Hana Mengyao Liu

Combining history, philosophy of science, and digital humanities (NLP), my research offers a cross-cultural account of how “weak” knowledge functions by comparing ancient Greek and Chinese astrology. I aim to understand why systems of “weak” knowledge succeed or fail. While science yields reliable knowledge, disciplines with less solid theoretical foundations and complex subjects often produce results that are less replicable and predictive—such as economics, psychology, and environmental science. Since public decisions depend heavily on these fields, it is vital to study how their knowledge is produced and validated—not only by experts but also by society at large. Centering astrology, I examine how humans developed “predictive sciences” with the greatest rigor allowed at their time to navigate uncertainty, and how culture and society shaped the styles in which sciences expressed themselves. More specifically, my project explores how the planets, first encountered as "bare" scientific objects, acquired cultural meanings that allowed astrologers to craft predictive narratives bridging observation and belief.