The Amazing Thinking Methods of a Physicist (International Shinsho) by Koji Hashimoto

A book in which a theoretical physicist specializing in superstring theory and particle physics teaches the physical thinking methods that permeate everyday life.

From a childhood spent enjoying Lego and drawing mazes, through a laboratory filled with eccentrics, to heartwarming days with family—such as obsessing over washing handkerchiefs left in pants pockets or pondering the patterns of holes that form after cooking rice—the book is packed with Osaka-style punchlines in every chapter.

The sense that one finds mathematical logic more beautiful than nature, and the feeling that theoretical physics is not research intended to be useful to society, may not appeal to everyone, but it is understandable; it serves as a reference for a chaotic life where small differences lead to major changes and every possibility is exhausted.