All look the same

afro-elf · 07-12-2004, 09:25 AM

My students here in Japan and my East Asian friends everywhere generally say they can tell Asians from on part of Asia from another.

Then they bomb this test:

http://www.alllooksame.com/

I first used it in our World Studies (English version) class and then tried it in all my classes.

It was quite interesting. Enjoy.

Linaewen · 07-12-2004, 09:34 AM

Oh, I did that test a while ago too. They put all these similar looking people on that site; even us people of Asian descent are completely confused. But in real life, it's often not too hard to tell where people come from (For me, I can usually identify Chinese, Cambodian, Chinese-Cambodian, Vietnamese etc people).

Japanese and Korean people, of whom there aren't so many in my neck of the woods, are harder to identify. But that test is just annoying.

afro-elf · 07-12-2004, 09:40 AM

Yeah, the test focuses on Far East Asians: Japanese,Chinese,and Korean.

I think that South East Asians were not include because there "obvious" differences. Like East Africans, vs West Africans vs Khoisans.

Linaewen · 07-12-2004, 09:44 AM

Exactly. They want to make us Asians in particular feel stupid and deflate our ego a bit, since we can't tell the difference.

How did you fare, AE?

afro-elf · 07-12-2004, 10:00 AM

I had about 40% correct. There were two Korean women, one Chinese man and one Japanese girl that I pegged quite easily.

But after that....it was mostly hit and miss.

mithrand1r · 07-12-2004, 12:41 PM

I got 9 correct.

I have a hard time telling the difference though.

The thing that I primarily tried to go by was the eyes of the person.

That and by the people that I am familiar with around here.

I tend to think Japanese people, in general, having narrower eyes than Korean or Chinese.

(Maybe it is from watching those japanese cartoons.

It may not be accurate, but this is more a case of my lack of familiarity with the characteristics of people from the far east asia.

BeardofPants · 07-12-2004, 04:06 PM

I got all but one of the Japanese people identified, had some difficulty differentiating between chinese and korean. I got 9 out of 18. I'd do better telling the differences between maori and pacific island people.

brownjenkins · 07-12-2004, 04:33 PM

11!

but about 10 of them were lucky guesses... cool idea though, i'm gonna try this out on a few people i know

in person, i've done pretty well in the past... but there are always some you can't really tell... if nothing else, it shows how different 'the same' can look if you take the time

cee2lee2 · 07-12-2004, 06:52 PM

Interesting test! I did very badly - only got 6 right. But I'm not surprised. I'm not a very observant person and even my clients all start looking the same to me.

(I work in a public assistance office taking applications.)

Last Child of Ungoliant · 07-12-2004, 07:01 PM

i got 8
i can normally recognise general origins,
i can always tell scots/irish/manx/cornish/breton
differences

Nerdanel · 07-12-2004, 07:08 PM

I'm hopeless.

lol!

brownjenkins · 07-12-2004, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Last Child of Ungoliant
i got 8
i can normally recognise general origins,
i can always tell scots/irish/manx/cornish/breton
differences

how about welsh? (a lot in my family)

Last Child of Ungoliant · 07-12-2004, 07:35 PM

sometimes, but not always!

Anglorfin · 07-12-2004, 09:53 PM

I got a 9. Still above average. Some were pretty obvious. I found it the easiest to identify the Chinese. The hardest was Korean. I know there are some very marked differences between the general Chinese population and the Japanese population, but I have no idea what to look for in Koreans.

***Khamûl*** · 07-12-2004, 11:57 PM

Jeez, I am such a sucky guesser. Before anyone asks...

*cough*cough*three*cough*

gollum9630 · 07-13-2004, 12:16 AM

HA, beat you, i got 5.

***Khamûl*** · 07-13-2004, 12:22 AM

Hey, I can't help it if everyone looked Japanese to me. And the times I picked someone to be Chinese, they really were Japanese. Figures.

gimli7410 · 07-13-2004, 12:42 AM

i got 11, but some of my best friends are japanese, korean and chinese, i always bug them about looking the same but i can usually tell whether someone is korean,japanese or chinese

katya · 07-14-2004, 12:56 PM

I did very badly. I think I got about 4 right. The thing is, even though there are differences, I just don't know what they are. After taking the test, and seeing the correct answer. I think I'd do better if I took another test because now I know what to look for.
It's like identical twins. I know a lot, and if I look at them next to each other, they look way different. I just forget which one's which. I'm actually kind of good at telling similar looking cats apart though.

***HOBBIT*** · 07-14-2004, 01:42 PM

I got 6 right. Mostly just 'educated' guesses, and I'm sure if I took it again I'd get a different score.

There are of course subtle differences - but to all non-asians, that is probably VERY HARD to detect. Asian people can do it better than everyone else of course.

Not to steryotype - but a lot of asian people think all white people look the same.

BUT - like there are different groups of Asains (Korean, Chinese, Japanese), there are different groups of white people - but for some reason "white people' are always just grouped together. German, Norweigan, British, Irish, Finnish, Scottish, Dutch, Polish, Russian - there are differences between those people too and yet White people are always just grouped together.

Just my two cents.

07-12-2004, 09:25 AM	#1
afro-elf Hoplite Nomad Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,931	All look the same My students here in Japan and my East Asian friends everywhere generally say they can tell Asians from on part of Asia from another. Then they bomb this test: http://www.alllooksame.com/ I first used it in our World Studies (English version) class and then tried it in all my classes. It was quite interesting. Enjoy. __________________ About Eowyn, Does anyone know what her alias Dernhelm means? She was kown as dernhelm because of her exclaimation when she realized that the rider's headgear was heavy and obscured her sight. 'Dern Helm" Culled from Entmoot From Kirinski 57 and Wayfarer.

07-12-2004, 09:40 AM	#3
afro-elf Hoplite Nomad Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,931	Yeah, the test focuses on Far East Asians: Japanese,Chinese,and Korean. I think that South East Asians were not include because there "obvious" differences. Like East Africans, vs West Africans vs Khoisans. __________________ About Eowyn, Does anyone know what her alias Dernhelm means? She was kown as dernhelm because of her exclaimation when she realized that the rider's headgear was heavy and obscured her sight. 'Dern Helm" Culled from Entmoot From Kirinski 57 and Wayfarer.

07-12-2004, 12:41 PM	#6
mithrand1r Cyber Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Left of Rock, Right of Hard Place Posts: 986	I got 9 correct. I have a hard time telling the difference though. The thing that I primarily tried to go by was the eyes of the person. That and by the people that I am familiar with around here. I tend to think Japanese people, in general, having narrower eyes than Korean or Chinese. (Maybe it is from watching those japanese cartoons. It may not be accurate, but this is more a case of my lack of familiarity with the characteristics of people from the far east asia. __________________ Sincerely, Anthony 'Many are my names in many countries,' he said. 'Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Drarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.' Faramir What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation? Cicero (106BC-43BC)

07-12-2004, 04:06 PM	#7
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	I got all but one of the Japanese people identified, had some difficulty differentiating between chinese and korean. I got 9 out of 18. I'd do better telling the differences between maori and pacific island people. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

07-12-2004, 04:33 PM	#8
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	11! but about 10 of them were lucky guesses... cool idea though, i'm gonna try this out on a few people i know in person, i've done pretty well in the past... but there are always some you can't really tell... if nothing else, it shows how different 'the same' can look if you take the time __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

07-12-2004, 09:34 AM	#2
Linaewen Fair Dinkum Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 2,319	Oh, I did that test a while ago too. They put all these similar looking people on that site; even us people of Asian descent are completely confused. But in real life, it's often not too hard to tell where people come from (For me, I can usually identify Chinese, Cambodian, Chinese-Cambodian, Vietnamese etc people). Japanese and Korean people, of whom there aren't so many in my neck of the woods, are harder to identify. But that test is just annoying.

07-12-2004, 09:44 AM	#4
Linaewen Fair Dinkum Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 2,319	Exactly. They want to make us Asians in particular feel stupid and deflate our ego a bit, since we can't tell the difference. How did you fare, AE?

07-12-2004, 10:00 AM	#5
afro-elf Hoplite Nomad Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,931	I had about 40% correct. There were two Korean women, one Chinese man and one Japanese girl that I pegged quite easily. But after that....it was mostly hit and miss.

07-12-2004, 06:52 PM	#9
cee2lee2 Elf Lord Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: 2nd star to the left..... Posts: 566	Interesting test! I did very badly - only got 6 right. But I'm not surprised. I'm not a very observant person and even my clients all start looking the same to me. (I work in a public assistance office taking applications.)

07-12-2004, 07:01 PM	#10
Last Child of Ungoliant The Intermittent One Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: here and there Posts: 4,671	i got 8 i can normally recognise general origins, i can always tell scots/irish/manx/cornish/breton differences

07-12-2004, 07:08 PM	#11
Nerdanel Spammer of the Happy Thread Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 3,512	I'm hopeless. lol! __________________ "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. " - C. Sagan My (photography) website My Flickr page

07-12-2004, 07:35 PM	#13
Last Child of Ungoliant The Intermittent One Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: here and there Posts: 4,671	sometimes, but not always!

07-12-2004, 09:53 PM	#14
Anglorfin Alasailon Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: college Posts: 861	I got a 9. Still above average. Some were pretty obvious. I found it the easiest to identify the Chinese. The hardest was Korean. I know there are some very marked differences between the general Chinese population and the Japanese population, but I have no idea what to look for in Koreans. __________________ "and then this hobbit was walking, and then this elf jumped out of a bush and totally flipped out on him while wailing on his guitar." "Anglorfin was tall and straight; his hair was of shining gold, his face fair and young and fearless and full of anger; his eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was great skill."

07-12-2004, 11:57 PM	#15
*Khamûl* Slacker Warrior Admin Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,759	Jeez, I am such a sucky guesser. Before anyone asks... coughcoughthreecough* __________________ "If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you." Gandalf to Pippin Psalm 107:31

07-13-2004, 12:16 AM	#16
gollum9630 Canadian Guy. Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The true North Strong and Free Posts: 1,513	HA, beat you, i got 5. __________________ "Canadians are so apathetic, but, what are you gonna do about it" -Glen Foster Wierd Harry Potter quotes the old nintendo duck hunt game Lemmings Swron Random Homer Simpson Quotes

07-13-2004, 12:22 AM	#17
*Khamûl* Slacker Warrior Admin Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,759	Hey, I can't help it if everyone looked Japanese to me. And the times I picked someone to be Chinese, they really were Japanese. Figures. __________________ "If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you." Gandalf to Pippin Psalm 107:31

07-13-2004, 12:42 AM	#18
gimli7410 the dumb stoner canuck Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: canada Posts: 2,542	i got 11, but some of my best friends are japanese, korean and chinese, i always bug them about looking the same but i can usually tell whether someone is korean,japanese or chinese __________________ -"Down with the system"-Serj tankian of system of a down -“Humans have been on the earth for millions of years, yet we don’t believe man began thinking until he started building walls. And what good have these walls ever done us?”-Serj tankian of soad -"stupid people do stupid things"-Serj tankian of soad "Trying is the first step to failure" Homer Simpson "It isn't going to be easy"-jerseydevil "only the good die young" I AM CANADIAN If the people lead, the leaders will follow.

07-14-2004, 12:56 PM	#19
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I did very badly. I think I got about 4 right. The thing is, even though there are differences, I just don't know what they are. After taking the test, and seeing the correct answer. I think I'd do better if I took another test because now I know what to look for. It's like identical twins. I know a lot, and if I look at them next to each other, they look way different. I just forget which one's which. I'm actually kind of good at telling similar looking cats apart though.

07-14-2004, 01:42 PM	#20
*HOBBIT* Saviour of Entmoot Admiral Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: NC/NJ (no longer Same place as bmilder.) Posts: 61,986	I got 6 right. Mostly just 'educated' guesses, and I'm sure if I took it again I'd get a different score. There are of course subtle differences - but to all non-asians, that is probably VERY HARD to detect. Asian people can do it better than everyone else of course. Not to steryotype - but a lot of asian people think all white people look the same. BUT - like there are different groups of Asains (Korean, Chinese, Japanese), there are different groups of white people - but for some reason "white people' are always just grouped together. German, Norweigan, British, Irish, Finnish, Scottish, Dutch, Polish, Russian - there are differences between those people too and yet White people are always just grouped together. Just my two cents. __________________ President Emeritus (2000-2004) Private message (or email) me if you need any assistance. I am here to help! "I'm up to here with cool, ok? I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis" - Zaphod Beeblebrox Latest Blog Post: Just Quit Facebook? No One Cares!