Do you regret moving to Hong Kong?

[dear giant]

By poo-pooing test results because your country fared worse seems to be sour grapes and ostrich-like head in the sand.

It's realism rather than sour grapes.

I am not overly worried about standardized test results because, as I said, the fact is that HKers, for example, are not using the greater math acumen that they manage to temporarily cram into their heads for much. There aren't many career options in HK for people who are good at math and science and skills that aren't used are quickly lost. I dare you to stand on the street in HK and ask passersby to solve, say, somewhat basic trig problems or to do a bit of linear algebra for you. Anyone who has been out of school for more than a year or so will not be able to do very much.

The kids here are crammed with math (and other material) so that they can pass exams and get into the "right" schools. It's the same with their piano/violin/etc. lessons and certifications (primarily done to bolster their school admission chances). There's no passion for the subjects as such and those few who are truly passionate about math and science emigrate to the West.

I think those countries at the top of the list have had their fair share of innovations. No one makes as good consumer electronics as the Japanese and Koreans. The Taiwanese have mastered the art of manufacturing. Singapore - too small population to be meaningful comparisons to the rest. Sorry for digressing from the original topic. It would be interesting to see if there are more people that regret leaving here too early than those that regret coming here in the first place.

Consumer products are mostly where innovations and new technology developed elsewhere and for other purposes eventually end up, if we're lucky. I do not consider Japan, Korea, and Taiwan to be very innovative countries compared to, say, the USA or UK or Germany.

Here's an example. Remember the earthquake + tsunami + reactor disaster in Japan? Now, remember the robots used to explore the nuclear plant facilities afterwards? They weren't designed or built in Japan. They had to be brought from the United States. If you have a hankering for eerily, uncanny-valley-dwelling fembots and bear-shaped pillows that rub your face to make you stop snoring, though, then Japan is definitely the go-to place.

[Mat]

The kids here are crammed with math (and other material) so that they can pass exams and get into the "right" schools. It's the same with their piano/violin/etc. lessons and certifications (primarily done to bolster their school admission chances). There's no passion for the subjects as such and those few who are truly passionate about math and science emigrate to the West.

Sorry but you make it really sound as if here the education is hell and in the west it is this "magic place".

The poor asian kid who can't think vs the passionnate american who pursue his dream. Give me a break really.

HK has a lot of things to improve education wise (so does the US) but the comparison you make are just way too extreme to not be laughable.

I think we all know this is not the case and a bit of fairness would be appropriate here.

[dear giant]

I don't really consider consumer products to be a measure of how innovative a country is. If it were, then the US would still come out tops against Japan, S. Korea, and the ROC.

Off the top of my head... The same company that made the robots used in Fukushima, IIRC, makes the Roomba and Scooba vacuuming and floor-washing robots. AFAIK they aren't readily available in HK and aren't popular in Asia generally. How many digital cameras, for example, make a point of mentioning somewhere on the casing that they use Carl Zeiss optics? Etc.

The companies that you mentioned, like all consumer electronics companies, mostly commercialize research done by others and mostly in Western countries.

[dear giant]

Sorry but you make it really sound as if here the education is hell and in the west it is this "magic place".

The poor asian kid who can't think vs the passionnate american who pursue his dream. Give me a break really.

HK has a lot of things to improve education wise (so does the US) but the comparison you make are just way too extreme to not be laughable.

I think we all know this is not the case and a bit of fairness would be appropriate here.

Standardized math and science test scores show that HK kids as a group do better than American kids as a group on those tests that's because HK kids are under a lot more pressure to do well on standardized tests and are coached in those subjects. Later, they major in business or finance because that's where the jobs are ... or they emigrate. Many of the high-scoring American kids go on to actually take up careers in STEM fields, working alongside emigres from places like HK who had to travel to the US to realize their dreams.

That's the reality.

[luckycat]

Original Post Deleted

Whilst in no way am I suggesting the Japanese camera manufacturers are not all excellent (it is striking that you miss Olympus off the list though?), the very top end of the camera market is european. You missed Leica (German) and Hasselblad (Swedish).

As for lenses, IMHO the best lenses are made by German manufacturers - Zeiss (as you mentioned) and, again, Leica.

Oh, god, I would give a few limbs away for a hasselblad!

[Mat]

Standardized math and science test scores show that HK kids as a group do better than American kids as a group on those tests that's because HK kids are under a lot more pressure to do well on standardized tests and are coached in those subjects. Later, they major in business or finance because that's where the jobs are ... or they emigrate. Many of the high-scoring American kids go on to actually take up careers in STEM fields, working alongside emigres from places like HK who had to travel to the US to realize their dreams.

That's the reality.

You do realize you are comparing a city vs a country. That the US offer more choices post studies is obvious (although it remains to be seen the quality of what is offer...), but describing the situation as you did (in the post I replied to) as Robots vs Kids pursing their dream is a very extreme generalization that is almost laughable

I hate to take my better half family as example but just to provide a bit of balance in those always very extreme posts of yours:
4 kids:
- one is a housewife now (she used to be an entrepreneur and is married to one)
- one is a Uni teacher (my wife)
- one is a photographer (mostly art photography) and part time journalist
- one is a physician

None major in Business and/or Finance.
None has moved out of HK/Macau and two have studied abroad in Taiwan and Mailand China but came back for work.

This is not the majority of ppl in HK, I admit but your overgeneralizations are a bit too much, even you must realize this.

[luckycat]

Original Post Deleted

I am not disagreeing with the statement that asians are innovators - in fact, I agree.

However, you picked the cameras market where the top-level innovation happens in Sweden. Those Hasselblad systems are incredible.

As for Olympus, I have a real affinity for their SLR range. I also have an E-series DSLR which is as good (and if not better) than my Sony alpha DSLR. Olympus also pioneered the "pen" (both first time and second time round). I don't think one can flippantly disregard their importance to the camera market.

Completely off-topic but I feel much better! Phew!

[jimbo]

Muckycat

Shame Olympus are heading down the toilet then.

[luckycat]

Yep, it really is. This was my first camera (until my snot-nosed sister stole it and took it to the states with her. COW). I love a multitude of cameras but for me, nothing has ever come close to the quality of that camera.

[HowardCoombs]

Maybe they can sell it to Kodak ---