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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: August 19, 2003 WebWord Comment -- I'm in China right now and yesterday I ate pigeon. I used chopsticks and I think I did OK with them. In one meal at a Korean barbeque, I was using metal chopsticks which is more difficult than wooden ones because they don't grip the food as well. Still, despite thinking that I did a good job, I was a little child in skill compared with my Chinese associates. If you've never used chopsticks I strongly encourage you to try them. They make the food seem different, even the taste and texture. Consider this. If you don't have silverware you can't cut your food. No knife, no cutting. You pick it up and take a bite from it, or eat the whole thing. Furthermore, it is hard to eat only one part of food, at least if you aren't experienced. This means that you take a different type of bite. I was kind of forced by my lack of skill to eat more fat on some meat than I would at home because I couldn't carve it off. It really wasn't too bad. On a different topic, I've noticed that color is used differently. I was leaving a building today and I used my access card. The light on the door started off as green (open?) but when I waved my card in front of it, it turned red. So, at least for the door access, green is closed and red is open. Is this typical in China? I don't know. I'll investigate. Also, like many places in Europe, to turn on a light you flick the switch down. To turn the light off, you flick up. Totally different than how it works in the United States. Small scale things like this interest me very much. Why should up be on? It is just something arbitrary when you think about it. That's all for this posting. More later. (I just read this posting. Boy, I'm tired. I really rambled.)
Reader Comments...
Red and green do have the "opposite" meaning in China than they do for most Western countries. My brother has spent the past two summers interning in China, and during one tour of a stock exchange he noted that stocks on the rise are marked in red and those dropping in value are in green. I found that fascinating, and am planning some international usability research on this very topic. Posted by: Ryan on August 19, 2003 12:30 PM
I love chopsticks because they're binary. No left or right handedness. Elegant and poetic. Re: Your red/green experience. A great example of why Intuitive isn't necessarily a good thing. Intuitive = uses readily transferred, existing skills. Any WebCams you can pose in front of at a pre-agreed time? Posted by: Mac on August 19, 2003 12:50 PM
I work at a large company and our access card panels are also green when you approach but turn red when you swipe the card. This has always bothered me. My interpretation is that green = secure, all systems fine whereas red = alert, door has been disarmed. In other words, the color reflects the state of the alarm system, rather than communication to the passer-by. Posted by: Libby on August 19, 2003 01:45 PM
"Re: Your red/green experience. A great example of why Intuitive isn't necessarily a good thing." Of course how to properly design a light switch in regards to intuitive design is probably a more accurate example. Or which way to turn a key to unlock a door. Still, I see your point. Posted by: Paolo on August 19, 2003 02:38 PM
"Any WebCams you can pose in front of at a pre-agreed time?" 1. No access. 2. No time. Sorry! Posted by: John S. Rhodes on August 19, 2003 06:56 PM
What about road sign ? (In China) It's also Red = Go, Green = Stop ? Posted by: on August 20, 2003 03:10 AM
I wonder how the Department of China's Homeland Security Alert System works... Red = no threat On the serious side, don't Far East Asians have a superstition with certain colors? I thought I remembered seeing something about that on a Las Vegas high rollers documentary. Posted by: Darin on August 20, 2003 10:05 AM
UP = ON seems like a pretty natural mapping to me, since up corresponds to more energy. Not quite as good as forward on a car seat adjuster slider = forward movement of the seat, but still pretty good. Posted by: Ralph on August 20, 2003 10:17 AM
The on/off thing is just a US thing. In most other parts of the world, it's the other way around. Silly self-centred Americans. Have you eaten snake meat yet? How do you communicate? Posted by: I am who I am on August 20, 2003 01:30 PM
Living in Hong Kong, China, I am always pleased to see the reactions of people when you can even say a little in Chinese, like "thank you" or "no problem" - it shows some acceptance and its received well. I am still mastering the chop sticks :) Posted by: Daniel Szuc on August 20, 2003 08:26 PM
The ultimate chopstick test (besides trying to catch flies a la Karate Kid) is how many peanuts you can pick up at once. At the very restaurant where you were, I could do 2 with the metal (and agreeably more difficult) chopsticks. I think I did 3 once a couple of years in Hong Kong. Probably luck though (or maybe lego-shaped peanuts).
A collection of "small scale things" that may interest you, great site:
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