Year: 2016

I, Too, Will Take a Shot at the “Chinese Citizens’ Scientific Literacy Benchmark”

Culture & Public Commentary2016.04.24
I, Too, Will Take a Shot at the “Chinese Citizens’ Scientific Literacy Benchmark”
Recently the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Central Propaganda Department released the latest Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy among Chinese Citizens, which drew a great deal of mockery. Out of curiosity, I looked it up too, and after reading it I could not help wanting to mock it as well, so I sat down and wrote this (I’ve been trying to stimulate my own will to act lately). At first I only intended to pick a few items that had not been mocked much online and talk about them, but after writing I discovered there were far more targets for ridicule than I had imagined. Before I knew it,…
China science history of science philosophy of science
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2016年4月24日
“It Must Be Rectification of Names” — Politics, History, and Science

Chinese Civilization & the Way of Chinese2016.04.20
“It Must Be Rectification of Names” — Politics, History, and Science
Recently, the issue of the extension of property rights on Chinese real estate has come to light, and many people have only then discovered that the so-called “automatic renewal” in the Property Law as they had understood it was merely a misunderstanding; “automatic,” it turns out, does not include the meaning of “free,” and moreover there is no fixed amount for how much one must pay to renew. Wenzhou said one would have to pay 30 percent of the housing price to renew, and then issued a clarification saying the matter was still under study. But the problem is: if the rules were already established long ago, why must the…
China culture commentary tradition
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2016年4月20日
The Self-Realization of Technology (Outline)

AI & the Future of Technology2016.04.18
The Self-Realization of Technology (Outline)
This year I’m definitely going to attend the phenomenology and philosophy of technology conference as well. This time I’m planning to ride the wave of fashion and write an article on artificial intelligence. I haven’t quite settled on the title yet—maybe I’ll call it “The Self-Realization of Technology—A Phenomenological Reflection on Artificial Intelligence”? The “self-realization” of technology somewhat echoes KK’s idea of “what technology wants”: people want self-realization, and so does technology. And “artificial intelligence” is precisely the process and result of this realization. My concern with artificial intelligence is obviously different from the philosophy-of-AI perspective usually discussed by analytic philosophers (though I will also try to touch on some…
technology media phenomenology AI
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2016年4月18日
On Mirrors (I): The Construction of Interfaces

AI & the Future of Technology2016.04.09
On Mirrors (I): The Construction of Interfaces
I previously wrote On Garbage (1) and On the City (1); with that kind of momentum, this was clearly heading toward a series, yet after finishing “(1)” there was no follow-up. Thinking about it myself, I feel rather ashamed. In fact, I had already come up with the titles for Garbage 2 and 3—“Economy and Finance” and “Gestell and Absence”—but I just never got around to writing them (come on, hit me)…… In any case, my procrastination seems to have reached a terminal stage, and I need to find a way to treat it. The key to curing procrastination is to strengthen one’s ability to act, and to try to…
technology media Heidegger phenomenology
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2016年4月9日
Internet + Real Estate = Free?

Culture & Public Commentary2016.03.15
Internet + Real Estate = Free?
The “surge” in property prices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen at the beginning of this year was enough to drive one to despair; it felt as if the Chinese economy had completely given up its chance for a soft landing. We all know reform is necessary, but I really do not know where the “turning point” lies. Dragging things on is possible—take North Korea as a reference—but if we really still hope for successful reform, then it is hard to imagine avoiding a collapse. The only remaining suspense is when it will collapse, and who will be the first to collapse. It’s not that I’m being pessimistic about China. I…
culture commentary Peking University Bitcoin
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2016年3月15日
Why Fear Artificial Intelligence? — Some Musings on AlphaGo

AI & Scholarship2016.03.13
Why Fear Artificial Intelligence? — Some Musings on AlphaGo
AlphaGo’s Go battle with Lee Sedol is now underway, and artificial intelligence has won 3:0; two honor matches remain, but the outcome is basically beyond doubt already. Whatever the final score may be, the historical significance of this match is beyond question. The significance of this match is mainly symbolic. In fact, since AlphaGo already defeated the European Go champion last year, proving that its Go-playing strength had reached the level of a professional player, its total victory over humans was only a matter of time. Of course, we might also say that ever since Deep Blue dominated chess, the AI conquest of Go had only been a “matter of…
philosophy technology history of science commentary
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2016年3月13日
Obsolete Wisdom (Preface to Fifteen Lectures on the General History of Science)

Culture & Public Commentary2016.03.04
Obsolete Wisdom (Preface to Fifteen Lectures on the General History of Science)
I am about to edit and publish my lecture notes on the history of science. The original title was to be *Fifteen Lectures on the History of Science*, but the editor suggested changing it to a more eye-catching main title. After wracking my brains, I came up with this phrase: “Outdated Wisdom.” What follows is my explanation of this title, or perhaps it can serve as the first section of the preface or introduction. Of course, this title has not been finalized; suggestions and naming proposals from teachers and friends are always welcome~ Studying Outdated Things with a Clear Conscience When we say that something “has become history,” we…
science history of science philosophy of science history
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2016年3月4日
On Cities (1): What Is a City?

AI & the Future of Technology2016.02.02
On Cities (1): What Is a City?
Mumford’s many specific views on the history of cities and urban planning may perhaps have become outdated, but his insights into the essence of the city and its meaning are something we cannot get around. Mumford has discussed what a city is from two angles. He pointed out that a city is “a special container for storing and transmitting information” and “the theater of social activity.” By way of comparison, we can look at how modern dictionaries explain the word city. The Oxford Dictionary, for example, says that a city is a large and important town; as for town, it refers to a place with many houses, shops/stores, etc. where…
technology modernity Mumford industry
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2016年2月2日
The Inevitable Path to Decentralization—A Few Thoughts on Bitcoin Hard Forks, and, by the Way, on Central Bank Digital Currency

Web3 & Bitcoin2016.01.21
The Inevitable Path to Decentralization—A Few Thoughts on Bitcoin Hard Forks, and, by the Way, on Central Bank Digital Currency
Bitcoin is facing the situation that the 1M block size limit is about to become insufficient; a major upgrade is needed. But how should it be upgraded? Different people propose different schemes. If a backward-incompatible scheme is rolled out without reaching consensus, then some people choose the new scheme while others do not update or choose yet another scheme, and the result is what is called a “hard fork.” There was XT a while ago, and more recently there was classic, but in the end a hard fork seems to have been avoided. Many people were probably relieved, but I, for one, feel a certain regret. In my view, a…
freedom Web3 Bitcoin blockchain
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2016年1月21日
On Garbage (1): From Discarded Things to Useless Things

AI & the Future of Technology2016.01.02
On Garbage (1): From Discarded Things to Useless Things
My postdoctoral research project at the time was to work on a history of garbage. I am ashamed to say that, although I have been collaborating with Professor Tian for more than a year, there has been little real progress under this topic, and whether I will ultimately be able to turn it into my exit report is somewhat worrying. One compromise would be to write the exit report on the history of technology or the philosophy of technology, while inserting discussions of garbage at appropriate points. My intention to study garbage was not a whim, nor did I think of this topic merely because I happened to collaborate with…
technology Heidegger Scientific Revolution value
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2016年1月2日