[One Sip of a Book] Death, Disease, Aging, Forgetting, Love, Farewell... 'Against the Gravity of My Life'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader’s heart, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books. - Editor’s note

This book deeply explores how science helps us accept and understand unavoidable gravitational situations such as death, illness, aging, forgetting, love, and separation. Rather than becoming powerless against fate, it introduces and reads together over 70 of the latest science books that enable us to love more passionately, strive, struggle, and view life positively. One of the tremendous advantages of this book is that it allows readers to thoroughly digest more than 70 very meaningful recent domestic and international science books, advancing beyond Carl Sagan’s 1980s publication, Cosmos. It addresses about 30 philosophical questions such as “What is a human?” and “How should we live?” over approximately 310 pages.

Each person has different innate genes, different microorganisms inside their body, and different living environments. Invisible forces govern us in the universe. Scientists have identified various indicators that intervene in a person’s life. Our behavior and personality arise from the interaction of genes, microbiota, hormones, neurotransmitters, and the environment. Bill Sullivan confesses, “As I studied the hidden forces behind our behavior, I became convinced that almost everything we think we know about ourselves is wrong.” Science thus makes us doubt the ‘self’ we think we know. The path to meeting the true self is not easy. It is difficult to accept new scientific facts while reading science books. Changing ingrained thoughts is no small feat. 《Na-reul Na-dapge Mandeuneun Geotdeul》 (Things That Make Me Myself) scientifically explains these human limitations as well. It says the human brain is a ‘bundle of prejudices full of biases.’ We are a species that appeared by chance in the process of evolution. Our brain did not evolve rationally or correctly. We must first acknowledge that our brain is a product of evolution, freeing ourselves from the illusion that it is perfect.

The death of a loved one or being humiliated in front of others is called ‘social pain.’ It is said that Tylenol prescriptions are effective for this kind of emotional pain. Why is that? Experimental results showed that the neural circuits activated when feeling social pain are the same as those activated when feeling physical pain. Social pain and physical pain are connected through the nervous system. However, most people tend to ignore social pain. (Omitted) For example, the proverb ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is incorrect. Gossip can hurt the mind just as sticks and stones can break bones. On the other hand, the power of ‘a warm word’ goes beyond warmth. It gives the strength to save a person’s life. The joy felt when hearing good words from others fills a hungry stomach and revitalizes us because our brain’s reward system is activated that way. Just as the pain of separation is bitter, fair treatment is as sweet as chocolate. The brain reacts so sensitively to kindness, respect, and fairness revealed in human relationships.

Against the Gravity of My Life | Written by Jeong In-gyeong | Published by Hankyoreh Publishing | 312 pages | 16,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.