分类：Life & Notes

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 After wracking my brains, I came up with this phrase: “Outdated Wisdom.”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title has not been finalized; suggestions and naming proposals from teachers and friends are always welcome~ Studying Outdated Things with a Clear Conscience When we say that something “has become history,” we…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
Giving a Talk on the History of Science at Central China Normal University

Life & Notes2014.11.05
Giving a Talk on the History of Science at Central China Normal University
Last weekend I went to Wuhan to give a lecture on behalf of Teacher Wu. My audience was two dozen or so graduate students, who are being trained as reserve talent for the Hubei Science and Technology Museum. The required course I was to teach consists of three parts: the history of Chinese science and technology, the history of world science and technology, and the philosophy of technology. The part on the history of world science and technology had originally been assigned to Teacher Wu, but since he was abroad, I was sent to teach it. I lectured for a day and a half straight on Saturday and Sunday, twelve…
philosophy everyday life science history of science
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2014年11月5日
Notes and Illustration Sources for “A Brief History of Scientific Culture”

Life & Notes2014.07.11
Notes and Illustration Sources for “A Brief History of Scientific Culture”
My first “monograph” has finally been published. This book is mainly a compilation of some articles already on the blog, with a bit of revision and stitching-together added to make a small book. Preparation for it began in September 2012, and by the end of that year the manuscript was basically finished. With Wu Laoshi’s help, it was published by Peking University Press as a public-literacy reader. Originally, I had hoped it would give me one more line on my record when I graduated and went job hunting for my doctorate, but after the slow publishing process, it finally came off the press at such an awkward time. By then…
science history of science Aristotle Bitcoin
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2014年7月11日
An Explanation Regarding Going to Teach a Public Class at 706 and the Strike

Life & Notes2013.05.28
An Explanation Regarding Going to Teach a Public Class at 706 and the Strike
A few weeks ago I went to 706 Youth Space to give three public lectures. The course was originally planned to have five sessions, but I decided not to continue with the last two. Any students who participated and would like to continue the exchange are welcome to stay in touch with me through the blog, Weibo, email, and so on. As for the background and aftermath of starting the course and the strike, let me explain here. I had not previously known much about 706 Youth Space. I went to give the lectures because I received an invitation from Zhou Ruixuan. I checked the organization’s positioning online—spontaneous pursuit of…
everyday life blog intellectuals ranting
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2013年5月28日
Settling Accounts After the Fall and Talking About Shoes

Life & Notes2013.03.27
Settling Accounts After the Fall and Talking About Shoes
A few days ago I reposted and mocked Xi’s “shoe theory” on Weibo, and my dad got unsettled. He immediately called to warn me to be careful with what I said, so as to avoid settling accounts after the autumn harvest. Generally speaking, it is rather awkward when the blogs and Weibo accounts of people born in the 1980s and 1990s come under the gaze of their parents, and I am no exception. Although my writing is addressed to anyone, and even if it is watched by parents and relatives it will not place any real pressure on me, it would be a lie to say that it causes no…
China freedom history tradition
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2013年3月27日
On Page Charges

Life & Notes2013.03.22
On Page Charges
Submission up to now, although quite a few short pieces and book reviews have been published, the situation with my properly serious academic papers is still rather worrying. The key, I suppose, is that I have simply not been conscientious enough; I only became energetically “sending many manuscripts to many journals” at a few particular points in time, and for most of the time I basically left things to fend for themselves. But two of my papers were both rejected after being accepted because of the issue of page charges, and this is a situation worth explaining. Perhaps you would guess that I refused to pay the page charges out…
China scholarship internet autobiography
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2013年3月22日
On Delayed Graduation and Looking for a Job

Life & Notes2013.03.21
On Delayed Graduation and Looking for a Job
Last time I was writing my Mumford paper, I posted a writing plan. Going by a pace of one chapter a month, it was obvious that I would only be able to finish the paper roughly after the summer vacation, and at the very least I wouldn’t be graduating until spring 2014. In other words, I have already decided to delay graduation by half a year. Although I also wanted to strive to finish my PhD in three years, I ultimately chose to postpone. This was something I had long anticipated, of course, but it is still worth explaining on the blog~ The reason for postponing is, first and foremost,…
everyday life scholarship education pursuit
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2013年3月21日
The First Weibo Post That Got Blocked~

Life & Notes2013.01.23
The First Weibo Post That Got Blocked~
My first Weibo post to get blocked~ So excited~ Gotta save an archive~ What got blocked was a repost, but the original post wasn’t blocked, and they just blocked me directly. Looks like it really was these two lines I posted that caught their eye. What I said was perfectly ordinary—why on earth was it blocked? Do they really think this sentence is threatening? In any case, being blocked is truly an honor; next time I’ll aim for a mute~
everyday life China social media Weibo
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2013年1月23日
Never Forget National Humiliation, Never Harbor National Grievance

Life & Notes2012.09.19
Never Forget National Humiliation, Never Harbor National Grievance
After 9/18 had passed, seeing that the 7-Eleven downstairs was still open for business as usual, I finally let out a slight sigh of relief. The article I had meant to write yesterday but didn’t get around to writing, I’ve decided to make up today. I don’t know why 9/18 is called “National Humiliation Day.” At first glance that doesn’t seem like a problem, but the more you think about it, the more something feels off. What is “humiliation”? Shamelessness, brazen lack of shame, “to know shame is close to courage”… Dictionaries define it as “inner shame caused by damage to one’s reputation,” or as shame, disgrace, or embarrassment. If…
China autobiography reason emotion
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2012年9月19日
[Reprint] Zhou Ruixuan: Lovers of wisdom, the things you don’t know — A note on Hu Yilin, a doctoral student in the Department of Philosophy, Class of 2010

Life & Notes2012.09.18
[Reprint] Zhou Ruixuan: Lovers of wisdom, the things you don’t know — A note on Hu Yilin, a doctoral student in the Department of Philosophy, Class of 2010
Note: The author is a girl I met back then when I was a TA for the “What Is Science?” course, and of course I was very honored to accept the interview. This should count as the first time I was written into an interview article, though of course one can still find an interview from when I was in middle school, as the “Dong Gezhi Star,” but that interview was fake; what I said was made up. This piece, however, really was the product of an actual conversation, and the author also used a lot of material from my blog. She showed it to me before publication, so it…
philosophy China Peking University autobiography
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2012年9月18日