kwilco

I most certainly don't! I suspect you don't fully understand it yourself. - simplest explanation.

THey are just covering up their own failing - they're the same ones who usr cynicism to cover up ignorance. If you don't speak Thai you will never learn about Thailand and it's culture because the locals won't be able to communicate with of any level other than f=do you want steamed or fried rice (and I bet they choose fried)

I thought'd you'd trained in road safety... you did that too right ? Yes - It's interesting what you are implying and why - presumably because you can't imagine how people can have multiple careers or experience? You seem to be judging others by your own limitations. nice to see you read my stuff, though.

QED expat cliche - confirmation bias

It doesn't - he just thinks it does. THere is also the point that he might make more effort beg=fore speaking Thai on a phone and change his phrasing. most of this is either prejudice or confirmation bias. I have trained in languages for several decades and am aware of how people learn languages - not just Thai people but from all over the world. I have studies how people have acquired language and noted the problems and mistakes they make. One thing to bear in mind is that something like 90% of language learners over estimate their ability in whatever language they speak and are therefore much more likely to blame others for their own shortcomings.

THat is just a claim by arrogant foreigners who overestimate their ability ti use Thai language

Yes - I think that foreigners simply don't realise how bad their pronunciation is and the Thai person seems to think they are speaking English because that's what it sounds like.

I doubt if you will ever understand the problem, or Thailand, as it is told you in Thai.

I know several expats who claim to speak Thai, what they don't realise is that they are almost unintelligible - most Thai people listen politely and then guess what they are trying to say and act accordingly. THe problem here is that they assume that they are being understood which sadly is not the case. one also wonders if they understand what is actually being said to them.

THere seems to be a sickness amongst expats and teachers of English in Thailand that leads them to be condescending towards learners of English - they equate lack of ability with stupidity whilst ignoring (or overestimating) their own lack of ability. The number of expats who've said to me "I don't speak Thai, but I understand what they are saying" - how daft can you get? They don't equate their own ability with that of Thai counterparts. Firstly most Thai people know both the Thai and Roman writing systems and many know the Chinese system as well - how many expats can claim that. Thai people often speak several languages - they may speak Thai, chinese and Laos or Karen dialect as well as some English. How many languages can the average expat speak? I've heard their attempts at English or Thai and it's embarrassing. I was visiting a family one time - the mother was Thai and the father was American - I was talking to the mother in Thai. After a while the young lad said to me: - "How come you can speak Thai when my father can't?" I really couldn't think of an answer - I just blurted out something about it being part of my job to speak Thai. But really, you'd have thought that someone who has put down roots in Thailand to the extent of marriage and children, might have made an effort to learn a bit of the local language.

THat is anecdotal - the plural of anecdote is not data.

Sadly I'd disagree Why do people think they are experts on things they know nothing about. Certainly passing a driving test - of any kind is grossly overrated..... I also worry about the use of that word expert - do people really understand what that means? Is it an automatic proof that and argument is correct or validated? …… If they drive a car they think they are "experts" on driving, ….. because they went to school they are "experts" on education ……. and because they have been in hospital they think they are "experts" on health care? Many people mistake their personal experience with these topics as way more informative than it really is. They mistake the significance of personal experience (of bad habits) as a general overview of a topic far more complex than they ever conceive. It is important to be aware of the cognitive biases that can lead people to overestimate their knowledge and abilities. If you find yourself thinking that you are an "expert" on something you know little about, it is important to take a step back and assess your knowledge critically. You may be surprised at how little you actually know. Here are examples of the cognitive biases that lead to the nonsense promulgated on this thread. The Dunning-Kruger effect is when people with limited knowledge in a particular area overestimate their abilities in that area. Because they lack the knowledge and experience to actually understand how much they don't know. For instance they may think they can’t be a backseat driver because they have a driving licence Confirmation bias is when people seek out only information that confirms their existing beliefs, and ignore or dismiss information that contradicts those beliefs. These people to believe that they are "experts" on a topic even if they have only superficial knowledge of it.. They are often “one quote wonders” – e,g,, someone who believes that vaccines cause autism will only seek out information that supports that belief, and they might ignore or dismiss any evidence to the contrary. The “availability heuristic” is a mental shortcut that we use to make judgments about the likelihood of something happening based on how easily examples of it come to mind. Or how often they see them on youtube etc….. This leads people to overestimate their own expertise and they don’t realise the relative insignificance of the few examples or the times when they appeared to get it right. For example, someone who has successfully driven a car a few times might think they are an expert driver, even all they have done is driven a lot of miles or never had an accident themselves. They are like someone who backs a winner in the Derby horse race and then claims they are an expert on horse racing. Road safety isn't really to do with driving - it's understanding the science....

Full marks to the young man for efforts in learning a language. But it also begs the question of why the teacher is so patronising. We need to look more critically at how and why we value the English language in Thailand. THere seems to be a bias amongst foreigners who think that all Thais should learn English yet they refuse to learn any Thai. I note that in their home countries many think it sould be essential that immigrants learn the home langauge, but this doesn't seem to be applied to themselves in Thailand.

You see, the claim of being "accident free" as some kind of evidence shows you don't understand the fundamentals of road safety.

It's not left wing bias, it's logic.

Nonsense - as you clearly haven't identified the root of the problem any conclusions you come to will be erroneous....there's a lot to be done.

THe ;point is that human error is a constant and accidents will happen - we can't all be a smugly careful as you. The etans are primitive agricultural vehicles and w=once involved in an accident there is no protection at all for those riding on the machine. Mix this with high speed b=-vehicles on roads whose design encourages high speed and you have a recipe for disaster.

Lot of lynch mob mentality on this thread

When I lived n Samui, this was my favourite restaurant. I can't begin to describe how good it was. It was 4169 just before Greenacre School. FX6J+7P7, Tambon Na Mueang, Ko Samui District, Surat Thani 84140, Thailand However since Covid it has closed down. I think they had plans to move or open another place before Covid. What I'd like to know is if the owners have in fact set up somewhere else on the island. So any information to their whereabouts would be most helpful

THe statistics for Thailand don't read well - but unfortunately it is the compilation analysis of those stats that is preventing any progress on road safety in Thailand. The stats you refer to are deaths per 100k, but there are many equally important stats regarding other aspects - e.g. per number of vehicles, miled drive, number of collisions, and most important te number of injuries categorized as minor, serious and fatal as is internationally recognised.

No one has permission to live in a wildlife preserve. THe problem is at least in part human encroachment. elephants need food - if the park isn't managed properly, elephants run out of food and go looking for more. Drought and fires don't help but management should ensure that the elephants have enough food near where they normally live then they won't feel the need to enter human habitation. Electric fences don't seem to work very well - apparently elephants don't like bees and people have made "bee fences" that are effective at keeepiganimals out.

At least I posted 2 links to real scientific studies that should make anyone think again. you're a joke - "real scientific studies - you really don't understand do you?

So the implication is you consider yours are.

much more common than people realise. Even "successful" ops fall short of proper medical standards

You have no idea