[wslh]

> It is refreshing to see someone make a statement and then proceed to ramble about completely unrelated things with no intent of even revisiting the original thesis let alone defending or explaining it. I haven’t read anything this meandering and empty since I stopped using Twitter

It's refreshing to see a discussion on how different cultural approaches influence writing styles. I think this might partly stem from cultural differences. For example, in Latin-based cultures like Spain or France, it’s more common for authors to leave certain ideas implicit, expecting readers to infer connections or fill in gaps. This can sometimes come across as "rambling" or lacking focus, especially to readers from more fact-oriented cultures, like the American-centric style found here on HN.

In contrast, the American style tends to prioritize clarity, directness, and explicit connections between ideas. Without knowing the author’s background, it’s possible that what some perceive as a lack of explanation or defense in the original piece might simply reflect a different cultural approach to argumentation and storytelling. One that is less rigid but more open to interpretation, even if it invites criticism.

[jrflowers]

It is a tad strange to see something poorly-reasoned and jump to “maybe that’s just something that everybody in an entire country does”.

People from countries other than America can start with a thesis and then mention that thesis in the body of an essay.

[wslh]

It is from someone who knows many other cultures and have worked with companies on over 30 different countries. You are overestimating your cross-cultural skills, and the perspective from people different than you.

A real thesis requires much more skills and time that the ones you mention.

[jrflowers]

You have worked helping people edit essays in over 30 different countries? And only Americans address their theses in their writing? If you saw an essay titled “Why dogs are better than cats” you would only expect an American to mention cats? That sounds insane, downright reductive and infantilizing.

I apologize but I am getting a little bit of secondhand embarrassment from seeing someone look at objectively bad writing and saying “This is actually an example of the famously uniform culture of France and Spain” ???

As an aside, where did you develop the “cross-cultural skill” of haughty dismissiveness out-of-hand in response to gentle disagreement?