Michael Erard on language learning superpowers:
I was describing Babel No More [about] to someone I met yesterday, who said that her desired superpower has always been to be able to speak and understand all the languages in the world. “Why don’t you want to be able to communicate with all living things?” someone standing near our conversation asked. “Wouldn’t it be cool to talk to plants? I’d love to talk to plants.”
I believe everyone has a superpower. Whether it’s the same one we believed we had before we knew we shouldn’t believe — flight, invisibility — or revised powers we’ve adopted and adapted as we’ve grown older and, perhaps, less wise. Superpowers separate people. Which is the best? Depends. But I’ve always thought that my favorite people are the ones who continue to count on theirs when it counts.
