And, have you ever analyzed your written paragraphs to determine levels of SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY? Philip Roth wrote beautifully crafted paragraphs of high syntactic complexity. As far as I know, he was lucid until the day he died, age 85. And, really, what more can you ask out of life? Regards, And, Stay lucid. Gamma

I cannot deny that I far prefer 24-year-old female Thai students, compared to 42-year-old guesthouse washerwomen who spend most of their time bending and lifting, principally because I find the students much more intellectually stimulating.

Still, it seems worthwhile to continue this practice.

The world requires FAR MORE investment in research toward the prevention of dementia. We also can benefit from far-wider early testing for cognitive decline. The global population pyramid, 1950 to 2100, is the obvious justification for this:

Such a marvelous suggestion: Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw I love to read almost anything written by Irish authors. I plan to visit Dublin, someday, and that day cannot arrive soon enough for me. However, I will share my plans to visit Dublin in a future TV Post, one which I hope will follow, shortly. Humor is crucial for maintaining optimum cognitive function, some say.

Many of you, My Dear Readers, become a bit touchy when a commenter mentions a "fact", or alludes to an "article or paper", without the required supportive link or linked reference, and rightfully so. Personally, I do not want to be found guilty or lacking in this department. Therefore, I have found the link to Chomsky's entire 1957 paper: SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES https://tallinzen.net/media/readings/chomsky_syntactic_structures.pdf This article explores Chomsky's thoughts about topics including the Origin of Language from an Evolution-Theory perspective, and also discusses many important syntactic properties of language from Chomsky's point of view. I suggest you start with the Introduction, which is a very easy read, and then wade into this paper as far as you can. You probably will not agree with the entirety of what Chomsky writes in this piece, but at least it is possible to comprehend and follow Chomsky's arguments. Just about EVERYBODY who is ANYBODY knows and refers to this paper, at one time or another. And so, I think it is both useful and downright Great-FUN to read this article now, almost 70 YEARS after first publication. Finally, during this most recent period of HYPE about AI transformers, I think that Chomsky's first paper is even more of interest. We do not wish to become bored here in Thailand. Therefore, we must engage in activities which have meaning. Reading SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES is just one of many activities that I highly recommend. Enjoy!

OK, Guys... I realize that this OP would not be complete without discussing the finding that Sentence Complexity, "SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY", and maybe also sentence length, might be useful in predicting the age of cognitive decline, verbal skill decline, and maybe even age of onset of various forms of dementia. What are your thought? I know that you guys do not like commenters who post "FACTS" without supporting these facts using links to peer-reviewed science. There are a few good studies to choose from, and I will look for these and add them. However, I am just saying, from what I have read in the recent past, it seems that sentence complexity, or what is I would call syntactic complexity, might be a good indicator or proxy for predicting early or late onset of dementia and cognitive decline, and decline in Linguistic Skills. So then...please stay tuned, because,... I will definitely add these links when I find some of those that I have already recently come across.

An interesting point, and I would guess that your guess might hold even more water under certain conditions. Here is one such condition: a. One moves to a foreign land where one is exposed almost exclusively to a foreign language, both spoken and written. b. One consistently and valiantly attempts to become fluent in one or two foreign languages while immersed in this new foreign language environment. c. Simultaneously, one continues to use one's First Language (L1) on a daily basis for the purpose of important work requiring use of more-advanced vocabulary and writing skills. c1. A valid example of such important work requiring advanced verbal ability might be something such as commenting and posting topics on an English-language forum, like TV, and by contributing about 50 thousand well-written, logical comments during each decade-long period of time one remains in one's foreign land. d. One opts to religiously use a spaced-repetition-based memorization app, such as ANKI, to continuously review advanced vocabulary that one might otherwise easily "forget", otherwise. And that one follows the practice of uploading new vocabulary to one's ANKI app, such as the vocabulary available from books offering preparation for the Verbal part of the GRE exam. Memorization of such vocabulary will maintain more hair on one's chest. (I do not spend time memorizing such GRE-exam related vocabulary only because I am very lazy by nature. I had thought of engaging in this behavior, but then I realized I lack some necessary motivating factor, such as any ambition to take the GRE exam.) Anyway, I very much like your thinking. And, as I mentioned above, I have found that learning two foreign languages simultaneously seems to have significantly helped me speed up my learning of both languages, and may have even improved my capacity for more advanced use of my First Language (L1). I know you probably will not believe me when I tell you, but my First Language is English. I realize that many people here, after reading my prose, and with good reason, have asked me what non-English-speaking country I come from. Well, I am from The United States, in fact, though I have not spent most of my life in North America.

Good!

Why? Because it's good for people with overly long necks. Also, it reminds one of a Sherlock Holmes trench coat without the hat, or a Russian Spy. Or, mostly, because I want too look like Che Guevara: And. also because I live alone and have no fashion sense.

I came to Asia, "Long Time", at age 27, my first visit to Thailand at age 19. My ease at generating English vocabulary took a hit. But, I was partially compensated for this loss by many Short Times in places other than Pattaya, yet similar to Pattaya, where I gained a whole new lexicon.

Since I mentioned SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES while replying to a comment here. Allow me to provide a Wikipedia link to.... SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES, written by Chomsky. ALSO: I am very curious to know if anybody else, here, or on this forum, has read this entire paper. And, what are your informed conclusions after reading it? This was important work. However, it is said that Chomsky no longer agrees with some of his arguments. What say you guys? SORRY: I forgot to post the link. How ironic.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic_Structures

As an American, born in America, in Massachusetts, I endorse your statement.

You see?!!! This is another perfect example of what I'm posting about, here! Quickly scanning a dense page of text requires adequate Visual Memory. And my next question? What's the difference in meaning if I say 'a dense page of text' and then say 'a page of dense text'? As I recall, Chomsky wrote his first important paper titled...SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES in 1957. Are we smart enough, these days, to read this paper, and understand it? Also, today at age 94, Chomsky's memory is still better than that of ANYBODY on this entire forum, if I would hazzard a guess. Why, at 94, does Chomsky continue to enjoy such good luck?

I definitely disagree with the premise of this OP, that Bar-Girl work will never be supplanted by AI. AI, combined with future products invented by Mr. Musk's Neuralink company, will put ALL B-Girls out of business within weeks, once these products are released to the public. In order to understand how this is easily possible, then you just need to know a bit more about BSR (Brain Stimulation Reward) experiments that were begun around the time I was at university, and our profs forced us to read many of the articles. What is BSR? "Brain stimulation reward (BSR) is a pleasurable phenomenon elicited via direct stimulation of specific brain regions, originally discovered by James Olds and Peter Milner. BSR can serve as a robust operant reinforcer. Targeted stimulation activates the reward system circuitry and establishes response habits similar to those established by natural rewards, such as food and sex." In some of the articles that I read, using BSR and lab rats, it was shown that direct stimulation of reward centers in the brain can actually OVERRIDE all other needs and drives, such as sex/lust, even thirst, and all other compelling urges, maybe even the urge to breathe. Rats will prefer to tap a key for direct electrical stimulation to the brain rather than to eat or drink, even until they finally die of thirst. Once Musk's company Neuralink perfects its product, then all citizens of the world will flock to buy Musk's BSR device, and bar-goers will never again return to the bars. Even the B-girls will spend their money on Musk's device. Everyone will begin directly stimulating their reward centers and will not stop. And that will be how B-girls will be put out of work, and also how humanity will spend it's final three days. We know this to be true. Because, we are already experiencing a taste of it, every time we open the TikTok app on our phones.

Perhaps his Thai-language mispronouncing is just part of his schtick?

As we used to say in Physics class, and Computer class, concerning data, Garbage in, Garbage out.

May I make an edit to your comment, one of many I can think of: Try: grandiosity I think this word better reflects your intended meaning.

Several commenters here have mentioned experiencing increased age-related difficulty in switching between two or more spoken languages. And I had also suggested the same thing at the beginning of this post when I used the term Linguistic Interference. There are many studies which explore the phenomenon of Linguistic Interference, and here is just one of the many, and probably not the best: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1068706.pdf This study explores the affects of learning two foreign languages simultaneously, L2 and L3. I have ten years experience in this linguistic delight, but I have never before recorded my thoughts. And, just from my personal experience, here are my important findings: a. Surprisingly, I have found that learning two foreign languages simultaneously significantly enhances the learning of learning both languages. I.e, I first began learning Chinese, and then I began learning Thai. And, while I was learning only Chinese, I was able to judge the speed at which I was able to learn and use Chinese. After I began learning Thai, and while still continuing to learn Chinese, I found that my ability to learn Chinese, including vocabulary memorization ability, was appreciably enhanced. So, judging from my experience, I would say that learning two foreign languages simultaneously can have significant advantages for the language learner. b. In addition, unsurprisingly, I found that the ability to easily speak a foreign language was heavily influenced by environment. In my case, while in China, my ability to more fluidly and fluently speak Chinese improved markedly. And when I returned to Thailand, this feeling of fluency quickly bit the dust. Being immersed in a Chinese speaking environment seems to cause an immediate shift which I felt the moment I exited the Chinese airport and boarded my first Chinese taxi. c. There is always some linguistic interference while one is learning/speaking one foreign language, when one has already learned a second foreign language. When I am speaking L2, it sometimes becomes difficult to avoid having L3 intrude into my L2 utterances. However, I have never experienced difficulty in keeping my L1 language, English, at bay. d. This situation becomes troublesome when speaking to native-Chinese language speakers. I often find that my Thai vocabulary encroaches upon the discussion, and then, I get funny looks. e. Age, from my experience, is definitely a factor. I believe that when I was younger, Linguistic Interference was much less of an issue. I hope that this comment will be helpful as my reply to the two or three commenters that offered up their thoughts earlier in this thread. NOTE: If anyone wishes to comment further on this concept of Linguistic Interference, especially whether or not this might be influenced by the aging process, again, I am all ears.

Here is just one more example, personally noted, of how the gradual age-related loss of Visual Memory impinges upon changes in our linguistic abilities as we go from being young to middle-aged, to being classified by the younger generation as 'ancient': Let's take the case of Chinese logograms versus computer-screen icons... As I age, I definitely notice a diminished ability to quickly locate icons on my computer screen. Related to this, I also notice that I am much slower at finding a string of characters embedded in the written page. My understanding is that this change might be a direct consequence of deteriorating visual memory. Still, and not surprisingly, my so-called "long-term" memory seems to remain relatively unaffected by changes in available visual memory. To clarify and to elucidate this further: a. If I try to locate a specific Chinese logogram among a sea of printed Chinese text, this requires more time now than it did a decade ago, and two decades before that. b. However, if you offer up to me a string of Chinese logograms at random, I can recognize and know the meaning of each logogram while reading them one at a time, either from left to right, as is usually the case, these days, or from right to left, and from top to bottom, as was traditionally true of written Chinese text back in the good old days, when WenYanWen ruled the Chinese world. c. Therefore, this seems be a consequence of visual memory loss, which is so crucial for reading comprehension. d. Similarly, if asked to very quickly locate a specific computer icon on a screen, my search time is definitely increasing compared to what I experienced decades ago. If I must take an timed exam, therefore, it is likely that I will require more time, even though, eventually, I might be able to score nearly as well as I might have 20 years ago. This can be frustrating when working with young hotshot, academically-gifted students. So far, in my case, so fortunately, the effects that I am able to notice are relatively insignificant for my purposes. I just worry about some hypothetical day in the future when, if I do not die first, I might find the loss of visual memory to be more than a mild inconvenience. I have no doubt that many of you readers can testify to the fact that I am speaking the truth. So, if you want to add your thoughts about this naturally occurring anomaly, from personal experience, I am all ears. I care much about reading and writing and text-searching, etc., etc., etc. Therefore, this whole topic (this OP) is most riveting for me. No doubt, you find it equally relevant if you are both human and if you age.