Land of Conformity

Fine weather at last after 3 days of relentless rain, which means I can go jogging later in the evening! Yay!

The papers Today mentioned about Singaporeans’ lack of creativity, while pointing out how innovative the Japanese are. The article mentioned the “banana guard”, which is a carrying case for a banana to prevent it from being damaged, designed by a Vancouver-based company. It also stated Singapore needs to encourage more creativity as we progress from doing things right to breaking new barriers.

I always thought our creativity is stifled in this small land. In school, we get spoon-fed with standard answers to typical questions, told to follow step-by-step methodologies and mathematical formulae, and even to the extent of memorising Chinese characters with their meanings, word for word. In the end, we get molded into standard diploma-holders or degree-holders, having the same mindset and being able to follow instructions very well.

And I’m suffering from the consequences now! Can’t seem to think up innovative suggestions, no artistic talents and no bright ideas on how to improve life as a whole. There are a lot of inconveniences in life which can be improved by smart ideas and innovative products, but

No surprise, we lot love conformity and avoid anything that appears different from the crowd. At the workplace, I was faced with circumstances where my comments have to be rephrased as they seemed too direct. During conversations, people don’t quite know how to respond to my frank opinions. Thus, I’ve been a more reserved employee now, speaking up only when necessary. Perhaps there is a need to change environment in time to come.