[This Week's Books] 'The Eye for 1%' and 5 More Titles

◆A 1% Perspective=The impact of ChatGPT is surging strongly. As practical applications increase, there is great interest in its potential uses. However, there are also significant errors that humans must correct, such as answering “Shin Saimdang’s husband is Yi Sun-sin.” The author, a senior journalist at Esquire, pays close attention to these phenomena from various angles. The book details how algorithms and artificial intelligence are exerting enormous influence in everyday fields ranging from entertainment to medicine. It emphasizes that the power to stimulate our curiosity and imagination lies within ourselves, introducing numerous creative discoveries by experts the author personally interviewed and studied. Additionally, the often overlooked “human insight” is described with a witty writing style. (Written by Chris Jones · Chusubat)

◆Baek Nak-cheong Conversation Records 8=This collection gathers dialogues including roundtable talks, interviews, discussions, and Q&A sessions involving Baek Nak-cheong (白樂晴), an emeritus professor at Seoul National University and literary critic. Baek Nak-cheong, who left a profound mark on Korean cultural movements by founding the quarterly magazine Creation and Criticism, participated in conversations spanning over 50 years from January 1968 to August 2022. The book also includes debates and interviews. For Baek Nak-cheong, “conversation (hoe-hwa, 會話)” encompasses various forms of dialogue and discussion. The author explains that since Baek considers contributing to the operation of “collective intelligence” an important part of life, recently his main work seems to have shifted from writing to conversing with predecessors, contemporaries, and successors. The book introduces conversations with intellectuals representing diverse fields such as media, literature, labor, and women’s issues, across generations from elders to youth. (Written by Baek Nak-cheong Conversation Records Publication Committee · Changbi)

◆Chip War: Who Will Be the Ultimate Winner of the Semiconductor War?=Just as the 20th century cannot be understood without oil, it is impossible to envision the 21st century without semiconductors. Known as the “rice of industry,” semiconductors have deeply penetrated daily life, becoming a core factor influencing everything from home appliances to digital technology, artificial intelligence, national security, and the overall industry and economy. The author, an expert in international affairs, covers the history of semiconductors extensively. From the birth of semiconductors 70 years ago to the semiconductor hegemony battle between the U.S. and China, the fierce technological competition among South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Silicon Valley, and future strategies, the book offers a broad examination. It comprehensively covers the current complex global situation surrounding semiconductors not only from technological and industrial perspectives but also political, economic, and military aspects. (Written by Chris Miller · Bookie)

◆Why They Could Not Become the Final Winners=This is a historical narrative introduced by an economist. The author, an economist and game theory expert, reinterprets history through game theory. According to the author, game theory is a discipline that systematically and deeply studies the “strategies” and “choices” people plan and execute. Having long devoted himself to game theory, the author analyzes the wrong decisions made by historical figures at critical moments from the perspective of game theory. The 13 figures introduced in the book mostly left significant marks on history but experienced failures in war or governance. The author states, “Even histories remembered as great failures are rarely 100% wrong. Most failures were due to a 1% shortfall that was overlooked,” and analyzes the causes of that 1%. Furthermore, the book suggests methods that should have been taken to achieve victory. (Written by Han Soon-gu · Samsung Global Research)

◆A Dictionary of Fear and Madness=This is an introductory book about phobias and mania. It introduces 99 phobias and obsessive compulsions related to madness, ranging from evolutionary instincts like ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) and arachnophobia (fear of spiders) to suppressed desires such as tulipomania, pseudologia fantastica (pathological lying), and pyromania. The author focuses on how humans, beginning to explore their “inner selves,” have justified their existence through narratives within phobias and madness discovered or invented in fields like medicine and literature. The book examines chilling traces left by human evolution and individual histories. It also draws out fascinating stories beyond fear and madness through original historical research, offering a chance to glimpse the most common anxiety disorders of our time. New symptoms such as nominomania (compulsion to name), shouting compulsion, monophobia (fear of being alone), and hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (fear of long words) are also notable. (Written by Kate Summerscale · Hankyoreh Publishing)

◆The Light of Memory=The novel focuses on 14-year-old Nathaniel and his sister Rachel, who live in London separated from their parents in the year 1945, when World War II ended. The story begins when a trunk belonging to their mother, who left abroad with their father due to an overseas assignment, is found in the basement. The narrative unfolds with the appearance of unfamiliar characters, kidnappings, and the mother suddenly becoming a spy and appearing before the children, creating continuous tension and twists. The original title, Warlight, refers to the faint light used during wartime blackouts to illuminate the way in pitch darkness. Set in Britain during a period still affected by World War II, the novel depicts people who loved, fought, and acted in the darkness and their memories. (Written by Michael Ondaatje · Minumsa)