科學(xué)，我們?nèi)绾沃牢覀兯赖模?/h1>
2023-10-11 15:17:02博江盟JeanMarcBovet瑞士孫夢格
國際人才交流 2023年9期
文/ 博江盟（Jean-Marc Bovet，瑞士） 譯/孫夢格
我是一名醫(yī)藥科學(xué)家，但我不打算談?wù)撐业膶I(yè)領(lǐng)域，而是希望聊聊這些年來我作為一個(gè)熱愛科學(xué)的人的一些思考——具體來說，即我們?nèi)绾沃雷约壕烤怪佬┦裁矗?/p>
什么是知識？
讓我們先從科學(xué)的定義談起吧?？茖W(xué)知識是關(guān)于某一特定主題、經(jīng)過“系統(tǒng)性組織”的“信息體系”。首先，我們需要有信息輸入，換句話說，我們的大腦先要收集通過感官感知到的原始數(shù)據(jù)；其次，我們還要把這些數(shù)據(jù)組織成一個(gè)“故事”，而這個(gè)故事我稱其為科學(xué)知識。信息的輸入主要依賴于感官，如觸覺或聽覺。當(dāng)你用手捧住雪的時(shí)候，你就會收集到關(guān)于雪的信息。然后，你的大腦把這些感覺組織起來：它是冷的，它融化了，它變成了水。這就形成了“故事”。這個(gè)“故事”不僅來源于你的感知，還可能受到你對雪的預(yù)設(shè)所帶來的影響。通過觀察收集更多的信息并把它們組織在一起，我們就能夠講出更豐富的故事。這些故事聚合在一起就成為科學(xué)理論?？茖W(xué)理論必須始終與物質(zhì)世界保持一致。通過對物質(zhì)世界進(jìn)行觀察，并經(jīng)實(shí)驗(yàn)確認(rèn)所得的想法，就形成了知識。
In this article,I’m not going to talk about my profession as a pharmaceutical scientist.Instead,I’m going to talk about some reflections I have had over the years as a person who loves science,to be specific,how do we know what we know.
What is knowledge?
Let’s begin with the definition of science.We can define scientific knowledge as a “systematically organized body of information” on a particular subject.Firstly,there is the body of information,or in other words,our brain gathering raw data we perceive through our senses.Secondly,there is the way to organize the data to create a “story” that I would call scientific knowledge.The primary information comes from senses,such as touching or hearing.For example,you will gather the information about snow when you have the chance of holding it in your hands.Then your brain organizes the sensation you have had: it is cold,it melts and it changes into water into the “story”.That “story” is not only based on your perceptions but may also influenced by your preconceptions of what snow is like.The more information you gather through observation,the bigger the stories will be after you organize them,which forms scientific theories.The scientific theories must always be consistent with the physical world so that knowledge is what we believe filtered by observation and experimentation of the physical world.
大腦的認(rèn)知和人類的感官
我們的大腦可以看作是由兩個(gè)回路構(gòu)成的，其中一個(gè)回路反應(yīng)很快，主要依靠記憶的儲備；而另一個(gè)則比較慢，靠的是思維和處理信息的能力。這兩個(gè)回路共同作用，一起對接收到的信息作出判斷。
人類只能接收到有限的信息，因?yàn)槲覀兯赖囊磺卸紒碜砸韵挛甯校盒嵊X、觸覺、味覺、聽覺和視覺。它們是人類收集到的所有信息的最初來源。
我們可以試著觸摸一下自己身體的不同部位，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)手掌內(nèi)側(cè)要比臂膀敏感得多，哪怕是很細(xì)小的東西也能感覺得到。
那么，聽覺呢？人在發(fā)出聲音時(shí)，其實(shí)是在空氣中產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)聲波，聽者的耳朵捕捉到這個(gè)波，也就聽到了聲音。但是人的耳朵并不能聽到所有聲音，我們只能聽到一小部分聲音，音調(diào)太低或者太高都不行，即人類的聽覺有一個(gè)頻率范圍。而狗能收聽到的頻率范圍更大，能感知到更高的音調(diào)，所以你可以買到只有狗才能聽到的哨子來馴犬而不用擔(dān)心打擾鄰居。
很多動(dòng)物對聲音的接收范圍都不一樣。蝙蝠就非常特別，它們可以發(fā)出并收聽到一種叫作超聲波的高頻聲音。蝙蝠正是利用這種聲音來“看”世界的——它們可以利用超聲波回聲定位周圍環(huán)境，并且鎖定獵物的位置。
那么，我們是如何看見東西的呢？這和周圍的光有關(guān)。光也像波一樣運(yùn)動(dòng)，有著振幅和波長的屬性。但與聲音不同的是，光是一種電磁波。
和聽覺差不多，我們的視力也有局限，只能看到所謂的“可見光”，它只占到了電磁波譜的一部分。一個(gè)普通人的眼睛能感知到400—700nm波長段的光線。
蜜蜂與人類不同，僅僅能看到波長極短的光線。蜜蜂的可見光波長在300—600nm。所以，對兩個(gè)不同的物種來說，同一朵花可能看上去完全不同。
Our brian and senses
We can see our brain as having two circuits that differentiate what is true from what is false.One circuit is very fast and relies on memory,while the other one is slower and relies on your thinking and your processing of information.
As human beings,we are limited because everything we know comes from the following five aspects: the smell,the touch,the taste,the hearing and the sight.All the information we gather,originally comes from these five senses.
We can try to touch different parts of your body and you can find out that,for example,the inside of your hands is much more sensitive than your arm.You can feel even the very small things.And you cannot feel the same things on your arm.
So how about our hearing ability? What is hearing? When making noise,one is actually producing a wave in the air that goes toward one’s ear.Then others can perceive that sound as catching that wave.Human ears can’t hear all sounds.We can actually hear a small fraction of sound in the human pitch range and can’t hear the sound either too high or too low.There is 9 window of pitches of sound where one can actually hear.While human ears have their preferred frequencies,dogs have a larger range.Dogs can perceive sounds of much higher pitch than humans do.You can buy whistles that only dogs can hear and use it to train them without disturbing the neighbors.
Many animals have different frequencies in terms of sound reception.For example,bats can produce and hear a kind of high frequency sound called ultrasound.Bats use this sound to “see” the world.They can echolocate their environment and find where their prey is.
Now I’m going to talk about what we see.Take light as an example.Light also acts like a wave featuring amplitude and wavelength.However,it is different from sound because it is electromagnetic.
And the same is true as before,we have limitations on our sight,that is,we only see what is called “visible light”,which only consists of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 400 to 700 nanometers.
Bees,unlike human beings,can see very short wavelengths.For example,a bee’s visible wavelength ranges from 300 to 600 nanometers,compared to human’s 400 to 700 nanometers.That is why the same flower may appear very different to two different species.We don’t see the same thing.
由于感官的局限性，我們需要利用儀器設(shè)備來將自己無法感知到的信息轉(zhuǎn)化為可以看到或聽到的東西。儀器的使用是對人類感官的擴(kuò)展。不過我想告訴你們的是，這個(gè)宇宙中每時(shí)每刻都發(fā)生著很多事情，就算是用上所有的感官，我們?nèi)匀徊荒芨兄饺窟@些事物的存在。
思考與大腦對信息的解讀
思考能力是我們大腦的另一個(gè)重要作用。我們用大腦來理解收集到的所有信息。一種理解的方式是演繹：從理論到假設(shè)，再到觀察，通過觀察最后確認(rèn)假設(shè)。歷史上，亞里士多德等哲學(xué)家提出過這種思維方式。另一種思維方式則更像福爾摩斯：我們首先像一個(gè)偵探一樣觀察，然后從中發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)模式，形成一個(gè)假設(shè)，最后濃縮出一個(gè)理論。
“洞穴之喻”是柏拉圖著名理論之一。故事中蘇格拉底描述了這樣一個(gè)人：他的一生都被鎖鏈鎖住，只能面對著山洞里的一面空白墻壁。這個(gè)人的身后有一團(tuán)燃燒著的火焰。他日日夜夜看到的都是從他身后的火堆前經(jīng)過的物體投射在墻上的影子，并為這些影子命名，因?yàn)樗J(rèn)為，自己看到的影子就是現(xiàn)實(shí)。實(shí)際上卻并非如此。
在某種程度上，由于感官的局限，我們就像這個(gè)山洞里的囚徒，只能依賴自己的感知，并不能確切地掌握發(fā)生的一切。真實(shí)的世界存在于遠(yuǎn)方和山洞之外。
我們用眼睛來觀察世界。人類眼睛的底部有一個(gè)叫作視網(wǎng)膜的器官，它可以捕捉外界的圖像，但視網(wǎng)膜上的圖像是上下顛倒的。接收了圖像后，大腦便想：這不是世界真實(shí)的樣子。于是，大腦就幫我們把圖像再正過來，否則我們就沒辦法看到我們現(xiàn)在所看到的東西了。
雖然大腦非常強(qiáng)大，但它也會遇到一些問題。你不能總是相信你的大腦，也要對看到的東西多加思索。你對事物的看法不同，事情本身就會隨之變得不同。你可能已經(jīng)聽過了盲人摸象的故事：如果找來6個(gè)盲人，讓他們各自試著描述一頭大象，那么一共就會有6幅截然不同的畫面。有人認(rèn)為大象像一把扇子，有人覺得像一條蛇，還有人說像一堵墻。他們每個(gè)人都有自己的觀點(diǎn)?？茖W(xué)家要做的就是把大家從不同角度得到的信息都收集起來，從而描繪出一個(gè)更接近真相的全貌。其實(shí)，我們在某一時(shí)間點(diǎn)所掌握的信息從來都只是真相的一部分，但我們總以為自己已經(jīng)知道了所有的真相。這就是為什么人類必須對周圍的一切事物、每一條新的信息都保持開放的態(tài)度，因?yàn)橹挥羞@樣才能不斷地提高我們對世界的認(rèn)識。
Since our senses have limitations,we are using machines to transform unperceivable information into something we can either see or hear.The use of instrumentation can expand on human senses.In conclusion,what I’m trying to say here is that there are many,many more things happening in this universe that even with all our senses we still can’t see or hear.
The role of thinking and brain interpretation of the information
Another key is our ability to think.We use our brain to make sense of all the information we gathered.One way is deduction,which goes from theory to hypothesis,and then to observation,and finally to confirmation.This way of thinking is historically brought up by philosophers like Aristotle.Another way of thinking is like Sherlock Holmes.We go from observation like a detective,noticing a pattern,forming a hypothesis,and finally making a theory.
So now I’m going to talk about an allegory.Socrates describes a person who has lived chained facing a blank wall of a cave all of his life.The person watches shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind him and give names to these shadows.The shadows are this prisoner’s reality rather than accurate representations of the real world.
In some way,due to our limited senses we are like a prisoner in the cave.We don’t know everything exactly because we only know our perceptions.The real thing is what happens far away and outside the cave.
We have eyes to see the world.At the back of the eye there is a retina to capture the image.But inside the eye on the retina,the image is received upside down.The brain is saying,no,this is not correct and then it flips the image right-side up.Otherwise,we will not be seeing what we are really seeing.
The point is that though the brain is very powerful,it does have some problems.You can’t always trust your brain,and you also have to reflect a little bit more on what you see.You probably have already heard about this story before: if you take six blind people and ask them to describe an elephant,then they will all have six different descriptions.Some of them think the elephant is a fan,or a snake,or even a wall.Each one of them has their own perspective.What we scientists are doing is to take all of that information from everybody’s different perspectives to come up with a picture that is closer to the truth.What we actually know at a point in time is only part of the truth,yet we always think we know all of the truth.That’s why it is imperative for us to stay open to everything around us,every new piece of information,in order to always improve our understanding of the world.
2021年8月25日，博江盟在北京天文館作科普講座
科學(xué)和技術(shù)
科學(xué)與技術(shù)有什么區(qū)別？科學(xué)是關(guān)于物質(zhì)和自然世界的知識，科學(xué)規(guī)律則被假定為永不改變的定律。技術(shù)則不同，技術(shù)是對科學(xué)知識的利用，能夠創(chuàng)造出許多有用的東西。在科學(xué)世界中，科學(xué)家著重探索的是事物的基本性質(zhì)。例如，當(dāng)談到空氣時(shí)，科學(xué)家們會去研究空氣怎樣流動(dòng)，空氣的溫度、氣壓和空氣密度等。就其本身而言，這些概念有時(shí)看起來很有挑戰(zhàn)性，甚至難以理解。但是如果我們面臨工程建設(shè)的考驗(yàn)，要試圖做出一些既實(shí)際又好用的東西時(shí)，科學(xué)知識的基礎(chǔ)就是重中之重。如果你想成為一名杰出的工程師的話，你就必須勤奮學(xué)習(xí)，了解非常豐富的科學(xué)知識。
將科學(xué)應(yīng)用到現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中、創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)能夠真正良好運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的東西是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的過程。工程方案可能會多種多樣，任何微小的設(shè)計(jì)變化都會對其性能產(chǎn)生不同的影響。就拿折紙飛機(jī)來舉例吧。假設(shè)我們用相同的紙來制作飛機(jī)，在同一個(gè)房間里試飛，所有測試條件都非常相似，但每個(gè)人折出來的紙飛機(jī)都不一樣。有的紙飛機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)不同，而有的設(shè)計(jì)相同的紙飛機(jī)又在折疊的方式上有出入。因此，它們在飛行中的表現(xiàn)也各有千秋。如果你想成為一個(gè)優(yōu)秀的紙飛機(jī)工程師，制作出飛得最好的紙飛機(jī)，那么首先就必須了解紙飛機(jī)能夠飛起來的科學(xué)原理。所以，你必須學(xué)習(xí)掌握豐富的科學(xué)知識。
Science and technology
What is the difference between science and technology? Science is knowledge about the physical and natural world whose laws are assumed to never change,that they stay the same whenever and wherever.Technology is a different matter;it uses scientific knowledge to create something useful.In science we will focus on understanding some fundamental properties such as air flow,air temperature,air pressure or air density,etc.By themselves,these concepts sometimes seem challenging to understand.However,when we are faced with engineering challenges to make something that actually works well,the scientific knowledge will be very useful.If you want to be an effective engineer,you will have to study diligently and know a lot about science.
Applying science to create a thing that actually works well in the real world is a complex process.There are many engineering solutions available but only one physical world where this object will perform.Any small design changes will have an impact on its performance.For example,let’s make a few paper airplanes and have them fly in the same room.We use identical sheet of paper to make the airplanes and because we are test-flying them in the same room,the testing conditions are very similar.The paper airplanes that were produced are not all identical,some of which were made with different designs and others with the same design were not folded exactly the same way.Consequently,they do not fly the same way.Hence,to be a talented paper airplane engineer and produce the best flying paper airplane,you really need to understand the science of why something can fly.That’s why you have to learn a lot about science.
好奇心和好習(xí)慣都很重要
現(xiàn)在讓我們來聊聊好奇心。隨著年齡的增長，人的好奇心通常會變得越發(fā)枯竭。一個(gè)美國女孩兒曾贏得了美國宇航局為火星探測器取名的大賽——她為它取名“好奇號”，就是被送到火星上的好奇號火星車。這個(gè)女孩兒在當(dāng)時(shí)只有12歲，她不僅贏得了命名比賽，還為我們留下了這樣一句話：“好奇心是一種永恒的火焰，燃燒在我們每個(gè)人的心中……它是一種強(qiáng)大的力量。沒有它，就不會有今天的我們。好奇心是推動(dòng)我們在日常生活中前進(jìn)的激情所在。在好奇心的驅(qū)動(dòng)下，在提高和探索中，我們成為探險(xiǎn)家和科學(xué)家?！边@話說得再好不過了。
除了好奇心之外，其他方面的技能同樣需要得到培養(yǎng)。想在一門學(xué)科上有所建樹，我們不能只依靠好奇心，還需要保持專注并持續(xù)努力。這是一種叫作“堅(jiān)韌”的人類品質(zhì)。要做到這一點(diǎn)有個(gè)訣竅，叫作“習(xí)慣”。在習(xí)慣的幫助下，所有的工作和任務(wù)都不再是一種負(fù)擔(dān)。如果你每天都有作業(yè)要做，那么你要做的就是把完成作業(yè)變成一種習(xí)慣，這樣一來你就不會再去為它煩惱，而只是去做就可以了。當(dāng)一件事成為一種習(xí)慣的時(shí)候，你對它的好惡也就不復(fù)存在。你只是在遵從一項(xiàng)習(xí)慣罷了。
所以，年輕人要盡早地養(yǎng)成一些好習(xí)慣，如完成作業(yè)、鍛煉身體、先工作后玩耍、勇于承擔(dān)責(zé)任、在機(jī)會面前積極主動(dòng)。除此之外，還別忘了要?jiǎng)谝萁Y(jié)合，好好吃飯。不要害怕思考那些經(jīng)常讓你感到困惑的事。永遠(yuǎn)記得，要保持積極主動(dòng)、思想開放！
Curiosity and habits both matter
Now let me talk a little bit about curiosity.As people grow older,they usually get less curious.An American girl has won the contest to name the rover that was actually sent to Mars by NASA: “Rover Curiosity”.This girl was only 12 years old at that time,and not only did she win the competition to name the rover,but has also left us with this inspirational remark: “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind...It is such a powerful force.Without it,we wouldn’t be who we are today.Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives.We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder.” I think I could not do a better job to put this in other words.
Curiosity is very important but to be effective one has to also develop other skills.You can be curious about one subject,but to be good at it you will need to keep focused and work hard.You can call this resilience.There is a trick for that,actually,which is called habit.Habits will help you by not having to decide every time to work hard at something.For example,if you have to do your homework every day,what you need to do is to make it a habit,then you won’t think about it anymore as you just do it.When it becomes a habit,your liking or disliking doesn’t exist anymore.You just do it.
It is important for young people to have a few good habits,such as doing your homework,practicing sport but also working before playing or taking responsibility and initiative.Don’t forget to live a balanced life by eating well and exercising often,and don’t be afraid of thinking over things that have confused you.Always remember to be proactive and have an open mind!
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文/ 博江盟（Jean-Marc Bovet，瑞士） 譯/孫夢格
我是一名醫(yī)藥科學(xué)家，但我不打算談?wù)撐业膶I(yè)領(lǐng)域，而是希望聊聊這些年來我作為一個(gè)熱愛科學(xué)的人的一些思考——具體來說，即我們?nèi)绾沃雷约壕烤怪佬┦裁矗?/p>
什么是知識？
讓我們先從科學(xué)的定義談起吧?？茖W(xué)知識是關(guān)于某一特定主題、經(jīng)過“系統(tǒng)性組織”的“信息體系”。首先，我們需要有信息輸入，換句話說，我們的大腦先要收集通過感官感知到的原始數(shù)據(jù)；其次，我們還要把這些數(shù)據(jù)組織成一個(gè)“故事”，而這個(gè)故事我稱其為科學(xué)知識。信息的輸入主要依賴于感官，如觸覺或聽覺。當(dāng)你用手捧住雪的時(shí)候，你就會收集到關(guān)于雪的信息。然后，你的大腦把這些感覺組織起來：它是冷的，它融化了，它變成了水。這就形成了“故事”。這個(gè)“故事”不僅來源于你的感知，還可能受到你對雪的預(yù)設(shè)所帶來的影響。通過觀察收集更多的信息并把它們組織在一起，我們就能夠講出更豐富的故事。這些故事聚合在一起就成為科學(xué)理論?？茖W(xué)理論必須始終與物質(zhì)世界保持一致。通過對物質(zhì)世界進(jìn)行觀察，并經(jīng)實(shí)驗(yàn)確認(rèn)所得的想法，就形成了知識。
In this article,I’m not going to talk about my profession as a pharmaceutical scientist.Instead,I’m going to talk about some reflections I have had over the years as a person who loves science,to be specific,how do we know what we know.
What is knowledge?
Let’s begin with the definition of science.We can define scientific knowledge as a “systematically organized body of information” on a particular subject.Firstly,there is the body of information,or in other words,our brain gathering raw data we perceive through our senses.Secondly,there is the way to organize the data to create a “story” that I would call scientific knowledge.The primary information comes from senses,such as touching or hearing.For example,you will gather the information about snow when you have the chance of holding it in your hands.Then your brain organizes the sensation you have had: it is cold,it melts and it changes into water into the “story”.That “story” is not only based on your perceptions but may also influenced by your preconceptions of what snow is like.The more information you gather through observation,the bigger the stories will be after you organize them,which forms scientific theories.The scientific theories must always be consistent with the physical world so that knowledge is what we believe filtered by observation and experimentation of the physical world.
大腦的認(rèn)知和人類的感官
我們的大腦可以看作是由兩個(gè)回路構(gòu)成的，其中一個(gè)回路反應(yīng)很快，主要依靠記憶的儲備；而另一個(gè)則比較慢，靠的是思維和處理信息的能力。這兩個(gè)回路共同作用，一起對接收到的信息作出判斷。
人類只能接收到有限的信息，因?yàn)槲覀兯赖囊磺卸紒碜砸韵挛甯校盒嵊X、觸覺、味覺、聽覺和視覺。它們是人類收集到的所有信息的最初來源。
我們可以試著觸摸一下自己身體的不同部位，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)手掌內(nèi)側(cè)要比臂膀敏感得多，哪怕是很細(xì)小的東西也能感覺得到。
那么，聽覺呢？人在發(fā)出聲音時(shí)，其實(shí)是在空氣中產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)聲波，聽者的耳朵捕捉到這個(gè)波，也就聽到了聲音。但是人的耳朵并不能聽到所有聲音，我們只能聽到一小部分聲音，音調(diào)太低或者太高都不行，即人類的聽覺有一個(gè)頻率范圍。而狗能收聽到的頻率范圍更大，能感知到更高的音調(diào)，所以你可以買到只有狗才能聽到的哨子來馴犬而不用擔(dān)心打擾鄰居。
很多動(dòng)物對聲音的接收范圍都不一樣。蝙蝠就非常特別，它們可以發(fā)出并收聽到一種叫作超聲波的高頻聲音。蝙蝠正是利用這種聲音來“看”世界的——它們可以利用超聲波回聲定位周圍環(huán)境，并且鎖定獵物的位置。
那么，我們是如何看見東西的呢？這和周圍的光有關(guān)。光也像波一樣運(yùn)動(dòng)，有著振幅和波長的屬性。但與聲音不同的是，光是一種電磁波。
和聽覺差不多，我們的視力也有局限，只能看到所謂的“可見光”，它只占到了電磁波譜的一部分。一個(gè)普通人的眼睛能感知到400—700nm波長段的光線。
蜜蜂與人類不同，僅僅能看到波長極短的光線。蜜蜂的可見光波長在300—600nm。所以，對兩個(gè)不同的物種來說，同一朵花可能看上去完全不同。
Our brian and senses
We can see our brain as having two circuits that differentiate what is true from what is false.One circuit is very fast and relies on memory,while the other one is slower and relies on your thinking and your processing of information.
As human beings,we are limited because everything we know comes from the following five aspects: the smell,the touch,the taste,the hearing and the sight.All the information we gather,originally comes from these five senses.
We can try to touch different parts of your body and you can find out that,for example,the inside of your hands is much more sensitive than your arm.You can feel even the very small things.And you cannot feel the same things on your arm.
So how about our hearing ability? What is hearing? When making noise,one is actually producing a wave in the air that goes toward one’s ear.Then others can perceive that sound as catching that wave.Human ears can’t hear all sounds.We can actually hear a small fraction of sound in the human pitch range and can’t hear the sound either too high or too low.There is 9 window of pitches of sound where one can actually hear.While human ears have their preferred frequencies,dogs have a larger range.Dogs can perceive sounds of much higher pitch than humans do.You can buy whistles that only dogs can hear and use it to train them without disturbing the neighbors.
Many animals have different frequencies in terms of sound reception.For example,bats can produce and hear a kind of high frequency sound called ultrasound.Bats use this sound to “see” the world.They can echolocate their environment and find where their prey is.
Now I’m going to talk about what we see.Take light as an example.Light also acts like a wave featuring amplitude and wavelength.However,it is different from sound because it is electromagnetic.
And the same is true as before,we have limitations on our sight,that is,we only see what is called “visible light”,which only consists of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 400 to 700 nanometers.
Bees,unlike human beings,can see very short wavelengths.For example,a bee’s visible wavelength ranges from 300 to 600 nanometers,compared to human’s 400 to 700 nanometers.That is why the same flower may appear very different to two different species.We don’t see the same thing.
由于感官的局限性，我們需要利用儀器設(shè)備來將自己無法感知到的信息轉(zhuǎn)化為可以看到或聽到的東西。儀器的使用是對人類感官的擴(kuò)展。不過我想告訴你們的是，這個(gè)宇宙中每時(shí)每刻都發(fā)生著很多事情，就算是用上所有的感官，我們?nèi)匀徊荒芨兄饺窟@些事物的存在。
思考與大腦對信息的解讀
思考能力是我們大腦的另一個(gè)重要作用。我們用大腦來理解收集到的所有信息。一種理解的方式是演繹：從理論到假設(shè)，再到觀察，通過觀察最后確認(rèn)假設(shè)。歷史上，亞里士多德等哲學(xué)家提出過這種思維方式。另一種思維方式則更像福爾摩斯：我們首先像一個(gè)偵探一樣觀察，然后從中發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)模式，形成一個(gè)假設(shè)，最后濃縮出一個(gè)理論。
“洞穴之喻”是柏拉圖著名理論之一。故事中蘇格拉底描述了這樣一個(gè)人：他的一生都被鎖鏈鎖住，只能面對著山洞里的一面空白墻壁。這個(gè)人的身后有一團(tuán)燃燒著的火焰。他日日夜夜看到的都是從他身后的火堆前經(jīng)過的物體投射在墻上的影子，并為這些影子命名，因?yàn)樗J(rèn)為，自己看到的影子就是現(xiàn)實(shí)。實(shí)際上卻并非如此。
在某種程度上，由于感官的局限，我們就像這個(gè)山洞里的囚徒，只能依賴自己的感知，并不能確切地掌握發(fā)生的一切。真實(shí)的世界存在于遠(yuǎn)方和山洞之外。
我們用眼睛來觀察世界。人類眼睛的底部有一個(gè)叫作視網(wǎng)膜的器官，它可以捕捉外界的圖像，但視網(wǎng)膜上的圖像是上下顛倒的。接收了圖像后，大腦便想：這不是世界真實(shí)的樣子。于是，大腦就幫我們把圖像再正過來，否則我們就沒辦法看到我們現(xiàn)在所看到的東西了。
雖然大腦非常強(qiáng)大，但它也會遇到一些問題。你不能總是相信你的大腦，也要對看到的東西多加思索。你對事物的看法不同，事情本身就會隨之變得不同。你可能已經(jīng)聽過了盲人摸象的故事：如果找來6個(gè)盲人，讓他們各自試著描述一頭大象，那么一共就會有6幅截然不同的畫面。有人認(rèn)為大象像一把扇子，有人覺得像一條蛇，還有人說像一堵墻。他們每個(gè)人都有自己的觀點(diǎn)?？茖W(xué)家要做的就是把大家從不同角度得到的信息都收集起來，從而描繪出一個(gè)更接近真相的全貌。其實(shí)，我們在某一時(shí)間點(diǎn)所掌握的信息從來都只是真相的一部分，但我們總以為自己已經(jīng)知道了所有的真相。這就是為什么人類必須對周圍的一切事物、每一條新的信息都保持開放的態(tài)度，因?yàn)橹挥羞@樣才能不斷地提高我們對世界的認(rèn)識。
Since our senses have limitations,we are using machines to transform unperceivable information into something we can either see or hear.The use of instrumentation can expand on human senses.In conclusion,what I’m trying to say here is that there are many,many more things happening in this universe that even with all our senses we still can’t see or hear.
The role of thinking and brain interpretation of the information
Another key is our ability to think.We use our brain to make sense of all the information we gathered.One way is deduction,which goes from theory to hypothesis,and then to observation,and finally to confirmation.This way of thinking is historically brought up by philosophers like Aristotle.Another way of thinking is like Sherlock Holmes.We go from observation like a detective,noticing a pattern,forming a hypothesis,and finally making a theory.
So now I’m going to talk about an allegory.Socrates describes a person who has lived chained facing a blank wall of a cave all of his life.The person watches shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind him and give names to these shadows.The shadows are this prisoner’s reality rather than accurate representations of the real world.
In some way,due to our limited senses we are like a prisoner in the cave.We don’t know everything exactly because we only know our perceptions.The real thing is what happens far away and outside the cave.
We have eyes to see the world.At the back of the eye there is a retina to capture the image.But inside the eye on the retina,the image is received upside down.The brain is saying,no,this is not correct and then it flips the image right-side up.Otherwise,we will not be seeing what we are really seeing.
The point is that though the brain is very powerful,it does have some problems.You can’t always trust your brain,and you also have to reflect a little bit more on what you see.You probably have already heard about this story before: if you take six blind people and ask them to describe an elephant,then they will all have six different descriptions.Some of them think the elephant is a fan,or a snake,or even a wall.Each one of them has their own perspective.What we scientists are doing is to take all of that information from everybody’s different perspectives to come up with a picture that is closer to the truth.What we actually know at a point in time is only part of the truth,yet we always think we know all of the truth.That’s why it is imperative for us to stay open to everything around us,every new piece of information,in order to always improve our understanding of the world.
2021年8月25日，博江盟在北京天文館作科普講座
科學(xué)和技術(shù)
科學(xué)與技術(shù)有什么區(qū)別？科學(xué)是關(guān)于物質(zhì)和自然世界的知識，科學(xué)規(guī)律則被假定為永不改變的定律。技術(shù)則不同，技術(shù)是對科學(xué)知識的利用，能夠創(chuàng)造出許多有用的東西。在科學(xué)世界中，科學(xué)家著重探索的是事物的基本性質(zhì)。例如，當(dāng)談到空氣時(shí)，科學(xué)家們會去研究空氣怎樣流動(dòng)，空氣的溫度、氣壓和空氣密度等。就其本身而言，這些概念有時(shí)看起來很有挑戰(zhàn)性，甚至難以理解。但是如果我們面臨工程建設(shè)的考驗(yàn)，要試圖做出一些既實(shí)際又好用的東西時(shí)，科學(xué)知識的基礎(chǔ)就是重中之重。如果你想成為一名杰出的工程師的話，你就必須勤奮學(xué)習(xí)，了解非常豐富的科學(xué)知識。
將科學(xué)應(yīng)用到現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中、創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)能夠真正良好運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的東西是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的過程。工程方案可能會多種多樣，任何微小的設(shè)計(jì)變化都會對其性能產(chǎn)生不同的影響。就拿折紙飛機(jī)來舉例吧。假設(shè)我們用相同的紙來制作飛機(jī)，在同一個(gè)房間里試飛，所有測試條件都非常相似，但每個(gè)人折出來的紙飛機(jī)都不一樣。有的紙飛機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)不同，而有的設(shè)計(jì)相同的紙飛機(jī)又在折疊的方式上有出入。因此，它們在飛行中的表現(xiàn)也各有千秋。如果你想成為一個(gè)優(yōu)秀的紙飛機(jī)工程師，制作出飛得最好的紙飛機(jī)，那么首先就必須了解紙飛機(jī)能夠飛起來的科學(xué)原理。所以，你必須學(xué)習(xí)掌握豐富的科學(xué)知識。
Science and technology
What is the difference between science and technology? Science is knowledge about the physical and natural world whose laws are assumed to never change,that they stay the same whenever and wherever.Technology is a different matter;it uses scientific knowledge to create something useful.In science we will focus on understanding some fundamental properties such as air flow,air temperature,air pressure or air density,etc.By themselves,these concepts sometimes seem challenging to understand.However,when we are faced with engineering challenges to make something that actually works well,the scientific knowledge will be very useful.If you want to be an effective engineer,you will have to study diligently and know a lot about science.
Applying science to create a thing that actually works well in the real world is a complex process.There are many engineering solutions available but only one physical world where this object will perform.Any small design changes will have an impact on its performance.For example,let’s make a few paper airplanes and have them fly in the same room.We use identical sheet of paper to make the airplanes and because we are test-flying them in the same room,the testing conditions are very similar.The paper airplanes that were produced are not all identical,some of which were made with different designs and others with the same design were not folded exactly the same way.Consequently,they do not fly the same way.Hence,to be a talented paper airplane engineer and produce the best flying paper airplane,you really need to understand the science of why something can fly.That’s why you have to learn a lot about science.
好奇心和好習(xí)慣都很重要
現(xiàn)在讓我們來聊聊好奇心。隨著年齡的增長，人的好奇心通常會變得越發(fā)枯竭。一個(gè)美國女孩兒曾贏得了美國宇航局為火星探測器取名的大賽——她為它取名“好奇號”，就是被送到火星上的好奇號火星車。這個(gè)女孩兒在當(dāng)時(shí)只有12歲，她不僅贏得了命名比賽，還為我們留下了這樣一句話：“好奇心是一種永恒的火焰，燃燒在我們每個(gè)人的心中……它是一種強(qiáng)大的力量。沒有它，就不會有今天的我們。好奇心是推動(dòng)我們在日常生活中前進(jìn)的激情所在。在好奇心的驅(qū)動(dòng)下，在提高和探索中，我們成為探險(xiǎn)家和科學(xué)家?！边@話說得再好不過了。
除了好奇心之外，其他方面的技能同樣需要得到培養(yǎng)。想在一門學(xué)科上有所建樹，我們不能只依靠好奇心，還需要保持專注并持續(xù)努力。這是一種叫作“堅(jiān)韌”的人類品質(zhì)。要做到這一點(diǎn)有個(gè)訣竅，叫作“習(xí)慣”。在習(xí)慣的幫助下，所有的工作和任務(wù)都不再是一種負(fù)擔(dān)。如果你每天都有作業(yè)要做，那么你要做的就是把完成作業(yè)變成一種習(xí)慣，這樣一來你就不會再去為它煩惱，而只是去做就可以了。當(dāng)一件事成為一種習(xí)慣的時(shí)候，你對它的好惡也就不復(fù)存在。你只是在遵從一項(xiàng)習(xí)慣罷了。
所以，年輕人要盡早地養(yǎng)成一些好習(xí)慣，如完成作業(yè)、鍛煉身體、先工作后玩耍、勇于承擔(dān)責(zé)任、在機(jī)會面前積極主動(dòng)。除此之外，還別忘了要?jiǎng)谝萁Y(jié)合，好好吃飯。不要害怕思考那些經(jīng)常讓你感到困惑的事。永遠(yuǎn)記得，要保持積極主動(dòng)、思想開放！
Curiosity and habits both matter
Now let me talk a little bit about curiosity.As people grow older,they usually get less curious.An American girl has won the contest to name the rover that was actually sent to Mars by NASA: “Rover Curiosity”.This girl was only 12 years old at that time,and not only did she win the competition to name the rover,but has also left us with this inspirational remark: “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind...It is such a powerful force.Without it,we wouldn’t be who we are today.Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives.We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder.” I think I could not do a better job to put this in other words.
Curiosity is very important but to be effective one has to also develop other skills.You can be curious about one subject,but to be good at it you will need to keep focused and work hard.You can call this resilience.There is a trick for that,actually,which is called habit.Habits will help you by not having to decide every time to work hard at something.For example,if you have to do your homework every day,what you need to do is to make it a habit,then you won’t think about it anymore as you just do it.When it becomes a habit,your liking or disliking doesn’t exist anymore.You just do it.
It is important for young people to have a few good habits,such as doing your homework,practicing sport but also working before playing or taking responsibility and initiative.Don’t forget to live a balanced life by eating well and exercising often,and don’t be afraid of thinking over things that have confused you.Always remember to be proactive and have an open mind!
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