The truth, in my opinion, is somewhere between Paul's and Keri's statements.
Yes, there really is a Tall Poppy syndrome, fueled by both the media and ordinary people. For example an outstanding sportswoman may be able to throw a disc or a ball of metal further than anyone else in the country, but let her have one bad day and they are demanding her retirement. We've all seen similar things happening in business and politics as well. Then there are the people who are really not very good, but have an inflated view of their abilities. When they are with a small group who are only peripherally involved in their field, or perhaps are involved but are even worse than they are it's easy for them to start believing they are better than they are - the big fish in the small pool effect. When these people come out into the real world and meet the real experts they should take advantage of the opportunities that meeting real experts gives. Many do, but others look for conspiracies or similar effects to explain why their genius isn't recognised ... claiming that it's a tall poppy syndrome is a convenient excuse. Let's call it the Myrtle The Turtle Syndrome. Bruce On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 9:25 AM, Paul Bennett <[email protected]> wrote: > Keri, > > I (respectfully) disagree. > > Once I got out of NZ I realised pretty quickly that "tall poppy syndrome" > really does exist back here. > > Broadly speaking, NZers in general do seem to have a culture / mentailty > that anyone who sticks out and "tries to be better" than anyone else needs > to be "taken down a peg or two". We really don't celebrate and emulate > success as much as people do in some other countries and cultures. This > brings pro's and cons but, in my opinion it certainly does exist - in fact, > in a way, your previous post actually reinforces it. > > Regards, > Paul > > On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 9:15 AM, Keri Henare <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I'm still a believer that "Tall Poppy" syndrome is just something claimed >> by people who think too highly of themselves. >> >> Kind regards, >> Keri Henare >> --------------------------------------------------- >> [e] [email protected] >> [w] kerihenare.com >> [m] (+64) 021 874 552 >> >> PLEASE NOTE: I check my email 3 times per day and will respond at these >> intervals. For anything urgent please ring me. >> --------------------------------------------------- > > -- > NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug > To post, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe, send email to > [email protected] -- Bruce Clement Home: http://www.clement.co.nz/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/Bruce_Clement Google Buzz: http://www.google.com/profiles/aotearoanz "Before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field." Mikhail Kalashnikov -- NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected]
