TRIZ Forum: From Readers


Letters from Readers (Apr. - , 2016)

Ellen Domb (USA), Umakant Mishra (India), Toru Nakagawa;
Shahid Saleem A. Arshad (Australia), Doug Gundlach (USA), George Dragheci (Romania);
Toru Nakagawa

Editor: Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.)

See Index Page of 'From the Readers' pages

Posted on May 8; Jun 11; Jun. 20, 2016
( buttons guide you to the pages written in Japanese.

Editor's Note (Toru Nakagawa, May 8, 2016)

To my thanks, I have been receiving emails occasionally from various readers in Japan and from overseas.  I am going to post some of those communications suitable for open discussions, in the present page.  There are comunications in the Japanese page also, though not shown in this English page. 

Lsit of Letters from Readers:

Apr. 7, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
Apr. 21, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
Apr. 29, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
Apr. 29, 2016 Ellen Domb (USA); Reply Toru On 'Liberty vs. Love'
May 6 -- May 8, 2016 Umakant Mishra (India): and Toru On 'Liberty vs. Love'
May 8, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
May 18 Shahid Saleem A. Arshad (Australia) On 'Liberty vs. Love'
May 31, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
May 31 Doug Gundlach (USA) On 'Liberty vs. Love'
Jun. 2 George Draghici (Romania) Short communication
Jun. 11, 2016 ---------------------------------------------- Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" ---------------------
Jun. 16 Toru Nakagawa On 'Liberty vs. Love' (reply to S.S.A. Arshad)
     

 

Top of this page Update Apr. 7 Update Apr. 21 Update Apr. 29 Update May 8 Update May 31 Update Jun. 11   Index of ''From the Readers' pages Japanese page  

  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  Apr. 7, 2016

TRIZ-related cnoferences (Call for Papers) in Japan and in the world;  "The Rising TRIZ Generation" in Malaysia (Tan Eng Hoo, MyTRIZ) ; Letters from Readers (Japan, World);

 


  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  Apr. 21, 2016

Social Problems: Working Paper: Liberty vs. Love: The Principal Contradiction Inherent in the Human Culture: Deep Bases of Thoughts Underlying the Arguments by People on the "Low-living Elderly" Book (Toru Nakagawa) (in Japanese)

 


  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  Apr. 29, 2016

Social Problems: Working Paper: Liberty vs. Love: The Principal Contradiction Inherent in the Human Culture: Deep Bases of Thoughts Underlying the Arguments by People on the "Low-living Elderly" Book (Toru Nakagawa) (in English)

  Ellen Domb (USA) ==> Toru Nakagawa    Apr. 29, 2016

Hello, Toru: Thank you very much for publishing your working paper “Liberty vs. Love” – you will give all of us much food for thought.

The “TRIZ people” will be challenged to refine what they call contradictions, and the non-TRIZ people will learn how powerful the concept of resolution of contradictions can be. I look forward to reading your continuing work on this topic.

I don’t know if the Japanese Amazon system is the same as the one in the US for reviews. If it is, you might want to reconsider any ideas that you have based on the number and distribution (positive vs. negative) of reviews. In the US, I frequently get requests from friends to write a review of a new book on a particular day, designated as the Amazon publication release day. There is an algorithm by which Amazon decides how to promote a new book, and number of reviews in the first week is a key parameter in that algorithm. So it is possible that many of the favorable reviews come from the author’s friends, and the unfavorable (and maybe some of the favorable also) come from people who read the book but are not on the author’s mailing list! The lack of neutral reviews is a common phenomenon: People who are very negative will write to express their opinion, and people who are very positive will write to share their joy, and both groups want to persuade other people to join them. People who are neutral will not take the time to write—they will just move on to another book. I hope these notes are helpful to you.

I look forward to the continuing refinement of the ideas in your paper.   Ellen

  Toru Nakagawa ==>   Ellen Domb  Apr. 30, 2016

Dear Ellen, Thank you for your reply and encouragement.

I understand what you say about the Amazon's Customer Reviews. But fortunately, in Japan, the reviewers are not so much 'organized' intently, I feel.

It is quite exceptional that this book received so many customer reviews like this. (In Japan we have another internet book seller, 'Rakuten Market'. It has about a dozen of customer reviews of high evaluation, 5 Stars or 4 Stars, only.) So the low evaluation reviews in the Amazon site may be somewhat unusual, but not artificial, I think.

There are some trends in Japan that there are people who try to pull down good and honest people with some words of prejudice, especially on the internet. Thus there are several reviewers who evaluated the book very poorly apparently without reading the book closely.

However, it is important that in the low-evaluation reviews they speak in natural words and with their natural feelings. I noticed that such words reflect the understanding by ordinary people on the issue of welfare. This is the point I found it necessary to clarify the social understanding and social philosophy. That was the trigger to my work.

Best wishes, Toru

 


  Toru Nakagawa ==>   Umakant Mishra (India)   May 6, 2016

I am much surprised to learn that you studied and even majored in philosophy in your university days.

My very recent working paper on 'Liberty vs. Love' is much related to understand the Human Culture in general and hence it may be a paper in the field of philosophy. However, I do not have any special background in philosophy except ordinary knowledge and understanding.

I was inspired to write this working paper during the course of my Visual Thinking on the 'Low-living Elderly' problem with the background of TRIZ/CrePS. I also got a hint in Mr. Toshio Takahara's writing on the importance of the contradiction between Love and Freedom.

I think the theme 'Liberty vs. Love' is very important, in its depth and width, in covering the whole Human Culture. So, I am planning to think over and write on this topic further.

  Umakant Mishra (India) ==> Toru Nakagawa    May 6, 2016

I just went through your article on liberty vs. love.

In fact there are many contradictions associated with liberty.
       - children should have liberty to play but this will lead to affect their studies.
       - liberty to work or stay idle, but staying idle affects growth

         [snaps.   See the extended version of May

  Toru Nakagawa ==>   Umakant Mishra  May 7, 2016

Your examples of contradictions associated with liberty are interesting and illustrative.

Your point is that there are many possible and important choices in the decision and action for a person to take one's Liberty. I.e., contradictions in Liberty of a single person, because any decision/action has its own effects on the lives of the person and others (including the society) immediately and in future.

  Umakant Mishra (India) ==> Toru Nakagawa    May 8, 2016

Yes, you may put that as readers' feedback, or let me put that in more presentable words.

Liberty in terms of freedom of speech, profession, religious practice etc. is key to modern society. But there are many contradictions associated with liberty.

- Liberty to choose profession may lead to unhealthy competition and conflicts

- Liberty to mining, fishing, tree cutting etc. will soon finish the natural resources and cause sustainability issues. For example, if too many people choose fishing as profession then fishes are going to extinguish soon.

- Liberty to stay idle will negatively affect economic growth.

- Children have the liberty to spend their time in playing and merry making but that will lead to affect their studies and career

- A person may have liberty to live, but liberty to die (suicide) will have many negative consequences.

- Liberty to kill cows, goats, domestic pets and other animals for food and other purposes takes away the right to live of those animals and therefore contradicts with animal rights.

- Liberty to smoke or take drugs leads to serious health hazards and weakens the strength of the society

- liberty to marry and separate, but too many separations and remarriages lead to family disturbances and social instability and so on.

Hence, a welfare state tries to balance between freedom, welfare, climate change, social justice, sustainability and many other issues. For example,

- while people have the right to fishing they are not allowed to fish beyond a limit from the coast and not to fish beyond a quantity

- Women, children and weaker sections are given special privileges and protection by law. The State/Govt has to do a lot of investment to help the poor and bring social justice.

This reminds me the "Social Contract Theory" of Rousseau which says

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are."

 


  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  May 8, 2016

"USIT: A Concise Process for Creative Problem Solving Based on the Paradigm of the Six-Box Scheme - USIT Manual and USIT Case Studies -" (Toru Nakagawa, Japan TRIZ Symp. 2015 , Japan Creativity Soc. Conf. 2015 ); Letters from Readers (in English),  (in Japanese);

  Shahid Saleem A. Arshad (Australia) ==> Toru Nakagawa    May 18, 2016

Many thanks for your thoughts on Takanori Fujita's "The Low-living Elderly" book.  You have further reorganized your thoughts into your technical note "Liberty vs. Love: The Principal Contradiction Inherent in the Human Culture: Deep Bases of Thoughts [Underlying the Arguments by People on the "Low-living Elderly" Book]" 

I would like to offer the following in support of your timely and essential effort.  These listed below are mere ideas or directions which I hope will lead to more substantial contributions from others.

1)   Basics:  Prof. Nakagawa has demonstrated his remarkable intellect in firstly reducing a complex problem to its essentials, and then proceeding in the other direction to ascertain some causes.  The essentials he terms as "Liberty vs Love".  Liberty implies the liberty to pursue one's success in a increasingly competitive world.  Love implies Altruism (Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others).  Thus the principle issue is one of balance between two desirable conditions, which are increasingly in a state of imbalance at present.

Nakagawa resolves this condition to our society's preference for and emphasis on personal success from an early age.  The parents of a child are not concerned with how well the rest of the class did, rather they wish to know how well their child did by comparison  This early pattern sets the direction for the remainder of one's working life as limited constraints make the competition more acute.

He is also very correct in pointing out that concern for others or selflessness usually plays a secondary role by comparison to our competitive nature, which is most prominent.

2)  Economic Systems:  Nearly all of the world now follows the Capitalistic System (CS), or certainly adopts some of its features.  My main argument here is that in a dynamic world, with constantly evolving conditions, one needs to view things with a critical eye.  Nothing is inherently good or bad, or evil.  A capitalistic system, run to excess would lead to disaster as was recognized by the early pioneers of the Socialist or Communist systems.  Rather than repeat Marx and Engels, let me quote the following:

3)  Western critiques of the capitalistic system:  (taken from Wikipedia)

Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of the United States, said "I hope we shall crush ... in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country".

Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an April 29, 1938, message to Congress: "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — "

President Dwight D. Eisenhower criticized the notion of the confluence of corporate power and in his 1961 Farewell Address to the Nation, brought attention to the "conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry" in the United States and stressed "the need to maintain balance in and among national programs – balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage."

4)  A State of Imbalance:   Early mechanical engineers realized that a steam engine would tend to over-speed and destroy itself unless some means of regulation were enforced.  This was the ingenious device, the  "Speed Governor" where two suspended weights around a vertical spindle would tend to fly out when spun at a high rate, and this action was leveraged to automatically release a steam pressure valve.  No matter how high the steam pressure, the engine would not go past a certain speed and the excess pressure was vented to the atmosphere.  (here is one possibility for helping the needy)

5)   Economic Stagnation and Inequality:  With the removal of any economic or financial speed governing mechanism we have the engines of economy in the USA, Europe, Japan, etc., go into overdrive and then fall apart.  One indication is the fantastic inequality in our economies between the haves and the have-nots, the 1% and the 99%.

More importantly, the shattered economic engines are incapable of old-fashioned growth.  Stagnation has set in. Even with the massive feeding of freely printed currency, the engines can barely manage a crawl.

The ultimate indication of the failure of this system is that we are now headed towards negative interest rates by the central banks.  This means that borrowing banks, which were getting rich by just taking zero interest loans from the central banks and depositing them back to earn perhaps 2% interest for doing absolutely nothing, will now get some additional  interest paid to them just for borrowing the money in the first place.  Can a more complete example of systematic failure be given ?

6)  Stratification of a Difficult Problem:  In today's Sydney newspapers, it was reported that researchers at the University of New South Wales had achieved unprecedented gains in photo-voltaic cell efficiency (now up to 35% efficiency)  by splitting sunlight into four separate bands, and different parts of the cell with different layers then absorb the different bands of sunlight, with different materials optimised for maximum efficiency. 

Should we consider a stratification of the "The Low-living Elderly" problem so that different tools of TRIZ can be applied for greater overall efficiency ?

Best wishes, Shahid


  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  May 31, 2016

USIT: A Concise Process for Creative Problem Solving Based on the Paradigm of 'Six-Box Scheme’ -- USIT Manual and USIT Case Studies -- (Toru Nakagawa, ETRIA TFC 2015) (in English).

 

  Doug Gundlach (USA) ==> Toru Nakagawa    May 31, 2016

I think your focus on the contradiction of liberty and love is startling and important. I view it as a technical contradiction. Often one goes up at the expense of the other. It is not always a physical contradiction.

You have identified a key tradeoff in a democratic free enterprise culture. How to maximize liberty (and freedom from taxation or excessive regulation) while still providing loving care for the common good and especially to those most vulnerable who need it?

Thank you for sharing,
Doug Gundlach,   Racine, Wisconsin, USA

  George Draghici (Romania) ==> Toru Nakagawa    Jun. 2, 2016

Dear Toru, Thank you for news.

I have too the news for you:
    - since October 2015 I am Professor Emeritus
    - since January 2016 I am member on the Scientific Council of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (www.auf.org )

All the best for you!    Kind regards!    George

 


  Update of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  Jun. 11, 2016

”USIT: A Concise Process for Creative Problem Solving Based on the Paradigm of the Six-Box Scheme -- USIT Manual and USIT Case Studies”  (Toru Nakagawa) (Journal of Japan Creativity Society) (in Japanese); "From the Readers" (in English and in Japanese).

 

  Toru Nakagawa ==>   Shahid Saleem A. Arshad (Australia)  Jun. 16, 2016

I am sorry for not responding you directly since your important communication on May 18. 

On my updating the Home Page, I introduced your communication as follows in the top page:

Letters from Readers (Apr. - , 2016) (Jun. 11, 2016)
On my working paper 'Liberty vs. Love', D. Gundlach responds 'It's startling and important'. 
S. Arshad contributed his thoughts on 'Liberty vs. Love' supporting my working paper: 
In our world, pursuing one's success (Liberty) is predominant and selflessness or concerning others (Love) is sencondary.  The results are most recognizable in the big imbalance of '1% of the haves and 99% of the have-nots' in the current economic system of the World.  Understanding 'Liberty vs. Love' as the Principal Contradiction can form a basis for thinking of the resolutions.
-- Thanks, S. Arshard, and we look forward to further discussions.  

This short introduction in the top page is my message to the readers showing my appreciation of your communication.

Your writing especially in '1) Basics' is most important, I think.   You fully understand my intention and my thoughts in the working paper 'Liberty vs. Love'.  

In the Japanese page, a few communications from ordinary readers not familiar with TRIZ are posted.   Typically, they do not like the idea that Liberty and Love are contradictory, and they say that Liberty and Love are compatible and that Love is primary to Liberty, etc.  
'Finding/understanding contradictions is necessary for resolving the contradictions' is our basic understanding obtained clearly with TRIZ.   This understanding is not familiar yet among ordinary people.

Problems in the Economic Systems (or Capitalistic Systems) are most important, as you discuss, and relevant to the problem of the Low-living Elderly or the poverty in the society in general.  
There are a lot of arguments on the economic systems and national/international economical policies, by numerous and various kinds of professional people.  
Such people will simply ignore naive comments from non-specialists, like me.  
Similar situations will be in politics, in business management, in group psychology, in education systems, etc.
So I feel I (or we) need to build up our thoughts with the viewpoint of 'Liberty vs. Love' from the level of     individual persons, to groups of people, to organizations of people, to business organizations, etc., to     international relationships.  
Besides building up step by step our thoughts, we should better show our directions and our targets always.  
In this sense I appreciate your discussion in your sections 2) to 5).

I am always thankful for your encouragement and support of the "TRIZ Home Page in Japan".   The pages concerning to social problems have been much directed with your suggestions and encouragements.   Thank you so much!!

Expressing my thoughts in English takes time for me, especially in the non-technical fields.  
The updating of my home page is done mostly in Japanese pages and mostly in English pages by turn.   So the update of English pages may not be frequent enough.  
Receiving communications and contributions in English is helpful for keeping the English pages active.

With best wishes, sincerely,   Toru

PS.  One more point:

When I was writing the working paper, I had two thoughts:

(a) "Philosophy of resolving the contradiction 'Liberty vs. Love' has been made clear through the Human Culture, ..."

(b) "The problems of the contradiction 'Liberty vs. Love' have become even more complex and difficult to solve through the Human Culture, because ... "

And I chose to put more stress on (b) than on (a).   This is also an example of 'understanding the contradiction in order to solve it'.    Best wishes,

(Note:  In the updating of the Home Page on Jun. 20, I posted S.S.A. Arshad's communication (of the Section 1) in Japanese translation. )

 

 

 

 

Top of this page Update Apr. 7 Update Apr. 21 Update Apr. 29 Update May 8 Update May 31 Update Jun. 11   Index of ''From the Readers' pages Japanese page  

 

General Index  (A) Editorial (B) References Links News & activities Software tools (C) Papers, case studies, articles, Lectures, course materials (D) Forum General Index 
Home Page New Information   for children and highschool students for students and the general public for engineers (introduction) for Practitioners Publications: "TRIZ Practices and Benefits" Series Search in this site Home Page

Last updated on Jun 20, 2016.     Access point:  Editor: nakagawa@ogu.ac.jp