The Geography of Thought

Thought is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “an idea or opinion produced by thinking or occurring suddenly in the mind.” Thought can be influenced by different geographic locations, cultures, customs, religions and beliefs. On opposite sides of the world geographically there are advantages thinking like both an Easterner and Westerner.
Eastern thinking is founded on many different principles than Western thinking. Differences in every aspect of life can be found among these civilizations. For instance, education varies differently between both these countries. In Eastern thought education is viewed as expanding ones knowledge and curiosity for self-fulfillment. To educate oneself is for own personal growth and knowledge unlike the Greeks. For example, Greek culture rules that through education, power and wealth can be achieved. Although there was an emphasis on this idea the Greeks were not as advanced as the Chinese civilization at the time. The Chinese were a very advanced civilization and are responsible for the creation of a plethora of technologically advanced tools and resources. A few advances include, ink, porcelain, irrigation systems and immunization techniques. During the time period in which these developments were made there appears to be no evidence of any technological contributions made by the Greeks. Not emphasizing a personal gain attitude the Chinese seem to have been more successful than a society who was looking to advance themselves as individuals and not work as a whole.
During my time as an under graduate student in New York City, I was immersed in a melting pot of cultures. The school I attended ranged from Polish, Russian, Korean and Japanese students. The Japanese and Korean students were socially different than the American students. For example a student’s name was Sungkwon Ha and chose an American name such as Tony so that American students and teachers could pronounce it easier and that they would blend in more. When