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Sensationalist oversimplification. For Russians, a smile serves a different function than for Americans. It's not used for communicating with others and does n

Sensationalist oversimplification. For Russians, a smile serves a different function than for Americans. It's not used for communicating with others and does not serve as a social marker of openness or good mood. The social expectation is that a smile must always be prompted by something, whether it's someone's joke, or a humorous occurrence, or even own embarrassment. People don't smile in posed group photos for the same reason sitters don't smile in Renaissance portraits. Does it really follow that smiles and laughter are alien to these weird people? https://www.google.com/search?q=russian+cadets+smiling+military+parade&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7oNz_1NDWAhVQxWMKHWoZD7UQ_AUICigB&biw=1281&bih=705#imgrc=m_V_OFNM0H1m_M https://www.google.com/search?q=russian+cadets+smiling+milit...:

shmerl 9y ago
> the social expectation is that a smile must always be prompted by something Well, that's exactly the point that's interesting to analyze. I.e. why there is such social expectation.
- dotancohen 9y ago
  > why there is such social expectation. Do you consider laughing at people at random to be socially acceptable? Why would smiling be fine but laughing not be? Now the question becomes, _why_ do some cultures have the social expectation that an impromptu smile is acceptable?
  - shmerl 9y ago
    See elsewhere in this thread. Cultures where smiles aren't common usually have something social attached to it. I.e. bloody historic past, constant instability and so on. So I don't see here anything out of the ordinary. It's quite an expected effect on human emotions.
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >Cultures where smiles aren't common usually have something social attached to it. I.e. bloody historic past, constant instability and so on. That's the premise of the article, but it's shody and hand wavy at best.
- coldtea 9y ago
  I think the inverse would be interesting to analyze as well. Why consider smiling to be the standard.

shmerl 9y ago

> the social expectation is that a smile must always be prompted by something Well, that's exactly the point that's interesting to analyze. I.e. why there is such social expectation.

dotancohen 9y ago
> why there is such social expectation. Do you consider laughing at people at random to be socially acceptable? Why would smiling be fine but laughing not be? Now the question becomes, _why_ do some cultures have the social expectation that an impromptu smile is acceptable?
- shmerl 9y ago
  See elsewhere in this thread. Cultures where smiles aren't common usually have something social attached to it. I.e. bloody historic past, constant instability and so on. So I don't see here anything out of the ordinary. It's quite an expected effect on human emotions.
  - coldtea 9y ago
    >Cultures where smiles aren't common usually have something social attached to it. I.e. bloody historic past, constant instability and so on. That's the premise of the article, but it's shody and hand wavy at best.
coldtea 9y ago
I think the inverse would be interesting to analyze as well. Why consider smiling to be the standard.