分类：Culture & Public Commentary

The “Layers” of the World—A Few Words on Pokemon GO and AR

AI & the Future of Technology2016.07.12
The “Layers” of the World—A Few Words on Pokemon GO and AR
Recently, the mobile game Pokemon GO has taken the world by storm (China is generally not included in “the world”), and it is worth noting that this should be an emblematic game: a classic application of AR (augmented reality, mixed reality) technology. From this game we can glimpse a possible image of the future world. Although the game’s effects are still very crude at present, it is not hard to imagine what it will become as the relevant technologies develop in the future (those lacking imagination can simply look up the promotional video for Pokemon GO, for example here). Researchers in philosophy of technology are well worth paying attention to…
culture technology commentary history of technology
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2016年7月12日
When Results Obscure Process — “Scientific Literacy Standards” and Melamine

Culture & Public Commentary2016.04.29
When Results Obscure Process — “Scientific Literacy Standards” and Melamine
Recently I participated in the commentary on the , and was invited to write a piece for *China Science Daily*, which was published together with interviews with many teachers; see here. Because of the word limit, I accidentally wrote too much. When the article was published, the editors cut and revised it; actually the revisions were quite good—they kept all the key points and reduced the aggressiveness. Still, I’ll post the unedited original here for reference~ The newly released has stirred up a great deal of controversy. Beyond simply laughing at it or picking holes in it, there has gradually also been some serious discussion by scientists and scholars…
China science history of science philosophy of science
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2016年4月29日
Results Obscure Process—”Science Literacy Benchmarks” and Melamine

Culture & Public Commentary2016.04.29
Results Obscure Process—”Science Literacy Benchmarks” and Melamine
Recently I took part in the commentary on the “Basic Standards for the Scientific Literacy of Chinese Citizens.” I was invited to write a piece for China Science Daily, and it was published together with interviews of many teachers; see here. Because of the word limit, I accidentally wrote too much, and when the article was published it was edited and cut. In fact, the cuts were quite well done: the key points were all retained, and the tone was made less aggressive. Still, I’ll post the unedited original here for reference~ The newly released “Basic Standards for the Scientific Literacy of Chinese Citizens” has stirred up a great…
China science history of science philosophy of science
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2016年4月29日
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…
culture China commentary tradition
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2016年4月20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 internet
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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
Stock Market Musings: Freedom and Stability

Culture & Public Commentary2015.07.26
Stock Market Musings: Freedom and Stability
Recently China’s stock market has been wildly up and down. After an unprecedented “stock-market crash,” the central authorities have again stepped in with unprecedented force to maintain stability. The reason I thought of writing this article is not to play the prophet and predict market movements. On the one hand, I want to gather together some of my previous statements and thoughts; on the other hand, the stock market also has relations to political philosophy and natural philosophy. Besides, I believe this stock-market crash will have very far-reaching historical significance; in any case, it will become a landmark event. Although I have all along been promoting Bitcoin, and have always…
culture China freedom commentary
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2015年7月26日
On Civil Servants

Culture & Public Commentary2014.11.30
On Civil Servants
I’d promised two current-affairs commentaries plus two book reviews every week, but my habitual procrastination put me off for a whole week. Starting today, I’m officially kicking into gear. The commentaries and reviews may be very short in length; their main purpose is to keep me in writing shape. The long-parked conference travelogue will also be produced sometime in the next few days. Today is the day of the national civil service exam. I hear that this year’s number of applicants has fallen to the lowest level in five years. Perhaps that is because civil service pay has declined; perhaps it is because young people nowadays are increasingly opinionated; or…
culture China freedom education
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2014年11月30日