When you learn to read, you can't go back

Learning to read is like losing your virginity. You can't take it back. Since you're reading this blog, I assume you know how to read, unless you're one of my blind "readers" using a voice program. Assuming you're a sighted reader, here's something to try. Try looking at a street sign (in your native language, of course), without reading it. You can't do it. As soon as you glimpse the sign, you read it. In some sense, learning a language is like tying yourself up inescapably. When you can't read, you always have the choice, of either not reading the sign (easy), or reading the sign (hard, since it requires you learn how to read). Once you make the latter choice once (and learn to read in the process), you can never make the former choice again.