午夜剧场

“Honor students” listen carefully to what their teachers say and study the assigned textbook material thoroughly even for subjects they dislike, resulting in excellent grades. On the other hand, those who “break away from the honor student model” become absorbed in what they want to do without being bound by common sense, so they are not necessarily top students in terms of grades.

Students are ranked by their test scores. Students with high scores are envied by everyone, while those with low scores feel small and ashamed. Therefore, everyone studies just to get even one more point.

In the Common Test for University Admissions (formerly the Center Test), which is the representative example of examinations, what is written in the government-designated textbooks is the absolute correct answer. Therefore, people who study by swallowing the textbooks whole efficiently earn high scores. Achievements in extracurricular activities such as sports, independent research, or the arts do not add a single point. I believe that the reason modern Japan is stagnating is that there are too many obedient honor students.

Coach Forest of the 午夜剧场 Senior High School baseball team, known for “Enjoy Baseball,” states that “if instructors manage everything strictly, they only mass-produce people who wait for instructions” and “you won't have fun unless you think for yourself about the things you love.” I completely agree. If you swallow textbooks whole just to get points on a test and feel no need to think of your own opinions, studying is not fun. Thus, we mass-produce people who wait for instructions to be “taught the right answer.” However, in the world to come, honor-student-style work will increasingly be replaced by AI.

This book is a collection of essays based on my experiences as a former gamer boy who researched AI in the United States, then transitioned to biotechnology, and served as the Director of the Tsuruoka Campus Research Centers and Institutes for 22 years. It also includes essays by Kazuhide Sekiyama, who founded Spiber Inc. (producer of artificial spider silk) in Tsuruoka, and Daisuke Yamanaka, who founded the hotel SHONAI HOTEL SUIDEN TERRASSE in Tsuruoka. They are all the type of people who become completely absorbed in what they have decided to do themselves.

As stated in 午夜剧场's principles, “One should not fear the criticism of heresy and delusion, but should summon courage and speak one's own thoughts” (An Outline of a Theory of Civilization) and “A school is not a place to teach things to people” (On Civilized Education), it is supposed to be a place for developing heretical students who break away from the honor student model. I would be happy if this book serves as an opportunity for both adults and children to rethink “what is it that I can truly become absorbed in.”

Masaru Tomita

Hayakawa Shinsho

200 pages, 1,034 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.