# What culture is Culture is a vague word, but can best define the broad things that [identify](identity.md) a [group](groups-large.md). These can include [arts](art.md), [beliefs](understanding-certainty.md), customs (group [habits](habits.md)), [subgroups](groups-small.md), and [thoughts](understanding.md). Despite our differences, people want approximately the [same abstracted things](humanity-universals.md) to find [meaning](meaning.md): - Live [safely](safety.md) from most [risks](safety-riskmgmt.md). - Work a [job](jobs-specialization.md) they can stand. - Come home to their [family](people-family.md) and spend time with them. - [Recreate](purpose.md) after work. - [Connect](people-friends-why.md) consistently with friends and family. - Generally, within reason, do whatever they [feel](mind-feelings.md) like. While these things are the some, some methods won out the majority of a group's approval to achieve the [purposes](purpose.md) they were striving for, so it became the [standard](standards.md). APPLICATION: *Everything* we do [habitually](habits.md) with others is a cultural thing. The original [purpose](purpose.md) for many things was certainly [sensible](logic.md) when it started, but it often shifts away from [usefulness](results.md) with new [social trends](trends.md) and [technological development](technology.md). These groups span [all sorts of ranges](groups-small.md). Unlike [things universal to humanity](humanity-universals.md), cultural traits are *not* universal to everyone, and the [specific methods](people-boundaries-why.md) for that group can be contrasted heavily against others. We tend to think something is "normal" if it matches our culture and "odd" if it doesn't. However, if we insist on influencing others against *their* version of "normal" (instead of simply accepting their views), we experience a cultural [conflict](people-conflicts-why.md). Social status in a culture is always a [biased](mind-bias.md) judgment, but it's *generally* consistent enough to [measure](math.md) across a population. Everyone *likes* to imagine they're open-minded, but are also dogmatic against what they [perceive](people-image-why.md) as [immoral](morality.md) things. More often, they're simply enforcing their culture's [rules](people-rules.md) than standing by any particular [principle or value system](values.md). A culture has value because it maintains a people group's [inherent trust](trust.md) of one another, which in turn affects their [overall happiness](goodlife.md). ## Divisions Many cultural standards are established from the [natural environment](reality.md) that surrounds them: - In a frigid, unforgiving tundra, there's no room for compassion or weakness. - Society on a tropical island generally needs more people to do more work together. - Coastal societies require more people to know how to swim, which gives more tolerance for [the unknown](unknown.md). - Societies with more [technology](technology.md) have more order, implemented as [bureaucracy](bureaucracy.md). - People groups with limited access to other people groups will be more self-sufficient and less sociable. - Societies with more [networked *information* technology](networks-cs.md) will trust a [data reputation](people-image-modern.md) over their [story](stories-why.md). Many cultures also draw from their surrounding cultures. An isolated tribe will only pull from nature, but a culture spread across many other cultural groups will adopt a plethora of small details from each. Cultures also tend to separate by generation. Younger people don't have as many [habits](habits.md) established, so they're more inclined to adapt to environmental changes, [social trends](trends.md), and [technology](technology.md). APPLICATION: More differences between one generation and the next create a broader cultural divide across generations. The generation raised in the USA's 1950s is *vastly* different from the USA's 2000s, mostly due to [technology](technology.md) and certain [social trends](trends.md) (e.g., Cold War). Cultures aren't that different on an individual basis, and their differences are more based on [personality](personality.md). But, as people groups get larger, the differences create *massive* contrasts. APPLICATION: Depending on your [personality](personality.md), it may make a great deal of sense to move to another culture that fits you in another [career industry](jobs-specialization.md) or geographical region. APPLICATION: Cultures are critical to give us the framing for [meaning](meaning.md) among our social groups. Even when they're [defective](mgmt-badsystems.md), the [familiarity](habits.md) gives us [certainty](understanding-certainty.md) against the [chaos of the unknown](unknown.md). APPLICATION: When you encounter a different culture, you're engaging with someone who has a radically different view of the world. Some of their actions *will* be ineffective for certain situations, but your [friendship](people-friends-why.md) with them will help you [understand](understanding.md) enough to see its benefits. From there, you can judge which behavior between yours and theirs is ideal for which circumstance. These divisions can be easily parsed into multiple [dimensions](people-culture-dimensions.md) ## Inheritance Our first culture is our [family](people-family.md). They told us what we should [do](results.md), [think](understanding.md), [say](language.md), and [believe](understanding-certainty.md). Later, we make clear [decisions](people-decisions.md) about our groups (usually during [puberty](maturity.md)) where we choose to engage with *other* cultures. After we've been in any group long enough, our [identity](identity.md) has formed into a remix of that culture and what we [prefer](humanity.md). Because of this, it's difficult to pin down the *exact* marks of a specific culture, since each element is subject to [change](people-changes.md) or have individual [adaptations](creations.md). We tend to adopt cultural values without consciously observing what we've conformed to. We're so busy trying to please [higher authorities](groups-small.md) in our group that we ignore how our choice of [language](language.md), specific [knowledge](understanding.md), and [stories](stories-why.md) we [believe](understanding-certainty.md) are shifting around. Our choice and flow of [language](language.md) show our cultural background: - People from large groups use a clause to draw attention before they speak (e.g., "If I may have your attention, please...") - Their family's career [specializations](jobs-specialization.md) and [educational level](education.md) affect that person's choice of words. - How fast someone speaks shows the population density of where they came from. - Their accent and tone often implies a geographical region. *Everyone* in a group is mostly conforming to what they see as the group's standards. With the possible exception of the [highest leadership](groups-small.md) in a group that's been around for only a few years, each person is trying to honor the values that the group's standards have employed. This doesn't mean we don't possess unique opinions and ideas apart from the group. But, we tend to scale them back to prevent [conflicts with others](people-conflicts-why.md) in that group. Generally, the desires are expressed via over-[identification](identity.md) with specific [trends](trends.md) that reflect what we want that go against the group standards. Most cultures adopt mindless traditions over time: 1. Someone creates a [ritual or tradition](habits.md) to [remind](mind-memory.md) the group of something. 2. A generation later, people honor the action but never experienced what the tradition served to remind. 3. The next generation after that has only heard of the original experience as a distant [fable](stories-why.md). 4. Eventually, everyone performs a stale ritual because it's always been done that way, and [creates arguments just to talk about modifying it](politics-conservativeliberal.md). APPLICATION: Nobody really knows why some traditions exist. This doesn't stop them from honoring it, and it often gives [meaning](meaning.md) to that person irrespective of the tradition itself. Except for [immoral](morality.md) traditions, be careful how you condemn them, since some members need those traditions to find [peace](safety.md), and they may honor them for a [reason](purpose.md) you don't know. As traditions become [stories](stories-why.md), they often develop [superstition and folklore](stories-myths.md) around them. Those stories often have [wisdom](understanding.md) inside them, at least with their messages (e.g., don't go into the woods at night), but are far divorced from [reality](reality.md) and can often spin off into new [religious sects](religion.md). APPLICATION: Every new member of a group must learn the value of their culture's traditions for themselves. The best way to destroy a culture is for the older order to be bad at [teaching](education.md). The easiest way to teach is through a [rite of passage](maturity.md) because the next generation can maintain the older generation's [beliefs](understanding-certainty.md) through [feeling](mind-feelings.md) the experience for themselves. Sometimes, new leadership will destroy those mindless traditions, but it's impossible to purge *all* of them because of how frequently we make these traditions and how much the older order would hate the [changes](people-changes.md): - Holiday celebrations such as Christmas and Easter. - Most [religious](religion.md) observances. - [Rites of passage](maturity.md). Naturally, the newest generation in a group will have to make their own decisions about what to honor and whether they'll stay in the group, irrespective of what they were [raised with](people-family.md). APPLICATION: The timing of our experiences defines how well we receive a cultural [trend](trends.md): - Anything in the world when you're born is simply a natural part of how the world works. - Anything introduced between age 15 and 35 is new and exciting. - Anything introduced after age 35 is against the natural order of things. ## Outsiders If someone leaves a culture, they'll often hold to their old culture out of [habit](habits.md). But, when a familiar action doesn't create the [consequences](results.md) they [expect](imagination.md), they'll experience "culture shock". Some well-established people in a formerly [powerful](power.md) culture will sometimes insist emphatically they stay with their old culture even when the rest of the people have moved on to new [fashions](trends.md). Those people end up staying permanent [outsiders](morality-taboo.md) and [laggards](trends.md) in their new culture, though there's a possibility they'll create a [counter-trend](trends.md) later. Most people, especially [younger people](maturity.md), will naturally adapt to other cultures they come across. As they pick-and-choose the elements they like the most, they'll become less like their old culture and will eventually become a "third culture" that synthesizes their two backgrounds. We can't really help this, since we're always at least somewhat [influenced](influence.md) by the world around us. Across cultures, some cultures are regarded as "lesser" by other cultures, often because they're more informal or have more of a sense of [humor](humor.md) (e.g., Mexicans, Filipinos). Frequently, their [view of reality](people-image-why.md) contains many profound [truths](understanding.md) that other cultures' hubris will overlook. Third-culture people are in key positions to frame [brand-new cultures of their own](socialrisk.md). They can only [influence](influence.md) their culture of origin (e.g., their [family](people-family.md)) if they can provoke the members to [change](people-changes.md). More often, the members will cast them out from that group, and they'll *have* to [establish a new one](groups-small.md), often by merely having [children](people-family.md). APPLICATION: If you want to be normal, find a culture that matches you. If you [are](people-family.md) (or [became](maturity.md)) a third-culture person, you'll only find normalcy and acceptance with other third-culture people. ## Deconstruction Anytime someone encounters someone else from a different culture (and sometimes even from a different [family](people-family.md)), their way of life will be partially deconstructed within the scope of a casual [conversation](people-conversation.md). After that interaction, they'll either have a stronger grasp of alternative perspectives from their own or will be more [set in their ways](habits.md) than before. Generally, the older and more experienced someone is, the more likely the other person won't add [new ideas](values.md) to their views. If the younger members of a culture are significantly different enough from the older members (often from them heavily [adopting trends](trends.md), and often through major [technological leaps](technology.md) across generations), there will be dramatic changes within a culture that will permanently shift a culture. The leadership will dictate where the changes go. If the leadership is particularly weak, the younger people will define the *entire* cultural revolution, and the traditions of the past will be lost. If the leadership is strong and [charismatic](influence.md), they will either inspire the younger people to harmonize their values with the older ways. However, a strong and harsh leader will inspire [discord and division](people-conflicts-war-why.md). In the mix of the deconstruction, a culture can suffer severe "anomie" (normlessness). While the younger people may find unlimited possibility in it, it can easily create a crisis of [meaninglessness](meaning.md) and a general feeling of [instability](unknown.md). The only solution is to institute new [rituals](habits.md) that everyone can agree to, which will likely be a [creative re-imagining](mind-creativity.md) of older rituals. APPLICATION: Global cultures are simply impossible because they would require complete acceptance of dramatically different points of view. The only way they'd set aside those differences would be through a [war](people-conflicts-war-why.md) against a greater external threat (e.g., space aliens, [God](religion.md)).