Improve Your Brain

A book which has sold over a million copies in Japan promises to improve one’s brain power. The book consists of simple mathematical equations, memorization exercises, and passages from great works of literature which are meant to be read aloud daily. After about the fifth exercise, a little rabbit shows up at the bottom of the page and tells you that you are doing a good job. A few pages later, a monkey comes up and asks you if you have noticed any improvements. On the thirtieth page, the rabbit and the monkey are playing a game of “tag” among the mathematical equations. Then they both show up a page later with the caption, “Do you like the book?” It’s not as though you could respond to them. By page 40, the monkey, the rabbit, and a new character, the frog, are shown fishing by the pond. The caption reads, “Just Fishing.” On page 45, the rabbit and the monkey stand over the frog, who looks like he has died. They both have a confused look on their faces. On page 55, both the monkey and the rabbit are lying on the ground, maybe sleeping, maybe dead. They never show up again. On the last page is a glossy photo of Dr. Kawashima, the author. “It has been 60 days now,” the caption reads, “And you should have a better brain.”