Translator: Mai Iida Reviewer: Toko Takao
Hello, everyone.
I am Yoshie Okusa from FIELD AND NETWORK Ltd.
and NPO natural science Inc.
For seven years now I've been working here in Sendai, Miyagi
where I feel this growing potential.
This is what I'd like to talk about today.
Today, our world has become a black box.
We gain many things at the cost
of losing just as much.
What we've gained is the convenience and accessibility,
that even if we don't know what's inside the black box,
we can easily access its results.
But in exchange for its benefits,
we've lost opportunities to actively engage in thinking.
This is seen in science and technology.
Even without a single clue about science
we can still enjoy the benefits it brings.
Take the cell phone for example.
In order to use this
no one needs to know the Schroedinger equation.
We can still communicate with whoever,
whenever and wherever we want.
But because it's so convenient
even if we bump into something strange,
we no longer question it.
Nor do we take the initiative to critically think or innovate.
This is actually a major issue.
This is known as "science phobia."
Generally speaking
this is often understood as a mere disinterest in science.
But at the core, it's the loss of intellectual curiosity
and logical thinking
which should be developed through science education.
As a result, regardless of majors
many students struggle in high school
leading to difficulty maintaining quality in higher education.
Japan has limited physical resources.
We only have our brains to rely on.
But this science phobia might overturn
our status as a leading nation of science and technology.
I myself am a clear example.
Moving on to my personal experience,
I used to live on a reclaimed landfill.
The park, lake, river, and rice paddies
were all made of concrete.
You could see about two stars at night.
Growing up there as a child, I thought unconsciously that
there's only concrete below, so there's no use digging.
So unconsciously, I stopped questioning anything.
But then again, even if we're on concrete,
we have soil, grass, trees and wind.
There should have been natural phenomena
and they should have been complex and worth looking into.
But instead, I took them for granted.
I never tried to question it.
There seemed to be nothing worth proving.
But when I became a university student,
I decided to study natural phenomena in the science department.
But even at university,
science seemed like a complete, ready-made system.
It seemed like there was nothing that I could challenge.
I also began to think
maybe my professor was just making me say that my research topic was interesting.
I wasn't being down-to-earth at all.
Since I wasn't excited about my research, my emotions seemed to be numbing.
If this goes on, I might die.
I felt this sense of crisis.
As you can all guess,
this is the exact opposite of a heart in scientific pursuit.
Everything comes across as ordinary.
So naturally, you're never curious.
Without curiosity, you're not motivated to go see things for yourself.
Shinichiro Tomonaga,
winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, said:
"To wonder.
This is the sprout of science.
To observe and to think.
These are the stems of science.
And then, when the mystery is solved, the flower of science blooms."
I had totally lacked this heart in scientific pursuits.
It was impossible to develop any academic interest or logical thinking
let alone come up with innovative ideas.
It was a very sad realization, but a very sharp pang of awareness.
Having said that, there was no point in regretting what I'd lost.
A loss was a loss.
I knew I had to change my weaknesses into my strengths.
So I started a business in 2005 as a graduate student.
This is because
until then, I had been living up to the value standards of others.
I was living a life that I didn't own.
If I didn't try to stand on my own two feet now,
I would never be able to.
This is my final chance.
So I started my business.
But I wasn't exactly sure what I had to do.
So I started with my own questions.
Are the so-called "successful" people really all that successful?
I went to ask various people of prestige.
The result is in the newspaper "Miyagi no Shimbun."
This paper covers stories of world-famous scientists,
business managers, politicians and many others.
I've interviewed about 100 people in total
asking them what gives them a sense of reality in their lives.
And I'm still asking.
I was surprised to find that these 100 or so "successful" people
are in fact, very successful indeed.
This is because all these people have
a strong core of their own, which they build upon bit by bit.
This is how they can win in the world.
Surprisingly, this core is quite simple.
These people shape what interests them
into something that can be shared with others.
This was what made them so incredible.
And the more capable that person was,
the stronger they wanted others to understand
what they found interesting and what they had made.
I felt I wanted to realize this.
So I came up with "University Town Sendai/Miyagi Science Day."
This is and event which gathers researchers and engineers
to have them share their daily discoveries
and to shape them out.
It's an annual event full of hands-on science.
Tohoku University is the venue.
Kids, adults, anyone can participate.
Although science may seem to be objective,
it all starts from personal interest
and the feeling of wanting to share your interest with others.
I wanted the opportunity to actually experience this,
since I hadn't been able to.
So in a sense, this event originated from my weakness.
But surprisingly, it became popular.
Here, the horizontal axis shows the year
and this graph shows the change in the number of presenters and participants.
When we launched this project in 2007
only our organization and about 40 participants took part.
That number grew steadily every year.
This year we had researchers and engineers from 93 groups presenting their ideas
and about 6300 people of all ages came to see them.
More and more people are finding out about this event.
As it gets warmer,
exhibitors and participants would say,
"It's almost the season of Science Day."
It is gradually becoming like that.
Here in Sendai, Miyagi,
I started my own business 7 years ago,
created Miyagi's Newspaper
and established Science Day.
What I am thinking now is,
"Why are people willing to cooperate with these projects?"
I thought about the reasons.
If you think about it,
we human beings naturally want to shape what we find interesting.
We want to share these things, and also learn about them.
In other words, humans are creative.
We want to create, share and learn.
We should be born with these feelings.
If such feelings could resonate with each other,
connecting and circulating,
this should lead to an enriched society.
In my opinion, Sendai, Miyagi holds this potential.
Having lost myself before,
I feel courage when I place my core on this land.
Humans are born with this limitless power.
When it's made use of, it can bond society together.
My anticipation towards such a potential
has grown here in Sendai, Miyagi.
I'll always believe in those special qualities
that we humans are born with.
I believe they will be the light
that guides us through this society of drastic changes.
This thought will keep me going.
This is the potential that I have felt here in Sendai, Miyagi.
This concludes my story. Thank you.
(Applause)