3 ms·

It has been my experience that there are good and bad engineers from all origins; Americans do not have a monopoly on it in either direction, nor does anyone el

It has been my experience that there are good and bad engineers from all origins; Americans do not have a monopoly on it in either direction, nor does anyone else.

ttoinou 3y ago
If you can't generalize then you can't think. Of course any affirmation can be turned down on the basis that it is not specific enough. OP is pointing at differences in cultures, they do exist.
- wewtyflakes 3y ago
  It sounded like the person I was responding to just wanted a lazy poo-poo soundbite. There are many examples of all of the countries mentioned making ridiculous/awful products and also amazing products.
- alex_lav 3y ago
  > If you can't generalize then you can't think If you blindly follow others' generalizations without question, you can't think.
  - FredPret 3y ago
    Compression is a form of intelligence
    - scubbo 3y ago
      Short good
    - wewtyflakes 3y ago
      Sure if it isn't a losing material information in that process. It is easy to compress anything to true/false if you're willing to live with information loss. I think material information was lost in the aforementioned "Country X can't build anything" hot-take.
      - FredPret 3y ago
        So people compress to the point where the speed vs information loss tradeoff makes instinctive sense to them. You can dramatically increase your computing power if you're not constantly deriving everything from the fundamental physics and instead rely on some stereotypes. This ranges from "objects that look like that are chairs" to "I can sit on chairs" to "Americans can/can't do X"
        alex_lav 3y ago
        It's amusing that this text chain is about derivations when in reality we can reference a direct quote. We're not deriving any meaning here. I'll leave it as an exercise to you to find that direct quote, as it'll be sure you actually read the comment :)
    - Rury 3y ago
      Sure, but blindly following something without question, isn't compression, even though both happen to involve reduction.
financltravsty 3y ago
Good and bad in the sense that they can achieve management's directives? Yes, anyone from any culture so long as they have a practical grasp of the language they're working in can adapt to the circumstance. But the culture starts at the top. Everything within the U.S. spiritual ecosystem is geared towards a superficial approach to all things. One example in the vein of engineering is Ford vs. Toyota. Anyone who has owned both of these can attest to the difference. There is a craftsmanship culture within Japan that I'm sure we're all acquainted with, but there are also much more subtle values at play (f.e. duty, sacrifice, etc.) that color everything an individual, and the society he makes up, touches. The individuals of America do not have strong values or sensibilities. I want to say this is because of its quality of being a "cultural melting pot." But this aspect of it doesn't turn it into a stone soup, where all the different and varied ingredients work together to make something unique, with surprisingly complimentary flavors. Instead, I think it turns into an actual crucible, where people of all different mettle are melted down; and all of the extraneous spiritual slag is scooped off the top, before being poured out as a completely uniform metal, without a noticeable difference batch-to-batch. Instead of refining and building upon a culture, as 99% of other nations do, America specializes in annihilating it, and integrating the stray quality here and there that it finds useful towards its ends. And its ends is something I cannot even begin to know.
- wewtyflakes 3y ago
  "Everything within the U.S. spiritual ecosystem is geared towards a superficial approach to all things" This is hyperbole, I don't think there will be any way to convince you.
  - financltravsty 3y ago
    I agree that there isn’t much of a chance I can be convinced otherwise, having travelled and having not been born in the U.S. I disagree that it is hyperbole. The main motive of this country seems to be exerting power over others. Whether that be through military, monetary, or quasi-cultural means: onto other nations and onto its own citizens. It’s very Prussian in its pursuit; and nothing that requires sensitivity can flourish here.
a-french-anon 3y ago
pg's essay on the subject is a must-read: http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html

It has been my experience that there are good and bad engineers from all origins; Americans do not have a monopoly on it in either direction, nor does anyone else.

ttoinou 3y ago

If you can't generalize then you can't think. Of course any affirmation can be turned down on the basis that it is not specific enough. OP is pointing at differences in cultures, they do exist.

wewtyflakes 3y ago
It sounded like the person I was responding to just wanted a lazy poo-poo soundbite. There are many examples of all of the countries mentioned making ridiculous/awful products and also amazing products.
alex_lav 3y ago
> If you can't generalize then you can't think If you blindly follow others' generalizations without question, you can't think.
- FredPret 3y ago
  Compression is a form of intelligence
  - scubbo 3y ago
    Short good
  - wewtyflakes 3y ago
    Sure if it isn't a losing material information in that process. It is easy to compress anything to true/false if you're willing to live with information loss. I think material information was lost in the aforementioned "Country X can't build anything" hot-take.
    - FredPret 3y ago
      So people compress to the point where the speed vs information loss tradeoff makes instinctive sense to them. You can dramatically increase your computing power if you're not constantly deriving everything from the fundamental physics and instead rely on some stereotypes. This ranges from "objects that look like that are chairs" to "I can sit on chairs" to "Americans can/can't do X"
      - alex_lav 3y ago
        It's amusing that this text chain is about derivations when in reality we can reference a direct quote. We're not deriving any meaning here. I'll leave it as an exercise to you to find that direct quote, as it'll be sure you actually read the comment :)
  - Rury 3y ago
    Sure, but blindly following something without question, isn't compression, even though both happen to involve reduction.

financltravsty 3y ago

Good and bad in the sense that they can achieve management's directives? Yes, anyone from any culture so long as they have a practical grasp of the language they're working in can adapt to the circumstance. But the culture starts at the top. Everything within the U.S. spiritual ecosystem is geared towards a superficial approach to all things. One example in the vein of engineering is Ford vs. Toyota. Anyone who has owned both of these can attest to the difference. There is a craftsmanship culture within Japan that I'm sure we're all acquainted with, but there are also much more subtle values at play (f.e. duty, sacrifice, etc.) that color everything an individual, and the society he makes up, touches. The individuals of America do not have strong values or sensibilities. I want to say this is because of its quality of being a "cultural melting pot." But this aspect of it doesn't turn it into a stone soup, where all the different and varied ingredients work together to make something unique, with surprisingly complimentary flavors. Instead, I think it turns into an actual crucible, where people of all different mettle are melted down; and all of the extraneous spiritual slag is scooped off the top, before being poured out as a completely uniform metal, without a noticeable difference batch-to-batch. Instead of refining and building upon a culture, as 99% of other nations do, America specializes in annihilating it, and integrating the stray quality here and there that it finds useful towards its ends. And its ends is something I cannot even begin to know.

wewtyflakes 3y ago
"Everything within the U.S. spiritual ecosystem is geared towards a superficial approach to all things" This is hyperbole, I don't think there will be any way to convince you.
- financltravsty 3y ago
  I agree that there isn’t much of a chance I can be convinced otherwise, having travelled and having not been born in the U.S. I disagree that it is hyperbole. The main motive of this country seems to be exerting power over others. Whether that be through military, monetary, or quasi-cultural means: onto other nations and onto its own citizens. It’s very Prussian in its pursuit; and nothing that requires sensitivity can flourish here.

a-french-anon 3y ago

pg's essay on the subject is a must-read: http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html