5 ms·

When you say the US is homogenous for it’s size, are you referring to the physical geography or the demographic make up of the population, or something else ent

by JackFr 5y ago

When you say the US is homogenous for it’s size, are you referring to the physical geography or the demographic make up of the population, or something else entirely? (I think I would disagree, but good faith requires I actually try to understand what you meant before I take issue with it.)

xpe 5y ago
It seems to me the commenter is referring to the number of languages and countries in a land mass.
dnautics 5y ago
I think america is diverse, and shockingly homogenous given its diversity. For example, chinatown in NYC does not seem particularly different from chinatown in SF. Yes, the midwest calmer and the south is friendlier, the east is more uptight and the west is more chillaxed, and the cuisine is different in different parts of the country, but these are pretty much details at the edges. Everyone speaks english, the low-end labor speaks spanish, african-americans are discriminated against, etc.
- t0mas88 5y ago
  To me (an outsider from Europe) the US doesn't feel homogenous at all. Compare New York to Taxas or California to South Carolina and they feel as much as different as for example Germany and Spain. With the only difference being that all US states share the English language and Europe has different languages, but even that difference is slowly reducing. For example the French, famous for not speaking English 20 years ago now actually do it very well if they're under 40 or 50 or so. And similar for Germany.
  - monocasa 5y ago
    Eh, the difference between those all will have more to do with population density than their location. Rural New York feels more like rural South Carolina than it does NYC.
  - kcb 5y ago
    I think you may be comparing "apples to oranges" within the US. When you say New York that includes a lot more than New York City. I'm from New York City but have never really felt out of place in Austin, San Francisco, LA, Denver, etc. But far upstate New York would be a different story.
  - anthk 5y ago
    >eel as much as different as for example Germany and Spain Then you don't know Spain.
  - ulfw 5y ago
    None of what you write makes any sense. Spain and Germany have hugely different history, completely different food, different weather, they speak two non-compatible languages sets (Romantic vs Germanic), they have different laws, different stores, different banks, anything. Texas and California speak the same language, have similar makeup of people, are similarly wealthy, they have the exact same stores, your bank account is the same, everything. Now I am not argueing there aren't differences between CA and TX. But those are similar to differences between Hamburg and Bavaria or between Catalonia and Madrid. German<>Spain is a whole different ballgame.
    - dnautics 5y ago
      > Catalonia and Madrid I believe those are what are literally called "fighting words"
    - visarga 5y ago
      Don't want to interrupt this nice discussion but the head topic was about Africa for once, and here we are talking about Europe and US again. Funny we can't switch even for a moment. I bet Africa sees a lot of this.
      - em500 5y ago
        Probably the vast majority of HN readers/posters hail from the US and Europe, most probably haven't even been in any African country, so that hardly remarkable or unexpected.
    - anthk 5y ago
      And even in Spain itself you have three romances plus some alien language: Galician (closer to Portuguese), Catalan (French-Occitan family), Spanish (and Andalusia has it's own subdialect), plus Basque. A Basque playing the txalaparta would look like a guy who came from a UFO for an Andalusian guy playing Flamenco with a guitar. Ditto with a Galician with an Atlantic culture (and Celtic customs) plus a obvious bind to Portugal because 500 years ago they were the same language against a Valencian living in the sunny Mediterranean towns.
- djmips 5y ago
  Western chillaxation is put-on.
init 5y ago
As the other commenter responded, I'm referring to the linguistic, socioeconomic and judicial homogeneity. Even though the US is culturally diverse, it still has a single currency, a single dominant language and a single jurisdiction (with minor state specific legal requirements). I only need one US visa to travel to all 52 states. A software company taking payments in the US has access to all 52 states. A peach cobbler is called the same throughout the US even though the recipe might change a little bit from place to place. This is not the case in Africa or Europe, where countries use different languages, scripts, legal codes, currencies, driving directions, etc... EDIT: I'm referring the land masses included in the visualization and what they entail in practical terms. The US can be seen as a single market, the same applies to China and India. Europe has the schengen area, the EU and the EEA. Africa needs similar initiatives.
- js2 5y ago
  Do you have any idea how many different kinds of sandwiches we have in this country? You're just not looking at the right things for diversity! :-) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-guide-to-the-sandwich.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-...
  - yurishimo 5y ago
    I love this! As an American, I think I've had most of the sandwiches on this list at one point or another in my life :)
  - msrenee 5y ago
    Good article. They rightly attribute the reuben sandwich to the Blackstone hotel. Anyway, I'm enthralled by the idea of a lobster roll. I had clam chowder one time when we were in New England and it blew me away. I ate the pint and tried to go back and buy another, but my husband stopped me. I've had it a number of times since back here in the middle of the country and it doesn't even compare. Even in fancy restaurants, it's just not the same. I really want to try a lobster roll, but I have the feeling I'm not going to find one around here that does the sandwich justice.

by JackFr 5y ago

xpe 5y ago

It seems to me the commenter is referring to the number of languages and countries in a land mass.

dnautics 5y ago

I think america is diverse, and shockingly homogenous given its diversity. For example, chinatown in NYC does not seem particularly different from chinatown in SF. Yes, the midwest calmer and the south is friendlier, the east is more uptight and the west is more chillaxed, and the cuisine is different in different parts of the country, but these are pretty much details at the edges. Everyone speaks english, the low-end labor speaks spanish, african-americans are discriminated against, etc.

t0mas88 5y ago
To me (an outsider from Europe) the US doesn't feel homogenous at all. Compare New York to Taxas or California to South Carolina and they feel as much as different as for example Germany and Spain. With the only difference being that all US states share the English language and Europe has different languages, but even that difference is slowly reducing. For example the French, famous for not speaking English 20 years ago now actually do it very well if they're under 40 or 50 or so. And similar for Germany.
- monocasa 5y ago
  Eh, the difference between those all will have more to do with population density than their location. Rural New York feels more like rural South Carolina than it does NYC.
- kcb 5y ago
  I think you may be comparing "apples to oranges" within the US. When you say New York that includes a lot more than New York City. I'm from New York City but have never really felt out of place in Austin, San Francisco, LA, Denver, etc. But far upstate New York would be a different story.
- anthk 5y ago
  >eel as much as different as for example Germany and Spain Then you don't know Spain.
- ulfw 5y ago
  None of what you write makes any sense. Spain and Germany have hugely different history, completely different food, different weather, they speak two non-compatible languages sets (Romantic vs Germanic), they have different laws, different stores, different banks, anything. Texas and California speak the same language, have similar makeup of people, are similarly wealthy, they have the exact same stores, your bank account is the same, everything. Now I am not argueing there aren't differences between CA and TX. But those are similar to differences between Hamburg and Bavaria or between Catalonia and Madrid. German<>Spain is a whole different ballgame.
  - dnautics 5y ago
    > Catalonia and Madrid I believe those are what are literally called "fighting words"
  - visarga 5y ago
    Don't want to interrupt this nice discussion but the head topic was about Africa for once, and here we are talking about Europe and US again. Funny we can't switch even for a moment. I bet Africa sees a lot of this.
    - em500 5y ago
      Probably the vast majority of HN readers/posters hail from the US and Europe, most probably haven't even been in any African country, so that hardly remarkable or unexpected.
  - anthk 5y ago
    And even in Spain itself you have three romances plus some alien language: Galician (closer to Portuguese), Catalan (French-Occitan family), Spanish (and Andalusia has it's own subdialect), plus Basque. A Basque playing the txalaparta would look like a guy who came from a UFO for an Andalusian guy playing Flamenco with a guitar. Ditto with a Galician with an Atlantic culture (and Celtic customs) plus a obvious bind to Portugal because 500 years ago they were the same language against a Valencian living in the sunny Mediterranean towns.
djmips 5y ago
Western chillaxation is put-on.

init 5y ago

As the other commenter responded, I'm referring to the linguistic, socioeconomic and judicial homogeneity. Even though the US is culturally diverse, it still has a single currency, a single dominant language and a single jurisdiction (with minor state specific legal requirements). I only need one US visa to travel to all 52 states. A software company taking payments in the US has access to all 52 states. A peach cobbler is called the same throughout the US even though the recipe might change a little bit from place to place. This is not the case in Africa or Europe, where countries use different languages, scripts, legal codes, currencies, driving directions, etc... EDIT: I'm referring the land masses included in the visualization and what they entail in practical terms. The US can be seen as a single market, the same applies to China and India. Europe has the schengen area, the EU and the EEA. Africa needs similar initiatives.

js2 5y ago
Do you have any idea how many different kinds of sandwiches we have in this country? You're just not looking at the right things for diversity! :-) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-guide-to-the-sandwich.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-...
- yurishimo 5y ago
  I love this! As an American, I think I've had most of the sandwiches on this list at one point or another in my life :)
- msrenee 5y ago
  Good article. They rightly attribute the reuben sandwich to the Blackstone hotel. Anyway, I'm enthralled by the idea of a lobster roll. I had clam chowder one time when we were in New England and it blew me away. I ate the pint and tried to go back and buy another, but my husband stopped me. I've had it a number of times since back here in the middle of the country and it doesn't even compare. Even in fancy restaurants, it's just not the same. I really want to try a lobster roll, but I have the feeling I'm not going to find one around here that does the sandwich justice.