Lots of anecdotes without reading the article (which is par for the course in 99% of HN threads). Anyway, here's a quick summary: * Culture level effects do no

Lots of anecdotes without reading the article (which is par for the course in 99% of HN threads). Anyway, here's a quick summary: * Culture level effects do not necessarily translate to the individual. That is, Japanese culture may be collectivist without any individual being collectivist. * Other countries are more collectivist than Japan. * Concepts like "collectivist" and "individualistic" are not binary or mutually exclusive. (People can switch from one to another depending on context or day of the week.) All of the examples in this thread fit perfectly into the article's section on why the common view persists despite the wealth of evidence to the contrary: confirmation bias. For instance (not an example from the article): Americans are "individualistic" even though 51% of Americans go to church (the ultimate in collectivism) at least once a month. But that massive groundswell of collectivism isn't seen as such. Even the much disliked growth in partisan politics is just another form of collectivism.