In today's episode of PhiMarHal discovers things 10 years after everyone else, I've been enjoying Duolingo lately.

They got the visual and sound design right, the gameplay loop is tight, you stay on the treadmill painlessly.

Oh, and it's fluid on my mid-range phone (so many apps fail this part).

The most common criticism I've read is that it doesn't scale beyond teaching some vocabulary. I guess I have to go further and see. 

As someone for whom vocabulary is always the prime obstacle while grammar can be inferred, the value is fantastic in any case. It solves the cold start problem.

It's interesting how tools like Duolingo can bridge gaps in learning. Just as in DeFi, where accessibility is key, the right UX can make a world of difference. Tackling vocabulary first lays a solid foundation—similar to understanding crypto basics before diving deeper!