Rating: 
Summary: Great Explanatory Power for American doing Business in China
Review: The core of this book consists of descriptions of tests and experiments conducted to find differences between Easterners and Westerners. Apart from a few diagrams, it's all prose. An appendix at least that summarized the tests and experiments and the differences between the behaviors of the Eastern and Western subjects would be helpful. Nisbett's orientation is cognitive, which can be distracting from the experimental results. He seems to ignore Behaviorist input: he mentions Skinner but unfavorably, as being "a reductionist of the extreme atomic school" who "actually believed theories of any kind were inappropriate". Yet Skinner's interests such as rule-governed behavior, cultural design, and cultural survival would seem to offer some help in understanding how Easterners and Westerners came to differ. My relationship with a Chinese friend is what drew me to this book (I'm American of English descent) and probably why I am favorably disposed to it. I've felt that my friend doesn't seem to have a self in the way I do, e.g. she says little suggesting self-analysis, but, on the other hand, often mentions what "we Chinese" do. That difference seems confirmed by Nisbett's findings, although I'm wary of such generalization. There's little detail in the book as to how the tests/experiements were conducted (sufficient for reproducing them) or what controls were applied, so it seems one would have to trust Nisbett a good deal if one only had access to this book. There are notes and references at the end of the book, but there's no numbered footnotes, so to connect a note to its appearance on a page, you have to work backward from the notes section. This seems to be more of a "I know, let me tell you about it" kind of book than a "let me carefully demonstrate what I've found for you" kind of book. My "self-less" friend aside, having had many Chinese and Indian coworkers, who on average seemed no more or less difficult to work with than Americans of European descent, the extent of the difference Nisbett reports do seem surprising. It may well be, but I'm also suspicious how neatly we supposed descendents of Ancient Greek and of Ancient Chinese civilization fit into those categories. Without seeing more of the test/experiment conditions and the results, I wonder how much bias went into the construction of these tests based on assuming the Greek vs Chinese expected results. Hopefully Nisbett has something available (or soon will have) that documents formally what has been reported in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A helpful start
Review: The core of this book consists of descriptions of tests and experiments conducted to find differences between Easterners and Westerners. Apart from a few diagrams, it's all prose. An appendix at least that summarized the tests and experiments and the differences between the behaviors of the Eastern and Western subjects would be helpful. Nisbett's orientation is cognitive, which can be distracting from the experimental results. He seems to ignore Behaviorist input: he mentions Skinner but unfavorably, as being "a reductionist of the extreme atomic school" who "actually believed theories of any kind were inappropriate". Yet Skinner's interests such as rule-governed behavior, cultural design, and cultural survival would seem to offer some help in understanding how Easterners and Westerners came to differ. My relationship with a Chinese friend is what drew me to this book (I'm American of English descent) and probably why I am favorably disposed to it. I've felt that my friend doesn't seem to have a self in the way I do, e.g. she says little suggesting self-analysis, but, on the other hand, often mentions what "we Chinese" do. That difference seems confirmed by Nisbett's findings, although I'm wary of such generalization. There's little detail in the book as to how the tests/experiements were conducted (sufficient for reproducing them) or what controls were applied, so it seems one would have to trust Nisbett a good deal if one only had access to this book. There are notes and references at the end of the book, but there's no numbered footnotes, so to connect a note to its appearance on a page, you have to work backward from the notes section. This seems to be more of a "I know, let me tell you about it" kind of book than a "let me carefully demonstrate what I've found for you" kind of book. My "self-less" friend aside, having had many Chinese and Indian coworkers, who on average seemed no more or less difficult to work with than Americans of European descent, the extent of the difference Nisbett reports do seem surprising. It may well be, but I'm also suspicious how neatly we supposed descendents of Ancient Greek and of Ancient Chinese civilization fit into those categories. Without seeing more of the test/experiment conditions and the results, I wonder how much bias went into the construction of these tests based on assuming the Greek vs Chinese expected results. Hopefully Nisbett has something available (or soon will have) that documents formally what has been reported in this book.
Rating:
Summary: 10/10
Review: The sheer volume of studies conducted with participants from Asia and N. America combined with a lucid, precise and no-nonsense analysis, which doesn't pander to political correctness has produced a work that sheds a bright light indeed - on a topic of potentially explosive controversy.
I've talked to 'fresh off the boat' chinese students who have read the book and told me that Nisbett is so dead on that it just makes them laugh out loud.
Read it if you're into linguistics or psychology.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Every Westerner and Easterner
Review: This book is an important work in our times; if widely read and taught, it could bring about deep understanding and respect between the peoples of the East and West. Its effect on me has been profound; I plan to re-read it several more times.
Rating:
Summary: My review of The Geography of Thought
Review: This is a very insightful book with lots of information. It is well written and researched. There are many differences between the way Westerners and Easterners think. Some of the points may seem obvious, but they are still interesting to read about. Children who grow up in the East learn verbs faster. In contrast, children in the West pick up nouns faster. This is because Easterners learn the relationships between objects with action words first. Westerners generally just learn what the object is first. Conflict resolution is handled very differently too. The goal in Eastern conflict resolution is to reduce hostility and to reach a compromise. The goal in resolving conflict in the West is having satisfaction that justice was carried out with a clear winner and loser. However as the author suggests Westerners have to begun to embrace a lot of Eastern ideas. There is a greater emphasis in achieving harmony in a person's life in Eastern cultures. Asian people are more self critical of themselves as a result. In contrast, the goal of a Westerner is to achieve a sense of uniqueness and superiority. I also learned that students who study history in the West focus on the implications or outcomes of events first. Asian students study the causes of historical events first. Teacher training and evaluation is a process that never ends in Eastern countries unlike the West where it is short. The Geography of Thought is a very short book, but it should not be read rapidly because of the depth and quantity of information. I have a greater insight and appreciation for the way people think now. I enjoyed it very much.
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