A X are alike, and all !X are !X in their own ways.

According to Leo Tolstoy; all happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.


I recently had a discussion about where to buy a house in the bay area with one of my Chinese friends from college times. I mentioned to them that culturally, Cupertino has Asian cultures (according to insiders, 50% Chinese, 50% Indian...). his wife responded to me that she actually prefers to live in Palo Alto, where there are more white people.

"why?!" I asked in surprise

"Because! Diversity is better than uniformity."


This reminds me of a time when the universities and private schools in America offer scholarships to Foreigners in order to diversify their cultural mix and to introduce the Chinese language and culture to their students. At the time, I had thought, wow! What snobby people that they want to collect these foreign people like zoos collect wild life... The better the school, the more exotic and comprehensive the collection...

Now, I feel like we've discovered a corollary to Tolstoy's statement:

All snobby people are alike, and all humble people are humble in their own ways...