Prof. Sun Kwok Presents

Our Place in the Universe – Book Launch Party

27 September 2017, 5-6 pm

Common Core Lounge

Main Building 150

Using the development of astronomy over 5000 years to illustrate the process of rational reasoning and its effects on philosophy, religion, and society, Our Place in the Universe (CCST 9012) was among the first batch of Common Core courses offered in the academic year 2010-2011 and has since been offered every year for a total of 7 times.

Designed by Prof. Sun Kwok to meet the goals of the HKU Common Core, the course adopts an historical approach to show that science is not just a collection of facts, but a process of rational thinking and creativity.  The primary goal is to illustrate that science is not so much about the current view of our world, but how we changed from one set of views to another.  We hope this helps students better understand the scientific process and learn to use this process when they tackle real-life problems in their own careers.

The first half of the content of the course was written up by Prof. Kwok and published by Springer in 2017 as Our Place in the Universe: understanding fundamental astronomy from ancient discoveries.  Topics in the book include ancient models of the Universe among different cultures; how ancient astronomers learned that the Earth is round and the seasons are unequal; how they determined the size of the Earth and the Moon and the distance to the Moon.  All of these are demonstrated with graphical illustrations with minimum use of mathematics and clearly contextualized in their historical period.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Programme by HKU Common Core Office