The Wall of Fools

by Takeshi Yōrō

This little book of essays connected around the theme of how foolish we may be in our times, is from a retired Japanese professor. The book is sold in Japanese bookstore as an English reader for ESL students, but it's criticism ranges widely on topics of education in universities, linguistics, the sciences, and cognitive studies. I love essays, and this one incorporates alot about Japanese culture, history, even about those failed attempts at suicide on Mt. Fuji, it was an interesting read.

Genres: Japan, Japanese Literature

222 pages, paperback

First published April 10, 2003

Reviews

[Sofie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit chaotic. I struggled to grasp what the author is trying to say at times but that was the whole point of reading this, I guess. The book is already quite old and from a completely different culture, so it was interesting to see what issues were being discussed in Japanese society in the early 2000s. I heard about this book from Mono no Aware’s Tamaoki Shūkei, who wholeheartedly recommended it in his podcast, so I keep thinking what could’ve felt so revolutionary about this book to him.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perspective-altering read.

People change all the time; information is permanent.

"So you should tell young people not to waste time wondering 'What is my individuality?'" - Focusing on empathy rather than standing out for the sake of standing out.

His analogy of life being a mountain climb: "Ascend one more step to make your view better, even by just a little".

[puripuri · Rating 2 out of 5]

對於非日語母語者來說，除非學日語練讀解所需否則還是別浪費時間看這本書，真想看的話隨便找個ポイントまとめ看看就足夠了⋯⋯
書中雖然提供了一些新鮮的看待事物角度，舉的某些例子和引用的資料也很有趣，但是結構散亂、邏輯也非常站不住腳，還出現了不少輕率概括謬誤，時常讀著讀著感嘆「這也能圓回來？」還有老是把舊概念拎出來批判一番然後毫無理據地換個說法，換湯不換藥有什麼意義，就為了駁倒權威嗎？很難想像這麼一本書竟會出自醫學部教授之手⋯⋯
個人認為少數亮點之一是，2003年便預見到神經網絡和人工智能的應用前景無限（

[Paul Finch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned more about Japanese culture, reviewed some thoughts on criticism of university foci, and some thoughts on cognitive science. It was interesting.

[Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first attempt at reading a book in Japanese. I'm nowhere near finishing, but so far it seems decent. It feels like the author is just ranting a lot, but he does have some good points occasionally.