3.26 march

CNN depicts the march as a public protest for peace, for freedom, for democracy, and against potential war. Sina tells us that the march is a completely political show, and any sensible people are not in it.

兼听则明，偏信则暗。

mad thought

I often heard that we live in a four dimension world: three dimension of space and one dimension of time. In space dimension, we can travel up and down, forward and backward, left and right. But in time dimension, we have only one direction.

Of course, everyone knows that.

Since space and time are linked, and everybody think about if we can travel to the past, what will happen... I am sometimes in that kind of dreams, but recently I find that I forget one thing.

If we can travel to the past, we change one property of the dimension of time, i.e., from one direction to two directions. So, we have to pay for what we get. What is the price? We have to sacrifice a direction from a space dimension. In other words, if we can travel to the past, we will sacrifice our ability to go right(left), or up(down), or forward(backward).

maths and language are abstracted symbols

--for memory of theoretical physics

The above formula means that internal energy of ideal gas is not a funtion of the volume of the ideal gas, in other words, the internal energy of ideal gas will not change if only the volume of the ideal gas changes. It is a direct application of the first law thermodynamics in ideal gas.

In the above paragraph, I use one sentence, 42 words, to explain briefly what the equation means. But from another point of view, I used 42 words to explain the result of direct application of the first law of thermodynamics to ideal gas. And the same application (or fact) can be described by only one equation.

Of course, the letters U, V and T need definitions before the equation, or any combination of them, has any meaning. But is the 42-word sentence self-contained or self-sufficient? No, what is ideal gas, what is internal energy, what is volume, what is temperature and what is function. Even what is "change"?

In maths, definitions are like building blocks, one upon another, which form the mansion of maths. I try to find out what is at the bottom of this mansion. I look at numbers: 1 to 9 and the 0. They are abstracted symbols of the things in real world. 1 apple, 2 apples...From the real things, we get the idea of 1 and 2 and so on.

Language more or less serves the same function: to describe the real things. But a big difference between maths and language is that too many words in a language do not have clear definition. And it seems that people do not care about whether they have clear definitions or not.

a handful of photons

Guess what will you get more if you make a hollow fist, photon or air molecules? I guess it is photons. But the calculation prove that I was wrong.

Under room temperature, a hollow fist will have about one billion photons while the number of air molecules is 25 billion billion, two billion times than photons.

The meaning of life

My high school classmate, a young life, came to an end not long ago. Death comes to me so near again and deliberately to show me the fragile nature of life. It once again lets me to ponder about the meaning of life.

Everybody knows that "we're all going to die, and it's just a matter of time", but few keep it in mind. Perhaps that's why Russell once wrote that "a certain awareness of the ends of human life" is an indispensable portion of wisdom. When fear and despair take the full control over reason, to die seems to be a good option. So reason alone cannot prevent one to choose that option. "On the one hand, by knowing things somewhat remote in time or space, and, on the other hand, by giving to such things their due weight in our feelings" we might broaden our mind and our feelings, and ergo prevent letting fear and despair take the control.

Most of the world is in peace now, and the country is growing. And there is no tyranny to fight against. It's suitable to take a lighthearted attitude towards life. Forget the burden, forget the stress. "人生就像是在旅行,在乎的不是目的地,而是沿途的风景和看风景的心情." So, one part of meaning of life, it seems to me, is to experience and feel everything--the human, the world and the universe.

Small thoughts

Standing upside-down bring more blood to the head, a good practice during reading breaks.

I help my young cousin with her middle school math every Sunday. She is learning elementary algebra now. All her homework is about how to substitute the variables in formula with other monomial or polynomial. The basic thinking pattern--substitution--is one work we now still practise in college.

子贡问曰:"有一言而可以终身行之者乎?"子曰:"其恕乎! 己所不欲, 勿施于人。"I read similar thoughts in Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People: "If out of reading this book you get just one thing--an increased tendency to think always in terms of other people's point of view, and see things from their angle--if you get that one thing out of this book..." Humans are similar in nature whether we are yellow, white or black.

chemistry joke

When my instructor describe how class for graduate student in Harvard Chemistry department is. He quipped: "After the four courses, the thermodynamics problem is solved (the students get fully prepared of knowledge in a particular research area), and what is left is kinetics problem (how to apply those knowledge in actual research work).

new semester and boring lecture

The new semester began officially on Monday. But for me, it just begins today, because I have no classes on Monday and Tuesday. I feel a little excited of having classes again after a terribly long three-month holiday. But after listening to two lectures, I was bored.

The first lecturer has a little enthusiam but cannot articulate his speech clearly. Further, by constantly mentioning his position as a teacher and our positions as students, who should work hard on his subject as he also nags , he seems to prevent a intellectual intercourse on a mutual equal ground.

The second lecturer has no enthusiasm at all. He delivers his lecture in a monotonous voice, which easily send people to sleep.

Lectures do not always like that. I still remember the well-organized and well-articulate mathematics lecture from Prof. Su, and humourous and enlightening philosophy letures from Prof. Holbo. Those lecturers not only transmit knowledge but also enthusism of their own subjects as well.

The extent of feeling

Two months have pasted since the tsunami. I sometimes wonder why I have not donated anything.

When I was having my dinner in the ground floor of a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, I bought a book and two ballpens from a elementary school girl who was collecting money for local charity. In Singapore, I joined an charity activity which also collects money for local charity orgainzation. On that day, which is called flag day by NUS, we spend all of our time asking one question: "Could you please give some donation for chariy?" Whether in Kuala Lumpur or in Singapore, I was connected with those unfortunate people directly, either by the girl or by an orgnization. The connection is not only a human relation chain, but also a link between my feelings and the unfortunate's. This connection let my feeling extend outside my own region and reaches out to a far-away person. And by giving the donation or collecting the money, I was gratified emotionally.

So when I think about why I did not give a donation, I concludes it is because there is no such connection near me. My area of feeling has no connection with those unfornate people. And my area of feeling has not grown to the stage that it can automatically generate a motive for building the connection, i.e. that I did not search for an organiztion for the donation.

So finally, one thing can be improved. Just as Carl Jung says, "We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect, we apprehend it just as much by feeling." The area of feeling is to be enlarged.

a slip before chance

I am interested in analyzing human feelings these days and how emotion can influence reasoning. The patient is myself. I feel depressed this morning after knowing that the earliest interview time for my visa application will be on April 11, which is too late for FACES. The depression generate a sudden panic in me for quit a while.

The interesting thing is how such feeling, whether I call it depression, panic, fear or worry, take over the control of my mind. After the phone call, I write and sent a short message to a delegate informing this emergency. It was not until quite a while later that I discover the message is full of unconsciously mistyped words. I do not notice it at all when type them.

It is easy to keep balance when standing on normal ground. But when on the icy road, it is not such a easy task to keep balance. The same is the case that an emotion take over the mind when I still want to keep reasoning.

Drilling is what I need.

The baby met in Malaysia

I met Malysia parents and this baby in the twin tower in Kuala Lumpur. At that time, the parents were taking photoes of the baby. A very lovely baby. So I take one too, after having their parents' permission.

Science websites: Special Topics

Special Topics As the main page claims, it provides "citation analyses and commentary for selected scientific research areas that have experienced notable recent advances or are of special current interest."

Molecular Self-Assembly

Molecular Self-Assembly
this pages provides top papers, top authors, top institutions, top nations and top journals of self-assembly.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology
this pages gives top papers, top authors, top institutins, and top journals of the nanotechnology.

two more small thoughts

1. Yu tongmao: a man who solely learn from experience and who see college as an absolutely means
2. from the sound and lights show in Malacca. The Malaysia was colonized by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British, and the Japanese in succession. When they seek the independence, they unite all the ethnic groups in Malaysia, which demonstrates again that unite we win, divided we fall.

some small thoughts during the trip

1. The appetite for new things and curiosity of what is the law under the superficial scene makes me to pursue my science career.
2. A talk with Huong, a Malaysia business man whom I met in Green Hut lodge, reminds me the importance of English. English is a tool to let one be an international guy. He mentioned that there are good scientists in Japan and Germany who know little English. The lack of knowledge of English prevents them from being international.
3. I got lost twice or more times in KL shopping malls, which proves that the key of design shopping mall is to let the guest get lost and spend more time in the mall and hence more likely to buy more things.
4. I use the gesture of Thumb-up very frequently as an end of asking ways or other info in my travel. I learned the gesture from a guy in C1 Eusoff. I think it is a universal gesture for approval, which also turns me from the role of a learner to the role of more or less a judger.
5. Reading local newspaper reminds of the importance of getting a little knowledge of the macroeconomics, while doing the daily purchase make me feel that the microeconomics is also important.
6. I thought about chenyi in my trip. A teacher whose student is greater than her/him is the best teacher.
7. In the morning the 7th Dec, the host of Green Hut Lodge greeted me with “hi, zhe shi wo meng de nanjing ren!” it makes me feel a little proud because I may be the first nanjing ren in Malaysia Hostels
8. I ran, ran and ran, with the last hope of the kind service lady will let me in , and got to the Petronas Twin Tower 15 minutes after the time (4pm) shown on the ticket.
“I know I was late, but...”
“why are u late?”
“I lost my way.”
“do not do this again anywhere.” and she lets me in...
9. Yu tongmao: a man who solely learn from experience and who see college as an absolutely means

small travel tips continued

1. I do not change the money to ringgit before arriving at Malaysia, which makes a little trouble when check in the hostel. Change the money before arriving at the country, or use the mastercard or visa card to draw money.
2. I bought the city map at the night I arrived at Kuala Lumpur, which is after I had found the hostel. Get the city map as early as possible, which make finding the hotel easier.
3. I used the compass throughout my journey. Always equipped with a compass when traveling!!
4. I do not bring an umbrella with me to Malaysia. And luckily, there is no rain in those days. But, next time, get the weather info of the destination and decide whether to bring the umbrella.
5. The Kuala Lumpur is small. All the places of interests are within walking distance. Take a note of the scale of the city map, the KL is 1:12000 and the size of the map is about 2 times the A4 size.
6. I use the single-shoulder bag in the trip, which hurts my shoulders. Next time, use the double-shoulder bag.
7. Muslin food is spicy, very spicy.
8. I bought 4 tins of beer in Malaysia. Every tin costs 7 ringgits. A usual meal will cost less than 5 ringgits. So, beer in Malaysia is much more expensive compare to beer in China.
9. I rent a very bad room in Malacca. The mirror in the room is broken, the bed sheet is not clean, the wall of bathroom which is shared within a floor molded. All of these spoil my mood. Look the room before renting it in the budget hotel.

small general travel tips

1. I forget to bring the shorts with me to Malaysia: check the clothes!
2. The Hostel of Green Hut Lodge does not provide toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel, slipper or blanket. Other hostel may be the same.
3. The free tourism map of Malacca is not complete. The express bus station is not in the right location of the map, maybe because it is a new express bus station. So asking the way together with the help of map is the best choice in finding ways in a strange city.
4. When I try to locate myself on the map, it is easier to find the rivers, if any, first if the road name is not easy to find on the map. Use the geographic info such as river, mountains, even the position of the sun to help locate myself.
5. I walked from the Malacca express bus station to the downtown, which is a long way. But the next day I found out that there is a “domestic” bus travel between the express bus station and the downtown. Remember to use the convenient public transportation to save my energy when traveling. There should always be bus shuttle between inter-city transportation stations such as airport, railway station or express bus station and the downtown area, if those stations are not in downtown.
6. Note the way of my generalization of the tips—from specific to general. It is a form of thought that I am not used to.
7. I read the local newspaper Star in Kuala Lumpur and the 东方日报 in Malacca. Two pieces of important info: media watchdog: reporters without borders and www.project-syndicate.org. Critical thinking helps me to get more from reading local news, especially the ability to see behind the surface. Keeps alert when reading newspapers, it is completely different from reading science articles in that nearly all the information is subjective.

little life quote

"行百里者，半九十. "

the benefit of writing summary or outline of a book

I find that writing summary or outline of what I am reading, especially textbook, will help me grasp the whole subject and understand it better. I have practiced it since the first year of my university life. Writing summary or outline in the process of reading will help me keep a track of what had been stated in the book, preventing me from losing myself in specific details. It reminds from time to time me that which part of the subject I am now going to detail. And it also let me to think about how one part of a subject relates to other parts of the subjects, and hence get a full view of the subjects. So, though writing the summary or outline will slow down reading, it is actually a more profitable. I will keep this habit when reading new subjects and science articles.