I think that former presidents of the United States (including the current president) "do not apologize" as a rule.

It's like, 'If I apologize, I lose.

They are such a stand-up guy that 'if I apologize, I lose' and 'if I admit it, I lose.

This situation is a national trait that has taken root in the United States.

However, my feeling is different.

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I was in the U.S. for only two years, 20 years ago, but I have never felt a culture that says 'apology is a loss.

They would usually say "I'm sorry" to me when they delayed their work or if there was a problem (bug) with what they were making (programs, etc.).

I may not have encountered such a situation.

The only difference is that our Japanese team did not take a "blame the other party" attitude when there were delays or bugs in the work.

I think it was different in that I treated them as if they were 'Ebata (or the team) is in trouble' (they were actually in trouble), and I treated them in a way that said, "I want you to help me (us)."

In other words, I think that the difference between apologizing and not apologizing is not a matter of "culture" but rather a matter of "position" or "communication" - though this is only a hypothesis.

I would be happy if someone could verify this or refer me to a previous study.

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In contrast, in Japan, the leader of the ruling party constantly apologizes in the media for money and politics.

This situation is the opposite of those above: 'If I apologize, I win.

Our country's culture seems to be 'if I apologize, I win' and 'if I walk away, they forgive me. '

I wonder whether this is correct.

I feel that "apology" is often used as a superficial response.

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For example--

The man who is now a pundit in the media and who had served prison sentences in the past seemed "humble as if a person had changed" after release from prison, but now, there is no shadow of that person, and they are entirely "back to when they were before" they were released.

Another man who was ordered to pay a large amount of compensation by a domestic court and moved his residence to France (fled?) seems to have escaped the compensation by taking advantage of the legal territoriality principle and is still active as a public speaker and making money.

(By the way, a former U.S. president has bankrupted his business "five times" to escape massive debt.)

Incidentally, I have low sensitivity to "justice" and "morals", but I overreact when it comes to "money".

In general, I can say that "apology" is an effective "on-the-spot" response, but its duration is terribly "short.

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When I make an argument for something on my own, I take "justice" or "morality" as my starting point, but the argument for that argument is "logic" and "calculation."

Of course, "anger" and "displeasure" are in the background, but I don't put them at the forefront. I argue under the skin (or interface) of "logic" and "calculation.

The reason for this detour is that, as noted above, "justice," "morality," "anger," and "displeasure," though intense, are the duration time is short.

In comparison, "logic" and "calculation" have a longer duration (smaller decay constant), even if their impact is weaker.

So, in my columns and blogs, I build up the "Fukushima nuclear accident," the "Unification Association," and the "unreasonable words my boss said to me" with such precision and detail that I will never, ever forget them.

"At least, just me (Ebata), so I would not forget the "anger" at that time."

It differs slightly from "lying in bed(*)," but the approach is the same.

(*) To endure hardship in anticipation of future success. The word comes from the meaning of lying on firewood and licking the bitter taste. The original meaning was to suffer hardship and toil to avenge the shame of defeat.

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I also naturally apologize in situations where I should.

However, the meaning and significance of my apology are pretty different from those of the above apology.

I have discussed this often, so I will not discuss it today.

The news, "Students Arrested in U.S. to Protest Israeli Attack on Gaza," is at the top of the headlines.

I wondered how many people know or remember that "50 years ago, students at universities all over Japan were fighting for almost the same background (Palestine vs. Israel) as this case.

The Columbia University protests seem like a "play" - 50 years ago, there was a massive, militant, and prolonged student occupation of universities in Japan under the banner of "anti-Israeli, solidarity with Palestine."

At the time, many universities had ceased functioning, all lectures had disappeared, and even entrance examinations had stopped.

I have not seen it happen (I was 20 years too late), but I happened to be in an environment where it was easy to know about such things.

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As far as I know, there is no news of Japanese universities or college students rioting because of "this Israeli military invasion of the Gaza Strip."

The protesters probably have experienced the "student activities" (?). (significantly older adults), and I have only heard glimpses of them.

Upon hearing this news, I have no comment on the lack of concrete protests by the Japanese youth and the Japanese people as a whole.

We are full of ourselves.

Other countries that, too, are out of our scope, such as wars and massacres caused by geopolitics and religion, which are difficult to even understand for us.

We were not taught in school about "Palestine vs. Israel" from the Exodus to the present day.

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I do not condemn anyone for their lack of interest in this issue, nor do I wish to be self-critical.

"Because Palestine and Israel are both other countries."

"Even if more than 13,000 children who had nothing to do with politics were murdered, and many more faced death by starvation and bombing, they would still be "strangers," wouldn't they?"

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However,? I think

"I guess students all over Japan 50 years ago couldn't just sit back and watch "it."

We all want to be "free" (don't we?).

Freedom, however, is often accompanied by many conditions.

These conditions include laws, regulations, ethics, morality, social responsibility, economic constraints, social position and role, technology, and environment.

Freedom is often a dance on the stage of these "bindings.

Expanding freedom means broadening this stage.

We conclude that this requires a law-abiding spirit, morals, responsibility, money, status, a better environment, academic ability, and good health, which we must strive for.

It was a boring conclusion (I'm sick of writing it myself).

Still, indeed, the world has not "become" what the following song describes.

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Being bound by organization, society, and common sense (i.e., by budgets, bosses' orders, and social mores) is the price of freedom.

However, I have recently wondered if we are not all "bound" by our desire to be bound.

I am not talking about SM.

English.

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I am writing this diary in both Japanese and English.

The purpose is for me to study English.

I can say that this notation in both Japanese and English has been 'the most valuable English study I have done so far.

It is not easy to 'try to use English every day' as long as you live in Japan.

In my case, I like to write crap, so granting English crap here seems to have been a good implementation of "Try to use English every day" -- well, it is not appreciated by anyone.

It is hard to write English every day, so I use a translation tool and a grammar checker (since I started using these, I feel like my English is getting worse, but I prioritized 'continuity').

So, recently, I seem to be doing

"I try to write English sentences that Grammarly (grammar checker) will like."

The checker tells me every day that I should use "the" rather than "a" or "past tense" rather than "perfect tense," and that I should change "passive" to "active" every day, so I take care to use "active" as much as possible.

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When I first joined the company, my boss told me to write my papers in the "passive voice," but looking at recent books on how to write papers, it seems that this is changing to "We" and "I," which are also acceptable.

It does not matter who did the work but what the result is, so the passive voice seems more appropriate.

However, the "passive" sentences are "hard to read" for me.

We cannot see the "person" who conducted the research. Even a paper became a "drama" when I joined. When it becomes a drama, it becomes easier to read.

Therefore, I have often tried to write English sentences with "We (I and my co-authors)" as the subject in the last few years.

Aside from that.

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I have been urging them to 'write, speak, and use English freely, ignoring vocabulary and grammar.

I am such a person who wants to be praised by every AI tool (as I improve my writing, Grammarly will praise me at the end), and the way I am polishing my English sentences, so I am a

"Dog wagging its tail to get food."

What a pathetic figure, I am ashamed to say.

AI field (x AT field) has already invaded me, no exaggeration.

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I sometimes come to think?

"How is it that I, who am so rebellious against authority (from the state to my superiors), am so obedient to AI tools?"

I believe one of the reasons for this is that "AI tools don't 'tell you what you don't want to hear.

No reprimands, no accusations, no criticism.

I think this is it.

It also helps that if I make a wrong choice, 'the AI tool doesn't complain about it and offers me the next follow-up.

If it were my boss, he would add an unnecessary comment such as, 'See, I told you so,' which would offend and demoralize me, but AI Tool does not do that.

With the recent appreciation of the yen, my fees for AI tools have been exorbitant, but I still can't let go of them because I can work stress-free.

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When you think about it this way, the essence of management is,

"Acting like an AI tool."

We may conclude that this is not the case.

At least now, I like to follow what the generative AI says rather than humans.

My eldest daughter has been back home(?) since yesterday. We were having this conversation while listening to the Constitution Day news.

Eldest daughter: "We can amend the Constitution to keep up with the times."

Me: "Oh, so you are a 'pro-amendment.' By the way, I'm an 'anti-amendment.'

The conversation led to, well, what we discussed the following.

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Me: "... That's why I thought that I would win if I could prevent the amendment of the Constitution until Grandpa (my father) and Grandma (my mother) passed away. Therefore, I had already won the game.

Eldest Daughter: "So, you could admit the amendment, couldn't you?"

Me: "Lately, I've been thinking, 'It would be a 'perfect game' if I could prevent it until I die."

It is crazy of me to "discuss constitutional amendments based on winning or losing"?that is why I am a "conditional constitutionalist."

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I repeat it.

(1) Amending the Constitution is both logically and practically correct.

(2) I also do not want to see a constitutional amendment in my lifetime.

I don't say, 'You have to understand,' and I'm aware that I'm saying, 'I'm messing up.

I don't believe in God, Buddha, the Bible, the Koran, the Buddhist scriptures, or anything else, but--

Nevertheless, I am one of the (somewhat unusual) Japanese citizens moved by the "Preamble" of our Peace Constitution and have reread it many times since childhood.

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The Constitution of Japan

We, the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty throughout this land and resolved that never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution.

Government is a sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people.This is a universal principle of mankind upon which this Constitution is founded.We reject and revoke all constitutions, laws, ordinances, and rescripts in conflict herewith.

We, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship, and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world.

We desire to occupy an honored place in an international society striving for the preservation of peace, and the banishment of tyranny and slavery, oppression and intolerance for all time from the earth.We recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free from fear and want.

We believe that no nation is responsible to itself alone, but that laws of political morality are universal; and that obedience to such laws is incumbent upon all nations who would sustain their own sovereignty and justify their sovereign relationship with other nations.

We, the Japanese people, pledge our national honor to accomplish these high ideals and purposes with all our resources.

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If there is even the slightest possibility of damaging the principles of this beautiful Constitution (preamble), I would like to pass away without seeing "it."

It is a highly illogical, conceptual, and emotional statement.?So please laugh at me.

Some seem to 'put our lives on the line to study and improve our English.

I wonder whether such people would find the recent translation-generating AI services via smartphone apps objectionable.

More than that, I am interested in what those in the field of English education and the services that provide services in English are feeling right now and what kind of logical armament they have to defend their jobs.

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There is a hypothesis that 'if we have AI and smartphones, we don't need foreign languages.

I cannot adopt/reject this hypothesis with certainty at this time.

Click here for directions to "adopt."

So this is where the "reject" comes in.

Click here for more information about the person who is testing this hypothesis and has stopped experimenting.

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Recently, I heard that my second daughter is working with a student from China on a research project.

But with communication, she seems to be having a lot of trouble.

'Why don't we just have a conversation on our phones?' I asked, but conversations do not flow well through a device (smartphone).

Well, I can sort of imagine.

Conversation is not only about meaningful content but also about "whatever you want to talk about.

We know it from experience and robustly prove it in academia (social capital, well-being, etc.).

If an application that supports real-time communication appears, in which the speaker "forgets that a device (smartphone) is involved," we solve the problem more quickly than one might think.

'Such things don't just appear as easily as they used to!' -- and I can't be as definitive as I used to be. I'm looking at recent AI technology.

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I also saw the current situation in which restaurants are screaming in response to the over-tourism of foreign tourists.

A "small restaurant with no English" is not an object to blame.

I have discussed the massive investment in English by the Japanese and the meager return on that investment many times here.

The English language does not love We Japanese.

We cannot discuss this issue regarding effort, cost, or any other dimension.

If I use the metaphor of a mathematical equation, then "English proficiency" is a "constant A, B" and not a "variable x,y" (Could it be any more confusing?).

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Therefore, the hypothesis that "with AI and smartphones, we don't need foreign languages" seems unadoptable now.

I am watching the NHK Special "Ichiro Yamaguchi Living with Depression: Sakanaction's Days to Revival."

"Because it's excruciating."

I was so excited that I nodded my head in agreement.

Today, I watched only the first 10 minutes.

I will look at it a little bit over a week.

(By the way, this "Sakanaction" seems to be the name of a music band, but I learned about this band for the first time today.)

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Depression" not only makes you feel depressed, but you really can't move your body, not even for a millimeter.

That was painful.

I wonder if there is a way to get people to understand this -- "like when you are suffering from a high fever from the flu/coronavirus, and it seems to go on indefinitely."

Can you understand the state of being in which you think, "I'd rather die than turn over?"

It's synonymous with 'I want to die and get comfortable.

In addition, others have no idea/understand that the person has the disease, and therefore, the person's condition worsens, a snowball effect that causes the situation to get worse.

Depression is such a painful disease that one wonders how much malice the devil of what world created it.

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I have previously discussed that depression is the leading cause of suicide, but this does not mean that depression causes suicide.

They choose suicide to escape the pain of "depression" (lethargy, emotionlessness, hopelessness, zero appetite, fatigue, severe pain, etc.).

In other words, suicide is the result of a "very normal decision" that "it is better to be in a state where I do not exist.

Foolishly, I was completely unaware of the above differences until I was affected.

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I think many people are suffering from "depression" (the program said 1 in 15 people).

So I think many people can understand what I am saying.

However, I am afraid there are 14 times as many people who do not understand what I am discussing.

First of all, please remember that "depression" is "the pain of suffering from high fever with influenza/coronavirus, which seems to last indefinitely. It will probably be suitable for both parties.

Every time I see a headline for a book or movie called "How You Live."

"It's none of your business."

I mutter to myself.

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A holiday weekend of coding, debugging, and reading papers is ending.

No, to be precise, I have to take two more days of planned annual leave, so this is continuing.

The other day, my wife and I watched a recording of "Choic" of Heroes Special: Murasaki Shikibu: A Thousand Years of Solitude, The Truth of The Tale of Genji."

Waka poems appeared in the program, and a commentary on modern colloquialisms also came after the Waka poem.

Me: "This is our country's language, so Japanese people should be able to understand it without 'modern' colloquial' explanations.

Wife: "You could say that."

However, I don't understand any archaic language, so I cannot watch such a program.

Besides, I think the logic is a bit too painful.

As a student, I once traveled to Japan and encountered a dialect I could not understand in 90% of the conversations. In other words, this is a problem before learning ancient languages.

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I previously discussed trigonometric functions' "need/no need" in my Math Unnecessity column.

リカレント教育【前編】 三角関数不要論と個性の壊し方https://t.co/5zvbXfyBqZ pic.twitter.com/iREa9AlER7

? EE Times Japan編集部 (@eetimes_jp) June 24, 2019

At this point, I have concluded that at this time.

'The unverified past performance' is the only basis for the 'need' of trigonometric functions.'

In other words, 'I don't don't (why I should take trigonometric functions).

In contrast, the goals for ancient texts are more concrete.

Goal: To create Japanese people who will not need to use modern colloquial explanations of the contents of The Tale of Genji, The Hyakunin Isshu, and The Chronicles of Japan.

Of course, this is a tremendously high hurdle, but it is a clear goal to aim for.

I think understanding what used to be one's language, even if it is archaic, can be accepted (without logic) as a feeling.

In the same way, we can concretize our goals for English.

Goal: To create Japanese people who can enjoy foreign films without Japanese subtitles in movie theaters.

The goal is worthy of reaching a "joyful" life and a "prosperous life."

However, this is the same: it is a tremendous hurdle.

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I don't know how many years or even decades later, but all Japanese will say?

"Why should I read The Tale of Genji in a modern mistranslation?"

"Subtitles? What is it?

I think it would be a "good "future" if "Japanese people behaved like the above.