Han Song

3.31071 learners

In 2066, as China rises as the global economic and cultural powerhouse, 16-year-old Tang Long, a prodigy on China’s national go team, travels to a crumbling, isolationist America for the World Go Championship. What starts as a prestigious competition quickly devolves into a fight for survival: Washington is engulfed in riots, New York is submerged by a catastrophic flood after terrorists blow up sea walls, and Tang is separated from his team. Rescued by a crew of orphaned Asian teens aboard the makeshift 'Noah Ark' fishing boat, he joins their quest for the mythical Spiritual Staff, said to predict the future. Later, he teams up with Newman, a genetically modified American with a kangaroo tail storing U.S. cultural memories, navigating a nation torn apart by the Second American Civil War. From battling rogue factions to confronting the collapse of the omnipotent Amando system, Tang’s journey transforms him from a sheltered go champion into a hardened survivor, forcing him to redefine his identity and grasp the fragile fate of civilizations under Mars’ eerie red glow.

John Henry Newman

4.3456 learners

In *The Idea of a University*, John Henry Newman delivers a timeless, rigorous defense of higher education’s true purpose. Rejecting the 19th-century utilitarian push for career-focused training, he argues a university’s core mission is to teach universal knowledge—an interconnected system where every discipline, including theology, holds an essential place. Newman warns that excluding theology fractures the integrity of knowledge, enabling other fields to overstep their bounds and make unsubstantiated claims about spiritual and moral truths. He champions "free education" as an end in itself, not a means to a job: this form of learning cultivates a disciplined, thoughtful mind capable of critical reasoning, holistic judgment, and navigating complex ideas beyond rote memorization. Newman also emphasizes the Catholic Church’s role in overseeing universities, not to stifle academic freedom, but to safeguard faith and ensure knowledge aligns with eternal truths, balancing secular inquiry with spiritual purpose. His work remains a foundational text for anyone debating higher education’s role in shaping whole, thoughtful individuals.