tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post1654947144385529278..comments2023-05-18T03:08:41.920-07:00Comments on 1000 Things About Japan: Random Thoughts: Little Culture, Big CultureUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-12642402710636332382013-06-15T16:10:29.634-07:002013-06-15T16:10:29.634-07:00Hi, Stephan, and thank you for your thoughtful com...Hi, Stephan, and thank you for your thoughtful comments. I really do appreciate them and what they make me consider as a result. As was the case before, I need to write a lot to address such a meaningful comment as yours. I'll do my best to do it justice without going on and on.<br /><br />I wouldn't say that I subscribe to moral relativism, though that may be the inevitable outcome of Orchid64https://www.blogger.com/profile/07132543155589881288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-50386148624062791362013-06-15T15:28:05.211-07:002013-06-15T15:28:05.211-07:00I think that, by asking the questions that you do,...I think that, by asking the questions that you do, you're teaching kids a valuable lesson in perspective that they may not otherwise have. It's really important for people to get away from the self-centeredness that is at the heart of, "everyone is like me." Learning that early, in my opinion, teaches them that there is not one "normal" or "right way."<br /><Orchid64https://www.blogger.com/profile/07132543155589881288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-20324632812917283862013-06-15T09:14:01.531-07:002013-06-15T09:14:01.531-07:00Orchid64, thank you for this. It is probably the m...Orchid64, thank you for this. It is probably the most to-the-point thing written about personal communication patterns of the Japanese that I've read so far. And coincidentally, the lying that is going on in Japan, on all levels and scales imaginable, is the cultural difference I struggle the most with. Well, in fact I stopped struggling and decided to leave the country forever after a littleStephanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01935357006764293291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-63108323055882194152013-06-08T15:49:20.150-07:002013-06-08T15:49:20.150-07:00I love this. Love love love. I'm always intere...I love this. Love love love. I'm always interested at listening to by elementary first and second graders arguing in class over what is ふつう; it becomes important for them at school to establish exactly what is and isn't, but like you say, they all come from different family cultures and they are often quite shocked that other children don't have exactly the same experiences that they Sopheliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09891110033136610235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-83101189225313378522013-06-06T10:41:01.215-07:002013-06-06T10:41:01.215-07:00It's an interesting question. My experience wi...It's an interesting question. My experience with engineers and scientists is decidedly secondhand, but what I've heard is that there tends to be a similar communication dynamic there as well. Status and seniority tend to determine who is heard and whose work is considered of greater value. I don't think a lower status person would criticize a higher status person's work, for Orchid64https://www.blogger.com/profile/07132543155589881288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-38868197969851748822013-06-06T10:36:05.425-07:002013-06-06T10:36:05.425-07:00For years, I encouraged my students and coworkers ...For years, I encouraged my students and coworkers to take the time off that they were due and for years they smiled and didn't take my advice. There are some people who take all of their time off in Japan, but they tend to work for Japanese branches of American companies and are mandated to do so. One of my students works for a high tech company based in the U.S. and takes her time off Orchid64https://www.blogger.com/profile/07132543155589881288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-63341525601478438272013-06-05T21:32:14.387-07:002013-06-05T21:32:14.387-07:00I wonder how folks in engineering, science, and ot...I wonder how folks in engineering, science, and other typically right/wrong, black/white type of professions do this... in my job, if there is a certain assumption is incorrect, or an analysis has a wrong step, etc that leads to an incorrect result, and someone catches it, the good thing to do is point it out. Objectivity is good at times.<br /><br />I can sort of see how this might play out Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06755963482025935674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-41023947369674581652013-06-05T21:30:19.145-07:002013-06-05T21:30:19.145-07:00That's one reason why I resent articles that b...That's one reason why I resent articles that basically try to make the U.S. seem like a horrible country next to others. I've heard multiple times that the typical American worker is given the fewest days off (only two weeks!) in comparison to other countries. The article even included Japan in the picture, saying that they receive far more days off. I'm not sure if maybe they have the female philosopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986307680865209989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-42876527811487276852013-06-05T16:47:31.612-07:002013-06-05T16:47:31.612-07:00Amen to that, Susietron!Amen to that, Susietron!Orchid64https://www.blogger.com/profile/07132543155589881288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5103914919249706024.post-44812016956395957702013-06-05T15:40:40.679-07:002013-06-05T15:40:40.679-07:00It's so hard to unlearn those atypical behavio...It's so hard to unlearn those atypical behaviors and unless you realize that what you view as 'normal' may not be...it can really put a dent into a relationship. It's only in my early thirties that I have started to figure out where I learned behaviors and try to see them in a bigger picture. To view them from other points of view to know if I am behaving with in normal thegypsiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01019720222734603445noreply@blogger.com