[Book Review] The Practice of Not Overthinking

The impressions and feelings one has after reading a book
are not determined solely by whether the book is good or bad.

It goes without saying that the compatibility between the book and the reader matters,
and in the first place, it is also influenced by the reader's mental and physical state at that time.

Therefore, it is not uncommon for the impression of the same book to change each time you read it,
and that is precisely why an interesting book
is one you never tire of reading, no matter how many times you read it.

When I started reading this book,
my condition seemed to be a little off.
Perhaps due to being busier than usual,
I couldn't grasp the gist of the preface at all
(even though I read it over twice).

However, I felt it couldn't be helped,
and as I continued reading,
I was relieved to find that it started to sink in properly.

It was by no means the case that this book was too difficult,
nor was it a book intended to pull the wool over the reader's eyes.

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Can the past be changed? Or can it not?

One of my favorite sayings is,
"You cannot change the past or other people, but you can change the future and yourself."
which is something I hold dear.

It had been a favorite of mine for a long time after I first encountered it,
but one day I came across the phrase
"The past can be changed,"
which directly contradicts that.

"You cannot change the 'facts' that occurred, but whether they were 'good things' or 'bad things' can be changed depending on you, right?"
That is what it means. I thought it was truly a brilliant quote.

What cannot be changed are the facts, and how you interpret them is up to you.
That, too, can be changed freely later on.

…The excitement I felt when I first learned that came rushing back.
Of course, that is because stories related to that are introduced in this book.

The story of the "two arrows" that appears at the beginning
was something I had never heard before,
but ironically, I had arrived at the same realization
through a different route.

Overthinking in a world that doesn't think

Throughout the ages, young people have been teased by their predecessors,
"Young people these days don't think about anything,"
but I feel that in the modern era, with the rise of generative AI,
we are becoming an era that thinks even less.

Ever since I was moved by the phrase
"Man is a thinking reed,"
I, who have always liked to contemplate, have come to think about everything.
No, I might even say I overthink.

I still like to contemplate because I believe it often pays off,
but on the other hand, the downside is that I also carry the disadvantage
of overthinking even unnecessary things.

Perhaps as an instinctive defensive reaction
to justify my own self-imposed constraints,
to be honest, I do not like people who do not think.
To be more precise,
it is "people who do not appear to be thinking."

However, the more I worry in my own thoughts,
the more I feel both envious and resentful of those who
seem to live
without thinking at all.

As I was unexpectedly chased by work,
I had lost my composure,
and I was in a similar
state of mind.

Precisely because I am overthinking.

I don't know if that trait
is involved, but according to my wife,
when I am reading a book,
I have deep wrinkles etched between my eyebrows.

Perhaps when I opened this book,
I had the same stern look on my face.

However, as I read through this book,
I felt my expression and my heart
gradually loosening up.

That is surely because the author
was speaking to me through the book,
addressing me, who is always
overthinking.

This book does not by any means
deny the act of thinking.
It is just that thinking
is not a panacea.

You should think about things that need to be thought about.

Even so, in this world,
there are more things that are pointless to think about
or things that don't need to be thought about
than I realize.
I must not forget that.

The sense of balance between
"Man is a thinking reed" and "there is no point in thinking"
that I am always conscious of.
This must be what this book
wanted to convey.

As for the content,
there are many thought experiments in a question-and-answer format.
If you are someone who has dabbled in introspection or philosophy,
you might feel a sense of déjà vu,
but the point that it allows you to deepen your understanding
by thinking for yourself
through thought experiments incorporating unique metaphors
was unique.

It is a book that makes you feel
like you are having a Zen dialogue.

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Today's recommendation (shared on my own initiative)

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