A creator’s home

Sophus
Smithe.

Science, philosophy, books and art.
A place for the ideas I develop and the things I make.

Explore the work
The black-and-white Sophus Smithe taegeuk, with two opposing inner circles
01 / The taegeukOne identity. Many forms.
LifeInformationRecursionChangeCreation

A scientific background.
A wider creative life.

I am Jong Bhak, a professor of biomedical engineering at UNIST. My scientific work is in bioinformatics, genomics and aging.

Sophus Smithe is the home for my writing, philosophy and visual work. It brings these different parts of my life together.

Academic background at UNIST

Small parts.
Larger patterns.

How do living systems change? How is information organized? How can simple interactions give rise to complex things? These questions connect my scientific interests, writing and art.

01

Recursion

The same pattern can appear at different scales. Recursive Switch is a visual exploration of a switch made of switches, whose components are themselves switches.

02

Change

Life is always changing. I use writing and diagrams to explore evolution, opposing forces and the ways we understand change.

03

Connection

Science, philosophy and art offer different ways to examine a question. I bring them together here without asking them to become the same thing.

Current writing

Contravolution

A book project exploring evolution, change and the ways we understand living systems.

Manuscript in development

This is also a place for essays, notes and ideas as the work develops.

Contact me about the writing

Thinking in shapes.

Recursive Switch: a large circle containing two smaller open switches, with diagonal arms at successive scales

Recursive Switch

Switches of switches of switches.

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A vivid red upper taegeuk and blue lower taegeuk, with opposite-colored inner circles

The taegeuk, in color

Shocking red. Electric blue.

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Some ideas become things.

The Sophus shop is one channel for my designs, starting with taegeuk and flag T-shirts.

Visit the Sophus shop