Kim Beom-jun's Physics of This and That
 |
Description
Book Introduction
A more wonderful and beautiful world opens up when viewed through the eyes of science! The science of all things for those who want to see the world through a more scientific lens. Why aren't there YY chromosomes, rather than XX and XY? Why does a book turn smoothly when you lick your finger? Does ChatGPT really think? What is the scientific reason for our existence? Is the future already predetermined? … A curious physicist, curious about everything in the world, shares his insights into the wondrous world through the lens of science. Professor Kim Beom-jun of Sungkyunkwan University, a leading statistical physicist and outstanding science communicator in Korea, introduces the latest research in various fields, from physics to biology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, demonstrating the allure of science and the joy of scientific inquiry. “Science is not a cold gaze that unravels the rainbow piece by piece. Even when viewed through the eyes of science, rainbows are still beautiful. No, I think the rainbow is more beautiful when viewed through the eyes of science. “The beauty of the scientific eye is that it allows us to look at a beautiful rainbow and think about why the sky is blue, why the beautiful sunset is red, and why the clear water seen from above is blue.” |
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
preface
Part 1: A Look at Physics
The Reason for Existence | Is the Future Already Determined? | Everything That Moves Has Momentum | The Crystal of Time | How to Use a Quantum Computer | A Parasol-Shaped Ice Pillar | The Physics of Slip | How Do Earthquakes Occur? | Is Glass a Solid or a Fluid? | The Universe Seen Through Gravitational Waves and Light
Read Part 2 Biology
If there are three sexes, not two | The science of the sex ratio | Asexual and sexual reproduction | Why DNA twists to the right | Am I one individual? | How emperor penguins cope with the cold | Life always climbs the mountain of evolution | A new species that appears after three generations
Part 3: A Brief Overview of Brain Science and Artificial Intelligence
How to live long in the short term | Why is the 'voice' I hear different? | Artificial intelligence and neuroscience | Artificial intelligence neural networks | Understanding the brain with AI | Artificial intelligence created by AI | A world where science becomes unnecessary | 'Flying fish' drawn by AI | AI Copernicus | Can Chat GPT really think?
Part 4: A Look at Statistics and Statistical Physics
The Birthday Problem: Coincidence Becomes Inevitability | When Crows Fly, Pears Fall | Chaos in Reality | The Timing of Fireflies | The Brain Through Statistical Physics | The Physics of Flocks | The Network Science of Soccer | The Formation of Patterns: Dalmatians and Lizards
Part 5: A Look Inside
Ted Chiang's Novels | "Tenet" and the Physics of Time | The Meaning of Love Through "Her" | The Space-Time of Our Ancestors | How to Cause an Eclipse | The Descendants of Comets | Increasing Feedback | The Distant Future Illustrated with the Sixth-Order Method
Part 6: Thinking about Science and Society
Physics and the World | The Myth of Science | The Temporal Epithelium | The Third Reference Frame | The 99 Percent and the 1 Percent | Science and Technology | Science is a Process | Can the Earth Survive?
Part 1: A Look at Physics
The Reason for Existence | Is the Future Already Determined? | Everything That Moves Has Momentum | The Crystal of Time | How to Use a Quantum Computer | A Parasol-Shaped Ice Pillar | The Physics of Slip | How Do Earthquakes Occur? | Is Glass a Solid or a Fluid? | The Universe Seen Through Gravitational Waves and Light
Read Part 2 Biology
If there are three sexes, not two | The science of the sex ratio | Asexual and sexual reproduction | Why DNA twists to the right | Am I one individual? | How emperor penguins cope with the cold | Life always climbs the mountain of evolution | A new species that appears after three generations
Part 3: A Brief Overview of Brain Science and Artificial Intelligence
How to live long in the short term | Why is the 'voice' I hear different? | Artificial intelligence and neuroscience | Artificial intelligence neural networks | Understanding the brain with AI | Artificial intelligence created by AI | A world where science becomes unnecessary | 'Flying fish' drawn by AI | AI Copernicus | Can Chat GPT really think?
Part 4: A Look at Statistics and Statistical Physics
The Birthday Problem: Coincidence Becomes Inevitability | When Crows Fly, Pears Fall | Chaos in Reality | The Timing of Fireflies | The Brain Through Statistical Physics | The Physics of Flocks | The Network Science of Soccer | The Formation of Patterns: Dalmatians and Lizards
Part 5: A Look Inside
Ted Chiang's Novels | "Tenet" and the Physics of Time | The Meaning of Love Through "Her" | The Space-Time of Our Ancestors | How to Cause an Eclipse | The Descendants of Comets | Increasing Feedback | The Distant Future Illustrated with the Sixth-Order Method
Part 6: Thinking about Science and Society
Physics and the World | The Myth of Science | The Temporal Epithelium | The Third Reference Frame | The 99 Percent and the 1 Percent | Science and Technology | Science is a Process | Can the Earth Survive?
Detailed image
Into the book
In a perfectly symmetrical world where matter and antimatter were created in exactly equal amounts and then met in pairs and annihilated, neither matter nor antimatter would survive this process.
In a perfect universe, there would be no author or readers of this article.
There is no earth or sun.
The universe that began with the Big Bang may have had nothing in it.
But why on earth do we exist?
--- p.16
Which of the four frictional forces stops a rock sliding on ice? Which of the four interactions is the restoring force that returns an object to its original position when a spring is pulled? Which of these interactions is responsible for the principle of steam engines, which operate by burning coal? What are the numerous internal interactions that power a cell phone? There's a trick to answering these questions.
If you don't know, just say electromagnetic interaction.
The reason why electromagnetic interactions are the answer to most natural phenomena, except astronomical phenomena, is simple.
--- p.65
Asexual reproduction is advantageous when there are no changes in the environment, but the world's environment continues to change, big and small, from moment to moment.
The genetic diversity provided by sexual reproduction allows us to more effectively prepare for the unpredictable environmental changes that will come in the future.
By mixing half of the genes of the two, more diverse offspring can be created, so the probability of the entire species surviving without going extinct even when the environment changes is greater than with asexual reproduction.
Another advantage of sexual reproduction is that even hidden genes that do not immediately contribute to survival can be passed on to future offspring as insurance.
--- p.84
In both experiments, Galileo measured time by his own pulse.
The pendulum clock was created by Galileo's heart.
Nowadays we measure our pulse with a clock, but for Galileo, the pulse was his clock.
--- p.108
Living, functioning nerve cells continually operate ion pumps to maintain a negative potential difference, using a lot of energy.
If we consider that our brain processes information by the firing of neurons, it seems that our brain is struggling to maintain the tension in neurons that are doing nothing.
Whether we study or just zone out, the energy our brain consumes is actually not that different.
--- p.118-119
I believe that the incredible success of our species on Earth ultimately began with one simple but remarkable step: using the tools we already had to create new ones.
Just the first step.
...
Throughout the history of artificial intelligence, the 'laying of the groundwork' of induction has already been completed.
We have already created an artificial intelligence that plays Go better than humans.
Now we are approaching a more important stage in induction: the stage where artificial intelligence creates artificial intelligence.
The moment the first step is taken, where artificial intelligence creates artificial intelligence freely and without any restrictions, an infinite chain of artificial intelligence can begin.
--- p.134
One area where we can expect great advancements in AI physics is quantum mechanics.
The current quantum mechanical system remains unsatisfactory for physicists.
I'm very curious to see what it would be like if artificial intelligence were to reconstruct quantum mechanics from scratch, based solely on observational data, without any preconceived notions.
--- p.148
The lesson I learned from the paper I just introduced is that even standard models, long established and used by many scientists, must be constantly compared with the phenomena actually revealed in the book of nature.
...
No matter how great a theory is, nature is the final judge of the theory.
--- p.185
In other words, the information held by one sheep is quickly transmitted to the entire flock, and the sheep that follow behind trust the information held by the sheep leading the flock and silently follow that path. This is an efficient way for the entire flock to quickly move to a better location.
It is also important to note that no particular sheep in the flock always leads the group, but rather any sheep with information can lead the next group movement.
An interesting conclusion is that combining democratic and hierarchical methods allows the flock to move efficiently.
--- p.197
The present time we live in is a very special time in the triangle relationship between Earth, Moon, and Sun.
As the moon moves away from the Earth, total solar eclipses will no longer be visible, although annular eclipses will be visible in the distant future.
Conversely, in the distant past, the moon was much closer than it is now, making an annular eclipse impossible to see.
We are currently in the golden age of the eclipse triangle, consisting of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, with both total and annular eclipses visible.
--- p.238
The value of science does not lie in certainty.
It's upside down.
The true value of science lies in its openness to doubt, its ability to engage in discussion, and its potential for further development.
The problem is that the doubts and skepticism that modern science speaks of are usually confined within the scientific community.
In a perfect universe, there would be no author or readers of this article.
There is no earth or sun.
The universe that began with the Big Bang may have had nothing in it.
But why on earth do we exist?
--- p.16
Which of the four frictional forces stops a rock sliding on ice? Which of the four interactions is the restoring force that returns an object to its original position when a spring is pulled? Which of these interactions is responsible for the principle of steam engines, which operate by burning coal? What are the numerous internal interactions that power a cell phone? There's a trick to answering these questions.
If you don't know, just say electromagnetic interaction.
The reason why electromagnetic interactions are the answer to most natural phenomena, except astronomical phenomena, is simple.
--- p.65
Asexual reproduction is advantageous when there are no changes in the environment, but the world's environment continues to change, big and small, from moment to moment.
The genetic diversity provided by sexual reproduction allows us to more effectively prepare for the unpredictable environmental changes that will come in the future.
By mixing half of the genes of the two, more diverse offspring can be created, so the probability of the entire species surviving without going extinct even when the environment changes is greater than with asexual reproduction.
Another advantage of sexual reproduction is that even hidden genes that do not immediately contribute to survival can be passed on to future offspring as insurance.
--- p.84
In both experiments, Galileo measured time by his own pulse.
The pendulum clock was created by Galileo's heart.
Nowadays we measure our pulse with a clock, but for Galileo, the pulse was his clock.
--- p.108
Living, functioning nerve cells continually operate ion pumps to maintain a negative potential difference, using a lot of energy.
If we consider that our brain processes information by the firing of neurons, it seems that our brain is struggling to maintain the tension in neurons that are doing nothing.
Whether we study or just zone out, the energy our brain consumes is actually not that different.
--- p.118-119
I believe that the incredible success of our species on Earth ultimately began with one simple but remarkable step: using the tools we already had to create new ones.
Just the first step.
...
Throughout the history of artificial intelligence, the 'laying of the groundwork' of induction has already been completed.
We have already created an artificial intelligence that plays Go better than humans.
Now we are approaching a more important stage in induction: the stage where artificial intelligence creates artificial intelligence.
The moment the first step is taken, where artificial intelligence creates artificial intelligence freely and without any restrictions, an infinite chain of artificial intelligence can begin.
--- p.134
One area where we can expect great advancements in AI physics is quantum mechanics.
The current quantum mechanical system remains unsatisfactory for physicists.
I'm very curious to see what it would be like if artificial intelligence were to reconstruct quantum mechanics from scratch, based solely on observational data, without any preconceived notions.
--- p.148
The lesson I learned from the paper I just introduced is that even standard models, long established and used by many scientists, must be constantly compared with the phenomena actually revealed in the book of nature.
...
No matter how great a theory is, nature is the final judge of the theory.
--- p.185
In other words, the information held by one sheep is quickly transmitted to the entire flock, and the sheep that follow behind trust the information held by the sheep leading the flock and silently follow that path. This is an efficient way for the entire flock to quickly move to a better location.
It is also important to note that no particular sheep in the flock always leads the group, but rather any sheep with information can lead the next group movement.
An interesting conclusion is that combining democratic and hierarchical methods allows the flock to move efficiently.
--- p.197
The present time we live in is a very special time in the triangle relationship between Earth, Moon, and Sun.
As the moon moves away from the Earth, total solar eclipses will no longer be visible, although annular eclipses will be visible in the distant future.
Conversely, in the distant past, the moon was much closer than it is now, making an annular eclipse impossible to see.
We are currently in the golden age of the eclipse triangle, consisting of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, with both total and annular eclipses visible.
--- p.238
The value of science does not lie in certainty.
It's upside down.
The true value of science lies in its openness to doubt, its ability to engage in discussion, and its potential for further development.
The problem is that the doubts and skepticism that modern science speaks of are usually confined within the scientific community.
--- p.262
Publisher's Review
A physicist who is interested in worldly affairs
Discover the wonders of nature and the world, featuring cutting-edge research!
The first reason the author gives for why we should become familiar with science is that “science is fun and beautiful.”
Of course, science is a useful discipline that helps us in our daily lives and brings about technological advancements, but the activity and process itself are interesting and valuable, so let's pay attention to that.
In each article, the author demonstrates through entertaining examples how fascinating it is to discover simple order and principles in a complex and seemingly chaotic world.
For example, when I was a child, there were about 60 students in one of my classes, and there were always friends who had the same birthday.
How could such a coincidence exist? In fact, this is known in statistics as the "birthday problem." The probability of at least one pair of people sharing the same birthday in a group can be determined by a simple calculation: 1 minus the probability that all members have different birthdays.
If you do the math, the probability that a group of 60 people will have someone with the same birthday is 99.4%.
What seemed like a surprising coincidence, yet so surprising, was actually closer to inevitability. (The Birthday Problem: When Coincidence Becomes Inevitability)
The book explores the causes of natural phenomena, such as why there are two sexes instead of three, why lizards have such colorful scale patterns, and why relatively large earthquakes occur less frequently on old faults. It also explains how network science can be used to analyze the way defenders mark attackers in soccer matches, and why economic growth rates inevitably converge to zero.
We explore important scientific concepts and topics such as causality and correlation, physical forces like gravity, electromagnetism, and friction, how neurons work, feedback, and symmetry, and we also explore questions that everyone would be interested in, such as, "Am I truly an individual?" and "How can I live a long life in a short time?"
It also contains key explanations and outlooks on cutting-edge issues, including quantum computers and ChatGPT, as well as topics that are difficult to find in other popular science books, such as 'time crystals' and 'landscapes' in science.
“Science is not a cold gaze that unravels the rainbow piece by piece.
Even when viewed through the eyes of science, rainbows are still beautiful.
No, I think the rainbow is more beautiful when viewed through the eyes of science.
The beauty of science lies in its ability to allow us to contemplate, while looking at a beautiful rainbow, why the sky is blue, why the beautiful sunset is red, and why the clear water seen from above is blue.
“This book contains a physicist’s view of the world in a fun and wonderful way.” (From the preface)
From biology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, from a physics perspective
Hot science research stories
Scientists don't all work in huge research facilities, uncovering the deep secrets of the universe.
The book also presents several studies that, while simple, demonstrate the joy of scientific inquiry.
For example, the book's table of contents page includes a photo of a rock perched on a thin pillar of ice on frozen Lake Baikal.
How did this formation, commonly called "Baikal Zen" because it resembles a Zen monk lost in meditation, come about? Two scientists discovered how this formation, which rises high above the surrounding ice sheet and has a hollowed-out bottom, was formed "through experiments and numerical calculations," and the reader is led to the readily understandable explanation that the phenomenon was caused by radiation from the capstone (〈Ice Pillar with a Parasol〉). The slow sublimation of the capstone's blackbody radiation was the cause of this curious shape.
The book contains many passages introducing the latest research from other scientists working in various fields.
Although it is not long, it is an article that requires a considerable amount of time to read and digest the content of papers or articles.
This gives readers a glimpse into how scientific research is conducted and what ideas research in one field provides other scientists.
Because the background information is explained first and then the content of the paper is introduced, you can follow the content of the paper if you read it carefully and attentively.
The preface provides step-by-step guidance on how general readers can approach current scientific research and which media sources to seek out and read.
We also included a unique paper identifier (DOI) so that interested readers can find the actual paper introduced in the text.
“Sometimes, surprisingly simple mechanisms can be found amidst the complexity that reality presents.
No matter how complex nature may seem, science is the name of humanity's eternal and fierce effort to find simplicity within it.
“The way of physics is to try to connect many things into one.” (p. 211)
“The value of science lies not in certainty, but in its openness to doubt.”
Dreaming of a more rational and scientific society
The author cites the second reason why we must become familiar with science: “A scientific way of thinking is essential to rationally understand and make rational judgments about all the events that occur in the world.”
In particular, the writings in Part 6 contain the author's earnest wish for our society to become more scientific and rational.
In a time when scientific thinking is desperately needed, there are conflicting opinions about what constitutes a scientific attitude.
We need a scientific and rational approach to many issues, both large and small, including issues that will have a profound impact on all of humanity, such as climate change and the development of artificial intelligence, as well as the controversy surrounding the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, the risk of vaccines, and how to view foods advertised as having anti-cancer effects.
The author also cautions against excessive faith in the certainty of science.
“Contrary to popular belief, science does not provide 100 percent certainty.
It is simply a process of gathering the evidence so far, reaching the best tentative conclusion possible, and continuously improving that conclusion.
“The enemy of science is confidence in its goals.” (p. 281) Skepticism and a critical attitude are the most important values of science.
This also has significant implications for the recent uproar in our society over the discovery of a room-temperature, pressure-sensitive superconductor.
“Science is not the name of a place reached.
“It is the name given to a long journey that will continue forever.” I hope that readers will feel and enjoy the beauty of the scientific journey through this book.
“This book is for people who want to see everything in the world through the eyes of science.
I hope that readers of this book will remember the process and method of scientific progress rather than the detailed scientific content introduced in the book.
And I hope you will apply the methods and ways of thinking you have acquired from reading books directly to many things in the world you encounter.
“Because I believe that the more people look at the world through scientific eyes, the better the world will become.” (From the preface)
Discover the wonders of nature and the world, featuring cutting-edge research!
The first reason the author gives for why we should become familiar with science is that “science is fun and beautiful.”
Of course, science is a useful discipline that helps us in our daily lives and brings about technological advancements, but the activity and process itself are interesting and valuable, so let's pay attention to that.
In each article, the author demonstrates through entertaining examples how fascinating it is to discover simple order and principles in a complex and seemingly chaotic world.
For example, when I was a child, there were about 60 students in one of my classes, and there were always friends who had the same birthday.
How could such a coincidence exist? In fact, this is known in statistics as the "birthday problem." The probability of at least one pair of people sharing the same birthday in a group can be determined by a simple calculation: 1 minus the probability that all members have different birthdays.
If you do the math, the probability that a group of 60 people will have someone with the same birthday is 99.4%.
What seemed like a surprising coincidence, yet so surprising, was actually closer to inevitability. (The Birthday Problem: When Coincidence Becomes Inevitability)
The book explores the causes of natural phenomena, such as why there are two sexes instead of three, why lizards have such colorful scale patterns, and why relatively large earthquakes occur less frequently on old faults. It also explains how network science can be used to analyze the way defenders mark attackers in soccer matches, and why economic growth rates inevitably converge to zero.
We explore important scientific concepts and topics such as causality and correlation, physical forces like gravity, electromagnetism, and friction, how neurons work, feedback, and symmetry, and we also explore questions that everyone would be interested in, such as, "Am I truly an individual?" and "How can I live a long life in a short time?"
It also contains key explanations and outlooks on cutting-edge issues, including quantum computers and ChatGPT, as well as topics that are difficult to find in other popular science books, such as 'time crystals' and 'landscapes' in science.
“Science is not a cold gaze that unravels the rainbow piece by piece.
Even when viewed through the eyes of science, rainbows are still beautiful.
No, I think the rainbow is more beautiful when viewed through the eyes of science.
The beauty of science lies in its ability to allow us to contemplate, while looking at a beautiful rainbow, why the sky is blue, why the beautiful sunset is red, and why the clear water seen from above is blue.
“This book contains a physicist’s view of the world in a fun and wonderful way.” (From the preface)
From biology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, from a physics perspective
Hot science research stories
Scientists don't all work in huge research facilities, uncovering the deep secrets of the universe.
The book also presents several studies that, while simple, demonstrate the joy of scientific inquiry.
For example, the book's table of contents page includes a photo of a rock perched on a thin pillar of ice on frozen Lake Baikal.
How did this formation, commonly called "Baikal Zen" because it resembles a Zen monk lost in meditation, come about? Two scientists discovered how this formation, which rises high above the surrounding ice sheet and has a hollowed-out bottom, was formed "through experiments and numerical calculations," and the reader is led to the readily understandable explanation that the phenomenon was caused by radiation from the capstone (〈Ice Pillar with a Parasol〉). The slow sublimation of the capstone's blackbody radiation was the cause of this curious shape.
The book contains many passages introducing the latest research from other scientists working in various fields.
Although it is not long, it is an article that requires a considerable amount of time to read and digest the content of papers or articles.
This gives readers a glimpse into how scientific research is conducted and what ideas research in one field provides other scientists.
Because the background information is explained first and then the content of the paper is introduced, you can follow the content of the paper if you read it carefully and attentively.
The preface provides step-by-step guidance on how general readers can approach current scientific research and which media sources to seek out and read.
We also included a unique paper identifier (DOI) so that interested readers can find the actual paper introduced in the text.
“Sometimes, surprisingly simple mechanisms can be found amidst the complexity that reality presents.
No matter how complex nature may seem, science is the name of humanity's eternal and fierce effort to find simplicity within it.
“The way of physics is to try to connect many things into one.” (p. 211)
“The value of science lies not in certainty, but in its openness to doubt.”
Dreaming of a more rational and scientific society
The author cites the second reason why we must become familiar with science: “A scientific way of thinking is essential to rationally understand and make rational judgments about all the events that occur in the world.”
In particular, the writings in Part 6 contain the author's earnest wish for our society to become more scientific and rational.
In a time when scientific thinking is desperately needed, there are conflicting opinions about what constitutes a scientific attitude.
We need a scientific and rational approach to many issues, both large and small, including issues that will have a profound impact on all of humanity, such as climate change and the development of artificial intelligence, as well as the controversy surrounding the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, the risk of vaccines, and how to view foods advertised as having anti-cancer effects.
The author also cautions against excessive faith in the certainty of science.
“Contrary to popular belief, science does not provide 100 percent certainty.
It is simply a process of gathering the evidence so far, reaching the best tentative conclusion possible, and continuously improving that conclusion.
“The enemy of science is confidence in its goals.” (p. 281) Skepticism and a critical attitude are the most important values of science.
This also has significant implications for the recent uproar in our society over the discovery of a room-temperature, pressure-sensitive superconductor.
“Science is not the name of a place reached.
“It is the name given to a long journey that will continue forever.” I hope that readers will feel and enjoy the beauty of the scientific journey through this book.
“This book is for people who want to see everything in the world through the eyes of science.
I hope that readers of this book will remember the process and method of scientific progress rather than the detailed scientific content introduced in the book.
And I hope you will apply the methods and ways of thinking you have acquired from reading books directly to many things in the world you encounter.
“Because I believe that the more people look at the world through scientific eyes, the better the world will become.” (From the preface)
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: September 21, 2023
- Page count, weight, size: 288 pages | 372g | 135*210*18mm
- ISBN13: 9788934954972
- ISBN10: 8934954973
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