Extraordinary Ordinary Guy In Japan

Geocentric Theory

A shocking news came out.

TOKYO — A survey of 720 students in the fourth to sixth grades at selected Japanese schools showed Monday that around 40% of them said they believe the sun goes around Earth, while nearly 30% were not aware of which direction the sun sets.

The survey conducted by Hidehiko Agata, an associate professor at the National Astronomical Observatory, also revealed that more than 50% of the pupils could not explain why there are phases of the moon. (Kyodo News)

Are they turning back to the 16th century? That's why people believe various fake scientific terms like minus-ion.

The "dropping-out" of students has been a serious problem in Japanese educational scene. The Ministry of Education had not raised the teacher's leadership or quality of teaching methods, but only reduced the contents of curriculum. It's very easy thought and actually the drop-out students are not decreasing.

Originally, Japanese people had respected spiritual things from ancient times. However, we should not neglect to study about science because today we have received much of the benefit from science and technology. People seem to think that the science is a special field and not all the people need to study it. But they accept the pecuniary value of science. So there are also many persons who try to deceive people by pretending their fraud as science.
I think that elementary school is not too early to learn the scientific foundation in order not to be deceived by that kind of fraud. Treating science as a "surplus knowledge" causes Japanese people to be bad at logical thinking.

Video-Game Brain

In June 2, we heard the sad news that a sixth grade girl murdered her classmate. Both the murderer and the victim had their own website. The murderer got angry with the comment which the victim wrote to murderer's bulletin board, and it became the reason of the murder. People are discussing about this issue, and there was an article which I cannot consent.
The following was carried by YOMIURI Newspaper on June 22. (translated by me)

"If we are amused with personal computers or video games for a long time, the function of the portion called 'Prefrontal Area' which is related to human likeness, such as creativity or reason, will fail."
AKIO MORI, a professor at NIHON university calls such condition 'video-game brain'. MORI analyzed the brain waves of the three persons while they were online chatting. Although the beta wave which shows cerebral activity increased for the first 5-10 minutes of the beginning, it stopped after that. Writing an e-mail with cell-phone, reading a comic book, and watching an anime gave the same result.
Although we tend to think that our brain is working while we are writing e-mail, but MORI indicates "Neither online chatting nor e-mail on cell-phone need a consideration, and are done from habit." If our prefrontal area become weak, we will not be able to control ourselves and will be animalized and instinctive.

Don't you feel something suspicious in this article? I did. Why could he assert that with only three test cases? Except for the things above (chatting, e-mailing, reading comics and watching anime), what kind of actions did he tested and compared with? Why he thought that any kind of online chatting never need a consideration?

I was surprised that this newspaper carried the professor MORI's comment, rather than to the details of the comment. Since the contents of the book 'GAME-NOH NO KYOFU' (The Fear Of Video-Game Brain) which he published in 2002 were quite nonsense, I thought that the people had recognized that there was no credibility in his statement.

The following is the rough outline of the book.

Professor MORI measured about 300 persons' brain waves using the electroencephalograph developed by him. Then he found that the beta wave of the people, who play video-games for 2 hours or more in a day, decreased like a patient of Alzheimer's. (It's said that the alpha wave appears when the brain relaxes, and the beta wave appears while the brain is working actively) He named this type of brain 'GAME-NOH' (video-game brain... coined word by himself). The persons with video-game brain are very deficient in memory, and tend to lose temper.

As soon as you read this book, you will know it's based on his subjectivity. He has warned the decrease of the beta wave. But, when we do something well experienced for us, the beta wave always falls out. If we play games many times, our beta wave will decrease because we will get less and less stress from games. It's only being skilled. And all the other things than video-game may be same as this. A certain psychiatrist pointed out his ignorance about brain waves. MORI only quibbled in order to guide the readers to the conclusion which he drew first.

MORI also warned the girls who wear makeup in the train, and the couples who are embracing each other in the face of the public, that their cerebral function are failing. Video-games, e-mail on cell-phones, comics, anime, wearing makeup in the train, embracing each other in the public...these all are the acts that the people of middle or older age of Japan want to forbid the young people to do. What a convenient phenomenon the video-game brain is!

MORI is one of the type of persons who transfer all the responsibility to the things which they don't know well, and give up to understand new thoughts. There are too many shallow people like him in Japan!
As I wrote before, many of Japanese tend to trust uncritically what learned persons say. They think that learned persons do not tell a lie for their profit since 'learning is sacred'. They want their ideological belief to be proved by scientists or sociologists. But, they don't show their interest in more details of the science or sociology.

The influence of video-games on children has been worried about ten years or more before. MORI tried to help the people who want to make video-games for an incarnation of evil. I cannot bear that the foolish media carries such a fake scientist's comment, and the ignorant people trust it.

Minus-Ion

At first, I confess that I have only poor knowledge about the science. But in these few years, a certain word which is questionable even for me has been used frequently in Japan.
It is 'Minus-ion'. There is no day that we don't hear the word. The various items that related minus-ion are sold nowadays. For example, air-conditioners, air cleaners, driers, bracelets, pillows, clothes, and even 'Minus Ion Generators'. According to the advertisement, they have the effects of minus-ion and its various advantages.
"This removes dust or ticks and purifies air!" "This kills the mold!" "This can cure sick house syndrome and atopic dermatitis!" "This cures the disorder of the autonomic nervous system!" "This keeps low-fuel consumption of your car!" etc... The summary is that the minus-ion is good for human health.
Ok, Then what is 'Minus-ion'? Is it different from 'Negative-ion' or 'Anion'?

Is it a new scientific term? Supposing it is so, Who and when did it advocate and what is its contents?
The strange thing is that no rational explanation about minus-ion by using existing scientific ideas has never given us. Most of the explanations about the minus-ion are saying like this.

The harmful materials in the air, such as dust or ticks, have positive electric charge(Sometimes they call it 'Plus-ion'). When they combine with the minus-ion, they are electrically neutralized and fall down to the floor, Then the air is purified.

Moreover, there are explanations like this.

Exhaust gas, ultraviolet rays, or home electronics generate plus-ion. If we breathe in them, the flow of the electric signal in our body is checked, and the unpleasant conditions appear, such as giddiness, headache, nausea, irritation, or insomnia. The minus-ion is the important material which makes plus-ion away and heals the fatigue of our body.

Have you understood? I have not.
I don't think that so much negative-ion that can change the electrical polarity of all the dust in the room can exist in the air. If the dust could be neutralized, Isn't it caused by the static electricity? Are all the harmful materials charged positive? The deference of 'harmful' and 'harmless' is just the type of electric charge? Or is 'Plus-ion' different idea from the positive-ion?

It seems that this minus-ion boom was caused by the mass media. There is a tendency for Japanese mass media to publish the comments of the scientists or the college professors when they report every kind of news. For example, when a youth commits a crime, the media asks the psychologist why he/she did it. I don't understand the meaning of it at all. Why does psychologist know everything? I think that the journalists and editors add the scholar's comments to their report to pretend the news have the value and the credibility.
But, many Japanese tend to trust the opinions of the person with authority, such as a scholar, and trust the mass media unconditionally.
Anyhow, the minus-ion was also taken up in that way and a few scientists(they are calling themselves so) recommended it. Last year, The medical equipment maker, which is managed by doctor NOBORU HORIGUCHI who is one of the minus-ion recommender, stopped their business by the government because they sold some items with the advertisement said that the minus-ion has the medical effects, but it has not been proved scientifically.
However, various companies have already sold many items and advertised that they generate the minus-ion and are good for health. Even the major electric makers also have done and will continue to do so.

If they gave the value to things without substance, and we don't have any doubt about what we pay for, we are nothing but idiot. I wish we all have not been deceived by the foolish fraud.

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I picked up some interesting 'Minus-ion' products

The minus-ion generator that can connect to PC with USB to use (What for?)
http://www.epiion.com/cpjj-e-2.htm

Switching Hub with the function to generate the minus-ion (What?)
http://www.lobos.co.jp/aswitch.htm (Japanese)

Minus Ion Rice ...It says that the rice processed in the minus-ionized factory suppresses the breeding of bacteria(Why?)
http://www.akitakomachi.co.jp/minusion/ (Japanese)

The minus-ion collar makes your pet relax
http://www.torun.co.jp/english/index_pet.html

This item sold at Japan as 'Minus Ion Counter', But according to this page, it's used by 'Ghosthunters' (mmm...)
http://www.trifieldmeter.com/AirIon.html