Are Burmese slow learners?

Today I read a good discussion between Ko Lwin Moe and May at Mayvelous over what May said in the Myanmar Blogger Interview "We, Burmese are always slow starters". I tried to leave my comment there, but there was an error with Wordpress database. (May, if you're reading it now, yeah, there was an error whenever I tried to add a comment). So I thought may be I would edit my comment a little bit and post here.

Are Burmese slow starters and slow learners?

I strongly believe that we are not slow learners at all. If you're a Burmese and studying or studied overseas, you might have noticed that we rank among the top of the class. I have personally experienced praises like "Is every Burmese very smart?" from some of my friends. It's hard to say we're smarter than other countries because most Burmese students in other countries are selected group - who are craving for a good education and who have done well in previous studies. So I can't say we're smarter than other students, but I dare say that Burmese are not slow learners.

However, I'm afraid I have to admit that we are slow starters when it comes to adopting new technologies and ideas. We are not as innovative and creative as some other countries. I think it is mainly because of culture, religion & lack of support.

Firstly, we had been trained to give respect to the elder and we're supposed not to be against with their ideas. If you listen and do what the elder tell you to do, you're "polite and nice". Learning at school is also one way - we listen to whatever teachers say and they don't like being questioned by students. These are main barriers for innovations & new ideas. But I can see the situation has improved generation by generation.

Besides, Buddhism teaches us not to be greedy but to contend, not to show-off but to be humble, etc. I think the driving forces for innovations in history are mainly reputation, recognition and status (money, power, etc). May be some inventors simply wanted to help people, but they are rare. Unfortunately, Buddhism does not favour those factors at all, since they all lead to more sufferings according to Buddha. If you look at the story of "King Mindon" and "Crown Prince Ka Naung Min Thar" who produced and tested bombs, you will see the influence of the religion on every aspect of our lives.

I don't think I need to mention again how the government has neglected to support innovators over decades. Furthermore, parents hardly encourage their children for creativeness and innovations. If something is functioning well, we're not supposed to touch it in case we break it. (For example, before I left Burma, most relatives & friends discouraged me of studying abroad. Their reason was I could get a good profession and comfortable life in Burma already.) So lack of support from governments and people around us, and the attitude of majority to always follow "the old track" sucks out our will to innovate & search for new ideas. We even have a saying "Ah Hlyin Lo, Lam O Like" (The old track is the shortest path).

I'm not letting Burmese down here or giving excuses for our weaknesses. I just wanted to point out what I think major causes to our weaknesses are. We just need to acknowledge them and improve ourselves for the sake of our country. I would love to hear your views as well.