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Actually growing up in America we were taught that America is literally the most advanced and developed nation. And having visited Mainland China a few times he

Actually growing up in America we were taught that America is literally the most advanced and developed nation. And having visited Mainland China a few times helped cement that belief that the rest of the world was underdeveloped... until I actually visited Japan and some other Asian places like Hong Kong. Japan is probably miles ahead of the US objectively in infrastructure (social and physical), standard of living, and societal harmony. It's sometimes hard to observe and appreciate because Western values differ from Japan in certain key areas that make it look like they are behind (overemphasis on toilet hygiene seems weird to Americans, but is really just an advanced standard of hygiene—the romans would have thought us weird using clean toilet paper instead of a communal vinegar-soaked sponge). You can't really fully absorb their advancement unless you understand their culture and why certain things are the way they are.

fiblye 8y ago
For me, visiting mainland China cemented my belief that the rest of the world was underdeveloped, but not for the same reasons as you. China is just going way beyond the rest of the world with their development, and outside of tiny slices of a couple major metropolitan areas in America, the US feels like it's decades behind. China's a little grimy, but the progress and infrastructure growth there is unbelievable. And toilet hygiene here in Japan is one thing that ironically lags behind America. Sure, Japan has electric toilets and people wear separate shoes to the bathroom, but I've almost never seen locals wash their hands. What I typically see is guys tap their fingertips (and I do mean just around the nail area) in water and use it to help slick their hair back after a long session in the toilet. I've even seen restaurant staff do this and it drives me crazy.
- chrischen 8y ago
  I visited China a bit earlier than you, in the late 90s and through the 2000s. You have to realize merely in the 90s pretty much all of the skyscrapera in Shanghai’s bund sprang up. http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/06/shanghai-20-years-of-evolution.html?m=1 http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/06/shanghai-20-years-... I agree that certain parts of China have succeeded US standarss (mainly certain districts of large cities) but if you venture around their levels of development are completely uneven and there are still large swaths of China wih poor infrastructure. Tap water is still not drinkable. Re: washing hands in Japan. I’ve never observed that but maybe because they don’t have to stick their hands in their butt after using the toilet it has developed a cultural de-emphasis on hand washing? Regardless the food safety there is miles ahead of the US since you can actually eat meats raw there, including Chicken. In any case this is a perfect example of a cultural difference that masks their advancement. I don't think you can take a difference in hand washing practice and conclude that it's necessarily behind in some way. Same as how you can't conclude that their driving practices are backwards simply because they haven't advanced to the right side of the road.
megablast 8y ago
You come from the US, visit china, and for some reason you think that is enough to solidify your belief?
- chrischen 8y ago
  Yes, and that’s the default for most people is to draw from their limited experiences. Most people don’t assume they are wrong until proven wrong, and even then some people power through.

fiblye 8y ago

For me, visiting mainland China cemented my belief that the rest of the world was underdeveloped, but not for the same reasons as you. China is just going way beyond the rest of the world with their development, and outside of tiny slices of a couple major metropolitan areas in America, the US feels like it's decades behind. China's a little grimy, but the progress and infrastructure growth there is unbelievable. And toilet hygiene here in Japan is one thing that ironically lags behind America. Sure, Japan has electric toilets and people wear separate shoes to the bathroom, but I've almost never seen locals wash their hands. What I typically see is guys tap their fingertips (and I do mean just around the nail area) in water and use it to help slick their hair back after a long session in the toilet. I've even seen restaurant staff do this and it drives me crazy.

chrischen 8y ago
I visited China a bit earlier than you, in the late 90s and through the 2000s. You have to realize merely in the 90s pretty much all of the skyscrapera in Shanghai’s bund sprang up. http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/06/shanghai-20-years-of-evolution.html?m=1 http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/06/shanghai-20-years-... I agree that certain parts of China have succeeded US standarss (mainly certain districts of large cities) but if you venture around their levels of development are completely uneven and there are still large swaths of China wih poor infrastructure. Tap water is still not drinkable. Re: washing hands in Japan. I’ve never observed that but maybe because they don’t have to stick their hands in their butt after using the toilet it has developed a cultural de-emphasis on hand washing? Regardless the food safety there is miles ahead of the US since you can actually eat meats raw there, including Chicken. In any case this is a perfect example of a cultural difference that masks their advancement. I don't think you can take a difference in hand washing practice and conclude that it's necessarily behind in some way. Same as how you can't conclude that their driving practices are backwards simply because they haven't advanced to the right side of the road.

megablast 8y ago

You come from the US, visit china, and for some reason you think that is enough to solidify your belief?

chrischen 8y ago
Yes, and that’s the default for most people is to draw from their limited experiences. Most people don’t assume they are wrong until proven wrong, and even then some people power through.