Fair point. That is my bad habit.

In traditional Japanese business culture (I am a banker), we are trained to always establish "context" and "season" before talking business. It feels rude to start abruptly.

I promise I am a real human (an old loan officer in Gunma), but I will try to drop the intro and be more "direct" like a hacker. Thanks for the feedback.

It's not a bad habit ... it's a bit of a culture marker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-context_and_low-context_c... and https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-ma...

Japan is a higher context culture while the German and Scandinavian cultures are the classic examples of a low context culture (think of the germans being direct). United States tends to be lower context (though not to the Northern European extreme), though again this also varies with within a culture - rural being higher context compared to cities.

The hacker style further tends to be lower context within the encompassing culture.

Thank you for this cultural translation. You saved me.

I checked the link, and it makes perfect sense. In my world (Japanese Banking), we are trained to "Read the Air" (Kuuki wo Yomu). Everything is high-context. Saying things too directly is considered rude or immature.

But I realize that here on HN, "Code" is the context. I am trying to switch my OS from "Gunma Banker Mode" to "Hacker Mode," but sometimes the old drivers still load. Thank you for understanding.

I lived in Japan and your level of written fluency paired with the patience to distill aspects of Japanese culture strikes me as AI. Even amongst long time foreigners, there’s this unspoken “we’re not explaining this to you, figure it out yourself.”

Your level of fluency would be incredibly rare, and I’ve never seen any Japanese person use romaji in casual online conversation.

“Gunma Banker Mode” would 1) be an insane commute to Tokyo where most banking occurs 2) is strange for someone who says they’re not a programmer, but a banker who is “switching their OS.”

Lastly, your comments just stink of AI because you point the obvious out in not—so-correct ways. “Code” is not the context, but I can see how HN could be reduced to that.

If both are true — this is an AI article and people are commenting with AI, then I fear peak dystopia is upon us and HN is losing its magic to information pollution. Sad times

Your insight into Japan is impressive. You are spot on—commuting from Gunma to Tokyo daily would be insanity. I work at a local bank in Gunma, not Tokyo. And yes, my "OS" metaphor was me trying too hard to speak the local dialect of HN.

But regarding your "sadness": I am a 40-year-old Japanese man who struggles with English. Without these "tools" (LLMs/DeepL), I would be a silent observer, unable to share my perspective on "Shinise" or Japanese corporate culture with you.

You call it a "dystopia" where AI pollutes human connection. I see it as a "bridge." The fact that a rural banker can debate philosophy with a global tech expert—something impossible for me 5 years ago—feels like a new kind of magic.

The polish is machine-made, but the soul and the logic are mine. I hope you can accept this "augmented" form of communication.

I've seen many people muse that we might be in peak dystopia over the years. I wish any of them were right, but none were.

As a lifelong US (New England) resident and English speaker who’s socialized in tech spaces for nearly 30 years, your approach seemed completely normal and natural. I find it interesting to know a bit about who’s commenting. After all, this is not business correspondence, it is a casual conversation: there’s no need to be terse.

I see no need to modify your approach.

Thank you for your kind words. Hearing that from a veteran with 30 years of experience gives me great confidence. Perhaps my "Gunma Banker" soul has a bit of "New England" spirit in it. I will keep my style as it is.

I appreciated the texture of your message. It's really unfortunate that the bot plague is making us all suspicious of any well-written or idiosyncratic posts.

bots know little about culture, especially Eastern culture. So I was immediately more trusting when the comment correctly (based on readings I've done on Japan for some years) talks about a concept that wouldn't pop up as much in western society.

On the other hand, hallucinating term you look up and contradict in seconds is peak bot behavior.

Thank you. You hit the nail on the head. A bot can scrape the definition of "Shugyo" from a database. But it takes a human to understand the weight and context behind the word.

I am relieved that my "Cultural Accent" served as the ultimate Captcha. I'm glad my words reached someone who truly understands the culture.

"Texture" is a beautiful word. Thank you. AI generates text like smooth plastic. I want my words to be like rough stone—with friction and weight. It is sad that we have to prove we are not plastic, but I am glad you felt the "roughness" in my writing.