The Human Intelligence Enterprise: Spring 2011
This book list is recommended by a MIT professor. I like the personalization and vividness in it. It’s also very informative. From this list I have known a great scientific writer: James Watson. I downloaded his major works and prepare to read them as detective novels.
Thank @cxiaoji of twitter for contribution.
To study economics has never been easy. There are so many jargons, terms, equitions, models, curves and graphs. However, we are lucky to live in a digital age, in which all kinds of learning resource is accessible. I’ve found it could be a better way to study economics through reading the opinion columns of WSJ—the Wall Street Journal.
Since Murdock acquired WSJ, the journal has erected a content paywall. Although a few articles are still free of charge, most of them need to pay to access. I subscribed the Kindle version of WSJ with a monthly fee of USD19.00. As a result, I can read the full contents of WSJ on web, kindle and my iPhone.
As a Chinese columnist, I pay more attention to my western countparts. To read their articles is the best way to learn the craft of writing. Writing is no more than carpentery. What I need are skill and tools. Talent is not for learning, but still is. That’s where my confidence has come from.
Today I read Where to Put Your Money in 2012. To be honest, I can’t fully comprehend what the author says. But I can feel the abundance of meaning and knowledge. I use another great resource to help to understand the jargons and terms. That’s economics a to z by London-based the Economist. For example, the article writes: “The yield on a total U.S. bond market exchange-traded fund (ticker BND) is only 3%. ” The jargon “yield” puzzles me. Then I look it up on the economist and find that the meaning is “The annual income from a SECURITY, expressed as a percentage of the current market PRICE of the security.” Using the same method, I understand several terms: share, equity etc. From the same article I come to know that the demography change of China and other emerging economy. China will face ageing problem in 2025. Dependency ratio (nonworking population v.s. working population) will be 1:1 then. However, India and Brazil will enjoy their continueing growth due to their advantange in youth population, Dependency ratios in these countries are 1:2 or 1:3, which means they have two to three workers for every nonworkers.
Sounds interesting? Read more columns and spend less time on tweeting or random web surfing. If you still have time, try to write in English. It’s hard but worthy of trying. Eventually it will pay off. Life is too precious to waste, isn’t it?
Sarcastic, cynical, bitter, and black-humorous, the obituary of Kim Jong II is written skillfully and dramatically.
The theme is playing a role. The order, time sequence. The model, a circle.
This article worth reading for 10 times if anyone what to learn the essence of English humor.
Is everything written here true. That’s not important.
The best column article ever written. Nobody Understands Debt by Paul Krugman.
Why we need columnists?
Once I asked a friend who is a programmer and geek: “Do you read columns in Chinese?”
“Seldom do I read these stuff. Though you are a columnist, I have to say, most columnist are cheaters and not worth of a dime. “
His answer really discouraged me. But I think he is right. Many columns published on newspapers and magazines, only few are worth of reading.
But in the world of English language, this is not true. Columnists enjoy a large scale readership. Their opinions are not only powerful enough to change the public opinion but also change the policies of government.
Mr. Paul Krugman-the Nobel Prize for economics winner, is a good example. His column in the New York Times is so popular that some readers claim that the only reason to subscribe the Times is to read his OP-ED.
On the debt issue of USA, nobody see more clearly than Mr. Krugman does. His article decipher the myth and misunderstanding of state debt is easy to understand and inspiring. To read a column article like this is like to drink a cup of good wine.
Let’s enjoy it and follow the example of it. This essay is so beautifully written and worth of repeated study.
So, enjoy the real column and change your prejudice of columnists.
As a Chinese blogger, accidents are essential parts of the virtual life. Your ip could be blocked. You DNS could be contemplated. Your registry could be terminated without prior notification. And the server running your blog could be unplugged.
So, when someone told me that this blog could not be visited, I thought it was just another accident directed by the GFW—Chinese censorship machine. However, finally I had found that it’s unaccessible even penetrating the wall by using a paid VPN. Every time when I typed the url of this blog, I got this message:”Your Tumblr is suspended.”
I was greatly puzzled. According to the Term of Service of Tumblr, an account will be suspended when it publishes harmful materials such as pornography, racism and hatred contents etc. But I have never posted any entries like that. Why me?
There are several effective ways to learn the craft of English writing, among which the best method, I think, is writing complaint letters. The key element of writing well is not skill, but the impulse, the dire need of expressing yourself. I wrote a complaint email to [email protected]. I got their reply very soon.
Hello Wang
There was a glitch on our end. My apologies. You may need to delete your cookies and cache but you should be able to access your blog now.
– to delete your web browser cache –
http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser’s-Cache
– To deleting your web browser’s cookies for Tumblr.com –
http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2
thanks
I did as they said. It does work.
I used a customized domain name on my tumblr account but the former ip became invalid due to the shift of server in Tumblr’s end. I changed the a-record of my domain name- wangpei.info and point it to a new ip which has not been blocked by GFW yet. And the whole world became normal again.
这一年过得真快，2010年12月31日－2011年1月1日，我和老婆参加了跨年诗歌朗诵会。在新年钟声敲响之际，大家齐声朗诵卡瓦菲斯的《城市》。
匆匆一年，有猫相伴。白菜头不是宠物，而是家庭成员。这一年，它带给我们太多的安慰、快乐、以及短暂悲伤后的惊喜。
这是一张很普通的照片，于我，却有惊心动魄的含义。2011年2月12日，站在杭州的中轴线上拍下这张照片。2个小时之后，一张辞呈已经打好。
老婆做饭的时候，忽然一声惊呼，我跑出来一看，原来她发现了这头怪蒜。我把这张照片发到微博，被转得到处都是。这张脸虽然难看，但至少它不装蒜。
2011年最失误的两件事，一是花1380的票价到上海看了一场鲍勃迪伦的演出，二没有舍得去北京看凯文斯帕西的《理查三世》。
这一年我以写作为生，除了给自己的杂志撰稿之外，还给报纸杂志写了181篇专栏，发表了26万字。如果这还不是专栏作家的话，那我不知道怎样才算是。
这一年波诡云谲，我们平安走过。
偶像的黄昏，一切坚固的东西都已烟消云散了。
大师一个个远去，留下众人的怀念或狼藉的声名。
无论峡谷，无论海洋，有你同在，就是天堂。4月一个明媚的早晨，跟老婆去看富春江。
有播种，就有收获。
这一年，我们脚步匆匆。
老婆走进产房的那一刻。
2011年12月15日下午2:23，儿子诞生。
从此，他们幸福地生活在一起。
