31st October, 2009
moving to Edinburgh
I moved to Edinburgh in August 1992. I was working for Hitachi until then, but found it difficult to pursue my studies, if any, with them. I was not trained as an engineer as my colleagues were and was not sure whether I could contribute to their business. I needed to be trained as a scientist. I thus decided to enroll myself in the Centre for Cognitive Science, University of Edinburgh. I was already twenty-nine years old and it was obviously risky. I felt still there was no way but changing my circumstances drastically to be myself.
Semantics of natural language
I studied the semantics of natural language in the framework called Situation Semantics. The theory is partly influenced by Ecological Psychology and it was challenging to formalize it mathematically. I turned to the theory of parallel computation, namely, the pi-calculus, to analyze some aspects of Situation Semantics. It was good exercise and I learnt how to use logics in analyzing linguistic phenomena. I spent after all three years in Edinburgh to complete my Ph.D.
the hill
We lived in a part of a classic building in the south of Edinburgh. Just behind our house, there was a hill, where you could oversee the whole city. We walked the hill almost every evening after our supper. Rabbits were around in early summer and cows grazed in pasture. As I approached to the top, I felt an excitement. Cold and strong wind blew me up. The city sank in the darkness. I gazed the scene silently. I gradually understood that the horrible weather made man tough.
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