标签：book reading

[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
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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
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2007年7月22日
[Korean] Zheng Zaicheng: “The Science Concert”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.21
[Korean] Zheng Zaicheng: “The Science Concert”
[Korean] Jeong Jae-seung: *The Science Concert*, translated by Le Heng, Hainan Publishing House and Sihuan Publishing House, December 2003, 20 yuan The cover introduces it as “Hallyu popular science: scientific stories in daily life.” The book’s subtitle, “A Complex World and Bright, Clear Science,” uses light, engaging, and close-to-life stories to introduce some knowledge related to complexity science, including physics, fractals, statistics, and economics. Very good! It is not only far, far better than the level of popular science in China, but can also stand alongside popular science works in Europe and America, while at the same time being distinctive and full of character. Complexity is everywhere. July 21, 2007
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2007年7月21日
[Eng] John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.20
[Eng] John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”
[英]John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”, translated by Wang Nan, Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2007, 16 yuan. This is also one of the books in the “Xingsi Essays Series, Pocket Reading” collection; it was the third book I took with me to Shanxi, but I didn’t have time to read it there, so today I casually took care of it. The theme is the meaning of life, and the author’s line of thought and point of view seem close to mine: from science to philosophy to religion. The range he covers is basically also within my own reach; it’s almost as if I wrote the article myself— which also means…
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2007年7月20日
[Eng.] Edited by Mick O’Hare: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.20
[Eng.] Edited by Mick O’Hare: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?
[UK] Mick O’Hare, ed., *Why Don’t Penguin’s Feet Freeze? — 113 “Why” Questions and Answers from the General Public*, trans. Wang Mingyang, Guangxi Science and Technology Press, June 2007, 14.8 yuan Having held the top spot on the British Amazon overall bestseller list for 12 consecutive weeks, selling 130,000 copies in a single week and 830,000 copies in six months… jointly recommended by Zhang Jingzhong, Gan Zizhao, Jiang Xiaoyuan, and Liu Huajie… a book like this, of course, I could not let pass. This is indeed an extraordinary book—a popular-science book about all sorts of odd and amusing questions is not rare (though such books are generally imported ones), but…
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2007年7月20日
[US] T. Dantzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.18
[US] T. Dantzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science”
[美]T·Danzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science,” translated by Su Zhongxiang, Shanghai Education Press, December 2000, 17.1 yuan This book is a classic, though unfortunately it was written a little early (1938). Of course, read today it does not feel outdated; it’s just that in some places it seems to leave one wanting a bit more. Among the various popular mathematics books I have read in translation, this one is neither especially good nor especially bad—though it is also possible that, having already read so many related books, I’ve long since grown numb to much of the content… Page10, p12 Numerals are usually remarkably stable; even as everything else undergoes fundamental…
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2007年7月18日
[ENG] Michael Gregoriou: “Kant’s Curse—A Murder Case of Pure Reason”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.18
[ENG] Michael Gregoriou: “Kant’s Curse—A Murder Case of Pure Reason”
[Eng.] Michael Gregorio: *Kant’s Curse — The Pure Reason Murder Case*, translated by Bao Huiyi, People’s Literature Publishing House, May 2007, 29 yuan This book is not good. I read half of it a few months ago and then put it aside and stopped reading; now I’ve dug it out and forced myself to finish it. Not good— as a detective novel, it may still count as fairly decent, but Kant’s appearance in the book is simply unacceptable. July 18, 2007 Latest Comments UNIC 2007-07-18 14:54:44 Anonymous 220.171.180.115 Seen it in a bookstore,,,,,nice title, but once I saw it was a novel,,,,,
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2007年7月18日
[France] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: “A Philosophy Primer for Children”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.17
[France] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: “A Philosophy Primer for Children”
[French] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: *A Philosophical Introduction for Children*, translated by Pan Lin, Wang Chuanya, et al., Guangxi Normal University Press, June 2005, 125.00 yuan — ☆ At last I’ve found a set of philosophy gift books! (I’ve only flipped through half a volume, so I won’t say much for now; in any case, it’s pretty good.) This series claims to be written for children and teenagers aged eight and up. In my view, parents are the more suitable readers. The best way to initiate children into philosophy, in any case, should be direct conversation. A Philosophical Introduction for Children (Complete Set of 6 Volumes) July 17, 2007 Latest…
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2007年7月17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…
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2007年7月17日
[Eng] G•H•Hardy: A Mathematician’s Apology

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.16
[Eng] G•H•Hardy: A Mathematician’s Apology
[Eng]G·H·Hardy: A Mathematician’s Apology, translated by Wang Xiyong, Commercial Press, April 2007, 8 yuan Page5 Preface (C·P· Snow) When A Mathematician’s Apology first appeared, Graham Greene wrote in a review that, like Henry James’s handwriting, this book portrayed no less well what a creative artist is like. Page46 For a professional mathematician, finding himself writing about mathematics is a dispiriting experience. A mathematician’s role is to do mathematical things, to prove new theorems and add them to mathematics, not to talk about what he or other mathematicians have done. Politicians look down on political commentators, painters despise art critics, and physiologists, physicists, or mathematicians often feel the same way; there is no more…
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2007年7月16日