If you ask an American "How are you?", they will respond "Fine, how are you?".

If you ask a German "How are you?", they will tell you they caught a flu and they bumped their toe on the way to the bathroom.

As a German, it's hard work for me to respond appropriately to the American question. But I understand that I don't blame the American for being dishonest.

It's even harder for me to work with the Indian "yes", but I understand they don't mean to be dishonest.

One person's lie is another person's cultural expectation.

It's ironic you're lamenting Indian cultural inflexibility, while simultaneously imposing your own by refusing to simply reword a question.

Engineers get results with the world they're given, not the world they wish they had.

No apology needed. :)

We each have a right to our own perspectives on the world.

> Engineers get results with the world they're given, not the world they wish they had.

Evidence I see points to better engineering results from countries that don’t “culturally” lie.

With anectdata, yes.

Lying is a big part of most of the world's cultures. The northern Europeans are unique in that they have such an aversion to it.