Year: 2007

Student salons are still worth doing

Life & Notes2007.04.17
Student salons are still worth doing
At today’s teaching discussion meeting, the matter of last year’s student salon came up by chance. It was held three times and then no more. As for why it was stopped, ZW seemed to have said something about the reasons; I wasn’t paying close attention. But after I got back, I kept thinking about it, and I always felt it was a pity that the student salon had been discontinued. From what Teacher Li said, the department still planned to provide support, which shows that the halt would not have been caused by obstacles from the department; the main issue was that the students no longer wanted to do it….
everyday life scholarship education public sphere
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2007年4月17日
On the Discussion on the Teachers’ Blogs: Is Palmistry Materialism?

History of Science & Scholarship2007.04.16
On the Discussion on the Teachers’ Blogs: Is Palmistry Materialism?
It seems like a fallacy 1: Is palm reading materialism? 2007-04-08 10:37:38 http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/48c5bb42010009el For many years now, there have been many muddled notions popular in China that need to be cleared up slowly. For example, many people regard reading palms to predict fate as idealism and criticize it. Whether predicting fate by palm reading is accurate and effective, I have not studied it, so I dare not offer a verdict. The information on the palm may be able to reflect fate; in theory that is not easy to accept and is hard to reconcile with modern science. But even if it is superstition, nonsense, and utter rubbish, does it therefore…
science Marx scientism materialism
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2007年4月16日
Is “Xincai” Being Released Again?

Life & Notes2007.04.15
Is “Xincai” Being Released Again?
I heard that the junior and sophomore members still want to keep *Xincai* going, and I’m overcome with mixed feelings. As a veteran of *Xincai*, I always feel I ought to say something, but when the words come to my lips, I don’t know where to begin. So let me just offer a few random reflections. I dug out from my computer the six issues of *Xincai* that I laid out: November 11, 2004; December 1, 2004; December 31, 2004; March 21, 2005; April 30, 2005; May 30, 2005. Doing *Xincai* may have been the most meaningful thing I did in my first year of college, because through *Xincai* I…
everyday life culture blog
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2007年4月15日
On Music and Poetry

Culture & Public Commentary2007.04.13
On Music and Poetry
I know very little about music, and I don’t listen to much of it either. But that is not to say that I seldom have music on. In fact, whether I’m reading or writing, online or wandering about, I generally have music playing. In terms of time spent, I certainly don’t listen to music less than other people. The thing is, I often only need to listen to a few pieces over and over again; they rarely grow tiresome, and I’m often too lazy to switch them out. I may well spend months repeatedly listening to the same set of music, so all told the number of pieces I’ve listened…
culture China music Buddhism
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2007年4月13日
This Issue’s Music: Peasant Dance

Life & Notes2007.04.12
This Issue’s Music: Peasant Dance
Peasant Dance http://hyl510.googlepages.com/dtq05.MP3 Among classical instruments, aside from the piano, the one I’m most captivated by is the cello. This dance piece feels a bit hurried, but it seems to suit my recent mood rather well. Gentle, fervent, peasant, noble, joyous.
everyday life music
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2007年4月12日
The 400th blog post~

Site Matters2007.04.12
The 400th blog post~
From the 200th blog post to this 400th one (the counter on the right side of the page is malfunctioning; besides, I also counted a few private posts), it has been exactly one year. At that time the blog’s word count had already passed 500,000; now it probably ought to be breaking one million. But at present I can no longer export a backup file, and I wonder whether this is a common problem or simply because my blog has become too large. This year has been, quite precisely, the worst one in my life in spiritual terms, and I have been sinking deeper and deeper. Only recently…
scholarship blog value website
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2007年4月12日
Outline for the First Discussion in the Introduction to Philosophy of Technology

AI & the Future of Technology2007.04.12
Outline for the First Discussion in the Introduction to Philosophy of Technology
Instructions: 1. Every student enrolled in the course must prepare carefully in light of the lecture notes and assigned readings, and take an active part in discussion. This discussion class is also a quiz, and the grade will account for 20% of the final course grade. Anyone absent will receive a score of 0. Anyone who attends class but does not speak will receive a score of 0. 2. Audit students are welcome to prepare carefully and participate actively in discussion. 3. Every question should be prepared seriously, but questions in which one has greater interest and for which one has a stronger knowledge base may be given priority. Everyone…
philosophy technology Introduction to Philosophy of Technology
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2007年4月12日
Return to Weiming Lake!

Life & Notes2007.04.10
Return to Weiming Lake!
I remember that during this period two years ago, every day I would carry three or five books on my back and sit by the shore of Weiming Lake or the lake in Langrun Garden for an entire afternoon. When I grew tired of reading, I would gaze at the water for a while, staying until evening or even sunset, and only after I had finished several books would I leave—both carefree and at ease, and astonishingly efficient. For more than a year, although I would occasionally still wander around Weiming Lake, whenever I walked by the lake there was always a heavy shadow pressing on my heart. Several times…
everyday life Peking University Chinese script
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2007年4月10日
Ethics Course on the Life-and-Death Question: Second Assignment — On the Value of Life

Philosophy & Thought2007.04.08
Ethics Course on the Life-and-Death Question: Second Assignment — On the Value of Life
Choose one of the following four questions for discussion: 1. Is life itself valuable, or is life merely a necessary condition for other values? 2. If life itself is valuable, why? What kind of value does life have? 3. If it is precisely life itself that is valuable, does that mean all living beings possess value equally? 4. If only certain beings have value, what is the basis for drawing such a limit? Is life itself valuable, or is life merely a necessary condition for other values? It is worth noting that these four questions are arranged in a progressive sequence: if one does not accept the previous position, then…
philosophy value virtue life
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2007年4月8日
Celtic Civilization and Ireland

Life & Notes2007.04.08
Celtic Civilization and Ireland
UINC said she likes the grasslands of Ireland—what is so special about the Irish grasslands? Perhaps it is because Irish music (such as bagpipes) and Irish poetry (such as Yeats) are so impressive. But on this tiny speck of land called Ireland, what exactly is so special about her music and poetry, her nation and culture? If I just say Irish music, I can’t quite bring it to mind, but if I say Celtic music, then I know what it’s about. I once used a certain piece of background music for a while, and it was dismissed by UNIC as “the background music doesn’t seem quite good. A bit noisy~…
everyday life history music
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2007年4月8日