Why Russians do not smile (2002) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#491

Post by pjlegato » Tue, Jun 01, 2021, 3:18 AM UTC

OJFord wrote: post #130

pjlegato wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gun ownership is quite common in many parts of Europe. Finland in particular is nearly the same as the US in terms of percentage of households with firearms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percent_of_households_with_gun...

But [0] they are licenced for specific usages, and carry is not allowed outside of that context, and 'personal protection' hasn't been one (barring extant holders) since 1998. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_Finland

That article also says that unregistered / illegal firearms are common in Finland, many hidden since World War II.

This is the case in many other parts of Europe, too.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#492

Post by NoInkling » Tue, Jun 01, 2021, 6:32 AM UTC

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #420

kmarc wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a young Hungarian, I used to confuse the hell out of my American colleagues when I went to a "lengthy" (more than 10sec) explanation answering to "how are you?"s. It took my a while to realize why that was. Now it just entertains me how oblivious I was. OTOH I wouldn't call these "fake"; It's common, it's certainly different than how I socialized, possibly it's greatly misunderstood by many. Along the same train o…

>> "你吃了吗?" I was told by a Chinese colleague that this is a very informal greeting, strictly between friends - pals, rather. I didn't ask, at the time, because I was more preoccupied with trying to pronounce it (my colleague was very helpful). But I would like to know the context behind this. I mean, what is it in asking about having eaten that signifies a greeting? In Greek, for instance, we say "yia sou" ("γειά σου…

> what is it in asking about having eaten that signifies a greeting?

My understanding is that it's about extending, or at least putting on an air of, hospitality and friendliness.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#493

Post by firebaze » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 9:23 PM UTC

gsk22 wrote: post #110

firebaze wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't second this. Everytime I'm in the US I'm scared of all the friendly, smiling people, asking "How are you?" in such a friendly tone, it's delightful. Of course it's faked, anyone knows, and dare if you'd reply with "not good, my aunt just died". Awkward situation ensues, everybody tries to get out of the situation ("and what would you like to have for breakfast tomorrow?"). Now replay the same situation in ano…

You're misunderstanding what the phrase "how are you" means in the US. It is not a literal question, but a set phrase with implicit social rules for "correct" responses. This doesn't mean the person asking is faking kindness - but also understand they're not actually asking for a rundown of how your life is going. Negative responses to the question are ok, just not deeply personal answers. Tom Scott has an excellent…

What you write is true from an US point of view, and that's the point of my comment. In Europe you wouldn't ask anyone how she/he feels when you don't want to accept and reply to the response, even if it is deviating from the expected (happy) response.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#494

Post by sabersei2 » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 9:00 AM UTC

Russians do smile, a lot. The thing is, Russians are not fake nor pretentious neither they like ppl that are like that. They're lovely simple down to earth ppl and they don't take any kind of BS. If you "act", they will not smile back. I love that!!

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#495

Post by CRConrad » Thu, Jun 03, 2021, 12:37 PM UTC

ph0rque wrote: post #186

Clewza313 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

My go to answer is, "can't complain". Vague enough to leave it alone if the question is trivial, but also open-ended enough to expound upon if the other person is genuinely interested in my well-being.

Reminds me of the old joke:

-- What, "can't complain"? Really? You're in a Siberian prison camp, starving and freezing your toes and fingers off, and you "can't complain"?

-- Yes, when you're in a Siberian prison camp, you can't complain...

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#496

Post by CRConrad » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 6:41 AM UTC

sebmellen wrote: post #464

dazdaz wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The phrase 'Ich entschuldige mich' is an abomination. The literal translation would be 'I excuse myself'. Instead, you're supposed to say 'Ich bitte um Entschuldigung' (I beg your forgiveness) - thus you're asking the person who was wronged for forgiveness. It should not be the choice of the wrongdoer to decide whether to be forgiven or not. Though to be fair, commonly it's used just as you described. If I remember c…

Yes, fair point, the "ent" is literally something like "de-," so you are "de-blaming" yourself or "freeing from blame." But in common parlance, I think the phrase "Ich entschuldige mich" is really meant more to say "I apologize" than anything else. I guess this could be a place where descriptivists and prescriptivists differ in their interpretations (and I lean a bit more towards being a descriptivist). I haven't stu…

I thought it meant mostly "Sorry, I'll have to be absent for a while" -- as in, a euphemism for "I have to go to the loo". Isn't that how it's often used in English too?

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#497

Post by CRConrad » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 6:42 AM UTC

ribs wrote: post #167

nomel wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorite part about the pandemic is that I can smile constantly under my mask, even while picking out soup at the grocery store, without looking like an idiot.

Not only that, but everybody now has one thing they can talk about with virtually anyone else, any stranger. One commonality.

We've always had the weather.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#498

Post by CRConrad » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 8:30 AM UTC

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...

No they didn't.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#499

Post by CRConrad » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 9:09 AM UTC

resoluteteeth wrote: post #73

Clubber wrote: post #38

In the US smiling wasn't as prevalent, at least in photographs. Look at any Civil War era picture and nobody is smiling in their portraits. I'm not sure when that started. I read somewhere that back then people thought people who smiled all the time were "simple minded." Now I can't help thinking that every time I see some marketing copy with some model smiling while playing with soap or something.

Do you also think the world was black and white back then?

Everybody knows colours where only invented a few years before Calvin was born.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#500

Post by CRConrad » Fri, Jun 04, 2021, 9:23 AM UTC

The_rationalist wrote: post #126

Unrelated but I recently discovered an admiration toward Russian pharmacology, they have discovered some of the most interesting drugs out there, especially on the topic of anxiolytics and extending lifespan.

Yeah, krokodil seems nice...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desomorphine#Toxicity_of_%22kr...