Ordnung

[lonely_squirrel]

A cute little article about Ordnung in German society and the difficulty it creates in the global economy. Simply put, the Germans are not inclined to take drastic measures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/weekinreview/05KULISH.html

Comments

[metallian]

Heh, interesting. I don't know if I'd be compatible with that or not. I can be extremely particular and fussy about correctness...but on the other hand, if I understand something well enough to know when it's okay to improvise, I will.

[lonely_squirrel]

In my experience the attitude quickly drives certain people up a wall. It's both the directness, openness, and Ordnung that can make you feel like you're constantly being invaded. If you understand that it's not personal, you can do okay.

But what you say about understanding something well enough to know when it's okay to improvise holds here as well. It's just the "when it's okay" is cultural. Jaywalking in residental streets is common. Across multiple lanes of bidirectional traffic, no, even if its 12am and the street's empty.

It can be amusing sometimes. There's a large punk scene in Berlin, and its common then to see a young punks standing on the side of an empty street late at night, very orderly, waiting for the light to change.