"Asia" is one of the dumbest archaic misnomers still in use by Western people

recursive 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

What do you call it? It's a continent, right?

andrewflnr 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Calling Eurasia a continent would make more sense. "Asia" doesn't have a really sensical physical boundary. May as well say Mexico is a different continent from the US just because there's a big cultural and ethnic difference across the border.

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bombcar 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The term "North America" almost always means US or US and Canada, hardly ever the technically correct "US, Canada, Mexico" except in things like NAFTA.

And "Central America" often means "Mexico and countries south that speak Spanish" even though LATAM might be a bit closer.

	▲	andrewflnr 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Other nonsensical terminology also existing would imply nothing about the usage of "Asia". That said, I'm not sure I see the same incorrect usage of North America as you do, either.
	▲	2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[deleted]

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0_____0 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's all Asia. Europe is in Asia. Europeans are West Asian. The traditional boundary of the Ural Mountains is a fabricated one. There is no reason to separate Europe out of Asia except for that "people that look like that go over there."

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nobodyandproud 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The phrasing and implication is all wrong.

“4-day week, WFH roll-outs in Asia to solve fuel crisis caused by Iran War” is better.

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Razengan an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The way they use it is what "Oriental" used to mean: East Asia: Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam etc.

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wat10000 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's a somewhat vaguely defined region. It often excludes India and the Middle East. It always excludes Europe, despite there being no sensible reason to consider them to be two separate continents.

Consider this sentence from the article: "Asia is particularly dependent on oil exports from the Middle East." That's a bizarre statement if you take "Asia" literally. The Middle East is in Asia. Is Saudi Arabia dependent on oil exports from the Middle East? Is Iran?

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Hamuko 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's not really that different from "Europe", especially when you listen to Americans talk about "Europe".

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wolvoleo an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Yes though Europe is a lot more culturally similar and has a shared government for the most part.

Asia has very distinct countries and in some cases is even at war even if it's a cold one. Like India vs Pakistan, India vs China, North vs South Korea, China vs Taiwan. And customs, languages and (where applicable) religions are more radically different than within Europe too.

It makes less sense calling it "Asia" than it is calling Europe "Europe" :)

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nikkwong an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

At least in the case of "europe" it could refer to the EU (which obviously is not correct because it doesn't encompass all of europe). But when they are talking about "Asia"—what governing body would they even be referring to? It's obviously non-sensical.

	▲	Mordisquitos an hour ago \| parent [-]
		> in the case of "europe" it could refer to the EU (which obviously is not correct because it doesn't encompass all of europe) Not just that. If we get really pedantic, the EU is not only in Europe but includes territories in Africa (parts of Spain) and Asia (the entirety of Cyprus). And that's not even getting into the intercontinental shenanigans of France!