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For me this is too much rationalization for a single fact: people hate to change, even if it is for the better. So simple. I study Chinese and I am 100% certai

For me this is too much rationalization for a single fact: people hate to change, even if it is for the better. So simple. I study Chinese and I am 100% certain than the reason Chinese did not develop like the West was the printing press and the superior method it is to have to print 25-30 symbols instead of 30.000. Just look at Chinese and even Japanese delay in getting to use computers as ASCII was so simple compared to their language. Japanese use kanji(chinese symbols) for lots of things. The Chinese writing came first, the Indian copied the Chinese language and basically improved over them, then the Greeks copied that via Persia, and then the Romans copied the Greeks. Romans started copying Greek culture because they were so ignorant compared with the Greeks, let alone Chinese at the time. But at the same time, they started anew.The language was so refined, and it took the best thing of each iteration(better than Greek, better than Indian Scripts, better than Chinese). I worked with someone doing programming and the fact that I used Vim instead of a visual text editor really infuriated him. So one day I explained it to him and expended 30 to 40 min teaching him why it was so good for me. He looked confused. One month later he only used vim. The reason most people don't use programs like vim or emacs is because it takes some effort to learn before you get the benefits. The same happens with metric or any other measurement system.

richdougherty 12y ago
> The Chinese writing came first, the Indian copied the Chinese language and basically improved over them, then the Greeks copied that via Persia, and then the Romans copied the Greeks. Latin script's origins are in Egypt and Sumer, not in China. Writing was invented in the Near East about 3200BCE and about 1200BCE in China.
- Htsthbjig 12y ago
  When I say the Chinese came first I did not want to say that they invented writing. I am talking about sophistication in language,not just script. Most of the early Egyptian and Sumer writings are very simple accountings, mostly numbers. Very little to do with what we consider writing today. latin is called an Indo-European language becomes it comes from India. Not just the language, but the race.
  - richdougherty 12y ago
    > I am talking about sophistication in language,not just script. Most of the early Egyptian and Sumer writings are very simple accountings, mostly numbers. Very little to do with what we consider writing today. I guess sophistication is subjective, but a lot of Chinese writing was just record keeping too, and there was literature in Egypt and Sumer, e.g. the Epic of Gilgamesh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_literature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_literature > latin is called an Indo-European language becomes it comes from India. Not just the language, but the race. The most popular theory is that the Proto-Indo-European language had its origins in Eastern Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_origins

richdougherty 12y ago

> The Chinese writing came first, the Indian copied the Chinese language and basically improved over them, then the Greeks copied that via Persia, and then the Romans copied the Greeks. Latin script's origins are in Egypt and Sumer, not in China. Writing was invented in the Near East about 3200BCE and about 1200BCE in China.

Htsthbjig 12y ago
When I say the Chinese came first I did not want to say that they invented writing. I am talking about sophistication in language,not just script. Most of the early Egyptian and Sumer writings are very simple accountings, mostly numbers. Very little to do with what we consider writing today. latin is called an Indo-European language becomes it comes from India. Not just the language, but the race.
- richdougherty 12y ago
  > I am talking about sophistication in language,not just script. Most of the early Egyptian and Sumer writings are very simple accountings, mostly numbers. Very little to do with what we consider writing today. I guess sophistication is subjective, but a lot of Chinese writing was just record keeping too, and there was literature in Egypt and Sumer, e.g. the Epic of Gilgamesh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_literature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_literature > latin is called an Indo-European language becomes it comes from India. Not just the language, but the race. The most popular theory is that the Proto-Indo-European language had its origins in Eastern Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_origins