Virtual worlds and moral evaluation

Consider the multi-user virtual worlds of online games such as EVE and World of Warcraft, or the multi-user virtual world of Second Life. Suppose a player performs an action in one of these worlds, via his or her virtual character, which would be wrong, if the virtual world were real. What is the moral status of this virtual action? In this paper I consider arguments for and against the Asymmetry Thesis: the thesis that such virtual actions are never wrong. I also explain how the truth of the Asymmetry Thesis is closely aligned with the possibility of what Edward Castronova has called closed synthetic worlds. With some qualifications, the ultimate conclusion is that the Asymmetry Thesis is false and that these closed worlds are impossible.     

Worlds of wonder: Sensation and the Victorian scientific performance

Performances of various kinds were central to the strategies adopted by Victorian natural philosophers to constitute their authority. Appealing to the senses of their audience through spectacular effects or ingenious demonstrations of skill was key to the success of these performances. If we want to understand the politics and practice of Victorian science-and science more generally-we need to pay particular attention to these sorts of performances. We need to understand the ingredients that went into them and the relationships between scientific performers and their publics. In particular, we need to investigate the self-conscious nature of Victorian scientific performances. Looking at science as performance provides us with a new set of tools for understanding the politics of knowledge, the relationship between producers and consumers of scientific knowledge, and the construction and constitution of scientific authority.     

Tragic mathematics: romantic narratives and the refounding of mathematics in the early nineteenth century

A new, Romantic type of mathematical story appeared in the early nineteenth century that was radically different from the sober narrative characteristic of the previous generation of mathematicians. At the same time, a new mathematical practice emerged that differed sharply from the understanding and practice of mathematics during the Enlightenment. These parallel developments are inseparable: the new type of mathematical practice went hand in hand with the new mathematical story.     

In Search of Exotic Particles

<正>Looking for"exotic matter"is an important task for high energy physics in the post-Higgs era.Using data from the BEijing Spectrometer(BESIII),researchers have observed a family of particles which contain at least four quarks,providing strong evidence for the existence of unconventional forms of matter.The discovery of Zc particle family For Dr.SHEN Xiaoyan,Dr.YUAN Changzheng and their colleagues at the Institute of High Energy Physics(IHEP),Chinese Academy of Sciences,the year 2013 was     

Purchasing behavior in social virtual worlds: An examination of Habbo Hotel

Spending real money on virtual goods and services has become a popular form of online consumer behavior, particularly among teenagers. This study builds on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to examine the role of motivation, social influence, measured with perceived network size as well as user interface and facilitating conditions in predicting the intention to engage in purchasing in social virtual worlds. The research model is tested with data from 1045 users of Habbo Hotel, world's most popular virtual world for teenagers. The results underscore the role of perceived network size and motivational factors in explaining in-world purchase decisions. The study shows that virtual purchasing behavior is substantially influenced by the factors driving usage behavior. Hence, virtual purchasing can be understood as a means to enhance the user experience. For virtual world operators, reinforcing the sense of presence of user's social network offers a means to promote virtual purchasing.     

Sin in cyber-eden: understanding the metaphysics and morals of virtual worlds

This article uses a notorious incident within the computer program EVE Online to exemplify and facilitate discussion of the metaphysics of virtual worlds and the morality of user behavior. The first section examines various frameworks used to understand virtual worlds, and emphasizes those which recognize virtual worlds as legal contracts, as representational worlds, and as media for communication. The second section draws on these frameworks to analyze issues of virtual theft and virtual betrayal arising in the EVE incident. The article concludes by arguing that, in the absence of countervailing contractual obligations, users of virtual worlds have the same de facto duties to each other as they do in mediated and real environments. This paper grew out of my senior thesis in philosophy at Pomona College, entitled Game Theory: The Metaphysics and Morals of Massively Multiplayer Environments. I am indebted to Peter Kung and Paul Hurley for their critical insights and constant encouragement, as well as the Fulbright program, which afforded me the time and resources to develop this project.     

The reality of friendship within immersive virtual worlds

In this article I examine a recent development in online communication, the immersive virtual worlds of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). I argue that these environments provide a distinct form of online experience from the experience available through earlier generation forms of online communication such as newsgroups, chat rooms, email and instant messaging. The experience available to participants in MMORPGs is founded on shared activity, while the experience of earlier generation online communication is largely if not wholly dependent on the communication itself. This difference, I argue, makes interaction in immersive virtual worlds such as MMORPGs relevantly similar to interaction in the physical world, and distinguishes both physical world and immersive virtual world interaction from other forms of online communication. I argue that to the extent that shared activity is a core element in the formation of friendships, friendships can form in immersive virtual worlds as they do in the physical world, and that this possibility was unavailable in earlier forms of online interaction. I do, however, note that earlier forms of online interaction are capable of sustaining friendships formed through either physical or immersive virtual world interaction. I conclude that we cannot any longer make a sharp distinction between the physical and the virtual world, as the characteristics of friendship are able to be developed in each.     

关于数学教学中渗透数学思想方法的思考

长期以来，我区数学教学效果距全国平均水平相差甚远，因此提高我区学生数学能力显得尤为重要。本文从数学教学中思想方法渗透的角度进行教学探讨，希望得到一些有益启示。     

谈谈现代应用数学

应用数学,是作为纯粹数学(基础数学)的对立物(或更准确地说)互补物而提出的。但要在应用数学与纯粹数学之间划一个严格的界限却绝无可能。因为二者之间的界限本身是模糊的,而且应用数学的内涵、意义、方法、概念及对其重要性的认识也是动态的。这就是说,应用数学本身是一个与时俱进的学科,我们对它的认识也应不断深化。数学起源于计数、丈量土地等实际的生产活动,因此一开始就是应用的。中国的数学在世界上曾居领先地位,它的特点也是为解决具体问题而提供算法或解法的。17世纪牛顿根据力学上的需要发明微积分之后,很长的时间中,很多数学家同…