That means I can see a lot of rooftops and a lot of pigeons.
Whenever I need to think, I like to look out my windows at the pigeons.
The result is that I am now an expert on the pigeon mating dance.
Here’s how it goes:
A male is sitting on the roof by himself thinking about geopolitics and the refugee crisis.
A female flies over and lands next to him.
Suddenly, he starts to do a little dance where he spins around and makes a noise.
The female watches. And if she likes his moves, she will allow him to buy her a drink.
If he doesn’t impress her, she flies off to find a pigeon with bigger muscles.
It’s a pigeon disco.
And here’s why it’s interesting.
It’s interesting because I’m 99% sure the male pigeon did not download “How To Win The Pigeon Of Your Dreams” onto his Kindle or get any dance tips from his older brothers.
His dance is just something he’s born with.
It’s instinct.
Ever heard of Noam Chomsky?
He’s a linguist at MIT and he has a theory similar to this.
He says everyone is born with a “language acquisition device.”
He means, every human is born with the instinct to learn languages.
Think about it-how did you learn your first language?
With text books and schools and the latest iPhone app?
No, your brain knew what to do.
That’s our instinct.
Unlike pigeons and pigs and pumas, humans can learn languages.
So congratulations on being born human.
Now put down the grammar book and start learning.