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Comment by xattt | Hacker News Reader

Can we be pedantic about the simplistic title? Japan did not invent the chopsticks, but some researchers at a university that were sponsored by a beverage manufacturer did.

If these researchers were anywhere else, what would the title read?

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If it were a British university, it (the British paper) would name the university. ('University of Cambridge invents 'electric' knife and fork that...'.)

I think it's fair enough, it's just reducing the name of the (likely unfamiliar) university to its host nation.

How can an University ever stop being unfamiliar if its name is omitted in favour of the country its in?

Is it reasonable for an university to become familiar for the general public across the world?

Yes, absolutely. It's how we cross distances and learn more about each other. It's how we become more than the sum of our parts.

There are many thousands of universities. They can't all be familiar. Those that most consistently produce quality research (or have the best PR) will be well known. Getting there? That's a bit of a chicken or the egg problem: Media outlets aren't going to want to bog down a headline with unrecognizable names-- fewer clicks. Arguably worse for the research too since. When it is noticed, it will be linked better to the University, but it won't be noticed as much because of a title that isn't SEO friendly or doesn't grab attention as well.

There are thousands of sodas, and you know what Coca-Cola is.

And I'm familiar with many universities in my own country as well as a handful of the most prominent ones abroad, so..?

I think we’re in agreement, haha.

I don't think that contradicts what I wrote-- it's an example of it.

It's the job of foreign media organisations to manage a university's PR/marketing?

No but if they promote some but not others, then they're implicitly taking up that job.

I mean, having been to Japan, and having a decent knowledge of their culture… This is such a Japanese invention.

> Can we pedantic about …

I tend to agree. The country in which it was invented, or the nationalities of those who invented it, are not relevant at all.

You might include the country if it was newsworthy. Such as new evidence that “The Roman Empire invented the table fork”.

I think sub-editors put country descriptors in as mild click bait. Japan is perceived as having an interesting record of niche eye raising inventions. If it was “France invents an electric spoon that makes food seem sweeter” I am not sure I’d be as ready to visit that article as this one.

The country in which it was invented is relevant because it was invented to address health concerns caused by the common diet within the country.

If nothing else, this goes to show that headlines are meant only to catch your eye and not be a primary source of info in and of themselves. It's an issue in general, where people think headlines are meant to condense the article as a one-line summary, that's simply not true. I think the use of synecdoche here is reasonable. The publication matters, too. If the researchers were in England, the title would certainly be different. If the researchers were in Brazil, it would likely be similar.

“Those whacky Japanese” is an anglophone news media trope.

Meanwhile, we get snuggies and loads of single purpose kitchen tools advertised on TV.

Are those commercials still around, or is that a marker of age now? Last time I had over-the-air TV on, the ads were all Medicare management, prescription medicines, and "Won't someone please save these abused puppies?", as opposed to Chia Bob Ross heads.

Those commercials have metastasized into ad-chum appearing on every news article we read on the web.

Whether it's a mesh that allegedly keeps leaves out of your roof gutters, some electro-stimulation medical quackery device, or this new knee sleeve that is taking seniors by storm, the industry of selling junk to the credulous will never go away.

A lot of those wacky TV advertised gadgets are being sold predominantly to the elderly, even when the ads use young actors. Some of them are earnestly useful to elderly people with limited strength or mobility. Others are simply just so dumb, you'd have to be senile to buy it.

Well, or “inventive” or “futuristic” or “advanced”.

Not all media tropes are negative like I perceive “whacky” to be.

Ok but try watching some of their TV. They enjoy wacky stuff.

Probably "French researchers invent electric chopsticks".

The fact we can identify "Japan" as an entity says a lot about the cultural weight it holds. Not a bad thing.

What if some of these "French researchers" are let's say Chinese citizens residing in France since finding homogenous research team is very unlikely?

I'm quite annoyed with these constructions as foreigner living outside my home country when politicians/media always say Czech citizens this, Czech citizens that as if there were no residents with other citizenship affected by new laws/decisions.

- French company invents…

- French lab invents…

- Researchers in France invent…

They are still "french researchers" since they are doing their research in France. That's reading a bit too much into it in my opinion (also an expat).

The bad thing is that the cultural weight Japan holds is based on myths, hearsay, misunderstandings, or lack of deep insights due to the language barrier. The image of Japan in the US and to a lesser extent in Europe is very far removed from reality.

And everyone else thinks America is what they see on TV.

It's not important, unless there are wars about it.

I have to disagree that it's not important.

As a Briton, I see an awful lot more of America on TV than Japan. As a result then it's surely inherently more (likely to be) balanced/matching up with reality?

Compared to Japan; the only show I can think of that I've seen that's even sort of set there was The Man in the High Castle!

> As a result then it's surely inherently more (likely to be) balanced/matching up with reality?

I see almost nothing on TV that matches up with the actual daily life in America, so no - seeing more US TV doesn't help in that respect.

That's a very subcomplex idea of how media works. Of course, everybody understands that there is a difference between fiction and reality. And "reality TV" is fiction as well, even if some people might still be fooled by that.

Still the reality of US life does reveal itself simply by the "what" and "how" Americans create their media, like TV, movies, radio, podcasts, web video, and so on.

Or put in terms an American with a tech background would understand: Everybody knows Walter White is not a real person, and Breaking Bad isn't a documentary. Yet the reality of American-style healthcare and personal financial ruin for many people who are misfortunate enough to get cancer and have it treated, is not fiction.

it's surely inherently more (likely to be) balanced/matching up with reality?

Not really. TV/Movies are stereotypes & caricatures. News media shows mostly the extremes, or anything violent. Think of native British shows you might watch: are they accurate portrayals of day to day life? (Besides Dr. Who, which I'm pretty sure is a documentary.)

You can't be this naive.

Of course it is a bad thing. It is treated as a homogenous blob, an “other”.

Japan birthed and housed the researchers and produced the problem that needed to be solved, therefore Japan invented this. This is an extremely Japanese invention, I doubt it would have been invented by any other nation.

Oh no that is dweeb blasphemy. Never ever question or even dare to criticize any little thing concerning the alleged awesomeness of all things Japanese.

I suppose you meant weeb(not "dweeb"), which is short for weeaboo[0], which in turn is short for wapanese, which, finally, is short for "wannabe Japanese".

[0] Originally used in an unrelated comic strip here: https://pbfcomics.com/comics/weeaboo/

Dweeb is an actual slang word that predates weeaboo by several decades.

Yes, but weeb makes a lot more sense in this context. It's not a weird suggestion here IMO.

I meant "Dweeb". "Weeb" is just a subcategory of it.

> "Weeb" is just a subcategory of it.

I wouldn't say so, no.

Dweeb is a pretty wide insult, but it still implies things that aren't part of what "weeb" means.

As far as I know the two aren't connected (outside of the spelling overlap), but if you like it this way that's fine.

both describe losers is a connection

It doesn't appear to have roots with tied to Japanese culture though: https://www.etymonline.com/word/dweeb

Dweeb = general term for a nerd / loser / opposite of "jock".

Weeb = a dweeb whose particular interest is Japan

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