I learned on my own at age 4 when my Dad was throwing coins into the new pool in our backyard for my older bother to drive in and grab. I thought I want in on that action, and dived right in to get my share of the loot, and the pool had a "deep end," so that meant going seven feet down or whatever it was. No swimming lessons were necessary. My avarice led to immediate self teaching. This is actually a true story. My parents were in shock, but when I seemed to be doing just fine, so that was that.
Same thing when my older brother was reading the daily newspaper at the breakfast table and I was not able to. That sucked! I learned to read the LA Times in six months' flat (asking my mother what some words meant from time to time). That was around age 6 admittedly, rather than 4.
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