How?
What we do is teach people about the brain, and how it works. In the open course I teach-"Thinking and Creativity"-we use a system called "mind-mapping", which is an application of brain theory, to help people develop a more creative approach to thinking. You see, the left side of the brain is logical and the right side more creative and intuitive. Most of us use predominantly left-side functions in our daily lives-words, analysis, logic-but mind-mapping allows you to put your thoughts down on paper in either words or images, encouraging you to use the whole of your brain. When you start using all parts of the brain, and especially your creative facilities, that helps to bring in more ideas to what you're doing and to also see the whole picture.
So, is it what we would term a "legitimate science"? Oh yeah. It's all based on how the brain functions-that's how it works. Learning to think well is a bit like learning weight-lifting-there's a certain way of doing it, and if you do it the wrong way, you're either getting nothing out of it, or you're looking at the possibility of injuring yourself.

So, mind-mapping is a kind of general tonic for anyone who wants to think better?
Yeah. It's a step towards learning how you think and how to develop your thinking skills.
What brought you to Japan in the first place? Well, I'd traveled to Europe and was about to go to Australia for a year when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go to Japan with him. I didn't even want to think about that right then, but of course the seed was planted. So, after I left Australia, I went back to Canada, took a look round, saw that nothing much had changed, and came here.

You must have seen quite a lot of changes over the years. What are the most striking?
Umm. There's such a wealth of information available in English now. There were hardly any magazines back then and English TV programs were limited to a movie on the weekend, if you were lucky. Now, it's much more open to the foreign world, and there's a bigger foreign population. When I first came here, it would be unusual to see another foreigner in Shinjuku.

What's the best thing about living in Japan?
It's become so cosmopolitan. If you go out and there's a group of foreigners, they're often from four or five different countries. So you get different points of view, which is much more stimulating.

And the worst thing?
I think space, and not being able to get out of town. I'm from a place about the size of Harajuku, and on the way back from work, you can stop at the beach, go for a swim and then go home, and it's only taken an extra half hour. To do the same thing here would take a whole day.

Do you travel very much in Japan?
Oh yeah. I've been to Izu quite a few times. I have a motorcycle, so Izu is great for that. I also did this great trip with my wife. We drove the bike to Niigata, took a ferry up to Hokkaido and then we spent about two or three weeks going around Hokkaido.

Did you use a mind-map?
No. Just a regular one.

If you could change one thing about Japan, what would it be?
Hmm. To see the Japanese be a little more relaxed and creative in their thinking.

Do you think that's likely to happen?
I think it has to. I think Japan did an incredible job of picking itself up after the war, but it's still going at that same pace, and it's not working. They know they have to change; but they don't know how.

What advice would you give someone who has just arrived in Japan?
I think, learn the language. Even though more and more English is being spoken here, it's still really important to learn, just to stop yourself from going crazy. And don't develop an "us and them" attitude, because it's not really there. A lot of people who stay here do so because they enjoy it, and they're doing what they want to; the people who really hate it are the ones who have a bad attitude.

What are your plans for the future?
Well, to expand what I'm doing. I'm doing some corporate work, but I would really like to get into the educational field. I'm trying to expand into Canada and create a link between the two countries.

Warren Arbuckle can be contacted by telephone at 3825-2575, or email arbuckle@gol.com