Friday Special Lecture for High School and University Students
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Content List
Summer Semester Program 2022
The sea, science, and Sanriku: Another role of academia in remote areas[JP]
Otsuchi town, in Iwate Prefecture, is one of the coastal cities in Sanriku that were severely damaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In this town, our marine station of Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute has been doing marine research for 50 years out of pure intellectual curiosity. Since we have been settled in this town, we decided to collaborate with this local community after t…
Let's Think about Russia, the Land of Mystery [JP]
It is not well known what kind of country Russia is. What kind of people live there? What is their life like? Why do they repeat the wars? What will their future be like? Let's think about this "land of mystery," Russia. NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese.
Burnt-out Cities and Black Market Era: Reading Ishikawa Jun's “Jesus of the Ruins”[JP]
In this lecture we will explore what it means to read Japanese novels published immediately after the defeat of World War II in the context of today's changing world. How do interpretations of novels change and how do our views of a particular period shift? We want to provide an opportunity to consider this question by reading Ishikawa Jun’s best-known work “Jesus of the Ruins” (1947). NOTE: …
Evolutionary ecology of “idle” worker ants
When you hear the words "idle" worker ants, what do you think of? Ants are very different creatures from humans. But if you take a close look at their "society", you’ll see a way of life that is reasonable from our point of view, such as division of labor, cooperation, living together, and cheating each other, even making us pause to think about it. Why do we feel rationality and empathy for the …
Why people do or do not follow the rules: an invitation to the sociology of law
As the world has faced the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years, each country has enacted its own regulations to prevent the spread of infection. Some countries have lax regulations, such as self-restraint, while others have strict ones with fines for violations. However, any regulation is meaningless if people do not follow it. It is a central topic in the sociology of law to consider the s…
The Science of Vaccines: How to Achieve "Usefulness" While Enjoying "Interesting” [JP]
“What do vaccines actually do?” “What exactly is an mRNA vaccine?” “I don't want to be vaccinated because of the pain and swelling.” “Which vaccine is better?” “What vaccines will be available in the future?” “I want to do research on vaccines. What's interesting now?” This lecture will answer these questions. NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese. ★Your sharing on SNS may in…
Difference and Inequality: A Focus on Gender [JP]
We, you and I, are different. We may be of various ages, or we may be of other genders. These differences are assigned values of goodness or badness or an expectation and are associated with a pecking order. The first step to approving and accepting differences is to understand the difference between being different and unequal. Let's think about this together, focusing on gender issues. NOTE:…
Winter Semester Program 2022
Next-generation concrete ~ From vegetable-based concrete to construction in space~ [JP]
Concrete is the most abundantly used material on the earth. However, the production of concrete has a large environmental impact due to CO2 emissions. In addition, raw materials for concrete are in short supply. In this lecture, I will introduce basic knowledge of concrete and its relation to environmental issues. Furthermore, I will present basic and applied research aimed at realizing the next-…
Mathematics of Population Problems [JP]
In junior high school, high school, or college, you have probably heard about the current status and history of population in Japan and around the world. You have probably also heard about the declining birthrate and the aging of the population. In fact, when considering the future of Japanese society, population change has a tremendous impact, more than any other factor. Importantly, this popula…
Significance of Learning Ancient Greek Philosophy [JP]
Philosophy (Philosophia), originating in ancient Greece, flourished as ancient philosophy from the early 6th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D., and has been inherited to the present day as the foundation of Western philosophy and science. Here, I will present the power of its original contemplation, restored through modern research. Let's learn the significance of ancient Greek philosophy and …
Fleming's law in the quantum world: the physics of the Hall effect [JP]
Fleming's left-hand rule, learned in junior high school science, describes the direction of the force generated by a current flowing in a magnetic field, and is observed in a phenomenon called the Hall effect. However, there is also the Hall effect, which occurs without a magnetic field. It is expected to be used in next-generation devices. In this talk, we will approach the frontiers of condense…
The merits and demerits of economics[JP]
This talk will discuss one recent case where economics has helped solve a problem, and another where it has (or appears to have) made the problem worse. The former is the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1990, which helped reduce emissions of toxic substances. The latter is the transition to a market economy in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which has been criticized for wreaking havoc on th…
What is French laïcité?［JP］
Have you ever heard of the word "laïcité"? The French-Japanese dictionary at hand says (1) "non-religiousness, secularity," and (2) "separation of church and state (ideology), independence (of education, etc.) from religion, religious neutrality”; however, "laïcité" is a special term that is inseparable from the history of the French Republic. It is often regarded as a strict separation of church…
#18 Human-AI Collaboration [JP]
Although research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating, there are many complex problems in the real world that cannot be solved by AI alone or by humans alone. This lecture will introduce "human computation," a method of collaborating between humans and AI to solve these problems with the help of many humans. NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese.
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Illustrations will make you like English (textbooks) more?!［JP］
Many high school and university students, as well as working adults, are learning English. Learning English opens doors to the world. Then, how do people around the world study English? In this lecture, we will look at illustrations of English textbooks from around the world. You will surely like English (textbooks). NOTE: - This lecture was conducted only in Japanese.
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Listening
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