标签：Newton

Newtonian Mechanics and Modern Currency

History of Science & Scholarship2018.08.20
Newtonian Mechanics and Modern Currency
On July 16, I was invited to give a short talk at an event organized by Shiliu Blockchain. The original title was “Newtonian Mechanics and Modern Currency.” A couple of days ago, they released the video and a written transcript, retitled “The Hidden Connections Between the Scientific Revolution and Modern Currency.” The manuscript was prepared by them based on my lecture; in fact, before the lecture I had already written my own speaking notes, which of course differ from the actual talk. I’m posting them below for reference. The Affinity with Bitcoin Like many people, I saw news about Bitcoin very early on in the tech media, but I never…
science history of science Web3 Scientific Revolution
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2018年8月20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 After wracking my brains, I came up with this phrase: “Outdated Wisdom.”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title has not been finalized; suggestions and naming proposals from teachers and friends are always welcome~ Studying Outdated Things with a Clear Conscience When we say that something “has become history,” we…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
Lectures on the General History of Science 13: Science in the Age of Enlightenment

History of Science & Technology2015.05.28
Lectures on the General History of Science 13: Science in the Age of Enlightenment
Today we are talking about eighteenth-century science. From the Glorious Revolution in England in 1688 to the French Revolution in 1789, the eighteenth century can be said to have been a century of transformation in history. The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution both took place in this century, and the independence of the United States and the rise of Russia also both occurred in this century. But in terms of the history of science, the eighteenth century seems to have been a relatively uneventful period. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries before it were the sweeping and magnificent Scientific Revolution; and the nineteenth century is called the century of science, with…
technology history of science course Kant
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2015年5月28日
Lectures on the General History of Science 11: Alchemy and the Scientific Revolution [Next Week’s Class Discussion]

History of Science & Technology2015.05.14
Lectures on the General History of Science 11: Alchemy and the Scientific Revolution [Next Week’s Class Discussion]
Last class, we finished the mechanical revolution all the way up to Newton. The problems in physics provoked by Copernicus’s astronomical revolution were ultimately solved by Newtonian mechanics, but Newtonian mechanics itself implied a certain conceptual transformation amounting to sleight of hand: the distinction between nature and artifice, the distinction between inwardness and outwardness, and the boundary between physics and mechanics were all finally broken through, and the introduction of the concept of “force” ultimately substituted itself for people’s search for “cause.” We said that Newtonian mechanics is accidental in name; of course we could equally have had something like Empedology or Zhang San Dology, and F=ma could be replaced…
history of science course Scientific Revolution nature
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2015年5月14日
Lectures on the General History of Science 10: The Mechanics Revolution [Class Discussion the Week After Next]

History of Science & Technology2015.05.07
Lectures on the General History of Science 10: The Mechanics Revolution [Class Discussion the Week After Next]
Today the Department of Astronomy has an important lecture, and the astronomy students all took leave together, so that attendance in class fell to a new low; in the second period, only 3 people were left…… Although I do not require attendance every time, such a dismal turnout is still rather depressing. It seems I need to think of some way around it. There was a similar phenomenon when I used to take Professor Wu’s class: once the semester had entered its latter half and reached the stage of the Scientific Revolution, attendance actually dropped by quite a lot. Perhaps after half a semester of classes everyone was simply exhausted,…
course Aristotle Scientific Revolution Copernicus
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2015年5月7日
Course Outline: A General History of Science

Teaching & Courses2014.11.05
Course Outline: A General History of Science
Next semester I’m preparing to teach two courses at Beijing Normal University. No one is actually making me do this; I went to Beijing Normal University in the first place because I wanted to teach. Whether I end up staying at Beijing Normal University as a lecturer or not, I might as well first build up some experience—at least then my postdoc won’t have been for nothing. I’m planning to offer one general-education elective and one major course; the general-education elective will be a General History of Science. I listened to Teacher Wu’s lectures on the general history of science in several rounds at Peking University, and I’ve already served…
history of science course Scientific Revolution Wu Guosheng
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2014年11月5日
The Re-Creation of the World: How Modern Science Came Into Being

History of Science & Scholarship2012.04.08
The Re-Creation of the World: How Modern Science Came Into Being
[荷]H·弗洛里斯·科恩：《The Re-Creation of the World: How Modern Science Came into Being》，translated by Zhang Butian, Hunan Science and Technology Press, 2012 This is a slim booklet written for ordinary readers, and may be regarded as a popularized version of the author’s other weighty scholarly work, *How Modern Science Was Born: Four Civilizations, One Breakthrough in the Seventeenth Century*. The Needham Question has long been a topic of particular concern to Chinese historians of science and even to the general public. The Hong Kong scholar Chen Fangzheng recently published *Inheritance and Rebellion: Why Did Modern Science Appear in the West?* Teacher Zhou Cheng translated a book also called *Why Did Modern…
book reading China notes history of science
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2012年4月8日
Space and Geometry—Questions for Reflection and Suggestions for Discussion from Teacher Wang’s Lecture

History of Science & Scholarship2010.10.13
Space and Geometry—Questions for Reflection and Suggestions for Discussion from Teacher Wang’s Lecture
http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=1169 Although Professor Wang’s lecture this time was rather jumpy in content, the reading materials assigned this time are relatively readable. If you read the materials in advance, listening to Professor Wang’s lecture can serve to help the two illuminate each other. I hope everyone will be sure to read the relevant materials, and at the very least must read the second part of *Science and Hypothesis*. In tomorrow’s discussion class, the main speakers and the TAs should discuss more around the materials, and not wander too far afield. Broadly speaking, the issues involved in this lecture and the reading materials are these: 1. What is space? 2. What is…
science Kant space Newton
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2010年10月13日
On the Intrinsic Reasons for the Integration of the Mathematical-Traditional and Experimental Traditions

History of Science & Scholarship2009.12.28
On the Intrinsic Reasons for the Integration of the Mathematical-Traditional and Experimental Traditions
Sender: EPR (Gu Bu | JOKER | Pingtian Dasheng | the homebody who wants to become the Pirate King), Board: KXTS标　 Subject: My own conjecture about the second essay question Posting site: Peking University Weiming BBS (2009-12-28 22:20:24, Monday), internal message This year’s short-answer questions were relatively easy. The first essay question was a homework problem from previous years, and the third homework question was fairly open-ended. Only the second question was especially difficult; I was completely stumped by it at first. Still, it is quite interesting. Although I didn’t set the question, I also want to try to guess at a possible line of thought. First, the question asks…
science philosophy of science Scientific Revolution knowledge
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2009年12月28日
Yu Zemin: “Seeing Europe in Cafés,” Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, 2007

Culture & Public Commentary2009.02.21
Yu Zemin: “Seeing Europe in Cafés,” Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, 2007
Page 34 In the small cafés of English towns, there is still a custom in which one customer “pays for” another. If one traces it to its source, one finds that the English picked up the habit from the Turks. In Turkey, when you walk into a café and have just ordered your coffee, you may suddenly hear someone in the room shout, “It’s on me!” The proprietor will then put your bill on the account of the customer who called out. Perhaps he is your friend, perhaps he wants to get acquainted with you… At that point, you not only have to walk over and thank her, but also greet…
book reading notes Newton Einstein
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2009年2月21日