Stickk.com referees for learning Chinese

[大块头]

Hello all,

 

After 8+ years of learning this god-forsaken language I would like to finally pass the level 6 HSK. One of the main ways I intend to do that is by expanding my vocabulary with Anki. I'll be active in the 2016 Aims and Objectives Progress Thread once it's posted, but I would also like to find one or more people who would like to keep ourselves accountable by committing to our study goals on stickK.

 

From their FAQ:

Quote

What is stickK?

 

stickK is a free goal-setting platform created by behavioral economists at Yale University. Unlike other goal-setting platforms, our methodology is specifically structured to help people leverage the power of incentives and accountability and is empirically proven to increase people’s chances of success by up to 3x.

 

How does stickK work?

 

stickK works by providing people with the tools they need to fight back against human nature. By asking users to define their goal (whatever it is!), pick a timeline to accomplish it, and put something at stake (whether it’s money or their reputation), stickK allows users to create a custom plan-of-action for how they’re going to turn their goal into a reality.

 

So whether you’d like to lose weight, quit smoking or spend more time with your grandkids, stickK is the go-to goal-setting tool for you.

 

For example, if my goal is to learn 150 new words a week for two months, I will have to post proof of that work on the stickK website on a weekly basis. If I report that I haven't met my weekly target or the stickK user I've invited to be my "referee" thinks I'm lying, stickK will use my credit card to donate money to an organization or political cause I abhor (you can also have the money go to a charity or someone you know).

 

If you are interested, let's use this thread to work out what our goals will be and who will be a referee for whom. Chinese-learners of all levels are welcome. The only requirement is that your study goal is specific and your progress toward that goal can be easily measured/proved. 

[li3wei1]

stickK will use my credit card to donate money to an organization or political cause I abhor

 

This could be an explanation for where ISIS and Donald Trump are getting their funding.

[Angelina]

haha one more reason to hate capitalism

[Shelley]

Is there a website carrotT that rewards you for learning and staying on course rather than a having a stick to punish you with. I am sure I would study better and enjoy what I was doing if I knew i would get rewarded for my efforts.

 

Anyway for me the reward is the learning its self so I don't find it a problem.

[edelweis]

stickK will use my credit card to donate money to an organization or political cause I abhor

So I'm supposed to entrust my credit card info and personal convictions to a random website, and hope they don't get hacked...

I think I'll pass...

 

[Angelina]

it's worse, you are supposed to entrust your personal convictions to evil people

[Angelina]

this is funny

[roddy]

Stickk's been around for the best part of a decade and plenty of people use it. If you don't like the idea, don't post, no need to be snarky.

 

Or post to welcome the new member, before he gets the idea we're not the friendliest.

[Angelina]

from their website:

I also entered into another contract to exercise regularly. My referee is a visiting student who lives in my guest room. What a slave driver. According to her, playing tennis on the Nintendo Wii with my son doesn’t count as exercise

https://www.stickk.com/founders#karlan

slave drivers, capitalists?

I do believe people should be given a second chance, therefore I would be happy to see the people behind stickkk do something else with their lives. 加油！

[edelweis]

Well, this thread does start with

this god-forsaken language

It kind of invites equally frank answers.

But then English is not my first language.

[大块头]

Ha, I did think the Donald Trump comment was funny...

 

My credit card has pretty good anti-fraud protection, so I'm comfortable using it with stickK (as well as use it for online purchases in general). You're more likely to have your card info skimmed by a waiter than stolen in some website hacking incident, in my opinion. Like Roddy said, stickK has been around for almost a decade and has a lot of happy users (myself included!) who need a little extra incentive to follow through with their goals.

 

Let me know if anyone here would like to be a referee or is looking for support with their own learning goals!

[GotJack]

Angela how do you know the creators are evil? you seemed to have made quite a jump there!

 

Anyhow I think its a great idea, as long as you are motivated by the system. Best of luck and keep us updated on how you are doing

[Angelina]

My own goal when it comes to Chinese is to write my master's thesis in Chinese.

Is it a good idea to use a service where one of the co-founders was caught plagiarizing? Funny, right?

I do believe people deserve a second chance. However, using your academic background to promote your commercial ventures when you are not famous for being the academic with the highest moral standards out there, seems strange. When you are probably the only person at Yale caught in academic misconduct, it is not fair to use the Yale brand for promoting your business, simply because you have actually managed to tarnish that brand. When you have done damage to the prestige a Yale education means, it seems hypocritical to use Yale prestige when promoting your own business.

As to actually using stickkk, I will use the vocabulary they are using themselves: I do not want to be a "slave driver", I do not need a "slave driver" to achieve my own goals, even when going to grad school in China does seem like an extremely challenging endeavor.

No need for "slave drivers". Not to mention the dangers of high-tech big data capitalism. Where is humanism?

One of the testimonials mentioned how they gained a lot of weight during a five-month period when switching referees. Not healthy.

edited

[GotJack]

Using your academic background to promote your business hardly equates to being evil though. Especially in a thread in which ISIS have been mentioned 

[Angelina]

@GotJack the motivation is to invest your own money in an organization you hate if you fail to reach your goal. Reminds me of all those people who supported both sides of the war, then enjoying the profits their investments made. Add big data and this seems extremely dangerous.

[Angelina]

You wake up later than planned today, oops, the KKK gets a donation. Evil.

[Guest realmayo]

Sorry to the OP that his topic has been derailed by Angelina's multiple misunderstandings, deliberate or otherwise.

 

 

I quite like the idea of stickK , although it does seem like it would need targets than can be measured by a third party. I actually had some success with https://habitrpg.com/ last year: keeping my little avatar alive even if it meant completing a chore when I was ready to go to bed, did get me into some good habits for a while.

[Angelina]

I don't know what is a misunderstanding here. This is a dangerous concept.

I will not use it and hope other won't use it as well. It is up to you to decide. There are all kinds of people in the world. If you think getting a piece of paper (HSK 6) is worth risking to financially support someone you don't like, go ahead. If you think it is okay to use the word "slave driver" just because someone is already established and has an academic background, it is your choice. I sincerely hope stickkk will cease to operate soon, then the people there will try to contribute to society instead. Just a recommendation.

I don't like sugarcoating things. When you think something is dangerous, it is better to say it openly. I am glad the abolitionists did not sugarcoat slavery.

[Guest realmayo]

This is predominantly a language forum after all, so these links may help:

 

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slave-driver

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/slave+driver

http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave%20driver

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/slave-driver

[Angelina]

Yes, why am I getting hysterical over such a minor issue?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hysteria