Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id PAA08671 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 18 May 2000 15:14:17 +0100 Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 07:12:43 -0700 From: Bill Spight <bspight@pacbell.net> Subject: Re: Technology vs. culture To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Message-id: <3923FA5B.A4AB7CA4@pacbell.net> Organization: Saybrook Graduate School X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en]C-PBI-NC404 (Win95; I) Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit X-Accept-Language: ja,en References: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D31CEB1B2@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Dear Vincent,
> Are the paper doors of some Japanese
> houses, or chopsticks, culturally produced- or maintained-
> technologies?
An explanation for the paper doors that I heard while I was
living in Japan had to do with earthquakes. A general plan for
Japanese houses was thick, sturdy beams at the corners and a
heavy roof, with relatively insubstantial walls and doors. During
an earthquake the walls and doors typically rattled, but did not
crack. (With my house, a similar effect occurred when a large
truck went by. ;-))
Best,
Bill
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