--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Japanese are great at inventing…" description: "\"The Japanese are great at inventing complex systems of rules, and not so great at explaining those rules to foreign visitors.\" — Charles C. Mann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/charles-c-mann-7228_complex-systems_the-japanese-are-great-at-inventing-comp_2196545.png" --- # The Japanese are great at inventing complex systems of… ![“The Japanese are great at inventing complex systems of rules, and not so great at explaining those rules to foreign visitors.” quote by Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/charles-c-mann-7228_complex-systems_the-japanese-are-great-at-inventing-comp_2196545.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/charles-c-mann-7228_complex-systems_the-japanese-are-great-at-inventing-comp_2196545.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9d/charles-c-mann-7228_complex-systems_the-japanese-are-great-at-inventing-comp_2196545.png) > “The Japanese are great at inventing complex systems of rules, and not so great at explaining those rules to foreign visitors.” [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Japanese culture excels at creating intricate rule systems but often fails to communicate them clearly to outsiders. **In simple terms:** Complex rules, poor explanation for foreigners. Key Takeaway Improve cross‑cultural communication. Themes culture communication systems tourism education Mood frustrated curious Type observational analytical When to use this quote - business travel - international conferences - expatriate living Key Concepts sociology anthropology linguistics Questions to Reflect On - How can rule explanations be adapted for diverse audiences? - What examples show successful rule communication? A Different Perspective Rules may be too context‑specific to translate directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complex systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-systems/) [Explaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explaining/) [Explaining Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explaining-rules-4807004/) [Foreign Visitors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-visitors-2849577/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing/) [Inventing Complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing-complex-4807002/) [Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese/) [Japanese Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese-great-4807003/) [Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules/) [Rules Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-foreign-4807001/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Visitors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visitors/) ## Related quotes > [Foreign visitors . . . how impressed you all are with foreign visitors! 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Mann > [“A milpa is a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once, including maize, avocados, multiple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/a-milpa-is-a-field-usually-but-not-always-recently-cleared-in-which/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“In the classic successional course, each suite of plants replaces its predecessor, until the arrival of the final, “climax” ecosystem, usually tall forest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-the-classic-successional-course-each-suite-of-plants-replaces-its/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. 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Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“The varieties are not like islands, carefully apart,” Perales explained. “They are more like gentle hills in a landscape—you see them, they are clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-varieties-are-not-like-islands-carefully-apart-perales-explained/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“export of food from Ireland during the famine: 430,000 tons of grain in 1846 and 1847, the two worst years. “The Almighty indeed sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/export-of-food-from-ireland-during-the-famine-430-000-tons-of-grain/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“all states can be parceled into four types: pluralist, in which the state is seen by its people as having moral legitimacy; populist, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/all-states-can-be-parceled-into-four-types-pluralist-in-which-the/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [The way I think of it, economics and ecology occupy two intellectual silos, isolated from each other. Even when they do take each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/the-way-i-think-of-it-economics-and-ecology-occupy-two-intellectual/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“Before Columbus, Holmberg believed, both the people and the land had no real history. Stated so baldly, this notion-that the indigenous peoples of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/before-columbus-holmberg-believed-both-the-people-and-the-land-had-no/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“More than a hundred sets of casta paintings are known. Many are beautifully crafted. Some were painted by mixed people themselves. Looking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/more-than-a-hundred-sets-of-casta-paintings-are-known-many-are/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [“Anything goes now, apparently,” Fiedel told me. “The lunatics have taken over the asylum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/anything-goes-now-apparently-fiedel-told-me-the-lunatics-have-taken/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) [Explore all 93 Charles C. Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) ## More Complex systems quotes > [The only way to know how a complex system will behave-after you modify it-is to modify it and see how it behaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-p-box/the-only-way-to-know-how-a-complex-system-will-behave-after-you/) [George E. P. Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-p-box/) > [When discussing complex systems like brains and other societies, it is easy to oversimplify: I call this Occam's lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-j-good/when-discussing-complex-systems-like-brains-and-other-societies-it-is/) [I. J. Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-j-good/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. 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