Creativity and Conformity, Like Oil and Water
The Japanese and the Germans are famous (stereotyped?) for certain qualities. In Barking Up the Wrong Tree , Eric Barker quotes Karen Arnold, a Boston University researcher on the education system worldover: “We are rewarding conformity and the willingness to go along with the system.” Later in the book, Barker writes: “Following the rules doesn’t create success; it just eliminates extremes – both good and bad.” I wonder if that explains why conformist societies like Japan and Germany rarely seem to change the world? What is the last new thing that either of them invented? The Walkman maybe? Barker makes another interesting point: “We spend too much time trying to be “good” when good is often merely average. To be great we must be different.” “Different” in this case means being non-conformant. Japan and Germany both seem to worship conformance. And therein may lie the explanation as to why neither country invents anything new: “The same traits that make people a ...