Events and Accountability（Tuesday, September 20, 2016）

 The “Toyosu Issue” has recently become a favorite topic for the media.

Incidents and accidents are a natural part of human nature, as we are prone to making mistakes. In such cases, the first thing we must keep in mind is ensuring that the same mistake does not happen again in the future. For if foolishness is an inescapable attribute of human beings, then living from tomorrow onward in such a way as to avoid repeating our mistakes is proof of human wisdom.

What is the most important thing we can do to prevent a mistake from happening again? It is to ask, “What exactly was that event?”—that is, to summarize the situation after clarifying the full picture of the facts as thoroughly as possible, and then to “name” it. First, we must ask “What happened?”

However, Homo sapiens are such that our adrenaline immediately surges toward “Who did it?” This is true whether it’s a mother who suddenly scolds her child for bringing home the worst grades on a midterm exam, or an enraged Tokyo resident who, as a taxpayer, has learned of wasteful government spending. People get more excited about finding a culprit than about verifying the facts. This is because humans love “people” far more than they care about “facts.”

Human folly is directly proportional to passion and inversely proportional to reason. On the other hand, the astonishing energy humans possess to accomplish anything is inversely proportional to reason and directly proportional to passion. Since ancient times, striking this balance has been difficult. Humans are not powerless; they are merely foolish. Perhaps I should add, “Unfortunately.”

*See also → I love ‘I love a Fool’

※This article is an English translation of the article below.
出来事と帰責: 本に溺れたい（2016年9月20日、火曜日）