
Lessons from the Last Swiss Finishing School - secondary
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/08/lessons-from-the-last-swiss-finishing-school
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winningcontinue
I loved the fact that they pointed out: The women weren't there to earn wealth
but to learn how to look like they had inherited it. It's no surprise that
there were so many Chinese there. Social status is an very conscious part of
their society's psyche.

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CamperBob2
I thought that remark on the author's part was a bit flippant and
uncharitable. The Romanian flight attendant, for example, was there to learn
how to better empathize with her clientele, not to learn how to fool them.

Actually a pretty interesting article. Everyone who has ever met with an
investor, for instance, has an interest in the underlying social dynamics.
That appreciation seems to be what this sort of school tries to impart, rather
than merely training people to disguise themselves as heiresses or whatever.

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tralarpa
Is the spelling of "preëmptive" with a trema correct? I know of course what a
trema does, but I have never seen it being used in this word.

Sorry for being off-topic. Actually not so off-topic, considering how often
the word is used in CS :)

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CalRobert
It's a nice touch in some ways. Coöperate makes it obvious I am not referring
to something to do with chicken coops. If I were not a native speaker of
English I suspect words like that (and reëlect, etc) would be a challenge.

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thecopy
As a Swede "Coöperate" looks very weird, as ö is a letter very commonly used
in swedish.

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CalRobert
English used to have more of these handy characters (like þ) but sadly the
language is being denuded and stripped. Even the subjunctive form is almost
dead - most of the time it's "I wish I were there", not "I wish I was there",
dammit!

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ggm
I have little doubt they _try_ to teach the nouveau riche some manners but the
question remains: can they learn?

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deathtrader666
What makes you ask that question?

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ur-whale
That was a joke, I suspect.

