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I'm going to quote the paragraph you're responding to so that those just reading the comments can see what it actually says: > The marshmallow test also doesn’
by lolinder 2y ago
I'm going to quote the paragraph you're responding to so that those just reading the comments can see what it actually says:
> The marshmallow test also doesn’t account for cultural differences. In some cultures, waiting is baked into daily life. Think about Japan, where kids are often taught to wait quietly for meals or gifts. Compare that to the US, where instant gratification is practically a way of life. These cultural norms shape how kids approach situations like the marshmallow test. It’s not just about personality; it’s about the world they live in.
That's it. That's the entire quote about the effect of culture.
I see no mention of race or location—I see an argument that "the world they live in" affects children's ability to wait, and that culture is an important aspect of the world that kids live in.
Given that this is the actual text you're responding to, I'm not actually sure you disagree with them, because you go on to point out that smartphones are a dangerous component of modern culture.
- the__alchemist 2y agoCulture comparisons are a notoriously touchy topic. For some people, the topic itself is a taboo. I believe that's why the poster you're replying to had that reaction. For others, it's a topic to discuss and learn from.
- bluefirebrand 2y agoIt is important that we stop taking people who treat this topic as a taboo seriously at all This modern mentality of "all cultures are equal and valid and none are superior to any other" is just ridiculous Culture is something we are always looking to improve on. In this way, we are comparing our existing culture against hypothetical future cultures and deciding that one of them is more desirable If we can compare a real culture with a hypothetical culture, then we can certainly compare two real cultures using similar criteria
- guhidalg 2y agoYes but these comparisons of real cultures become very gross very fast. Japanese culture is orderly, neat, autonomous and their children are taught to wait at an early age. That's awesome! We should emulate Japan, clearly their culture is superior. Nevermind the salary-man trope, misogyny, Hikikomori, and rigidity that comes with it. Instead of thinking about cultures in terms of ranking, try to understand the history of why a culture is a certain way and appreciate why other cultures are not like that.
- the__alchemist 2y agoI think this is a good example demonstrating why it becomes taboo: If you reduce cultural differences into a "good/bad" or similar simplification, then the comparison loses value, and triggers defensive responses.
- bluefirebrand 2y agoSure, not everything is clear cut good/bad, but some things are The cultural relativism mentality that suggests we cannot judge other people's actions negatively "because that's their culture" is bullshit
- johnisgood 2y agoYeah, we can definitely judge anyone's behavior, we just should not do it blindly and we can despite or love someone for their actions, too, like why not? I despise cheaters, but I do not care, it is their life.
- rayiner 2y agoWe don’t need to “rank” cultures to recognize that individual aspects of culture are better adapted to current environments. My dad always says that “Bangladeshis don’t know how to name kids.” We don’t have surnames, but instead two given names. And everyone uses a nickname anyway that’s unrelated to the legal names. That is just inefficient and unwieldy in a modern world where social circles are larger than a village. So I have my dad’s last name and so do my kids. None of us like the name and it has no historical value but it makes things more efficient going forward.
- dctoedt 2y ago> We don’t have surnames, but instead two given names. ... So I have my dad’s last name .... Did your dad choose your last name? (Which, I've read, has a specific meaning in Hebrew, but I'm guessing your family isn't Jewish.)
- uoaei 2y agoI'm probably further left than most people you've met, and even I've come around to the idea that cosmopolitanism isn't the zenith of culture, but the negation of it.
- pmarreck 2y agoIf all cultures are forcibly considered equal, one corollary to that is that a culture itself can also never improve, or fail, because then a comparison to itself from a different age would also be forcibly considered to be equal. In that spirit, I welcome your dissertation on how the Germany of 2024 is equal to the Germany of 1944.
- joelfried 2y ago> I see no mention of race or location Location: "Think about Japan", "Compare that to the US" - this is a pretty straightforward comparison by location about culture based on location. It presumes a bunch and I'm grunching (and showing my age by using that term), and I'm not trying to disagree with you . . . just highlight the comparison you said you could not see.
- simplify 2y agoNo, that isn't right. It's the culture differences, not locations, that are being compared here. Location is only correlated to those differences; being in Japan vs being in the US doesn't guarantee the comparison.
- Swizec 2y ago> I see an argument that "the world they live in" affects children's ability to wait, and that culture is an important aspect of the world that kids live in Followup studies on the marshmallow test also showed that how well kids do depends on whether they trust adults. In less stable environments, kids learn that adults don’t (or cannot) keep their word. They simply do not believe the researcher who says there will be 2 marshmallows later. Better take 1 marshmallow now than risk losing even that one. If your life experience thusfar shows this is a more likely outcome. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-marshmallow-test-suggests-trust-matters/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-marshmallow-test-suggests-t...
- diob 2y agoWow, thanks for this. I can relate to this instability, but I'd never seen or heard of this follow on study.
- MetallicCloud 2y agoIt's at least half of what the article is about.
- ujkhsjkdhf234 2y agoThis is a White America thing and it is why we are in the situation we are in as a country but people want to pretend that race and culture doesn't play any role in anything. It does. You don't need to feel bad about it. Just acknowledge that it is a thing.
- redcobra762 2y agoIt's not a White America thing to reject race as a biological concept, it's consistent with scientific study.
- NoahKAndrews 2y agoRace isn't a biological concept, but a social one, and it unfortunately has very real impacts.
- Sohcahtoa82 2y agoHow is race not a biological concept? All the things that differentiate race are genetic. Culture and race are not synonymous.
- svachalek 2y agoBiologically there is no gene that makes you "white". In recent history, Irish people weren't white.
- strken 2y agoThis is a bit complicated and I'm going to do a bad job of explaining it. The argument is that there are population clines, which are biological, and then those population clines are divided into races by choosing to ignore or use specific traits at a certain point along the cline. This choice isn't biological, which makes race a social construct. The underlying population clines aren't always along the same gradient. Skin colour and physical size might be gradients that run a different way across a continent; skin colour might change north to south to north again due to sun intensity, while physical size might change based on altitude and terrain. There's no disagreement that both skin colour and size are partly biological, but the decision to use one over the other to differentiate races is social.