South Korean High School Exam

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bagor

How is a robot arm innovative? A mechanical extension of our limbs was probably one of the first things mankind invented.

We're just lucky NASA allowed a few Canadian companies to contribute to the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s or the Canadarm (which doesn't exist anymore as Shuttles are extinct) or the Canadarm2 (International Space Station) wouldn't exist today. The Canadarm program exists more out of political considerations rather than any sort of innovation.

I guess you could say RIM was innovative when they identified a market for smartphones and corporate messaging 10 years ago and brought a successful solution to market but they've since famously dropped the buck.

The oilsands are an innovative way to get fossil fuels out of dirt.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

How is a robot arm innovative? A mechanical extension of our limbs was probably one of the first things mankind invented.

We're just lucky NASA allowed a few Canadian companies to contribute to the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s or the Canadarm (which doesn't exist anymore as Shuttles are extinct) or the Canadarm2 (International Space Station) wouldn't exist today. The Canadarm program exists more out of political considerations rather than any sort of innovation.

I guess you could say RIM was innovative when they identified a market for smartphones and corporate messaging 10 years ago and brought a successful solution to market but they've since famously dropped the buck.

The oilsands are an innovative way to get fossil fuels out of dirt.

Where do you live?

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

How is a robot arm innovative? A mechanical extension of our limbs was probably one of the first things mankind invented.

??

How is it by definition not innovative?

[OldDutch]

I think this is classic North American culture to judge what they frankly don't understand. Korea was a battle ground for thousands of years between China and Japan, rape, slavery and pillage took place there at the hands of China and Japan during their colonial periods, and basically whenever they wanted to invade and kill.

This all culminated with WWII, where Korea was invaded by Japan. The horrors that Japan inflicted on Korea during that time was horrendious. ie: My wife's grandfather was murdered by Japnesse soldiers in his house in front of her father. It left Korea at the end of WWII as a pile of rubble, and was a 3rd World country as a result.

So instead of wallowing in poverty, waiting for Bono to throw a concert, and get hand outs, they pulled themselves out of poverty. It took many years, but using this type of system they did it. They are now a relatively affluent Asian country, that not only creates but innovates.

That Sony TV you use? Samsung designed and made the pannel. That Apple iPhone that is so cutting edge? That's right, it would not exsist without Samsung engineering and parts. Almost all leading Andriod phones are Samsung. How the frig is that not innovative?

Korean made cars are the fastest selling cars out there. They are what Japan WAS 20 years ago. Excellent engineering and innovation at a very good price point. I challenge anyone to say new Korean cars are crap to a respected auto journalist, they will laugh you out of the building. Read Motor Trends or Consumer Reports if you do not believe me.

So at the end of the day, yes there is a lot of ignorance floating around here. This country should be respected for what they pulled off. Not all of us are born into a country that has known no major war on home soil, experienced poverty and rape, murder, pillaging. These people shook those horrors off, never asked for pitty, and now lead the world in many fronts. That is something to applaud, not condemn.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bagor

??

How is it by definition not innovative?

Because robotic arms were first patented and brought to market in the 1950s in the U.S. (Unimate). What makes Canadarm a unique and innovative technology and not simply and evolution of robotic arm design that Canadian firms were granted more out of political inclusiveness than being the best contractor for the job? (Well that's an endemic problem in government contracts isn't it?)

By the definition of a certain poster in this thread, Korean culture is full of drones who are not innovative and only copy and improve upon existing things. That's really all Canadarm is if you think about it.

This is all semantics anyway as I am not arguing on the side of innovation as some seem to interpret it in this thread. Innovation is the engine that drives change and improvement in knowledge, technology, quality of life, etc. and all this is an evolution of knowledge based on what mankind has discovered or devised before it. This is actually one of the driving philosophies of the Chinese and why there is such a divide with the west. They believe they are just repeating the same process that has driven the advancement of human civilization throughout history and the west calls it "copying" because it inviolates western intellectual property and patent law.

Ultimately, I don't think we have any basis to judge the creativeness, innovative character, or critical thinking of Korean students given the information presented in this thread. All we know is that their exams are tough and the expectations put upon Korean youth are much higher than what we might find here in Canada.








They also kick ass at Starcraft. They use really innovative strategies.

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

How is a robot arm innovative? A mechanical extension of our limbs was probably one of the first things mankind invented.

We're just lucky NASA allowed a few Canadian companies to contribute to the Space Shuttle program in the 1970s or the Canadarm (which doesn't exist anymore as Shuttles are extinct) or the Canadarm2 (International Space Station) wouldn't exist today. The Canadarm program exists more out of political considerations rather than any sort of innovation.

I guess you could say RIM was innovative when they identified a market for smartphones and corporate messaging 10 years ago and brought a successful solution to market but they've since famously dropped the buck.

The oilsands are an innovative way to get fossil fuels out of dirt.

I thought when the goverment blocked the sale of the company ,who made the arm, to foreign investors it was to protect the innovation.

[seattleflamer]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

Robertson screw was a revolutionary idea though that was a century ago.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

I thought when the goverment blocked the sale of the company ,who made the arm, to foreign investors it was to protect the innovation.

Again, I think the term innovation is bandied about too much without people getting into specifics about what it actually means. A lot of technology and and design in the Canadarm were actually made by American companies. All in all, only 5 arms were made so I don't think it really qualifies as having a big impact or any specific innovative quality that makes it stand out from what any other company in the US could have made considering much of it was constructed in the US anyway and the software was designed in the US.

I see the incident as just the Canadian government protecting a Canadian company and the public image of having the giant "Canada" logo on the space shuttle as being valuable to national pride and our international image.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by seattleflamer

Robertson screw was a revolutionary idea though that was a century ago.

Unfortunately, despite its many benefits...nobody really adopted it outside of Canada.

This is Robertson's fault. Henry Ford realized the advantages of this Robertson head and wanted to use it but they refused to license it to Ford in automobile manufacturing and this had a big influence on the American standard being the Phillips head.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by jeffman

imo our culture is far superior to korean culture

I dunno... They have some pretty good qualities.





Edit: Also whoever said Korea is lagging in innovation, that's a pretty silly comment. Last I checked Samsung was doing pretty good. And when I was in Seoul, everyone had smart phones far superior to us. And their wireless network is super cutting edge. A true 4G network. Hell, even their TV was superior. People were watching live baseball games...on their phones...on a moving subway train.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

I remember taking the hyundai challenge and thinking to myself "This is a hyundai??" Impressed is an understatement. If you're still thinking hyundais are crappy cars from the 90s that broke down all the time, then you need to go to their showroom asap.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

I could not disagree more...when it comes to Countries who have changed their innovative ability over the last 60 years there are only two that have had meaningful changes (relative to other countries) South Korea and Israel. In the 50's South Korea was third-world and today it is going toe-to-toe with almost any first world nation in innovation. However there are structural problems (like the Chaebols) so we will see if they can keep it up.

And in regards to cars...Korean cars inferior to most? That is flat out wrong...current Hyundai cars are IMO as good as any brand in the sub-$40k range. They aren't gobbling up market share because they suck.

Hyundai cars may have improved over recent years, but a decade ago they were terrible.

Also, Korea has Kia and they're all terrible.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The system in South Korea resulted in Samsung and LG. Hyundai makes amazing cars for the money these days. They have the fastest internet speeds in the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada... What exactly do we do? Innovation-wise.

Not even going to reply as my response would be an essay long, but clearly you don't read the news about your own country.

[GirlySports]

I think the main difference is that in Asia, you're looked down on when you don't succeed in school. You fail at every aspect of life. That's where the pressure comes in.

University graduates are view up here, and labourers are viewed down there.

In Canada it's more balanced. So you fail at school, so what? You can still have a complete life and be happy. All jobs are valued.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Hyundai cars may have improved over recent years, but a decade ago they were terrible.

Also, Korea has Kia and they're all terrible.

Kias aren't perfect yet, but have gotten much better. Basically their entire lineup gets pretty great reviews:

http://www.edmunds.com/kia/

Considering they are cheaper than their Honda/Toyota/etc equivalents, I wouldn't write them off any more than I would a Hyundai.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by blankall

Kias aren't perfect yet, but have gotten much better. Basically their entire lineup gets pretty great reviews:

http://www.edmunds.com/kia/

Considering they are cheaper than their Honda/Toyota/etc equivalents, I wouldn't write them off any more than I would a Hyundai.

I'm not really saying Kia's are cheap because they are designed badly, their cheap because their designed cheap. You can get a 2010 Kia Rio for like $7000 and that's steep.