标签：science

Viète and the Transformation of Mathematics from Antiquity to Modernity

History of Science & Scholarship2018.11.09
Viète and the Transformation of Mathematics from Antiquity to Modernity
Published in the Chang’e supplement of Science and Technology Daily on November 9; I cobbled this piece together from a general invitation for submissions. Science and Technology Daily has launched a new column, “Stories from the History of Science,” which is rather good. If any students want to submit something, I can make the connection. Of course, the mentality of the traditional media is still rather old-fashioned—for example, they always hope to draw out some kind of scientific spirit… Viète (François Viète, 1540–1603) was a famous mathematician of the Renaissance. Contemporary middle school students are probably not unfamiliar with his name, because the “formula for finding the roots” of the…
science history of science history mathematics
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2018年11月9日
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 Bitcoin
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2018年8月20日
The Spirit of Science: Struggle or Harmony?

History of Science & Scholarship2018.06.20
The Spirit of Science: Struggle or Harmony?
This one was also commissioned, but it seems it was never published. It began because an editor at a newspaper or magazine wanted to put together a special issue on the scientific spirit and hoped to commission some related articles. The various keywords she gave included: tireless effort, fearless before power, daring to question, breaking through old prejudices, indifferent to fame and fortune, content with loneliness, even sacrifice of one’s life…… I disliked every single one of those words, so I proposed that these ideas were too cliché and too naïve. If we were going to talk about “the scientific spirit,” why not turn things around and talk about chasing…
science history of science scholarship scientific spirit
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2018年6月20日
History of Science as a Nature Reserve—A Darwinian View of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2018.04.05
History of Science as a Nature Reserve—A Darwinian View of Science
Last Friday (March 30), I was invited to Shanghai Natural History Museum to take part in a “reading session,” where I introduced my own Outdated Wisdom. Although it was an internal event, there were quite a few listeners—more than 50 friends from museums and publishing houses took part. The title I set for my talk was “Outdated Wisdom and Its Contemporary Significance.” I heard that Liu Su was going as well, so I especially strengthened the Darwinian evolutionary logic in it, and won myself a remark: “Thought-provoking; I hadn’t expected it could be used that way.” I was pretty satisfied with that~ This talk was rather unusual for me, because…
science history of science philosophy of science Scientific Revolution
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2018年4月5日
The “King of Invention” wasn’t called that for nothing—he was the one who invented “invention” itself

History of Science & Scholarship2017.11.24
The “King of Invention” wasn’t called that for nothing—he was the one who invented “invention” itself
This article was published in the November 24, 2017 issue of the *Science and Technology Daily* on the “Chang’e Supplement.” The original title was “Edison: The Invention of Invention”; the editor’s revised title is also quite good, so I am reposting it according to the edited version. What was Edison’s greatest invention? People usually think of the light bulb. But many people do not realize that, in fact, Edison was only an improver of the light bulb; decades before him there had already been light bulbs, and even in terms of commercial popularization, he was not the first. But Edison was still undeniably the king of invention. His contribution…
technology science history innovation
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2017年11月24日
Less Habit, More Tracing Back to the Source — A Review of The Origin of Everything

History of Science & Scholarship2017.09.11
Less Habit, More Tracing Back to the Source — A Review of The Origin of Everything
This book review was a commissioned piece I wrote in the first half of this year, but after I handed it in, it seems it was never published? (No feedback.) I suppose they thought I had written it badly. In fact, although this book really is quite good, it is not all that stunning, and there is no especially strong central idea to comment on, so I did not go all out in singing its praises either. But since I wrote it, I might as well post it here. The popular science book Origins of Everything, compiled by the British magazine *New Scientist*, has recently been introduced and published…
book reading science history of science book review
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2017年9月11日
Galileo as an Artist

History of Science & Scholarship2017.09.01
Galileo as an Artist
本文发表于《Science and Technology Daily》，with only minor changes at the time of publication. Galileo as an Artist Galileo was born in 1564, the very year Michelangelo died. From Michelangelo to Galileo, one sees modern European history moving from the age of the Renaissance into the new era of the Scientific Revolution. The bond between Galileo and Michelangelo was not merely the coincidence of their years of birth and death; there was a deeper connection between them. Galileo was born into an impoverished noble family. Among his ancestors there had once been a highly respected physician, so Galileo’s father put great effort into having the young Galileo study medicine. Although Galileo…
science history of science media art
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2017年9月1日
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Breakfast

Teaching & Courses2017.08.16
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: Breakfast
When I first talked about getting up, the second case would naturally be breakfast. 1. Cross-section: Breakfast The picture above was found in a casual search; it isn’t my own breakfast, but it looks fairly everyday, so let’s start from here. Why eat breakfast? — For nutrition? For health? What is breakfast? — Isn’t breakfast not a regular meal? What do you eat for breakfast? — Fried eggs, milk… 2. Technical conditions Many things make breakfast possible. First, what makes breakfast breakfast is a certain temporal rhythm: we eat breakfast before reading or going to work. Second, custom and nutrition science have made breakfast something regarded as necessary. Then there…
technology science history course
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2017年8月16日
The Blame for “Health” Scams Shouldn’t Be Put on the Audience

Culture & Public Commentary2017.06.25
The Blame for “Health” Scams Shouldn’t Be Put on the Audience
Yet another commissioned piece from *China Science Daily*. Last time, I finished the commissioned piece in half a day; perhaps that efficiency left a good impression on the paper. This time they came looking for me again to write something, and lately I’ve been so busy I’m almost falling ill. I had originally meant to refuse, but after taking a look at the topic and thinking I’d probably be able to dash off something fairly quickly, I tried writing it. In the end I finished it in two hours, meals included. It was, after all, just an essay, so the standards didn’t need to be too high, and that was…
China science commentary the masses
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2017年6月25日
Science Popularization Should Stand on the Opposite Side of “Innovation”

History of Science & Scholarship2017.05.22
Science Popularization Should Stand on the Opposite Side of “Innovation”
This piece appeared today in the *China Science Daily*; it is an impromptu essay I dashed off in half a day after being commissioned to write it. The original title was “How to Understand the Relationship Between Science Popularization and Technological Innovation”; when it was published, the title was changed and two paragraphs were cut. The cuts were actually pretty good, so I’ll just post the reprint here directly: http://news.sciencenet.cn/sbhtmlnews/2017/5/323655.shtm Since 2001, the third week of May every year has been designated the National Science and Technology Activity Week; this year is already the 17th edition. Science and Technology Week is positioned as a “mass science and technology activity,” aimed…
science history of science history tradition
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2017年5月22日