But, if I'm being introduced to someone who says "this is Bob Smith", then where do I go?

Then I'm not lucky.

---

Then I'm not lucky.

heh. I go with nice to meet you. Sometimes I forget their name and ask for it, which helps.

---

Our lunch options have been canceled, sadly. The hotel where we're having the thing said we're not allowed to bring in outside food, so we have to get hotel sandwiches. *sigh*

---

But, bon, I don't see the point of that statement if France and the US are similarly uncheered by an increase in physical exertion.

I think of exercise and the nation's self-esteem being related as a myth that everyone knows is a myth, if they even grant it any status at all.

---

I think it has changed a lot in America. For example, when I first started working at Penney's (which isn't that long ago), we referred to all the managers as Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. and we were adults! The name tagseven said "Mrs. McNulty, Customer Service Manager" About 2 years after I started, we had a new crop of managers, and they all went by their first names, except for the Store Manager, who was still Mr. Hester.

---

But, bon, I don't see the point of that statement if France and the US are similarly uncheered by an increase in physical exertion.

I think the idea is that increased self esteem is not a biological fact, it's cultural, and you can see it if you consider it from the French perspective. The reason why the French may not have this myth is because they don't consider exercise a moral virtue. I guess.

---

Isnt't that the author's point, that we have this myth in the US that exercise helps with self-esteem?

No, the myth is that exercise will cause you to lose weight. This is the context

This is not to say that there aren’t excellent reasons to be physically active, as these reports invariably point out. [one reason being:] we’ll probably feel better about ourselves. (Of course, this may be purely a cultural phenomenon. It’s hard to imagine that the French, for instance, would improve their self-esteem by spending more time at the gym.)

Even if you don't lose weight, even if you hate doing it, just being active might make you feel better about yourself because it's seen as a moral thing to do. He's guessing that in France that's not the case. Which seems plausible to me. But between the "may be" and the "hard to imagine," and the fact that it's a parenthetical comment anyway, I don't think it's meant as a statement of ultimate truth.

I think exercise is a fake moral issue in the US. More of it wouldn't fix anything psychologically.

Well, yeah. I don't think "higher self-esteem" actually means "greater psychological health."

---

OK, right. I read the article yesterday and forgot the context of the quote.

---

But, bon, I don't see the point of that statement if France and the US are similarly uncheered by an increase in physical exertion.

This is not what the author said. He said:

It’s hard to imagine that the French, for instance, would improve their self-esteem by spending more time at the gym.

(In general), French people think going to a gym is crazy. Or really, any attempt to exercise for the sake of exercise. Jogging took a long time to catch on in France, and you still don't see that many people doing it. They "exercise" by integrating it into their daily activities--walking way more than the average American, carrying groceries home from the market, etc.

---

French people think going to a gym is crazy. Or really, any attempt to exercise for the sake of exercise. Jogging took a long time to catch on in France, and you still don't see that many people doing it. They "exercise" by integrating it into their daily activities--walking way more than the average American, carrying groceries home from the market, etc.

I think I am French! Seriously, though, since not having a car, I walk a lot. I walk a lot carrying things. I eat a fairly good diet (certainly similar in content to my thin cow-orkers). I haven't just randomly lost weight. When I lost weight via exercise, it was when I a) worked an 8 - 10 hour a day job that included standing on my feet and moving crap around b) I walked or biked to work and everywhere c) AND exercised 1 - 2 hours per day. That is sort of ridiculous, and I don't have that kind of time

---