[No. 119] Hiroaki Inoue

It is no exaggeration to say that my nine years as a student at Keio University, spent with the support of many teachers and friends, are an irreplaceable and precious asset. I am not sure if this will be of any use to you, but I would like to share three lessons I learned at Keio University.

The first lesson I learned was to "challenge risks."

After entering Keio Senior High School, I joined the Judo Club. I do not remember why someone of my non-judo-like build joined, but I think I had a vague admiration for martial arts. One of the great pleasures of judo is throwing your opponent with a technique. On the other hand, if you use a poor technique, there is a risk of being thrown yourself, as the saying goes, "the gentle can control the strong," by having your own force used against you. Perhaps seeing through my weak heart, which hesitated to apply techniques out of a desire not to lose, the teacher who instructed me often scolded me, saying, "This is your chance, go for it!" Through those words, I believe he taught me the importance of having the courage to take on challenges without fearing risk—that you cannot compete if your spirit is defeated.

In the corporate world, too, not all tasks are easy. At such times, when I find myself hesitating for fear of failure, I can still hear that voice saying, "This is your chance, go for it!"

The next lesson I learned was the "pursuit of the essence."

When I graduated from high school, I decided to enter the Faculty of Science and Technology, perhaps because I admired my father, who was an electrical engineer. However, my strong interest in the natural sciences led me to major in the Department of Physics. In my third year in the Department of Physics, we had a great many report assignments, but the one that left the deepest impression was a report on "relativistic collision of two particles" for a class on the theory of relativity. I solved the equations I had learned in class and triumphantly submitted my report, only to receive a score of zero. It turned out that while my solution was mathematically correct, I had failed to connect the solution to the physical phenomenon of collision. I remember the professors in the Department of Physics often asking students, "Is there any physics in that?" I believe they were teaching us daily the importance of pursuing the essence of things, asking questions like, "Why do you get such a result?" and "What does that mathematical formula signify?"

In the corporate world, too, I hear about the challenges our customers face every day. At such times, when I think I have come up with a solution to a problem, I can still hear that voice asking, "Is there any physics in that?"

The final lesson I learned was to "see the big picture."

When I went on to graduate school, I majored not in physics but in computer science. This was because after entering the Department of Physics, I took a class on computers and became completely fascinated by them. In my master's program, I worked on research for a supercomputer called JUMP-1. One day, I encountered a phenomenon where a program I was sure I had written correctly was behaving strangely. Day after day, I investigated every part of the program, but the mystery only deepened. Unable to get it to work, I consulted my supervisor, Professor Amano. After a single glance at the computer, he said just one thing: "You, the power cord is unplugged..." In fact, the program itself was correct, but the embarrassing result was that the power cord for the board that sent the program to the computer was unplugged. I believe that from his own experience, he taught me the importance of seeing the big picture, rather than getting caught up in the single element of the program.

In the corporate world, too, I sometimes face problems that are extremely difficult to solve. At such times, when I am unable to solve the problem, I can still hear that voice saying, "You, the power cord is unplugged..."

It has been fifteen years since I started working for a company, and I have contributed to society in my own small way, without forgetting the three lessons ("challenge risks," "pursuit of the essence," and "see the big picture"). As an alumnus, I will continue to strive to apply what I gained at Keio University to the actual work of civilization, keeping the following words of Yukichi Fukuzawa in my heart. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Amano and Professor Yamazaki for giving me, a mere employee of a company, the undeserved opportunity to write this column.

Those who have already mastered learning as a skill at our Keio University must

endure poverty and hardship and apply what they have learned to the actual work of civilization.

Yukichi Fukuzawa

From a modern Japanese translation of *An Encouragement of Learning*