Do you think Finnish social customs are the explanation of this phenomenon? I.e. that it's not cool to be stupid the way it is in large swaths of the US?
Finland seems to have just as many loud stupid people as I'd imagine can be found in America. In schools, it's the same sort of thing - nerds vs jocks, etc.
Being stupid is certainly not cool, but not exactly frowned upon in the retard-circles either :p
Our social customs are a problem because somehow the whole nation feels like it's not "normal" to strike up a casual conversation with someone you don't already know.
I think that's part of why we seem so introvert. When we get to know others, we can then behave like normal people :)
It's just that getting there is needlessly difficult.
As you seem to have studied Japanese, how does this compare to Japanese culture? I see many East Asian cultural elements among several points in this thread. Also, how unique is this to Finland? I've heard the Swiss also share this "introvert" quality. And the Germans?
As far as I know, Finnish and Japanese people and societies share quite a few traits.
Some degree of introversion seems to be common to both, but based on two trips to Tokyo, I'd say that the Japanese are still considerably more relaxed than Finns are.
I can't comment on Switzerland or Germany, and I don't know much about the Japanese educational system, other than that they don't seem to be teaching English too well :p
I'm afraid that I'd need a more specific question to be able to offer some insight.
I ask because I have no first hand knowledge about Europe. I was told that among the Europeans, the Germans are most similar to Japanese. I can't think of an English equivalent now, but both people are said to "follow the book strictly."
There are many things to ask; I just wondered if you had a general impression about the comparison. You said they share quite a few traits -- for example?
There are some similarities between Finland and Japan that I've noticed or heard of.
Both countries have a relatively high suicide-rate.
Both societies frown upon someone who changes jobs frequently, and being unemployed is considered shameful and terrible in general.
The way we travel in public transports seems to be the same too. Everyone just sits there in silence :)
On a happier note, our languages often sound surprisingly similar.
- For example there are words in the Finnish language that happen to sound like words in the Japanese language.
The meanings are different of course, but at least to me, saying the word "sato" sounds exactly the same in both languages. In Finnish it means "crop" (as in what you reap), and in Japanese it means "village".
There are probably quite a few others like that.
I've been told that Finns most resemble the people in Hokkaido, the northmost area in Japan where the climate is supposedly like (southern?) Finland.
Germany? Maybe they're as methodological in Japan?
I studied German for about 5 years at school (voluntarily even), but nowadays I can probably make it through more sentences in Japanese without breaking any.
As far as I remember, we didn't hear much about their culture..
They had a fun way of wishing good luck though: "Hals- und Beinbruch!", which means something like "Neck- and leg-fractures!", as in "Break a leg!" :)
Well, you guys do belong in the same family of languages after all..
In Finland we just settle for saying "Onnea!" as in "Luck!".
The parallels between Germans and Japanese were indeed about being methodological. I am unsure how this idea really holds though, as the education systems are, AFAIK, very different. There's still much to find out...
