131–140 of 381 posts
Nevertheless, I grew up in Brazil but never agreed with lateness. I found not necessarily a sign of being sloppy but rather disrespectful with the others. However, I can understand why, specially in Rio where the public and private service can't deliver service with punctuality, it is impossible to manage time properly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So how long does it take to change the mindset and behavior of a complete country? ~80 years?
Just a caveat, I am not an economist, and am quickly approaching the edge of my knowledge. I think that time is not really a factor here. Institutions like the IMF and WTO passively suppress the economic development of poor countries by withholding incentives unless they behave like rich countries. I don't think this is done out of malice though, because I've met people who genuinely believe that forcing businesses i…
Ignoring history of how stolen wealth from colonialism and protectionist policies of the west during the colonial era etc when its convenient to do so is nothing but malice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectionism_in_the_United_St...
President Ulysses S. Grant stated:
For centuries England has relied on protection, has carried it to extremes and has obtained satisfactory results from it. There is no doubt that it is to this system that it owes its present strength. After two centuries, England has found it convenient to adopt free trade because it thinks that protection can no longer offer it anything. Very well then, Gentlemen, my knowledge of our country leads me to believe that within 200 years, when America has gotten out of protection all that it can offer, it too will adopt free trade.
Brazil is a huge country though and while I also always believed the stereotype of the laid back, beach-going, bossa nova listening Brazilian, I found it is not at all universal. São Paulo, for example, feels as hurried as a major city like London or New York, complete with high-pressure business culture, overcrowded public transport, killer traffic etc.
So the measuerment of being reliable is the stress factor in the city? How sad.
I really like reliability .. to lower stress. And hurry only, if needed, not as default.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just a caveat, I am not an economist, and am quickly approaching the edge of my knowledge. I think that time is not really a factor here. Institutions like the IMF and WTO passively suppress the economic development of poor countries by withholding incentives unless they behave like rich countries. I don't think this is done out of malice though, because I've met people who genuinely believe that forcing businesses i…
> I don't think this is done out of malice though, because I've met people who genuinely believe that forcing businesses in Mozambique to compete directly with the U.S. economies of scale "creates a level playing field" and doesn't inhibit their growth in certain key industries at all. It's easy for someone to "genuinely believe" something when their career (as policy advisors, bankers, development "experts", etc) an…
One person, One vote is the least flawed way to gather signal from actual people who have skin in the game.
Richard Feynman on Brazil: 1. “That evening I went for a walk in town, and came upon a small crowd of people standing around a great big rectangular hole in the road—it had been “dug for sewer pipes, or something—and there, sitting exactly in the hole, was a car. It was marvelous: it fitted absolutely perfectly, with its roof level with the road. The workmen hadn’t bothered to put up any signs at the end of the day,…
To point #2. Any guest in Brazil will be treated differently during their visit.
https://jornalistaheitormenezes.blogspot.com/2015/11/o-carna... has some interesting historical context about Feynman's trips to Brazil.
I don't think this is just a Brazilian thing. When I throw parties in the US nobody shows up until 30 mins after the start time, and the peak of people showing up is between 60 and 90 minutes after start time. The exception to this is dinner parties, where people are much more punctual because they know you're planning the meal timeline.
If there's 20 people going to a party, does anyone think the "start time" is really when you're supposed to be there? I think of it more as "don't come before this time".
Brazil is a huge country though and while I also always believed the stereotype of the laid back, beach-going, bossa nova listening Brazilian, I found it is not at all universal. São Paulo, for example, feels as hurried as a major city like London or New York, complete with high-pressure business culture, overcrowded public transport, killer traffic etc.
"São Paulo, for example, feels as hurried as a major city like London or New York, complete with high-pressure business culture, overcrowded public transport, killer traffic etc." So the measuerment of being reliable is the stress factor in the city? How sad. I really like reliability .. to lower stress. And hurry only, if needed, not as default.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't you want to be the first person? I've heard of "fashionably late", never anything about "early". IME early bird gets all the good nachos. And you can leave earlier.
"Why don't you want to be the first person?" In some cultures appearing a busy person can be important. Showing early to a party could send the message you had nothing to do before. Not that i like or do that, but some people could pay attention to such details.