They say that Eskimos have many different words for snow, and that this is because snow is so important to them. Apparently, the Eskimo story is not true, but I can personally vouch for the fact that Spaniards (or at least, the ones I know) distinguish between many different types of bread, all of which look, smell and taste exactly the same to me. I have been going to Spain on a regular basis for the basis 30 years, and I am still unable to make even the most basic distinctions between fresh bread - to me, bread is bread: if it's fresh, I like it, if not, I like it a lot less. Other than that, all bread is basically the same.
I have the same thing with cars, and I know why: I couldn't care less. For me, cars are a method for getting from one place to another. I am of course aware that the type of car you own also sends a message about who you are (or who you think you are), but I prefer to judge people first on the basis of criteria other than their social group or standing.
I am sure many readers from the West will have also thought about the old cliche that people from the East "all look the same", even though we all know that they don't, and that it is just a question of distance: those of us who grew up in the East have absolutely no difficulty recognizing individual Chinese among a crowd.
What is interesting about these different situations is how other people react when you fail to distinguish what is obvious to them. In almost all cases*, you are either put into the "insider, in the know" category or the "clueless outsider" category.
*I have to admit that I have no idea how Eskimos would react to my absolute ignorance about snow, but I do know other people who care enough about snow to distinguish different types (namely people that ski), and they definitely have a - often poorly hidden - condescending attitude towards those of us who don't.
I have the same thing with cars, and I know why: I couldn't care less. For me, cars are a method for getting from one place to another. I am of course aware that the type of car you own also sends a message about who you are (or who you think you are), but I prefer to judge people first on the basis of criteria other than their social group or standing.
I am sure many readers from the West will have also thought about the old cliche that people from the East "all look the same", even though we all know that they don't, and that it is just a question of distance: those of us who grew up in the East have absolutely no difficulty recognizing individual Chinese among a crowd.
What is interesting about these different situations is how other people react when you fail to distinguish what is obvious to them. In almost all cases*, you are either put into the "insider, in the know" category or the "clueless outsider" category.
*I have to admit that I have no idea how Eskimos would react to my absolute ignorance about snow, but I do know other people who care enough about snow to distinguish different types (namely people that ski), and they definitely have a - often poorly hidden - condescending attitude towards those of us who don't.
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