I was failed on my driving this week. Failed not because I’m a bad driver, but because my tester did not use her intuition. The American rules, as it turns out, state that every time you shift lanes on the road, you must turn your head and check the car’s blind spot. As I had not read any manual beforehand, I hadn’t the slightest clue. So turns out that every time I shifted lanes the tester subtracted points from my driving. She did not even once think to acknowledge the fact that I DO drive probably better than most people she tests, and that it was obvious that I just was not aware of this rule. My point is not about this rule – but it is about the way she did not even consider to use her own judgment in this process.
I’m not saying we should get rid of all traffic rules like this case in China, but I must say that I agree with Steven Garrity’s thoughts on how following rules makes you stupid:
…I once ordered a sandwich at a local Tim Horton’s and was told they were out of bread. Seeing that they had bagels, I asked if I could just have the sandwich on a bagel. This request was met with blank stares that suggested an inner-dialog along these lines of “We don’t make bagel-sandwiches†or “There’s no button for that on the cash register 
I’ve encountered similar cases, usually when on the phone with customer service – if you do not say PRECISELY what they’re used to, you never receive help. On the other hand, when receiving customer service, the agent is allowed a certain amount of flexibility. They use their intellect in order to understand what their client needs, and how they can bend over to provide her with a compelling service.
Urban designer Hamilton-Baillie claims that “The more you post the evidence of legislative control, such as traffic signs, the less the driver is trying to use his or her own senses.†Is it true that when people are governed too tightly by rules, they leave their own common-sense behind, and let their governing system decide? I am glad there are traffic signs, but I constantly get the feel that Americans are too used to covering their asses (pardon my French). A simple example is the numerous 4-way stop sign junctions all over California. I’ve never seen 4-way stop sign junctions anywhere else – Why make everyone stop?… again – “just in case”…
It scares me to live in a country where people follow rules without questioning them – where people are constantly afraid to be sued for not following them. It is surprising how widely accepted this is in America.
The reason I came to study here was because it IS a place where innovations like this 
occur; a place which supports creativity such as these statues 
. But the longer I spend here, the more I realize that this is only a small minority of the population. That most people don’t really think about what they’re told to do, but rather operate on auto-pilot. Very different from what I’m used to, and my intrinsic nature.
[...] I wrote this post several weeks ago on failing to follow the rules. This topic came up again as I was writing a recent Global Voices post. There, I described a blogger’s opinion on the Israeli teachers union response to the court ruling, placing a deadline for their strike to end by issuing a restraint order. Teachers in Israel have been on strike for over 60 days, pursuing better employment conditions and smaller size classrooms (from 40 to 30 kids per class). One blogger brought up the Socrates argument, which highlights the importance to follow rules even if they deem unjust: …Having knowingly agreed to live under the city’s laws, he implicitly subjected himself to the possibility of being accused of crimes by its citizens and judged guilty by its jury. To do otherwise would have caused him to break his “social contract” with the state, and by so doing harming it, an act contrary to Socratic principle… (source: wikipedia) [...]
[...] The assumption is that misjudgments and mistakes are an integral part of the game. In sports, like in business and other disciplines, those who play by the rules, tend to lose. The difference is that only in sports, are these actions magnified and accepted worldwide for “cultural” reasons. Or is it only in sports? more: failing to follow the rules [...]
[...] The assumption is that misjudgments and mistakes are an integral part of the game. In sports, like in business and other disciplines, those who play by the rules, tend to lose. The difference is that only in sports, are these actions magnified and accepted worldwide for “cultural” reasons. Or is it only in sports? more: failing to follow the rules [...]