Post by Singapore Management University

What happens when a society becomes exceptionally good at measuring success — but less comfortable with uncertainty? In a commentary for The Straits Times, Associate Professor of Accounting Holly Yang from the SMU School of Accountancy reflects on Singapore’s deep culture of metrics, comparison and optimisation, and what this could mean for innovation, education, workplace well-being and long-term societal progress. Her commentary points to a larger challenge for the future: many of the most important issues facing society — from climate change and demographic ageing to inequality and artificial intelligence — do not come with simple answer keys. Addressing them requires not only precision and accountability, but also curiosity, creativity, resilience and the ability to sit with ambiguity. At SMU, this is central to how we think about meaningful education and research: preparing people not only to perform against known measures, but to ask better questions, challenge assumptions and imagine solutions whose impact may not yet be easy to measure. Read the commentary to explore why making room for uncertainty may be essential to Singapore’s next chapter of innovation: https://sgsmu.com/3Sxqpco #SGSMU #SGSMUSOA #SGSMUThoughtLeadership #HigherEducation #Innovation #FutureOfWork #ResearchImpact #MeaningfulImpact