Can Tongyu Chen Find Friendship and Intellectual Engagement in This Forum?

[Tongyu Chen]

My name is Tongyu Chen, and you can call me Creek. I'm a 21 year-old boy in physics and come from China. I am the only child in my family so sometimes I feel a little lonely.
I play table tennis, volleyball and basketball. Though I looks not very tall I often get rebounding balls in basketball.

I like spicy food and make dishes sometimes. At least my mom rates my cooking highly.

I like both physics and math and is studying for the two degrees. I'm going to American for graduate edu in 2014 in my plan.

I also have a interest in philsophy. I am planning to read Aesthetics Classic Readings from Western Tradition by Dabney Townsend. If you are also reading it we can talk about it.

I am reading the following books in physics and math and others and we can talk about them.
Group Theory and physics by Sternberg
Theoretical Mechanics by Saletan
Mechanic by Landau
Classical Field Theory by Landau
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics by Greiner
Real Analysis by Stein
Mordern Quantum Mechanics by J.J Sakurai
Basic Topology by Armstrong

I also read novels, and I like the Big Bang expecially Sheldon.

I also have interest in Polictics and Fiction.

I've already taken the gre test and got a not so bad score so you may get some advice from me.

You can ask me ask any question here and I am very willing to answer you, because I want to make friends here and I guess we can progress together.
If you want to contact me personally. You can send private message to me.

 

[leroyjenkens]

你好 我美国人，可是现在我学习中文

Nice to meet you.

 

[drizzle]

Welcome to PF, Creek. Hope you enjoy it here.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

Nice to meet you too. I am also preparing for TOEFL. We can help each other. I think I can help you with your writing.
You can revised your words to this 你好 我是美国人，我现在在学习中文。

 

[Tongyu Chen]

Did I offend you? I remember that I shouldn't offer help to others in western culture.You can always correct me and I will trying to remember.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Did I offend you? I remember that I shouldn't offer help to others in western culture.You can always correct me and I will trying to remember.

No, it's fine. I have no pride to be lost in my Chinese. I appreciate the help. I don't know why someone would tell you not to help people.
This forum is all about helping people. If you get something wrong, it's nice to have people around who will give you constructive criticism so that you can better yourself.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

I knew that in western culture people are very independent if he or she didn't ask for help from you, it's rude to offer help. I just hear this from my English Teacher which I don't know whether it is true.

 

[trueo]

Ok, define "independence" in your mind.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

Well, in some sense, independence have nothing to with what I said earlier. The key point is that my English teacher tell me that independence is about if someone didn't ask for help from you, it's rude for you to offer help. English teachers in my country are similar to your Chinese teacher in your own country. They do not have to be very intelligent on every aspect but only need much knowledge in language and a little culture related to that language.

 

[trueo]

well, maybe it depends on the context i.e when your teacher mentioned "independence", which means the person is *trying* to find out an answer and he doesn't need anyone else's help. It doesn't necessarily mean rude/impolite to help someone that you find he is reaching out for a helping hand. That should be generous and kind of you to do so. If he doesn't like your help, he may then just say "I am trying and would like to work on my own until I find it", then you might stop annoying his endeavor.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

aha, you're right! i got it!

 

[drizzle]

Sooo.. What's your favorite fish?

 

[Tongyu Chen]

blunt-snout bream。 It's very delicious. Its flesh is incrediblly moist. If you have chance going to China, I can give you a treat.

 

[Fredrik]

Welcome to the forum. I have never heard of that fish. I think I need to get myself a favorite fish.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

http://www.jc182838.com/upload/2012-02/2012020119182983.jpg
http://lovemshi.net/UploadFiles/2011-06/admin/2011061021205741416.jpg

 

[arildno]

*Smacks a blue-snout bream onto Tongyu Cheng's unsuspecting nose*

You have now been properly initiated at Physics Forums, and wish you welcome!

PS:
You might have a look at the origin of our initiation ritual here:

 

[Tongyu Chen]

Sorry, I don't really get what you mean.And I have no access to Youtube because of the local government.
By the way,this kind of fish is named of the title of a place. I am studying in Wuhan, a city, consisting of three parts----Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou.
The fish is called Wuchang yu, and "yu" means fish in Chinese.

 

[arildno]

I knew that in western culture people are very independent if he or she didn't ask for help from you, it's rude to offer help. I just hear this from my English Teacher which I don't know whether it is true.

As for this cultural distinction:
Perhaps it is true that in the West, we prefer to offer help if someone asks for it, because we do not think it is demeaning that a person actively expresses his need for help, but that it would be condescending to presume he needed help, prior for him asking for it (even though we privately KNOW he needs help!).

Perhaps for people in Chinese culture, it is regarded as somewhat merciless to wait until someone actually begs for help that you knew in beforehand he would need, and that it is regarded to be more merciful and humane to offer, on your own initiative, help, although the person has not asked for it?

 

[arildno]

Sorry, I don't really get what you mean.And I have no access to Youtube because of the local government.
By the way,this kind of fish is named of the title of a place. I am studying in Wuhan, a city, consisting of three parts----Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou.
The fish is called Wuchang yu, and "yu" means fish in Chinese.

As a community, we like to make our own rituals that honours you as a new member. We have chosen to slap new members with a fish, on basis of a very well known act by the comic group Monty Python.

Hundreds of other members at PF have gone through the same ritual (where you are asked what your favourite fish is, and we slap you with it), and you are now a member with full honours.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

Thinking what you said in #18 I guess I understand more about the cultural difference.
Also I feel a sense of belongingness that I never had in any other forums.
Thank you all!

 

[arildno]

Thinking what you said in #18 I guess I understand more about the cultural difference.
Also I feel a sense of belongingness that I never had in any other forums.
Thank you all!

You have already shown that you will be, on your own, a positive and good force here at Physics Forums.
Do not hesitate to ask for help, and do not be shy in trying to offer your own help to others who ask for it. And, not the least, it will be great if you choose to be part in many of the debates here as well, not just the technical help/answer threads.

 

[Tongyu Chen]

OK, I'll try my best.

 

[arildno]

Can use LaTex in this forum?

Yes.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Perhaps it is true that in the West, we prefer to offer help if someone asks for it, because we do not think it is demeaning that a person actively expresses his need for help, but that it would be condescending to presume he needed help, prior for him asking for it (even though we privately KNOW he needs help!).

It's actually sort of a complicated issue.
If someone was saying something and you corrected something about what they said that was irrelevant to their point, that could be viewed as either kind of rude, or that you're just being pedantic.

And if it is relevant to the issue, it can be rude or not rude depending on how you correct them.
If you just straight up say "No, you're wrong...", then that can be viewed to be kind of rude. But if you start by saying something like "actually..." and then correct them, it's not rude. Starting by saying "actually..." gives the impression that you understand that they could make that mistake, and they're not stupid for making it.

 

[arildno]

It's actually sort of a complicated issue.
If someone was saying something and you corrected something about what they said that was irrelevant to their point, that could be viewed as either kind of rude, or that you're just being pedantic.

And if it is relevant to the issue, it can be rude or not rude depending on how you correct them.
If you just straight up say "No, you're wrong...", then that can be viewed to be kind of rude. But if you start by saying something like "actually..." and then correct them, it's not rude. Starting by saying "actually..." gives the impression that you understand that they could make that mistake, and they're not stupid for making it.

Absolutely. These are subtle issues that involves the unconscious, unverbalizable and primarily emotional differences.
But, I do think we sort of approach the difference (which is, of course, of probabilistic nature, rather than categorical) in that whereas in the West we value that people articulate and admit their own failure (to someone they choose to trust), people in the East hope that someone will see their failure and help them along without "requiring" the admission of personal defeat. The latter is to "lose face".
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In this sense, the West is more merciless in requiring for "the loser" to admit being a loser, prior to helping him, but do not hold him up to that afterwards (in the sense of his being "obliged" to remain grateful to his helper), while the East imposes bonds on gratitude om "the loser" who was actively helped along, by unspoken, actively offered help prior to being asked for it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Help establishes, and confirms, hierarchies in the East, while being regarded as proffered ladders up
the hierarchy in the West.
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anyway, that's my impression.

 

[Andre]

Welcome, Tongyu Chen!

It's fine to offer help in the western culture, but be sure to keep it modest, maybe ask if the person would like to have help first. Maybe that your teacher had a bad experience.

Anyway about the fish thing

Whilst it is commonly understood that the ichtyologic ritual originated from that British team, in reality the roots are much older. It is told that around the beginning of the Julian calendar -now superseded by the Gregorian calendar - that there was a hamlet somewhere at the coast of Gaul, where fish, imported from Lutetia, could be hired to slap fellow tribe members (Goscinny and Uderzo, 1969 )

See also this thread