Why do we never lose certain skills we have learned, even if we haven’t practiced them for a long time. like for example riding a bicycle, and we lose some, like a new language we learned 10 years ago but can’t remember anything about it now?

Question

Why do we never lose certain skills we have learned, even if we haven’t practiced them for a long time. like for example riding a bicycle, and we lose some, like a new language we learned 10 years ago but can’t remember anything about it now?

In: 5857

Answer 1

Speaking a language is not comparable to riding a bike. You can finish learning to ride a bike, but you can never finish learning a language.

These are two separate types of activities. Using English words to define them is tricky because those words have semantic issues usually, so I am going to make up some words here to highlight this:

Riding a bike is a type of splork activity. Splorks can be completely learned, as in there is an upper limit to what can be done. It’s mechanical, riding a bike is something that you just need to learn how to do. Other splorks include eating, taking a shower, using a door.

Then you have foobles, which can never be fully learned, only improved. Generally speaking (especially for language learning) it’s because of the utter complexity and infinite potential of the action. Keeping language as the example, day one to the last you are continually practicing even your first language – but your native language has the advantage that your brain was shaped and built around it. Languages learned after puberty have to map onto your brains structure, and are essentially pigeon holed into comparisons with the first language(s).