Reading "The Book of Adventure" | Encountering words that illuminate the path of a creator

I read "The Book of Adventure: Unlearning in the AI Era" by Taizo Son.
As a creator, there are expressions that make me think,
"I would be so happy if the world were like this," and I want to write them down.

Now then.
A big question for children as well,
"What is school?" and "Why do we go to school?"

This question applies to us adults as well.
It leaves us feeling a bit hazy, doesn't it?

I feel like the days are just drifting by without being able to give children an answer that says, "This is it!"

When my 12-year-old son asked me, "What is this book about?"
I decided to record how I, as a mother and a creator, interpreted it for him.

Well then.
"The Book of Adventure" by Taizo Son
starts with that question everyone feels: "Why is school study so boring?"
and moves toward the question of why people learn.

Taizo Son carefully unravels the words and thoughts of many predecessors who left their mark on history,
giving us readers many discoveries.

It's a feeling of having things click, like "Oh, I get this!"
or understanding the current situation by looking back from the past, thinking "So that's why it happened!"
It feels like my closed eyes are wide open and spinning.

Carnegie's words

Among them, I encountered the words of a person who really struck a chord.

As someone who works as a creator with people who use what I make,
there are no words more delightful than these!
They truly are "words and thoughts" that illuminate the path of a creator.

They are the words of the American author Dale Carnegie.

• "Appreciation" means to properly understand a person or thing, and it carries a warm gaze of understanding and praising the good points of others.

• Looking at the dictionary, the verb "appreciate" has two meanings: to admire and to be grateful, and there is an inseparable, close relationship between these two meanings.

It is written like that,
and I thought, "Oh? Does this connect to art or craftsmanship?" as I read on...

• For any work of art, if there is no one to appreciate it—that is, no one who "understands" it—no meaning or value is born. The same is true for crafts, academics, products, and services; it is only because there are people who appreciate them that the "creators" are encouraged and can create even better things.

Truly, thank you for using it, watching it, and finding joy in it (the creator's sentiment).
And thank you for making it, showing it, and providing such good things and inspiration (the sentiment of those who understand and use it).
As these circulate, the act of creation is elevated. That is what I believe.

• It is no coincidence that good 'creators' are often good 'users' and good 'understanders.' As humans, who are diverse beings, respect each other, elevate one another, and support each other through affection, our creations become increasingly wonderful.

This applies not only to the attitude of making things,
but if this flow also extends to places where people face each other, elevate each other, and learn together,
I believe that such a place will surely grow into a warm environment that approaches true learning.

And I think this also resonates with the 'dialogue' that appears toward the end of the Book of Adventure.

What is 'dialogue'?

Dialogue cannot exist with just one person.
With diverse people—those you can understand and those you cannot.
Talking together.
Through dialogue, we digest the past and explore our gaze toward the future.
Not seeking answers, but asking questions.
Questioning, thinking, and acting.
That is how I perceive 'dialogue'.

Solving problems with set answers to get high scores.
That kind of learning is easy.
But to grapple with questions that have no answers,
facing and engaging in dialogue with people you get along with and those you don't,
I think that is truly difficult.

But when I look at my 12-year-old son,
I think, 'Wait? Maybe it's not that hard?'
I start to feel that way quite naturally.
They are quick and light-footed.

The barriers that adults have arbitrarily convinced themselves are impossible due to strange old constraints,
I have a feeling they can easily leap over them.

Why do we learn?

Before asking that of children,
what about us adults?
Why do we learn?
I feel this was a book that asks us that.

Rather than asking why I learn,
I actually feel excited when I think about what I will learn from now on and how I will learn it.

When I create, and once I finish creating, there are things I understand,
and things I don't understand,
which then leads to the next 'creation'.

Round and round, round and round...
Turning, circulating, and thinking.
I hope to keep creating while going round and round
until the moment it is truly finished.

*Bonus*
After finishing this book, I remembered that two years ago, while going through trial and error and with everyone's cooperation, I held a philosophy dialogue workshop.
I think I'd like to do that again.