Last week when I was walking home I saw several people riding a scooter, wearing one of these face masks but NOT wearing a helmet.
Obviously they are concerned of dying of some lung disfunction/cancer in about 50 years but aren’t the least worried about dying on the spot when in an accident.
Is there any logic in it?
[quote=“belgian pie”]Last week when I was walking home I saw several people riding a scooter, wearing one of these face masks but NOT wearing a helmet.
Obviously they are concerned of dying of some lung disfunction/cancer in about 50 years but aren’t the least worried about dying on the spot when in an accident.
Is there any logic in it?[/quote]
Well, you’re in Taiwan, and the answer is quite obvious I think. 
As I have learned from my life, everything is subjective…So this would apply to logic. There are things in Taiwan that make me shake my head and go "LOrd have mercy " but then flip the coin and when I go back to the States, there will be things there that make me go “What in Christ’s name are they thinking!!!” 
I’m not one to complain about Taiwan, but tonight I had an experience that made me go “hmmmm”. Was in a clothing store and found something that I wanted to try on. Although they have a dressing room, when I went to try the dress on I was told no. I pushed them for a reason. “Because that dress is on sale. So you can’t try it on. But you can try other ‘non sale’ things on”.
WTF? :loco:
My thoughts exactly!
Do people in any country behave logically? :s
They do that in some places in the UK too.
“You people just don’t understand Taiwanese culture”…props to our departed Comrade.
Oh and in the USA, one can indeed try on “Sale” dresses - I speak from 1st hand knowledge with my former ‘shopaholic’ significant other.’ She never bought w/out a try-on.
[quote=“belgian pie”]Last week when I was walking home I saw several people riding a scooter, wearing one of these face masks but NOT wearing a helmet.
Obviously they are concerned of dying of some lung disfunction/cancer in about 50 years but aren’t the least worried about dying on the spot when in an accident.
Is there any logic in it?[/quote]
In Toronto during the 1991 transit strike, I rode my bicycle to work every day. I had a pollution mask and helmet. I was constantly stopped by other cyclists (sans helmets) who would ask where they could get a pollution mask.
It would appear Torontonians aren’t the sharpest pencils in the drawer either.
They do that in some places in the UK too.[/quote]
Where is the logic in that? If I buy something on “on sale” I shouldn’t bother with whether it fits or not? Sizes here vary. Sometimes size “small” is too big, other times it’s too small. I’m not going to waste 600NT on a dress that I may or may not be able to actually wear.
Well you’re a cheapskate. My G/F spends at least 3000NT when she buys something like a skirt. I wouldn’t mind so much, but she usually uses my money to buy it with.
As for shops not letting you try on clothes - this strikes me as rediculous. I’ve never heard of this back in the UK.
However, you must acknowledge that Sandman is from Scotland where the wearing of kilts is not deemed abnormal. As the Scots are rumoured not to wear underwear during the donning of such an article, the trying on of clothing before purchase may well infringe on sensible hygiene practices.
Hey awesome! More sweeping generalisations based on a single observation! Forumosa needs more of these, keep it up.
kamiwaza
[quote=“kamiwaza”]Hey awesome! More sweeping generalisations based on a single observation! Forumosa needs more of these, keep it up.
kamiwaza[/quote]
Easy now. Observations are always a “sample of one”. Part of the reason for posting it is to see whether others have had the same experience.
Now for the reality check: How many totally new and revolutionary business practices and customs have you seen here? If it’s happening in one place, the odds are pretty high it’s happening elsewhere, and in exactly the same way for exactly the same non-reason.
They do that in some places in the UK too.[/quote]
Really? Completely illogical practice. I’ve never heard of that in the US.
Ha! I had the exact same thing happen at Black Milk on Dunhua Rd. The lady actually ripped the shorts from my hand. She told me they were “pianyi” so I couldn’t try them on. (They were 300nt, which is not that “pianyi” anyway).
Excuse me but only if something is FREE will I not try it on! It was also displayed on a street rack, not in the store. So I took the shorts, went outside to the sidewalk and tried them on there. (I had on a skirt, so no problem). They looked at me with the same disbelief that I had when the crazed woman informed me of this asinine policy. So I felt vindicated for a moment anyway.
I don’t know about logic, but one thing I do notice is this ability to have knowledge that exists in a compartment that somehow fails to influence a person’s decision making process. People know things, but they fail to change their behaviour at all, or they just miss the connection between what they know and what they do.
For example:
“Oh my goodness, the traffic in Taiwan is awful!” (immediately throws a u-turn without looking in any of the mirrors first)
“The pollution in Taiwan is terrible!” (prods the plastic bits further into the garbage fire he’s just started)
“There’s garbage everywhere, it’s shameful!” (winds down the window and tosses his beteljuice cup out)
OTOH, maybe the Taiwanese are simply true liberals, able to hold opposing beliefs at the same time, and with equal conviction 
seeker4, I’m sorry, but I get tired of seeing these negative generalisations. How often do you see threads about Taiwanese people smart or friendly or generous? Rarely; yet I know that (some) Taiwanese people are all of these. There are illogical/stupid/smart/racist/kind/loving/hateful people everywhere, and it’s not decided by your nationality (or race).
To put the boot on the other foot: A Taiwanese person reading Forumosa could easily come to the conclusion that all non-Taiwanese are bigoted bellyachers, and they would actually have more evidence for their case than belgian pie has for his/hers.
Bollocks. Observations do not have to be, and they’re better when they’re based on a larger sample.
kamiwaza
[quote=“kamiwaza”]seeker4, I’m sorry, but I get tired of seeing these negative generalisations. How often do you see threads about Taiwanese people smart or friendly or generous? Rarely; yet I know that (some) Taiwanese people are all of these. There are illogical/stupid/smart/racist/kind/loving/hateful people everywhere, and it’s not decided by your nationality (or race).
To put the boot on the other foot: A Taiwanese person reading Forumosa could easily come to the conclusion that all non-Taiwanese are bigoted bellyachers, and they would actually have more evidence for their case than belgian pie has for his/hers.[/quote]
Change ‘all’ to ‘most’ and they would be right about the non-Taiwanese with respect to their attitudes towards the way things seem to be done here. But things happen for a reason, and we didn’t all come here assuming that we were smarter than the locals.
I’ve seen plenty of threads about Taiwanese being friendly or generous, including the one I started a few days ago about how honest people often are too. But I work in education and, in comparison to my schooling, I have to say that ‘logic’ is not taught or valued as highly here as most of us are used to.
Try marking ‘academic’ essays written by Taiwanese candidates for IELTS or TOEFL for a while. There are always exceptions but in the vast majority of cases the student appears incapable of putting together a logical, coherent or structured argument. They might have ‘good’ English with lots of useful vocabulary and acceptable grammar, but the content usually leaves a lot to desire.
I would be delighted to see something like this from someone intending to do a Masters degree this year:
But it happens very rarely. Why is that?
Here’s another one:
S: This class is too much fun. I need to study harder.
T: I want you to use the English you have learned already. There is no point learning more words if you can’t form a sentence.
S: I have no time. I must pass IELTS.
T: You need to improve your English. There is no point studying more vocabulary if you can’t form a sentence.
S: I must pass IELTS
T: IELTS measures your ability to use English effectively. What was your grade in the placement test?
S: Very low.
T: So you need to improve your English.
S: I need to pass IELTS.
T: What is the best way to get the grade you need.
S: Study harder.
T: How long have you been studying hard?
S: Fifteen years.
T: Has it helped?
S: I must pass IELTS.
T: You need to improve your ability by 30%, in three months.
S: Yes.
T: You want to continue using the same methods as before, and expect to get 1/3 better in 1/60th of the time you have already studied.
S: I must pass IELTS.
T: But you don’t speak fucking English!
S: I want to go to a class where I can learn more vocabulary.
Logic? No chance.
[quote=“Loretta”]
T: How long have you been studying hard?
S: Fifteen years.
T: Has it helped?
S: I must pass IELTS.[/quote]You know that a textbook test for insanity is the repetition of the same behaviour, expecting different results to somehow occur? Seems to me that by this definition, a lot of people here are not playing with a full deck.
Sccooter driver: Doctor, what’s wrong with my son? Everytime it rains, if we go on the scooter, he becomes agitated and he’s kicking and moaning.
Doctor: Do not worry it’s absolutley normal.
Scooter driver: eh?
Doctor: Yes, my daughter does the same. I would not worry about it.
Scooter driver: Oh? Will it improve with age?
Doctor: Yes but his children will have it too. Nothing to be overly concerned about.
Scooter driver: Thank you Doctor.
Me: How about if when it rains,you do not pull the rain coat hood up if you actually put the rain coat on backward?
Doctor: ???
Scooter driver???
Me: The kid can’t bloody breathe!!! I see it everytime it rains. Mom with kid on the scooter, raincoat backward and hood up?! Wind in the face, kid choking. Might as well put a plastic bag over your child’s head.
Doctor: ???
Scooter driver: ???
Me: 
Scooter driver: :loco:
Doctor: That’s what we teach kids to do (plastic bag on the head)in case there is a fire. :s
Me: How did “we” not think of that? …
On a more serious note, I agree with Namahottie. You’ll find that anywhere in the world, people are “different”. Often, we assume it’s lack of logic and common sense. I think we assume right. Sometimes the consequences are benign other times…Dramatic.