[luciferous]

The author defines "kiasu" as the fear of losing (out) which leads to avoiding risk, but I've always thought of it as the fear of missed opportunity which leads one to take risks.

I grew up in Singapore, and among many excellent things I can say about its education system I have but one criticism, which is that it tends to encourage students to think of themselves as a point along a continuum between a loser and a winner. This system quantizes an infinite combination of possibilities of achieving meaningful success into a few, e.g. doctor, lawyer, banker; and this article presents a perspective that is a typical product of that system.

[msohcw]

Perhaps. But I was thinking of kiasu in the sense of going to a good university, instead of striking it out at an intership or picking a stable job over doing what you really care about. I was trying not to emphasize the success points but maybe I gave one too many examples. I was trying to explain that what the education system gives is a very pointless, bland experience that leads to decency but no real significant learning or satisfaction. Pointlessness. I think that if we did do what we cared about, then we'd be beyond that spectrum you mentioned, because you'd be passionate about and enjoying what you did, instead of aiming to be a defined "winner".