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> they make graphing paper out of Excel to create a document I hate that shit too! They use Excel for the most pointless reasons. I've gotten all kinds of docu

> they make graphing paper out of Excel to create a document I hate that shit too! They use Excel for the most pointless reasons. I've gotten all kinds of documents as Excel spreadsheets when a simple word document would have sufficed. It might be too much of a stretch, but maybe this has something to do with so much time spent in childhood writing on 原稿用紙 making Japanese people prefer "grid-like" organization.

unsignedint 14y ago
You have a good point of there. Japanese does not have kerning, so it is the grid base to begin with. This and the fact that pictgraphical might be contributing relative acceptance of more texts. This is actually funny, as I was constantly making jokes in the past with my peers, where western people write very comprehensive documents with too much information, that Japanese counterpart often won't bother reading.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  > where western people write very comprehensive documents with too much information, that Japanese counterpart often won't bother reading. Yeah, I've run into that problem in the past. I have to make a conscious effort to simplify anything I write (or say) in English in order to ensure that Japanese people understand it. They usually won't tell me if they don't understand something, whereas I'm the opposite when it comes to Japanese, so that I can optimize my language learning.
  - jakerocheleau 14y ago
    > They usually won't tell me if they don't understand something Why do you think that is? Because I was raised to always ask questions and learn what you don't understand. I have never really "studied" with a Japanese friend or colleague so I can't say I've ever had the same experience.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      The standard explanation is that fear of loss of face[0] makes the Japanese not want to expose the fact that they don't understand what you're saying (or have written). 0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chinese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chi... (the Chinese explanation also largely applies to Japan)

unsignedint 14y ago

You have a good point of there. Japanese does not have kerning, so it is the grid base to begin with. This and the fact that pictgraphical might be contributing relative acceptance of more texts. This is actually funny, as I was constantly making jokes in the past with my peers, where western people write very comprehensive documents with too much information, that Japanese counterpart often won't bother reading.

w1ntermute 14y ago
> where western people write very comprehensive documents with too much information, that Japanese counterpart often won't bother reading. Yeah, I've run into that problem in the past. I have to make a conscious effort to simplify anything I write (or say) in English in order to ensure that Japanese people understand it. They usually won't tell me if they don't understand something, whereas I'm the opposite when it comes to Japanese, so that I can optimize my language learning.
- jakerocheleau 14y ago
  > They usually won't tell me if they don't understand something Why do you think that is? Because I was raised to always ask questions and learn what you don't understand. I have never really "studied" with a Japanese friend or colleague so I can't say I've ever had the same experience.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    The standard explanation is that fear of loss of face[0] makes the Japanese not want to expose the fact that they don't understand what you're saying (or have written). 0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chinese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chi... (the Chinese explanation also largely applies to Japan)