分类：Culture & Public Commentary

What Is the Olympics?

Culture & Public Commentary2007.08.08
What Is the Olympics?
My many acquaintances in the world of science and culture are rather indifferent to the Olympic Games. They point out many problems, such as excessive commercialization, and the fact that high-intensity athletic training is often a brutal assault on athletes’ bodies rather than a form of exercise. Rather than pouring massive resources into the vanity of chasing Olympic gold medals, it would be better to invest more in building up basic sports, in promoting public exercise, and in work that fosters health. Here, I disagree with those teachers. I think this line of thought is, in fact, pragmatic and utilitarian. On the one hand, I certainly acknowledge that the spread…
Aristotle religion Plato Greece
阅读全文

2007年8月8日
[U.S.] Dan Brown: Digital Fortress

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.26
[U.S.] Dan Brown: Digital Fortress
[U.S.] Dan Brown: *Digital Fortress*, translated by Zhu Zhenwu, Zhao Yongjian, and Xin Yan, People’s Literature Publishing House, September 2004, 25 yuan I’ve been reading light books lately; the reference books I’d planned to read for my research paper, as well as the bilingual reading materials, haven’t even been started. One reason is that the long renovation has meant the boxed-up books have remained impossible to dig out, so I can only choose from these relatively easy-to-reach books. Of course, it also has to do with my own squandering of time—vacation must always be at least half wasted. Still, this vacation has been a happy one, my state has been…
book reading notes freedom United States
阅读全文

2007年7月26日
[U.S.] Robert M. Pirsig: “The World of Fathers and Sons” (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) — ☆

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.23
[U.S.] Robert M. Pirsig: “The World of Fathers and Sons” (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) — ☆
[U.S.]Robert·M·Pirsig: “The World of Father and Son” (“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”), translated by Huang Xin, China Friendship Publishing Company, November 1998, 22.8 yuan——☆ I remember that there was a page in A History of Twentieth-Century Thought introducing this strange book. Because the introduction was so brief, apart from its strange title, I still hadn’t realized what was special about it. It was only after seeing Teacher Liu and Teacher Jiang recommend this The World of Father and Son that I learned this strange book had already been translated into Chinese! The translator was probably a literary translator and likely had little philosophical training; the translation problems are…
philosophy book reading notes philosophy of science
阅读全文

2007年7月23日
[U.S.] Nicolas Darvas: “I Survived the Stock Market”

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.22
[U.S.] Nicolas Darvas: “I Survived the Stock Market”
[U.S.] Nicholas Darvas: *I Survived the Stock Market: How a Person with No Financial Common Sense Can Survive in the Stock Market*, translated by Huang Jia, China Machine Press, May 2007, 21 yuan At my mom’s urging, I too have started playing the stock market~ Playing the stock market is a game in which, while sitting at home and clicking the mouse and tapping the keyboard, you can make capital grow geometrically (of course, it can also shrink geometrically). Buying and selling are so easy that you may often forget that every time the screen flashes “trade successful” in those four little characters, it means you have just completed a…
book reading notes economy market economy
阅读全文

2007年7月22日
[English] Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.17
[English] Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence
[English] Maugham: *The Moon and Sixpence*, translated by Fu Weici, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, August 2006, 12 yuan As for works of literature, I have never dared to pass judgment too readily. To put it simply, this book depicts an artist who exists in my ideal world—and for that reason his life did not surprise me very much. Of course, I completely identify with and admire Charles Strickland’s “conduct”; although my own life could in no way be similar to his, perhaps, as Captain Brono said (p. 247), I too am pursuing the same thing. What Strickland’s attitude toward love and marriage tells us is precisely what I have always…
philosophy book reading notes humanities
阅读全文

2007年7月17日
[U.S.] Margaret Visser: “All Depends on Dinner”

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.16
[U.S.] Margaret Visser: “All Depends on Dinner”
[US]Margaret Visser: “It All Depends on Dinner,” translated by Liu Xia'ai, New Star Press2007May, 29yuan Introduction, page 1 In everyday life, the things we take for granted in using rule us and saturate our lives.……The shape of chairs has changed continuously over the centuries; the number and form of the tines on forks have also kept changing; in addition, the width and length of corridors have likewise been adjusted again and again. These formal, or accidental, changes in things are a language, telling the story of our cultural ideas while also recording the history of life. One of the eye-opening realizations of the twentieth century (like every discovery, it…
book reading culture notes tradition
阅读全文

2007年7月16日
[American] Dan Brown: Angels & Demons

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.08
[American] Dan Brown: Angels & Demons
[U.S.]Dan Brown: Angels and Demons, translated by Zhu Zhenwu, Wang Qiaoli, and Xin Yan, People's Literature Publishing House, February 2005, 29.8 yuan—☆ The second book I read during my Shanxi period. Since I have never been very enthusiastic about bestsellers, I nearly missed The Da Vinci Code; later the movie came out, and I heard it had something to do with science and religion, so I downloaded it and watched it. It really was quite remarkable—after all, there are many good books even among bestsellers~ Although I still haven’t read the original The Da Vinci Code, after reading this Angels and Demons, I am certain that this book is even…
book reading science notes religion
阅读全文

2007年7月8日
[American] Dan Brown: Angels & Demons

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.08
[American] Dan Brown: Angels & Demons
[U.S.]Dan Brown: Angels and Demons, translated by Zhu Zhenwu, Wang Qiaoli, and Xin Yan, People's Literature Publishing House, February 2005, 29.8 yuan—☆ The second book I read during my Shanxi period. Since I have never been very enthusiastic about bestsellers, I nearly missed The Da Vinci Code; later the movie came out, and I heard it had something to do with science and religion, so I downloaded it and watched it. It really was quite remarkable—after all, there are many good books even among bestsellers~ Although I still haven’t read the original The Da Vinci Code, after reading this Angels and Demons, I am certain that this book is even…
book reading science notes religion
阅读全文

2007年7月8日
Midterm Discussion Outline for “Deng San” (On the Scientific Outlook on Development and Coordinating the Harmonious Development of Humanity and Nature)

Culture & Public Commentary2007.05.07
Midterm Discussion Outline for “Deng San” (On the Scientific Outlook on Development and Coordinating the Harmonious Development of Humanity and Nature)
……Would the teachers in the School of Marxism go insane after reading this? Outline for the Midterm Discussion of “Deng San” Requirement: choose one aspect of the “five coordinated balances” in the concept of scientific development and talk about your reflections. “The scientific outlook on development is, in essence, people-oriented, comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable development.” We say that “people-oriented” is the essence and core of the scientific outlook on development—“Adhering to people-oriented development means taking the all-round development of people as the goal, seeking and promoting development from the fundamental interests of the people, continuously satisfying the people’s ever-growing material and cultural needs, earnestly safeguarding the people’s economic, political, and…
culture science environment Marx
阅读全文

2007年5月7日
Traditional Textbook-Style Argumentative Tactics

Culture & Public Commentary2007.05.05
Traditional Textbook-Style Argumentative Tactics
Good question! The trouble with traditional textbooks is not really their views, though I do dislike many of the views in traditional textbooks. After all, they represent a certain popular way of understanding problems, and that in itself is not too bad. But the problem lies in their style of argument and their attitude. In a sense, the strategy of traditional textbooks is quite powerful and ingenious (otherwise how could they have had such a profound influence in the Soviet Union and China?). Similar strategies are actually used quite often in many other places as well. We ourselves may even use them unconsciously quite often. In short, it is to…
philosophy culture tradition discussion
阅读全文

2007年5月5日