How to Read “A tasteless thing getting fat from boiling”
Aji nai mono no niejutori
Meaning of “A tasteless thing getting fat from boiling”
“A tasteless thing getting fat from boiling” is a proverb that means things without substance or merit tend to grow only in appearance and influence.
It criticizes people or things that lack real ability or substance but make themselves look bigger or speak louder than they should.
This proverb is useful because it accurately points out the gap between flashy appearances and actual substance.
It applies to many situations. People in organizations who act superior without achievements. Products with flashy advertising but thin content. People who voice loud opinions without real knowledge.
In modern society, this phenomenon may be even more obvious with social media. It’s easier than ever to polish appearances without substance.
That’s why the distinction between essence and appearance that this proverb teaches becomes increasingly important. It reminds us how crucial it is to develop the ability to recognize true value.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records explain the origin of this proverb. However, we can make interesting observations from how the phrase is constructed.
Let’s focus on the expression “getting fat from boiling.” When cooking, ingredients without substance or nutritional value absorb water and swell up in appearance only.
Think of ingredients like tofu or wheat gluten. They have little actual nutrition or flavor, yet they absorb broth and increase in volume.
The proverb likely came from observing this phenomenon. In Japanese food culture, simmered dishes were everyday cooking methods.
Housewives observed the nature of ingredients closely through daily kitchen work. They watched tasteless ingredients absorb broth and swell, then connected this to human social behavior.
People without real ability or substance who make themselves look bigger and act superior. Our ancestors compared such people to the familiar kitchen phenomenon of “getting fat from boiling.”
Their observation was sharp. This proverb captures the wisdom of common people who could see human nature through small everyday occurrences.
Usage Examples
- That new employee has no real ability but acts so big – truly a tasteless thing getting fat from boiling
- A service with flashy ads but no substance can only be called a tasteless thing getting fat from boiling
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “A tasteless thing getting fat from boiling” points to an eternal paradox in human society. Why do people without ability try hardest to look bigger?
The answer may lie in fundamental human anxiety.
Because they lack substance, people try to inflate their appearance. To hide their lack of confidence, they raise their voices and enlarge their attitudes.
This is a kind of defense instinct. Like the saying that weak dogs bark loudest, the essence is the same. It’s the psychology of trying to fill inner emptiness with outer flashiness.
On the other hand, people with real ability are quiet. Because they’re full of substance, they don’t need to inflate themselves.
Confidence naturally seeps out from within. It doesn’t need to be staged.
This proverb has been passed down through generations because this human nature never changes across time. Every era has had people who are all show and no substance.
And people have always had eyes to see through that pretense. The importance of not being fooled by superficial flashiness and recognizing true value.
That’s life wisdom that remains unchanged from past to present.
When AI Hears This
The phenomenon of tasteless ingredients appearing larger when boiled continuously as water evaporates perfectly represents the “quality degradation” shown by the second law of thermodynamics.
Even when high-quality energy called heat is input, it only converts to disordered molecular motion that scatters water molecules. The complex molecular structures that create flavor never emerge.
Ordered value doesn’t increase. Instead, only entropy increase through tissue breakdown from drying progresses.
In physics, energy has “quality.” Electricity and kinetic energy are high-quality forms that can do work. Heat is the lowest quality energy, difficult to convert back to other forms.
Boiling converts precious fuel energy ultimately into heat diffusion to surroundings – the most disordered state possible.
Creating informational value like flavor requires complex chemical reactions of amino acids and proteins. But just boiling only breaks molecules down, never building them up.
This irreversibility is crucial. Just as the entire universe moves toward “decreasing usable energy,” adding heat to tasteless ingredients only leaves lost water and fuel behind.
Value never increases. When effort is misdirected, invested energy dissipates in unrecoverable forms. This proverb is a remarkable insight that observed universal laws in the kitchen.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of enriching their inner “substance.” Getting likes on social media and polishing your appearance aren’t bad things.
But if that’s all you do, you truly become “fat from boiling.”
What matters is balance. While polishing your exterior, don’t forget to enrich your interior. Deepen your knowledge, gain experience, and grow as a person.
That leads to real confidence.
Look around you. The loudest person isn’t necessarily right. Products with flashy advertising aren’t necessarily high quality.
This proverb also teaches you the importance of having “discerning eyes.”
And most importantly, don’t become “a tasteless thing” yourself. Build real ability steadily, even if it’s unglamorous. It may take time.
But genuine value will always be recognized someday. Don’t rush. Focus on enriching your substance.
That’s the surest path to real confidence.
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