Akinbode's BLOG on Faith, Politics, Science, Engineering, Education and Health

You probably have heard that a strong handshake means strength and confidence. Here is a quote I copied from a website online: "A good firm handshake is a universal sign of strength and assuredness which is why everyone (yes, you too ladies.) should have one. A firm (but not crushing) handshake is a sign of mutual respect from both parties. ... Conversely, a “weak” handshake is a great way to make a memorable impression — a really bad one" The word "universal" inaccurately generalized without consideration for cultural differences across the globe. I can speak for my culture, Yoruba culture where there is so much respect for authority and age. A handshake is alien to us but it is a culture that some of us have adopted. It is disrespectful for a Yoruba person to stretch his/her hand to shake his elder. Where it is allowed, a firm handshake is an absolute sign of disrespect. When you shake someone older, it is often with both hands, and head ...

I have lived in North America since 2004 (except for few months in Nigeria and Europe in between). I have worked in four countries on 3 continents. I have been lucky to see humans at their highest and lowest conditions in systems where things work and otherwise. The opportunities we lack in Nigeria and how people continue to endure hardships to re-invent the wheel every day is unprecedented. I know the conditions of things when I went to college in Nigeria - overcrowded classrooms, poor quality professors, inadequate labs, the housing system I lived in, lack of scholarship, many of my mates whom we read engineering together have diversified into other things because there was no job and there was no support to start a business of their own, etc. The situation is not different today. There is nothing to encourage any hard working youth to be productive. There is no power; there is no affordable credit to start a business; there is no infrastructure to help you if you have ideas that can...