Here first and foremost because a reference to Animorphs caught me off guard and made me smile. Beautiful.

I think you put the concept of not looking up every word very well. I think as adults we forget just how difficult learning feels in general because we're so used to knowing so much about our world.

100% agree. I've found more success with reading books in foreign languages and my native language when I don't hyperfocus on looking up or understanding every word. I expanded my reading comprehension and ability very quickly as a child by letting myself figure things out with context clues and not understanding 100% of what I read.

It can also be good for the brain to have to work at understanding - the crutch of looking something up immediately can make it easier to forget what you've already looked up, compared to struggling with something and turning it over, which can make it easier to recognize, remember, or elaborate on your contextual understanding the next time you encounter it.

(This is an aspect of effective studying - making your brain work to recreate and recall something, like in working to remember the subject of a lecture, is more effective than just giving your brain the answer, like in re-reading notes.)

English is my native language and I'm from the US, for context!

Ah, I didn't know you were specifically talking about spoken language.

I would like to clarify, I agree with your initial point. If a native speaker makes a grammatical mistake (online through text, or offline/spoken), I've also experienced people just shrugging it off (that's kind of where "it's assumed they know better" came from in my first reply).

To elaborate on my comparative experience with pronunciation differences:
Pronunciation is more likely to be perceived as "faulty" if both speakers are from the same area, but pronounce something differently. E.g., I'd never correct accented English pronunciation from a native speaker (be they from England, New Zealand, or just another part of the US, etc), nor from a non native speaker (so long as the non-native speaker's pronunciation wasn't interfering with understanding, and they weren't trying to "improve" their pronunciation). My example comes from friends who have grown up in the same city but pronounce something differently.

Very interesting conclusion in your last sentence!

Also, I wanted to say - I used your own wording as an example of a small mistake. I hope that didn't come across as me speaking down to you! I was wondering at the time if doing that would come across as rude, but I wasn't sure it would, because it was such an understandable mistake to make... I've enjoyed your thoughts and this conversation, so I just wanted to make sure I didn't come across as having engaged impolitely with you.

> QM
> more intuitive explanation

Choose one

;)

Sorry, just adding some drama to the question, or arguably a realistic perspective, regarding your more philosphical statements on fundamentals of QM or postulates, or understanding goals. I'd add more to try to answer your questions if I weren't under-qualified from the get go, combined with forgetting entirely too much of my education.

What I can comment with some relevance on: continue your pursuit of better understanding, but alter your expectations, because intuition is usually a false friend with QM! E.g., the fun, if not overused, electron spin meme

Also adding the first paragraph from the introduction in an intro QM for undergrad physics students book (Introduction to Quantum Mechanics: 2nd Ed. by David Griffiths): > Unlike Newton's mechanics, or Maxwell's electrodynamics, or Einstein's relativity, quantum theory was not created - or even definitively packaged - by one individual, and it retains to this day some of the scars of its exhilarating but traumatic youth. There is no general consensus as to what its fundamental principles are, how it should be taught, or what it really "means." Every competent physicist can "do" quantum mechanics, but the stories we tell ourselves about what we are doing are as various as the tales of Scheherazade, and almost as implausible. Niels Bohr said, "If you are not confused by quantum physics then you haven't really understood it"; Richard Feynman remarked, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."

Physics, including QM, is a lot of explaining these "why" questions you ask via math. My very unsatisfying and generalized - possibly patronizing (if so, sorry, that's not the intent) - recommendation is that if you want to dive deeper and have a more satisfying or stable foundation for your understanding, look into more of the accompanying math!

Happy exploring!

^(Thanks, also, for a reminder to revisit my own study :)^)

To your point, but different:

In my experience, I think it's a little less "huh, must be a thing where they're from!" and usually a little more "they know better, so it's a waste of time to correct" (unless the error is egregious or a popular annoyance like "alot" - see: reddit "grammar nazis"). This applies to the internet in particular, which is rife with mistyping and lazy typing for non-formal discussion, and in an age where autocorrect can actually make something you've said incorrect or nonsensical.

Eg: I'd assume "they won't accept nothing" is an editing error, and that you typed something out ("they'll accept nothing" or "they won't accept anything") but went back to edit your phrasing and forgot to correct agreement in the process. As quirks or little things like that increase, I'd assume you're not a native speaker whether or not I see your face.

Alternate example: I should have typed out that "Eg:" above as "E.g.," but people aren't going to take the time to correct that. They pooosssibly would if I had typed E.G.

Also in my experience, in person, native speakers will correct each other until they hear someone say that it's a peculiarity from their childhood or hometown. E.g. ^((maybe I'll try to write it correctly when I use it, now...)^) I have a friend who pronounces something oddly and uniquely. This friend has been corrected, but they have said it was always like that for them growing up. Now it has become accepted that "it's just how it is" for them with that particular pronunciation.

I think you're absolutely right about the impact of social knowledge and vernacular language on whether or not someone's considered native level. That speaks to the "personal knowledge" point in the linked article