Year: 2017

Course Syllabus: Selected Readings from Classic Works in Philosophy of Science

Teaching & Courses2017.09.19
Course Syllabus: Selected Readings from Classic Works in Philosophy of Science
This week the new semester has officially begun, and today the course I am responsible for has also opened for business: “Selected Readings in Classic Works of Philosophy of Science.” This is one of the foundational professional courses offered to first-year master’s students and first-year doctoral students not trained in our department. This year there are altogether just 5 new students enrolled, with no students from other departments, and two auditors. Class time is every Tuesday afternoon starting at 1:30, and the class usually ends a little after 4 o’clock. The location is Room 204, Building 1 at Tsinghua University. Auditors are welcome. But because of the nature of this…
scholarship philosophy of science course Scientific Revolution
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2017年9月19日
On ICOs: The Future of Stocks

Web3 & Bitcoin2017.09.14
On ICOs: The Future of Stocks
This year ICO has exploded. Many big names and veterans from the Bitcoin world have gradually become unable to sit still, and have taken up ICO, raising enormous amounts of money, only to finally dig their own graves. First, ICO was deemed illegal fundraising; now the entire domestic Bitcoin trading platform ecosystem is facing shutdown. How exactly will these big names end up? We shall wait and see. As for ICO, I have always kept a respectful distance from it. Although this may well have caused me to miss out on a chance to get rich dozens of times over, I have always adhered to an investment philosophy of safety…
Web3 Bitcoin blockchain decentralization
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2017年9月14日
Less Habit, More Tracing Back to the Source — A Review of The Origin of Everything

History of Science & Scholarship2017.09.11
Less Habit, More Tracing Back to the Source — A Review of The Origin of Everything
This book review was a commissioned piece I wrote in the first half of this year, but after I handed it in, it seems it was never published? (No feedback.) I suppose they thought I had written it badly. In fact, although this book really is quite good, it is not all that stunning, and there is no especially strong central idea to comment on, so I did not go all out in singing its praises either. But since I wrote it, I might as well post it here. The popular science book Origins of Everything, compiled by the British magazine *New Scientist*, has recently been introduced and published…
book reading science history of science book review
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2017年9月11日
Galileo as an Artist

History of Science & Scholarship2017.09.01
Galileo as an Artist
本文发表于《Science and Technology Daily》，with only minor changes at the time of publication. Galileo as an Artist Galileo was born in 1564, the very year Michelangelo died. From Michelangelo to Galileo, one sees modern European history moving from the age of the Renaissance into the new era of the Scientific Revolution. The bond between Galileo and Michelangelo was not merely the coincidence of their years of birth and death; there was a deeper connection between them. Galileo was born into an impoverished noble family. Among his ancestors there had once been a highly respected physician, so Galileo’s father put great effort into having the young Galileo study medicine. Although Galileo…
science history of science media art
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2017年9月1日
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Attending Class

Teaching & Courses2017.08.30
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Attending Class
Getting upeatingusing the toilet, and then the next steps should be getting dressed, going downstairs, riding a bicycle, and so on. This time, since a reader requested it, I’ll first jump ahead to “going to class” and talk about that. Another key point is that I was not in good shape before this class, so “going to class” happened to be something I could talk about fairly casually without much preparation. This part is relatively rambling; it is only a record, and not recommended reading. Next time will be the last class, and I may jump back and talk about riding a bicycle, but it will mainly be free exchange….
history course education Aristotle
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2017年8月30日
[A Little Grumble] You Only Realize How Annoying Procrastination Is Once You Become a Teacher

Life & Notes2017.08.29
[A Little Grumble] You Only Realize How Annoying Procrastination Is Once You Become a Teacher
The admissions notice went up four months ago, and last month I posted a supplementary note, hoping that students interested in applying would contact me as early and as soon as possible, so that we would have plenty of time to communicate with one another.
everyday life education admissions
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2017年8月29日
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Using the Toilet

Teaching & Courses2017.08.25
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Using the Toilet
The summer course series has finally reached the halfway point. After talking about getting up and eating, I’ve now moved into a more vulgar domain: this time, defecation. 1. Cross-section The scene this time is something everyone knows all too well: going to the toilet. Why do people go to the toilet? — So-called “three urgent needs” of human beings; excretion can be said to be one of the most basic natural needs of humankind, so there’s no need to say much more. But just like the example of eating breakfast, the ways and concepts of going to the toilet are also historical. In addition, besides meeting basic needs, going…
technology culture history course
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2017年8月25日
On the Industrial Revolution (I): Watt’s Kettle: Myth and Reality

AI & the Future of Technology2017.08.22
On the Industrial Revolution (I): Watt’s Kettle: Myth and Reality
Gradually turning my attention to research in the history of technology, the Industrial Revolution is of course a matter of first importance. But just like the Scientific Revolution, this kind of historically crucial period has received very little attention in Chinese scholarship. The concept of the “Industrial Revolution” is, to be sure, quite a hot topic—mainly in discussions of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, whether present or future. Broadly speaking, the third refers to the information revolution, and the fourth to big data or artificial intelligence. But the real Industrial Revolution, or rather the two Industrial Revolutions, has been studied only very superficially. There are not many translations of Western…
technology history of science history of technology Industrial Revolution
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2017年8月22日
On the Industrial Revolution (I): Watt’s Kettle: Myth and Reality

AI & the Future of Technology2017.08.22
On the Industrial Revolution (I): Watt’s Kettle: Myth and Reality
Gradually turning my attention to research in the history of technology, the Industrial Revolution is of course a matter of the first importance. But just like the Scientific Revolution, this kind of historically crucial period has received very little attention in Chinese scholarship. The concept of the “Industrial Revolution” is, to be sure, quite a hot topic—mainly in the promotion of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, present or future. Roughly speaking, the third refers to the information revolution, and the fourth to big data or artificial intelligence. But the real Industrial Revolution, or rather the two Industrial Revolutions, has been studied only very superficially. There are not many translations of…
technology history of science history of technology Industrial Revolution
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2017年8月22日
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Breakfast

Teaching & Courses2017.08.16
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Breakfast
When I first talked about getting up, the second case would naturally be breakfast. 1. Cross-section: Breakfast The picture above was found in a casual search; it isn’t my own breakfast, but it looks fairly everyday, so let’s start from here. Why eat breakfast? — For nutrition? For health? What is breakfast? — Isn’t breakfast not a regular meal? What do you eat for breakfast? — Fried eggs, milk… 2. Technical conditions Many things make breakfast possible. First, what makes breakfast breakfast is a certain temporal rhythm: we eat breakfast before reading or going to work. Second, custom and nutrition science have made breakfast something regarded as necessary. Then there…
technology science history course
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2017年8月16日