Training to explain things logically and concisely in English

 My original explanation

The range of the QTL for Ca on Pv04 is 33 Mb long. One chromosome is typically about 50 Mb long, so this QTL is taking effectively three-fifths of the whole chromosome. However, when I visualize it, it looks much shorter. That is because the visualization is based on the genetic distances, not physical distance. The QTL that spans 11-44 Mb is only 5 cM long because it is in the middle of the chromosome, where very few crossovers happen. So, that is why the discrepancy between the QTL range based on the physical position of the markers and the visualized range between them based on the genetic distance appear so different. 

Improved version:

The QTL for Ca on Pv04 spans 33 Mb. Because a chromosome in common bean is typically about 50 Mb long, this QTL covers roughly three-fifths of the chromosome. However, it appears much shorter in the visualization because the plot is based on genetic distance rather than physical distance.

Although the QTL extends from 11 to 44 Mb, it spans only 5 cM. This region is located near the middle of the chromosome, where recombination is infrequent. As a result, a large physical interval corresponds to a relatively short genetic distance. This explains the apparent discrepancy between the QTL interval defined by the physical positions of the markers and its visualized length based on genetic distance.

Training for me

Your underlying reasoning is already strong. The main issue is not logic itself, but compressing the logic into a cleaner sequence and choosing more precise scientific phrasing.

The most suitable training for you would focus on four areas.

First, practise explaining one idea in a fixed causal structure:

Observation → explanation → mechanism → conclusion

For your QTL example:

• Observation: The QTL spans 33 Mb but looks short in the figure.

• Explanation: The figure uses genetic distance, not physical distance.

• Mechanism: Recombination is infrequent near the chromosome centre.

• Conclusion: A large physical interval can correspond to a short genetic interval.

This structure suits you because your original explanation contained all four elements, but they were partly repeated and distributed across several sentences.

Second, practise separating the specific case from the general principle. A strong scientific explanation often moves like this:

1. State the specific result.

2. State the general principle.

3. Apply the principle back to the result.

For example:

The QTL spans 33 Mb physically but only 5 cM genetically. Genetic and physical distances are not proportional, particularly in regions with low recombination. Because this interval lies near the chromosome center, its large physical span corresponds to a short genetic distance.

This pattern is especially useful in presentations and discussions because it helps the listener understand not only what happened, but why the same phenomenon may occur elsewhere.

Third, practise replacing conversational expressions with standard scientific verbs and nouns. Your English is understandable, but some phrases are translated too directly from spoken reasoning.

Examples from your draft:

• “is taking three-fifths” → “covers roughly three-fifths”

• “very few crossovers happen” → “recombination is infrequent”

• “looks much shorter” → “appears much shorter”

• “the discrepancy … appear so different” → “this explains the discrepancy”

• “the range of the QTL” → “the QTL interval” or “the QTL spans”

A useful exercise is to build a personal phrase bank organized by function:

• describing extent: “spans,” “covers,” “extends from”

• explaining causes: “because,” “due to,” “as a result of”

• describing relationships: “corresponds to,” “is associated with,” “does not scale proportionally with”

• interpreting figures: “appears,” “is represented as,” “the plot is based on”

• concluding: “This explains why,” “As a result,” “Therefore”

Fourth, practice removing sentences that merely restate the same relationship. Your original version explains the physical–genetic distance discrepancy several times:

it looks much shorter
the visualization is based on genetic distances
it is only 5 cM long
that is why the discrepancy appears different

All are relevant, but the final sentence repeats what the previous sentences have already established. A useful editing test is:

Does this sentence add a new fact, explain a mechanism, or draw a necessary conclusion?

If it does none of these, delete or merge it.

A training routine particularly suited to you would be:

1. Write the explanation naturally without restricting yourself.

2. Label each sentence: observation, evidence, mechanism, interpretation, or conclusion.

3. Remove repeated labels containing the same information.

4. Rewrite the explanation in three sentences.

5. Rewrite it again in one sentence.

6. Explain it aloud without looking at the text.

For your example, the three-sentence version might be:

The Ca QTL on Pv04 spans 33 Mb physically, covering roughly three-fifths of the chromosome, but it appears much shorter in the visualization. This is because the plot represents genetic rather than physical distance, and the 11–44 Mb interval spans only 5 cM. Because recombination is infrequent near the chromosome centre, a large physical interval can correspond to a short genetic distance.

The one-sentence version would be:

Although the Ca QTL covers 33 Mb on Pv04, it appears short in the visualization because low recombination near the chromosome centre compresses this large physical interval into only 5 cM of genetic distance.

Your highest-priority training is therefore not basic English grammar. It is information structuring, scientific phrase selection, and compression. You already identify the relevant facts and causal mechanism correctly; the next step is learning to package them in the order most useful to the listener.

Papa Jon's cafe/restaurant

It looks like a chain with multiple locations, but I like the relaxing interior and atmosphere.  I had a banana smoothie, which was fresh and delicious.  Was able to write a bit and took a break from outside summer heat.  A nice cafe to drop by.

Papa Jon's Rokkaku St.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Pp72tNEqmjkuwN58

There were a man and a woman talking, in English, with very loud voice, and I was able to hear everything they were saying.  They do not seem like a couple... but how they interacted with each other made them look quite intimate.  Maybe they are just about to start dating?  The man looked much older than the woman, but I don't know. It's really hard to guess people's age by their appearance.  Anyhow, I learned a new word in their conversation: vernacular, meaning a language or dialect.  The context was about religion, and she said she does not subscribe to those vernaculars, which is a qutie interesting and perhaps sophisticated way of saying that she's not religious.  Hm.  It's nice to learn new words in a real-life setting; it's much easier to remember new words as it's tied to my own experience.

ツイステ展！とツイステ英語版

ツイステ展面白かった…！　柩やなさんの実力、制作陣の本気さ、そしてディズニーの潤沢な資金力(笑)を実感した日でした！！　芸術心が刺激された。行って良かった～～

背景なのに、描きこみの量が半端ない。

Ceremonial Robes. かっけえ

ヒールあるやん。目の下にメイクもするし、今どきの男子校はしゃれてるな…。

Housewarden's attire. 細部の再現力がすごい。あとトレイ先輩

Housewardens' Cane of Heartslabuyl. Cool...

「にゃっはー！」のグリちゃん。

記念撮影コーナー。大釜をかきまぜる棒を持って撮影できます。

ツイステ日本語版で「～～先輩」というのが、英語版では全部呼び捨てになっているのが面白いなあー　「～～さん」もない。日本語版では～～様、と呼んでいるのに普通に呼び捨てになっていて、いや絶対呼び捨てはしないでしょ、と思うけど、代替となる言葉がないんだろうな。「若様」もなくなっている！　だいたい、一人称も僕、私、俺、拙者、自分、など多様なのに全部 I になっていて、まあしょうがないんだけど、人称でキャラクターの個性を表現できない分、別のところで埋めないといけないんだろう。しかし英語版はよくできていて、古風な物言いをするキャラは本当にやや古、時にhumorous な単語を使っていて、優雅で美しい言葉遣いをするキャラは本当にそのようなしゃべり方をしている。すごい…。そこに、翻訳スタッフのレベルの高さが窺い知れる。普通に自分でも小説を書けるような人が翻訳をしているのではないだろうか…。

中国語はもっと敬称が複雑だから、中国語にあって日本語にはない敬称とかもあるんだろう。英語版では「先生」が「Professor」教授、になっているのも面白い。

簡単な単語で用を済ますのは簡単だけど、言語学習の一歩先の目標もある。ドラマチックな雰囲気とか、楽しい雰囲気の伝わる単語とか、その状況にぴったり！の単語を使うことだ。語学から文学へ。日本語で小説を読んでいて分からない単語というのは滅多にないけれど、英語ではたくさんある。どこでそんなにたくさんの日本語の単語を知らないうちに学んだんだろうなーと不思議だが、それが小中高教育の賜物なのだろう。

Idioms useful at work!

 Idioms useful at work!

20 Useful Business Idioms and Phrases with Meaning & Examples - ESLBuzz Learning English

50 common business idioms (topcorrect.com)

The dilemma of parents

How do kids deal with the pressure of behaving in a particular way according to their gender and the inner urge to be themselves despite the gender role?

In Japan, many people believe in gender roles, or, in fact, they believe that "many people believe in gender roles, so the easiest way to live is to go along with them."  This stems from a contradiction observed in Japanese society, where activities for women's rights and support for LGBTQ are more widespread than before but at the same time, strong belief in gender roles make it difficult for some children to behave like they truely are.

To understand this phenomenon, let us take a look at the importance of "others' opinions" placed by individuals.  In Japan, "what others might think of you" is the biggest concern, far more important than "how you think of yourself". This is considered to be the result of a long history of group farming that fostered collaborative, communal characteristics of villages for thousands of years. In that society, it was important to work in harmony with others to produce food. If you do something that others might frown upon, they will exclude you from the community and that was detrimental for your survival.  Today, the mentality of "what would others think?" still has a huge influence on people's behavior, even though we are a much more developed society than a village in terms of human rights, social security, and legislation. 

A mother of two asks in a letter: "My son, a five year old, seems to like girlish things like dolls and pink ribbons.  I am concerned because that might make him stand out from the crowd in the kindergarden and some kids may bully him for that.  While I want my kids to express themselves freely, I feel the responsiblity to guide my children so that life will be easier for them.  But it will be difficult for my son if he had to hide who he is. I am torn."

This shows how individuals think "it's OK to express themselves freely and be themselves but the society would not allow it and therefore they wouldn't do it".

Phrases

    live up to society's norms

    stand up for ourselves

    embrace who they are

    reservations - we may not be able to entirely

    step on someone's toes/shoes - to upset someone (esp. by involving in things that are the person's responsibility)

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think is the best for this mother to do?

2. How long will it take for social norms to change?

This American Life again

630. Things I mean to know:  yam, sun, innuit, mirage of the sun raising in the opposite direction. Do we really know the Earth goes around the Sun, and not vice versa? Do we know what the evidence is? How do we know the Earth is tilted? What's the difference between yam and sweet potato (personally, I think they are totally different and they cannot be confused)? There are many things that we think we know without the reason why they are so. Interesting! 
513. Cars: car dealer that needs to sell 169 cars per month. The manager does every small things to reach that goal. A man who excels in sales, has a character that makes you think that he NEEDS to sell cars.
614. The other Mr. president: Russian president, the relationship between his inauguration and a serial explosions that killed 300 people sleeping in bed. Terror and control, and yet the popularity of the current president because of the corruption, poor economic situation in the Soviet Union that preceded his era.
xxx: The lawyer that was given a criminal trial. The case was weak and withdrawn. 100 days in prison despite being innocent!
647: LaDonna. A woman who entered men-dominated workforce. Her fight against authority, sexism, and racism.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/

製餡試験のお供にはThis American Life のポッドキャスト。毎週配信され、各回ごとにまったく違うテーマでエピソードが集められる。テーマは宇宙から社会問題からコメディまで多岐に渡る。一時間の放送時間の中で、15－20分くらいの関連するエピソードがあり、様々な視点でそのテーマをとらえる事ができる、非常に知的好奇心の刺激される内容。

宇佐にいた時は、外国語と、世界と、繋がっている唯一の方法だった。
長距離運転をするときによく聞いていて、この内容のをあの道路のこの辺で聴いた、というのをいまだに覚えていたりする。あのエピソード、あの道路で聞いて涙が出てきて運転できなくなったからお店の駐車場に停めたなあとか、あのエピソードは田んぼがきらきら光る五月の田舎道で、人の人生の不公平さに唖然としながら聞いたなあとか。シリアスなものばかりでなくて、爆笑しながら運転したことも何度もある。

政治のことでも、独自に調査や取材をしていて、小さい公共放送枠だからできることなのではないか…。こういった質の高い番組がいつまでも提供されますように。

Know what you don't know

This American Life Podcasts:
555 The incredible rarity of changing your mind.
650 Change you can may e believe in.

Very intelegualin, thought-provoking stories of different people with various backgrounds gathered under a particular theme. Changing people's minds takes time and effort. But sometimes it happens in a drastic manner. Either good or bad, in any context from abortion rights, gay marriage, life restoration of criminals, or feminism movement.

It's indeed true that it's hard to change people's views on certain things, especially those they judge based on their emotions, not logic. It takes time, but small movements, nudging, and exposures I believe will gradually bring about subtle changes in people's mind. Knowing new things is fun, and discovering yourself with a more sophisticated opinion on a particular topic will feel good. I hope and believe that kind of benefits will encourage people to have a broader mind and be flexible towards new views they had never had before. That's how human beings evolve!

Dietetics online course resumed.
So hard to study and experiment at the same time. But now that I'm having a committee meeting on a set date, and that I'm interested in dietetics, people's choice or food and its conseqiconses, I should be able to talk about it at least. I need general, entry-level knowledge on it. I want to tell my committee members with confidence that I studied food science and nutrition as an undergraduate student. And this PhD work is in line with my fever interest in food and health.

What's a bonus is that the lecture is given in Aussie English, and it takes me back all the cherished memories I had with my Aussie collaborators. This sort of thing keeps me happy and motivated.

人の考え方などを変えるには…というトピックで。
簡単ではないことを、世界のいろいろな場所と視点から描いていて、ためになる。

やっとの思いで論文を提出しましたーー

Today I submitted my paper to the journal!
It was a loooooooong process....

Oct - Dec Writing & editing the draft
Jan - Feb Discussion & more editing & translation
Mar - Apr Check by other authors & editing
May          Final review by the professor
June          Editing, final check, Submission

本日論文を提出しました。苦節9か月。
提出にあたりまた思わぬところで時間を取られた。
投稿を念頭に置いて論文作成するときのポイントを書き留めておく。

☆編集者への手紙は、論文が完成間近になったら作成する。この論文がどのように該当分野に貢献するかなどを説明するものなので、論文と毎日格闘していて記憶が鮮明な時が良い。

☆形式は最初から合わせておくと楽。
　引用文献の書き方、数
　筆者の名前の書き方（名前をイニシャルにするかどうかとか）、
　筆者の所属の書き方（頭に上付けの数字にするとか、アルファベットにするとか）
　図表の最大幅、などなど


☆提出する前に、名前を確認！！　これでもかというくらい確認！！！
　一度提出してしまった後に、一人の名前の綴りを間違っていた、さらに一人入れ損なっていた！ことに気づき驚愕。入れ損なったのは、「保存」のつもりで「次へ」を押したから…。自分のチェックが信じられなくなりました…。

☆最後は画面上で確認、なので印刷したものではなく、画面上での確認にも慣れておくことが必要。印刷した方が目に優しいのでそうしていたのだが、最後はどうしても画面提出なので…。

☆おススメ査読者を入力しないといけないので、聞いておくと楽。

☆ページ数、単語数、図表の数などに制限があるかどうか把握しておく！
　図表の数を削るというのはかなり面倒ですーー　そんな細かい制限のない雑誌を最初から選ぶ、というのもあり。ただしそういうのはレベルの高い雑誌が多い。

次からは、もう少し効率的に論文が書けるようになろう～～★

提出しただけで満足していてもしょうがないのだけど。査読でズタボロにならなきゃいいなぁ…。論文投稿は掲載までの道のりの最初の段階なので、ここまでまずスムーズにいかないと。

中津混声合唱団の演奏会

今日は中津混声合唱団の演奏会に友達4人で行ってきました。人数はわりと少ないのにとてもパワフルな歌声で、暗譜の曲もたくさんありました。非常に良い刺激になりましたー

指揮者の先生も椰子の実と、セビリアの理髪師をソロで歌いました。実はこのかた、わが合唱団の指揮者でもあるのですが先生の歌を客席で聴くのは初めてで感動しました。圧巻です。友達も喜んでましたー その内1人は合唱経験者なので話が弾む。入りたいとまで言っていましたよ。合唱団も国際的になって良いかも！

最強級に面白かったのは、もう1人の友達(日本人)に感想を聞いたら、「癒される。心が洗われるようだ」とのこと。それを聞いた日本語のよくできるイギリス人、「そんなに汚いんですか？」

心が洗われるって言い回し。。。
汚くなければ洗わないよねえーそうだよねえーー いやあしばらく笑いが止まりませんでした。このエピソードで1週間くらい思い出し笑いできそうだわ...

Went to a concert of a local choir with friends (1 Japanese and 2 British). It's got powerful voice with relatively a small number of singers.

The funniest moment of the month probably... happened when I asked my Japanese friend how he liked it. He said "It is very good. It feels like your heart is cleansed." then another said (who understands Japanese well), "Is your heart that dirty?" I burst into laughing and couldn't stop it for a while.

When you see or hear something sophisticated or beautiful, you would say a phrase that literally means "My heart is cleansed (or purified)" in Japanese. But now I understand that you only cleanse something when it's dirty!! That was hilarious.

The conductor also sang two songs. He is a professional baritone singer and conducts our choir, too. It was my first time to hear his performance sitting in the audience. It was superb!

Issue Topic: Technology and a Thinking Reed

As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree with the statement that the more dependent people become on technology, the ability to think will deteriorate. That is already ongoing and affecting people's basic skills in life.

The biggest contributor is the development of the Internet. It has changed the way we search for information and think about a certain topic. Before the age of the Internet, people had to look for information from limited source available to them, and form a hypothesis on their own. For example, you read a news article saying that the suicide rate is steadily decreasing for the past several years. If you wonder why, you need to go to the library for very technical books and think about several possible reasons for yourself. There was no other way unless you have an acquaintance who is an expert in that area. On the other hand, it is most likely that people rush to the Internet and find the reason for the decline. They would think for zero moment because it is simply a waste of time if they could find a likely "answer" on the Internet instantly. The process of thinking is taken very lightly with the technology.

Another example is automation. In factories or office, a lot of procedures are automatically performed by computers or robots. As a result, workers tend to forget how the individual steps in the system works, or even, what the whole automated system is for. The technology may have brought apparent convenience and efficiency, but the workers' decline in active thinking is its serious side effect. Even with the latest technology of automation, problems and errors still occur, and it is human workers who have to deal with it. Lacking regular habit of thinking for themselves, troubleshoot might be a difficult task for them because the machines and computers they usually rely on are all out of order.

The points mentioned above are widely seen in any industry or household. It is ironically showing that the complicated technology is making humans less intelligent. We are obliged to realise the consequences of the technology, and not let ourselves give away the task of thinking - the most important activity of human beings - to technologies. Or they may take control of us.     

Banal platitude

As the way I created to memorise the word "plastic attitude", a platitude may simply be a daily routine, given much less attention than it was hoped to be.

It always reminds me of short prayers. I am not saying that religious believers are repeating their prayers mindlessly. I am talking about what happens when you force a large sum of people to repeat several phrases every single day. It would be just one of the things they do at a particular time of the day, just like brushing teeth or watching news. The intention may have been to familialise people with the idea, but they get too used to it and stop thinking about it. The phrase will just be meaningless, banal platitude. They, themselves, are just having their people do it without much consideration. There are too many things repeated over time without a reason or a purpose, in the pretext of following the tradition. Why is the brainless, empty custom acting so big? Isn't there anyone who thinks? When on earth does that seeking-to-be-the-majority attitude end?

The flaws of democracy - but what else could we have?

Voltaire also says;

The best government is benevolent tyranny tempered by occasional assassination.

The latter part I do not quite agree, but I agree with his implication of the first part. The shortcomings of democracy. If there is such a thing as "benevolent tyranny", that would work the best for the country and people, despite the fact that it would be difficult to oust the ruler without his consent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_democracy

Copying to create

Voltaire says; Imagination is judicious imitation.

We must learn something in order to create something.

New word : audacious

What an audacious resident.
I can't believe how come someone can complain about community cleaning plans. It's a scheme for keeping shared places clean, such as parks and ditches. Individual private properties are not included. Yet, someone insisted that it should contain the trench very close to his house. It may be hard to do it by himself, but it's too much to ask to include it in the community's activity. It's not good to take everyone's time for a single beneficiary.

BBQ

An English-Japanese couple threw a BBQ party. They invited their acquaintances, their students, and friends of the guests. There were as many as 32 people in their big house. There was so much food that even 30+ people couldn't finish. I wonder how long it took for the teachers to prepare them. It's a lot of work to host a party!

Their house was in the mountains. There are only 9 households in their village. It was their dream to live in the countryside rich in nature after retiring and grow vegetables and flowers on their farm. I thought life must been inconvenient in an isolated place like this (the nearest supermarket is 40 minutes away!), but they lead a quiet, fulfilling life. Maybe someday when I get older, I may find life in rural area attractive. Maybe...

What makes a good leader ／良いリーダーとは

リーダーであることのむずかしさを目の当たりにした…。
できる人であることは必要条件だが、十分条件ではない。良いリーダーというのは、どういう人か…。いかに人をやる気にさせ、１＋１を２以上にできるかに尽きると思う。実際、人数が集まって良いチームワークが発揮できれば、一人ひとり独立に動いた場合よりも多くの仕事をすることができる。

１．指示する声が明瞭で、適切な速度であること。（そんな早口モゴモゴじゃわかりません！）

２．自信があるように見えること。（合ってるかどうか分かんないんだけど…は、皆を道に迷わせる）

３．一緒にいいものを作り上げよう！という、協調姿勢があること。（私はあなたたちより上よ、というのは、言わなくても、そう思っていれば感じ取られてしまう）

４．皆に話しかけ、積極的に皆を知ろうとし、自分を知ってもらうようにすること。（リーダーが自分の殻に閉じこもってしまっては、全員の一体感が生まれるはずがない！）

一人ができる仕事なんてたかが知れている。
人を動かし、人をやる気にさせ、皆で作り上げた仕事に感動できるような、そんなリーダーに、なりたい。機会があれば。

I observed someone trying to be handle a team.. poorly, sad to say.
Being capable of what is required as a worker is not a sufficient quality to be a good leader. A good leader unite and motivate other people, making them do more than the work combined that they would make if they worked individually. This is the whole point of team work.

Firstly, the direction of a good leader must be clear and concise delivered at the right speed. (Are you talking to us or just to yourself by murmuring fast like that?)

Next, a good leader must be confident about his/herself leading the way. (The humble "I'm not sure if it's correct, but..." will get everyone lost and disoriented.)

Thirdly, a good leader must be cooperative, wanting to do an excellent job with everyone. ("I am superior to you all, so I can do a good work by myself" kind of attitude will disappoint his/her team mates and make them reluctant to work in the team.

Lastly, a good leader must try to get to know all the team mates and let them know him/herself well. Warm and cheerful characters of a leader will encourage interactions among the team mates. If the leader stay quiet and withdrawn, there is no way that the team can be united as one.

If given a chance, I would like to inspire and motivate my people by being a friendly, determined leader and do a brilliant job that will be a valuable achievement to everyone. The whole experience will be a great source of lessons on working together, creating more than two from two ones.




    

Feel like a glass of white...

Helping out the translation of product description of our winery. Floral bouquet, luscious fruitiness, crisp finish.. It makes me feel like a glass of white wine even though I am not a drinker.

ワインの商品説明の翻訳をしている。
美しく詩的な、食欲をそそられる説明文ばかりを読んでいると（書くためには多量に読む必要がある）、 ワイン愛好家でなくとも飲みたくなってしまう。

Despite the rain..

I was able to witness how voting works in, at least, some parts of the U.S.! The new word: precinct.
The poll was at the Christian community centre. "The separation of religion and politics"? It's just a community center that is based on the value of Christianity. That's all, I guess.

"The Grille" was nice! It's got a friendly, casual atmosphere and of course great meals. It's hard to have the right amount of food in the U.S. because most of the time it's way too big. The animal instinct that is inherited from our old old ancestors, tempts us to eat more than we need if supply is abundant to be prepared for possible famine. Then we will end up taking too much calories that will make us big. Yes, surprisingly big. So, I think the important thing is to not have too much on your plate to begin with, because it's hard to resist the temptation of the mountains of food. If you see the right amount of food on your plate, not overwhelmingly big portion of it, you'll enjoy the food more and will not feel guilty after eating too much. I always feel this when I visit the states, where the Erving portion is really, unbelievably big. People are supposed to take home their leftovers, but it doesn't seem like helping them be in shape for the reason relating to survival.

Anyways, walking around downtown and seeing the "snow trees" full in bloom were wonderful.

Happiness and Income

There was an interesting note in my old notebook.

An individual income of $36000 per annum offers the highest level of satisfaction, a research report concluded after analysing the relationship between yearly income and life satisfaction levels of people. But getting beyond this amount will lead to a situation where fulfilment in life declines.

Going beyond that saturation point, in can make people less contented with their life probably because of changes in life aspirations. States with $18000 income per person had higher level of satisfaction than nations with $6700 per capita income. But when countries with $20000 per capita income were compared to those reaching $54000, the differences in their life satisfaction levels were minimal.

Philip Booth disagrees the study's findings. He rebuts their conclusions by saying that an increased income should always lead to a happier life. When the economy continues to grow in an already wealthy country, its citizens desire for more than what their current financial situation offers. 

True, the more money, the more things you can buy that make you happy. The side effect will be that the continuous desire and pursuit will actually lower a person's satisfaction level. Needless to say, more desire means more sense of luck and dissatisfaction. As people get richer, their desires become more unstable due to many possibilities and choices available, thus affecting their satisfaction and enjoyment. They may end up always wondering what it would have been if they had chosen something else. 

Money can satisfy materialistic needs such as clothes, food, shelter, luxurious car, travel and so forth. But one cannot buy health, good body figure, truthful friends, love, eternal life, ability, talent etc. Those things are also important factors that contribute to people's happiness.

America~

A talk titled "Charms of the U.S." was very interesting. It was at a local international plaza with the attendance of around 50 people.

The speaker was an American man, 55, who has lived in Oita for as long as 25 years. He introduced himself in a detailed yet precise way, and then showed pictures of 10 American things that don't exist in Japan, both good and bad.

10: Showers - unfortunately when he came here, there was no shower at anywhere - just bath. At first he thought it was inconvenient to fill the bath tab and clean it afterwards, but he has found that style to be very refreshing. He now takes bath every day even after shower became available. Generally speaking, it's common to take a shower in the morning in the US probably because they have curly hair that will be messed up in the morning.

9: Guns - he doesn't miss them. He was used to the danger of guns around him since he was little, and has as memorable experience of hunting birds using guns with his father, he feels very safe in Japan, where gun control is quite strict.
Interestingly (and depressingly), although tragic massacres using firearms generate headlines, the most common accountings for gun deaths is suicide. Oh... The irony of guns being ubiquitous and available to anyone.

8: Mexican food - Though American Mexican food is sometimes not an authentic version of it (called Tex-Mex), it tastes very good. I agree with it. Nachos is so tasty. Bean pastes are delicious and healthy.

7: Thunderstorms - thunderstorms in the vast prairie are strong and noisy, but short-lasting. You can see huge dark gray clouds approaching from afar, bringing downpour to the towns below it.

6: Tornadoes
It's one of the most devastating natural disasters. If a house is hit by a tornado if decent size, nothing will be left after it passes. But the probability of being hit by it is so low. You should probably worry about becoming obese, since the likelihood of surpassing appropriate BMI level is much higher in that country.

5: Tough guys - Some, if not most, young guys are aggressive and are willing to pick a fight. You should make sure you don't stare at a girl who is with one of those guys if you don't want to be their victim.
On the contrary, Japanese guys are generally very polite and gentle. If you see the girlfriend of a Japanese man, he will shyly smile and say "She's cute, isn't she?" He says he feels safer in Japan in this aspect.

4: Big fish - Fishing in the U.S. is far more exciting because the fish are bigger and they fight back. It seems like fishing is not a calming, self-reflecting moment of solidarity, but a fierce tag-of-war against fish.

3: Live music
Though his university town had just 50,000-population, there were 4-5 places that plays all kinds of music from Thu-Sun night. He could choose which one to go, which music to listen to. In addition, there was a session with a music band and an armature singer performing together on Monday night. You could sing there too if you want to!
There aren't so many places where you can listen to live music. Maybe in Tokyo? But other cities have much less probably because people work for a long time and spend another hour or two on commuting. There's basically no time to enjoy music or anything else on weekdays... Sad to say. People do go to concerts and plays on holidays though.

2: Open spaces
So much land. I know. Very very big plains that goes all the way to the horizon, with no mountains nearby. So much open spaces that you can drive 100km/h and don't hit anything. That's indeed something very different from Japan's landscape. He recommended to rent a car and go for a drive across a few states. It'll feel so nice.

1: Pioneer spirit
The concept that the land of America was given by God and that early settlers are destined to explore it towards west is called Manifest Destiny. This mettlesome attitude has been passed on to the posterity. They take a risk, explore possibilities and dream big. That's really one of the very remarkable difference between Japan and the U.S. I don't think Japanese people have a strong notion that this country was conferred by spiritual good (or something like that). Rather, everything around them was already there well before they and their ancestors were born. Hence, they don't think it was them who established the country. True, it was there for a long long time. Those two different views to the world are interesting.

People seemed excited to listen to the talk. America is a popular tourist destination, after all. In the question time followed by the presentation, some were talking about their own travel experience in the US rather than asking questions to the speaker. Seemed like they need to have some more opportunities and places to have a chat about their common interest.. It's quite true that people are connected less and less, including me living in a remote area struggling to cope with loneliness. Among them, one woman was unstoppable, and it baffled all the others.

It was a very fun event! I'd like to add "Freedom" to his list since it only exists in the US, not here. :P