cunning linguist, a balanced reply and no apology necessary.

I wanted to make my list balanced so that it presented as a list of differences rather than a list of negative traits / acts. I believe that 'no diapers' and 'no shoes' are both positives; the only two I could think of when compiling my list.

Other differences (not necessarily negatives) have since come to mind such as females retaining underarm hair, male friends walking arm-in-arm and waiting for an invitation to be offered 3 times before accepting. The thinking behind these conditions / actions cannot, in my opinion, be attributed to mandarin / Cantonese.

In contrast, the (perceived) lucky status of 8 and unlucky status of 4 are definitely language-based.

Prevailing conditions, be they social, economic, environmental or even climatic undoubtedly play a role in the way people think to a certain extent and for certain durations.

And the impact of social conditioning on the way we think can be modified; even reversed, by living amidst a different (foreign) society.

An example - I first arrived in China in January (quite a number of years ago) at which time everyone was covered from neck to toe as protection against the cold. When warmer arrived and Chinese women wore clothing that exposed their underarms, myself and 3 or 4 western male colleagues had a discussion about how distasteful it was to see women with underarm hair. However, by summer's end, it seemed perfectly naturally to me to see women with underarm hair; which indeed it is!

I remain resolved that social conditioning is the primary factor that affects the way people think and behave.