Groups form in Japan for all kinds of reasons, some good, some bad. We talk about our experience with group identity in Japan.

Transcript

K: So, lately I’ve been thinking about groups in Japan. Like expat groups and not even expat groups. There’s tons and tons of social groups in Japan. I feel like – well in Nagoya, Japan. I guess all of Japan. I don’t know. I’m thinking about meetups and meetups are everywhere all over Japan. So meetups is an app – do you know about meetups?

C: I know about meetups. It’s actually a website, and they have an app associated with the website.

K: Well, I’m calling it an app because Word has decided everything should be called an app, and you know I am a drone for Word.

C: Yeah.

K: I drone Word. I don’t stan Word. I drone Word.

C: Okay.

K: And I drone Word because hello, PHD, Word is my life. 

C: Yeah, it’s mine too.

K: Word, Mendeley, and PowerPoint. 

C: Mmm.

K: PowerPoint, okay. Okay, digression right out of the gate. I feel like I need to confess this, and why? Why do I need to confess this? Nobody’s going to care. Like, literally no one will care. So, okay, here’s the thing: I think no one’s about to care, well I think no one will care, anyway. I’m completely spacey today. If you cared about this, hit us up on Twitter and let us know. Be like “Kisstopher, yo, we really cared that you drew your diagrams in SPSS” – I mean, no, I didn’t draw them in SPSS. That’s what I’m trying to confess. “That you drew your diagrams in Word instead of SPSS.” No, PowerPoint. Man, get it together. (laughs) If you guys could see Chad’s face right now. I am so scattered because I am so busy, and I think I just need to take a deep breath and gather my thoughts.

C: So, and I feel like that is the experience for me of working with PowerPoint.

(laughter)

C: It’s like I need to do it this way, no wait, the wrong tool, this…

K: So yeah, I’m fresh off of working with PowerPoint. And I was rushing because I was like – because all day I’ve been telling you “just let me do one more thing. Just one more thing.” Which is the bane of Chad’s existence is when I tell him “give me ten minutes.”

C: Yes.

K: So, for years and years, Rasta didn’t know how long ten minutes was because I would – no mater what I wanted, it’s just like “leave me alone until I tell you I’m available” and my language for that is “give me ten minutes.” I’ll be done in ten minutes.

C: Yeah, so you were drawing path diagrams, and I feel like if you’re drawing path diagrams, you really should be using either GGPlot which is in R or Graphviz. I know SPSS and AMOS and all of that can draw them, too, but

K: Yes.

C: But I’m a purist as far as how to draw them, but PowerPoint works in a pinch.

K: and I’m in a pinch people. I’m in a pinch.

C: But I’m only thinking about groups because you said you were thinking about groups. I was like “finally, we can discuss the group operator, we can discuss the commutation. Like 2:57.” But apparently you want to talk about social groups.

K: (laughs) Yes, social groups. And I’m sorry to digress straight out the gate because I have been thinking about social groups, but I have also been thinking about guilt. And so I’m super, super guilty because I feel like I should be doing everything in SPSS but opening up SPSS when I’m working on a Word document just t do a couple of diagrams that go in my appendix, I feel like it is so much simpler to do them in PowerPoint.

C: It really is, yes.

K: And you sold me on that because I was like “aaaahhh, I’ve got to do this in SPSS” and I really have PHD brain, which is no surprise if you follow us on Twitter. And if you don’t follow us on Twitter, then go follow us on Twitter.