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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?
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VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
But you failed (deliberately or otherwise) to notice the nuance of the written language in that I was riffing on your assumption we were talking exclusively of Americans. I was pointing out that not everyone here is of American "culture". You knew fine what I meant. I knew fine what I was doing when playing with language. But tried to be pedantic because your point didn't hold.13 -
janejellyroll wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
Most genuine academics I know understand that technical terms may be used in a more informal or casual way among laypeople and they don't go around correcting people when it doesn't serve any real purpose.
It's kind of like when someone said "want some torte?" and I said "well, technically, a tort is a non-contractual infringement of a right or wrongful act leading to civil legal liability."
Or like when some non lawyer jokingly says "that's hearsay!" meaning that it's not based on credible evidence or some such and I insist that they immediately sit down and read Rule 801 of the FRE.
Oh, right, I don't do that!22 -
VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
And a silly comment like that just minimizes every other comment you've made. smh14 -
VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
Dude, you're not an anthropologist. What kind of horse do you think you're sitting on making remarks like this?
Or for that matter, what sort of shaking anthropological ground are you standing on referring to "cake culture", given what you've now just corrected all of us "blue pill lemmings" to understanding culture to be?18 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Pedantic straw clutching?
Across all human cultures there are customs around the sharing of food at time of celebration. What those foods are will depend on the celebration and again, customs and the evolution thereof. It is a shared commonality amongst humans of different cultures. There. Better?
That is a more accurate statement. Thank you.
And invalidates your assertion that there exists a "cake culture."
Ah, you beat me to this point. It was still worth making again.2 -
VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
So one undergrad course makes me an expert? Well, form a line, folks! I am now a master in post-modern literature, environmental studies, chemistry, biology and philosophy! I'm smart af.17 -
VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
So one undergrad course makes me an expert? Well, form a line, folks! I am now a master in post-modern literature, environmental studies, chemistry, biology and philosophy! I'm smart af.
Yeah, I'm down with this! I'll rewrite the tax code!8 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
So one undergrad course makes me an expert? Well, form a line, folks! I am now a master in post-modern literature, environmental studies, chemistry, biology and philosophy! I'm smart af.
Yeah, I'm down with this! I'll rewrite the tax code!
This does serve to remind me how different the higher education system is in the US to where I am.1 -
I think my favorite part of this is some "red pilled" person totally using "culture" in the Tumblr way, then getting a triggered when called on it. That right there is delicious cake.17
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VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
I'm not American. It intersects with my culture of being a human who has always, throughout history, shared food as social bonding.
May I ask, what you are then? Although many cultures have commonalities, there is no one 'human' culture.
Can you tell me of a human culture where sharing of food in times of celebration isn't a thing?
In China, the traditional food to celebrate a birthday are peaches and noodles, not cake.
But still food...........
Yes. Ok, I didn't want to go there but honestly, you are not using the term "culture" correctly. The definition of culture is the customs, practices and beliefs of a particular people or society. By definition, there can be no universal human "culture". So your point that all humans share food is merely pointing out a commonality between cultures. Sorry, but there it is.
Of course you didn't.
I don't expect you to understand. After all you are a layman so are not as sensitive to the misuse of technical terminology.
You pulled that definition from the dictionary. Not actually what you will find written in any even first year anthropology text. If you're going to try to pretend you're an anthropologist, maybe make sure there isn't someone who actually is one in the room...34 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
Compared to when I started full-time office work in the 1970s, there's been a noticeable decrease in teams going out during working hours and drinking silly amounts of alcohol, though. Cake at work is probably safer, and more productive work-wise.
True. Sweet treats in the lunchroom does seem to have replaced the three martini lunch.
Also probably the reason for so much stress in the workplace now.
I wouldn't count on it. I have stories about the never-ending-beer-pitchers lunches (and workplace aftermath) that would stress anyone out.
That was before decent craft beer, too. In any era, sometimes ya gotta take one for the team.
6 -
Here's a wee link for you, Macy, since you seem to have forgotten the basics: http://anthro.palomar.edu/culture/culture_1.htm
Note specifically the third layer of culture:
"The third layer of culture consists of cultural universals. These are learned behavior patterns that are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, they share these universal traits. Examples of such "human cultural" traits include:
1. communicating with a verbal language consisting of a limited set of sounds and grammatical rules for constructing sentences
2. using age and gender to classify people (e.g., teenager, senior citizen, woman, man)
3. classifying people based on marriage and descent relationships and having kinship terms to refer to
them (e.g., wife, mother, uncle, cousin)
4. raising children in some sort of family setting
5. having a sexual division of labor (e.g., men's work versus women's work)
6. having a concept of privacy
7. having rules to regulate sexual behavior
8. distinguishing between good and bad behavior
9. having some sort of body ornamentation
10. making jokes and playing games
11. having art
12. having some sort of leadership roles for the implementation of community decisions
While all cultures have these and possibly many other universal traits, different cultures have developed their own specific ways of carrying out or expressing them. For instance, people in deaf subcultures frequently use their hands to communicate with sign language instead of verbal language. However, sign languages have grammatical rules just as verbal ones do.29 -
Also, layers. Kinda like cake really.22
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deannalfisher wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »oh how I would love to write my psych dissertation on cake culture in the workplace....haha!
Why not? Another theme would be how it intersects with the individualism of American culture...hence the primary defence being along the lines of "it's your choice to eat or not eat the cake" "just say no" etc. How does cake culture play out in societies that value conformity over individualism?
because it doesn't really fall into my focus area - but if I were going general psychology it would (my focus area was team dynamics)
But it is team dynamics. You just need the right frame.
At my old workplace, one of the team leaders took a whole series of those cake baking/decorating classes. She lived with just her son, so she'd bring her practice cakes to the office for her team. You better believe it affected team dynamics, not to mention the number of other teams who found excuses to visit her team, number of people who applied for openings on her team, etc.
For my taste, the cakes weren't even particularly tasty. Really gorgeous, though. Her team wasn't the fattest team, either. I think tech support was, and they never brought treats.4 -
Not sure why you think it is surprising, relevant, or even interesting.vegaslounge wrote: »I'm late to the thread (it's been a fun read!) but figured I'd throw in my two cents...
I hate the "my coworker is trying to sabotage my weight loss by bringing in treats!" whine. And I don't just say this as a coworker who brings in said treats, I say it as a human being who has free will and doesn't have a paranoid chip on her shoulder, chocolate or otherwise.
You are not so special, and the world not so petty, that Becky from accounting is trying to derail your – yes, YOUR! PERSONAL!– weight loss goals. Even if she is, you aren't tied to your office chair while she crams cookies fois gras-style down your gullet (if this is the case, I think OSHA would be a better organization to contact than MFP). Occam's razor would say that your coworker is trying to be nice and, also, you aren't the only person in the office, buttercup. Maybe Josh from marketing or that guy who delivers the mail whom you've never bothered to learn the name of would like an afternoon pick-me-up.
The "solutions" to this "problem" are usually just as bad. I especially hate the, "throw it away in front of them, they'll get the hint" one. Again, I AM that coworker who brings in homemade goods, and based on feedback, I am a damn good cook. I've also lost 35lb in the last year. I love to bake (it's very soothing) but I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I undoubtedly make more than I know I'd eat for weeks. So, why not share the bounty? Honestly, if a coworker accepted a brownie and then made sure that I saw them throw it in the trash, I wouldn't "take the hint" that I'm not supposed to bring in treats. I'd be a little hurt because I put time, money and effort into doing something nice for the office and you're frankly coming across like a world-class kittenhole and remarkable egotist for no good reason. Even if your coworker is bringing in dollar-store doughnuts, they spent their money to be nice. Hell, my supervisor's treat last month sent me into anaphylaxis and I don't shout "murderer!" every time I see her (sometimes. Not every time.)
Maybe I'm completely wrong. Maybe there really are Brazil-esque businesses where your coworkers surround you chanting "EAT! THE! CAKE!!! EAT! THE! CAKE!!!" and you get a zap to the cajones if you refuse. Is that what real office jobs are like? I've worked in non-profits my professional career, we're kind of the hippies of the corporate world.
I personally think this cake culture is a damaging maladaption. It's not a "nice" thing to bring in fat pills. It's definitely a bad thing to do. But because we have a cake culture in offices, it's almost expected that everyone take their turn bringing in sugary, fatty foods with which to tempt each other. Also to order and share a cake when a coworker has a birthday...yuck. It's just not a healthy practice for us humans to have adopted and yet we have and there's all kind of societal expectations around accepting the food, taking your turn to bring in food, etc. The sooner gone the better.
This is probably the saddest, most blinkered view of social behavior I have ever seen expressed on the forums here.
Lol. I guess it would surprise you then if I said my bachelors degree was in Anthropology.
I don't feel sad for you, just those around you who you think of so poorly. Apparently you mistook my observation as a challenge to surpass my low assessment of your statement, and succeeded brilliantly. Congratulations. Mind you, that is not my assessment of you as a person, only of your statements.Don't feel sad for me though! I feel sad for all the poor blue pill lemmings chomping down on cake and donuts in offices every day.I don't think cake culture should be banned, I'm pretty libertarian, but it would be better for us as a species facing an obesity crisis if we didn't have this cultural norm.
That assumes such a thing exists. As for your sociopolitical leanings, I'm still not sure why you think it is surprising, relevant, or even interesting.
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Carlos_421 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »What if the people eating cake are thin? Do you still pity them? I mean, I do, since if they had sense they'd be eating pie, but we covered that.
For the record, it shows that the one time I watched the Matrix I fell asleep, since my reaction to the "blue pill" thing was "wait, Viagra makes you eat cake and donuts?"
Oh it's a Matrix thing? I've never seen it so I was confused too.
Wasn't there a couple guys on here who were going on about them being "redpillers"? They seemed to be rather deplorable types when it came to their relationships with the opposite sex.3 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »What if the people eating cake are thin? Do you still pity them? I mean, I do, since if they had sense they'd be eating pie, but we covered that.
For the record, it shows that the one time I watched the Matrix I fell asleep, since my reaction to the "blue pill" thing was "wait, Viagra makes you eat cake and donuts?"
Oh it's a Matrix thing? I've never seen it so I was confused too.
Wasn't there a couple guys on here who were going on about them being "redpillers"? They seemed to be rather deplorable types when it came to their relationships with the opposite sex.
The red pill/blue pill language is common amongst MRA-types and pick-up culture. There's been at least one notable example floating around the boards a while back.3 -
I have just been on a 3 week holiday and returned to page 147 of this thread. I think I may have missed a whole lot.
My jet lag this afternoon will be spent catching up, and hoping nothing has happened that will close it down before I do.
Nice to be back.
Cheers, h.
8 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I have just been on a 3 week holiday and returned to page 147 of this thread. I think I may have missed a whole lot.
My jet lag this afternoon will be spent catching up, and hoping nothing has happened that will close it down before I do.
Nice to be back.
Cheers, h.
Welcome back! Have some cake!8 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I have just been on a 3 week holiday and returned to page 147 of this thread. I think I may have missed a whole lot.
My jet lag this afternoon will be spent catching up, and hoping nothing has happened that will close it down before I do.
Nice to be back.
Cheers, h.
Hope you had a great vacation, and really, have some cake. It's my great Aunt Griselda's favorite recipe and someone might be offended if I'm not offended if you only pretend to eat it.11
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