午夜剧场

Being able to look at something and know its name influences how a person perceives the world. For example, if you don't know the names of plants, the trees and grass in your field of vision are often processed simply as "scenery" and go unnoticed. Even if you try to observe them closely, it feels difficult to attach information in your mind to something for which you have no name. By knowing a name, we can extract an "individual object" from the scenery, observe it, and incorporate it into our own perception as "this is what this thing is." My primary interest lies in living things, but whether it is a man-made object or an intangible concept, I believe it is somewhat universally true that a name serves as the gateway to recognition. Whether or not you know a name changes the richness of the world for you.

When it comes to living things, knowing a name—that is, identification—usually involves consulting a "field guide." However, a field guide is not something where everyone can arrive at the correct answer as easily as looking up a word in a dictionary. Situations often arise where you look at a guide but still don't understand. Here, a gap exists between the user of the guide and the creator, who is a professional at distinguishing and recognizing those living things. The reason it is "unclear even after looking" is that the user is unable to successfully share the creator's perception. Until now, this has been dismissed as a matter of the user simply needing more practice. I decided to write this book to slowly consider things like "Why don't we understand?", "Through what process and changes in perception do we come to understand?", and "What should users and creators each be mindful of to achieve that?"

My specialty is spider taxonomy, but I have many opportunities to research living things outside my field for hobbies or work. Furthermore, in my profession as a teacher, I am able to witness changes in children's perceptions firsthand. I was able to gain hints for the theme of this book from various places, including scenes that seem unrelated to field guides. While I was writing about field guides, I feel that I was actually confronting my own inner perceptions. It would be the greatest honor as an author if I could share the question posed in the title with people from various fields.

Tatsumi Suguro

Beret Publishing

184 pages, 2,200 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of the magazine's publication.