A collection of 30 must-read science classics for all Korean youth.
In line with the drastically changed 2028 college entrance reform plan, not only the special features of the life science department but also in-depth reading activities
A 10-Minute Daily Classic Reading Plan to Develop the Integrated Thinking Skills and Insights Desired by Top-Ranking Universities

The flow of education and college entrance examination systems has been changing rapidly recently.
This also means that the type of talent our society and universities desire is changing.
Universities, especially top-tier universities, now want well-rounded and integrated students who are not only cognitively gifted but also able to actively communicate and collaborate within a community.
How can we cultivate these capabilities? In a rapidly changing world, the fastest way to discover unchanging values, find fundamental questions and answers to solve problems, and cultivate the ability to gain insight into objects and phenomena is through reading, and especially through reading the classics.
The 『30 Essential Readings for the Living Classics』 series was designed to help students develop integrated and holistic capabilities through reading a variety of classics.
Six current teachers who share the importance of classics have carefully selected 180 representative classic works from various fields, including Korean literature, foreign literature, economics, science, history, and philosophy.
This book focuses on recommended or required readings from leading domestic universities, and contains representative works that students must review. In particular, it reflects the changes in the educational field, where the importance of detailed academic abilities and special skills in school records is increasing ahead of the implementation of the 2022 revised curriculum and 2028 college entrance reform plan.


The sixth book in this series, 『30 Must-Read Classics from the Life Sciences』, introduces thirty carefully selected classics of science that have led the advancement of human knowledge and expanded the limits of humanity.
This book helps students develop scientific and logical thinking skills and gain insight into new problems by providing easy-to-understand explanations of various must-read science books, including The Selfish Gene, Cosmos, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Fish Do Not Exist, The Unthinkable, and When Breath Becomes Air.
Above all, it focuses on increasing accessibility to science by concisely conveying the key concepts of classic science to busy students preparing for college entrance exams and explaining difficult scientific concepts in an easy-to-understand manner using everyday examples and analogies.
In particular, it introduces research topics and directions that can be utilized in conjunction with the curriculum, as well as specific examples and methods to reflect career activities and special features in the school life record, making it the best way to prepare for the comprehensive student evaluation in conjunction with reading.

The knowledge provided by scientific classics transcends time.
Newton's law of universal gravitation laid the foundation for classical mechanics, and Darwin's theory of evolution established the fundamental concepts of biology.
These classics go beyond mere scientific facts, providing a way to view new problems and a framework for logical thinking, thereby developing readers' ability to solve problems on their own.
The classics covered in this book will be of great help to students preparing for college, developing their scientific thinking skills and furthering their academic journey.
--- p.10 From the author's preface

Fish do not exist, but people still 'intuitively' believe that fish exist.
But even though it may be counterintuitive, facts are facts.
Just as Galileo rejected geocentrism and insisted on heliocentrism, we can learn more truth by abandoning intuition.
If we give up the fish (acknowledging that fish don't exist) and question the order (categories) we took for granted, what will we gain? We will gain insight into the real world.
--- p.20-21 From “Fish Does Not Exist”

This book is a well-written reflection on the author's thoughts on the meaning of life and death as a doctor and a patient, the philosophical meaning of life as a writer, and the dignity of life as a biologist.
We usually avoid thinking about death.
But is it really best to avoid discussing and thinking about death? Death is something we all will experience someday.
I think that if we talk about this together with sincerity, we can make life more valuable.

--- p.51 From "When Breath Becomes the Wind"

Is science, as Karl Popper and the logical positivists argued, a progressive discipline that steadily advances by proving and revealing objective facts? Or is it, as Thomas Kuhn argued, a discipline of ideology or belief that deludes itself into seeking reality? Does this judgment also depend on your paradigm? After reading Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," I decided to answer.
I hope you too can think deeply about what science is.

--- p.100 From “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”

In chemistry, imitation is a very important creative tool.
This also includes the 'somewhat similar and not similar' feature.
Among the molecules in our bodies, there are some that play a very important role in the survival of bacteria.
However, this molecule is almost identical to the molecule of an antibiotic called 'sulfamethoxazole', which was developed around 1935, except for some parts.
Antibiotics work by chemical trickery through mimicry.
In other words, it has a similar shape to a molecule that is very important for the survival of bacteria, but it has become a substance that threatens the survival of bacteria.
--- p.128 From “It’s the same, but it’s not the same”

Therefore, we must embrace mathematical thinking as a tool for deep thinking, beyond simple calculations or statistical analysis.
Mathematical thinking plays an important role in how humans understand the universe and make ethical judgments.
This is why we need mathematics now.
--- p.193 From "When Mathematics is Needed"

The Double Helix demonstrates that the process of scientific discovery is not simply the tedious labor of scholars confined to a laboratory, but rather a fascinating journey intertwined with complex, dynamic human relationships and tense tensions.
It also reminds us that scientists are just like us, ordinary people, and that their great achievements are the result of their persistent passion and consistent support toward their goals.
--- p.203 From "The Double Helix"

Parallel Universes uses various modern physics theories, including quantum mechanics, cosmic inflation, and string theory, to demonstrate that parallel universes may be possible.
These theories go beyond conventional thinking about the universe, suggesting that reality as we know it may be just one of many possibilities, offering new perspectives on our lives and the choices we make.
Through "Parallel Universe," we will be able to think about how we view our universe and reality, and how we should accept the possibility of the existence of parallel universes.
--- p.252 From "Parallel Universe"

Chaos theory arose from the efforts of scientists to understand the nature of complex systems, moving beyond the traditional linear and deterministic perspective.
Concepts like the butterfly effect, fractals, and strange attractors have changed the way we see the world and given us new ways to understand patterns in unpredictable systems.

--- p.276 From "Chaos"

The importance of machine criticism, the author argues, lies in going beyond simple technical analysis to delving into the social and historical context of machines.
We live in a rapidly evolving machine civilization, where machines are no longer mere tools but have become a part of human life.
Machine criticism plays an important role in helping us understand the relationship between machines and humans more deeply and in finding the direction we should take within it.

--- p.310 From "Machine Criticism"