午夜剧场

Teaching mathematics is difficult. There are many reasons for this, but one is that many students believe studying it is a waste of time because it doesn't seem like it will be useful in the future.

When I mentioned this to Emi Miyaji, a part-time lecturer, she introduced me to Torahiko Terada's essay, "The Insect That Gnaws on Lead." This essay describes a strange insect that eats lead and excretes lead, along with the various thoughts associated with it. Education is cited as an analogy for this insect's seemingly useless behavior. We forget most of what we learn in school, but the tiny fraction we don't forget holds significant meaning for us. If you despise waste, you can achieve nothing.

I am a so-called "Go fanatic," and I have learned many things from the game of Go. One of the most important lessons is the balance between profit (jitsuri) and thickness (atsumi). Explaining the concept of "thickness" is difficult, but it relates to a person's character, depth, and intrigue. Because thickness is difficult to utilize, it can potentially go to waste, but its value increases the more a game becomes a chaotic or long-term battle. The same is likely true for human character.

By the way, the word "muda" (waste) originally meant that it was a shame to let a horse walk without carrying a load. On the other hand, the similar word "dame" originates from Go and has two contrasting meanings: "a place not worth playing" and "a stone's liberty (breathing point)." For example, "damezumari" refers to a situation where stones with few liberties become unable to move. It is also said that "a shortage of liberties is a shortage of life," and "a novice's game has no liberties."

In the first place, it is impossible to work without waste (the Second Law of Thermodynamics). On the other hand, a mathematician might think: if wasteful things are necessary, then they aren't actually wasteful, which seems like a contradiction. My wife always lets my quibbling talk go in one ear and out the other, but I hope that this, too, is not a waste.

To return to the main point, since student days are the opening stage of a long life, it is good to study various things without fear of waste and accumulate "thickness." You might think that giving such preachy advice to students would only make them annoyed, but according to the logic I just explained, it shouldn't be a total waste.

And so, today as well, I gnaw on the "lead" of mathematics books, feeling as though nothing remains, yet dreaming of becoming even a little bit wiser.