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Why Russians do not smile (2002)

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Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#191

Post by axtscz »

coldtea wrote: post #30
b0rsuk wrote: post #3

Mona Lisa was special in part because it was uncommon for people to smile. In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. That's why facial expressions in medieval imagery are so serious. Today, being surprised a lot is often taken as a sign of stupidity, whereas in ancient Greece an owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Because, obviously, an owl is always surprised, and surprise is…

> In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. Unfortunately 20th-century photo magazines, TV, and later Instagram and selfies changed that...

Why would that be unfortunate? Isn't smiling a good thing?

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#192

Post by hackerfromthefu »

tazjin wrote: post #179
daxfohl wrote: post #178

Another thing I've noticed uniquely with some Russian colleagues, and I've never quite known the meaning of, but I assume is Russian cultural attribute, is silence. A few times I've e.g. been explaining something to a Russian colleague, I'll go on and on, and when I'm done ... nothing. This always gets me anxious. What does it mean? Does the person think it's the dumbest thing he's ever heard? Did the person not unde…

What are you expecting them to do?

As gp is not speaking to themself, it's an interaction.

So maybe gp is expecting them to inter-act, ie make some reciprocal action of some kind back. Silence is an action, that in my culture usually means 'dont want to tell you my real response'.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#193

Post by shoto_io »

a9h74j wrote: post #69
rjsw wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Teeth in skeletons from the Middle Ages seem fine. It is later ones, after bringing sugar back from the Americas, that have lots of cavities and missing teeth.

Check out the thesis of the recent bestseller Breath by James Nestor. Native American and other traditional cultures put serious emphasis on nose breathing, strictly avoiding mouth breathing. Apparently, consistent nose-breathing can affect nasal and upper-palate development, favoring a spacious mouth and straighter teeth. It can also help avoid dry mouth at night, apparently favoring resistance to dental caries. The…

A couple of years ago I forced myself to sleep with my mouth shut. It helped undry me mouth. But, through my own pressure I started to be a heavy teeth grinder in the night. That’s definitely worse for me.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#194

Post by You_All_R_Cunts »

geocrasher wrote: post #183
cosmodisk wrote: post #116

Plenty of contribution already,so I'll just add a personal anecdote. Some years ago I happened to have some beers with a Latvian Russian,who lived here, in London. He tells us that he doesn't get the Brits. He just doesn't understand the reasoning in some situations. I ask to elaborate. He says: last year, I had a pretty serious trauma and ended up in a hospital. It's so bad, pain, lots of tests,etc. And I'm pretty f…

When my wife was dying (she has since passed away) and nobody could figure out her illness, she'd be in the most wretched pain, in the ER again, and she'd be retching awfully and almost uncontrollably. A doctor would walk in, having heard of all this already and ask "How are you?" Sometimes she gave them the benefit of the doubt, and sometimes she was a bit less charitable. My point? Americans (as she was), Russians,…

Lol, whats the point? Don't ask how people are?

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#195

Post by dougmwne »

Krasnol wrote: post #119
dougmwne wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes sense. My main context for comparison is US vs PL, and there's a largish difference between strangers and in public or service people and a much smaller difference with friends and family. If you start talking to a stranger in the grocery store in the US because you were both reaching for the same milk you might get a very big smile. I would never expect such an exaggerated reaction in PL, just a small nod…

I've spend a decade working for an F500 US company here in Germany. The amount of bad news delivered with a fake smile was staggering. I lead to pure disgust within the German employee bubble making it actually stronger and the news worse. In the end I've been fired with one of those and some phrase along the "let's stay friends and meet again" line ;) I was always quite surprised that there seems to never have been…

I mean, you don't expect us to just hand over all our dark secrets like that in an e-learning module, do ya? The service people are supposed to mean it (if they're big enough suckers), but you can be more two-faced as you climb the ladder. I'd describe American business culture as "exploitative backstabbing bloodlust with a smile and an optimistic mission statement".

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#196

Post by dougmwne »

tester756 wrote: post #143
ArkanExplorer wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its down to latitude. The latitude of Warsaw is 52.2° N, which is about the same latitude as northern Canada (Edmonton). Moscow is 55.7, which is the same as southern Alaska. Days are shorter, darker, and colder. It has an impact on your mood. Plus, the average income for a Pole is $18,000/year, whereas for the average White American worker its $40,000/year. Cost of living is often lower in America than in Poland (ex…

>Cost of living is often lower in America than in Poland (excepting Seattle, NY etc.). So materially the average American is a lot better off. Is it?

No way, only if you look at cars and iPhones. If you include healthcare and education, the median Pole is miles ahead.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#197

Post by 3pt14159 »

mycologos wrote: post #189
3pt14159 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russians are so extreme. Even though my favourite professors at Waterloo in Canada were Russian, it wasn't until I learned some basic Russian that I finally got over the typical view of them drilled into people by Hollywood. Your run of the mill Russian is honest about their feelings. Not honest about the facts, no, they can cheat on an insurance filing just fine. But that coldness that so many of them seem to have i…

A few years ago Masha Gessen did an episode of Conversations With Tyler , a podcast hosted by Tyler Cowen, and at one point she said this about Russian friendships [1]: > ... I think that — and this may answer your question — Russian friendships are much more emotional and intense than American friendships [...] When I moved back to [the USA] five and a half years ago, it was like this sense of whiplash because I had…

That is a great quote, though I have a minor quibble about alcohol being necessary as some of the Russians I befriended were former alcoholics and sober for years. Though others drank beer at dawn.

I found I made deep friendships more easily after speaking even a bit of Russian. If you can say "My name is X" and "awesome" and a couple other small phrases it helps. That said, it wasn't until I had put in around 1000 hours of practice until things really opened up. It's such a hard language and I'm below average in my ability to learn human languages. But I did make steady progress with Verbling and I even met up with my tutor when I was in Ukraine.

One of the things that learning Russian clears up is why they sound so angry to English ears. The language doesn't use tone for emphasis as much as English. It uses word order because the grammar is more flexible so they're able to put the important stuff at the end. Plus the sounds are more constant based. So once your ears get used to the language, you don't really hear Russian (or a Russian accented English) the same anymore. It sounds more human. Plus you learn so many words, you end up finding some of the endearing / superior to the English translation.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#198

Post by flemhans »

cosmodisk wrote: post #116

Plenty of contribution already,so I'll just add a personal anecdote. Some years ago I happened to have some beers with a Latvian Russian,who lived here, in London. He tells us that he doesn't get the Brits. He just doesn't understand the reasoning in some situations. I ask to elaborate. He says: last year, I had a pretty serious trauma and ended up in a hospital. It's so bad, pain, lots of tests,etc. And I'm pretty f…

The typical reply in Russian to "How are you" is "normalno" (normal), which I always thought should appeal to computer geeks

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#199

Post by mycologos »

3pt14159 wrote: post #197
mycologos wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago Masha Gessen did an episode of Conversations With Tyler , a podcast hosted by Tyler Cowen, and at one point she said this about Russian friendships [1]: > ... I think that — and this may answer your question — Russian friendships are much more emotional and intense than American friendships [...] When I moved back to [the USA] five and a half years ago, it was like this sense of whiplash because I had…

That is a great quote, though I have a minor quibble about alcohol being necessary as some of the Russians I befriended were former alcoholics and sober for years. Though others drank beer at dawn. I found I made deep friendships more easily after speaking even a bit of Russian. If you can say "My name is X" and "awesome" and a couple other small phrases it helps. That said, it wasn't until I had put in around 1000 h…

Interesting. Do you have a recommended method for learning Russian?

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#200

Post by sray »

Clewza313 wrote: post #181
vbezhenar wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same in Russian actually. You're saying "how are you" ("как дела") after "hello" ("привет"), but you're not really expecting any meaningful answer other than "I'm OK" ("нормально") or "I'm fine" ("отлично"). But it might be one way to start a conversation when you want to tell something you don't like. Like "How are you? I'll live. What happened? ...". But it's more of closed friends conversation when you ca…

From now on, I need to start responding to "How are you?" with "Normal".

My favorite response to “How are you?” comes from a Russian former coworker: “Average. Worse than yesterday, better than tomorrow”.
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