Years ago, I saw a question on Facebook that went something like this: You can take a red pill and become fluent in a language of your choice, or you can take a blue pill and become a virtuoso on an instrument of your choice. But you can’t take both: The combination would be poisonous). Which would you choose, a language or an instrument? — My spontaneous response was that I would take neither. I’ve learned languages (French, German, and now Spanish), and I’ve learned to play instruments (guitar and mandolin), and in each case, the process of learning was essential to the experience of using the language or playing the instrument. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 25 March 2026)