Comments on: Putnam in ‘The Washington Post’ on Why Russians Don’t Smile Much (That Doesn’t Mean They Don’t Like You)

By: Mark Slutz

Mark Slutz — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 21:23:28 +0000

This is an interesting idea. Is body language more of a universal human form of expression, or is it closely linked to language & culture? Is American body language in general very different than Russian body language? (I’m presuming that smiling is a rather basic easily observable type of body language).

By: Anthony Antolini

Anthony Antolini — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 17:03:38 +0000

Old joke told during Soviet days: Q: “What is the shortest book in the world?”
A:”Soviet Humor.”

By: Jon MacDonald '61

Jon MacDonald '61 — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 14:48:16 +0000

What a huge subject! I live in France (I am a New Englander, class of 1961) and the French don’t smile much. I think of it as a legacy of hundreds of years of conflict, much of internal, and they don’t get close without a reason and usually the passage of time. Bureaucrats never smile, but they are not unfriendly. I don’t associate smiles with happiness but it would be worth looking into any possible connection with lack of smiling and the fact that the French are the champion anti-depressant medication consumers of Europe.

I get on here, but I don’t smile a lot either!