Tolerance of ambiguity

Having traveled to UK recently, I now have a better idea how different cultures are different in terms of their tolerance of ambiguous situations. I will provide a very basic example to make the concept easy to understand. Remember that the example I am giving is only one aspect of tolerance of ambiguity, which I think is very tangible in our everyday life and travels.

In the middle east where I come from, ambiguity is highly tolerated. I'll give you a simple example. It happens quite often that you go somewhere to eat or drink sth (soft only in Iran), and the prices are not mentioned. People simply order and then know about the price and they seem to be OK with it. Sometimes, even though the prices are written in the menu, you cannot be sure how much you'll be charged until you receive the bill. There might simply be extra fees for the services you didn't expect. However, in the recent years, due to the tight economical situation I guess, people have become more sensitive to the money they spend and I think this has somehow lowered their tolerance of ambiguity. In Asia for instance, the tolerance of ambiguity is even higher in my opinion. You rarely see prices of the foods you want to eat as if it's a disrespect to talk about the price. Another example is when you go out to eat with your friends. Often times, you don't know who is going to pay the bill until the last minute when they bring the bill to you. It means that people tolerate this ambiguity all through the time while eating. This never happens in the west and it's definitely one of the things I like about western culture. It enables you to plan your budget and it's less stressful. 

In western cultures, or I'd better say in low context cultures, tolerance of ambiguity is usually low. It means that everything is clear right from the beginning, from the way to open a can to getting access to some system. In cultures where tolerance of ambiguity is low, before making any decisions, all the details and expenses and consequences are explained to you. In UK, I was surprised to see so many instructions for everything and so many explanations for everything that I bought. (One reason for that could of course be the number of tourists and generally foreigners there. They want to make everything clear to everybody so as to make life smoother.).

Interestingly, being from a culture with high tolerance of ambiguity, I feel extremely comfortable with the culture I am living in, which has low tolerance of ambiguity. I think it is less stressful and gives you more freedom to plan your life and manage your budget. You are not expected to know too much before doing new stuff and it is rarely taken for granted that you are already familiar with everything. It gives you the chance to learn about new things while doing them, with peace of mind.