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Chapter 626: 397: The Hypocritical Civilization (4500 words, seeking monthly votes)_3
Chapter 626: 397: The Hypocritical Civilization (4500 words, seeking monthly votes)_3
Chapter 626: Chapter 397: The Hypocritical Civilization (4500 words, seeking monthly votes)_3
Because Chinese allows for quick thinking on problems.
When a person’s overall knowledge level is relatively limited and their understanding of the world’s essence is not very profound or extensive, the rapid structure of Chinese language enables them to more easily envision the future.
On the other hand, the slower structure of English forces the individual to focus more on gathering all the information they need at present and making slow decisions to address problems they are facing, like credit card repayment, for instance.
However, on another level, Harrison Clark believed that regardless of whether one’s mother language is Chinese or English, top scholars in both languages can still focus on the future while standing firmly in the present.
When speakers of both languages reach the pinnacle of their respective academic fields, there is no defining the superiority of one over the other.
These people possess a vast wealth of knowledge and a grand worldview, and they can break free from the limitations of their own language.
At this point, the influence of the language structure on an individual’s emotions would be minimized.
Actually, there is a new logical paradox hidden here.
Does possessing more knowledge make a person more moral?
The truth is not so.
Knowledge cannot cultivate morals.
Morals stem from the education a person has received from childhood, as well as their self-learning in adulthood.
The richness of one’s knowledge does not necessarily equate to the nobility of one’s morals.
It is just that people with noble morals will feel a heightened sense of responsibility when learning, which serves as motivation. These individuals have a higher level of concentration and desire for new knowledge.
Hence, highly moral people account for a relatively higher proportion among top scholars.
However, this does not mean that there are no bad individuals among scholars; exceptions still exist.
Although Harrison Clark thought so in his heart and was somewhat resentful, he did not stand up to refute the Oxford Professor right away.
When the conference was over, he took the initiative to approach the Oxford Professor for a discussion.
In private, he expressed his doubts and invited the professor to join him in conducting a similar social experiment in the Chinese-speaking world.
The Oxford Professor had already given up on this idea, but he could not refute Harrison Clark’s skepticism, simply citing limited funding as a reason.
“Don’t worry about funding; I’ll cover it. Let’s skip the small-town model and focus on surveys, hoping to have the results within a week,” said Harrison Clark.
The Oxford Professor squinted his eyes and asked, “Mr. Clark, are you sure you’re not trying to glorify your country?”
Harrison Clark shook his head and replied, “That’s why I’m inviting you, not doing it myself. You will be solely in charge of the final statistics, and I’ll only observe without interfering. This way, the findings will be more convincing.”
“Alright,” agreed the professor.
Harrison Clark’s eyes flickered as he decided to take care of his alma mater.
“How about collaborating with the University of Oxford located in Oxfordshire?” he suggested.
“No problem. My team here hasn’t disbanded yet, so when do we start?” asked the professor.
Harrison Clark blinked, “Now.”
What might seem like a big deal to ordinary people could be as simple as a brief conversation for someone at Harrison Clark’s level.
…
Nine days later.
The survey base in the UK had reached a whopping one million responses, making the results highly significant.
Beholding the outcomes before him, the Oxford Professor was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Harrison Clark was greatly pleased and filled with mixed emotions.
Without comparison, there is no disparity.
Although the majority of Chinese-speaking respondents did not demonstrate a particularly strong inclination when faced with crises in the distant future, they generally recognized the importance of hard work, stronger learning, and striving to achieve more self-worth.
Only about 30% of the respondents showed a clear tendency of indifference and detachment.
As for crises in ten years, the performance of Chinese people did not disappoint. Almost no one in China portrayed any blatant tendencies for violence when facing such an irresistibly apocalyptic situation.
There were indeed some who did, but their violent tendencies were mostly directed toward the “enemies” behind the unknown apocalyptic situation.
If complete resistance was indeed futile, most people would choose to stay with their families at the very end.
The Oxford Professor was very dissatisfied with the survey results and angrily accused, “Chinese people are too hypocritical!”
Harrison Clark did not deny it, “This could indeed be hypocrisy. But if 70% of people in a vast civilization like ours are willing to be ‘hypocritical’ and live their lives in this ‘hypocrisy,’ their pretense could, in a sense, be regarded as sincerity. Right? Merchants pretend in order to gain more benefits at hand, but with such a large proportion of ‘hypocritical’ people in China, can we really gain more benefits by being hypocritical? Even if it’s true, would you then put down your prejudices against us because of our ‘hypocrisy’?”