Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Of eating a cake
Kiasu-ism... Or more appropriate to what i wanna talk about, having your cake and eating it too (that must be the worst idiom ever... what's the point of having a cake when u can't eat it... but u get my point...) it's sad that the oft-held image of singaporeans being risk averse and generally can't bear to be on the losing end of anything. and i say that not with the "i'm high above all this; why can't others learn" attitude (though i say i was like that before). unfortunately, it's more of the "sadly, i'm one of them" apprehension that i'm penning this entry
i first mused bout the topic during a casual chat with swee kiong. i dunno what the heck we were arguing bout, but as with often the case, i came up with a wager/dare. a macdonald's meal/canteen treat/cup of drink (i forgot which of these frequent ones i used that day) for whoever is right after we go check up our stuff.
[side track... i know a lot of people who love to use unrealistic items (a million dollars, stripping, their life/head/body part etc) on wagers. it's one thing to use them as a figure of speech to express a deep sense of certainty but it bugs me when they focus on the betting part even when they're dead certain they're right. what's the fun of betting (or the amusement of the talk bout betting) when u know the wager is totally unrealistic and will never be fulfilled. i much prefer a small, realistic bet of a small but reasonable value. makes the discovery process more fun and hey, a simple meal or five/ten bucks doesn't hurt anyone]
okay, back to topic. so, yeah. sadly not many people take up my offers (maybe it's a blessing also. i've had my far share of wrong assumptions) and he's not any different. but he added something which got me thinking. "eh, i go check it out first then i confirm with you on the bet" or sth along those lines. yeah, it's probably in jest and i'm sure he didn't mean it but it kinda provokes you to think bout how many people like the idea of a risk-free reward, doesn't it? and i must admit, looking for a free lunch in a world where nothing comes free doesn't sit too well with my beliefs
i probably can go on analysing why this happens but nah, i'm not in that mood today. it reeks of a certain form of kiasu-ism, and it's just a disappointing to see it quite rampant in people around. maybe it's not just singapore and happening elsewhere too, but well, it IS pretty common here. and heck, i hate it but there's a streak of that in me too
i believe pretty strongly about the relation between risk and reward but sad to say i've seen myself turn down risks so many times. it's probably like how i realise i am actually a pretty conservative person who believes in liberal concepts and philosophy (ah, that would probably make something interesting to blog about some other day when the inspiration hits). sometimes what i preach, believe and aspire is not what i practice down at the moment
sure, there are certain things where i'm always ready to throw myself into. heck, i've found myself taking gambles that don't really offer much value in more than a few occasions. but certain things, i'm just way too safety orientated. i just can't wait til the odds are way in my favour cos they never will be. you never get anything when you never put any stakes on the table, i firmly believe.
now time to take the plunge more readily! (chances are, it'd all be too much of a hassle and i'd just be content being in the comfort zone all over again) oh well
PS: ok, i did a li'l search on the idiom. so turned out the more logical way to phrase that should be "eat one's cake and have it too". so, yeah, makes much more sense. and i guess having a cake and eating it too sounds way better. so who cares if it seems absurd
i first mused bout the topic during a casual chat with swee kiong. i dunno what the heck we were arguing bout, but as with often the case, i came up with a wager/dare. a macdonald's meal/canteen treat/cup of drink (i forgot which of these frequent ones i used that day) for whoever is right after we go check up our stuff.
[side track... i know a lot of people who love to use unrealistic items (a million dollars, stripping, their life/head/body part etc) on wagers. it's one thing to use them as a figure of speech to express a deep sense of certainty but it bugs me when they focus on the betting part even when they're dead certain they're right. what's the fun of betting (or the amusement of the talk bout betting) when u know the wager is totally unrealistic and will never be fulfilled. i much prefer a small, realistic bet of a small but reasonable value. makes the discovery process more fun and hey, a simple meal or five/ten bucks doesn't hurt anyone]
okay, back to topic. so, yeah. sadly not many people take up my offers (maybe it's a blessing also. i've had my far share of wrong assumptions) and he's not any different. but he added something which got me thinking. "eh, i go check it out first then i confirm with you on the bet" or sth along those lines. yeah, it's probably in jest and i'm sure he didn't mean it but it kinda provokes you to think bout how many people like the idea of a risk-free reward, doesn't it? and i must admit, looking for a free lunch in a world where nothing comes free doesn't sit too well with my beliefs
i probably can go on analysing why this happens but nah, i'm not in that mood today. it reeks of a certain form of kiasu-ism, and it's just a disappointing to see it quite rampant in people around. maybe it's not just singapore and happening elsewhere too, but well, it IS pretty common here. and heck, i hate it but there's a streak of that in me too
i believe pretty strongly about the relation between risk and reward but sad to say i've seen myself turn down risks so many times. it's probably like how i realise i am actually a pretty conservative person who believes in liberal concepts and philosophy (ah, that would probably make something interesting to blog about some other day when the inspiration hits). sometimes what i preach, believe and aspire is not what i practice down at the moment
sure, there are certain things where i'm always ready to throw myself into. heck, i've found myself taking gambles that don't really offer much value in more than a few occasions. but certain things, i'm just way too safety orientated. i just can't wait til the odds are way in my favour cos they never will be. you never get anything when you never put any stakes on the table, i firmly believe.
now time to take the plunge more readily! (chances are, it'd all be too much of a hassle and i'd just be content being in the comfort zone all over again) oh well
PS: ok, i did a li'l search on the idiom. so turned out the more logical way to phrase that should be "eat one's cake and have it too". so, yeah, makes much more sense. and i guess having a cake and eating it too sounds way better. so who cares if it seems absurd
