10 ms·

Emperor Akihito of Japan is a published marine biologist

68 points by prostoalex 8y ago

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
cperciva 8y ago
While her research career was much shorter, I think it's worth pointing out that Angela Merkel was an accomplished Quantum Chemist before entering politics: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=24432527000 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=2443252700...
- clubm8 8y ago
  So that's what happens in Germany if you don't get tenure? ;)
  - blotter_paper 8y ago
    At least they didn't give the job to a failed artist.
    - ilammy 8y ago
      Godwin's law in action, gentlemen.
guelo 8y ago
This makes Japan's evil attitude towards marine life even worse in my eyes.
inferiorhuman 8y ago
And yet they still justify whaling.
- oh_sigh 8y ago
  Does Akihito justify whaling?
  - monocasa 8y ago
    It's hard to say. The Emperor isn't really allowed to speak up on such matters anymore.
- lgessler 8y ago
  Well, even if we assume you're right, the Japanese certainly don't have a monopoly on ethically questionable relationships with animals (i.e., which they ought to recognize as such, given what they know scientifically). Consider how in America people have very different ideas of how pigs and dogs ought to be treated, despite how pigs have been shown to be at least as intelligent and sentient as dogs.
  - cperciva 8y ago
    I don't think the widespread ban on whaling is concerned with the intelligence of whales or the inhumanity of killing them; rather, it's concerned with the potential extinction of a species, which is absolutely not a concern with lifestock animals.
    - jim-jim-jim 8y ago
      They largely hunt minke whales, which are not threatened. The entire industry is basically a boondoggle too; there's no massive demand. I'd be more worried about tuna fishing.
      - kjeetgill 8y ago
        Huh, I'd have to read up on this. I shared the impression that the whales were endangered. Perhaps it's easier to ban all whaling than be selective?
  - sandworm101 8y ago
canjobear 8y ago
Looks like he always takes the first author slot!
osteele 8y ago
Related: U.S. President James Garfield constructed an original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-james-a-garfields-proof-of-the-pythagorean-theorem https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematic... https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/presidential-pythagorean-proof/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/presidenti...
- honkycat 8y ago
  He also loved lasagna
- MrMorden 8y ago
  Herbert Hoover (and Lou Hoover)'s translation of De Re Metallica is still both useful and in print a century later. http://store.doverpublications.com/0486600068.html http://store.doverpublications.com/0486600068.html
prablenha 8y ago
Ah, just like George.
- dang 8y ago
  We've banned this account for posting too many unsubstantive and/or uncivil comments. Would you please not create accounts to break the site rules with? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
InTheArena 8y ago
His father, Emperor Hirohito was also a marine biologist. How much better would the 21st century have been if he indulged that career rather then emperor of Japan during Japan's actions in China and world war 2... At best, he failed to reign in the military, at worst, he was the warlord of the worst butchers of the modern era. Members who served him talked about how Biology was his real passion.
- dreamcompiler 8y ago
  Attacking Pearl Harbor wasn't his idea. His generals were power-mad assholes and his ability to check them was limited.
  - InTheArena 8y ago
    But they were the action of his government that supposedly valued fidelity to the emperor above all. He also choose Tojo for his prime minister. The post war story that this was to keep him in check, by making him in charge of everything seems... convenient. There is no doubt that the military is out of control, but he was the one individual that could have , but did not, bring them back under control.
    - khuey 8y ago
      He could have tried harder. It's less clear that he could have succeeded. Remember that there was a coup attempt after he ordered the surrender when the war was completely lost.
    - vertline3 8y ago
      I think Japan's emperor is a lot different than an emperor in traditional usage. I think they are descendants of the Sun God and they are not involved in day to day affairs of men.
      - thaumasiotes 8y ago
        That has been a standard model of kingship for all of recorded history. I'll quote at length from the excellent https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780747411/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780747411/ : > As mentioned before, the king was widely regarded as a link between the divine and the human worlds. He might be a god himself, or descended from one, or simply appointed by the deity, but at all events he was expected to use his 'divine effulgence' (as the Persians called it) or his Heil (as the Germanic barbarians called it) for the benefit of the community: this was the crucial manner in which he promoted welfare. He was expected to maintain and embody the law in the sense of cosmic, natural and human order, partly by acting as the symbolic head of the community and partly by observing the right ways and setting a good example. If he did so, happiness and prosperity would ensue. > Such ideas are widely attested for primitive societies, but they displayed an amazing tenacity under civilized conditions, being attested for ancient Egypt, China, Japan, South-East Asia (where some kings had no other functions), India, Iran, the Islamic world (in both the concept of the caliphate and that of kingship), as well as the Hellenistic world and Europe. If the king was just, rain would fall; if he was not, famine, flood and other natural disasters would ensue. Natural disasters were thus blamed on the king: they proved that he had misbehaved. Under a good king, 'vices decrease and virtues increase... the world becomes prosperous and joyous', as the Zoroastrians explained; but 'when kings are unjust, even sugar and salt lose their flavour', as the Indians put it. If no king existed, both the natural and the human order would dissolve and chaos would prevail: a country without a king enjoyed 'neither rain nor seed, neither wealth nor wife, neither sacrifices nor festivals', according to the Ramayana; people suffered illness, customs ceased to exist and all was nothingness according to Malay literature. It is for this reason that the sixteenth-century Burmese king laughed at the idea of a kingless Venice; and it is for the same reason that the British abolition of the Burmese monarchy in 1886 was a catastrophic shock to the Burmese which the British had not anticipated. > Ritual kingship (as this role is commonly called) might require no action at all: the Japanese emperors performed it for over a thousand years by simply existing, being kept in such ceremonious inactivity that when one of them made a bid for real power he could scarcely even walk. Most rulers, however, combined their ritual role with co-ordinating and warlike functions which tended to transform or eclipse it, while at the same time the development of specialized religious institutions changed their standing vis-à-vis the divine. (Posted as three quotes to mirror the two paragraph breaks within the section I wanted to quote. I have not omitted or altered any text within the quoted section.) Note also that this is the current function of the Queen of England.
United857 8y ago
Another example: PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore can code in C; wrote a Sudoku solver (even using bitwise operators) a few years ago. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B2G2LjIu7WbdfjhaUmVzc1lCR2hUdk5fZllCOHdtbFItbU5qYzdqZGVxdmlnRkJyYVQ4VU0 https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B2G2LjIu7Wbdfjha... https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-hsien-loong-posts-source-code-for-sudoku-solver-experts-give-their-take https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-hsien-loong-po...
- vecter 8y ago
  Lee Hsien Loong was prodigiously talented at math. For him, writing a Sudoku solver is about as easy as doing arithmetic. https://mustsharenews.com/lee-hsien-loong-mathematician/ https://mustsharenews.com/lee-hsien-loong-mathematician/ http://papinreview.blogspot.com/2017/06/lee-hsien-loong-brilliant-mathematics.html http://papinreview.blogspot.com/2017/06/lee-hsien-loong-bril... https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-facts-about-Lee-Hsien-Loong https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-facts-about-... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9419170 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9419170
trouble 8y ago
In 2015, I went to the International Union for Quaternary Research conference in Nagoya. The Emperor and Empress of Japan attended the opening ceremony. There was security screening, armed guards in suits sat throughout the audience and we were told we couldn't take photos during the ceremony. This wasn't a large conference and the delegates were either the cargo pants wearing sort of scientists or students. Definitely not the sort of conference you'd expect elderly royalty to take part in. Most of us thought either the emperor or the empress must have had a personal interest in the topic area, but no one I talked to really knew why they were there. This article solves that little mystery for me!
captain_perl 8y ago
So was Emperor Hirohito in WW2. In fact, his knowledge of biology and radiation was why he immediately grasped the futility of fighting an adversary with atomic bombs, and recorded his surrender broadcast.
nikofeyn 8y ago
and? japan is one of the worst offenders when it comes to whaling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan what really bothers me about it is that they hide behind it. they continually claim they are performing "research", yet it is completely obvious they are doing it for commercial reasons. they kill calves and pregnant whales. in fact, one of the recent years showed a staggering percentage were pregnant whales. they also have left a dolphin and penguins just withering away alone in a small pool in an abandoned sea park. it is really deplorable behavior. there is no telling what else they do with regards to the treatment of animals. additionally, many asian countries, this includes russia, are still capturing orcas for entertainment purposes. i actually don't know if japan does. but i am just mentioning it because it is just part of a large train of human fuckups with regards to humane treatment of animals. of course, i deplore the u.s.' history of orca capture, the orcas still in captivity, and the breeding programs.

68 points by prostoalex 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

While her research career was much shorter, I think it's worth pointing out that Angela Merkel was an accomplished Quantum Chemist before entering politics: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=24432527000 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=2443252700...

clubm8 8y ago
So that's what happens in Germany if you don't get tenure? ;)
- blotter_paper 8y ago
  At least they didn't give the job to a failed artist.
  - ilammy 8y ago
    Godwin's law in action, gentlemen.

guelo 8y ago

This makes Japan's evil attitude towards marine life even worse in my eyes.

inferiorhuman 8y ago

And yet they still justify whaling.

oh_sigh 8y ago
Does Akihito justify whaling?
- monocasa 8y ago
  It's hard to say. The Emperor isn't really allowed to speak up on such matters anymore.
lgessler 8y ago
Well, even if we assume you're right, the Japanese certainly don't have a monopoly on ethically questionable relationships with animals (i.e., which they ought to recognize as such, given what they know scientifically). Consider how in America people have very different ideas of how pigs and dogs ought to be treated, despite how pigs have been shown to be at least as intelligent and sentient as dogs.
- cperciva 8y ago
  I don't think the widespread ban on whaling is concerned with the intelligence of whales or the inhumanity of killing them; rather, it's concerned with the potential extinction of a species, which is absolutely not a concern with lifestock animals.
  - jim-jim-jim 8y ago
    They largely hunt minke whales, which are not threatened. The entire industry is basically a boondoggle too; there's no massive demand. I'd be more worried about tuna fishing.
    - kjeetgill 8y ago
      Huh, I'd have to read up on this. I shared the impression that the whales were endangered. Perhaps it's easier to ban all whaling than be selective?
- sandworm101 8y ago

canjobear 8y ago

Looks like he always takes the first author slot!

osteele 8y ago

Related: U.S. President James Garfield constructed an original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-james-a-garfields-proof-of-the-pythagorean-theorem https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematic... https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/presidential-pythagorean-proof/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/presidenti...

honkycat 8y ago
He also loved lasagna
MrMorden 8y ago
Herbert Hoover (and Lou Hoover)'s translation of De Re Metallica is still both useful and in print a century later. http://store.doverpublications.com/0486600068.html http://store.doverpublications.com/0486600068.html

prablenha 8y ago

Ah, just like George.

dang 8y ago
We've banned this account for posting too many unsubstantive and/or uncivil comments. Would you please not create accounts to break the site rules with? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

InTheArena 8y ago

His father, Emperor Hirohito was also a marine biologist. How much better would the 21st century have been if he indulged that career rather then emperor of Japan during Japan's actions in China and world war 2... At best, he failed to reign in the military, at worst, he was the warlord of the worst butchers of the modern era. Members who served him talked about how Biology was his real passion.

dreamcompiler 8y ago
Attacking Pearl Harbor wasn't his idea. His generals were power-mad assholes and his ability to check them was limited.
- InTheArena 8y ago
  But they were the action of his government that supposedly valued fidelity to the emperor above all. He also choose Tojo for his prime minister. The post war story that this was to keep him in check, by making him in charge of everything seems... convenient. There is no doubt that the military is out of control, but he was the one individual that could have , but did not, bring them back under control.
  - khuey 8y ago
    He could have tried harder. It's less clear that he could have succeeded. Remember that there was a coup attempt after he ordered the surrender when the war was completely lost.
  - vertline3 8y ago
    I think Japan's emperor is a lot different than an emperor in traditional usage. I think they are descendants of the Sun God and they are not involved in day to day affairs of men.
    - thaumasiotes 8y ago
      That has been a standard model of kingship for all of recorded history. I'll quote at length from the excellent https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780747411/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780747411/ : > As mentioned before, the king was widely regarded as a link between the divine and the human worlds. He might be a god himself, or descended from one, or simply appointed by the deity, but at all events he was expected to use his 'divine effulgence' (as the Persians called it) or his Heil (as the Germanic barbarians called it) for the benefit of the community: this was the crucial manner in which he promoted welfare. He was expected to maintain and embody the law in the sense of cosmic, natural and human order, partly by acting as the symbolic head of the community and partly by observing the right ways and setting a good example. If he did so, happiness and prosperity would ensue. > Such ideas are widely attested for primitive societies, but they displayed an amazing tenacity under civilized conditions, being attested for ancient Egypt, China, Japan, South-East Asia (where some kings had no other functions), India, Iran, the Islamic world (in both the concept of the caliphate and that of kingship), as well as the Hellenistic world and Europe. If the king was just, rain would fall; if he was not, famine, flood and other natural disasters would ensue. Natural disasters were thus blamed on the king: they proved that he had misbehaved. Under a good king, 'vices decrease and virtues increase... the world becomes prosperous and joyous', as the Zoroastrians explained; but 'when kings are unjust, even sugar and salt lose their flavour', as the Indians put it. If no king existed, both the natural and the human order would dissolve and chaos would prevail: a country without a king enjoyed 'neither rain nor seed, neither wealth nor wife, neither sacrifices nor festivals', according to the Ramayana; people suffered illness, customs ceased to exist and all was nothingness according to Malay literature. It is for this reason that the sixteenth-century Burmese king laughed at the idea of a kingless Venice; and it is for the same reason that the British abolition of the Burmese monarchy in 1886 was a catastrophic shock to the Burmese which the British had not anticipated. > Ritual kingship (as this role is commonly called) might require no action at all: the Japanese emperors performed it for over a thousand years by simply existing, being kept in such ceremonious inactivity that when one of them made a bid for real power he could scarcely even walk. Most rulers, however, combined their ritual role with co-ordinating and warlike functions which tended to transform or eclipse it, while at the same time the development of specialized religious institutions changed their standing vis-à-vis the divine. (Posted as three quotes to mirror the two paragraph breaks within the section I wanted to quote. I have not omitted or altered any text within the quoted section.) Note also that this is the current function of the Queen of England.

United857 8y ago

Another example: PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore can code in C; wrote a Sudoku solver (even using bitwise operators) a few years ago. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B2G2LjIu7WbdfjhaUmVzc1lCR2hUdk5fZllCOHdtbFItbU5qYzdqZGVxdmlnRkJyYVQ4VU0 https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B2G2LjIu7Wbdfjha... https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-hsien-loong-posts-source-code-for-sudoku-solver-experts-give-their-take https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pm-lee-hsien-loong-po...

vecter 8y ago
Lee Hsien Loong was prodigiously talented at math. For him, writing a Sudoku solver is about as easy as doing arithmetic. https://mustsharenews.com/lee-hsien-loong-mathematician/ https://mustsharenews.com/lee-hsien-loong-mathematician/ http://papinreview.blogspot.com/2017/06/lee-hsien-loong-brilliant-mathematics.html http://papinreview.blogspot.com/2017/06/lee-hsien-loong-bril... https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-facts-about-Lee-Hsien-Loong https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-facts-about-... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9419170 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9419170

trouble 8y ago

In 2015, I went to the International Union for Quaternary Research conference in Nagoya. The Emperor and Empress of Japan attended the opening ceremony. There was security screening, armed guards in suits sat throughout the audience and we were told we couldn't take photos during the ceremony. This wasn't a large conference and the delegates were either the cargo pants wearing sort of scientists or students. Definitely not the sort of conference you'd expect elderly royalty to take part in. Most of us thought either the emperor or the empress must have had a personal interest in the topic area, but no one I talked to really knew why they were there. This article solves that little mystery for me!

captain_perl 8y ago

So was Emperor Hirohito in WW2. In fact, his knowledge of biology and radiation was why he immediately grasped the futility of fighting an adversary with atomic bombs, and recorded his surrender broadcast.

nikofeyn 8y ago

and? japan is one of the worst offenders when it comes to whaling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan what really bothers me about it is that they hide behind it. they continually claim they are performing "research", yet it is completely obvious they are doing it for commercial reasons. they kill calves and pregnant whales. in fact, one of the recent years showed a staggering percentage were pregnant whales. they also have left a dolphin and penguins just withering away alone in a small pool in an abandoned sea park. it is really deplorable behavior. there is no telling what else they do with regards to the treatment of animals. additionally, many asian countries, this includes russia, are still capturing orcas for entertainment purposes. i actually don't know if japan does. but i am just mentioning it because it is just part of a large train of human fuckups with regards to humane treatment of animals. of course, i deplore the u.s.' history of orca capture, the orcas still in captivity, and the breeding programs.