How to Read “Secrecy is valued in planning”
Hakarigoto wa mitsu naru wo tōtobu
Meaning of “Secrecy is valued in planning”
This proverb means that keeping plans and strategies secret is important. When you make an important plan and talk about it before executing it, information can leak from unexpected places. This can ruin your entire plan.
People especially use this saying in business, competitive situations, or when careful preparation is needed. It applies to launching new businesses, personnel changes, and organizational reforms.
When information spreads early, others might interfere or act first. This teaching helps prevent such problems.
Even today, this wisdom matters more than ever. We live in an age where anyone can share anything on social media.
Talking about plans to many people has benefits. You can get advice and feedback. But it also carries the risk of information spreading widely.
The proverb shows an unchanging truth. The more important your plan is, the more carefully you should handle it until it becomes reality.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from ancient Chinese philosophical thought. The character “謀” means plan or strategy. “密” means keeping something secret. “貴ぶ” means to value or respect something.
Ancient Chinese military strategy books and political texts repeatedly stressed the importance of keeping plans secret. Thinkers during the Warring States period believed that information management determined success or failure.
These ideas came to Japan and became highly valued in samurai society. This is how the proverb likely spread.
During Japan’s Warring States period, leaked information could be fatal in military operations and political maneuvering. If the enemy learned about one plan, everything could be ruined.
In this harsh reality, this proverb spread as practical wisdom.
The phrase structure is interesting. “Mitsu naru wo tōtobu” doesn’t just mean keeping secrets. It actively evaluates secrecy as something valuable.
This shows that people viewed information management not as a mere technique. They saw it as an important virtue for success.
Usage Examples
- Following “Secrecy is valued in planning,” we didn’t leak any information about our new product outside the company until right before the announcement
- They say “Secrecy is valued in planning” about job hunting, so I won’t tell anyone until it’s decided
Universal Wisdom
This proverb speaks to the essential nature of information’s power in human society. Why should you keep plans secret?
Because humans have a psychology that wants to interfere with others’ success. We also have competitive instincts to move first ourselves.
Even with good intentions, information changes as it passes from person to person. It spreads in unexpected ways.
Throughout history, rulers have painfully learned the importance of information management. One leaked plan could topple dynasties, lose battles, or destroy businesses.
From countless such experiences, our ancestors learned the value of secrecy.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t just teach caution. It contains deep insight into the complexity of human relationships.
You tell a trusted friend, thinking they’ll keep it secret. But that friend tells someone else. Without malice, they share it out of kindness, thinking “this is good information.”
This is how information spreads beyond control.
People know how difficult it is to keep secrets. That’s why truly important matters should involve only the minimum number of people.
This wisdom comes from understanding human nature. It’s realistic life strategy. Times change, but the workings of the human heart don’t.
When AI Hears This
Each time one more person learns a plan, how much does the probability of information leaking increase? When you calculate this using information theory, you see surprising results.
Suppose each person has a 10 percent chance of leaking information. If two people share a secret, the probability that either one leaks it becomes 19 percent.
With five people, it’s 41 percent. With ten people, it’s 65 percent. As the number increases, the success rate decreases multiplicatively.
This is called exponential degradation. In information systems, this becomes a fatal weakness.
Shannon’s channel capacity theorem proves that noisier communication channels can transmit less information accurately. Here, “noise” translates to human relationships as “the possibility of information reaching unintended recipients.”
As the number of sharers increases, the communication channel becomes more complex and noise sources multiply.
In other words, the power to keep secrets weakens inversely with the number of people.
Even more interesting is the perspective of information entropy. As more people know a secret, the “unpredictability” of that information decreases.
From an enemy’s viewpoint, they can reason “if someone knows, maybe I can extract it.” The value of a secret is mathematically preserved better when fewer people know it.
Lessons for Today
The lesson for us living in modern times is clear. Precisely because we live in an information-saturated age, judging what to share and what to keep private has become more important than ever.
If you have a dream or goal you truly want to achieve, pause before casually posting it on social media or telling everyone around you.
Should that information be made public now? It’s not too late to report it after you’ve achieved it.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust people. Rather, it’s about the responsibility to protect important plans.
Before involving many people, first take a solid step forward yourself. That caution becomes the power to make your plan real.
Especially for younger generations, the value that “sharing is good” has taken deep root. But you don’t need to share everything.
Prepare quietly and speak after producing results. This attitude protects your dreams and helps you move forward steadily.
Having the strength to keep secrets is also an important skill for surviving in the modern world.
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