In this blog post, I’ll explore the evolution from Impressionism to contemporary art—and its significance—through the works I encountered at the Basel City Art Museum.   A Start Trapped in Impressionism When I first visited the museum, the works I encountered were mostly from the Post-Impressionist movement. Since I was already familiar with painters like Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Monet from my...

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at what biobutanol is, how it’s produced, and its pros and cons.   What Are Butanol and Biobutanol? Petroleum is a key energy source that powers modern society, but it poses major problems such as depletion and environmental pollution. Against this backdrop, “biobutanol” is gaining attention as one of several alternatives to petroleum. First, we...

In this blog post, I’ll focus on Barcelona—which left a particularly deep impression on me during my 48-day trip through Europe—and the works of Gaudí, the architect who defines the city.   The Background of My Trip and My First Encounter with Gaudí This past summer, I embarked on my first independent trip and spent 48 days traveling around Europe. It was a trip I’d planned for a long time...

In this blog post, we’ll take a look back at the major changes and memorable events from Lineage’s early episodes, starting with the Talking Island and continuing through Gludio and Kent Castle.   Episode 1: The Talking Island Introduced in September 1998, the Talking Island was the first area players encountered—it served as the birthplace for all Lineage characters until the creation of...

In this blog post, I’ll provide a simple overview of diatonic chords and the basic concepts of intervals, harmonies, and chords needed to understand them.   Intervals: The Distance Between Sounds An interval is a unit that represents the distance between two sounds. To make the explanation easier, I’ll use C (Do) as the reference note. The names commonly used in music are A, B, C, D, E, F...

In this blog post, we’ll examine how game theory and the Nash equilibrium explain the phenomenon of drivers “cutting in.”   Game Theory and Strategic Choices Game theory is a framework for analyzing situations in which multiple participants pursue their best possible outcomes while taking each other’s choices into account. The actions each participant can choose are called strategies, and...

In this blog post, I’ll talk about my experience as a “fake gifted student”—which began when I was in middle school—the insights I gained from it, and my resolutions for the future.   It was my first year of middle school. Among my friends, there were some who went to other schools or universities every Saturday to study. They attended math and science gifted education centers, and since I...

In this blog post, we’ll examine the differences between light rail—which has recently garnered significant attention—and conventional subways, as well as its types, pros and cons, and the feasibility of its implementation.   What is light rail? Light rail is short for “lightweight rail” and refers to an electric rail system that is lighter than conventional heavy rail (standard subways) and...

In this blog post, we’ll examine the theory of costly signaling to explore why altruistic behavior can be explained evolutionarily—and what its limitations are—using specific examples.   Introduction: The Paradox of Evolution and Altruism A fundamental tenet of evolutionary theory is that traits advantageous for survival and reproduction spread through natural selection. How, then, can...

In this blog post, we’ll explore how the costly signaling hypothesis explains altruistic and conspicuous behavior in humans.   Concepts and Background All living beings fundamentally aim to survive and, in the process, cannot help but act selfishly. However, among people, altruistic behaviors—such as small acts of consideration or service, or even risking one’s own safety to save others—are...