A little wonder, every day

Why Lem began medical studies

Титульна AI-згенерована ілюстрація / AI-generated cover illustration. An anonymous student with technical drawings reflects Lem’s recalled academic crossroads; the person is not Lem.

AI-generated generic engineering entrance exam scene, evoking the polytechnic exam Lem recalled passing.

AI-generated generic university lecture illustrating the medical studies Lem later entered.

documentary portrait of Lem in 1966 with a mechanical toy and books, courtesy of his secretary Wojciech Zemek. Commons reproduces permission from the Lem estate and lists CC BY-SA 3.0 plus GFDL; use CC BY-SA 3.0, attribution “Stanisław Lem / courtesy of Wojciech Zemek / CC BY-SA 3.0”; unedited. [Original page](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanis%C5%82aw_Lem.jpg); [license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

documentary photo by Mariusz Kubik, 30 October 2005. Commons lists CC BY-SA 3.0 and CC BY 2.5; use CC BY 2.5, attribution “Mariusz Kubik / CC BY 2.5”; unedited. [Original page](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanislaw_Lem_by_Kubik.JPG); [license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/).

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Титульна AI-згенерована ілюстрація / AI-generated cover illustration. An anonymous student with technical drawings reflects Lem’s recalled academic crossroads; the person is not Lem.

Listen to fact0:00 / —

Stanisław Lem recalled that he passed the entrance exam for Lwów Polytechnic but was not admitted because of his father’s wealthy, “bourgeois” background. According to Lem, his father used his connections to help him enter medical studies, although Lem himself was not very keen to study medicine.