10. Trying to Answer Questions
Itoi Your model of thinking was nurtured in a technical field, but it's versatile at the same time. It's a very practical model.
Iwata I've never studied management or enterprise organizations through books, but I think my method can be applied generally. The specifics, though, such as finding which data to pay attention to is probably something only I understand.
Itoi (to the staffs) It's not that he was lazy or anything, but...he never used to read books.
Iwata (laugh)
Itoi I used to hand you my recommendations, but now you seem to recommend me a lot more than I do. (laugh)
Iwata Now that I'm in my position, I can connect what's written in books and what happens around me. When I was specializing in programming, reading books on management or enterprise organization only helped me gain information. It was only information, so the knowledge didn't soak in. Gaining information doesn't give you a sense of accomplishment if it's not something you can try tomorrow. You don't feel the "reward".
Itoi How about when you were a child? What books did you read, if any?
Iwata I used to read the encyclopedia, from end to end.
Itoi Did you memorize what you read?
Iwata No, but finding the connection between things that I didn't understand until then was very interesting. That was my reward.
Itoi Isn't that the same as you are now?
Iwata Actually, yes. (laugh). It's interesting when things that I didn't understand connect, and I gain new knowledge.
Itoi What I find amazing is the effort you put in answering questions. I don't think there was a time when you didn't answer my question. Every time I ask one, you answer it.
All (laugh)
Itoi Remember when I asked why lags are caused in international phone calls?
Iwata Yes.
Itoi Electronic waves are transmitted instantly, but when you make international calls, there's a lag. I remember asking this question out of the blue, but you gave me an answer right away.
Iwata Let's see... phone calls used to have more lags in the old days. Although underwater cables are frequently used for international calls now, satellites were used before. Stationary satellites are located about 36000km away from the surface of the earth. So the voice is transmitted to 36000km above, and then 36000km down, which is over 70000km in total. When someone says "Hello", and the other answers "Hello", the signal makes two round trips, which is a total of a little over 140000km. Light and electronic waves are transmitted about 300000km per second, so the signal takes about 0.4 seconds to be transmitted 140000km. So when you say "Hello" and the other answers "Hello" back, there is approximately a 0.4 second lag.
Itoi And he answered this instantly.
All Wow. (laugh)
Itoi Isn't it amazing? What caught me was not only the numerical figures that he answered, but that he included the "Hello" back in his calculation.
Iwata (laughing) Yes, "Hello" to and fro is a set.
Itoi "Hello" to and fro. That's good. I thought it was novel to think of communication as a round trip action. The reason why people are irritated is because of the lag that is caused in that round trip action. You include the response in your concept of communication. I find this very interesting. The numerical figures can probably be found on the Internet, but the fact that you gave me these facts immediately makes it amazing.
Iwata I was able to give you an immediate answer because it was a subject I've thought about.
Itoi Really?
Iwata Yes. I was wondering why it was uncomfortable when calling overseas. Sometimes the lag is not as bad as other times. When I draw a hypothesis, I test it against every possible pattern. When I find the hypothesis that can explain every pattern, that's when I can stop thinking, because that's the answer.
Itoi That's a program oriented thought too.
Iwata Probably. When there's a question that I can't answer, I can't stop myself pursuing it. If a hypothesis doesn't work against a certain pattern, it means that it's not correct. That means that there should be another reason, so I need to draw another hypothesis, and I keep on thinking.
Itoi That's why when I ask something that you haven't thoroughly thought, there's a pause before you answer.
Iwata (laugh)
Itoi You stop and think.
Iwata If it's a question that I have already pursued, all I need to do is give you my answer. But when it's something that I haven't come up with an answer yet, I need to check my hypothesis before I open my mouth. I like consistent logic, I'm from the computer field. When someone asks me a question I don't have an answer to, I verify if my answer is consistent with everything that I've done and known. Even if I feel confident that an answer is correct, I still need to test it from every angle.
Itoi He's amazing, isn't he?
All (laugh)
