27 January 2007
Britons vs. Americans
I read an interesting article by Patrick Cooke in the June 2003 Smithsonian called "Coalition of the Differing".
According to the article, the U.S. and British troops fighting in World War II had a difficult time communicating with each other.
"The Americans complained that the British were secretive and unfriendly; the British insisted that the Americans were simpleminded and boastful. The allies argued about everything."
Margaret Mead was brought into study the problem.
"Mead discovered that the two cultures possessed fundamentally different world views. One simple way to demonstrate this was to ask an Englishman and an American a single question: What's your favorite color? American servicemen quickly came up with a color, but the British asked, 'Favorite color for what? A flower? A necktie?' Mead concluded that Americans, raised in a melting pot, learned to seek a simple common denominator. To the British, this came across as unsophisticated. Conversely, the class-conscious British insisted on complex categories, each with its own set of values. Americans interpreted this tendency to subdivide as furtiveness. (After all, a person who can't name a favorite color must be hiding something.)"
I thought it was interesting, and it also explained why people get so annoyed with me for not have a favorite color! I always wondered why that bothered people. And it really did! I finally started saying "green" just to make them feel better.
According to the article, the U.S. and British troops fighting in World War II had a difficult time communicating with each other.
"The Americans complained that the British were secretive and unfriendly; the British insisted that the Americans were simpleminded and boastful. The allies argued about everything."
Margaret Mead was brought into study the problem.
"Mead discovered that the two cultures possessed fundamentally different world views. One simple way to demonstrate this was to ask an Englishman and an American a single question: What's your favorite color? American servicemen quickly came up with a color, but the British asked, 'Favorite color for what? A flower? A necktie?' Mead concluded that Americans, raised in a melting pot, learned to seek a simple common denominator. To the British, this came across as unsophisticated. Conversely, the class-conscious British insisted on complex categories, each with its own set of values. Americans interpreted this tendency to subdivide as furtiveness. (After all, a person who can't name a favorite color must be hiding something.)"
I thought it was interesting, and it also explained why people get so annoyed with me for not have a favorite color! I always wondered why that bothered people. And it really did! I finally started saying "green" just to make them feel better.
Labels: travel
# posted by mamurd @ 8:49 PM 
