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The Writing on the Wall : How Asian Orthography Curbs Creativity / William C. Hannas.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Encounters with AsiaPublisher: Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2013]Copyright date: ©2003Description: 1 online resource (360 p.) : 7 illusContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780812237115
  • 9780812202168
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 495
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Japan's Creative Imitations -- 2. Sources of Chinese Innovation -- 3. Korean Technology Transfer -- 4. Asia's Creativity Problem -- 5. The Anatomy of Creativity -- 6. Creativity and the Alphabet -- 7. Asia's Orthographic Tradition -- 8. The Concrete Nature of Asian Writing -- 9. The Impact of Language on Creativity -- 10. Chinese Characters and Creativity -- 11. Creativity and East Asian Society -- 12. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments
Summary: Students in Japan, China, and Korea are among the world's top performers on standardized math and science tests. The nations of East Asia are also leading manufacturers of consumer goods that incorporate scientific breakthroughs in telecommunications, optics, and transportation. Yet there is a startling phenomenon known throughout Asia as the "creativity problem." While East Asians are able to use science, they have not demonstrated the ability to invent radically new systems and paradigms that lead to new technologies. In fact, the legal and illegal transfer of technology from the West to the East is one of the most contentious international business issues. Yet Asians who study and work in the West and depend upon Western languages for their research are among the most creative and talented scientists, no less so than their Western counterparts.William C. Hannas contends that this paradox emerges from the nature of East Asian writing systems, which are character-based rather than alphabetic. Character-based orthographies, according to the author, lack the abstract features of alphabetic writing that model the thought processes necessary for scientific creativity. When first learning to read, children who are immersed in a character-based culture are at a huge disadvantage because such writing systems do not cultivate the ability for abstract thought. Despite the overwhelming body of evidence that points to the cognitive side-effects, the cultural importance of character-based writing makes the adoption of an alphabet unlikely in the near future.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780812202168

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Japan's Creative Imitations -- 2. Sources of Chinese Innovation -- 3. Korean Technology Transfer -- 4. Asia's Creativity Problem -- 5. The Anatomy of Creativity -- 6. Creativity and the Alphabet -- 7. Asia's Orthographic Tradition -- 8. The Concrete Nature of Asian Writing -- 9. The Impact of Language on Creativity -- 10. Chinese Characters and Creativity -- 11. Creativity and East Asian Society -- 12. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Students in Japan, China, and Korea are among the world's top performers on standardized math and science tests. The nations of East Asia are also leading manufacturers of consumer goods that incorporate scientific breakthroughs in telecommunications, optics, and transportation. Yet there is a startling phenomenon known throughout Asia as the "creativity problem." While East Asians are able to use science, they have not demonstrated the ability to invent radically new systems and paradigms that lead to new technologies. In fact, the legal and illegal transfer of technology from the West to the East is one of the most contentious international business issues. Yet Asians who study and work in the West and depend upon Western languages for their research are among the most creative and talented scientists, no less so than their Western counterparts.William C. Hannas contends that this paradox emerges from the nature of East Asian writing systems, which are character-based rather than alphabetic. Character-based orthographies, according to the author, lack the abstract features of alphabetic writing that model the thought processes necessary for scientific creativity. When first learning to read, children who are immersed in a character-based culture are at a huge disadvantage because such writing systems do not cultivate the ability for abstract thought. Despite the overwhelming body of evidence that points to the cognitive side-effects, the cultural importance of character-based writing makes the adoption of an alphabet unlikely in the near future.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2022)