Knowledge is a Curse

Introduction: The Philosophy of Meritocracy

If I may, I’d like to pose an interesting question. Are all human beings truly equal? These days, everywhere you go there's talk about the fight for equality. As a wise man once said, “Heaven does not create one person above or below another.” People like to throw his words around. But that's not the whole quote. He goes on to say that “... while we are all equal at birth, pretty soon, things begin to change.” Academic effort is what sets some people apart to rise above the others. At any rate, humans change over time based on their actions. Truth be told, at the end of the day, equality is just a fantasy. And most of us go through life denying the fact that we live in a meritocracy (Classroom of the Elite, 2017, S1 E1).

These words spoken by Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, the enigmatic protagonist of Classroom of the Elite, reveal not just a philosophy but a prison forged by the White Room. His belief in a world where knowledge and effort define personal worth, has left him isolated, emotionally detached, and trapped by the very brilliance that sets him apart. Ayanokoji’s experience, while fictional, serves as a critique of the pressure built upon Japanese students within contemporary Japanese society. At its core, this narrative exposes a fundamental danger: when Japan’s examination hell system, centered on high stakes entrance exams, prioritises merit over emotional development, it produces technically brilliant children who are psychologically broken. This paper argues that the White Room system—an allegory to exam hell (jukenjigoku)—risks prioritising merit and test-based achievement over the social and emotional needs that are vital for true human connection, reflecting a ruthless power dynamic that many Japanese students face. Through close readings of multiple scenes—the survival island challenge, grip strength test, and athletic festival race—this paper demonstrates how Ayanokoji’s White Room conditioning has systematically replaced emotional development with constant evaluation of measurable successes, leaving him psychologically damaged and shaped by institutionalised trauma, producing a gifted student who excels at tests but fails at basic connection. Ayanokoji’s words highlight the nature of knowledge where ‘The greatest souls are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues,’ a duality that he embodies as his unparalleled intelligence becomes his worst enemy (Classroom of the Elite, 2022, S2 E3).

The White Room: Forging an Isolated Genius

Ayanokoji is supposedly the perfect human. What creates this broad distinction between him and others? It is the White Room. The White Room is a place meant to create geniuses through various methods and mirrors Japan’s examination hell taken to its dystopian extreme. Ayanokoji was in the ‘demonic fourth-generation’, which was characterised by brutality and a lack of human connection (Kinugasa, 2022, p. 238). Much like students in Japan’s juku (cram schools) who sacrifice their childhood for endless test preparation, children in this generation were subjected to learning extreme material from the moment they were born. A survivor of the White Room, Ichika Amasawa, noted it as a ‘world of all white’ (Kinugasa, 2023, p. 11)—a literal manifestation of what Japan’s entrance exam system does metaphorically: reducing a student’s intrinsic value to a number on a test score, draining them of identity and belonging. This deprivation stripped all learners of any sensation. This cruel learning environment created Kiyotaka Ayanokoji through a system that focused on individualism, with minimal interaction among students. This mirrors Japan’s own examination hell where enduring cruel conditions—such as yontō goraku (sleep four hours pass; sleep five fail)—is seen as virtuous. The White Room created these same cruel conditions of institutional brutality, forced deprivation, and extreme pressure to perform, and this virtue is exactly what creates Ayanokoji’s greatest weakness: his inability to connect with others. Many children were crushed under these conditions. Those who survived excelled academically but were deprived of all else. Consequently, Ayanokoji’s upbringing left him isolated from human emotion and connection while endowing him with immense knowledge.

The Prison of Distrust and Manipulation

His intellectual prison manifests primarily due to his inability to trust those around him. His experience in the White Room, when divorced from connection, has led him to distrust those around him. Due to his high intellect, he tends to see the worst in people, always looking for ulterior motives behind their actions. Ayanokoji’s knowledge has forced him into a prison, constantly analysing others’ moves, never truly being able to live freely or comfortably. He constantly reaffirms his actions and sees that all ‘people are born liars. If a person ever claims to live their life without telling a lie, their life itself is probably a lie. Lies are inescapable parts of us’ (Kinugasa, 2020, p. 146). This cynical worldview serves as a psychological defense mechanism—specifically rationalisation—which sparks Vaillant’s Ego Mechanisms of Defense, by showing how it is more pronounced in individuals with high cognitive ability (Vaillant, 1992). Rather than viewing his deception as unethical, he reframes it as an unavoidable part of reality (Freud, 1936). By justifying manipulation this way, he plays into this sophisticated defense by using complex reasoning to distance himself from moral responsibility, shirking blame and reinforcing his reluctance to place trust in others. Ayanokoji’s intelligence demonstrates both his brilliance and his isolation. When participating in a survival island challenge, Kiyotaka’s class wins the event; however, this victory was due to Ayanokoji. From the start of the challenge, he was analysing everybody’s movements and carefully orchestrating their victory. Due to his deep distrust in people, he has learned to manipulate them: he made it appear Suzune Horikita’s removal was incidental while actually planning it, and his strategic machinations led to their victory. His command over people through manipulation underscores his supreme intellect while also highlighting his deep distrust of people to not achieve favourable outcomes for himself. This traps him in a constant state of manipulation as he does not see those around him as worthy. This dehumanising perspective is further reinforced when, after orchestrating his team's victory, he states that ‘humans are nothing but tools to me’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2017, S1 E12). He perceives individuals as chess pieces. The Bucharest Early Intervention project on Cognitive recovery offers a lens into Ayanokoji because the White Room institution has altered his brain development, causing him to view humans as mere tools due to his training (Nelson et al., 2007). This calculating use of others finds striking resemblance in the show’s theme song, ‘Minor Piece,’ where rich symbolism illuminates Ayanokoji’s deceptive mastery. The title represents how even minor pieces in chess can cause decisive outcomes, mirroring how Ayanokoji skillfully controls every piece. This is further reinforced when he is shown leaning on a king in a chess game, as seen in 1:03 in the theme’s video (ZAQ, 2023), underscoring his absolute control over every move and player. However, he isolates himself in a prison of his own brilliance, though victorious, furthers his detachment. Ayanokoji’s deception, while brilliantly executed, mirrors the tactics of those with narcissistic tendencies, who often experience isolation and emotional detachment due to their behaviour (Choi-Kain et al., 2022, p. 63; Ronningstam, 2011, p. 92). This is symbolised in ‘Minor Piece’ where the minor pieces, while powerful in their own right, are ultimately controlled by the king, who is the most powerful, and is most often the most isolated on the board. This isolation reflects the curse of knowledge, as his strategic brilliance sets him apart from others and distances himself from genuine human connection. He further emphasises that he ‘doesn’t care what [he has] to do in order to win’ because ‘in this world winning is everything, and in the end [he’s] going to win’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2017, S1 E12). This moment of self-reflection highlights academic contingent self-worth, wherein high IQ individuals like Ayanokoji subconsciously tie self worth to continuous success (Crocker et al., 2003). His conditioning in the White Room has led him to view merit as the sole measure of success.

Strategic Invisibility: The Façade of Mediocrity

Ayanokoji’s abilities go far beyond manipulation, extending to his strategic invisibility through calculated ambiguity. His ability to maintain a façade of mediocrity ensures no one sees him as a threat. Class D’s teacher, Sae Chabashira, called Ayanokoji the ‘most defective student’ of class D (Classroom of the Elite, 2017, S1 E6). His problem is not in the traditional sense, like others in Class D. Ayanokoji’s greatest weakness is the false persona he maintains, as he does not feel a need to participate and thus is an anomaly in the school system. His ability to control others through how they perceive him allows him to operate in the shadows and control outcomes without drawing attention. The strategic self-presentation is evident in his interactions with authority figures. Manabu Horikita, the top student at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, took great interest in Ayanokoji when he discovered he was the ‘student who got 50s on all his entrance exams.’ Ayanokoji merely responded that ‘coincidences can be freaky’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2017, S1 E2). This subtle deflection exemplifies how he avoids drawing attention while simultaneously demonstrating the management of spoiled identity, hiding his true abilities from people—like Manabu (Goffman, 1963). This fosters an environment where he controls how people perceive him, creating an illusion that enables manipulation while shrouding his identity.

Calculated Physicality: A Front-Stage Performance

Ayanokoji’s underestimation by others is not through grades alone but also through physical ability. When doing a grip strength test, he asks Sudo for the ‘average grip strength’ and achieves 60 kg effortlessly, which is actually exceptional strength (Classroom of the Elite, 2022, S2 E4). This is best understood through the lens of Goffman’s Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Ayanokoji purposely underplays his strength using a dramaturgical approach so people underestimate him (Goffman, 1959). This allows him to gain control over them and easily manipulate them. His behaviour represents a front-stage performance to avoid being seen as a threat, his life becomes theater where even his weaknesses are scripted. However, strategic necessity constrains him to reveal portions of his ability. During the athletic festival, when Manabu Horikita asks Kiyotaka for a race, he agrees saying that he ‘shouldn’t hold anything back’ and ultimately loses due to an outside factor (Classroom of the Elite, 2022, S2 E6). This moment crystallises Ayanokoji’s true ability but not as a means of showing off. Kiyotaka’s decision to reveal his abilities was cold and calculated. Ryuen was looking for the mastermind pulling Class D’s strings. Ayanokoji did not hold back during the athletic festival to highlight his athletic ability to shift away opinions that he was Class D’s intellectual mastermind.

The Emotional Void: A Disconnect from Humanity

Perhaps most tragically, Ayanokoji’s intellectual prison has left him emotionally barren. His view of merit as the sole measure of success, particularly highlighted through his effortless win in the survival challenge, has led him to view emotions as a form of weakness that invites manipulation. This has forced him to be devoid of all human emotion. Sakayanagi’s father comments on how Ayanokoji has ‘only ever known this place’ and that he has never experienced the warmth of ‘human touch’ or ‘love of a parent’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2024, S3 E11). This moment crystallises how Ayanokoji’s experiences in the White Room have erased his ability to connect with others, leading to detachment from emotion, as he viewed them as weaknesses in an environment where merit is needed for survival. This emotional stunting aligns with Michael Rutter’s work on Material Deprivation Reassessed where early deprivation–such as emotional neglect, causes individuals to isolate themselves (Rutter, 1972). Ayanokoji presents a case study where his early deprivation isolates him from emotion altogether. The White Room has conditioned emotion as something foreign and irrelevant to him, forming a mechanical disposition where logic supersedes sentiment, and where attachment is viewed as a liability rather than a necessity. Ayanokoji himself acknowledges this emotional emptiness when he reflects, ‘I knew all about fear born through pain… But eventually, I stopped feeling fear… I just felt cold… [knowing] the same would never happen to me.’ (Kinugasa, 2021, p. 174-175). This underscores how his extreme upbringing in the White Room robbed him of the ability to relate to the suffering of others, reinforcing his emotional detachment. Even after escaping his clinical upbringing, these emotional barriers persist. After escaping the White Room, he still views emotions as something foreign to him, being unable to let go of things ingrained into him. Even when helping Ichinose, a classmate from Class B with a bullying problem, he notes that the ‘future is uncertain’ but if Ichinose ever looks like she is about to fall to ruin ‘I’ll be there to deal the killing blow’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2024, S3 E13). This underscores how he does not see emotion as a genuine human experience but as something to control, reducing people to chess pieces rather than individuals. This perspective reinforces his belief that emotions are weaknesses meant to be exploited and are thus not a necessity. His attempts at normal human relationships reveal his extreme disconnect. His emotional void becomes particularly evident when Kiyotaka asks Kei if she ‘will date him.’ However, the situation takes a sinister tone when he remarks that ‘humans are creatures that learn and grow’ and that it will be good for his development (Classroom of the Elite, 2024, S3 E13). The exchange turns cynical when he admits that once he is done learning romance he won’t need the ‘textbook known as Kei… anymore’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2024, S3 E13). This accentuates his philosophy, commonly found in Bowlby’s Attachment and Loss, that humans are tools to him with no intrinsic value due to his early deprivation leading to attachment issues (Bowlby, 1969). These beliefs foster his emotional detachment as he does not see them as people but instruments. Yet behind his calculated nature, lies a paradoxical yearning. He presents an extreme juxtaposition when he coldly remarks that he hopes ‘in this tender moment holding someone precious in my arms that I have a smile on my face’ (Classroom of the Elite, 2024, S3 E13). This underscores his desire to have genuine emotion in him, but he remains trapped by his past that has been so heavily ingrained in him. He remains trapped by the very conditioning that has prevented him from forming genuine connection. His detached logic and yearning for something truly genuine create a contradiction—that define his struggle throughout the series (Higgins, 1987).

Conclusion: Knowledge Without Empathy

In conclusion, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji’s extreme upbringing in the White Room highlights how one’s journey, when placed with an acute emphasis on merit, can lead to imprisonment rather than empowerment. This narrative functions as a hyperbolic critique of exam hell (jukenjigoku). By reducing human worth to a hierarchy of scores for university admissions, exam hell causes students to take their lives and suffer immensely with emotional distress after and during the rigorous examinations (Koyama et al., 2014); the White Room mirrors these same horrifying realities where students are subjected to extreme pressure to perform and face irreversible trauma and loss of self-worth after leaving these institutions. His character serves as a profound warning for society. In a world increasingly filled with the vast knowledge of AI, Classroom of the Elite’s message resonates universally: knowledge and merit without human connection falls of its own weight and leads to depersonalisation. Ayanokoji’s brilliance without emotional intelligence serves as the ultimate cautionary tale about the dangers of pursuing intelligence divorced from connection. In a world where, as one quote aptly puts it, ‘the only thing granted equally to all is an unfair reality,’ Ayanokoji reminds us that knowledge without empathy is inequality (Jujutsu Kaisen, 2020, S1 E5). True wisdom requires not just knowledge, but is embraced with genuine human connection and empathy. They built the White Room for the future, but in doing so destroyed his own future.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to Thomas Lamarre for his early encouragement and for his insight in making me realise the connection between the White Room and the sociological context of the Japanese examination system, which was vital to the development of this analysis.

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Article copyright Sandeep Pandian.

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