The Differences Between Germany and the United States • Hacker News Board

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#31

Post by vonmoltke » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:24 PM UTC

Indyan wrote: post #21

vacri wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you have it backwards - he's saying that all German extension cords have a third pin for ground.

Oh yeah..I got it wrong. So, US doesn't have the concept of grounding? Surprising, but I suppose that does explain the sparks.

No, it doesn't. The grounding wire is an equipment ground. It connects to metal cases and other points inside the device that require an earth ground, and not all devices actually require an earth ground. Electrically, though, it does nothing for the cord itself or the outlet.

The sparks are caused by the physical design of the plug and outlet, specifically that US outlets are designed in such a way that you can actually see them. Any mechanical connection between two conductors (outlets, switches, etc.) has the potential to spark if the voltage between them is high enough. Other conductors have nothing to do with this potential.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#32

Post by sdoering » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:25 PM UTC

dccnl wrote: post #19

German history and resulting 'cough' freedom gets in the way here. Why not compare USA to Sweden, Holland of France :D

Maybe, because he is German, lived here a long time and moved to the US? Maybe, because he has no direct knowledge of Sweden?

Your voice and words, dear gentleman, make you a troll.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#33

Post by davidbrent » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:27 PM UTC

sch1zo wrote: post #3

just glanced though it but most of the stuff regarding Germany is pretty outdated

I feel like people are giving the impression that because some of the material is dated it is worth less. This is simply not true. I found the first two sections very interesting.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#34

Post by yaix » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:27 PM UTC

Bluetooth headset? Microwaved food debate?

Parts of the text seem to be ten or more years old, while other parts have been updated.

Still, a good read.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#35

Post by darkestkhan » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:29 PM UTC

activepeanut wrote: post #7

Americans living abroad are not even allowed to give up citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes. That's wrong, along with many other facts in this article.

Author probably never went to Poland - there is much more drunk people in than in Germany. And I never experienced problems with Germans in Germany. And untaxed work in Germany was quite prevalent prior to last year May. And some other things that should be corrected.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#36

Post by vacri » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:32 PM UTC

sdoering wrote: post #28

vacri wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you have it backwards - he's saying that all German extension cords have a third pin for ground.

Well grounding is built in (and required) into every socket. We have to main pins and secondary pins for grounding on most of the plugs. There are hovever some plugs for electronic devices, that do not have the grounding-pins.

A ground wire is only useful if you have metal (or conductive material) that isn't connected to the circuitry. The ground wire connects the case metal to the ground - if you get a short-circuit, you're safer as the current flows through the pin rather than you.

If your electronics has no 'floating' metal, there is nothing for a ground wire to connect to, so there's no point to including one.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#37

Post by yummyfajitas » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:33 PM UTC

yardie wrote: post #16

woodpanel wrote: post #10

On charity: I see two reasons for these different approaches to charity: first, Americans distrust big organizations and third world governments; they fear that money they donate to global causes will trickle away in bureaucracies somewhere. Second, Germans intuitively don't feel much of a need to help local organizations or schools: "that's the government's job, that's what I pay taxes for." I think the main driver…

One thing I observed is that both countries got less different over the years: If you look at the policies regarding the social-net, Europe has tried to become more american ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartz_concept ) while the US has tried to become more european ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordable_Health_Care_for_Amer... ). Countries in the EU have a mandate to bring down public debt and the easiest place…

It's ridiculously expensive to treat someone in the ER for an infection rather than them having regular doctor visits.

No, it's billed at ridiculously high rates. That's not the same thing.

ER docs are not paid that much more than primary care docs. The cost of treating an infection in the ER is 1 hour of a doctor's time + drugs. The cost of a regular doctor visit is also 1 hour of the doctor's time + drugs. The hospital might bill at some ridiculous rate, but that doesn't mean it costs a lot.

Breast exams are actually well known not to be cost effective (or even beneficial) for women under 50 (though oddly, congress demands they be provided).

The idea that early action is always better is silly.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#38

Post by BvS » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 12:44 PM UTC

woodpanel wrote: post #10

On charity: I see two reasons for these different approaches to charity: first, Americans distrust big organizations and third world governments; they fear that money they donate to global causes will trickle away in bureaucracies somewhere. Second, Germans intuitively don't feel much of a need to help local organizations or schools: "that's the government's job, that's what I pay taxes for." I think the main driver…

One thing he didn't mention (directly) is that the average US citizen donates about 6 times more money to non-religious charities than the average German citizen, even if you adjust for GDP/capita.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#39

Post by gegenschall » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 1:00 PM UTC

subpixel wrote: post #25

I've lived in Germany for 5+ years and believe humor to be one of the widest cultural gaps between Germany and the US. To wit: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/what-makes-germ...

Disclaimer: I am German and I actually saw and liked 30 Rock (in English) ;-) As for 30 Rock: The problem with English shows on German television is that they are all dubbed. I won't say that they are doing a bad job (c.f. eastern european countries) but sometimes they are missing out puns and jokes which "can't be translated" without losing meaning. In the end this can make a funny TV show unwatchable. On the other hand you will never (as in never ever) see an undubbed show on German television. People are used to watch it in German, so most of them might just never watch it again in either language.

edit: s/Disclaimer/FYI/

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#40

Post by gyardley » Thu, Aug 02, 2012, 1:18 PM UTC

Good article, but it always bothers me a bit when people talk about Americans generically.

Yes, you can make some generalizations, but the country is huge and there are many distinct cultural zones. Attitudes and behavior vary widely between them.