Prologue: Life, Study, and Times of Trial and Error
The video begins with a deep conversation about Professor Kim Sang-wook's 30 years of research and the principles of learning. Professor Kim emphasizes that the turbulent times we experience in life are never wasted.
"Life is like that too. If you look back, there are times of stumbling around, and while you're going through them, it feels like a waste of time and you wonder why you're suffering -- but looking back, you realize they were things you had to go through."
Just as in academic life, if a possibility remains open, there must be a reason for it, and we need to organize and understand things on our own.
Interview Preparation and Introduction of Professor Kim
Host Choi Sung-hoon heads to Kyung Hee University to interview Professor Kim Sang-wook. Along the way, he introduces features of the Kia EV4 electric car and shows the interview preparation process with his producer colleague. Professor Kim is introduced as a physicist and public science communicator who has worked to popularize science through various broadcasts and publications.
"He's a physicist, but can someone really be this rich in humanistic sensibility? He's well-known as that kind of person..."
Childhood Curiosity and Choosing Physics
Professor Kim explains that his curiosity about quantum mechanics led him to major in physics. He was so captivated by quantum mechanics that he read a single book more than 50 times. He initially planned to study chemistry, but a teacher's advice redirected him to physics.
"My teacher heard my questions and said, 'What you keep asking about isn't chemistry -- it's physics, physics.' So I realized, ah, the questions I want to ask are physics."
However, after entering university, he felt overwhelmed by the difficulty of studies and the limitations of traditional teaching methods.
"When I got to the physics department, I felt a bit overwhelmed. There were many people better than me, and it was really hard. What I wanted wasn't like this..."
The Importance of Fundamental Questions and Study Methods
Professor Kim emphasizes how important it is to ask fundamental questions, and how understanding historical context is essential in that process.
"If you read the history, all the questions worth asking about a problem have already been asked. But those questions either weren't considered important or went unanswered for various reasons, and what remains now is what's left..."
He realized that studying in your own way is ultimately the best approach.
"Eventually, I came to understand many things, I understood why those technical elements were necessary, and now I understand it all -- but at the time, it was incredibly difficult."
The Courage and Process of Forging New Paths
Professor Kim discusses people who forge new paths. He emphasizes that even great scientists like Einstein, Newton, and Kepler achieved their breakthroughs only after long periods of trial, error, and effort.
"People think Einstein came up with things in a flash, but that's not true at all. He studied electromagnetism obsessively, discovered contradictions between electromagnetism and Newtonian mechanics, tried to fix electromagnetism over and over... and only after realizing it couldn't be fixed did he finally wonder, 'What if Newton was wrong?'"
In this process, courage, persistence, and sheer hard work are essential.
"You have to find and understand everything, which requires enormous time and a tremendous amount of grinding. And you have to do it joyfully. You're only doing it right if you find it fun."
The Researcher's Question: The Boundary Between Quantum and Classical Mechanics
The question that dominated Professor Kim's research career was the boundary between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics.
- Classical mechanics explains the macroscopic world (large objects like us).
- Quantum mechanics explains the microscopic world (atoms, electrons, etc.).
- The fundamental question of where the boundary lies and how the transition occurs was the starting point of his research.
"It's one question. The boundary between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics. It was like that from the beginning, and throughout my entire research career..."
To solve this question, he studied chaos theory and quantum chaos, crossing various systems and disciplines.
"Because I was interested in boundaries, any system that could properly reveal the boundary was good for me. That's why I crossed many subfields."
The Loneliness of a Researcher and the Meaning of a Data Point
Professor Kim honestly confesses about the loneliness of being a researcher and the fact that even a lifetime of dedication may only yield a single data point.
"My job is to create one small data point. It's like wanting to know if climate crisis is really coming -- you need to accumulate data from every region on Earth over a very long time. My work involves this enormous question of the boundary problem, and the data it needs... some of that data comes from quantum chaos..."
He explains that the accumulation of such small data points ultimately builds humanity's knowledge.
"Getting even one data point isn't easy. Going to the Arctic to extract just this one thing... a person spends their entire life and in the end leaves behind one data point from one specific spot in the Arctic. But because there are thousands, tens of thousands of such people, all that data can be collected together..."
Scientific Thinking and Society
Professor Kim explains what scientific thinking is and why society needs it.
"Science is a methodology that draws conclusions based solely on material evidence. That material evidence has certain conditions -- it must be reproducible and objective. It can't be subjective. That's what science is."
He emphasizes the importance of rational skepticism and critical thinking, arguing that society absolutely needs such people.
"If someone doubts what everyone else doesn't doubt, that person is needed in that society. That's a person with a scientific mindset."
The Importance of Attitude and Understanding Humanity
Professor Kim stresses the importance of attitude. No matter how correct your words are, a disrespectful attitude can breed conflict.
"Anger and frustration are far more often caused by attitude than by content. The key is for both sides to maintain proper attitude and courtesy in conversation -- that's how you can actually implement scientific thinking."
He also says the essence of studying the humanities is about loving and understanding humans.
"If you can love humans -- if you can love other humans unconditionally -- then you don't need to study, someone told me. Because it's a field that tries to love and understand humans..."
Natural science is the same -- loving and observing nature is what true learning is about.
"I tell my students: you sit there solving physics problems all day, but lift your head and look at the sky. The natural science you're studying is all right there..."
Fun and Living Together as a Society
Professor Kim acknowledges that fun is the driving force that propels him forward, while also emphasizing the importance of living together as a society.
"I believe that everyone I meet has to be happy for me to be happy. For my own happiness, others need to be happy too."
He learned through his experience in Germany that individual happiness and community happiness cannot be separated.
Epilogue: Reflecting After the Interview
As the interview concludes, Professor Kim expresses gratitude for the time to look back on his research journey.
"I feel like I said everything that was in my heart today, so I'm really satisfied..."
The host also notes that today's experience will be a great help in his own life, and reflects on the preciousness of breaking molds and having new experiences.
Key Summary & Principles of Learning
- Study and life are a continuous series of trial, error, and stumbling.
- It's important to ask fundamental questions and understand historical context.
- Study in your own way, finding fun in the process.
- Forging new paths requires courage, persistence, and effort.
- A researcher may only leave behind one data point in a lifetime, but those small accumulations become humanity's knowledge.
- Scientific thinking is grounded in rational skepticism, critical thinking, and respectful attitude.
- Both the humanities and natural sciences begin with love and observation.
- Individual happiness is connected to the happiness of the community.
"Eventually, I came to understand many things, I understood why those technical elements were necessary, and now I understand it all -- but at the time, it was incredibly difficult."
"My job is to create one small data point. Getting even one data point isn't easy."
"Science is a methodology that draws conclusions based solely on material evidence."
"I believe that everyone I meet has to be happy for me to be happy."
This video contains deep insights on study and life, research and society, and what it means to be human. Professor Kim Sang-wook's candid experiences and advice invite us to reconsider the essence of learning and the meaning of living together.