It has been sometime since I made the last entry into this blog. I don't know how this long absence has taken place. I have been busy, giving lectures at places (most of the time within Japan but from time to time outside of it), writing neuroscience papers with my students (one of them, Takayasu Sekine, has had his paper recently accepted by a fine journal. Good for him!). I had to write essays after essays, which appeared in magazines and books et cetera, to keep the deadlines. My initially casual commitment to Japanese televisions has over the time become a more involved one, taking some portion of my time. All these elements, taken together, might have contributed to my not writing a blog in English for more than 6 months. On the other hand, I have kept my Japanese blog almost on a daily basis.
(My Japanese blog in the original langauage)
(( My blog through English translation. Even with the great technologies adapted by google the result of machine translation is devastating.)
The lesson is that one can be distracted from something. Even when that "something" is previous and meaningful in one's life. Some time ago, I made a vow to conduct more activities outside the Japanese domain. Writing scientific papers is not enough. I would like to write books in English, let the little things coming out of my research and life breathe the air of the broader, wonderful new world. I am making efforts, but not enough has come out yet.
Not that my activities in the Japanese domain are meaningless. There are thousands of languages spoken on this globe. Every single one of them is important, has an equal right to flourish and nourished. Japanese is only one of them. So is English. My wish to express in English is historically incidental, privately desired, supported by some demographic evidences. And the love to the mankind.
Now that I have made this entry after this long silence, I feel the tiny "English muscle" in my brain itching, ready to be let free to follow its instincts. Let's see what the year 2009 brings.
3 comments:
Thanks for returning! I was very excited to see an update. At the same time, the hiatus gave me a chance to read through earlier posts on this blog, as well as on the Qualia Manifesto site. I learned a lot from your writing. It's been an important contribution to my reflections, especially during the past few months.
Thank you again, and I hope you keep writing! (In English or otherwise.) Best wishes for the New Year.
Yes! Good to hear from you :) I agree, a blog is a great way to start new projects and think about new challenges and prepare for them. Looking forward to your English written posts during 2009!
Terrific! I look forward to reading your always-interesting posts.
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