Being an expat is good for you, or at least for your creativity. According to a paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, as reported recently in The Economist, a bunch of students were given a short stub of candle, some matches and a box of drawing pins; they were asked to attach the candle to a cardboard wall so that no wax would drip on the floor when the candle was lit. Sixty percent of students who were lived abroad now or in the past solved the problem; only 42 percent of those who had not lived abroad did so.
And it gets better; a follow-up study explored creative negotiating skills in a specific situation – and when both negotiators had lived abroad, 70 percent of them were able to strike a deal. When neither had lived abroad, none was able to reach a deal.
The solution to the candle problem? Well, you probably know it already if you’re an expat. But why not send in your suggestion anyhow to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – we’ll print the answer next week, along with any suitable alternatives.

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue23]