I've lived in Singapore for most of my life. I've lived in non-Asian countries for almost 5 years. What I miss most while in Singapore is mainly the weather. I love the 4 seasons, the cold wind that starts to blow against your face in September, culminating into a full blown winter in Janary. The snow that blankets the streets makes you want to walk out at times to feel the numbing sensation, and then hide into one of the corner cafes to bask in the warmth. In Spring, Summer and Autumn, one can sit outside the Cafe with a book in hand and wine glass in the other. I could finish several books in one day and feel very fulfilled. The beauty of Elfrescos is that you can watch people along the Boulevard, and people in turn watch you. It's a two-way thing that becomes a game. The air is much dryer in temperate climates as humidity is around 30 - 50%, unlike Singapore's 80 - 90%, which is causes profuse perspiration. If I feel cold, I can always put on a jacket and still stay outside. But in Singapore, I can't take off my T-shirt and be bare breasted. I have to go into the cafe which is hopefully air-conditioned enough to be comfortable.
But another perhaps more important thing lacking in Singapore is the creative, innovative thinking that leads to invention, innovation and success.While we more than match our ex colonial masters in terms of exams (our O and A Levels consistently beat the Brits), we fail to produce the same brilliance when we leave school. Perhaps it is our school system, forcing us to regurgitate knowledge, passing exams without really understanding what we study. In my CFA class, some of them are good at memorising formula. But when it comes to applying the knowledge on investments, they are not as sharp. There are of course brilliant ones in my class who can apply the knowledge. Perhaps it is the lack of passion in a subject we are studying. The need to pass exams to please our parents. Perhaps it is the need to conform, the fear of standing out apart from our peers. While the pressure to conform is not as great as in Japan, we still fear being singled out, to say things that may be out of the ordinary and not be understood, even if it sheds light on something.
The Chinese culture is still submerged in much myth. Everywhere we go during the Lunar New Year, we wish our friends and family, "good luck, health and wealth". I am ok with wishing one another good health and wealth, but why luck? Don't people know that luck is created? What we don't understand, we call it luck. Luck in business. Luck in investments. Luck in love life. But there are tonnes of research conducted to improve our investments, business and love life. Why not wish one another "better wisdom"? Go read books or something...
The western culture is more individualistic. They pen down their thoughts, monetise it by publishing books, research paper and applying it through investments / intellectual properties. They conduct research to prove or disprove something. They come up with innovative solutions to problems. They try to solve problems a little differently each time. Each little step, each improvement is recorded. Tonnes of literature is compiled about each tiny step. That is how society improves, advances.
We live in a little couped up world where we don't bother to reach out and understand things. It doesn't bother a lot of people why certain things happen. Why stocks rise and fall, what is happening to the world around us, how climate change may impact us some day, why we shouldn't eat sharks fin for example. A close relative of mine, whom I shall not name out of respect, still buys shares out of emotions. If he feels it is right, he will buy it. He doesn't know when to sell, but he will sell it when he feels the economy is falling. When I suggested to him why not read some books, he brushes it off and said that such books are not always accurate. How then, can one improve?
Or the subject of Feng Shui. It is surely a very controversial subject. Some people swear by it, stick golden coins on their calculators, thinking it will bring them luck. But has it been empirically studied? When I ask successful people if Feng Shui matters, most Chinese people said "yes" and most western people said "no". The Chinese believe in investing in houses with good Feng Shui. It could have been mis-attribution because in the first place, these people have a good eye for property investments. In any case, most of their claims of Feng Shui's accuracy is anecdotal.
The world is evolving. The one who can anticipate change ahead of the rest will emerge a winner. The one who sits snuggly on their cheese will one day find it removed. It is this simple. Smell the cheese everyday to find out if it has been reduced, moved slowly or added.
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