Quote: 'So, in a perfect world we need Germans to manufacture the ultimate optics, British people for marketing... and then Finns to put <0.1€ accessories* to them to make the product actually work.
Ilkka
*cable ties & branches of wood="Finnsticks"
Yes, because words and meaning are often lost in translation, with sometimes hilarious results. I guess its a culture thing, if we want to generalise. Brits are known within some scientific circles as good original designers and inventors, successful product developers, but we appear to be crap at manufacturing consumer goods at high and consistent levels. Germany and Japan have a reputation as the best manufacturers. Why is this? Maybe its a cultural phenomenon due to language, or maybe its social structure or conditioning. I have always purchased German cars (VW) because doing some research led me to the conclusion that the quality of engineering and design, plus quality control and attention to detail was obvious with German cars in general. The MkI and II Golfs and Jettas were extremely well engineered, as were BMW and Mercs. Porsches in particular are virtually untouchable in the context of performance and engineering quality. So, German car designers and engineers set out to design and make something to be as good as it could be, and succeeded. They had no cultural barriers placed in their way by their society or their government. In Britain, we have the will (well some of us do anyway), to succeed, but there seems to be something about our industrial sociology that ultimately prevents it. Is this a consequence of empire? A lethargy born out of "well we were industrial masters of the world at one time, maybe we don't need to try anymore"? Who knows.
However, I have noticed that when language and meaning is translated in context with marketing statements, it rarely comes across as meaningful in the correct sense. It's often completely "uncool", and misses the point.
So, Brits and Americans to do the marketing, Germans and Japanese to manufacture and the Finns to add cable ties and Finnsticks???? What on Earth is a Finnstick?
For my own part, I am quite content to know Finland as the place God comes from, or rather came from.
andytyle