The Future of China?, Where India left in dust? Options

[richasiankid]

Some rhapsodise just how great India will thrive on multi-religious democracy (unlike Israel or mid east). Others fancy India becoming like HK or S'pore securing itself via English facility against evil Sinic hegemony.

But in the end it's a lesson where everything's sweet & swell India where it doesn't measure up, where it still can't even secure the basics and where human capital matters:

http://www.zshare.net/download/97642747c4df52c8/ (light end of tunnel; patience patience!)

PISA 2009 report for (against?) India?

Cities of India are still at the very very bottom, while cities like Shanghai are wowwing off the charts.

Yet another data point we're different.....

[AsiaticGlory]

I think the reasons why Indians seem to do better than other Asian American groups is because of language and social skills.

Learning English is easier for Indians because of the following two reasons:
- India was once a British colony. Today, India's different ethnic groups talk to each other with English which will of course make them better at English.
- Most Indians speak an Indo-European language. A lot of Indian languages are part of the same language family as English.

Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, etc. all struggle with English a lot since they speak Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, and Austro-Asiatic languages. None of those are in the same language family as English. Asians are more likely to succeed in America if they are from former British colonies like Singapore and Hong Kong though.

In America, having good social skills is actually more important than being smart if you want to succeed. The talented engineer who can't really talk is less likely to be successful than the mediocre engineer who has people skills. This contrasts with East Asians who value knowledge and education over social skills.

I think Asians have a predisposition towards introversion. A lot of Asians are rather quiet. Even those Altaic nomads are rather introverted despite being descendants of fierce warriors. Hint: There is not necessary a correlation between assertive behavior and being extroverted.
In my opinion, Indians and other South Asians tend to be more social. This will of course help them succeed in America.

I also agree that Asians and whites tend to be more competitive. This is probably why the most developed countries tend to be Asian or white. Since they are more competitive, they are more likely to make that final push.

It does seem the brown races like Latinos and Indians seem motivated by a desire to live a comfortable life. If you ask the typical Mexican what he wanted out of life, he would probably just say good food, TV, women, fancy cars, etc. He probably won't tell you he wants to invent something or create a work of art.

For example, let's say a group of people get jobs that have good pay. They are able to have a place to live, buy necessities, and have a little bit for entertainment. The Latinos, Indians, and Arabs would see that as the dream. They would be very happy to live like that for the rest of their lives. The Asians and the whites, on the other hand, may not be happy about living like that forever. Asians and whites would probably feel unfulfilled and feel like they aren't doing enough.

By the way, I am not saying every individual is like this. I am just talking about tendencies.

This post has been edited by AsiaticGlory: Dec 31 2011, 01:45 AM

[richasiankid]

I think the reasons why Indians seem to do better than other Asian American groups is because of language and social skills.

Learning English is easier for Indians because of the following two reasons:
- India was once a British colony. Today, India's different ethnic groups talk to each other with English which will of course make them better at English.
- Most Indians speak an Indo-European language. A lot of Indian languages are part of the same language family as English.

Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, etc. all struggle with English a lot since they speak Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, and Austro-Asiatic languages. None of those are in the same language family as English. Asians are more likely to succeed in America if they are from former British colonies like Singapore and Hong Kong though.

In America, having good social skills is actually more important than being smart if you want to succeed. The talented engineer who can't really talk is less likely to be successful than the mediocre engineer who has people skills. This contrasts with East Asians who value knowledge and education over social skills.

I think Asians have a predisposition towards introversion. A lot of Asians are rather quiet. Even those Altaic nomads are rather introverted despite being descendants of fierce warriors. Hint: There is not necessary a correlation between assertive behavior and being extroverted.
In my opinion, Indians and other South Asians tend to be more social. This will of course help them succeed in America.

I also agree that Asians and whites tend to be more competitive. This is probably why the most developed countries tend to be Asian or white. Since they are more competitive, they are more likely to make that final push.

It does seem the brown races like Latinos and Indians seem motivated by a desire to live a comfortable life. If you ask the typical Mexican what he wanted out of life, he would probably just say good food, TV, women, fancy cars, etc. He probably won't tell you he wants to invent something or create a work of art.

For example, let's say a group of people get jobs that have good pay. They are able to have a place to live, buy necessities, and have a little bit for entertainment. The Latinos, Indians, and Arabs would see that as the dream. They would be very happy to live like that for the rest of their lives. The Asians and the whites, on the other hand, may not be happy about living like that forever. Asians and whites would probably feel unfulfilled and feel like they aren't doing enough.

By the way, I am not saying every individual is like this. I am just talking about tendencies.

Thanks and I recognize this is getting far afield but will just offer one notable exception: Japan in spite of its English illiteracy managed to trump many other nations in Asia which have had much greater English facility let alone many African nations not just in terms of scores but also in terms of wealth, or other socially valued outcomes such as life-expectancy and infant mortality. Don't miss the forest for the trees.

Similarly China in spite of its handicap in English literacy or whatever "democratic deficit" is catching up real fast. Even half a decade ago, a Deutsche bank report illustrates:

[AsiaticGlory]

Thanks and I recognize this is getting far afield but will just offer one notable exception: Japan in spite of its English illiteracy managed to trump many other nations in Asia which have had much greater English facility let alone many African nations not just in terms of scores but also in terms of wealth, or other socially valued outcomes such as life-expectancy and infant mortality. Don't miss the forest for the trees.

Similarly China in spite of its handicap in English literacy or whatever "democratic deficit" is catching up real fast. Even half a decade ago, a Deutsche bank report illustrates:

I was talking about Asian Americans. If you want to be successful in America, social skills are more important than knowledge. East Asian FOBs would have a tougher chance at being social in America because of language barriers. At the same time, I think East Asians have an inherent predisposition towards introversion which is also an obstacle to being social.

This post has been edited by AsiaticGlory: Dec 31 2011, 06:45 AM