When the Japanese say "yes", they might mean "no". When the Germans say "no", they mean "no". When Israelis say "no" they might mean "maybe". And when the Chinese say "maybe" they might mean "no". And around and around it goes...
Those who work across world cultures know that few things are absolute; our perceptions of the world are distorted by our individual cultural biases. We think we know, we think we understand, we think we see the world as it really is. But our assumptions are strong, and can get in the way.
When it comes to cultural differences, our minds work much like they do with optical illusions. Take for example the checkerboard image above. The word "yes" is on a dark square, and the word "no" is on a light square, right? What if we told you that BOTH squares are exactly the same shade of grey?
Well, they are exactly the same shade. That's how powerful this illusion is. Our minds fixate on the checkerboard pattern which suggests a "black or white" choice. But in doing so, we fail to notice the globe's shadow, and how it impacts the actual shade of grey.
So before you email us to say it's not true on your screen, see for yourself. Drag the grey image above on the left over the checkerboard. It will mask the surrounding areas, and let you see the colors of the squares as they really are - devoid of any bias.
Here's another example we think you'll enjoy. How our language tricks us.
Those who work across world cultures know that few things are absolute; our perceptions of the world are distorted by our individual cultural biases. We think we know, we think we understand, we think we see the world as it really is. But our assumptions are strong, and can get in the way.
When it comes to cultural differences, our minds work much like they do with optical illusions. Take for example the checkerboard image above. The word "yes" is on a dark square, and the word "no" is on a light square, right? What if we told you that BOTH squares are exactly the same shade of grey?
Well, they are exactly the same shade. That's how powerful this illusion is. Our minds fixate on the checkerboard pattern which suggests a "black or white" choice. But in doing so, we fail to notice the globe's shadow, and how it impacts the actual shade of grey.
So before you email us to say it's not true on your screen, see for yourself. Drag the grey image above on the left over the checkerboard. It will mask the surrounding areas, and let you see the colors of the squares as they really are - devoid of any bias.
Here's another example we think you'll enjoy. How our language tricks us.
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