Quiet by Susan Cain Part III

Do All Cultures Have an Extrovert Ideal?

Soft Power

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

This section of Quiet by Susan Cain explores the different cultural outlook of the “perfect” or “ideal” boss.  Mainly looking into Asian countries ideals.

It seems that the extrovert ideal is not important at all to Asian countries.  Indulgence of sound is important to them, but it is opposite from Americans where the sound they should indulge in comes from.  Asian families would much rather instill a “listen before speaking” basis in their children.   Listening is much more important for finding information and making well rounded, well thought out decisions.

Personally, I think this is very important in the case of understanding Asian culture and people.  In fact, I think this rule is brilliant.  I do not find having grades for how much you speak in class, just to get a grade for being loud without understanding anything, is a good thing.  I think it is lazy teaching and shows that culture in America prizes loud and noisy people over well thought out and well aimed articulate people.  China and Japan prizes the quiet and well spoken people.  They are number one in industry for a reason, and I think this is a beautiful way of thinking because it prizes respect and thought over being spoken over and not thinking about things.  Obviously America prizes loud noisy people, our cabinet is full of them.  Our president is a perfect way to show this.  He is loud and intimidating, but as shown what has he to show he thinks?  Not much but his words.  His tweets sure don’t.

Back to the subject, the book gives examples of how surprised immigrants from Asian countries were to sit in an American classroom for the first time.  Susan Cain met and interviewed Hung Wei Chien, a mother in Cupertino, California who moved from Taiwan to the U.S. in 1979.

“I remember bring amazed.  It was linguistics class, and that’s not even linguistics the students are talking about!  I thought, ‘oh, in the U.S., as soon as you start talking, you’re fine.”   while as she reminisced about her time as a child growing up and attending school back in Taiwan, she commented “The teaching back home is very different from here.  There, you learn the subject, and they test you.  At least when I grew up, they don’t go off subject a lot, and they don’t allow the students to ramble.  If you stand up and talk nonsense, you’ll be reprimanded.”

This section of Quiet followed the differences in what the U.S. prided its students off of verses what Asian countries prided themselves off of.  It explains the importances they set on the basis of their counties and contributes to societal affairs and the economy of the country as a whole.

My take on this section of the book is that the United States puts too much importance on just talking instead of also talking to listen as well.  I believe there needs to be a balance between the two.  These are both incredible aspects to pride off of, but if there is not one to listen what is the point of talking and if there is no one to talk what is the point of listening?

Author: Marley Roberson

When days leave you they roll off in a way hard to catch, hard not to let them drawl away. I find myself wondering if i have ever lived without that static in the background of my mind where memory lapse has no time scale or visual screen. So, to combat the delusion that my memory has no eyes, i write. I write more or less to prove to myself that my mind can speak, my memory can video tape, and my hands have more purpose than just picking things up that I never hold too long.