Year: 2007

Robert E.D. Clark: “Science and Christian Faith”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.26
Robert E.D. Clark: “Science and Christian Faith”
Robert E.D. Clark: “Science and Christian Faith,” trans. Huang Huo, Life Meaning Press This odd little book was picked up secondhand on Kongfuzi, and it seems not to be a proper publication, because apart from the author, translator, and publisher, all other publication information, including the date of publication, is missing. The publisher is based in Hong Kong, but the book is in simplified Chinese. Even so, it comes from the renowned Catholic Fu Jen University, not from some ordinary street-preaching pamphlet, and it has a certain scholarly quality. Page105 and following Let us list some of the ways faith enters into science: 1. Scientists must believe that there…
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2007年1月26日
[U.S.] Charles Simpson: “Doing Scholarship Honestly—From Freshman to Professor”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.26
[U.S.] Charles Simpson: “Doing Scholarship Honestly—From Freshman to Professor”
[U.S.] Charles Simpson: “Doing Scholarship Honestly — From Freshman Year to Professor,” trans. Gao Yuanbao and Li Xiaojie, East China Normal University Press, July 2006 This book is utterly meaningless to me, but I still bought it: first, to keep as part of my collection; second, to see whether it was worth recommending to others (the verdict: not much need). The book is simply about the most basic standards of integrity and norms in college study and research. Honesty is not a skill, but merely an attitude; many things ought to be known without being taught. Of course, after all, young people’s self-awareness is not always sufficient, so these old…
book reading notes scholarship education
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2007年1月26日
[U.S.] George Marsden: “Understanding American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism”

Culture & Public Commentary2007.01.26
[U.S.] George Marsden: “Understanding American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism”
[U.S.] George Marsden: *Understanding American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism* Xing Ding posted on 2007-01-26 00:20:35 [U.S.] George Marsden: *Understanding American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism*, translated by Song Jijie, proofread by Chen Zuoren, Central Compilation & Translation Press, May 2004 Introduction, p. 1 Fundamentalists are evangelical believers who are furious about certain things. That sounds simple, yet it is extremely precise. Jerry Falwell even took it as a vivid definition of fundamentalism. Introduction, p. 4 The basic beliefs of evangelicalism include (1) the Reformation doctrine of the Bible’s ultimate authority; (2) the Bible’s record of God’s real, historical acts of salvation; (3) the salvation of eternal life on the basis of Christ’s atonement;…
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2007年1月26日
Tension Is Harmony

Culture & Public Commentary2007.01.25
Tension Is Harmony
The term “tension” often appears in academic discussions, but as a concept it is by no means abstruse; it can be understood directly in its literal sense: “Zhang” refers to a state of “tension.” Imagine a rubber band, or better yet a taut violin string—that is “tension.” “Harmony” is the word best suited to describe music. Thus a very simple fact is this: only when a string is under an appropriate degree of tension can it produce harmonious tones. If the tension is too great and the string snaps, or if the tension is too slight and the string slackens, then it cannot be played. Many paired categories, such as…
culture science faith
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2007年1月25日
[U.S.] George O. Abel et al., Science and the Weird

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.24
[U.S.] George O. Abel et al., Science and the Weird
[U.S.] George O. Abel et al., *Science and the Strange*, jointly translated and compiled by the China Institute of Popular Science Research, Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, September 1989 I picked up this old book on Kongfuzi.com (its condition is rather poor; it seems to have been soaked in water, though that does not affect reading it). This book was written by many renowned scientists in an effort to push back against mystical science. It deals with astrology, water monsters and wild men, spiritualism, paranormal powers, witchcraft therapy, the Bermuda Triangle, aliens, UFOs, and other fashionable doctrines of mystical science. Besides a few specialist scientists from various fields, the authors…
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2007年1月24日
[U.S.] Neil Postman: “The Disappearance of Childhood” —☆

AI & the Future of Technology2007.01.24
[U.S.] Neil Postman: “The Disappearance of Childhood” —☆
[American] Neil Postman: *The Disappearance of Childhood*, translated by Wu Yanlian, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2004 This is also one of those books from which I can hardly bear not to excerpt everything; I strongly recommend it! However, since I already made Postman’s *Amusing Ourselves to Death* one of the “Little Ancient Quarterly Recommendations,” I won’t designate this one as a “quarterly recommendation” as well. Like *Amusing Ourselves to Death*, *The Disappearance of Childhood* also takes media criticism as its theme, but its perspective is quite different—*Amusing Ourselves to Death* is concerned with the passing of reason and thought, whereas *The Disappearance of Childhood* is concerned with the passing of…
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2007年1月24日
[Japan] Yamazaki Shigeaki: Misconduct by Scientists—Fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.23
[Japan] Yamazaki Shigeaki: Misconduct by Scientists—Fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism
[Japan] Yamasaki Shigeaki: “Misconduct by Scientists—Fabrication, Falsification, Plagiarism,” translated by Yang Jian Cheng Yuanyuan Yan Lingna, Tsinghua University Press, May 2005 This book is not bad, but compared with the one in the Eight Facets of the Wind series, *People Who Betrayed the Truth*, it is probably still far inferior. As the authors of these two books have both made clear, exposing scientists’ misconduct is by no means motivated by some kind of “schadenfreude,” nor is it a form of entertainment, like a tabloid reporter exposing scandals. Rather, it is about facing up to problems and prompting thought. Scientists are not gods; as human beings, they will always make mistakes…
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2007年1月23日
[Eng] Merrill Davis: “Darwin and Fundamentalism”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.23
[Eng] Merrill Davis: “Darwin and Fundamentalism”
[English] Merrell Davis: Darwin and Fundamentalism, translated by Zhang Zengyi, Peking University Press, March 2005 I had read this book once before, but apparently I didn’t take any notes. Today I reread it at great speed. A couple of random remarks, by the way: this “Postmodern Confrontation Series” is, in terms of content, all quite good, but… alas, such a thin little book, with only 70,000 characters, already takes 5.375 sheets, and still costs 12.8 yuan! Also, Mr. Jin Wulun’s general preface to the series and Mr. Wang Zhihe’s Chinese translation preface are of course very good, and generally speaking they are not especially long in terms of word count,…
book reading notes history of science faith
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2007年1月23日
[French] Émile Noël: “Darwinism Today”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.23
[French] Émile Noël: “Darwinism Today”
[Fr.] Émile Noël: “Darwinism Today,” trans. Zhu Xiaojie, Peking University Press, April 2000 Reading this book was basically just to pad the list; for such a slim little volume, I didn’t read it through from cover to cover either. The book consists of a set of interviews about Darwinism, but although it is in interview form, it still feels a bit dull to read—perhaps because I didn’t read it carefully enough. This book is only a beginning. During this winter break I will read many more books about evolution, focusing on the relationship between modern biology and religion. This will serve as an important part of my principal’s fund paper—if…
book reading notes Peking University evolution
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2007年1月23日
[U.S.] Joseph Mazur: “Euclid in the Rainforest—A Narrative Brief History of Mathematics”—★

History of Science & Scholarship2007.01.22
[U.S.] Joseph Mazur: “Euclid in the Rainforest—A Narrative Brief History of Mathematics”—★
[U.S.] Joseph Mazur: *Euclid in the Rainforest—A Storyed Short History of Mathematics*, translated by Wu Fei, Chongqing Publishing Group, Chongqing Publishing House, December 2006 A new installment of Xiaogu’s quarterly recommendations has appeared! This is the most surprising, most unusual popular science book I have read in recent years! It is no exaggeration at all to say that the chair of Harvard’s mathematics department commented that the author “has pioneered a highly attractive way of writing”; at the very least, I have never read anything remotely like this style of popular science writing! The subtitle and the review of this book may easily give one the wrong impression—that this is…
book reading notes logic proof
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2007年1月22日