Self inflicted mental block

Some say education ruins a intelligent mind and in some ways, it's true.

I was walking around suntec today and something strikes my mind.

For example, define vase (from internet):
# an open jar of glass or porcelain used as an ornament or to hold flowers. wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

# The vase (, , or) is an open container, often used to hold cut flowers. It can be made from a number of materials including ceramics and glass. The vase is often decorated and thus used to extend the beauty of its contents. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vase

so when we say vase, a mental pic of traditional vase will spring into our mind, those that we were taught since pre-school till adult hood were imprinted into our brain. by having a word to describe the container, we've mentally fix how a vase should be like. for eg, a container for rubbish is called dust bin so first thing that came into our mind is either those basket type or those plastic containers with a swinging cover etc but in this case, we're following the form (define by the word) more than the substance (the meaning of the word), we've forgot that vase can be any other form as long as it's a container that can hold flowers. so i can use a water bottle, a handbag or even a cpu casing as long that it's a container that can hold flowers.

so if we extrapolate the "vase" into other stuff, we'll start to break down the mental blocks and like we singaporeans like to say "think out of the box". our world will then be creative and spontaneous where anything goes.

that's why sometimes i like to read Ikea's catalogue, where a small vase can be used as a pencil holder etc it's mentally refreshing and challenging that it redefines what u think it is or what it used to mean.

so i say, let's break the vase and release ourself from the self inflicted mental block :)