Tokyo Morning
On a calm early summer morning, the 6 a.m. alarm announces the start of Satoshi Koizumi’s day. As he opens his eyes, he senses his wife, Tomomi, already awake and preparing breakfast nearby. Feeling slightly groggy, he rises from the bed and heads to the living room.
In the living room, Tomomi has already set the table, and their budgerigar, Piko, chirps softly from its perch. Tomomi, a brilliant former mathematics scholar from the University of Tokyo, has since left academic research to focus on her passion for sewing—a skill that’s earned her features in magazines. These daily routines bring Satoshi a comforting sense of stability.
“Good morning, Satoshi. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
Tomomi’s gentle voice fills the air, blending with the aroma of her cooking, which adds warmth to the quiet morning. Satoshi gets himself ready, moving through his usual tasks around the house. First, he greets Piko in its cage, then his dog, Bell, who happily wags its tail.
“Good morning, Piko, Bell.”
A smile naturally appears on Satoshi’s face in response to Piko’s chirps and Bell’s tail-wagging. These small interactions are an essential part of his day. After a light conversation over the breakfast Tomomi has prepared, he begins to get ready for his day at the university.
A physicist with the RIKEN institute, Satoshi also teaches physics courses at the University of Tokyo. The university’s system allows students to choose their major after admission, and many are encountering physics for the first time, so Satoshi aims to make his explanations clear and accessible.
As he puts on his shoes, he gently pats Bell’s head before stepping out. It’s a ten-minute walk to the nearest station, along streets lined with the morning’s bustling shops. When heading to RIKEN, he takes his bike, but for the university, it’s the train.
The shopping district is lively with preparations for opening. The grocer and fishmonger arrange their fresh wares, and the scent of freshly baked bread drifts from the bakery. Satoshi pauses briefly to take in the neighborhood’s familiar atmosphere, where local shop owners greet him warmly after years of friendly encounters.
“It’s a fine day, isn’t it, Professor?”
The grocer, a familiar face, calls out to him. Satoshi waves back, continuing through the district toward the station. This brief walk provides a cherished moment for reflection.
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On the train, swaying with its movement, he organizes his thoughts for today’s lecture. Imagining ways to convey complex quantum concepts, he feels his passion for research stir awake. By the time he arrives at the university, his ideas have taken on a clearer shape.
Walking across campus toward his classroom, Satoshi plans how to engage students with the wonders of physics. Today, he’ll start by discussing how “about 95% of the universe consists of unknown matter,” hoping this will spark curiosity about physics in the first-year students.
As the lecture begins, he introduces himself and shares why he chose a career in physics. From a young age, he was drawn to the mysteries of the universe and the human body. Learning that “only about 5% of the universe’s matter has been identified” ignited an unquenchable desire to discover what lay beyond, aligning his life’s path with the pursuit of physics.
He then moves on to explain the basics of quantum mechanics, using the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment.
“For example, have any of you heard of Schrödinger’s cat?” he asks, seeing a few hands rise.
“Simply put, imagine a cat in a box, existing in both a live and dead state at the same time. Until you observe it, both possibilities coexist. Yet, the moment you look inside, one of those possibilities becomes certain—a fascinating concept in quantum mechanics.”
As the students listen intently, he dives into the double-slit experiment.
“Now, let’s consider the double-slit experiment. Imagine throwing a ball toward two slits. Normally, a ball would pass through one slit or the other, right? But particles like electrons or photons behave differently. Without observation, they spread out like a wave, passing through both slits at the same time.”
One student, intrigued, raises a hand. “So they act like waves if we don’t observe them?”
“That’s right. But when we observe them, they behave like regular particles, passing through only one slit. Without observation, they act as if they pass through both simultaneously. This is one of the fundamental mysteries of quantum mechanics.”
Another student asks, “Why does observation change that? Why do they act like ordinary particles when we observe them?”
Satoshi pauses, contemplating. He has his own theory on the measurement problem, but it’s too advanced for this lecture. Smiling, he answers, “That’s something we don’t fully understand yet. Observing somehow forces the quantum state to settle on ‘one’ outcome. We call this the ‘measurement problem,’ and it’s still an active area of research. In the quantum world, observation itself has a unique effect.”
By the end of the lecture, he feels the students have sensed the depth and curiosity that physics can inspire. Rediscovering his joy in teaching, he wraps up the class.
As Satoshi prepares to leave the classroom, a freshman named Takahara approaches him with a curious, eager look.
“Professor, may I ask you something?”
Satoshi stops, intrigued by Takahara’s serious expression. “Of course, go ahead.”
With a slight hesitance, Takahara recounts a childhood memory. At age three, he overheard his mother and brother discussing a massive earthquake that had occurred the previous year. Lacking any memory of it from when he was two, he realized that memories could fade, sparking a fear of forgetting important things.
“Since then, I’ve wanted to remember everything,” he says, his eyes reflecting a lingering anxiety from that time.
Takahara continues, recalling how he first learned about death at age four, attending a funeral. Ever since, he’s felt as if he was forced onto a “roller coaster called time,” where life was inevitably racing toward its end. Even as a child, he often lay awake at night, grappling with an inexplicable dread.
“That’s when I started wanting to know more about death and the universe. Your lecture today made physics seem so fascinating.”
Satoshi feels a mix of surprise and nostalgia. Takahara’s words remind him of his own youthful curiosity and fears, his yearning to understand the unknown.
“I see… Well, how about we enjoy exploring physics together? Feel free to ask me anything, anytime.”
Takahara nods enthusiastically. “Thank you, Professor! I’m really looking forward to learning from you!”
Moved by Takahara’s eagerness, Satoshi feels the joy of teaching rekindled. Marking this moment as the start of a new connection, he quietly exits the classroom, carrying the memory with him.