Westerners and Easterners see the world differently (New S..

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 07:11:11 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna
<hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> wrote:

>Westerners and Easterners see the world differently
>22:00 22 August 2005
>NewScientist.com news service
>Zeeya Merali
>
>Chinese and American people see the world differently –
>literally. While Americans focus on the central objects of
>photographs, Chinese individuals pay more attention to the image
>as a whole, according to psychologists at the University of
>Michigan, in Ann Arbor, US.
>
>Full story at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7882
>
>Similar article at
>http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/science/AP-Different-Views.html
>, but requires free registration.
>
>Hans-Georg

Certainly there are cultural differences between various
groups of people in general & yes, “Understanding that there is a real
difference in the way people think should form the basis of respect.”.

The operative word here is "should", however too often it's
our differences that many use as a basis for miss-understanding,
distrust or even discrimination.

I have respect for other ethnic, cultural heritage & beliefs
but here in the US I always fill out the US census information about
ethnicity by checking "other" & righting-in "human" as to "race".

Like any information, it can be used & or miss-used, so I
provide accurate information but no more than needed in this area were
it "might" be miss-used.

Having said that, this is why extended oversea's travel or
visits to other counties can be so beneficial. The cultural "norms"
are often different & taking the time to understand them better in
context can help one's overall "understanding" & is the beginning of
both wisdom & tolerance.

Relative to photography, I am certain their are some major
differences between cultures & ethnic groups in of what & how they
compose a picture. Most Americans in general traveling overseas tend
to focus on landmark objects/subjects to see & photograph & relatively
few talk much with the native people & take their picture in context
to their culture/environment. The landmarks do tell you something
about the people but not nearly as much as the people themselves can
if one has the time to talk to them. Speaking "their" language often
helps too.

Even browsing pbase.com by country, one can see some basic
compositional differences. Please understand that I am not putting
anybody or group down, just noting that we all tend to "see" &
"understand" the world a bit differently & this understanding
certainly effects how & where we aim or cameras.

Respectfully, DHB

..
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918