Author: 胡翌霖

Postdoctoral Research Plan (A History of “Trash” from the Perspective of Media Ecology)

AI & the Future of Technology2014.04.17
Postdoctoral Research Plan (A History of “Trash” from the Perspective of Media Ecology)
I am currently applying to do a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Tian Song at Beijing Normal University. This is a rather rare opportunity, and I very much hope it will come to fruition. As early as the beginning of my undergraduate years, I was already reading Professor Tian’s books, such as The Perpetual Motion Machine and the Goldbach Conjecture, Don Quixote’s Spear. Professor Tian can also be regarded as one of the people who first led me into philosophy of science. Of course, in terms of viewpoints and style, I differ with Professor Tian on many points, so later on my writings were basically more critical than supportive. Even so,…
technology media phenomenology nature
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2014年4月17日
On the Bitcoin Ban Controversy

Web3 & Cypherpunks2014.03.28
On the Bitcoin Ban Controversy
This article was also submitted for Bitren’s March featured-post selection and won second prize, so the copyright belongs to Bitren and it may not be reprinted in commercial form. My own blog is non-profit, so I’m still posting it here. Commercial websites wishing to reprint it should contact Bitren; non-commercial websites should please indicate Bitren as the source: http://bbs.btcman.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=17364 —————————————— I previously submitted a piece for consideration that talked about the MtGox issue, thinking it was a timely contribution. I never imagined that before that matter had even finished playing out, it would already have been covered over by a new major event. Recently the rumor that China was banning…
China freedom Web3 Bitcoin
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2014年3月28日
MtGox Miscellany: If Something That Could Be Made Public Is Not Made Public, There Must Be Something Shady Behind It

Web3 & Cypherpunks2014.03.17
MtGox Miscellany: If Something That Could Be Made Public Is Not Made Public, There Must Be Something Shady Behind It
This article was written on March 17. It participated in Bitman’s March featured-post selection. It did not win a prize, and according to the rules it may be freely reposted, but please indicate the source as the Bitman forum: http://bbs.btcman.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=17145 —————————————— Although the Bitcoin world has recently been roiling with waves and turbulence, I myself have been busy dealing with my dissertation defense, and have not had much mind to follow developments closely. More than half a month has passed since the Mt incident, and thinking that I have not updated my blog for quite a while, I might as well offer a few belated reflections. Of course, many of…
China freedom Web3 Bitcoin
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2014年3月17日
The Dark Forest and the Law of Evolution, Thought and Expression — Some Complaints about The Three-Body Problem

History of Science & Scholarship2014.01.30
The Dark Forest and the Law of Evolution, Thought and Expression — Some Complaints about The Three-Body Problem
《The Three-Body Problem》is indeed a pretty good science-fiction novel: the conception is very ingenious, and it also contains many elements that invite deep reflection. But given Teacher Jiang Xiaoyuan’s excessive elevation of it, I actually found myself becoming rather resistant. As an ordinary fantasy novel, whether it is Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics or Liu Cixin’s cosmic sociology, these are all clever designs; but if one wants to elevate them to the level of genuine social science or philosophy and discuss their profound significance, that is going too far. I had already made sarcastic remarks about cosmic sociology back then. Of course, at that time I had not yet read…
book reading book review civilization evolution
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2014年1月30日
Nandu Media’s “Bitcoin” Special Feature Interview Questionnaire

Web3 & Bitcoin2013.12.23
Nandu Media’s “Bitcoin” Special Feature Interview Questionnaire
This interview came to me on November 21, and I finished writing it that very day. After that, Nandu.com spent a month putting together this special feature. Overall, they did a pretty good job; the altcoin list at the very bottom is a bit of an unnecessary embellishment. According to the reporter’s request, I waited a few days before reposting it. But in fact, back then I had never agreed to any copyright arrangement with them, nor had I received any fee or the like, so one might say the copyright to this piece still remains in my own hands~ 1、How did Bitcoin enter your world? Do you think…
China Web3 Bitcoin decentralization
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2013年12月23日
Why Won’t Bitcoin Fall to Zero? — Random Thoughts on Bitcoin Market Trends

Web3 & Cypherpunks2013.12.12
Why Won’t Bitcoin Fall to Zero? — Random Thoughts on Bitcoin Market Trends
Recently the Bitcoin market had another fit of madness: from 1242 it plunged all the way to well below half, then rebounded to 1000 and fell again. A lot of newcomers could no longer sit still, and one after another quite a few people also came to ask me what I made of it. What can I make of it? Obviously, I am not a candlestick expert, and I can’t analyze the market; such a frenzied market is even less something I can get a grip on. I myself tried taking one coin and flipping it high and low, but it failed as well, and instead I lost some…… My…
Web3 value Bitcoin economy
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2013年12月12日
On the Question of the Scientificity of Traditional Chinese Medicine

History of Science & Scholarship2013.12.11
On the Question of the Scientificity of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Yesterday, Senior Brother Shengli came back to the discussion group to take our brickbats, and the result turned into Senior Brother Shengli holding the floor against the assembled scholars, arguing from class all the way through dinner in unflagging high spirits. After graduating, Senior Brother Shengli’s research focus shifted entirely to the question of Chinese medicine, and he tried to vindicate the “scientificity” of Chinese medicine on the basis of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology. Senior Brother Shengli extended Merleau-Ponty’s distinction between the “phenomenal body” and the “objective body” into a distinction between “phenomenal science” and “objective science,” and argued that the scientificity of Chinese medicine could be supported under the category of…
science media phenomenology tradition
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2013年12月11日
Why Should Young People Publish Books?—Starting from Sounding the West, Striking the East

History of Science & Scholarship2013.11.25
Why Should Young People Publish Books?—Starting from Sounding the West, Striking the East
Recently, Teacher He Huaihong wrote a book review of a work by a sophomore student, which sparked a lively discussion. Teacher He affirmed the philosophical vision and concern for reality displayed in *Sounding West, Striking East*, but he was by no means uncritically flattering; rather, he offered some well-founded criticism. He pointed out some problems in Han Qian’s use of academic concepts, and also offered his views on the book’s style: “As an academic paper, it could still have contained more detailed analytic argumentation and stricter formal requirements than the existing articles; and if it is a commentary, then it could be sharper and more vivid and forceful. If the…
book reading scholarship blog book review
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2013年11月25日
Why Doesn’t Bitcoin Fit Gresham’s Law (Bad Money Drives Out Good)?

Web3 & Bitcoin2013.11.06
Why Doesn’t Bitcoin Fit Gresham’s Law (Bad Money Drives Out Good)?
Many people who question Bitcoin focus on its so-called “deflationary” character: because the total supply of bitcoins is limited and tends to appreciate, people are inclined to hoard them rather than spend them, so liquidity is poor and Bitcoin cannot become a mainstream currency. There are also two dimensions to this issue: one is temporal, the other spatial. First, considering the prospect of future appreciation, we may use money as conservatively as possible and engage less in speculation and investment. In this sense, the weakening of so-called “liquidity” by Bitcoin is inevitable, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. In a series of earlier articles of mine (such as…
Web3 Bitcoin economy money
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2013年11月6日
Is Bitcoin Environmentally Friendly?

Web3 & Bitcoin2013.10.20
Is Bitcoin Environmentally Friendly?
This article is an original entry in the 2013 essay contest organized by Bitren and was first published on the Bitren forum, so it did not debut on my blog. At first I thought I stood no chance of winning any prize, so last night I casually posted it on the blog; unexpectedly, it still won the second-place grand prize. Because I reposted it half a day early (to Babbitt), I have voluntarily deducted 10% of the prize money as punishment, and here I would like to apologize to and thank the Bitren website. 1. Does Bitcoin waste resources? Bitcoin’s proof-of-work mechanism, that is, the so-called “mining,” is often criticized:…
technology Web3 value Bitcoin
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2013年10月20日