Coincidence and reproducibility in the EHT black hole experiment

This paper discusses some philosophical aspects related to the recent publication of the experimental results of the 2017 black hole experiment, namely the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy M87. In this paper I present a philosophical analysis of the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) black hole experiment. I first present Hacking's philosophy of experimentation. Hacking gives his taxonomy of elements of laboratory science and distinguishes a list of elements. I show that the EHT experiment conforms to major elements from Hacking's list. I then describe with the help of Galison's Philosophy of the Shadow how the EHT Collaboration created the famous black hole image. Galison outlines three stages for the reconstruction of the black hole image: Socio-Epistemology, Mechanical Objectivity, after which there is an additional Socio-Epistemology stage. I subsequently present my own interpretation of the reconstruction of the black hole image and I discuss model fitting to data. I suggest that the main method used by the EHT Collaboration to assure trust in the results of the EHT experiment is what philosophers call the Argument from Coincidence. I show that using this method for the above purpose is problematic. I present two versions of the Argument from Coincidence: Hacking's Coincidence and Cartwright's Reproducibility by which I analyse the EHT experiment. The same estimation of the mass of the black hole is reproduced in four different procedures. The EHT Collaboration concludes: the value we have converged upon is robust. I analyse the mass measurements of the black hole with the help of Cartwright's notion of robustness. I show that the EHT Collaboration construe Coincidence/Reproducibility as Technological Agnosticism and I contrast this interpretation with van Fraassen's scientific agnosticism.     

Fantastic Beasts and where (not) to find them: Local gravitational energy and energy conservation in general relativity

This paper critically examines energy-momentum conservation and local (differential) notions of gravitational energy in General Relativity (GR). On the one hand, I argue that energy-momentum of matter is indeed locally (differentially) conserved: Physical matter energy-momentum 4-currents possess no genuine sinks/sources. On the other hand, global (integral) energy-momentum conservation is contingent on spacetime symmetries. Local gravitational energy-momentum is found to be a supererogatory notion. Various explicit proposals for local gravitational energy-momentum are investigated and found wanting. Besides pseudotensors, the proposals considered include those of Lorentz and Levi-Civita, Pitts and Baker. It is concluded that the ontological commitment we ought to have towards gravitational energy in GR mimics the natural anti-realism/eliminativism towards apparent forces in Newtonian Mechanics.     

Klein-Weyl's program and the ontology of gauge and quantum systems

We distinguish two orientations in Weyl's analysis of the fundamental role played by the notion of symmetry in physics, namely an orientation inspired by Klein's Erlangen program and a phenomenological-transcendental orientation. By privileging the former to the detriment of the latter, we sketch a group(oid)-theoretical program—that we call the Klein-Weyl program—for the interpretation of both gauge theories and quantum mechanics in a single conceptual framework. This program is based on Weyl's notion of a “structure-endowed entity” equipped with a “group of automorphisms”. First, we analyze what Weyl calls the “problem of relativity” in the frameworks provided by special relativity, general relativity, and Yang-Mills theories. We argue that both general relativity and Yang-Mills theories can be understood in terms of a localization of Klein's Erlangen program: while the latter describes the group-theoretical automorphisms of a single structure (such as homogenous geometries), local gauge symmetries and the corresponding gauge fields (Ehresmann connections) can be naturally understood in terms of the groupoid-theoretical isomorphisms in a family of identical structures. Second, we argue that quantum mechanics can be understood in terms of a linearization of Klein's Erlangen program. This stance leads us to an interpretation of the fact that quantum numbers are “indices characterizing representations of groups” ((Weyl, 1931a), p.xxi) in terms of a correspondence between the ontological categories of identity and determinateness.     

Why history matters to philosophy of physics

Naturalized metaphysics remains the default presupposition of much contemporary philosophy of physics. As metaphysics is supposed to concern the general structure of reality, so scientific naturalism draws upon our best physical theories to attempt to answer the foundational question “par excellence ” viz., “how could the world possibly be the way this theory says it is?” A particular case study, Hilbert's attempt to analyze and explain a seeming “pre-established harmony” between mind and nature, is offered as a salutary reminder that naturalism's ready inference from physical theory to ontology may be too quick.     

影响我国视障大学生就业的因素探究

视障大学毕业生和所有大学毕业生一样，要面对严峻的就业形势和激烈的竞争，为了了解高校视障大学生的生存状态，更深刻地体会他们的需求，指导他们以良好的心态应对人际关系及提高专业技能水平，为视障大学生就业及更好地融入社会提供切实的帮助，我们在长春大学特殊教育学院针灸推拿专业毕业生中开展调查，并对1995届与2011届毕业学生进行比较，基于此分析十余年来学生就业率、就业领域、就业层次、稳定性等方面的变化，进而提出影响视障大学生就业的因素。     

对高校体育“特殊学生群体”体育课的思考

运用文献资料、比较分析、逻辑分析等方法,阐述了高校体育课中"特殊学生群体"的体育课的现状,分析其导致现状的原因有场地、资金紧缺,师资不足,重视程度不够等等,并提出开设体育保健课、运动养身课与棋牌类项目课程等多种课程,以及采用多种教学形式等的对策,并提出建议。     

运动物体的场及其场的波动方程

为了明确地研究引力场和引力波的性质,提出了一种假设：电中性运动质量流、运动物体或变化的引力场可以激发一种场,这种场可以对在其中运动的物体施加力,这种场的变化可以激发引力场.之后提出了这种场与引力场的关系方程组,并且从这个方程组出发推导出波动方程,波中的三个矢量：引力场、这个新场和波传播方向矢量满足左手定则.此与电磁波中的电场矢量、磁场矢量和电磁波的传播方向满足右手定则形成明显的对照.     

炼钢-连铸过程生产计划与调度问题综合优化研究

生产计划与调度是炼钢厂生产管理与控制的重要环节。对特殊钢厂炼钢-连铸过程的生产计划与调度问题进行述评,对国内外其研究现状进行分析,并指出了其生产计划与调度结构的发展趋势。结果表明,合理的生产计划与调度方案,是特殊钢厂实现高品质、高效生产的重要途径,亦可对其全过程进行高效协调与管理,从而降低能耗和冶炼成本。     

高校专项经费绩效评价指标体系的构建研究

专项经费是高校各类项目顺利开展的重要保障,对高校的发展及综合能力的提升有着至关重要的作用。近年来,我国高校教育事业在迅速发展的同时,高校专项经费也得到较快增长,而在专项经费绩效管理过程中高校存在诸多不足,影响了专项经费的使用效率,降低了专项经费的使用价值,因此高校在专项经费绩效管理过程中,应致力于构建科学、合理的专项经费绩效评价指标体系,尝试为学校的专项经费绩效管理提供一个较为全面、系统、科学的依据,以便能够对学校专项经费的投入、使用进行科学的参考,提高专项经费的使用效率。     

论因子分析中因子个数与矩阵秩的关系

因子分析模型中遗留了较多的问题,如通常我们利用公共因子的信息率的大小来确定因子的个数,这样一般是个近似解．本文试图从矩阵秩的角度来确定因子分析中因子个数,同时用实例说明了这种确定答案的计算思路．