カテゴリー: Essays in English

Let’s get along forever in space.

Countless artificial satellites dart through space.

Humanity has launched numerous artificial objects into space, such as satellites, space probes, and space stations. The first satellite ever launched was the famous Sputnik 1 in 1957. As of December 2021, there were over 12,000 registered artificial satellites, and in recent years, it is said that over 1,000 new satellites are added each year.

The International Space Station: A Joint Project of Five Countries

The International Space Station is the largest artificial satellite orbiting the Earth in low orbit. Its average altitude is about 400 km, and it takes less than 4 hours to travel from Earth to the satellite. It completes approximately 15.5 orbits around the Earth in a day and can sometimes be seen as a slow-moving point among the stars, even with the naked eye.

This inhabitable artificial satellite, the International Space Station, is a joint project involving the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada. While conflicts between nations persist on Earth, it seems that they get along well in space.

In recent years, there has been much discussion about space stations on the Moon, and it is also desirable for cooperation to take place there.

Date: April 26, 2023.

 

Voyager, an unmanned probe, travels leisurely.

NASA’s unmanned probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, were launched in the autumn of 1977 and have been on a journey to the edge of the universe for the past 45 years.

At the dawn of the space boom,

The world’s first artificial satellite was a lightweight one launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957, weighing only 83.6 kilograms. The beginning of manned space activities was marked by the Soviet Union’s first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, an Air Force pilot, successfully orbited the Earth in 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 300 km, captivating people around the world with his expression, “The Earth is blue.

The first human lunar landing

On July 16, 1969, the American spacecraft Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and became the first mission to land humans on the Moon and successfully bring back lunar samples to Earth. I still vividly remember the exhibition of the “Moon Rock” at the 1970 Osaka Expo, where many people gathered.

Voyager’s successive visits to Jupiter and Saturn

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in the autumn of 1977, eight years after the Apollo 11 lunar landing. After the launch, they visited Jupiter in about two years and then visited Saturn one year later.
Originally, the mission was to explore these two planets.The plan did not include visiting Uranus and Neptune due to the excessive cost. However, when Voyager 2 arrived at Saturn, its instruments were functioning sufficiently, leading to a decision to head towards the exploration of Uranus.

The two Voyagers, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, passed by Jupiter (Photos 1 and 2) and Saturn (Photos 5 and 6), capturing close-up photographs for the first time (quoted from Nikkei Science, January 2023 issue).

I had memories of the beautiful photos sent back by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 during their exploration of Jupiter and Saturn, but there hasn’t been much news about their journey since then, and it was somewhat forgotten.

Currently, both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are peacefully traveling, aiming for even more distant unknown worlds.

Subsequently, Voyager 2 made a visit to Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Currently, both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have left the heliosphere and are peacefully traveling through interstellar space, controlled by their instruments, over a distance of 20 billion kilometers, aiming for even more distant unknown worlds.
It’s incredibly romantic and astonishing. I look forward to hearing more from the edge of the universe.
March 20, 2023.

At the dawn of the space age

The world’s first artificial satellite was a lightweight one launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957, weighing only 83.6 kilograms.

The beginning of manned space activities was marked by the Soviet Union’s first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, an Air Force pilot, successfully orbited the Earth in 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 300 km, captivating people around the world with his expression, “The Earth is blue.

The first human lunar landing

On July 16, 1969, the American spacecraft Apollo 11 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and became the first mission to land humans on the Moon and successfully bring back lunar samples to Earth.

I still vividly remember the exhibition of the “Moon Rock” at the 1970 Osaka Expo, where many people gathered.

2023.3.20.

 

The happiness ranking of Japan is 47th out of 137 countries.

On March 20th, the 2023 edition of the “World Happiness Report,” published on the occasion of “International Day of Happiness,” was released. This report has been published annually since 2012 and is based on opinion polls conducted by Gallup, a US-based company.
It measures the happiness levels of each country by asking approximately 1,000 individuals in each country how satisfied they are with their recent lives on a scale of 0 (completely dissatisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied).

Japan ranks 47th out of 137 countries.

In the country rankings of happiness levels, Japan ranked 47th out of 137 countries, showing an improvement from the previous year’s ranking of 54th out of 146 countries. Finland took the first place, with several European countries prominently featured in the top rankings, particularly the five Nordic countries up to the 7th position.
Here are the rankings of some major countries along with their happiness scores (0-10): 1st – Finland:, 2nd – Denmark, 3rd – Iceland:, 4th – Israel, 5th – Netherlands, 6th – Sweden, 7th – Norway, 47th – Japan, 57th – South Korea, 64th – China

Perception of happiness affects the scores.

The assessment of happiness levels involves six variables: 1) per capita GDP, 2) social support, 3) healthy life expectancy, 4) freedom to make life choices, 5) generosity, and 6) absence of corruption.
When comparing Japan with the top-ranking countries, Japan surpasses them in healthy life expectancy and its per capita GDP does not show a significant difference. However, Japan’s scores are lower in subjective evaluation criteria such as freedom to make life choices and generosity.
In Eastern countries like Japan (47th), South Korea (57th), and China (64th), the perception of happiness is subjective, and their societies and cultures differ significantly from the Western countries, which imposes certain limitations on quantification and ranking.

How Japan can enhance happiness levels.

As a country facing challenges like aging and declining birth rates ahead of the rest of the world, Japan’s task is to establish and implement approaches that achieve both prosperity and sustainability, enabling each individual to experience happiness. To achieve this, it is necessary for Japan to establish and implement its unique approach at an early stage.

2023.3.25.

Eyes speak louder than words.

I believe that children haven’t had the opportunity to see their friends’ faces without masks for over three years. However, personally, I’m not very concerned about communication when interacting with children face-to-face, even if they are wearing masks.

As the proverb says, “Eyes speak louder than words.” If you care about the other person, your thoughts can be conveyed through your gaze without uttering a word. As I mentioned before, even if you smile at a baby in a stroller on the train through your mask using only your eyes, they will still smile back at you as they always have.

The eyes are the mirror of the soul.

“The eyes are the mirror of the soul” is a proverb that means by looking into someone’s eyes, you can understand their state of mind. If someone is thinking positively, their eyes will shine, but if someone is thinking negatively, their eyes will cloud over. Eyes reflect the state of a person’s heart. During these past three years, children have undoubtedly developed an enhanced ability to read others’ hearts by looking into their eyes.

However, when we are freed from the masked life, our hearts will become bright.
March 13, 2023.
revised May 25, 2023.

 

Struggles with ChatGPT: A Chronicle

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot and text generation software released by OpenAI in November 2022. The world is in an uproar due to its impressive ability to generate text. Feeling the need to keep up with the times, I attempted to download it myself, but I couldn’t get it to work.

Getting guidance from a friend from my school days

I’ve been exchanging emails with four classmates from my middle and high school days. One of them, S, works in the IT field and introduced me to the possibilities and strengths of using ChatGPT for information gathering. Intrigued, I tried downloading it several times but without success. When I consulted him, he kindly sent me a PDF guide on “How to Use ChatGPT” right away.
With his help, I realized the cause of my unsuccessful attempts. I had been doing fine until I entered “ChatGPT” in a Google search, but I missed the top result, “Introducing ChatGPT,” and accessed the sites from the second result onwards.

The second hurdle

After successfully installing it, a familiar screen appeared on my TV. As I started using it, I realized that the entire interface was in English, so I thought I had to ask questions in English. I asked, “I am Japanese. How to use Japanese?” and the response was, “Hello! If you want to use Japanese, there are several ways you can do it, depending on your goals and interests. Here are some suggestions: Learn the basics: If you’re new to Japanese, start by learning the basics of the language, such as hiragana…” In short, it recommended studying Japanese and even suggested starting with hiragana. It wasn’t useful for me, so I tried again.

I asked again, “I am a native Japanese speaker, and it is difficult to ask in English. Can I ask you in Japanese?” They kindly replied, “Yes, of course! Please feel free to ask in Japanese if you have any questions. I will assist you to the best of my ability.” After that, they provided an overly polite response to my question about the distance to the moon. It made me realize that I need to improve my questioning skills. S, please continue to assist me with my inquiries.

There can be both correct and incorrect answers.
When I asked about Kernicterus, one of the neonatal brain disorders in my field of expertise, it was mistranslated as “Nuclear icterus,” and the explanation provided was completely off the mark. In my blog post on May 3rd, I discussed the origin of Children’s Day in Japan. The response from ChatGPT had limited information about the history in Japan and mainly focused on its origins in China. It seems that the information within ChatGPT contains more Chinese-related content than Japanese. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the well-formed response. Text generation software powered by AI is just a tool, and its usefulness depends on how it is utilized.

I will attempt to translate my blog post into English:

I tried translating my own blog using the English translation feature of ChatGPT. To start with, I used my latest blog post titled “Manakai: Healing for Adults.” I was amazed by the instant output of the English text. It was able to translate the sentences that are often difficult to convey verbally. I thought this would be a useful tool, but I also had some concerns. So, I immediately reached out to my friend N, who is proficient in English and French from our high school days, and asked for her advice via email. I received the following response shortly after:
“Since it was translated by the intelligent AI, I think it should be fine. However, I feel a bit uneasy because I know you have some interest in children and have been discussing Dr.’s thoughts. Although the AI can accurately translate the text, I wonder if it can truly grasp the knowledge of each field or the emotions of the author? What do you think?”

I recalled an incident from my study abroad days in Paris.

When I saw my girlfriend’s comment, I recalled an incident from my study abroad days in Paris.
It was during my second year when I was told to write a paper in French, and I was desperately writing it with a Japanese-French dictionary in hand. I remember the moment I brought it to my boss. As soon as he glanced at it, he said, “I understand the meaning of the sentences you’ve written, but this is not a French paper.” In the end, it turned into a completely unrecognizable piece of writing.
Comparing that experience with the quality of the AI-generated text in this case, I strangely find it far more impressive. If I check for any mistakes in the overall meaning of the English sentences, it is much better than my own English. For a while, I’m thinking of relying on ChatGPT and continuing to translate my previous blog posts into English. I look forward to being able to share them with foreign students I communicate with through email, once the content becomes more substantial.

Lastly,

I would like to express my gratitude to my high school classmates and friends who have been checking on me through my blog, as it is thanks to them that I have come this far. I kindly ask for your continued guidance.
May 14, 2023.

再和訳

ChatGPT: 悪戦苦闘の記録

ChatGPTは、OpenAIが2022年11月にリリースした人工知能のチャットボットおよびテキスト生成ソフトウェアです。そのテキスト生成能力の驚異的な能力により、世界中で大騒ぎとなっています。時代に遅れを取らないための必要性を感じ、私は自分でもダウンロードを試みましたが、うまく動かすことができませんでした。

昔の学校の友人からの助言を得る

私は中学校と高校の時のクラスメートの4人とメールのやり取りをしています。彼らのうちの1人、SさんはIT業界で働いており、情報収集のためにChatGPTを使用する可能性と強みを紹介してくれました。興味を持ち、何度かダウンロードを試みましたが、成功しませんでした。

相談したところ、彼はすぐに「ChatGPTの使い方」に関するPDFガイドを送ってくれました。 彼の助けを得て、私の失敗した試みの原因がわかりました。Google検索で「ChatGPT」と入力していたのですが、最初の検索結果である「ChatGPTのご紹介」という項目を見落とし、2番目以降のサイトにアクセスしていました。

2つ目の障壁

成功裡にインストールした後、テレビにはなじみのある画面が表示されました。使い始めると、インターフェース全体が英語だったので、日本語で質問する方法を知りたいと思いました。「私は日本人です。日本語を使うにはどうすればいいですか？」と尋ねると、返答は「こんにちは！日本語を使いたい場合、目的や興味に応じていくつかの方法があります。以下はいくつかの提案です：基礎を学ぶ：日本語に初めて触れる場合は、ひらがななどの基礎を学ぶことから始めてみてください…」というものでした。私にとっては役に立たず、もう一度試してみることにしました。

もう一度質問しました。「私は日本語を母国語としていますが、英語での質問は難しいです。日本語で質問してもいいですか？」と尋ねると、親切にも「はい、もちろんです！どんな質問でも日本語でお気軽にどうぞ。できる限りお手伝いいたします。」と返答がありました。
その後、月までの距離についての質問に対して、過度に丁寧な回答が提供されました。これを機に、質問スキルを向上させる必要があることを実感しました。Sさん、引き続き私の質問にお手伝いいただけますようお願いします。

正解と不正解が存在することもあります。

私が専門分野である新生児の脳障害の一つである黄疸脳について質問したところ、「核性黄疸」と誤訳され、提供された説明はまったく的外れでした。
私のブログ記事である5月3日の投稿では、日本のこどもの日の起源について取り上げました。ChatGPTからの回答は、日本の歴史に関する情報が限定的であり、主に中国の起源に焦点を当てていました。ChatGPT内の情報は、日本語よりも中国に関連する内容が多いようです。それでも、形式的に素晴らしい回答に感心しました。AIによって動作するテキスト生成ソフトウェアは、単なるツールであり、その有用性はどのように活用されるかに依存します。

自分のブログを英語に翻訳してみました。

私はChatGPTの英語翻訳機能を使って、自分のブログを英語に翻訳してみました。最初に「Manakai: Healing for Adults」という最新のブログ記事を使用しました。英語のテキストの瞬時の出力に驚きました。口頭で伝えるのが難しい文を翻訳することができました。これは便利なツールになると思いましたが、同時にいくつかの懸念も抱きました。そこで、すぐに高校時代から英語とフランス語に堪能な友人Nにメールで相談しました。彼女からは以下のような返信を受け取りました。 「知的なAIによって翻訳されたので、大丈夫だと思います。ただ、あなたが子供に興味を持ち、医師の考えを議論していることを知っているので、少し不安な気持ちもあります。AIはテキストを正確に翻訳できるとは思いますが、各分野の知識や著者の感情を本当に把握できるのでしょうか？あなたはどう思いますか？」

パリ留学時代のある出来事を思い出しました。

彼女のコメントを見ていて、パリ留学時代のある出来事を思い出しました。 私が2年生の時、フランス語で論文を書くよう指示され、手には日本語-フランス語の辞書を持って必死に書いていました。私が上司に提出した瞬間を覚えています。彼が一目見るや、彼は言いました。「書いた文章の意味は理解できるが、これはフランス語の論文ではない」と。結局、全く見覚えのない文章になってしまいました。 その経験と今回のAIによって生成されたテキストの品質を比較すると、不思議なことに、AIの方がずっと印象的に感じます。英文の意味の全体的なミスをチェックすると、私の英語よりもずっと良いです。しばらくはChatGPTに頼って、以前のブログ記事を英語に翻訳し続けるつもりです。内容がより充実したら、メールでコミュニケーションを取る外国の学生たちと共有できることを楽しみにしています。

最後に、

私のブログを通じて私を見守ってくれている高校のクラスメートや友人に感謝の気持ちを表したいと思います。彼らのおかげでここまで来ることができました。引き続きご指導をお願いいたします。 2023年5月14日

再和訳文へのコメント

原文と比べ、的確に英訳され、また再和訳されていることがわかりました。英文についてはよくわかりませんが、再和訳文をみるとNさんの言われるように、言い回しが私の日本語とはかなり違います。私の文は私の文、私の日本語自体がずれているのかも。

2023年5月21日

New Style of Appreciation: Van Gogh Alive Exhibition

Upon learning about the highly popular Van Gogh Alive exhibition held at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, my spouse and I decided to visit with our daughter. Despite it being a weekday afternoon, there was a bustling crowd, and after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, we finally entered the venue.

The Van Gogh Alive exhibition presents a new form of art appreciation that combines synchronized images and sound projections from 40 projectors onto the walls, deviating from the traditional exhibition format of quietly observing artworks.

Instead of static displays, the famous paintings by Van Gogh come to life with videos showing flowers dancing, stars twinkling, and trains running. Van Gogh’s original works are already known for their strength and dynamism, and when transformed into moving images, these characteristics are further emphasized.

The majority of the attendees were from the younger generation, particularly female visitors. The venue was packed, and the lower half of the video screens were often obscured by the shadows of people’s heads, creating an atmosphere where leisurely appreciation was challenging.

It felt more like attending a concert by a popular idol group. I couldn’t help but feel a bit out of place, as if I had accidentally stumbled into the wrong event.
May 18, 2023.

Childcare facilities are like children’s homes.

As women’s social advancement continues, it is believed that the demand for childcare facilities will further increase. While support for families with children is discussed, it seems that support for the childcare environment, where children spend the majority of their day, is not being addressed as much. It is as if the issue of childcare facility problems has been resolved with the goal of eliminating waiting lists for child daycare.

Improving the quality of childcare

When accidents occur in childcare settings, it is often attributed to the lack of attention and coordination among childcare workers, and the introduction of IC devices becomes a topic of discussion. However, I believe that the primary cause is the absolute shortage of childcare worker capacity. Increasing the number of childcare workers is essential for improving the quality of childcare.

 With the warmth of their hands and a caring gaze

Childcare facilities serve as children’s homes. Childcare workers take on the responsibility of parenting on behalf of the parents and spend the longest hours with the children. They must protect the safety and happiness of the children, working in cooperation with professionals from various fields, including pediatricians.

Childcare workers are expected to provide an endless smile to the children. This requires “leisure” time. With the warmth of their hands and a caring gaze, childcare workers help children grow into compassionate and emotionally rich adults.

April 9, 2023.

Joyful Connection with a Junior Colleague

The other day, my junior colleague, Dr. Sota Iwaya, visited my house to show me a paper he authored that was published in the top medical journal Pediatric Research in the United States.

Our meeting was a result of my having more free time in my old age and wandering around aimlessly. I was invited by Professor Ichiro Morioka of Kobe University (now a professor at Nihon University) to join the neonatal jaundice research group, and he appointed Sota as my partner at the time.

Reemergence of Kernicterus that Once Disappeared

In the 1970s, severe jaundice in newborns caused brain damage (kernicterus) and was a major cause of death and cerebral palsy. In 1982, I successfully developed clinical diagnostic equipment (UB analyzer) for predicting kernicterus in a joint venture with Arrow’s Corporation President Y. Ogoshi. It was widely used and, along with advances in medical technology, led to a sharp decline in kernicterus.

For more than 30 years after that, kernicterus was rarely seen in routine medical practice, and young neonatologists lost interest in it as an old disease.

However, in the 21st century, with advances in neonatal medicine, the survival rate of small, very low birth weight infants weighing less than 1,000 grams has increased significantly. As a result, kernicterus began to occur again in premature infants, unlike in the past when it was mainly seen in mature infants.

Why I Returned to the Research Lab

Thirty years had passed since the development, and there were times when I worried that the UB analyzer had reached its limit. However, I remember feeling relieved when I found out that there were no cases of kernicterus at Kobe University, where strict jaundice management was being performed with the UB analyzer.

When the Morioka Group at Kobe University resumed research on jaundice management in very low birth weight infants, I was invited to participate. For the past 20 years, we have been reviewing the treatment guidelines used in medical facilities throughout Japan, with the cooperation of many medical facilities, and we were able to create a revised version in less than two years.

Passing on the Technique to My Junior Colleagues

The principle of UB measurement is somewhat complex. Although some neonatologists can use the data generated by the UB analyzer, there are few who understand the principle behind it.

The true aim of my return to the research lab is to pass on the principle of UB measurement to the next generation. Sota Iwatani was the one who was selected to be my successor. We started together from making the measurement reagents and I was able to pass on everything to him in almost a year.

Dedicated to Y. Ogoshi and H. Nishida

I am deeply concerned that both Y. Ogoshi, the developer of the UB analyzer, and H. Nishida, who worked tirelessly to promote it, passed away one after another recently. I would like to offer this paper in memory of them and pray for their eternal rest.

April 16, 2023.

The origin of ”Tango no Sekku”  by the AI-generated language model ChatGPT

There is news of the transition to the fifth category of coronavirus measures, which gives me a sense of liberation from the restrictions that we have been living under.

This morning, I went out to visit my granddaughter’s junior high school cultural festival. It has been a long time since I went out.

Most of the students are still wearing masks, but when I entered the classroom, I felt the vibrant energy of life that I had not experienced in a long time, and the bright future that they represent.

On the way to the school, I saw carp streamers swimming happily in the clear blue sky of May. May 5th is “Children’s Day,” which was established by the Holiday Law in 1948, replacing the pre-war “Tango no Sekku,” or Boys’ Festival.

I asked the AI-generated language model ChatGPT about the origin of Tango no Sekku, and it gave me the following answer within a few seconds:

“The origin of Tango no Sekku dates back to the traditional Chinese event called the ‘Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival).’ According to legend, in ancient China, the monsters of the rivers and seas, namely ‘dragons’ and ‘fish,’ tormented the people.

Then, a hero named Lu Bu, wielding the famous sword ‘Grass-Cutting Sword,’ defeated the dragon, and the fish were driven away with the ‘chimaki’ dumpling containing ‘ai grass’ and ‘shobu’ leaves. This event, which symbolizes ‘defeating the dragon and driving away disaster,’ became the origin of Duanwu Festival.

Another theory suggests that Duanwu Festival is held in memory of the Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who was exiled from his homeland and met a tragic end. To remember and mourn him, Duanwu Festival was established.

In Japan, Tango no Sekku, which was brought from China, eventually became established as ‘Children’s Day,’ a festival to pray for the health of families and the growth of children.”

While the answer provides little information about the history of Japan, it focuses mainly on the Chinese origin of the festival. Perhaps ChatGPT contains more information in Chinese than in Japanese. Nevertheless, I am impressed by its ability to produce such well-written and informative passages.
2023.5.3.