The Chinese Gong Story
When I was young, both of my parents worked, and no one can ever attend my school’s “demo day”. This is where the school will show off student progress by public lectures to the parents.
But one day, my mother shared an exciting news that she would attend my “demo day”. I was ecstatic.
And when the day came, it was exactly how I envisioned it. The entire classroom was filled with adults, kids, and school teachers. I got to see the popular kids’ parents, my mother, and kids from other classes. My heart was pounding.
During the public science lecture, a teacher held out a Chinese gong (picture below) and asked each student to touch the gong and tell the audience what she/he felt. The students lined up to answer the teacher’s question on the podium.
The teacher whispered to us, “its vibration!”
Getting the hint, one by one, the student took a turn and answered, “Its vibration!” The teacher was pleased. The audience applauded loudly.
But I was at the end of the line, and by the time it was my show time, more than thirty students have said the word “vibration!”
It was my turn. I went up there, touched the gong that was still vibrating, and answered proudly,
“It’s cold!”
The audience chuckled.
The teacher paused a little, with her eyebrows slightly frown, “what ELSE do you feel?”
My face was burning, partly embarrassed and partly disappointed, “It’s vibration!” I said and exited the stage.
Looking back, that was my first experience of what it feels like to be original. Most of the time, originality is not applauded or encouraged. Conformity is.
Being original opens up a myriad of opportunities to be rejected, ridiculed, and shunned. Having a habit of “being original” will risk one to be labeled as “an outcast”, “weird”, or “crazy”.
Basically, it sucks!
One might not want to experience repeatedly in life, but sometimes it can last a lifetime.
After the success of Apple, Steve Jobs, and the Silicon Valley, the phrase “counter-culture” ironically becomes popular. Sporting a rebellious attitude, turtleneck, odd behaviors/lifestyles become parts of the new mainstream. Nerds are now sexy.
I really wished that on that demo day many years ago, a second kid could agree with me and also answer “cold” because it was true. (That damn gong was freezing cold!) Yet no one did, and I alone bared the burden of that perspective.
But the world has not really changed much, people with truly original ideas today still face the same kind of rejection, ridicule, and fear as the generations before them. Yes, terrible ideas at one end of the bell curve don’t get the applause but living at the opposite end of the bell curve will surely hurt.
Our job at 3DHEALS is to provide a stage for the original ideas, tinkers, and thinkers so that you will feel belong and find your own tribe along your adventure. I can’t wait to meet the most original group of people in just five days at #3DHEALS2018. #JoinTheTribe
