Year: 2009

Communication and Chess

History of Science & Scholarship2009.09.12
Communication and Chess
At times, people put to me a question in different ways: in communication, how do I view or handle the status relation between the two sides of a dialogue? For instance, in speaking with teachers and elders, must one inevitably look up to them, or, correspondingly, when speaking with juniors, does one unconsciously have to look down from a position of superiority? This is especially so lately with some younger students who communicate with me: they cannot help but face such a contradiction. They expect some kind of equal dialogue and do not wish always to be in a weak position, yet to try to counter my own forcefulness in…
scholarship discussion equality experts
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2009年9月12日
09-09-11

Life & Notes2009.09.11
09-09-11
Unless there are any unforeseen changes, tomorrow the Xindao Salon will continue operating as usual; if no one else is around, I’ll leave in the evening, but I’ll definitely be there at noon and in the afternoon. The new semester will continue to unfold the opening序幕 of my zodiac year’s departure. The neglect of this summer will be somewhat improved, and the blog will also resume a regular rhythm of updates. Of course I haven’t forgotten to commemorate the day three years ago today. Perhaps I didn’t do any ritual today, and everything has gone on happily as usual, but in the end I still want to leave a little…
everyday life blog
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2009年9月11日
Notes from Today’s Xindao Salon, 09-08-29

Life & Notes2009.08.29
Notes from Today’s Xindao Salon, 09-08-29
Today was the first trial reopening of the salon after the summer break, and two new friends came by. Next week’s salon time is still undecided. As for the positioning of ethics and philosophy: what is ethics studying? Good and evil (right and wrong)? Ends? Human relations? The manner and aim of philosophy? Conceptual analysis? Taxonomy? The mode of expression of philosophy? What is environmental ethics? Philosophy of technology, art, and ideas… Overall, I didn’t say much; I mainly played the role of the one asking questions. The girls who were present spoke very little—perhaps they could add some comments on the blog? Anyway, I won’t record too…
philosophy everyday life blog salon
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2009年8月29日
Xindao Salon Will Experimentally Resume on August 29

Life & Notes2009.08.20
Xindao Salon Will Experimentally Resume on August 29
The New Island Salon Will Experimentally Restart on August 29 Still atthe Suzhouqiao subway station entrance, at the Zhongguancun branch of New Island Coffee, at the easternmost window seat in the non-smoking area. I’ll still go in the morning, though I may not get there exactly at 9, and in the evening I’ll probably leave around nine or ten. As for the time and place next semester, those may still be adjusted; we’ll talk about it then. A little incidental commemoration of today @_@ Latest Comments unic 2009-08-30 18:06:46 Anonymous 115.155.143.75 Seeing pink text on Suixuan is a rare thing~
everyday life blog public sphere conference review
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2009年8月20日
Miscellaneous Thoughts on Marching in Step

Culture & Public Commentary2009.08.11
Miscellaneous Thoughts on Marching in Step
Let me begin with a story. Here’s how it went: this morning I went to campus to watch the formation training, and stood outside the fence around the gymnasium watching. Beside me was a middle-aged man who seemed to be visiting Peking University; he picked up his camera and took two photos, and immediately a thug-looking fellow came running from far away, yelling for him to delete the pictures. The man obediently complied and left. Seeing this, I then took out my own camera to shoot as well, and sure enough that fellow immediately charged over again, shouting for me to take out my camera and delete the photos. Of…
China freedom commentary education
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2009年8月11日
[Archive] Einstein on Parades

Culture & Public Commentary2009.08.08
[Archive] Einstein on Parades
Excerpted from [U.S.]Walter•Isaacson: Einstein: His Life and Universe, translated by Zhang Butian In Munich, although the penetration of Bavarian spirit into everyday life had not yet gone quite so deep, that Prussian-style glorification of the army was already running rampant. Many children liked to play at being soldiers. When the army passed by to the sound of flutes and drums, children would pour into the street, join the procession, and march along step by step. Einstein was not like that. The first time he saw such a spectacle, he burst into tears. “I certainly didn’t want to grow up to become such a pitiful fellow,” he told his parents. As…
commentary emotion children Einstein
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2009年8月8日
What Is Temperamental Compatibility and Scattered Association

Life & Notes2009.08.07
What Is Temperamental Compatibility and Scattered Association
Phrases like “compatible personalities” or “incompatible personalities” are often used to comment on interpersonal relations, especially male-female relationships. This kind of concept sounds rather abstract and elusive, yet it also seems very concrete and tangible. I have also used notions like compatible or incompatible to describe my own relationships or those of others; as for what I meant by it, let me just jot it down here. When I wrote my post looking for a relationship back then, I did not include compatibility of personalities as any requirement anywhere. The reason is simple: this is something that cannot possibly be demonstrated in advance, before getting to know one another; it…
philosophy autobiography human nature emotion
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2009年8月7日
zz Ministry of Justice: Lawyers Handling Sensitive Cases Must Pay Heed to Politics and the Bigger Picture

Life & Notes2009.08.07
zz Ministry of Justice: Lawyers Handling Sensitive Cases Must Pay Heed to Politics and the Bigger Picture
http://news.qq.com/a/20090806/002557.htm Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 6 (Reporter Cui Qingxin) — On the 6th, Minister of Justice Wu Aiying said that efforts should be made to further strengthen the education and management of the lawyer corps, to do a solid job in guiding lawyers who represent sensitive cases and mass incidents, and to educate and guide the broad mass of lawyers to be politically minded, to take the bigger picture into account, to abide by discipline, and to faithfully perform the duties and mission of lawyers. At the national meeting of directors of justice departments (bureaus) held here, Wu Aiying called for the active organization and guidance of lawyers, notaries,…
everyday life China politics government
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2009年8月7日
[Announcement] The Xindao Salon Will Continue to Be Suspended Tomorrow

Site Matters2009.07.31
[Announcement] The Xindao Salon Will Continue to Be Suspended Tomorrow
Resumption time to be determined. But if anyone wants to chat with me on Saturday, you can make an appointment (I will definitely reply)
everyday life
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2009年7月31日
A Cultural History, Technological History, and Intellectual History of Bathing

AI & the Future of Technology2009.07.31
A Cultural History, Technological History, and Intellectual History of Bathing
Now there are many people, especially urban residents, for whom bathing has become an indispensable part of daily life. Some people can scarcely imagine going three or five days in a row without bathing, let alone several months; to speak of people who do not bathe for months sounds almost like talking about aliens. Various things, once they become part of everyday life, are endowed with one or another sort of legitimacy, and thus become things that ought to be. Bathing, for example, is closely linked to the concept of “hygiene”: on the one hand, bathing is a natural thing—after all, isn’t bathing the expression of the “desire for cleanliness”…
book reading culture China technology
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2009年7月31日