Things they Didn't Teach You in Science Class

So the great mystery of the instant coffee has been solved. No, the Sankacorp does not have WMDs pointed at Russia. No no...it`s all about nutrition:

This Morning...
“So what it with all the instant coffee?” I ask my student as she brings me a hot cup of amazing French brew, “Why do so many other offices have instant?”
“Ah,” she says to me, “It is for the health. This instant way, it is not so bad for the nutrition.”
“Really?” I ask. “I’ve never heard that before.”
“Yes, yes,” she says, “It is scientific fact.”
She considers the coffee for a second. “Also, we did not have other coffee in Soviet times. It all was instant. So we are just used to it this way.”

Aha. But social conditioning is not the most important reason--no no--that would be the science.
Now this is an insanely smart woman. Speaker of three languages, head of sales for a major chain of French hotels and hospitality services. She has lived in three different European countries. She’s not just making stuff up. But try as I might to find proof of this “scientific fact,” I cannot.

That is because it is a prime example of what I have come to call Russian “folk-science.“
Want to know what else is “scientific fact?”:

Last Friday Evening...
“They did a study,” says another teacher at our school dinner, “that shows that Russian hairdressers die at a younger age than women who are not hairdressers.”
“Well,” I say, “it could be all the time spent on their feet. And the chemicals.”
“It’s the hair.” One Russian teacher announces, completely ignoring my point. I think she’s joking., so I start to laugh.
“Yes, yes” agrees another. “All the hair cutting…pieces of hair around…you are breathing in other people’s energies too much. That‘s not good for you.”
“That is why you shouldn’t cut your hair short if you are a woman!” says a third teacher, “You might think it’s easier, so you have more time, but then what? Then you are cutting off too much of your energy. Then what can you get done?”
Around the table, amongst Russian teachers, there is a good deal of nodding.
“That is just a fact,” another agrees…

Last Sunday...
On our field trip to Sergeiv Posad, my roommate Kira and I were admiring the huge birch forests. We mention how nice it is to have one right outside our apartment, even in the middle of a massive metropolis. In general, we are impressed with how many trees Moscow has. Slava-the-office-guy tells us that it is in everyone’s best interest to let trees flourish in the city.
“Yeah--it makes for a beautiful landscape,” says Kira.
“Well yes, but no,” says Slava. “The birch trees, thy give off energy. They make you energised. If it is pine trees, then we can cut down, because those take your energy, but birch trees will help your spirit, and you will need less rest.”
“Wow--is that some common Russian folk wisdom?” Kira asks with genuine interest.
Slava looks at us strangely. “No. Is scientific fact,” he says in a cautious and patient tone, as if we had just exclaimed the folksy cuteness of Russia’s belief in gravity.

I guess it’s all just a different way of thinking. And maybe some different definitions of “scientific fact” between cultures.