(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
In 2016, I attended a lecture in Japan by Hiroshi Amano, a 2014 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics, together with my mother.
His voice was so soft that I thought he sounded like a child in an adult’s body. He looked kind, so I became a fan of his.
He said that he had failed thousands of times before finally succeeding in creating a blue LED (Light Emitting Diode). He conducted experiments almost continuously, taking breaks only during the New Year holiday, and he had read hundreds of scientific papers.
When I listened to his talk, I was reminded of Thomas Edison, who also failed thousands of times before inventing the light bulb.
After listening to Amano’s speech, I discussed it with my mother. We agreed that to win a Nobel Prize, one has to be a little foolish. Unless you are a little foolish, you cannot fail thousands of times.
Steve Jobs once said in a speech, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” If you stay foolish, you can walk your own path, listen to your heart, and find the truth.
On the other hand, if you are too intelligent, you might listen to other people’s opinions too much and fail to listen to your heart. Then you cannot find the truth.
Amano was able to listen to his heart and find the truth.
I think he is a genius.