How think tanks should provide information to the public

The spread of the use of audio and visual files such as MP3 and WAV is spectacular in quite varieties of fields in addition to the genuine use of listening and watching for personal uses. It is already at least three to four years since we could make an access to the audio files of the speeches and press conferences in some of the news wires and international organizations. Nowadays, we could hear and watch the whole of the conferences and workshops of think tanks such as Brookings and American Enterprise Institute.

Such an development has at least several very important implications:

1. We could hear the whole event almost in its original record, and could understand the whole discussions in quite a different way, parhaps more close to what is real.

2. Think tanks could save much time by providing such electronic records especially if they skip creating records. However, I sincerelt appreciate if they continue to make written records as well as audio and visual files as it saves our time in most occasions as reading could be done much speedier than listening.

3. Most of all, especially for me, it is quite important that I could listen to such audio records. Feelings that could be shared only if you are at the place is now available. It could not be easily felt if you read the manuscripts or written records. You might call that there is a "qualia" in such circumstances.

I hope that think tanks in Japan should seriously consider if they could start providing such information in audio and/or visual files. This could pose a serious challenge in the field of education as well.