Summary
- It’s no exaggeration to say I came to Taiwan solely to visit TSMC. I was glad to see an inspiring exhibition about innovation supported by semiconductors.
Highlights
Hsinchu Station
- This is a little bit far from Taipei and looks like a newly developed city with a lot of skyscrapers.
TSMC Museum of Innovation
- This museum is small and requires reservations, but it’s so popular that empty slots get filled almost instantly.
Handouts
- We received a leaflet and a cute memo.
Electronic Device Disassembly
- We can see what kinds of IC chips are used in the latest electronic devices.
Video Archive
It- My favorite exhibition of all. - Although I couldn’t get inside the factory, there is a factory tour video that allows us to follow the procedure for creating chips. - I found the CGI of laser technology particularly cool and interesting. Their CGI was so futuristic and dynamic. - I was surprised to learn that the circuit is made up of many layers, which consist of countless interrelations. People tend to think an IC chip is 2D, but it has a lot of 3D intersections of wires. The layers are created by spraying material onto the surface and selectively eroding it. Surprisingly, even a few nanometers of error are not allowed, and the cost remains low despite all those intricate tasks.
Other Interesting Exhibits
- The VR exhibition was immersive, allowing us to experience life in the future supported by technology. Although I felt it was too mechanical and didn't reflect people's desires, I recognized that semiconductors are key components even for the hardware.
- The founder of TSMC is a clever person, but he wasn’t wealthy or exceptionally smart from the beginning. It was a great opportunity to hear an actual interview with him and see various documents he created.
- We have already forgotten about the old days of computing, but the exhibition enabled us to compare how much the experience has improved. While I feel some of them could not be better, there may still be room for further improvements.
Banqiao Cihui Temple
- I think it’s a great idea to seamlessly integrate a temple into the city. Not only is the temple a destination, but the area around it functions like an external temple with similar decorations, attracting both worshippers and consumers, thus creating mutual benefits.
Banqiao Nanya Night Market
- It was an exceptionally long night market. Unlike many night markets, many bicycles passed by, functioning like a drive-thru night market.
Fuzhong
- The metro station didn’t connect to the other side of the boulevard for some reason, creating a massive flow of people. I wonder if this contributes to the economy or hurts it.
Scenery
- There were many factories and several giant rivers.
Foods
- The contents of baked xiao long bao were quite diverse.
- I don’t know why, but QQ refers to mochi-like dumplings in Taiwan, and QQ涼圓 is similar to what we call 水饅頭 in Japan. I liked the soft texture and the various flavors of bean paste inside.
- I was worried that I might not be able to bring back fruit tea to Japan, but later I learned that all of them, including the ones that require inspection, were allowed. Dried fruit wouldn’t be a problem if we just showed them to the inspector, but I didn’t know that and drank all the blueberry fruit tea at once. It was okay. However, due to loose packaging and temperature, there was a living insect inside, so I recommend buying completely sealed ones and not keeping them in a warm environment after opening.
Opinions
- The knowledge that TSMC has is truly unparalleled. I always feel it’s impossible to make such tiny and precise devices so cheaply, but they never stop seeking to achieve this, and they realize their goals. Still, some of the future predictions presented at the exhibition seemed impossible, but I think we can only achieve them if we believe they are possible.
- I think happiness doesn’t come from convenience and efficiency; solely seeking them might hurt the quality of life. Innovation must serve humanity, and we should feel happier after adopting these innovations. I believe the flaw of the Industrial Revolution was that we didn’t care about people’s feelings and greedily tried to take more from others. We should understand people’s emotions as deeply as we research technology and design how it is used.
- I sometimes feel that being efficient is not always good for the economy. It’s convenient if we can get home without any stops, but that also means we miss the opportunity to buy things. I wonder if that’s actually promoting consumption or just wasting people’s time.
- I’m not sure how the night market works, but I think there should be affordable places to run stalls supported by the government, as this would solve affordability issues and provide employment for local people. I believe it’s worth spending tax money to improve the quality of life for low-income earners.
- I sometimes think Japanese food is not diverse enough. Chinese food in Japan tends to be similar, so people are quite picky about food, which lowers the demand for less famous dishes. Consuming a variety of foods is good for our health and is more enjoyable, so I hope people will try to experience different food cultures and that more options will become available.
