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Z's 3-in-3 • How to disagree without being disagreeable • 4 Benefits of knowing a 2nd language • Why you shouldn't blindly follow others

Z's 3-in-3 • How to disagree without being disagreeable • 4 Benefits of knowing a 2nd language • Why you shouldn't blindly follow others
By Zvonimir Fras • Issue #15 • View online
Smart. Entertaining. Helpful. 3 things in 3 minutes.
Because you have things to do.
  1. 4 Benefits of knowing a 2nd language
  2. Why you shouldn’t blindly follow others
  3. How to disagree without being disagreeable

Beaver dams fascinated me in Algonquin last week.
This week I found out that beavers build them as an instinct to stop the sound of water. When it’s quiet they burrow in mud, but when a speaker plays water sounds, they start building.
Anxiety harnessed into creation.
Is beaver my new spirit animal?
Thing 1 - 4 Benefits of knowing a 2nd language
More than half of the world’s population knows 2+ languages, do you?
Here’s the breakdown
  • 40% are monolingual
  • 43% are bilingual
  • 13% are trilingual
  • the rest know 4+ languages
If you’re in the first 40%, don’t cry, you can learn too and it’s not too late.
You might get only partial benefits but hey, you’ll know an extra language and that’s sexy.
The benefits
  1. Enhances your ability to focus and tune out distractions
  2. Protects against dementia and other age-related cognitive declines by up to four years
  3. Makes it easier to learn the next language
  4. Gives a different perspective on things due to idiomatic, grammar, and other differences
Infants use rhythmical cues to keep their two languages distinct. They do that from the first days of life. 🤯
Thing 2 - Why you shouldn't blindly follow others
Blindly following others can kill you!
And no one knows this better than army ants 🐜 🐜 🐜…
They are blind. They rely on pheromones to track the ants in front.
If one ant intersects with its old trail, the whole crowd starts marching in a circle until they all die. ☠️ ☠️ ☠️
It’s the army ant equivalent of - “If your friends jumped of a bridge, would you jump after them?”
Silly ants! - I hear you say. But… You can’t walk in a straight line either (without an external reference).
Army ants running in circles to death
Army ants running in circles to death
There’s an analogy in here about society. Echo chambers of social media, tribalism, credentialism, what else?
Thing 3 - How to disagree without being disagreeable
1. Show respect: Your views matter to me
2. Ask for permission to challenge: Can we dance?
3. Signal helping, not attacking: I’d love to pressure-test that
4. Express openness: Curious to hear your reactions. What should I rethink?
- Adam Grant
(Emphasis mine)
The goal of disagreeing SHOULD NOT be to
  • put someone down
  • show them they’re wrong
  • try to change their mind
The goal of disagreeing SHOULD be to
  • explore different perspectives
  • learn something new
  • inform and explain
Armed with these guidelines and Adam’s 4 points, your future arguments will be opportunities to grow and connect.
🌳🦫
Cheers, Zvonimir
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Zvonimir Fras

Smart. Entertaining. Helpful.
3 things in 3 minutes.
Because you have things to do.

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