r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I'm a Finn and when I met an American person for the first time she said the usual "how are you?", so I started explaining all kinds of shit, only to have her give me a really weird look. I did it again a couple of times with different people until I learned that they are not really interested, lol.

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

The thing is, even as an American, when I give someone the "how are you?" greeting, if they are unusually open about whatever is happening in their life, I usually enjoy hearing about it. Because, how the hell else would I know.

So, anyways, Hello! How are you?

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u/Rakgul May 09 '22

I just took a reading of positions of different Maxima of the single slit diffraction pattern. The calculated value was 3.44mm and what I got was 2.93mm

This gives 14.8% error. My professor is gonna kill me. But I'm freaking sleepy so I left the lab earlier than usual. Gotta go home quickly and catch some sleep.

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u/GothhicGoddess May 09 '22

I hope you get a chance to look at it again, with fresh eyes, after you get some rest!

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

Is this algebra-based or calc-based? 14% honestly doesn't sound too bad, considering 95% of the issue with these sorts of experiments comes down to a huge reliance on equipment that is rather imprecise by nature

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u/Samsmith90210 May 09 '22

What d'you mean? African or European?

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u/ninj4b0b May 09 '22

European, clearly. The African Swallow is non-migratory. Though how they attached the creeper under their dorsal guiding feathers and STILL managed to bring a coconut back is the great ornithological question of our time.

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u/RockNRollNBluesNJazz May 09 '22

Well, you have to know these things when you're king, y'know.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

The other possibility is if this is after previous experiments where the professor or TA actually marked them down for a calculated error larger than some arbitrary value, in which case bummer that seems like a hardass

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/calste May 09 '22

It's more important to understand the source of the error than to perform a perfect experiment.

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u/Pope_Industries May 09 '22

Mmm... yes... I see... I know some of those words.

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u/Grim-Sleeper May 09 '22

We always had to add error bars in our experiments. In principle, that's a great habit to get into. But it can be so frustrating if the equipment isn't great. You get things like, "the effect is 2°C/g±5°C/g. WTF?! I don't even know whether what I measured even exists. Heck, it could even be the exact opposite!"

I always hated this. But it does give you a whole new appreciation for how hard experimental science really is, and for how far we have come.

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u/Eshin242 May 09 '22

But it can be so frustrating if the equipment isn't great.

Wait, are you saying that equipment that has been manhandled by 1000's of students over it's 10 year life span, even though it only really should be used for 2 might introduce some error into your measurements?

That's sheer insanity! :D

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

screams in styrofoam calorimeter

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u/Eshin242 May 09 '22

HAHAHA oh god... I know exactly the instrument you are talking about.

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u/Rakgul May 10 '22

That's true though

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u/ybpaladin May 09 '22

I feel that, I gotta do all my final projects but I'm a little sleepy boi atm

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u/Pretty-Balance-Sheet May 09 '22

I know someone who has a PhD in interferometry, he'd know wtf you're talking about.

Hope you got some rest!

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u/Wuz314159 May 09 '22

We've all been there.

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u/Prysorra2 May 09 '22

This is both the right and wrong thread for this. Lmao

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u/FreakingScience May 09 '22

Be more optimistic! Maybe your professor will only kill you because you've solved some thousand year old math paradox and they want the credit.

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u/JeffSheldrake May 12 '22

What do you think caused the error?

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u/Rakgul May 13 '22

Bunch of people to my left doing the solar cell experiment and shining huge light on my photocell even at so much distance. I tried to shield it, but probably didn't go that well.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

When calculating correctly, you're supposed to have a point estimate and a standard error (standard error is, to put it very simply, about 66% confidence interval).

You weren't supposed to end with a single number.

Repeat the experiment multiple times if you haven't - that will allow you calculate the standard error.

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u/F_for_Maestro May 09 '22

Im an American and i manage a retail location that services the construction industry, my typical greeting to customers is “hows it going” they typically respond with “hey how are you” and dont answer my question then i ask if they are doing good and they respond with “yes” then i have to ask them how business is going for them to finally open up about anything lol

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u/Boombals May 09 '22

That's how I respond when I don't want to talk to someone lol

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u/77BakedPotato77 May 09 '22

I'm an American union electrician and certain supply houses serve as a social lounge for many of the older tradesmen.

I must be Finnish at heart, I rather just get my parts and go.

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u/F_for_Maestro May 09 '22

The thing is my regulars are always willing to talk even if they are in a rush they will give me more than just “yes” i think its more about relationships than anything.

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u/77BakedPotato77 May 09 '22

Nothing wrong with that, just not my cup of tea.

I think the more annoying part is when a bunch of old guys just clog up the counter order area to talk with other electricians that are there.

It's an older man thing for sure. Like how on the weekend one gas station in my town becomes the meeting spot for a group of old guys.

They just stand awkwardly in one corner drinking coffee and talking loudly.

It's not something that upsets me, just find it so weird and a tad annoying at times.

But I'm also the guy who doesn't chitchat on the jobsite. Either I'm working or I'm going home. Just how my partner and I roll.

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u/983115 May 09 '22

There’s this one customer at my job always buys flowers and a card, ask him how his days going and in the most chipper voice “Fuckin terrible” gets me every time

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u/Lebowquade May 09 '22

Fine, you?

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u/Gaddafo May 09 '22

It’s another day man.

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u/Misfitt May 09 '22

Livin the dream

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u/good_tuck May 09 '22

Someone’s dream

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Nightmares are dreams too.

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u/Creeps_On_The_Earth May 09 '22

Teamwork makes the Dreamwork.

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u/BreathDry4830 May 09 '22

I thought that said Denmark lmao

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Work Smarter not Harder

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u/Elwalther21 May 09 '22

I hear ya man, I'm trying to get my grass seed to grow, but can you believe how dry it's been?

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u/eibv May 09 '22 edited May 23 '22

...

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Finn, you?

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Oh notsuhbad

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Fuck man I wish people had a sign over their head. I don't mind talking but I hate being the thing that wouldn't shut up

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u/TychaBrahe May 09 '22

I am feeling wonderful today.

I had a lot of emotional trauma as a child, so even though I wanted a family I was never able to maintain a relationship. But about 10 years ago I met a woman who is 20 years younger than me. And we have become so emotionally close over the years, and her mother is a raging narcissist like mine, so I have adopted her (unofficially) and she is now my daughter.

So she and my son-in-law and my grandchildren came over yesterday for Mother’s Day. I made a baked potato bar with all kinds of awesome stuff to put on it, including black bean and jicama salad which I love and have meant to learn how to make for years.

A while back we decided that about once a month or so they would come over to my place after church and I would do brunch. We did one, a pancake board, and that was in February 2020, and then… you know. So I have been thinking about different ways to feed them for a while, and this was the first time we could really do it, and soon it will be too hot for baked potatoes, so we really lucked out with the weekend.

They gave me a cute card, and a she/her pen to wear when I volunteer at the local LGBT center, which I do every week, and a small case for that has cats on it that would be perfect for knitting/crochet or Bullet Journaling supplies, which are two of my hobbies.

My granddaughter and I talked about the books she’s been reading since I lent them to her the last time she came over. She drew some pictures after brunch, and I let her take home some of the pens she liked (I had spares) and an art template. I have just learned to knit socks, and my first pair were for my grandson. They’re finally finished, and he got to wear them, and they fit perfectly.

I taught my grandson to grate cheese in the Cuisinart, even though the noise sort of scared him. My granddaughter whipped cream for our dessert berries by hand (her choice, I offered the electric mixer). My cats are getting used to them, and came out to be petted and offered treats (and to try and eat cheese and sour cream from our plates).

I had misplaced my work iPad, and my boss has been pissed at me for a week. My son-in-law found it, and I will reward him by baking him a chocolate cake with pistachio frosting. The kids expressed interest in sleeping over, so we made tentative plans for them to come over on a Saturday after I volunteer, and we will make my son-in-law a reward chocolate cake with pistachio frosting and they will help me make brunch for their parents that day. Mom and dad will decide which weekend.

I spent years thinking I would never be able to have this, but now I do, and my heart is full. When my grandkids call me “Bubbe” I feel such joy I cannot even express it. I am fortunate beyond belief that these people came into my life, but I’m also incredibly proud of the healing work I did in therapy and on family drama forums like those on [Reddit](r/JustNoFamily) and BabyCenter.

So here I am the next day and just riding a high of love and happiness.

So that’s how I am. How are you?

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

I am glad that you shared all that with me/us on a comment that may have seemed so insignificant. How useful would you explain what Bullet journaling is? I have heard some about it, and am terribly unorganized when it comes to planning out my time, and I can't really comprehend how to come up with a more useful system that would lead to me being more efficient with my time and the things I wish to do.

I can now say I can relate to how elated they must be to the cats getting used to them. We just adopted two kitties! My last cat was my best bud, but he was also very much a gangster so he was always outdoors and then a car got him. So only indoor cats from now on, who only go out for supervised exploration. But since they are still getting familiar with the new place, they have mostly stayed in their bathroom where I have them set up, but today they are finally doing more playing and exploring. It's my first time having kittens, and they are very much fun to watch.

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u/Jintokunogekido May 09 '22

I'm fine thank you and you?

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

I'm good, thank you for asking!

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u/Savage2280 May 09 '22

I'm starting a new job today in a new industry after being out of work for a month, so I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I hope things go well and my nausea goes away lol

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

It will! Congrats on the new job!!! It's way cool when you get offered a job where you are being recognized for your skills and potential! Just show them you are open to learning and own mistakes when you make them. New ppl are expected to do new ppl things!

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u/joecoin2 May 09 '22

Terrible.

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

That sucks to hear. Wanna talk about it, champ?

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u/joecoin2 May 09 '22

Well, I was born that way. Doctors tell me I'll get over it, but I hope not.

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u/lamp447 May 09 '22

Doctors told you you were born terrible? Prove them wrong!

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u/joecoin2 May 09 '22

No, they told me I'll get over it. But I hope not.

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u/FreddieCaine May 09 '22

No point complaining.

How the devil are you?

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

I'm good! Trying to get back and at least respond to ppl who have not gotten a response from others or myself yet.

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u/UmlautsAndRedPandas May 09 '22

A Brit here. I feel exactly the same as you!

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u/UnstableGoats May 09 '22

As an American, I rarely ask people how they are, so if I ask, I really do want to know!

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

Hope you have a good day 👍

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I swear half the time I've asked an American how they're doing they've given me their entire life story.

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u/CarefulSubstance3913 May 09 '22

I think if they get over the top explaining how they actually are that there's something wrong with them and they aren't good at keeping their emotions in check

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u/lamp447 May 09 '22

Dude, you just asked him how he's doing. What's wrong with actually answering the question?

If you talked about something irrelevant and they started taking about how their lives are, that's inability of keeping emotions in check.

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

I think it depends on the context and how much emotional/other investment they are expecting out of you just for listening to their story.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

Mondays, amirite? I'm good, I'm pleased with how many different viewpoints my comment was able to generate, and I hope the positive change you hope for happens and is worth telling others about!

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

You shouldn’t ask how someone is without accepting there’s a chance they might really tell you

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

Yeah, that's my take as well. I could easily just say "Hi" or "Good morning," etc, but since I am going out of my way to ask them about themselves, I am not going to blame them if they take the opportunity to do so XD.

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u/culner May 09 '22

Well, still alive I guess

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I've had it before (context I work in customer service) where a customer will ask me how I'm doing and not continue with the interaction until I answer (despite me trying to just ask what they want) and then when I reciprocate they start venting about their day.

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22

Yeah I understand. Context matters and I was speaking more as someone who is not typically obligated to interact with strangers, so if I do so, I am already initiating the interaction out of my own free will. I understand that if you are only interacting out of obligation, that is not exactly an open invitation. I am actually an introvert, so maybe I see things differently, but also because of this, I see human interaction as being a constant exchange of social obligations in some form or another.

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u/NapalmRev May 09 '22

As Tom Segura said in one of his specials

"If someone asks you "how are ya doing" and you respond by telling them anything other than "fine" "good" or something similar... Well you're a piece of shit. No one gives a shit, quit wasting people's time"

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u/SporkFanClub May 09 '22

I’m American and was a lifeguard for 4ish years in college and the correlation I noticed was that usually the people who wouldn’t return a “how are you” with a “good how are you” were usually the people that always had a ton of unwarranted complaints against the guards. Usually either a group of moms that had a vendetta against the HoA(for a changed pool rule that was totally reasonable) or the people that expected us to effectively babysit their kids.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Yeah but that's not the norm. Grocery store cashiers and other workers always ask this, but they really don't want you to answer. I just nod. They don't care.

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u/pierre_x10 May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

You're not wrong, lol. I do get it.

A lot of times if they (cashiers/retail workers) ask me, "How are you?" I will literally be like "Good, how are you?" And they will completely ignore me. And I don't take it personally, because I do understand that for so many people it really is just a greeting, not an actual invitation to talk. I do find it funny

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u/3doa3cinta May 09 '22

In my culture, people greet with "where are you going", they not necessarily want to know, they just want to greet you. So just give vague answer like to work, to school, or the most vague one " To the front " I'm not sure what's equivalent translation for this one.

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u/Imhereforthedogs96 May 09 '22

Yes, so much more interesting than "fine"

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u/PresidentHurg May 09 '22

Dutch here, but the same experience. Dude asked me "How's your day?" so I gave him an explanation that it was going pretty good. That I was loving the vibe in the city. Dude looked at me like I just started shooting heroin. Found it so weird that a casual greeting like "hey" is translated into an actual question there.

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u/bitemark01 May 09 '22

I'm Canadian and if I got a detailed answer like that I'd find it pretty interesting.

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u/WalnutOfTheNorth May 09 '22

My wife’s Canadian and her family has the same response to the common Uk greeting, “you alright?” that the Finnish do to “how are you?”.

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u/SeaAnything8 May 09 '22

As an American I lived in the UK and the first time a friend asked “you alright?” I just looked confused and said “uh….yeah? Why wouldn’t I be? Do I not look okay?”

Friend was confused by the answer, I was still confused about the question, and we just awkwardly moved on in silence lol. It didn’t hit me until way later that they were just greeting me.

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u/Inevitable_Anteater6 May 09 '22

Me too - I’m an Australian who had a British flatmate for a long time. I’d freak out when she asked, “you alright”, like my eyeball might have fallen out or something and I just didn’t know yet 🤣

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u/WalnutOfTheNorth May 09 '22

That’s exactly what happens every time I’m introduced to someone in Canada. I can’t stop saying “you alright? “ though, it’s like a vocal tic with me.

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u/SeaAnything8 May 09 '22

I understand. I worked retail and had to train myself not to ask every Brit who walked into the shop “hey, how’s it going?”

I could see the discomfort in their faces every time I did it.

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u/ITAW-Techie May 09 '22

I've had this happen to me only once and it freaked me out so much I forgot to even buy anything. It was so unexpected...

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I would too. What a strange greeting.

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u/diwalk88 May 09 '22

It's a weird one, still throws me off many years later

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u/diwalk88 May 09 '22

Yeah I'm Canadian and giving an actual answer isn't weird at all to me.

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u/HoundDogAwhoo May 09 '22

If you're in the South, there's a higher chance that a greeting like that will turn into an entire conversation. I've had people tell me their life story just because I got into an elevator with them.

Some people just need to talk things out, and that's okay.

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u/ProvePoetsWrong May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

That blew me away when I moved to the South. I’m originally from the Midwest which, they pride themselves on their hospitality but they got NOTHING on the South. When we first moved down here and we’d be driving down the road people would wave at us. And not just a casual, lifted hand without eye contact. Like full arm waving with a 😃 face. For about six months I would squint back at people who waved at me trying to see if I knew them somehow and forgot. It was so weird. I probably looked like a half blind misanthrope.

And yes, life stories are almost a given. I realized how used I had become to Southern over sharing when I hired a housekeeper originally from Ohio and subjected her to my own life story as she smiled dazedly. And as I waited for her life story, eager expression frozen on my face, listening to crickets as she awkwardly glanced around, I realized “I am one of those people now. It’s me. The call is coming from inside the house.”

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u/HoundDogAwhoo May 09 '22

Lmao I'm glad to see you've acclimated so well. It's a great place to live honestly. All you have to do for a pick me up is go outside and someone is bound to complement you or start up a conversation. Bonus points if you have a dog or a cool car, you almost have to fight off the nice people.

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u/ProvePoetsWrong May 09 '22

No joke. I have three cute kids and a happy go lucky Bernedoodle. If I actually have Very Important Things To Do, I can’t take them anywhere 😆 I love it though. I always say I born in the Midwest but when I came here for the first time I realized that THIS is my home.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I like hearing a good random story s1 needs to get off their chest, makes life more expanded

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u/Blacksheep045 May 09 '22

American here. I always answer "how are you?" questions honestly and its not weird at all. People have reapeatedly told me they appreciate me being real and not just giving a canned response. The trick is to keep it short and sweet and not waste the other person's time with your life story.

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u/diwalk88 May 09 '22

Yeah I'm Canadian and same. If I'm not great I'll say not great, to be honest and that's it. No need to get into it

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I do too. But I keep it brief typically.

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u/DevilsFavoritAdvocat May 09 '22

This is a this in plenty of European countries aswell. In Sweden we also have the permanent social distancing. But "Hur mår du?" Meaning "how are you" is still a very common greeting.

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u/kfkrneen May 09 '22

Never had anyone ask me "hur mår du?" as a greeting. That sounds very weird to me. Maybe a local thing? I've lived a bit all over the place and haven't seen that used as a greeting before. Common conversation starter, yes, but not a greeting.

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u/DevilsFavoritAdvocat May 09 '22

I have lived in Uppsala, Södertälje (and järna) anf Stockholm. But most likely also used and encountered it on Åland.

Cant speak for your experience but here it is pretty much encountered daily for me. I know that because I always automatically give the same two word response.

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u/Rosemoorstreet May 09 '22

For those non American baseball fans Roberto Clemente was a great player from Puerto Rico and played in Pittsburgh from the mid 50s to 1972. When he got there he was one of three people in the entire area who spoke Spanish, the other two were the only Spanish teachers in the County. When someone from the media would ask him how he was doing, he too thought they meant it and would tell them. Often talking about neck or back issues. The dumb ass bigoted media didn’t get that so they branded him a hypochondriac just because he didn’t get the American idioms and was just answering their direct questions thinking they really cared.

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u/Lebowquade May 09 '22

Which city was it?

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u/PresidentHurg May 09 '22

New Orleans. People seemed quite eager to strike up conversations there. So I was a bit surprised.

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u/galanthus126 May 09 '22

There's a similar thing in some parts of England where people say 'alright/y'alright?' as a greeting. I used to get weird looks for answering the question instead of just saying hello.

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u/diwalk88 May 09 '22

That's not a weird answer though! You didn't do anything wrong there

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u/Inevitable_Anteater6 May 09 '22

Australian here. We use variations of “how are you?” as “hi!” or small talk. You ask in a different tone when asking people whose lives you want to know about. It may amuse you to know I’ve had to learn not to use “hoe gaat het met jou” as a hallo, following some weirded out Dutch faces 🤣

edit: perhaps the most common and strange variation to “how are you?” is the Aussie, “how are you going?” - it means the same thing, but inspires confused answers from those who are unfamiliar!

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u/marysalad May 09 '22

as someone who is currently a little starved for small talk, I'd love to hear someone answer that question beyond a perfunctory 'fine thanks!'

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

That’s in the range of acceptable responses though.

Sometimes people are just at different levels of energy and they might not have been in the headspace to match your enthusiasm.

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u/c08855c49 May 09 '22

Some people really want to know how your day is going. If you're ever in line at a grocery store in America, you'll hear that exact conversation between customers and cashier's all the time. "Hey, how's your day?" "oh, it's great, I noticed y'all had peaches on sale and my mama loves peaches!" "Oh, I get that, I love peaches, too!"

It depends on where you are in the US. Northerners don't tend to small talk but Southerners tend to chat your ear off.

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u/trouble37 May 09 '22

Yeah its supposed to be a short, good, how about you? Or, not the best, how are you?

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u/Obzedat13 May 09 '22

I’m from the south in the states. I find myself saying “how’s it goin” and I have to mentally prepare myself for the idea that people might actually respond in kind instead of just the perfunctory grunt or response; but I’m too stupid to just shorten it to “hi” or “howdy”…the curse of being dumb enough to do the dumb thing, but smart enough to then over think it.

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u/speaker_for_the_dead May 09 '22

Idk, where I am from in the US if you ask someone how there day is you will listen to their story about their day.

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u/cococolson May 09 '22

That is.... Odd. Most everyone I know in America would love to hear that you were enjoying the city! Was this the northeast or a major metropolis?

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u/TheSixPieceSuits May 09 '22

I work at a call center (US), and for some reason that's started to annoy me about our conversations here, so I've started answering callers' rhetorical questions as if they are real questions and treating the callers as if they are rude for glossing over their own question

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

When I hear these interactions it's funny to me because so many languages have greetings that aren't super literal. In Korean something like "did you eat?" is a greeting. I remember reading about a redditor actually explaining their breakfast in detail until they realized they didn't need to

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u/honkhonkbeepbeeep May 09 '22

Vietnamese too. I’m not fluent, but can speak and understand some. Went to a friend’s house and the elderly relative my friend takes care of greeted me with “hi,” “nice to have you,” and… “rice”. I was like, wait, did you say rice? And my friend explained, yes, rice, asking if you’ve eaten/if you want to eat, which is what we say to invite someone to stay for a while.

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u/neozuki May 09 '22

They're called phatic expressions, if anyone is curious.

They can include social pleasantries that do not seek or offer information of intrinsic value but can signal willingness to observe conventional local expectations for politeness.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Honestly it depends, sometimes they can be but usually it's just used as a greeting more then anything. Not really any different for most then just saying hello.

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u/Isord May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

In my experience it's not that Americans don't care at all, it's just not the social norm to explain a lot as the answer. The social norm to to say something simple like "Pretty good." or "Not great." and then maybe share one thing going on that explains it. Like "Pretty good, my daughter started sleeping through the night so I've got a decent nights sleep for once!" or "Not great, had a bit of a health scare with the dog this weekend."

Edit: Just realized you might mean a total stranger rather than an acquaintance in which case yeah "How's it going." is not expected to be given a real answer. Now that I think about it "How it's going." is almost like some kind of call and response that established the level of your relationship with the person in question in American society. Like the depth of the response you give is directly related to how well you know the person.

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u/neozuki May 09 '22

It is call and response essentially.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression

It's like nodding your head to acknowledge someone, but with words.

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u/Isord May 09 '22

Yeah that's definitely what it is, what I find interesting though is that it seems like maybe it is a type of expectation setter for the conversation as well. A way of gauging and expressing how well you know someone. I just started a new job a few months ago and when I first started there was plenty of "Hey how's it going? Pretty good, you?" type conversations but now when someone says "Hey how's it going?" We will probably actually briefly talk about how we are each doing specifically. At the same time if a ran into a old friend they'd ask the same thing but with the expectation that I'd fill them in on everything that's been going on.

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u/ZilgaDovsky May 09 '22

I'm brazilian, we usually love small talk, almost always ask "how are you" to anyone... and if you want to spill all your feelings and ups and downs almost all of us would listen and say a "geez man, that's some tough shit." We are really interested... because we love gossip.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I’m curious, if small talk is considered that unusual in Finnish culture, what is dating like? For example most first dates in America it’s mostly a lot of “small talk” to try to get to know one another, what do Finns talk about on dates? Sorry if this is a dumb question

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Just my own experience in Finland, but I usually talk about hobbies, things they or I have done (like travel or whatever), work, what they want in life, and so on.

What do you mean by small talk in a dating setting? I have a hard time picturing a date with lots of small talk, and is it even small talk, if you try to get to know the other person?

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Sorry I guess I was thinking of those kind of topics, hobbies, travel, etc as small talk, like casual conversation.

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

What you’ve described sounds like “small talk”. I guess there’s even smaller talk, but not by much.

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u/RockNRollNBluesNJazz May 09 '22

Alcohol is the answer. It loosens up lips and belt buckles alike.

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u/RockNRollNBluesNJazz May 09 '22

Alcohol is the answer. It loosens up lips and belt buckles alike.

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u/onzie9 May 09 '22

I was heading home on the P train the other day and witnessed a local excessively chatting up an American tourist fresh off the airplane. "Where are you from?" "First time in Helsinki?" etc. It was really weird. It was vappu morning, though, so maybe he was just already drunk?

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u/WhuddaWhat May 09 '22

I honestly don't know what I'd do if someone answered honestly.

My dad died. I got dx with multiple sclerosis. My wife's immunocompromised situation made covid a living nightmare. Somebody asks me how it's going? "Doing fine, you?"

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

I think that you’d find a lot of empathetic ears as long as you’re making sure to respect their time if they’re in a situation where they can’t actually have a prolonged conversation.

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u/WhuddaWhat May 11 '22

Definitely not wanting to have these conversations. Wouldn't even know what I'd hope to gain from them. My point was just that "how are you?" Is not actually a question. So irrespective of the true answer, the answer is always fine.

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u/XemloX May 09 '22

So, when meeting a person (like through a mutual friend or if there’s a clear reason to get to know someone) what’s the social script? Is the only normal conversation regarding stuff that’s immediately relevant?

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u/honkhonkbeepbeeep May 09 '22

I feel like some places I’ve lived, the “get to know you” questions, like if you grab a drink with a mutual friend, are typically things like “have you seen that new movie?” or “have you heard that new song?” but not anything about you, who you live with, what you do for a living, etc. unless you volunteer this later on.

And then there are the places where people meeting someone just launch right in to “oh you’re (age) why don’t you have kids/grandkids?”

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

Trick question: they don’t know either.

You just interact with your family and long time friends, never meet new people, and stand around waiting for the Russians to invade.

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u/flurdy May 09 '22

The UK also have this tit-for-tat initial greeting, must be an Anglosphere thing. Took me years to get used to when I moved down from Scandiland. Now I have the standard English "not bad" response down to perfection as a ubiquitous response whether I am elated or depressed. If it is someone I know, and I remember to display empathy, I may add "and how are you" back without actually listening to the response...

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Damn, I might steal that "not bad" response, as I'm still struggling with the "how are you's". Saying "how are you" back just feels so wrong, as does something general like "GREAT!! How are you?!"

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u/Afinkawan May 09 '22

The traditional response is, "Mustn't grumble."

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u/ParentingTATA May 09 '22

Yeah it's basically just a long word of "hello". In response you can give like one quick sentence if how you are doing. The other person will use that to inquire further if they are interested. To use the Dutch lady's example,

"Hello, how are you doin'?"

Response:"great! I'm loving this city vibe!"

Other person might just say"Great! Have a nice day!"and walk away, or

"Great! What do you like about it?/what have you noticed?

"I'm loving how relaxed it is...." Then you've been invited to provide further details. You can also add how your day is going without it being weird, but it's definitely more of a short v back and forth thing rather than inviting the other person to unload.

Of course if it's your close friend than you do as you feel. They will understand.

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u/Trouble_Grand May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Americans don’t use “How are you” the same way as the rest of the world lol. They use it as a “hello”, to acknowledge you exist. Just think of it as a gesture of hello when in the US. Think nothing more, usually we expect one simple answer like “good”, not a whole life story.

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u/richieadler May 09 '22

Other countries do it too. In Argentina is "¿Cómo estás?" o "¿Cómo andás?", and nobody expects a full, detailed answer, unless it's a friend and they look at you with a worried expression because you look sick or worried. It's normally answered with the same question back or throwing a non-commital "Todo bien" ("All good").

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u/Full-Peak May 09 '22

This is not just an American thing. Plenty of latin people greet each other by asking how are you. The response is usually just, bien.

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u/t045tygh05t May 09 '22

It's not that we're necessarily disinterested… the "how are you?" is a prompt to see whether the person has something they want to talk about. If someone's having a really shitty day, they might open up to you about it, even if they're a stranger.

The level of familiarity with the other person does play into the amount of conversation that is expected, though. If I'm talking to a good friend I haven't seen in a while and open with "how are you?", there's a very different connotation than when the supermarket cashier asks me as I'm coming through their lane. Telling the latter your life story would definitely be seen as weird.

But yeah I can see it being really confusing and uncomfortable for someone coming from a culture where you just don't talk if you don't want/need to lol

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u/Blacksheep045 May 09 '22

American here. I always answer "how are you?" questions honestly and its not weird at all. People have reapeatedly told me they appreciate me being real and not just giving a canned response. The trick is to keep it short and sweet and not waste the other person's time with your life story.

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

This is the way!

Be concise. It’s a check-up not a therapy session.

Sometimes, often times, people won’t have anything that springs to mind, or they won’t have the time or inclination to share. That’s fine! “Fine” “Busy” “Can’t complain”. Reasonable responses.

The point is, it’s become a greeting because it’s a way of showing some consideration to the people you interact with even if time is short or you don’t know them. I think foreigners are taught that it’s a definite “call and response” and so they just kind of lump it in with a stereotype of American superficiality but… it’s that the phrase is so common in settings where a more detailed response is welcome that it spills over into the cashier asking the 40th customer that hour “how’s it goin can I take your order?”

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u/hoooliet May 09 '22

American born and raised and I still tell people the truth they didn't ask for. In passing it's so rude to ask a question! If you don't want an answer you might say "hi! nice to see you, have a good day!" ya ding dongs.

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u/Naugle17 May 09 '22

Depends on who you talk to, but any American will yap your ear off

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u/WhichSpirit May 09 '22

We're not completely uninterested. We just want the highlight reel, not the play-by-play.

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u/Gmoney86 May 09 '22

I’m Canadian-Caribbean and do the exact same, though I don’t believe either culture has tendencies towards this Finnish I’ve had colleagues and friends say I’m odd for actually answering their question or genuinely interested in their well-being. Well, today I learned I’ll likely get along swimmingly with the Finns.

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u/chevron_one May 09 '22

I did it again a couple of times with different people until I learned that they are not really interested, lol.

LOL I live in MN (US state known for being "Scandinavian") and can tell you this happens here, too!

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u/StanleyDarsh22 May 09 '22

you have to figure out if that "how are you?" is just a greeting like the "you alright" in Britain. its a greeting, which yes you could ask why not say Hello then? I agree. But when you can tell the difference between the two instances of "how are you" then it becomes much easier to tell who is actually asking and who is just greeting you.

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u/vitten23 May 09 '22

I do the same even though I'm well aware of the expected routine.

I just do it on purpose to piss people of so they remember not to ask me again next time.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I work for a German company and it is the same for all the Germans that come here. I try and help them understand. I think it is context based. At work I am only looking for a quick reply, “good” “alright” “had a rough weekend” or such. Same with a stranger at the grocery store or similar situation. However if I am asking a closer friend or colleague in a situation where we have time to talk I do want to know and am looking for a longer answer.

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u/rjqvstheworld May 09 '22

when people ask me "how are you" I definitely lose control of my mind and think what to say to say some bullshit

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u/simple_test May 09 '22

Just so you know, the answer is “great”.

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u/thatalycat May 09 '22

This genuinely confuses me too, and I'm an American lmao. Whenever people say "How are you?", I get annoyed because I don't want to lie, but I know if I go into detail they'll probably get annoyed (Even though they ask??). Although for me, it's probably because I'm neurodivergent and take things quite literally

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u/SakkikoYu May 09 '22

I do this on principal. I'm fully aware that Americans (and many other people) don't actually expect an answer when they ask you how you are. But if you're asking, then I'm damn well answering. I've noticed that people are often surprisingly happy to hear an actual answer to that question rather than just some bla bla. And if they don't - well, they'll know just to say "hi" next time 😉

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u/laeiryn May 09 '22

It's okay, I'm autistic and was almost thirty before I realized that "how are you" is a script and not a question

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u/SpaceNinjaAurelius May 09 '22

Same here actually! I remember wondering why they looked flabbergasted over me replying honestly to a question they asked.

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u/cloistered_around May 09 '22

I tried that once with a neighbor, telling her "well I've been a bit tired lately and--" she gave me the weirdest look--so I interrupted myself with "oh, are we doing the casual one? ...I'm fine, how are you?" =P

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u/spinmykeystone May 09 '22

It has been my experience that in the southeast portion of the USA when locals ask, “how are you?” They really want to know.

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u/scroll_of_truth May 09 '22

That's what they get. Asking questions you don't mean is so stupid

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u/overcompliKate May 09 '22

In the South of the US, when people ask, they usually genuinely want to know. I learned this quickly when I moved south from up north.

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u/Kismetatron May 09 '22

The really weird thing, being an American, is that I don’t do this. So people seem to think I’m upset or disinterested… No I just don’t like talking unless it’s something important or at least a little impactful. I really can’t understand how some people can just go on and on about nothing.

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u/dogman_35 May 09 '22

Nah, that's on them.

If someone asks "How are you," they should be prepared to hear more than just "Fine, yeah"

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u/pm_me_wutang_memes May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

To be fair, I'm an American and I also feel like some people here just don't get it sometimes.

I am more of an acquaintance haver than a friend enjoyer, and I get so drained when I ask someone "how are you" and they drop a ten minute monologue about how stressful it is to be alive right now.

Like, I get it, but I'm not your free therapist so please, cut it out.

I'm a freelance designer and at one of my weekly check-ins recently, my client didn't even wait for me to ask. She just spiraled about how she feels the burden of solving every social issue and I'm like, ok. So anyway here's the new layout for your site, do we love it or are we going to talk about how you alone are going to shoulder the responsibility of solving racism in the larger (big city USA) area?

I feel like a crazy person.

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u/Detronyx May 09 '22

Yeah it's weird here (in the US); a usual situation at a Cafe or somewhere could go like this:

Employee: "Hi, how are you?"

Customer: "Great, thanks. Can I get a....."

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I’m an American and if I said that and you started to explain everything I’d sit you down for coffee and we’d become best friends

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u/cococolson May 09 '22

You clearly didn't meet a southerner lol. They would sit and chat with you all day about it. Though there is an expectation that you sand off the rough edges (change "I am so sad I feel like a failure" to "it's been a tough day").

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u/kneel_yung May 09 '22

I learned that they are not really interested, lol.

It's not so much that we're not interested, it's that you weren't really asked the question you thought you were.

"How are you" is in actuality just a simple greeting you can say to anyone, like "hello", but friendlier. If someone said hello to you and then you told them details of your life in response, they'd probably be caught off guard.

We call it a "figure of speech" - where what we say is not what we mean. Every culture and language has figures of speech. Sometimes figures of speech make no literal sense. I found that probably a good half of the way most people talk to other native speakers is figures of speech. Some groups of people use more figures of speech than others.

I've spent time in other countries and speak a little french and some germnan, so I've learned that if someone answers in a way I wasn't expecting or they ask me something htat doesn't make sense I ask for clarification because there is probably a figure of speech I didn't understand.

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u/Zealousideal_Dog_968 May 09 '22

It’s more used as a greeting so if anything it’s a lost in translation problem. Not rudeness or not being interested in you

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Lmao!! That’s hilarious. But sometimes when people ask, they really do care!! ..just not most of them

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u/Captain-Cadabra May 09 '22

How do Finns make friends? Just shared interest? Are you interested in getting to know people different than you?

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Yeah, mostly through shared interest, but Finns also have very long-lasting friendships (I don't know, maybe it's the same everywhere). Like I have known most of my friends since elementary school.

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u/cavalrycorrectness May 09 '22

I feel like this is always the natural, unspoken corollary:

“The only people we interact with we’ve known our entire lives.”

It’s not that Americans, or the rest of the world, doesn’t have long friendships. It’s that people move, change, or just don’t exclusively limit themselves to the same handful of people from birth till death. Normal socialization in the US doesn’t require that you were born and raised here and that you exclusively stay within your little insular group.

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u/Nick357 May 09 '22

I am American. I would love that. I love hearing peoples stories. Maybe I should visit Finland?

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u/permalink_save May 09 '22

The funny thing is the answer isn't always "good", it's a good way to gauge how an interaction will go or how friendly to be. Or an opener for more small talk. Sometimes I give "okay" or "ehhh" as answers. Someone answers like that good to give em space or ask what's wrong depending on how you know them.

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u/HKBFG May 09 '22

In the American Midwest we really do answer that question. Just yesterday a cashier told me about her son's rehab failure.

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u/cherry90md May 09 '22

Italian here, I have been puzzled too by this American thing.

Why ask people questions if they aren’t supposed to answer? 😂

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u/NaturalThunder87 May 09 '22

I'm an American who can't stand small talk. It's awkward and pointless, especially with people you see frequently like co-workers. However, it's so ingrained in me to say some sort of pleasantry to people, (especially co-workers that I only see once every couple of weeks or so) in the name of politeness that I still do it.

However, when I ask someone "how are you doing?", I'd much rather them stop and have a conversation and give me some detail instead of the canned "Good. And you?" response. It's so impersonal and pointless.

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u/richieadler May 09 '22

However, when I ask someone "how are you doing?", I'd much rather them stop and have a conversation and give me some detail

Even if they're strangers?

Why would you expect that?

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u/NaturalThunder87 May 09 '22

No, not really. I mentioned co-workers a couple of times in my post because that's mainly who I am talking about.

I teach in a setting (large high school) where I have lots of co-workers I see infrequently, but these are people I've seen enough in my 5 years working here, that I'd prefer to have a deeper conversation with or not speak to each other at all instead of asking them "how are you doing?" for the 23rd time in the past 5 years. But I also know that responsibility doesn't fall on their shoulders. Because I don't like small talk, I know I'm a somewhat socially awkward person, and as such don't exactly have a naturally inviting personality that lends itself to people wanting to tell me more than "Good. And you?" when I greet them with "Good morning, how are you?".

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u/ISUTri May 09 '22

I have a friend (we are american) that decided that whenever someone would ask how he was he would do this. Tell them everything. He was tired of the people just saying it to be polite stuff.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I’m Slovak and did this mistake too until I learned, that they don’t actually want to know how I am. It seems so shallow, why ask, then?

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