Dr. Nat >> Daf Yomi in any way compares to the learning that the yungerleit do when learning full-time
This is a good point. I think some busy professionals sign up for an activity with an eye on regularity to help keep learning. I am doing Daf Y this time, and I see that I am gaining in regularity but I am either not interested in half of pilpul on a page, or I am doing written or mental notes to research interesting issues and ideas that (literally) zoom by. I also found it harder to derail the class with probing questions in the zoom setting. In person, everyone gets into the same mood, less so online.
On the opposite side, I would like to understand the value of yungerleit learning, if this learning does not transfer into ability to make decision. We see it now with COVID. If you don’t understand ahavta reehah k’mocha, or hillul Hashem, I dare say you may have not fully grasped that tosfos also.
Maharal, similarly, explains that the value of Bavli (in comparison with Yerushalmi) is developing methodology to resolve new problems. I’d like to see some evidence that yungerleit of the last 50 years have this ability.