I was learning Japanese mainly for technical things, so I decided to check if this same problem existed among the scientists. At the institute the next day, I said to the guys in the office, ‘How would I say in Japanese, “I solve the Dirac Equation”?’ They said such-and-so. ‘OK. Now I want to say, “Would you solve the Dirac Equation?”—how do I say that?’ ‘Well, you have to use a different word for “solve,”’ they say. ‘Why?’ I protested. ‘When I solve it, I do the same damn thing as when you solve it!’ ‘Well, yes, but it’s a different word—it’s more polite.’ I gave up. I decided that wasn’t the
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