标签：astronomy

Lecture Notes on the General History of Science 9: The Copernican Revolution

History of Science & Technology2015.04.30
Lecture Notes on the General History of Science 9: The Copernican Revolution
Last time we talked about printing as the technological environment of the Scientific Revolution. Starting from this lesson, we will formally enter the period of the Scientific Revolution. Last time we mentioned that, when talking about the Scientific Revolution, we must at least distinguish three lines of development: first, astronomy; second, physics. These two lines converge in Newton, and can together be called the tradition of the mathematical sciences; this also constitutes the so-called “main line” of the Scientific Revolution in the usual sense. The third is alchemy and magic. This line stretches back farther than Copernicus and Newton; although its emblematic result is the rise of chemistry, its significance…
history of science philosophy of science course Scientific Revolution
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2015年4月30日
Lecture Notes on the General History of Science 6: Special Topics in the History of Chinese Science

History of Science & Technology2015.04.09
Lecture Notes on the General History of Science 6: Special Topics in the History of Chinese Science
This time we are treating the history of Chinese science as a special topic. This subject does not lie within the lineage of Western science, so it is relatively difficult to discuss: there is a great deal of material on the history of Chinese science, but it is itself very scattered, and it is hard to summarize or to筛选 out what counts as core content. So this class may also be relatively free-ranging; what I mainly select are some points that can be set in contrast with the formation of Western science. We know that ancient China achieved a great many scientific accomplishments. Our primary and secondary education, as well…
China history of science course Scientific Revolution
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2015年4月9日
Lectures on the General History of Science 4: Hellenistic Science

History of Science & Technology2015.03.27
Lectures on the General History of Science 4: Hellenistic Science
Last class we talked about ancient Greece as the birthplace of science. The key word of Greek learning is “freedom,” and this freedom has several layers of meaning. As for things, free things are natural things, as distinct from artificial things; natural things provide their own causes, so the discipline that seeks causes within things themselves is natural philosophy. As for human beings, freedom stands opposed to utility, and free persons stand opposed to slaves; one should pursue excellence rather than chase immediate material gain. As for learning, free learning stands opposed to imitation and authority; mathematics is the paradigm of free learning, because knowledge displays itself, without relying on…
philosophy science course Aristotle
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2015年3月27日
Second Commentary on the Science and Technology Assignment (On the Revolutionary and Conservative Aspects of the Copernican System)

Teaching & Courses2011.11.30
Second Commentary on the Science and Technology Assignment (On the Revolutionary and Conservative Aspects of the Copernican System)
I’d been busy with meetings for a while; organizing these meetings takes so much mental energy that I still haven’t really recovered… But the long-overdue second assignment for Keton had to be graded. I’ve already gone through the assignments once and added comments one by one. Some assignments got very few comments, so I’ll use this space to talk about the more general issues. First, I have to stress once again the issue of annotation conventions. Last time I only directly pointed out the problem of annotation conventions in my replies to some students; for other students whose annotations were also nonstandard, I didn’t criticize them directly. Instead, I wrote…
history of science scholarship history course
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2011年11月30日
On the First Assignment for History of Science and Technology: Basic Features of Hellenistic Science Seen Through Ptolemaic Astronomy

Teaching & Courses2011.10.13
On the First Assignment for History of Science and Technology: Basic Features of Hellenistic Science Seen Through Ptolemaic Astronomy
The first assignment has basically been graded; let me summarize it. First, about the scores. This semester each assignment is worth only 10 points, and I was thinking of grading in 0.5-point increments. The highest score, 9.5, should be kept to a very small number—about one per class on average, and it can even be left unused; the teaching assistants can compare the best papers and then decide. Excellent papers get 9; good ones, 8 or 8.5; passing ones, 7 or 7.5; rather poor ones, around 6; abysmal ones, below 5; and plagiarism or failure to submit, 0. As for late submissions—strictly speaking, this course does not even have the…
course Peking University Greece astronomy
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2011年10月13日
(For the first assignment in the General History of Science—“Briefly describe the basic features of Greek cosmology and astronomy”) A few words before I’ve even graded the assignment~

Teaching & Courses2009.10.27
(For the first assignment in the General History of Science—“Briefly describe the basic features of Greek cosmology and astronomy”) A few words before I’ve even graded the assignment~
Before the homework is graded, let me say a few words~ The third question on this assignment, namely “briefly describe the basic features of Greek cosmology and astronomy,” was set by me and will also be graded by me. Perhaps because the topic seemed difficult, or because it was listed last, in any case comparatively the fewest students chose my topic. I only received 36 submissions, which just so happens to make it possible for me to offer a bit of special kill-you-while-serving-you (service)~ That is to say, in addition to learning their scores, everyone will also know exactly why they were inevitably killed by the TA~~ I will explain…
philosophy history of science course Aristotle
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2009年10月27日
zz Sender: SMG Solar Eclipse Live Broadcast Shockingly Absurd Quotations (Repost)

Life & Notes2009.07.22
zz Sender: SMG Solar Eclipse Live Broadcast Shockingly Absurd Quotations (Repost)
Sender: AvenueQ (Traveler on the Chang’an Road), Section: Joke Title: SMG Live Broadcast of the Solar Eclipse: Outrageous Quotes (Repost) Posted from: Peking University Weiming Station (Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 18:06:44), forwarded 【 The following text is reposted from the Triangle discussion board 】【 The original was posted by AvenueQ 】 http://www.douban.com/group/topic/7351690/ 1 At one observation point, clouds made it impossible to see the total solar eclipse. Male host: “There are clouds now, so we can’t see the solar eclipse. When the sun is completely covered later, we should be able to see the stars, right?” Professor: “You can’t see them.” Male host: “You should be able to, though….
everyday life Peking University astronomy
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2009年7月22日
zzA once-in-a-century astronomical feast: July 22 · the Yangtze River total solar eclipse

Life & Notes2009.07.07
zzA once-in-a-century astronomical feast: July 22 · the Yangtze River total solar eclipse
A Centennial Astronomical Feast: The July 22 Total Solar Eclipse along the YangtzeSteed posted on 2009-07-05 16:20 On July 22, the moon’s huge shadow will once again sweep across our country, and the spectacle of a total solar eclipse will once more pay a visit to China. Although it has been less than a year since the last total solar eclipse, these two eclipses could hardly be more different. The total solar eclipse of August 1, 2008, occurred in the evening, when the sun was already slanting low in the western sky at totality, and the duration was only a little over two minutes. This eclipse, by contrast, will occur…
everyday life China astronomy stars
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2009年7月7日
Solar Eclipse and Ritual

Chinese Civilization & the Way of Chinese2009.07.01
Solar Eclipse and Ritual
When the ruler’s conduct is irregular, and the dukes and ministers are unvirtuous, when the Yi and the Di are strong and invade, and all affairs are thrown into confusion, then the sun is eclipsed.——《Spring and Autumn Wei: Gan Jing Fu》 When the ruler indulges himself and does not follow the ancients, when he acts against Heaven and brutalizes things, calamity arises and then the sun is eclipsed.——《Spring and Autumn Wei: Yundou Shu》 When the ruler’s joy and anger are irregular, when he lightly kills the innocent, executes the guiltless, disrespects Heaven and Earth, and disregards ghosts and spirits, then the sun is eclipsed.——《Liyun Wei: Dou Weiyi》 When the…
culture China ritual astronomy
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2009年7月1日
Recollecting “Political Astronomy”

Life & Notes2009.06.23
Recollecting “Political Astronomy”
Jiang Xiaoyuan’s concept. He says that astronomy in ancient China served politics: anomalous changes in the heavens corresponded to anomalous changes among human affairs, especially changes in dynasties. In particular, major events like solar eclipses signaled crisis or moral failure. The emperor had to hurry to examine himself, offer sacrifices and reports to Heaven, and even grant a general amnesty, and so on. Modern people know that celestial phenomena are objective facts; one can even predict the time of a solar eclipse millions of years in advance. How, then, could they possibly be linked to the fortunes of human dynasties? And worshipping Heaven is only an empty ritual—what meaning could…
everyday life faith tradition politics
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2009年6月23日