Author: 胡翌霖

The Question of Choosing a Secretary

Life & Notes2007.09.27
The Question of Choosing a Secretary
[Eng.]John Haigh: “The Mathematics of Chance,” translated by Li Daqiang, Jilin People’s Publishing House, August 2001, 26 yuan Pages191~192 The Secretary Selection Problem Suppose you want to hire a secretary. A group of applicants is waiting in line outside your office for interviews. You interview them one by one. At the end of each interview, you have two choices:1.reject this applicant and interview the next person;2.decide to hire the current applicant and end the recruitment process. You must make your decision on the spot. Once you have rejected someone, you cannot hire that person. How can you maximize the probability of hiring the best applicant? In fact,…
everyday life mathematics
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2007年9月27日
[Repost] Peking University Master’s Degree Admissions Program Directory

Life & Notes2007.09.27
[Repost] Peking University Master’s Degree Admissions Program Directory
http://www.pku.edu.cn/cgi-bin/websql/zhcx/graduate/yjs/zs_ss_zy.hts?xsh=023 Department/Program Name Department of Philosophy Total Enrollment 47 students. Program Notes Of these, 25 are expected to be admitted through recommendation and exemption from the entrance exam. For examinees, the weight of the re-examination is 40%. Programs and Numbers of Students to Be Admitted 010101 Marxist Philosophy 6 010102 Chinese Philosophy 6 010103 Foreign Philosophy 7 010104 Logic 3 010105 Ethics 4 010106 Aesthetics 5 010107 Religious Studies 6 010108 Philosophy of Science and Technology 7 071200 History of Science and Technology 3
philosophy everyday life scholarship Peking University
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2007年9月27日
The “Exchange Meeting Between New and Old Students” Is Really Depressing

Life & Notes2007.09.26
The “Exchange Meeting Between New and Old Students” Is Really Depressing
I had long been thinking about this year’s new-student/alumni meet-and-greet. I missed last year’s, and because I had been in seclusion for a long time, I had had almost no contact with the juniors and sophomores over the past year. In particular, I barely knew any of the class of ’06, and even the classmates in my own department were mostly unfamiliar faces. I really felt a bit guilty about that. In the last year of my undergraduate life, after thinking it over and over, I decided I should at least go see people. This was probably the only group activity I have主动参加 recently — because it seemed that if…
everyday life education social media
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2007年9月26日
This Issue’s Music: The Wanderer’s Song of Joy from the Arab Song Feast

Life & Notes2007.09.23
This Issue’s Music: The Wanderer’s Song of Joy from the Arab Song Feast
Suddenly I discovered that Google Page is usable again, so I don’t have to go to the trouble of finding music. Better just post an old ready-made one I’ve wanted to use for a while: From “The Wanderer’s Song of Joy” in *Arabian Song Feast*. They say Arabic music pays extremely close attention to rhythm, and its tonalities are bizarre; that does seem to be the case. Generally speaking, I don’t usually listen to such intense music, but once in a while it’s not bad. Might, might~~ Aoo aoo~~
everyday life music
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2007年9月23日
Bits and Pieces, Episode Two

Philosophy & Thought2007.09.23
Bits and Pieces, Episode Two
l To say that human nature is inherently good or that human nature is inherently evil both seem to make sense; why not simply say that human nature is both good and evil, or neither good nor evil? In the end, when we want to describe a villain, we still like to say he is “lacking humanity.” In fact, when one says that human nature is inherently good, one is also stressing another side of the matter: goodness is itself human nature. That is to say, goodness comes from oneself; seeking goodness requires only self-help and self-discipline, without looking outward for it. This is similar to Kant’s intention in emphasizing…
philosophy religion human nature
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2007年9月23日
Pitching Philosophy of Science and Technology (II)

History of Science & Scholarship2007.09.22
Pitching Philosophy of Science and Technology (II)
Last time, my sales pitch was mainly that any branch discipline of philosophy can come to do philosophy of science and technology. This time, why not go one step further, because what philosophy of science and technology covers is not just the sum of the other seven branches~ Saying that the territory of philosophy of science and technology is bigger than the combined territory of the other seven second-level disciplines is a bit too much, but it is not entirely empty boasting either. That is because the division into the eight second-level disciplines of philosophy is itself unreasonable. Philosophy is not a science—not a “discipline of divisions.” The differentiation and…
science history of science philosophy of science sociology
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2007年9月22日
On the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Philosophy & Thought2007.09.19
On the Principle of Sufficient Reason
Today in Schopenhauer class, at the very end, the discussion turned to the principle of sufficient reason. I couldn’t help interjecting a question; in fact, I haven’t even started reading Schopenhauer’s book yet, so I was really rather embarrassed~ Jingang said that Schopenhauer’s argument for the principle of sufficient reason is quite dogmatic, and I agree with that. As for the teacher, he more or less said that the principle of sufficient reason is a prerequisite for questioning and reasoning, and on that point I disagree. At the time I brought up quantum mechanics. I raised it as an example, not because I wanted to drag the cutting edge of…
philosophy causality quantum mechanics Einstein
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2007年9月19日
Peddling the Philosophy of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2007.09.18
Peddling the Philosophy of Science
I am scheming how to sell philosophy of technology to that junior female student. In previous years my sales tactic was just to lend them a few books and let them browse freely. I hoped that if they were interested in those books, they would borrow more books to read, or ask me about information on related books; the best possible outcome would be that they would come find me to discuss them. So far, though, the best case has been only that a junior said to me that that book was very interesting—nothing more. More often, after half a year or a year, they would come and say to…
science scholarship philosophy of science Introduction to Philosophy of Science
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2007年9月18日
On Smoking

Life & Notes2007.09.17
On Smoking
I almost forgot that when we were drinking that day, there was another astonishing discovery: Uncle Ye had actually started smoking~~ Though “astonishing” may not be quite the right word, because in my subconscious I had long since accepted the image of ZW as a smoker—he’s a Shanghai uncle, after all~. Especially those men who mingle in official circles: how could they not smoke? Come to think of it, my dad doesn’t touch either cigarettes or alcohol, so naturally he never made it into official circles either…… Smoking is first of all an image project. Call it maturity, bearing, style, coolness, or whatever you like: with a cigarette in your…
everyday life culture body
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2007年9月17日
I’m out of quarantine~

Life & Notes2007.09.17
I’m out of quarantine~
I had started looking forward to all kinds of carefree freedom after getting into graduate school, and to all the unknowns a year from now. I have always liked waiting; when I meet people, I generally make a point of arriving ten minutes early. Those ten minutes (which, because of other people’s lateness, often turn into half an hour) are wonderfully peculiar. I will stand still, or sit on my bicycle, or pace around at random. Perhaps I’ll listen to music for a while, or perhaps I’ll just stare blankly at the trees and grass beside me. Looking forward to another person’s arrival, sometimes unsettled by their…
everyday life seclusion
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2007年9月17日