In the context. Japanese has the same issue and that's how they deal with it.
No, they don't. That is one of the key roles of Kanji, to help distinguish which of up to a dozen homynyms is being referred to, which would be impossible with just Hiragana, and is one reason why the use of Kanji has also withstood calls for simplification.
Is it surprising that this same brain does not do well when forced to isolate down to one task
Is the author trying to imply that it is his highly-developed, "multi-tasking" brain that gets bored with focusing on the task of jogging and thus prevents him from running miles? Please...it's the 12 hours a day of being stuck in front of a PC (for work or play) that has caused the rest of his body to go to waste. It's called being out of shape, and it doesn't help to dance around the fact by trying to claim it has something to do with your superior intelligence (though that seems to be the knee-jerk reaction of the geek-crowd when it's time to explain a perceived deficiency or weakness).
Yes, I have worked in the service industry (food service), and I understand the hardships involved. I think we are missing each other by going to extreme cases to make our respective points (no one is condoning slavery-like work conditions here) -- my gripe is with what the service industry conceives of as "what the customer needs them to do," and then needing to be inticed to do even that. Of course, if you want to get technical about it, the only thing I "need" to have done is to have my drink handed to me/product scanned -- but the idea that to technically fullfill that base need and absolutely nothing further is the purpose of the service industry is the problem I am getting at -- That if I scan your gallon of milk and throw it in a bag on top of your bread, I have done my job because your milk was scanned and in the bag, isn't it, and that's what you needed, wasn't it (you want careful, pack the bags in place of me, because being careful isn't my job) -- that's the kind of mentality I am pointing at and calling out as flawed. And though you may be tempted to say that kind of thing isn't that common, or managers handle workers with that kind of attitude, it happens all the time, in all segments of the industry, and at all levels of management, for it seems to be inherent in the industry's own understanding of itself.
I am well aware however that social issues and wages play a big part in the differences in service in counrties like the US and Japan.
Again, my main point was that I feel that the fundamental understanding of the service industry here, and what it means to be a member of it, is a bit backwards, that's all.
Points well taken -- of course all human interactions are two-way streets, though one could argue about the meaning of service in such a context -- I don't see the service industry I am referring to as the kind of "i-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine" two way street you mention, because in lieu of scratching your back (or providing you with a service of my own) I am handing over money, and that, one could argue, should cover my entry fee into the good-service club, not my personal disposition. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that servers deserve to be treated poorly any more than customers do -- in a perfect world everyone would treat each other respectfully. But consider two people, a customer and service provider, approach each other on neutral terms, before any real-interaction takes place -- that so many people believe it is still up to the customer at that point to earn good service, rather than hold the service provider responsible for providing it up front, is the base mentality that I have trouble with -- shouldn't good service be for the customer to lose (through rudeness, etc) rather than struggle to earn?
But the final sentence above exposes the core of a problem that has always pissed me off about the service industry in the US.
rude or impatient clients would get f*9&% zilch from me.
For reasons that will ever remain mystical to me, much of service industry here has magically put the onus of enabling good service on the customer -- the customer must behave in such a way as to deserve good service. What the poster and most of the industry seem to forget, is that the customer has handed over hard earned money (or is about to), and is not endebted to the service provider or otherwise oweing something in return for good service. Indeed, the service provider is receiving a paycheck regardless of the customer's mood, and to provide the service is the job they elected to do. The very idea that the paying customer owes the bartender/waitress/whatever a smile/pat on the back/whatever to receive pleasant service is so backwards it boggles the mind -- perhaps said "grumpy" customers would be more pleasant if they knew the person behind the bar weren't sulky/petulant and/or interested in actually doing the job they had signed up for.
I don't know what service industry workers would think were they to visit a country like Japan, but it would be an interesting experience for sure.
It is not like me to be overly critical of someone who has obviously worked very hard on a creative project, but for the sake of the writer (and his future efforts), I feel compelled to comment on the quality of the writing. It's pretty bad. I realize that the lego models probably consumed most of his time and energy, but in many spots the writing wasn't even grammatically correct (and I think that there is a difference between breaking grammatical rules purposefully, and simply not knowing them from the outset). Out of curiosity, does anyone know how old the author is?
The models were great!
But the author could do with some more reading.
Good luck with your next project!
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In the context. Japanese has the same issue and that's how they deal with it.
No, they don't. That is one of the key roles of Kanji, to help distinguish which of up to a dozen homynyms is being referred to, which would be impossible with just Hiragana, and is one reason why the use of Kanji has also withstood calls for simplification.
High marks for geek arrogance...
Is it surprising that this same brain does not do well when forced to isolate down to one task
Is the author trying to imply that it is his highly-developed, "multi-tasking" brain that gets bored with focusing on the task of jogging and thus prevents him from running miles? Please...it's the 12 hours a day of being stuck in front of a PC (for work or play) that has caused the rest of his body to go to waste. It's called being out of shape, and it doesn't help to dance around the fact by trying to claim it has something to do with your superior intelligence (though that seems to be the knee-jerk reaction of the geek-crowd when it's time to explain a perceived deficiency or weakness).
Yes, I have worked in the service industry (food service), and I understand the hardships involved. I think we are missing each other by going to extreme cases to make our respective points (no one is condoning slavery-like work conditions here) -- my gripe is with what the service industry conceives of as "what the customer needs them to do," and then needing to be inticed to do even that. Of course, if you want to get technical about it, the only thing I "need" to have done is to have my drink handed to me/product scanned -- but the idea that to technically fullfill that base need and absolutely nothing further is the purpose of the service industry is the problem I am getting at -- That if I scan your gallon of milk and throw it in a bag on top of your bread, I have done my job because your milk was scanned and in the bag, isn't it, and that's what you needed, wasn't it (you want careful, pack the bags in place of me, because being careful isn't my job) -- that's the kind of mentality I am pointing at and calling out as flawed. And though you may be tempted to say that kind of thing isn't that common, or managers handle workers with that kind of attitude, it happens all the time, in all segments of the industry, and at all levels of management, for it seems to be inherent in the industry's own understanding of itself.
I am well aware however that social issues and wages play a big part in the differences in service in counrties like the US and Japan. Again, my main point was that I feel that the fundamental understanding of the service industry here, and what it means to be a member of it, is a bit backwards, that's all.
Points well taken -- of course all human interactions are two-way streets, though one could argue about the meaning of service in such a context -- I don't see the service industry I am referring to as the kind of "i-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine" two way street you mention, because in lieu of scratching your back (or providing you with a service of my own) I am handing over money, and that, one could argue, should cover my entry fee into the good-service club, not my personal disposition. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that servers deserve to be treated poorly any more than customers do -- in a perfect world everyone would treat each other respectfully. But consider two people, a customer and service provider, approach each other on neutral terms, before any real-interaction takes place -- that so many people believe it is still up to the customer at that point to earn good service, rather than hold the service provider responsible for providing it up front, is the base mentality that I have trouble with -- shouldn't good service be for the customer to lose (through rudeness, etc) rather than struggle to earn?
But the final sentence above exposes the core of a problem that has always pissed me off about the service industry in the US.
rude or impatient clients would get f*9&% zilch from me.
For reasons that will ever remain mystical to me, much of service industry here has magically put the onus of enabling good service on the customer -- the customer must behave in such a way as to deserve good service. What the poster and most of the industry seem to forget, is that the customer has handed over hard earned money (or is about to), and is not endebted to the service provider or otherwise oweing something in return for good service. Indeed, the service provider is receiving a paycheck regardless of the customer's mood, and to provide the service is the job they elected to do. The very idea that the paying customer owes the bartender/waitress/whatever a smile/pat on the back/whatever to receive pleasant service is so backwards it boggles the mind -- perhaps said "grumpy" customers would be more pleasant if they knew the person behind the bar weren't sulky/petulant and/or interested in actually doing the job they had signed up for. I don't know what service industry workers would think were they to visit a country like Japan, but it would be an interesting experience for sure.
It is not like me to be overly critical of someone who has obviously worked very hard on a creative project, but for the sake of the writer (and his future efforts), I feel compelled to comment on the quality of the writing. It's pretty bad. I realize that the lego models probably consumed most of his time and energy, but in many spots the writing wasn't even grammatically correct (and I think that there is a difference between breaking grammatical rules purposefully, and simply not knowing them from the outset). Out of curiosity, does anyone know how old the author is? The models were great! But the author could do with some more reading. Good luck with your next project!