6. Modern Geocentrism

I recently finished reading the manga チ。地球の運動について, and I was deeply moved. Set in an era when geocentrism was still the mainstream view, it tells the story of a group of scholars who, under the authoritarian rule of the Church, risk everything to relentlessly pursue the truth about the Earth’s movement.

In those days, a person could lose a fingernail for a light punishment, or be publicly hanged for a severe one, yet there were still people willing to pursue the truth. That kind of greatness always moves me whenever I read about it.

For us, heliocentrism has long since overturned geocentrism; it’s as obvious as breathing or drinking water.

Humanity has already landed on the moon and gone into space to look back at Earth. Our instruments and computing power keep advancing by the day, so when I reflect on what happened in that era, I can’t help but feel regret—an outstanding group of scholars lost their lives because of a mistaken theory.

Our age is a free one. We have abundant resources and information, and text, audio, and video can all be preserved at extremely low cost. It’s easy to imagine how much people in that era must have longed for such things.

Even without the authority of the Church, and despite appearing to be free, this kind of “geocentric” way of thinking is still everywhere.

The “Geocentrism” of Everyday Life

Whether it’s coming abroad to work, learning a language, or studying any field of knowledge, this geocentric mindset that treats itself as truth still exists.

Japan is low pay, web development has to use frontend frameworks, code has to follow clean code and design patterns, you have to work at a big company, no job means you’re a loser, exams and grades are the only thing that matters—these pointless constraints, just like the Church back then, bind people to that worldview of “being someone at the bottom, burdened with sin.” Anyone who doesn’t follow that path is judged as a heretic.

There is no single correct answer to these choices, but that doesn’t mean they should be imposed on others.

What’s even scarier is that when you take a less typical path, these people will turn into heresy inquisitors and interrogate you:

“Why go work in Japan? Isn’t the salary better in Taiwan?”

“Why start a business? It’s not even guaranteed to make money. Isn’t it better to work for a company?”

“That’s useless.”

“Studying music will make you starve.”

A lot of this kind of preconceived thinking comes from fear—the fear that if you make a change, everything you have now might no longer continue, the fear that everything you believe in might actually be false, the fear that other people might end up living better than you.

Ignorance is bliss. Exploring the essence of things is a hard and painful journey; sometimes you may not even find the truth, and sometimes you may be mocked because of your environment. But the energy that can change the world often sprouts at this very step.

The “Geocentrism” of Family

From a young age, you’re made to learn all kinds of talents and skills; if your report card scores aren’t high enough, you get hit a few times until it leaves a shadow in your heart. You study hard not because you truly love it, but to avoid being scolded by your parents. When you’re little, you’re told, “You’ll be free once you get into college,” or “You’ll be free once you start working in society.” Then when you really do start working, and successfully get into a big company, you realize it isn’t as glamorous as you imagined. You have only the title, but you’ve sacrificed your life and the things you truly want to do.

Many families still believe in the formula: study → take exams → get into a good university → find a good company with a high salary → and you’ll have a wonderful life.

A predetermined path is what many Chinese families love most, and it’s what our education has been instilling in us all along.

If you yourself are successfully brainwashed into believing that this path is the only way, that it is truth, but then don’t end up walking it as smoothly as expected, you start complaining about your background, complaining that the government is unfair, complaining that the environment is bad, complaining that everyone else only succeeded because they were lucky—they’re all just heretics.

Even though technology has advanced to the point that I feel the technological singularity may be close, this tragedy of “geocentrism” keeps playing out in every era.

Becoming a Heretic

There is a scene in the first volume that goes like this:

“Are you trying to deny God?”

“No, the opposite. It’s because I believe the world created by God must be beautiful.”

The beginning of growth comes from doubting everything we have once deeply believed.

Breaking free from worldly frameworks and moral coercion will inevitably invite gossip and make you seem like a heretic. And yet truth often begins right there.

Without a Church and without inquisitors, in this era when information is so easy to obtain, more and more people are instead giving up thinking.

Life presents many choices, and you may not always be able to walk the optimal path. But if you never step out at all, you’ll miss the chance to see a sky full of stars—and perhaps the beautiful theory of heliocentrism would never have come into being.

Was it truly impossible? Or was it just self-imposed confinement?

History tells us this: the people who change the world are never the ones who simply follow the rules. The greatest discoveries all come from the courage to question the status quo.

What makes you different is precisely what is most precious about you.

Don’t let other people’s fear limit your possibilities.