Japan Dreaming - from Sheridan Tatsuno -- a bit more

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

From: Statsuno () aol com


To:  Dave Huntsman


Dave -


Thanks for your insightful comments based on your work with Japan's
NASDA.  Have you ever written it up and shared it with others?  Our
Stanford US-Japan Technology Management Center would welcome
hearing more about your hands-on experiences.


In response to your comments, the director deliberately took a
provocative thesis that runs counter to prevailing opinions. Her
title "Japan Dreaming" (not my choice, btw) was meant to open
the debate to new ways of looking at Japan (i.e. seek and ye shall
find).


Admittedly, both of us share rather rarified experiences with
Japan because of my working ties with Silicon Valley/Stanford/
Japanese high-tech firms and your NASA/NASDA ties.  However,
I don't know how representative these elite groups are of both
countries. I suspect declining math and science abilities among
many Americans, plus sensational media reporting and bad experiences, has led
to a much more suspicious, pessimistic view of science and technology.  This
is just a personal observation.  In-depth public
opinion polling and academic research in US and Japan might be
useful in exploring these critical issues since S&T have such an
enormous impact on our industrial competitiveness and educational
levels.  I would urge researchers to pursue these issues further.
The last thing I want to do is create new stereotypes (which are
nothing more than opinions unsupported by empirical data). We
need more in-depth research, not just more debate.


In particular, I'm interested in the role that visions (like Apollo)
and dreams have on the direction and vitality of a nation. Having
grown up during the Apollo Project, I believe dreams are very
important as a way to create a national identity.  Of course, they
can also be dangerous (e.g. Nazism), so debating the role of
dreams/visions as they relate to education and S&T is, in my
mind, one of the key issues facing a nation.  For example, what
impacts do the lack of personal dreams have on a young Afro-
Americans chances for success in education and careers?  How
can we change this for the better with substantive policies and programs?
 Unless we answer these types of questions, S&T will
control society, not vice versa.


Again, thanks for your comments and I hope EFJ and EFF debates
these critical issues.


Sheridan Tatsuno
statsuno () mcimail com
------


"The thesis of "Japan Dreaming" is that, despite western stereotypes,
Japanese individuals do indeed have personal dreams and visions about
their lives and the future."
I agree with you that many Westerners seem to have that stereotype; and
thus, any honest effort good people like you make to dispel them is to be
commended. However, you then go on to make what, in my personal opinion, is
essentially a new (and judging from the postings, accepted ) stereotype by
many :
     "Besides the rather visionary nature of some of the technologies, what
really struck us was the optimistic and hopeful feeling about their research
 -- a big contrast from the U.S. where many citizens instinctively distrust
scientists and
researchers, perhaps because of the heavy military orientation. "
           This also echoes what Charlie said, and really does border on
being another---and wrong---stereotype itself.   There are "many
citizens"----in all countries----who "distrust" everything; including in
Japan.  However, the implication that there are more dreaming, hopeful, and
optimistic researchers in Japan than the U.S.  just doesn't wash, in my
opinion.  I can go around to the research labs around my agency alone and
possibly find more dreamers busily at work on their vision for humanity"s
future than might be in some whole industries in---say----Japan.    Then,  I
could start going out into the industrial labs; into the entrpeneurial space
and electronic and biotech tech companies, the types of which barely exist
in Japan----and then move on to the big corporate labs, where people often
move to---not for security, as in some countries---but because use of those
corporate resources help them to go after their real goals for themselves,
and the future.
     In short---to be obnoxious!---for every optimistic techno-dreamer in
Japan that you see me, I'll just bet I can raise you 4 in the U.S.!  (And
lots of THEM are forming their own companies, to make the dream happen).
Pointless?  Yeah, I guess.  But, I think I could do
it........................
                 (  I can tell you that in my field, there's no comparison
between the two countrys.  One of the amazing things I discovered about
Japan's Space Agency  (called "NASDA") was that it wasn't populated by
"space cadets" (like me!) that populate America's space agency.  In fact,
most of the employees there, including the managers, seem to come from Japan
Railways; and to them, it's just a job.)


Of course, all of the above is just my opinion.  My caution, however, is
that we not create new stereotypes, as we go about demolishing the old ones.


"All men dream; but not equally.  Those that dream at night in the dusty
recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity.  But the
dreamers of the day are dangerous men; for they may act their dream with
open eyes, and make it possible."
                                                 --Tennyson


Dave Huntsman
dhuntsma () codei hq nasa gov