Do Americans have it better? - Page 8

yvanleterrible · 07-27-2009, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

It's one of the "few large islands" plus other smaller ones

The "traditional" count around here is 5: Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Oceania, and the 6th is Antarctica. I believe the count is rather arbitrary, just like the colours in the rainbow (if I remember correctly, Newton said they were 7 for "numerological" reasons).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

When I went to school, it was Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia. Oceania I only heard of much later (and I had no idea where to find it...)

Oceania isn't even a large island!

When I was a kid... not that long ago. Oceania was the combination of Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Quite an area...

HansTWN · 07-27-2009, 10:48 PM

Oceania? Not Indonesia, but Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc.

Sonist · 07-28-2009, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Germany, Denmark, France, Japan come to mind, I don't know about Norway, Sweden, Holland -- I think the list of the countries with higher median incomes is longer than the one given by Sonist....

Uhm, Hans, ignorance is really not a virtue.

Whether you measure by GDP per capita, or PPP, the list of countries ahead of the US in median household income is fairly small, and most of the ones you mention are NOT on it.... A simple search will give you the numbers.

I don't know what exactly you are trying to prove, but the reason prices are often lower in the US, is not because Americans are generally poorer.

Sweetpea · 07-28-2009, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahi

Well then thank God the Czechs have finally come to their senses.

Still waiting for my country to come to their senses... Ever since they removed the rule that that song had to be done in the native language, and the removal of the knowledgeable jury, the one with the most friends will win...

HarryT · 07-28-2009, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Still waiting for my country to come to their senses... Ever since they removed the rule that that song had to be done in the native language, and the removal of the knowledgeable jury, the one with the most friends will win...

They changed that this year. The "jury" is back again, because for the last few years the "politics" had been so blatant - all the Scandinanian countries voting for each other; the Eastern European countries voting for each other, etc. This year's result showed, I think, that it's pretty "fair" again - not too many people would argue, I think, that this year's winner (Norway) didn't deserve to win.

kacir · 07-28-2009, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Just remember, 50% of the people/income/households/businesses/ are below average...

That is not true.
If you have one household that has 100 dollars income and 999 households that have 99 dollars income, 99.9% of all households have income below the average.
On the other hand, if you have one household with 99 dollars income and 999 households have $100, 99.9 percent is above the average.

I suspect that in real life a few millionaires would skew the situation towards scenario 1

Ain't statistic beautiful?

rireed3 · 07-28-2009, 05:28 AM

That's why honest statisticians use the median, the value where half are above and half are below, and why no one but academics ever publishes income distribution charts.

In unequal societies like the US and Britain, income distributions don't even come close to resembling a bell curve, where the median would equal the average. The median in these countries is skewed far below the average, as you guessed.

Also, the shape of the curve is highest around the one-half-median income. Conservative politics in both parties has over 40 years shifted the 'poverty level', used to calculate government benefits, below even the half-median.

Richard

rireed3 · 07-28-2009, 06:18 AM

Back to the subject,

I would never buy a Kindle, and I don't believe in renting books. I do believe in libraries.

Publishers and booksellers don't need any more of our rights to obtain information through their further distortion of copyright laws.

Most people are information-poor, partly from being actually poor, and poor Americans are numerous and hard-working enough to get a better deal than Big Brother Whispernet.

American publishers and sellers shouldn't be singled out on this. Sony and Waterstones (Britain) have some kind of DRM exclusivity going around the PRS-505.

I'm not sure why Sony witholds their readers from Europe for a year after selling them in the US, but there are so many other devices, and ways of dealing with epub that it doesn't bother me.

Richard

HarryT · 07-28-2009, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rireed3

American publishers and sellers shouldn't be singled out on this. Sony and Waterstones (Britain) have some kind of DRM exclusivity going around the PRS-505.

No they don't. Waterstones' ePub books can be read on any device which supports ePub. There's nothing specific to Sony about them.

Moejoe · 07-28-2009, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No they don't. Waterstones' ePub books can be read on any device which supports ePub. There's nothing specific to Sony about them.

Yes and they're super easy to strip the DRM from

yvanleterrible · 07-28-2009, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Oceania? Not Indonesia, but Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc.

Hmm... which outlines that what one retains from childhood is not necessarily the reality. Thanks for clearing it up.

rireed3 · 07-28-2009, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
No they don't. Waterstones' ePub books can be read on any device which supports ePub. There's nothing specific to Sony about them.

Yes and they're super easy to strip the DRM from

Fair enough about the stripping, but how many drm-epub readers have actually made it to market so far? Hamlin V3 appears to do free epub and drm-mobi. I can't tell from the Wiki matrix which do drm-epub, maybe Iliad? and a few yet unavailable - Cybook Opus hasn't been delivered yet, nor the alternative epub firmware for Gen3.

I just think Waterstones could have offered some other formats like W H Smith did.

Richard

DixieGal · 07-28-2009, 10:00 AM

In the US, our richest live in over-the-top mansions that are poor imitations of what Europeans have had for centuries. Many towns in Europe have churches that date from before Columbus, heck, before even the Vikings came here. Our government buildings are imitations of those buildings. Our oldest and most cherished traditions are only a couple hundred years old. Visitors from Europe aren't impressed with our historical sites, but just take them to Huntsville, Houston, or Cape Canaveral to see the space age, and they go ga-ga. The only thing we can bring to the world is NEW! IMPROVED! WOW!

I've said it before, and I still stand by this: Our poor are wealthy compared to the poor of other nations. They get housing, food, educations, and health care for free. The problem is that some are addicts or mentally ill and unable to manage their lives, regardless of the institutions put into place to help them. The resources are already there for them, but they have to ask for them.

Sweetpea · 07-28-2009, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

In the US, our richest live in over-the-top mansions that are poor imitations of what Europeans have had for centuries. Many towns in Europe have churches that date from before Columbus, heck, before even the Vikings came here. Our government buildings are imitations of those buildings. Our oldest and most cherished traditions are only a couple hundred years old. Visitors from Europe aren't impressed with our historical sites, but just take them to Huntsville, Houston, or Cape Canaveral to see the space age, and they go ga-ga. The only thing we can bring to the world is NEW! IMPROVED! WOW!

Not exactly true... I've seen some very impressive historical sites. And I'd love to see more. But it's very hard to maintain a historical site. You need to make sacrifices. Often, when an old building is no longer of use (or really outdated), it will be torn down, instead of being restored to its old splendor.

In the village where I live, there is this old farmhouse. It doesn't comply with any modern building standard (isolation? what's that? electricity as it was when it was first inserted, after the house was already built, old copper water pipes, etc). The easiest and cheapest way to get it up to modern standards would be to tear it down and rebuild it. But the current owners are completely renovating it (they're busy on the roof now). The only thing that will keep standing will be the outer wall (and the basic structure of the roof). This takes huge amounts of time (they're already working on it for over 3 years, and no end date in sight yet), but when they're done, it will look like the time will have stopped. (a lot of people don't have that patience, and would tear it down anyway...)

(oh, and I'd love to see Cape Canaveral!, but also I'd love to see Chacho Canyon)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I've said it before, and I still stand by this: Our poor are wealthy compared to the poor of other nations. They get housing, food, educations, and health care for free. The problem is that some are addicts or mentally ill and unable to manage their lives, regardless of the institutions put into place to help them. The resources are already there for them, but they have to ask for them.

I think that goes for all the Western countries. If you want help, you'll find it. But the ones that don't want it (for whatever reason), will be counted as well in the averages.

griffonwing · 07-28-2009, 10:42 AM

I live about 7 miles north of Dogpatch, Arkansas. If you've ever read the Lil Abner comics from Andy Capp. Dogatch is a real place, and there 'was' a theme park, which has long been closed, but the buildings are still there. Beautiful Ozark Mountains, lovely views, and many houses in the surrounding counties are still like they were a hundred years ago.

07-27-2009, 10:48 PM	#107
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	Oceania? Not Indonesia, but Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc. Last edited by HansTWN; 07-28-2009 at 12:16 AM.

07-28-2009, 06:18 AM	#113
rireed3 Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 358 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: BeBook 1, Cybook Gen3	Back to the subject, I would never buy a Kindle, and I don't believe in renting books. I do believe in libraries. Publishers and booksellers don't need any more of our rights to obtain information through their further distortion of copyright laws. Most people are information-poor, partly from being actually poor, and poor Americans are numerous and hard-working enough to get a better deal than Big Brother Whispernet. American publishers and sellers shouldn't be singled out on this. Sony and Waterstones (Britain) have some kind of DRM exclusivity going around the PRS-505. I'm not sure why Sony witholds their readers from Europe for a year after selling them in the US, but there are so many other devices, and ways of dealing with epub that it doesn't bother me. Richard Last edited by rireed3; 07-28-2009 at 06:27 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
How do Americans feel about UK spelling?	Luke King	Writers' Corner	363	12-03-2010 12:07 PM
Kindle International for Americans	geneven	Amazon Kindle	2	10-29-2009 07:27 AM
Why do Americans say they 'could care less'	Sparrow	Lounge	148	05-13-2009 02:28 PM
80% of Americans want to write a book	Bob Russell	Lounge	10	02-09-2007 07:06 AM
any americans that would be willing to help?	grimo1re	Sony Reader	3	12-13-2006 12:52 PM

07-28-2009, 05:28 AM	#112
rireed3 Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 358 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: BeBook 1, Cybook Gen3	That's why honest statisticians use the median, the value where half are above and half are below, and why no one but academics ever publishes income distribution charts. In unequal societies like the US and Britain, income distributions don't even come close to resembling a bell curve, where the median would equal the average. The median in these countries is skewed far below the average, as you guessed. Also, the shape of the curve is highest around the one-half-median income. Conservative politics in both parties has over 40 years shifted the 'poverty level', used to calculate government benefits, below even the half-median. Richard

07-28-2009, 10:00 AM	#118
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	In the US, our richest live in over-the-top mansions that are poor imitations of what Europeans have had for centuries. Many towns in Europe have churches that date from before Columbus, heck, before even the Vikings came here. Our government buildings are imitations of those buildings. Our oldest and most cherished traditions are only a couple hundred years old. Visitors from Europe aren't impressed with our historical sites, but just take them to Huntsville, Houston, or Cape Canaveral to see the space age, and they go ga-ga. The only thing we can bring to the world is NEW! IMPROVED! WOW! I've said it before, and I still stand by this: Our poor are wealthy compared to the poor of other nations. They get housing, food, educations, and health care for free. The problem is that some are addicts or mentally ill and unable to manage their lives, regardless of the institutions put into place to help them. The resources are already there for them, but they have to ask for them.

07-28-2009, 10:42 AM	#120
griffonwing Suave Swabby, Savvy? Posts: 1,602 Karma: 520350 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Harrison, ARrrr, USA - southern Ozark mountains Device: Slate Blue PEZ (Astak Pocket Pro), CVSCX-9300 Quad-band watch phone	I live about 7 miles north of Dogpatch, Arkansas. If you've ever read the Lil Abner comics from Andy Capp. Dogatch is a real place, and there 'was' a theme park, which has long been closed, but the buildings are still there. Beautiful Ozark Mountains, lovely views, and many houses in the surrounding counties are still like they were a hundred years ago.

Advert

Advert