經歷「雨傘運動」，港人對法治有了更深的認知，但也出現了對法治的不同甚至是相互衝突的理解。有認為法治最重要的就是守法，因公民抗命行動是違法行為，故是有損法治。亦有認為法治最重要是確保法院的司法權威，故不遵法院頒布的禁制令，對法治做成傷害很大，即使是公民抗命的行為也沒有例外。但也有認為法治的目的是要規限政府權力及實踐公義，故以達成這些目的的公民抗命行為，對法治並沒有太大的影響，反是實現法治的行為。究竟這些對法治不同的理解是否真的存在衝突或能否共存呢？講者會引用法律發展模式的理論去重新審視法治與公民抗命的關係，而法律文化的演變是法制發展以至對法治詮釋背後的動力。

Life and our understanding of life are being investigated using state-of-the-art technologies in biology and genetics. These together with big data collections are moving at phenomenal speed. What we could and should do is a balancing act for many scientists. “Trust” is at the heart of scientific pursuit of knowledge and the “truth”. Temptation, curiosity, greed, pressure and ignorance can lead us down the wrong path. The future of the next generation can change on the basis of this balancing act. What should we do?

天地有理，人間有情。 民意求真，科學處世。 在這中西合璧、龍蛇混雜的社會， 如何承繼科學與民主的追求？ 六四七一三二三……或有啟示。

The Chinese proverb, Three smelly coblers make one Juge Liang. corresponds well with the riddle-lie saying by Aristotle two thousand years earlier,     The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, despite the difference between East and West, the present and the past. Both point out that a system often possess “emergent property” not found in the constituent parts. The linear mathematics we usually rely upon here sadly fails, and must yield to simple “nonlinear mathematics” which in addition easily extend the domain of validity of the philosopher’s saying to all “quantitative changes.” But he never did raise the question of “qualitative change,” found in many physical phenomena, all chemical reactions and all life processes. These are also common of emergence. This talk is based on the speaker’s forthcoming general education book, Geyser from the Sea of Knowledge, which start from simple systems theory, attempts with plain language, primary school and high school mathematics, to give a birds-eye view of science, and briefly introduce the intriguing beauty of fractals, the revelations of chaos, the appearance and nesting of self-organizations, the evolution of Mother Nature, and the operational harmony of mass societies.

The past decade has witnessed the most serious global economic crisis in the last half century, causing great sufferings among the public. Income inequality has also been worsening in most countries in the last few decades. There is an urge from the public for economics and economists to provide more informed discussions or even an activist role in leading to more equitable and secure society. This talk discusses to what extent such an urge is justified and to what extent it is not. It ends with some reflections on some of the predictions John Maynard Keynes made in his talk “Economic Possibilities of Our Grandchildren”.