Scientific Research?

李嗣涔 got involved in some research that related to extra-sensory perception, especially finger viewing (手指識字). I watched his seminars (two video clips) & found that his method of research is not scientific at all. Especially some of his conclusions are shocking & wonder how he can get away that kind of conclusions without the scrutiny of scientific societies. It also raises a question how he can publish the paper without some peer reviewing. What is going on in NTU & its EE Department?

It is not uncommon for a scientist to do research related to something supernatural. You can do “大胆的假設”. But before you reach some conclusions, you had better do “小心的求証”. 李嗣涔’s research is filled with holes & false claims. The following are some of them.

He proposeed there is a field “信息場” & it leads to “靈異世界”.
But he never defines exactly what it is, let alone to prove it. What is the unit of the field strength & how does he measures it? It sounds like the good old "Ether" again.

He believes the story that a person who made a dream & got the whole copy of “数学考題” in 大專联考.
How can he verify that this person is not lying? This is simply the faith as if you believe some miracle.

地震就是陰陽不順的結果.
I don’t know what he is talking about. If this is true, who needs geology?

氣是宇宙最基本的物貭. 生命的產生是道器的交互作用所產生的.
This statement is very “玄”. I don’t know how he can say this after he learned all those basic particles in physics. The way he defines 氣 is really pseudo scientific.

古書,武俠小說並沒有騙我們
This statement is a joke. If you believe what 武俠小說 says, you live in some fantasy world. Researchers need imagination but not fantasy.

1990年,嚴新氣功在北京体育場有一場盛會,全場鬼哭神號,大家跳舞. 一些有慢性病的人就治好了,連他們的家人也跟著好轉.
李嗣涔 don't think the whole thing was a fake. This reminds me of the movie “Elmer Gantry (by Sinclair Lewis)”. There was a scene that Sharon Falconer, the evangelist was doing healing & all bunch of people got crazy & dancing.

'道'就是西方的宗教.
道 has never been defined precisely. I assume this '道' is from 道德經. Then 道 is like Nature. How can it be equivalent to 西方的宗教? His research mixes up supernatural stuff with religion & science.

氣功是一种生理狀態,完全可以用科学儀器去測量.
This is a claim never explained & has no substance. What is the unit & how he measures it? Which 科学儀器 was used?

Finger Viewing or remote viewing lead to 光的訊息 & 宗教字眼.
My comment on this is: 我胡思乱想,故我胡乱存在.

高橋武,最厲害的小妹妹,她是非常穩定的实驗者(手指識字 & remote viewing),consistent, 從來没出过錯.
It has been found that 高橋武 was cheating in some of her show. Also the condition of the show was totally controlled by her mother. There is no scientific proof that she can do 手指識字 most of the time. Yet 李嗣涔 keeps using her example in his research data & paper.

佛, Buddha, 耶穌,一片亮光,信息場像是網路的世界.
Some one did 手指識字 on some words like 佛 or 耶穌, he saw 一片亮光 in his brain. 李嗣涔 believes him & draws some conclusion that borders absurdity.

所有宗教都告訢你有一個另外的世界存在. 另外那個世界是存在的. 宗教是科学的基礎.
I don’t know how he reaches this conclusion. There is no proof, no logical reasoning that I can see to lead to this conclusion. 李嗣涔 sounds like the Pope in Vatican. But the Pope doesn’t need to spend more than ten years & large amount of money to reach this conclusion. To him this is his faith. But faith is not science. I am very disappointed that we have this kind of research in our EE Department. I am equally ashamed & embarrassed that we have a 校長 like 李嗣涔 in NTU.

李娜

Li Na (李娜) just made history in clinching the trophy of French Tennis Open at Roland Garros. I watched the match on Saturday. She did a convincing win by a strong baseline drives, both forehand & backhand. The key points are the depth & the placement of balls. The opponent Francesca Schiavone equipped various strokes & spins that were also very impressive. Ultimately the consistency of Li Na's baseline drives prevailed. This is the first Chinese woman has ever achieved the feat since the tennis open era. It was reported that more than 60 million people watched this match in China. So far it seems the women in China perform much better than their male counterpart in the field of sport. There is no reasonable explanation & I haven't heard anyone tries to explain it.

Li Na uses two hands in her backhand drive. She seldom uses under-spin or slices in both forehand and backhand. This creates powerful hit & deep ball placement. Of course she sometime hits the ball out of the baseline. But overall, the high percentage of the good balls (consistency) determines the outcome of the match.

One area Li Na can improve is the serving speed. Coupled with her current >75% of first-serve in, if she can serve the balls with greater than 100 mph speed, she is going to be a formidable opponent to reckon with. However, time is not on her side. She is 29 now & we don't expect her to continue this form for more than five years.

One thing is interesting. Before Bjorn Borg & Jimmy Conner showed up in the horizon in the decade of 1970, it was rare to see tennis players use two-hand backhand. Especially before 1970, Aussie dominated the tennis circuit & nobody in Australia adopted two-hand backhand. Since 1980, most women adopted two-hand backhand & they started winning. There are pros & cons of two-hand backhand. You can drive the ball harder but you limit your range of reaches. In order to compensate this, the player has to run faster. Roger Federer used to beat Raphel Nadal, but not any more since Nadal makes improvements on serve & running speed. From the view point of health, it seems using two hands must be better. After all, why let one hand idle just to hold the racket. In fact, if you hit one-hand backhand too often, you risk to have tennis arm. Lately Justine Henen announced her retirement due to her right arm problem. Her one-hand backhand is impressive with style & power. But it will not be useful when it gets injured. I played tennis since I came to the US. I played with one-hand backhand for many years. However, I played more often after my retirement, I found that I got tennis elbow. Since last year, I started to adopt two-hand backhand. Now I am able to keep & enjoy the tennis play. I feel better especially that I utilize my left hand more. It is like a balancing diet to make my body more fit. Surprisingly, I found the another Chinese woman, Peng Shuai (彭帥), whose ranking is about 29 in WTA. She adopts two-hand forehand. She is not that strong in body built comparing to Li Na. This makes sense for her to hit the ball with more pace. However, my experience is that it is easier to control the direction & placement with one-hand forehand. So far Peng Shuai may be the one & only one two-hand forehand player in the world.

If you think it is not that hard to get a grand slam of tennis, it is. This reminds me of the Tiger Mom's book "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother". Amy Chua learned that her younger daughter wanted to pursue tennis instead of violin. Her first thought was that she is not going to get any prize out of tennis. I think she is right on this. Chinese already have 林昭亮,Yo Yo Ma, Lang Lang, Li Yun-Di in the music world. But there is only one Li Na, one & only one Chinese get a Grand Slam in the tennis world. After saying all the above, I have to mention that some wise man used to say: "Life is not that simple. Sometimes, it is the pursuit of something that counts, not necessary what prize it gets ultimately." I hope Amy Chua realizes this & not blindly pursues her prize instead of her kid's endeavor.

PS: In the decade of 1980, there was a Chinese female tennis player, 胡娜 (Hu Na). She defected from China, played in WTA (Women Tennis Association) circuit. She didn't go very far, but did play in the center court of Wimbledon once. She got injured at age 29 & retired. She teaches tennis in Taiwan for several years. I remember some TV commentators in 1980's used to ask Who? when they saw this Chinese girl. The answer was unanimous Na!

成功嶺

大學四年,最不尋常的是大三時暑期上成功嶺集訓. 对我們的一生,這三個月可是驚天動地,非同凡响. 成功嶺的大專学生集訓有多方面的時代意義和政治目的,但對我們正滿二十歲的年青学生,提供一個人生很難得的经驗. 這种經驗非身歷其境很難了解. 我想大部分同学會同意我的看法,也許感受比我更深.

從第一天入營後,發現時間不是你的,而是被別人控制的. 一下子失去了自由才了解自由的可貴. 最痛苦無奈的是開訓的前三個星期. 原本在大学自由自在地生活,又可家教赚外快. 現在一下子碰到一些以整人為快樂之本的士官和剛畢業的陸軍軍官. 他們騎在你頭上,發号施威,全不把我們當人看. 那頭三個星期可說是在考驗我們的忍耐力. 过了這三個星期而不神經崩潰的,大概都可以順利結訓. 這种集訓就是 boot camp 的一种,是一种初級軍官的 orientation training. 編制是十人一班,四班一排,四排成一連. 連上面是營,团,師. 算算一師總共一萬人左右. 每年有這麼多大專学生上成功嶺,可謂盛况空前. 短短三個月經歷不少,以下是我的一些感想.

軍人絕对服從. 小地方可以施展才智,但 the goal of the task is not negotiable.
獅子樣的体力. 天天操練,善用工具和武器.
猴子樣的敏捷. 迅速行動, 神出鬼沒, two-minute shower etc.
駱駝樣的精神. 長途行軍,跋踄千里
研究兵法. Strategy & Tactics (effectiveness & efficiency)
統御訓練. Leadership training
思想灌輸. 忠貞愛民,為國而戰.

這些訓練和操演和一些美國軍校的 boot camp 有雷同之處. 在以後的日子裏,多多少少發揮了不少效用. 來美國以後,發覺很多商業学院皆提到両本書,'王子論(The Prince)' 和 '孫子兵法'. 這是商場如战場的寫照,軍事乃政治之延伸 & vice versa. 將近結訓時,有一实際統御操演. 就像 business school 的 case study 一樣. 那時我深深体會到 leadership 有一大部分是天賦,衹有小部分是可以学來的. 我們那一年的成功嶺總指揮是王潔中將. 他在一次夜間演習集會時向我們訓話一個多小時. 講詞風趣,不落俗套. 他居然提到人生四大樂事: "久旱逢甘霖,他鄉遇故知,洞房花燭夜,金榜提名時". 時隔將近半個世記,現在思之,有不虛此生之感,幸甚.

在這三個月,天天与我們不離身的是 M1 半自動步槍,裝一個 clip 可射八發子彈 (.30-06). 天天学習大部分解,到後來閉著眼睛也可勝任. 麻煩的是要常常擦槍. 第一天拿槍覺得好重,以後天天操練,駕輊就熟,訓練有素,打起槍來,三百碼没問題,倒是眼力跟不上. 三個月下來,居然和這步槍有了感情. 最後一天才依依不捨地還給成功嶺. 正像計算尺一樣,它們現在都進了博物館,然而我永遠忘不了它們曾在我生命史上寫下很有意義的一頁.

在艱苦的訓練中,時而穿插一些康樂活動,彌足珍貴. 有一次,建國中学音樂教師張世傑率領國防部軍樂隊到嶺上勞軍. 那天他慷慨激昂,最後軍樂隊奏了一首名曲,印象深刻,那是 Dvorak 的新世界交响曲第四樂章. 讓我驚訝的是這個曲子祇用銅管樂器 (沒有弦樂器 )也可以達到令人動容的程度和效果. 從此以後我对國防部軍樂隊敬佩萬分.

最後一個月過得特別快,我們在算饅頭就像 new year count down 一樣. 發覺訓練變得輕鬆起來,那幾個排長 (陸軍軍官) 也開始和善起來. 最後幾天居然讓人有依依不捨之感. 最後一天,我們脫了軍裝,換上自己帶來的衣服,坐火車專車回台北. 王潔居然坐快車來送行. 當我們大夥兒在離開車站前,大家唱了那首我們熟悉而常唱的出征歌:

槍在我們的肩膀,
血在我們的胸膛.
我們來捍衛祖國,
我們齊赴沙場.
統一意志,集中力量.
衝！衝破了一切惡勢力,
幹！貫徹了領袖的主張.
抱定殺身成仁的決心,
發揚中華民族之榮光.

當走出車站的那一剎那,隱約覺得我好像由 Boy 變成了 Man. 大学四年,routine 的事都如過往煙雲. 唯獨成功嶺三月集訓,深深地刻在我的心版上.

PS: 在成功嶺幾乎天天唱的歌是 "陸軍軍歌", 乃"黃埔軍校校歌". 有正版和野版,兹抄錄如下:

正版　
怒潮澎湃，黨旗飛舞，這是革命的黃埔，
主義須貫澈，紀律莫放鬆，預備做奮鬥的先鋒，
打條血路，領導被壓迫民眾，攜著手，
向前行，路不遠，莫要驚，
親愛精誠，繼續永守，
發揚吾校精神，發揚吾校精神！

野版
早晨起床, 迷迷糊糊, 這是睡覺的床鋪,
不怕饅頭小, 不怕豆漿稀, 只怕中午出特別操,
打通関節, 賄赂班長開小差, 看電影 (my version, lose the original line)
抽根煙, 喝杯茶, 聊聊天,
大家一起, 混水摸魚,
擦槍我没精神, 發餉我有精神!

陳之藩

時已五月,想起五四運動.這個運動源於1919年五月四日.胡適先生提倡德先生和賽先生,对這運動影响很大. 我想在古今文選裏找幾篇胡先生的文章,不意卻看到陳之藩的一篇文章---'失根的蘭花'. 陳先生是我們學電机工程的前輩,曾在台大講学. 我在大三時有次俏悄悄去聽他一堂課. 那時他在教Lagrange Polynomial & Matrix. 一堂課下來,我覺得他声音太小,没精打彩. 倒是他翻譯兩本書,我看了獲益良多,一本是'基本電子學',另一本是'宇宙與愛因斯坦'. 後來出國讀了他幾本文学作品---'在春風裏','劍河倒影','旅美小简'. 我不知道他在電机工程学有何特別貢献,倒是覺得他寫文章很女性化,有時傷感过了分. 本想查他对電机工程的貢献,不意竟查出他一段緋聞. 在1997年,有人在台北控告陳之藩誘拐他妻子,破坏他家庭. 這個案子後來被地檢處以不起訴為由,事情終沒鬧大. 可是餘波蕩漾,原來童元方女士背着他丈夫和陳先生做了一些不可告人之事. 後來童女士乾脆也到香港中文大学和他會合. 童女士小陳先生25歲,乃北一女高才生也. 寫到這兒不禁想起徐志摩和林徽因的恋情,胡適和 Ms Williams 的邂逅以及楊振寧和翁帆的婚事. 這些赫赫有名的人都有一些不能上台面的女人經,就像 Tiger 和 Arnold 一樣,真是嘆為觀止. 雖然這些是不光采的事,但其格調並非同等. 以我看來有classy,上,中,下之分等. 胡適和 Ms Williams 的邂逅乃屬 classy,有分寸,有romance 而又沒有 family side effect, ie 江冬秀女士照打麻將,不受影响也. 徐志摩和林徽因的恋情可稱上级. 徐先生明著來,先離婚再追求. 而林徽因揮淚挽別,恰到好處. 楊振寧和翁帆的婚事,82 vs 28,年龄差太大,加上缺乏romance 乃屬中级也. 雖說如此,82+28=00 (exclude carry,活过百歲的人不太多),乃人生重新開始, reset from 00. 至於陳之藩和童元方的軼事乃屬下级, 因為他們暗著來,又拆散一個家庭. 雖然後來正式結合,但幾年來做了一些不太光彩之事,在人格上總是有點缺陷. 不過從另一個角度看，他們的故事倒是很浪漫。又聽說她有家暴，也許遇人不淑，婚姻無奈，值得同情。 寫到這裏,不得不提李敖. 他每次和人家私通或離婚,總是把以前女友的事公開乱翻一陣. 他又有乱公開春宫照片的坏習慣. 總之在人品上,習慣上皆有可非議之處. I rate him below 下等也.

1949 往事

龙應台寫了一本'1949,大江大海',引起一陣迴响. 陸陸續續有些文章報導那世代的塵煙往事. 有些令人唏噓,有些令人浩嘆. 時代巨輪,不停旋轉,芸芸眾生,隨波逐流,予人一种無助之感. 大部分的回應來自我們的上一代,他們身受体驗,身臨其境,歷盡滄桑,加上時不我與,再不寫就來不及了. 1949,我們當時才上小學,應當不受影响. 可是在那大遷徙的時代,可謂人在江湖,身不由己. 連我們莘莘幼子皆受影响. 以下是我在當時的一些塵年往事.

我七歲上小学,正逢1949. 當時家住南京西路十四巷,正好在南京西路和長安東路之間. 我的學校是在最近的建成國小. 我想我們大学四十多位同学,也許沒有一位聽过這間小学. 原來這小学的半衰期奇短,和大部分重金屬放射性元素一樣,可說是曇花一現,來去無蹤. 原來政府遷台,臨時决定把市政府設在建成國小. 從此以後,我們莘莘学子就成了一批無家可歸的社會孤兒. 每次看到地震後一些小学生徬徨無主,街頭上課的情景,就想起我的那些塵煙往事.

建成國小的消失使得住在附近的小學童必須借用別的小学教室. 我的小学生涯第一天是在日新國小. 因為教室是借用的,所以一個月後,卻要去蓬萊國小. 三個月後居然上起靜修女中. 一年下來已記不清楚究竟上了多少不同的学校. 雖然如此,校長和老師則是始終如一,他們和小學生同甘共苦倒是值得欽佩. 這樣遷徙流離的小学生涯居然有兩年. 我們這些可憐的小学生要長途跋涉,步行数里,才能上課. 小時身体還沒長好,經此顛波,常常生病. 從'來來來,來上學...' 到注音符号,居然就這樣學會了. 現在想想,這種生活實在苦不堪言,可是當時小学生頭腦簡單,也不知道抱怨,更不會上街抗議. 後來當局决定建新教舍,改名長安國小,校址在長安東路和吉林路口. 小學生聽到有新學校,雀躍萬分,可是要走好幾里路,比上日新還遠. 好在當時新生北路口有一條小溪流,可以涉水抓青蛙,鳴蟬,蚱蜢和一些蜻蜓,使得小学生涯增加不少情趣. 在快上三年级時,我生了一場病. 父親認為是我長途通學的緣故,所以决定轉學日新國小. 從此四年,日新日日新,和日新結了不了緣. 日新國小在太原路口,離圓環和台北後車站很近. 附近三教九流,賣菜的,擺攤販的,小鐵工廠,一樣不缺,很本土化. 但從此以後也是惡夢的開始. 那時小学惡性補習非常普遍,上課常到晚上八時,可稱暗無天日. 小學六年級時,老師忽然要我們買一本書"愛的教育". 原來那年初中联考國語的閱讀測驗是從這本書來的. 不看則已,一看大開眼界. 原來我們的小学生涯是恶夢連連,不堪回首. 我的小学生涯就在看完'愛的教育'和参加联考结束.

PS0: "愛的教育" 是義大利作家 Edmondo Amicis 的作品,夏丏尊翻譯.

PS1: 在我的小学生涯中,祇有一位二年級老師'宋清樑'能夠和"愛的教育"拉上關係.

PS2: 在那遷徙流離的長安國小中,有一位令人注目的女生'潘美智'.她後來考上台大外文系.

Sublimation of Faith

Several years ago, I was walking around a neighborhood of Menlo Park in one afternoon. It was a nice day around five o'clock when the sun hang in the western sky. Suddenly I heard some singing coming out from some distance away. I found that it was a chapel with some people inside performing a mass. The solo singing was beautiful & I couldn't name the song. However, I was deeply moved at that moment. The music with the chapel, sunset & colorful cloud in the background created a spiritual world. I stood there & listened until the song was over. I later found that the song is Vesperae Solennes-Laudate Dominum by Mozart. Vespers is the evening prayer service used in the mass of Catholic church. It is also in limited use in some Protestant denominations to describe evening services or evening prayers. The psalms and hymns of the Vespers service have attracted the interest of many composers, including Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Anton Bruckner & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The one by Mozart is the most well known. Mozart was an Austrian & his Vesperae Solennis was for Catholic mass. If Mozart belongs to the world, his Vesperae Solennes belongs to all faiths. Indeed, this work is very ethereal & has effect of sublimation & transcendence to another world. With disaster one after the other in recent years, the nature selects no particular target. The world is a village indeed, all people should help & treat each other decently transcending nation, religion & race. Let's dedicate this music (the following link) to our village with the substitution, (Cosmos for Lord, Sun for Father, Earth for Son, Mother Nature for Holy Spirit):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ug0PYot-mE&feature=related

Lyrics in Latin:
Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
Laudate eum, omnes populi
Quoniam confirmata est
Super nos misericordia eius,
Et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper.
Et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

English Translation:
Praise the Lord, all nations;
Praise Him, all people.
For He has bestowed
His mercy upon us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever,
and for generations of generations.
Amen.

Note: I sent the above in email to the classmates on 3/12/2011. I think it is proper to save it in our blog here.

Electrical Engineers

There are some events in our history exert more influences to our civilization than all others combined. The following is the list of these events.

Printing Press (Knowledge Revolution)
Since Johannes Gutenberg developed a streamline process of printing press, the pamphlets & books were spread very quickly & reached almost every corner of the Europe & eventually to the whole world. It was truly a Knowledge Revolution. Common people could access the new idea & classical books easily. It led to social reforms & changes. The impact can be seen from the fact that the majority members of the’ Top 100 Most Influential People in Our Civilization’ were born after Gutenberg.

Steam Engine (Work Revolution)
James Watt improved the steam engine to the stage that it replaced human labor easily. Before this, the human beings depend on the wind or water for transportation & work. Since Watt’s steam engine, the harness of the Mother Nature is no longer limited to the sea or near the water. Human beings can harness the Mother Nature for work that replaces the human muscle labor at any place in any time. The spreading of this power & force at low cost led to the Industrial Revolution.

Electricity (Energy Revolution)
People have used fire as main energy source since ancient time. It was until Michael Faraday & James Maxwell, human beings started utilizing the electricity to power various type of equipment & lighting. Nowadays electricity is the standard of household energy source. It is hard to imagine a common daily life without electricity. The spreading of energy to every house is a revolution in itself. So far we don't see any other type of energy can replace the electricity at home in the foreseeable future.

Internet (Information Revolution)
The electronics & computer usher in the Internet. The easy access of information changes our life & social fabric. Almost all activities in our society are affected by the proliferation of the Internet. The spreading of information is truly an Information Revolution.

It is even more striking that all the above revolutions have been going on these days are enhanced by the current electrical engineering. The printing is enhanced with instant displays, laser/inkjet printers & electronic books. The train & car are gradually replaced with electric locomotives & electric cars. The power & logical intricacies of Internet are powered by the electronic technology. All in all, these revolutions are enhanced & become part of the disciplines of the Electrical Engineering. Electrical Engineering lays the foundation of our modern society. It sows the seeds for other developments that also change our life, a life to the better. Aren’t we proud of being Electrical Engineers?

Note: The photo is from the Embankment of The Institute of Electrical Engineers (London, England) with statue of Michael Faraday in the foreground at Savoy Place.