How Culture Shapes Our Instincts!

[Anonymous]

How would you start drawing, if I ask you to draw a circle? Just a simple circle? Would you start from the top or bottom? Would you draw it clockwise or vice versa? Now, you probably think why all these things are important. But these can reveal a lot about you.

According to studies;

86% of Americans draw it contraclockwise.

80% of Japanese draw it clockwise.

British and Australians also draw it like Americans.

And this rate is even higher in France and Germany. So the majority of the world draws it contraclockwise.

But why it is different in Japan? Can it be related with Japanese language? Actually it is not only like that in japan but also in China. And it can be related to their language and education system. The way they write effects their drawings along their whole life.

There is also a difference while drawing triangles. Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans draw it at once.

In Japan, if you don't draw characters with order, you are called uneducated. It is interesting, isn't it? But you will be called eduacated in another country.

And also if a kid draws a circle clockwise, it will be considered abnormal.

Which one is right? Should we draw a circle clockwise or contraclockwise? Should we start drawing a triangle from the top or bottom? Actually, these questions are pointless. Because they have no right answer.

Even we don't realize it, culture has many effects in our life. Try to count one to three by using your fingers. According to studies, British start counting by using their index finger and go on with their middle and ring finger.

But Germans start with their thumb and go on with their index and middle finger.

As a result, our culture and the language that we speak make us have different choices. It even effects the way we think.

[Anonymous]

I'm South African I draw my circles clockwise starting from the top. I simply can not understand why someone would draw a circle anticlockwise. It doesn't make sense. And you can't exactly blame that on the way I write. I write in English and only in English (unless we're in French class)