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82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

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Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I can comment more as to why / how. please, I'd like to hear your observations.

I'm from the south in the US, specifically the Appalachia (`app-uh-lai-chuh` for us) region. The culture I grew up in and Japan aren't so dissimilar. That's partly why I live in Japan. Aside from people being on time and getting food to you -- "things" (for lack of better term) move slow here. Some examples: - It took me three weeks to get a debit card from one of the national banks here. They have a web login and se…

> In most places in the USA / the rest of the world -- it's a 'swipe and go' sort of deal.

In most of EU you never swipe. I have swiped maybe 2x in my life and only because the chip did not work. (The swipe then did not work either...) You either use chip/pin or contactless and pin over 20eur

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the south in the US, specifically the Appalachia (`app-uh-lai-chuh` for us) region. The culture I grew up in and Japan aren't so dissimilar. That's partly why I live in Japan. Aside from people being on time and getting food to you -- "things" (for lack of better term) move slow here. Some examples: - It took me three weeks to get a debit card from one of the national banks here. They have a web login and se…

> In most places in the USA / the rest of the world -- it's a 'swipe and go' sort of deal. In most of EU you never swipe. I have swiped maybe 2x in my life and only because the chip did not work. (The swipe then did not work either...) You either use chip/pin or contactless and pin over 20eur

In most places the magstrip is disabled (both on the cards and in the readers) because it's insecure and there was a lot of low-effort cloning going around.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#153
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the south in the US, specifically the Appalachia (`app-uh-lai-chuh` for us) region. The culture I grew up in and Japan aren't so dissimilar. That's partly why I live in Japan. Aside from people being on time and getting food to you -- "things" (for lack of better term) move slow here. Some examples: - It took me three weeks to get a debit card from one of the national banks here. They have a web login and se…

Interesting observations. But for me, (been in Japan many times over the last 5 years), I didn't notice any of the items you mentioned. Seemed similar to NY/SF speed in Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. To me, there is less or no small talk- definitely in places like Lawson and 7/11, but even department stores, with local or foreigner customers. I noticed things go slower in Kyoto and other small towns, but no slower than…

> To me, there is less or no small talk- definitely in places like Lawson and 7/11, but even department stores, with local or foreigner customers.

Even though I'm pretty basic, there are a couple of cashiers I'm friendly with / make small talk. I think it's there if you initiate it. Albeit, I'm pretty friendly / jovial.

> I noticed things go slower in Kyoto and other small towns, but no slower than small towns anywhere else in the world.

I think it depends on where in Tokyo you are. Ginza feels slower than Shibuya and Shinjuku to me. I'd say Tokyo is most like LA in how many different "feeling" neighborhoods / micro-cities you have within one area.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I can comment more as to why / how. please, I'd like to hear your observations.

I'm from the south in the US, specifically the Appalachia (`app-uh-lai-chuh` for us) region. The culture I grew up in and Japan aren't so dissimilar. That's partly why I live in Japan. Aside from people being on time and getting food to you -- "things" (for lack of better term) move slow here. Some examples: - It took me three weeks to get a debit card from one of the national banks here. They have a web login and se…

> - At restaurants / coffee shops you'll stand in line for an exceptional amount of time. In NYC, if a line gets "out of hand" baristas / servers shorten the amount of attention they give to each customer. It's expected when you get to the counter, you know what you want. Not in Japan (or at least all the places I've visited). Many times people will get to the counter, after standing in line, and debate with their friends what to purchase. It's always great that you know the person behind the counter is giving you their full attention, but it's frustrating when you're behind 2 - 3 people who are taking their time with their purchase. It's especially ironic in a culture that is fixated on not inconveniencing others.

I never got this. The thing is, it seemed to me that the people who are waiting are totally "cool" with it. They are not bothered and will, in turn, take their time to pick. I think it is just a cultural thing. But yes, it is interesting given that Japanese are not annoying people, and they value time.

The points you make are valid. I think people perceive Japan as a high tech country because they have a highly developed and efficient transit system. I mean when you go there as a tourist, that's practically what you are interacting with. Oh, and high speed Internet. That certainly will strike the average person as a high tech country.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In Windows, when you type "help", it actually gives you helpful commands: COPY, MOVE, DEL, REN/RENAME, etc. and at least the basic commands are actually what you'd expect. At least you have a foothold somewhere that you can ground yourself, and you start learning a bit more every time. Yes, this. I recall back in the MS-DOS days that I frequently used a text-GUI help menu that showed all the commands you could do a…

> Personally, this is what I struggle with on *nix shells Once you learn the 8000 or so commands, it becomes incredibly intuitive.

Don't forget all the little tricks in chaining them! And all the magic you can do with pipes.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#156
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the south in the US, specifically the Appalachia (`app-uh-lai-chuh` for us) region. The culture I grew up in and Japan aren't so dissimilar. That's partly why I live in Japan. Aside from people being on time and getting food to you -- "things" (for lack of better term) move slow here. Some examples: - It took me three weeks to get a debit card from one of the national banks here. They have a web login and se…

> Many things are so well crafted here, because of a cultural emphasis on producing things with quality. I think this, at least partially, is the culprit behind being slow. Quality requires time, years of practice, sweat, dedication and experience. And it works really well for craftsmanship. Japan is well known for it's craft, art, cuisine and aesthetics - even in trivial cases like design of manholes or disposable s…

> I do disagree about restaurant lines, though

Restaurants ( especially soba / ramen ) are so efficient it's insane.

I should have clarified, I'm talking more about coffee shops / cafes ( 喫茶店 ).

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#157
Most of the people over 70s I knew have had their sight degraded or lost pretty much all of it. Her eyes (from the picture) look in a pretty healthy condition.

I mean degraded in a bad way that they can't read normal text and require assistance. I think they'll have trouble reading code on a normal computer screen.

What your experiences in your surrounding are? I don't really hang with older people when I travel so mine is limited to my family. I'm wondering if it is a genetic thing.

Given that I'm planning to retire by my very early 30s, and guessing an average age of 75-80. I still have around 40 years. Plenty of time and I like computers.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#158
post #157

Most of the people over 70s I knew have had their sight degraded or lost pretty much all of it. Her eyes (from the picture) look in a pretty healthy condition. I mean degraded in a bad way that they can't read normal text and require assistance. I think they'll have trouble reading code on a normal computer screen. What your experiences in your surrounding are? I don't really hang with older people when I travel so m…

> I still have around 40 years. Plenty of time and I like computers.

That's what we all wish for -- a long healthy mostly uneventful life -- until reality strikes, hard.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#159
post #157

Most of the people over 70s I knew have had their sight degraded or lost pretty much all of it. Her eyes (from the picture) look in a pretty healthy condition. I mean degraded in a bad way that they can't read normal text and require assistance. I think they'll have trouble reading code on a normal computer screen. What your experiences in your surrounding are? I don't really hang with older people when I travel so m…

Depends a lot on the lifestyle. A few of my relatives managed to stay relatively fit over 70 with a relatively active lifestyle and probably some luck in the genetic makeup (they do need vision aids, but can manage fairly OK with them). I'm from Europe, but I heard that Japanese have a comparably high life expectancy, which likely results in better overall health in all age groups.

I'm sitting in front of a computer all day, so my chances are probably not as good in this regard if I don't change things. But I guess this kind of insight is news for few people around here.

Re: 82-Year-Old Japanese Woman Finds Success in Coding

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In case you're not aware, you're being downvoted for "Jap". Perhaps you were just abbreviating "Japanese", but it's considered offensive.

That is good to know, I am not from the states. I thought Jap was abbreviate for Japanese what have the internet done to me lol.

The rules are complicated, as a non-native English speaker it would be very easy to get caught out. Brit and Aussie are fine, Jap and Paki are pejorative. Best to use the full term if in any doubt.
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