A Lack of Imagination Makes People Angry... "Juvenile Delinquents Who Cannot Cut a Cake"

"Juvenile Delinquents Who Cannot Cut a Cake" has become a hot topic. This new book is written by a child psychiatrist who, through repeated counseling sessions with juvenile delinquents, explains how they think and how they ended up committing delinquent acts.

And here is the diagram from the title, where a delinquent youth divides a cake into three and five equal parts. Speaking of dividing a cake into five... it's the bonus manga from "The Quintessential Quintuplets".

Setting aside the three-part division, there are probably quite a few people who cannot immediately think of how to divide it into five. However, the diagram drawn by the delinquent youth clearly lacks equality, and they likely do not understand equal division.

Many of the introductory tweets on Twitter only quoted up to this point, and in the reply threads of viral tweets, there were scattered insults attacking the lack of common sense and education of these delinquent youths.

Naturally, "Juvenile Delinquents Who Cannot Cut a Cake" is not a book that mocks the ignorance of delinquent youths who cannot divide things equally. It is a book that delves into their cognitive distortions to understand why they engage in behavior and thinking that falls outside of common sense.

While it is the price of a catchy title meant to pique interest, it is wrong to vent resentment toward delinquent youths or lament their bad behavior regarding this book. This is because there is always a reason for them to reach the point of delinquency, and before judging right or wrong, it is necessary to unravel the causality and motives. The tweet above misstated the title, didn't it? My apologies.

As someone from Okinawa who tended toward school non-attendance, I feel I can understand the thinking of these people to some extent. I can think of friends who were also non-attenders who couldn't divide a cake into three. They would routinely shoplift, get into fights, and skip school or cheat, but among them were students who didn't understand "why" those things were wrong.

For example, at the arcade I often went to in junior high, there was a cabinet where you could get credits just by kicking it lightly, effectively allowing you to play for free. They would steal glances at the staff, kick the cabinet, and keep playing Metal Slug for free. However, they felt no guilt for that act. Rather, they were filled with the kind of excitement a boy feels when discovering such a cheat code.

Of course, legally they are completely in the wrong, but for them, who were just enjoying a game for free like an extension of the cloning bugs that were popular in Pokemon Gold and Silver when we were in elementary school, they perceived that the arcade was at fault for creating a loophole due to poor maintenance. Above all, the arcade itself was using illegal boards equipped with emulators and a massive amount of software, so everyone involved was a villain.

But I digress. So, what happens if you give them a proper lecture? Of course, it just goes in one ear and out the other. Because they don't know what is wrong. They don't understand the effort of others, and they have never thought about how they would be perceived if they disregarded that effort. This lack of imagination leads to a lack of empathy, which is also connected to symptoms of what is called ASD. Not that everyone is ASD, though.

I have also been constantly scolded by people, so I understand it well. Only now, by repeatedly memorizing patterns like "if I say this, people with this tendency will get angry," have I been able to resolve it little by little, but even now, I am often criticized for making slips of the tongue.

Before noticing these patterns or common sense, many delinquent youths become non-attenders or isolated due to the trauma of bullying or guidance resulting from their failures. When the place where one has the most opportunity to learn common sense and patterns—school—is removed, it becomes easy to fall out of the circle of society.

In this tweet, it says I was scolded because I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open, but at the time, I didn't even understand why I was being scolded. I didn't know the common sense that "normal people can breathe through their noses, so in serious situations, they keep their mouths closed and have a stiff expression," and since I couldn't figure out how to show through my attitude that I was listening, the answer I arrived at was school non-attendance.

Even after becoming an adult, there are many cases where I unconsciously make others angry. I want to become a human quickly.

If I were told to divide a cake into three back then, I would probably draw a nonsensical diagram just like the delinquent youths at the beginning. To return to the topic, this book is written for adults in positions of guidance on how to interact with youths whose cognition has become distorted before such education or reflection, and it is by no means intended to make fun of delinquent youths.

It is a very rewarding book to read, so I would like those who mocked delinquent youths due to a knee-jerk reaction to the title or the diagram to read it. Because those who attacked reflexively also did so due to a lack of imagination.

What was particularly interesting was the example of a youth who committed murder but insisted that he was a "kind person." Please pick up the book to find out the reasons and motives.

Now, this is sudden, but "The Quintessential Quintuplets," which I mentioned in passing, is an undeniable masterpiece. They cannot divide a cake equally because they are simply not very bright, but there is something moving about seeing them work hard at their studies for the sake of love and their dreams.

They have shared their joys and sorrows equally, but now they are troubled by their first feelings of love, experiencing betrayal, empathy, discovering love, and learning... It is a truly wonderful work, without exaggeration, packed with everything important in life.

By the way, Nino is my favorite. Among the quintuplets, her most feminine side and the exquisite balance of her emotional range, which is different from a typical tsundere character, are very adorable. Because she is such a good girl, there have been more scenes lately where she encourages or supports her other sisters, and because of that, I feel like her main romantic episodes have decreased, which makes me a little sad. Even taking that into account, I still love her. Regardless, she is so devoted to her sisters, and yet when it comes to love, she can go so wild that it makes her sisters cringe...

The Quintessential Quintuplets is the best!