Winston wrote:
Instead of asking my dad, why don't you just explain it to me, so others here can understand it too as well? Why overcomplicate things?
Yeah I believe in genetic memory. How else can you explain how a cat, when born, automatically becomes a trained expert at catching mice, even though it has no training? lol
But what is your point about this? Are you saying that people like me have different inherent tendencies and that's why we feel "weaker" or don't fit into America?
I cannot explain the Taiwanese concept of 人情味 in English, some things you just have to have a Taiwanese person explain it to you in Taiwanese. Literally it means the flavor of human feelings/emotions/relations, but it's not something that I can easily put in English.
Cats have a inherent tendency to chase mice, but kittens need to taught by their mother how to kill and eat the mice. Where kittens or even tiger cubs are raised by humans, they still have the tendency to chase down prey, but don't know what to do with it (other than playing with their catch).
It's possible that someone who comes from one genetic background would have different inherent needs than someone else from a different background. By this I mean something that is inborn and not a learned behavior. Psychology tries to explain this with theories like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but it doesn't explain why some people need more of X vs. Y.
For example, some people would spend hours arguing their point with nothing tangible to gain, but they feel psychologically fulfilled. For me, I make a distinction between leisure vs. non-leisure. Time spent on leisure activities can be given away for free, versus non-leisure should be compensated. The psychological fulfillment of winning an argument itself has no value to me, because there's no prize and winning arguments make enemies out of people that you might need later.
Thus, before I bother to engage in any discussion, I consider:
1) is this leisure or non-leisure? (is this a freebie or not?)
2) is there a real consequence to winning/losing? (is there a prize?)
3) is my time worth the effort? (am I being paid for my efforts?)
Other people would have different priorities. For me, I think it's silly to have person A make a short, one sentence accusation, and person B spends the next hour typing an elaborate rebuttal. From a time/value standpoint, Person B loses by wasting a lot of time, and by even bothering to respond, he gives Person A unwarranted credibility. Furthermore, the more you talk (or type) the more you give away about yourself, which person A will use later to send another one-line attack and sends Person B foaming at the mouth.
In the open market, many details about yourself is worth money. For example, your address is worth 50 cents, your date of birth is worth $2, your driver's license # is worth $3, your social security number is worth $8, your credit history is worth $9, and your education background is worth $12. If you served in the military, your military record is worth $35. So next time, when you fill out forms, consider how much you're giving away to people who will turn around and sell it for a profit.
Of course, you probably don't think like me.
