Tondemo
|
|
Tondemo means "outrageous" or "preposterous" in Japanese. Recently the word has gain another meaning thanks to the activity of To-gakkai (the Academy of Tondemo books) which annually award Nihon Tondemo-bon Taisho (Japan Tondemo Book Award), which is a sort of combination of Ig Nobel Prize and James Randi Foundation. Tondemo-bon is defined by the academy as "something amusing from a perspective that differs from what the author intends." It should be noted that the award cover not just conspiracy theory or pseudoscience but also include historical revisionism as well as atheist or scientific sceptics who make rather unfair and biased attack toward the former. The member of Toggakai included religious figures as well as scientists and other academics. In Japan, this genre has superseded the like of activity from scientific sceptics.
Some winners of the Nihon Tondemo-bon Taisho (Japan Tondemo Book Award):
- Ninja, its Origin and Technique, an ostensibly scholarly exploration of the history of ninja techniques, including the secret magical hand gestures
- Amazing Science Fiction Weapons, a notoriously poorly researched book detailing the weapons and plots of science fiction series
- A Final Warning from Mother Earth, a guide to the future based on the knowledge of the ancients of Atlantis and other civilizations
See also
External link
- Togakkai (the Academy of Outrageous Books) (http://www.togakkai.com/) (Japanese text only)