In this blog post, we’ll explore the principles and possibilities demonstrated by Pranav Mistry’s “Sixth Sense” technology, which sought to connect the physical and digital worlds using hand gestures, projectors, and cameras. From Movie Scenes to Real-World Technology In the 2002 film ‘Minority Report’, the protagonist, Tom Cruise, operates a computer system using hand gestures...
Is a Volunteer Military System Really Necessary for South Korea?
In this blog post, I will examine the philosophical and practical debates surrounding the introduction of a volunteer military system and consider whether such a system is truly appropriate given South Korea’s security environment and social conditions. How did the debate over a volunteer military system begin? Long ago, candidate Kim Doo-gwan, who ran in the Democratic United Party’s...
Why does mobile wireless communication use radio waves, and how have radio waves driven the advancement of communication technology?
In this blog post, we’ll examine the types and characteristics of electromagnetic waves and explore how the development of radio waves, in particular, has influenced the advancement of mobile wireless communication. What are electromagnetic waves and radio waves? In just a few years since the advent of smartphones, mobile wireless communication has become an indispensable part of our daily...
Why can we say that chemical engineering is the foundation of all aspects of daily life?
In this blog post, I’d like to examine the role of chemical engineering—which begins with the science of chemistry to understand the properties of matter and connects them to actual products and production processes—from the perspective of the science of daily life. How does chemistry explain the properties of matter? Friends who aren’t engineering majors might picture thick textbooks, lab...
Are all living organisms selfish in every situation?
In this blog post, I will examine the significance of Richard Dawkins’ ‘The Selfish Gene’ in explaining evolution and biological behavior, and critically assess whether the behavior of all living organisms can be explained solely by the selfishness of genes. The Perspectives of Evolution and the Selfish Gene How did we become the humans we are today? After satisfying their...
A Spear That Pierces Any Shield: How Far Have the Risks and Detection Techniques for Nanomaterials Advanced?
In this blog post, we will examine the exceptional properties of nanomaterials, along with the risks they pose to human health and the environment—including carbon nanotubes—issues related to exposure during production and use, and the biomolecule-based detection techniques developed to identify them. Why Have Nanomaterials Opened Up New Possibilities? It is often said that if the 20th...
As the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome.” How did the Roman Empire’s infrastructure develop?
In this blog post, we’ll examine the infrastructure and civil engineering of the Roman Empire—with a focus on ancient Roman roads and aqueducts—to see how they contributed to the empire’s development. Civil Engineering and the Infrastructure of the Roman Empire Civil engineering is the field of engineering concerned with the construction and management of social overhead capital (SOC)...
What is the arch-nemesis of all mechanical devices, and why is unbalanced mass dangerous?
In this blog post, we’ll examine the roles of motors and rotating shafts—key components of mechanical devices—and explore the principles behind how unbalanced mass causes vibration and damage in these devices, as well as the importance of balancing to mitigate these issues. What is the relationship between machines and motors? We are now in the 21st century—the era of machines and...
How can conscience—something everyone is familiar with—overcome human selfishness?
In this blog post, I’ll examine why we tend to condemn selfish human behavior through the concept of “conscience,” and consider how the free-rider problem that arises in group projects can be mitigated from the perspective of conscience. Why Do People Act Selfishly? In 2016, when the entire nation was in an uproar over the so-called “Choi Soon-sil influence-peddling scandal,” the media...
The Immune System and AIDS: How Do They Weaken Our Body’s Immunity?
In this blog post, we will examine the basic principles of the immune system and the infectious diseases that have long threatened humanity, and explore how HIV damages the immune system, leading to AIDS. The Terror of Infectious Diseases and the Discovery of the Immune System Throughout humanity’s history spanning millions of years, infectious diseases have always been a source of fear...