Decoding the World | Akira Wakita, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies
April 20, 2021
The other day, I participated in a certain election. It felt less like an election and more like a kind of ritual, similar to the conclave that elects the Roman Pope.
Come to think of it, there are many kinds of elections in the world. They range from familiar ones like those for student council presidents or club representatives that we experience in our youth, to those that affect the lives of citizens, such as for mayors, governors, and members of parliament. Recently, even pop idols hold general elections. It would be fair to say that this country is excited about elections all year round.
The final output of an election is the results, such as the number of votes for each candidate and the winners. However, I feel that various meanings are hidden within them. Gaining a large number of votes signifies that much support, but on the other hand, receiving fewer votes than generally expected also contains various meanings.
Up to this point, one can vaguely imagine these things even as an outside observer. But those who actually vote or work hard to gather votes can decode deeper and more diverse meanings from the numbers and results. Some may find meaning in the relationship between the first and second place, while others may see something in the comeback of someone who was once out of the running. It feels as though the world seen by insiders is quite different from what outsiders are analyzing.
This is not limited to elections but can be said of various things in the world.
Signs and posters you see in the city, the colors and shapes of walls, speed limits, the structure of buildings, graffiti, and murals. All of them contain messages. While looking only at the surface might make you feel "Oh, I see" or "What a hassle," for those who possess something to extract their meaning, there are hidden insights that make them think, "Ah, that makes sense."
Furthermore, with recent topics like COVID-19 and digital twins, various valuable numerical data are being released. Instead of just looking at whether the numbers are large or small, if you process and think about the data yourself to figure out how to extract the hidden information, you might be able to uncover something unexpected, and an intellectually interesting world will open up.
In other words, information is something that can only be extracted by those who know its meaning. Whether you can draw information from a subject depends on you. If you don't share the key frames, contexts, or models to extract it, the information is as good as non-existent.
Looking at the world from such a perspective, I find it quite interesting.