Anthropology

A 2-post collection

Challenge #01355-C260: Communication Issues.

Followup to Challenge #01326-C231, here: 'It’s not even consistent; it varies wildly by geographical region, ancestry and personal history of the individual, which, like, how is a poor anthropologist meant to know that sort of detail? How do humans divine this sort of thing upon meeting new members of their species? Do they have some sort of associative telepathy? No? Argh!'
(source) -- RecklessPrudence

The planet known as Beach had met the Galactic Alliance, which meant that they had a new influx of Galactic Anthropologists desperately studying the overall culture, specific subcultures, and some of the more popular individual variations.

They needed that data because the Beachans were spreading out into Galactic Society and taking their cultural baggage with them.

For example: Dolphin is now a recognised Human dialect. The act of spreading fingers as if to steer themselves in an opposing breeze is a peculiarly Beachan habit, borne of an entire lifetime in an amphibious lifestyle. Beachans can have families that include more than one species, and so on.

And Galactics much preferred to say 'Beachan' rather than the natives' preferred appellation, Son-of-a-beach. For reasons that quickly become obvious the more one values polite conversation.

Beach itself had several languages, mostly derived from Polynesian origins and a surprising volume of manners derived from swimming in pods.

Beachans were, by and large, an easy-going people. They had lost a vast number of rude gestures in their time of isolation. And soon picked them up again, thanks to the Ask An Expert Anthropologist app.

Some elements of human nature cannot be stopped.

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Challenge #01326-C231: Seek Understanding

http://immaplatypus.tumblr.com/post/148474190835/fieldbears-ursulavernon-adamusprime-if

if you didn’t know stuff about humans you would think they get mad at the weirdest stuff

like one human raises their thumb to another human that’s good, humans like that

one human raises their middle finger to another human

humans do NOT LIKE THAT

humans think that is a BAD FINGER

don’t you DARE raise that specific finger at me

any other finger is ok just not that one

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Anthropology

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