Why the Science Museum Recommends "Demian" and "1984": Top 10 Books to Read This Autumn
Gwacheon Science Museum Selects Top 10 Autumn Reads Through Five Key Questions on Humanity and the Future, Including "Who Am I?"
Instead of selecting science books, the Science Museum has chosen titles such as Hermann Hesse's "Demian," George Orwell's "1984," and Kim Seung-Ok's "Record of Mujin" as recommended reading for the autumn season. In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms assist human decision-making, the intent is to revisit the question, "Who are we as humans, and how do we think and make choices?" through books.
On September 9, the National Gwacheon Science Museum announced its selection of the "Top 10 Recommended Books for Autumn." During a content strategy meeting in which museum staff participated, five key questions were formulated, and two books were chosen for each question.
For the first question, "Who am I?," "Demian" and "Record of Mujin" were selected. For "Do I think and feel?," the chosen titles were Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow," which explores the two systems of thought—intuition and reason—in humans, and Lisa Feldman Barrett's "How Emotions Are Made," which examines how the brain constructs emotions.
For the question, "Where do I stand?," the recommendations were Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" and Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower." In response to "Can humans make choices?," "1984" and John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" were selected.
For books that encourage reflection on the future, Douglas Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach" and Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass" were chosen.
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Chungwon Lee, Director of the National Gwacheon Science Museum, stated, "Even in an age when AI and data assist our decision-making and choices, it is still up to people to determine what to think about and which questions to pursue," adding, "I hope these books offer an opportunity to see oneself and the world from a new perspective."
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