Edward Dodds <dodds@home.com>
Dr. Richard Dasher <rdasher@fuji.stanford.edu>
Robert A. Burmeister <sta@netcom.com>
Susan Elena Pickett <susan_elena@hotmail.com>
Dear Ed:
========
(1) Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT I).
(2) I once visited Dr. Robert A. Burmeister, the predecessor to
Dr. Richard
Dasher, at the US-Japan Technology Management
Center (USJTMC) of the
Stanford University. Dr. Burmeister
has been one of our listserve
members for many years since then.
Dear Susan:
===========
(3) Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT II).
I visited your web with great interest.
(4) The subject of "science and ethics," -- particularly of Japan
-- is a
matter of my concern for the past half century
since I came to the US in 1954.
(5) You may visit my book draft Electronic Global University System and Services" at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Bookwriting/Contents_of_Book.html>.
Then, visit Chapter 3,
(a) Section 1:
Rainbow Bridge Across the Pacific:
Slide show on the comparison of Eastern and Western
cultures in relation with functions of analog, digital and hybrid computers.
(b) Section 2: Acceptance Speech of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education"
Pls read "between the lines" of them, since
some phrases are
offensive to Japanese -- particularly when
they are translated into Japanese.
Why offensive? Read ATTACHMENT III.
(6) The University of Tokyo (which is your alma mater for your
doctorate
after MS at M.I.T. and BS from Boston Univ.)
is the one which inherited
the Academy of Tokugawa government (Gakumon-sho
in Japanese), according
to a plaque on the wall of the Club of Academy
(Gakushi-kaikan in
Japanese) which is located at nearby Imperial
Palace in Tokyo which was
once the castle of the Tokugawa government.
My brother-in-law
was the Dean of Engineering of the university
when you received
your doctorate.
According to "Champions of Japanese" (Daihyou-teki
Nihon-jin in
Japanese) written by Kanzou Uchimura (who
was expelled as a professor
from the University of Tokyo because of his
belief in Christianity (*)),
the Academy of Tokugawa government taught
Shushi-gaku (one of the sects of
Confucianism) -- he regretted that it might
have been better if Yomei-gaku
(another sect of Confucian) was taught, in
order to be more democratic.
BTW, Dr. Shigeru
Nambara was the rector of the University of
Tokyo.
He was one of the disciples of Kanzou Uchimura along with my mother.
I mentioned
his valuable suggestion for me not to become a
professor of
his university in my previous distribution because
the university
is so stifling -- see "DRAFT/Global Peace Gaming for
S3 in SIMULATION
- May 6, 2000" at <http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve/global-univ-2000.html>
(*) which is offensive to Japanese tradition and culture --
the population of Japanese Christians is still only less
than 1% even 500 years after it was introduced to Japan.
(7) Another problem of Japanese science, engineering, industry,
and hence
economy is due to Shintoism.
According to Mr. Masuzo Fujibayashi, former
Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Japan, another disciple of Kanzou
Uchimura and my family
friend, Shintoism is shamanism without dogma.
(8) The combination of Confucianism and Shintoism hinders the
future of Japan --
particularly for entering into the global knowledge society in the
21st century.
I believe that the only way to cope with this
enigma is to proliferate
Internet (*), the effective tool for achieving
ultimate participatory
democracy, with distance learning in global
scale. This is the why of my
quest for the establishment of Global University
System.
Read Section 2 of Chapter 3 of my book draft mentioned above.
(*) The
Internet population in Japan according to Asahi
newspaper web
site today says only 15% compared with 45% in the US
-- 75% in its
affluent society!!
(9) During 1980s while the US struggled on this transformation
from
manufacturing economy to information/knowledge
economy, Japan was at the
peak of her manufacturing economy. Japanese
looked down at the twin
deficits of the US economy (domestic and trade
at that time) and said
"Nothing to learn from the US any longer."
Many Americans said "Japan
won, and America lost."
The bubble of the Japanese economy soon burst.
Look the current
situation of the Japanese economy with a whopping 7%
unemployment
rate -- which does not show any sign of tapering off
or declining
-- on the other hand, the US unemployment is 4.2%
(the lowest
in the past several decades) and still falling!!
Japan is still
in the longest recession after World War II,
and no sign
of recovery yet. They cannot simply transform from a
manufacturing
economy to an information economy as the US did to its
New Economy
-- this is because Japan does not have the principles
of Freedom,
Equality and Justice. As long as they have this
combination
of Confucianism and Shintoism, they cannot simply make
the transformation
-- ATTACHMENT III.
(10) The Request For Proposal (RFP) of the US Department of Defense
which
funded the US-Japan Technology Management
Center (USJTMC) at Stanford
University said that Americans have to learn
from the Japanese (see ATTACHMENT I).
They seem to have been unable to see the future
of the Japanese economy
and technology, nor the root of their hidden
troubles at that time.
(11) I wish to write a book some day on the "science and ethics of Japan"
in
Japanese elaborating the above contentions
-- which probably had better
be published after my death!!
Best, Tak
****************************************
ATTACHMENT I
From: "Ed Dodds" <ed_dodds@hotmail.com>
To: utsumi@columbia.edu
Subject: Possible ally
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 10:42:32 CDT
Tak:
I just heard this man give reference to having returned from a
video-coferencing over Internet 2 trial in Korea. Thought he'd be an
ally if
you haven't already made his acquaintance.
Ed
Instructor
Richard Dasher
Dr. Richard Dasher is the Director of the Stanford University US-Japan
Technology Management Center (USJTMC), Executive Director of the Center
for
Integrated Systems, and Consulting Associate Professor in the Department
of
Electrical Engineering. The USJTMC is devoted to increasing U.S. access
to
technology transfer and information from Japan in critical
electronics-related fields and to developing U.S. scientists, engineers,
and
technology managers with the skills and sophistication necessary to
thrive
in an era of global competition/cooperation. Dr. Dasher is often quoted
in
the U.S. and Japanese press on topics such as the spread of new information
technologies in Japan, U.S., and Japanese patterns of
university-industry-government cooperation, and trends in Japanese
R&D
funding emphasis. Dr. Dasher's academic background is in Linguistics;
his
prior experience includes serving as the Director of the U.S. State
Department Language and Area Training Centers for U.S. diplomats in
Japan
and Korea (1986-90) and on the boards of directors of two domestic
Japanese
companies. In addition to this seminar series, he currently teaches
Stanford
courses in Technical Japanese Language and Japanese Business Culture.
Phone: (650) 725-9965
Office: CIS 106
Email: rdasher@fuji.stanford.edu
URL: http://fuji.stanford.edu/
****************************************
ATTACHMENT II
From: "susan elena pickett" <susan_elena@hotmail.com>
To: utsumi@columbia.edu
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 01:02:56 EDT
Dear Professor Utsumi,
I have been receiving your Newsletter for about 2 months. I am interested
in
the range of issues that you cover and the importance of new educational
models aimed at addressing current discrepancies, particularly between
OECD
countries and and developing economies/countries with a lack of sufficient
infrastructure to keep up to par with educational efforts.
I was wondering if you do any work on science and ethics explicitly?
I was also wondering if you would kindly look at a website of an
organization I helped to establish while in Japan and let me
know your
thoughts when you get time.
THe website is http://www.peacepledge.gr.jp
Thank you
Susan Pickett
susan_elena@hotmail.com
pickese@texaco.com
****************************************
ATTACHMENT III
TIME/Asia Version
May 31, 1999
Page 23
Sin-ming Shaw
It's True. Asians Can't Think
Until it abandons its twisted Confucianism, the region will trail the West
Can Asians think? That's not a racist slur, it's the title of a book
by
Singapore diplomat Kishore Mahbubani. While he offers no answer, the
question
he poses is excellent and long overdue.
The facts are not in dispute: 1,000 years ago
China under the Song
Dynasty was the world's most advanced nation. Even 300 years ago China
under
the Qing rulers was first among equals. Yet in the past 100 years,
the West's
superiority over Asia has widened exponentially over any advantage
the East
ever enjoyed. No civilization with such a commanding lead, not even
classical
Greece, has declined more dramatically. The issue is not about economic
growth
or engineering dexterity; Asia's record in these areas is indisputable.
It's
about originality of the mind and its resulting influence over how
mankind
shapes the world.
China may have mastered cutting-edge nuclear
technology, by stealth or
otherwise, and Japan may have the best-engineered semiconductors. But
these
developments are ultimately based on Newtonian physics and quantum
mechanics,
both purely Western paradigms. China justifies its political system
by
invoking Marx while trying to restructure its economy using the theories
of
Keynes and Friedman, even employing Goldman Sachs for financial advice.
Taiwan
is a democracy more informed by classical Greek philosophers than by
Chinese.
Japanese leaders wear Western formal dress with tails for signing ceremonies.
And everybody loves an Ivy League degree.
Asia must not merely reflect on why Western
thoughts shape the world we
know, it must also ask why so many Asian minds flourish only after
they have
gone to the West. For evidence, just look at the many Nobel Prizes
won by
Asians living and working in America. Time and again, talented emigres
say
they had to leave Asia because the intellectual atmosphere was stifling
or
because the established hierarchy respected seniority over brains.
Blaming Asian schools for focusing on memorization--as
opposed to
"thinking"--is too pat an excuse, as schools and universities reflect
the
basic values of a society. It is ingrained in the Asian psyche that
"correct"
answers always exist and are to be found in books or from authorities.
Teachers dispense truth, parents are always right and political leaders
know
better. In executive-led societies such as China and Hong Kong, leaders
act
like philosopher-kings, often uttering unchallenged banalities. Senior
officials sometimes resemble the powerful palace eunuchs of past dynasties:
imperial, unaccountable, incompetent. Questioning authority, especially
in
public, is disrespectful, un-Asian, un-Confucian.
It is time to deconstruct Confucius. He said
many things. Some
emphasized order above all: on filial piety, never disobey. Others
were
democratic: without the trust of the people, no government can stand.
Past
emperors manipulated his work to justify a static order while they
themselves
rarely abided by the same rules. Japan became Asia's most advanced
nation
largely because it dared to change its own values during the Meiji
Restoration
in 1868 (though it now needs a similar impetus to regain its creative
energy).
The conventional wisdom that Asians cherish
learning is misleading. In
the past, learning meant passing imperial exams that led to well-paid
jobs in
the civil service. It's not altogether different in modern Asia. Learning
for
its own sake is considered a luxury, if not a financial waste, unless
it also
leads to an attractive income stream.
The twisted Confucian philosophy passed on
by generations has played a
damnable role in denting Asian creative thinking. U.S.-trained physicist
Woo
Chia-wei, president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
believes the Confucian stress on order is a major obstacle to creative
thinking that has sometimes affected even his own instincts. All important
advances in knowledge involve substantial revision or rejection of
an existing
framework. Scientists call that a paradigm shift. Order for the sake
of order
is the opposite of creative thinking.
Which Asian society, informed by home-grown
precepts, is most likely to
nurture and keep at home a future generation able to write better software
than Microsoft, find a cure for cancer and replace quantum mechanics
with a
Theory of Everything, now the Holy Grail of physics? The odds are not
good,
but the best bet is Taiwan. Alone among Asian societies it possesses
the right
combination of institutions that allow talent to blossom. Institutionalized
disputes and a respect for opposing viewpoints, publicly aired, are
not just
about political democracy, they are fundamental to creative thinking.
They act
as a filter so that a rare gem may be found among the intellectual
garbage. It
takes only a few powerful ideas to change the world.
If Japan, China and the rest of Asia--perhaps
even India--ever manage to
cast aside mind-numbing communist Confucian and caste values, then
the
region's talents could one day dominate the Nobel Prize lists, enriching
the
world through intellectual property, not property development. And
they will
be doing their creative thinking right here in Asia. Eventually, someone
might
even ask, "Can Westerners think?"
****************************************
List of Distribution
Edward Dodds
Association for the Development of Religious Information Systems (ADRIS)
PO Box 210735
Nashville TN 37221-0735
615-429-8744
Fax: 508-632-0370
dodds@home.com
http://members.home.com/dodds
www.ttalk.com
Dr. Richard Dasher
US-Japan Technology Management Center (USJTMC)
Executive Director
Center for Integrated Systems
Consulting Associate Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-4055
Phone: (650) 725-9965
Office: CIS 106
Email: rdasher@fuji.stanford.edu
URL: http://fuji.stanford.edu/STAFF/rdasher.html
Robert A. Burmeister
sta@netcom.com
Susan Elena Pickett
16 Tory Court
Colts Neck, NJ 07722
732-946-7438
732-670-6849
susan_elena@hotmail.com
pickese@texaco.com
http://www.peacepledge.gr.jp
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA
*
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.)
*
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education
*
* Founder of CAADE
*
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education)
*
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of
*
* Global University System (GUS)
*
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A.
*
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email)
*
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676
*
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/
*
**********************************************************************