DavidDeutsch_2009G[大卫.多伊奇][科学解释之新探].pdf

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1、www.XiYuS锡育软件Im sure that,throughout the hundred-thousand-odd yearsof our species existence,and even before,our ancestorslooked up at the night sky,and wondered what stars are.我十分确信在人类诞生以来 的大概10万多年 甚至比这更长的时间里-我们的祖先仰望夜空 想知道那些星星究竟是什么00:12Wondering,therefore,how to explain what they saw in termsof thin

2、gs unseen.其实也就是想要 把他们看见的东西 用不可见的东西来解释00:28Okay,so,most people only wondered that occasionally,liketoday,in breaks from whatever normally preoccupied them.这样的话，大多数人看似 只是偶尔如此想想，比如说像在今天 从日常活动中 抽空解脱出来的时候才行00:39But what normally preoccupied them also involved yearningto know.但实际上人们的日常活动 同样富含着对知识的渴望00:50T

3、hey wished they knew how to prevent their food supplyfrom sometimes failing,and how they could rest when theywere tired,without risking starvation,be warmer,cooler,safer,in less pain.人们希望知道 如何避免食物来源 不时的中断 如何在疲惫时得以充分休整 又不会因为停止劳作而断粮 如何创造更温暖，或更凉爽；更安全的环境 如何减轻痛苦00:57I bet those prehistoric cave artists w

4、ould have loved to knowhow to draw better.我敢打赌远古时代的岩洞画家们 都想知道 怎样画得更漂亮些01:17In every aspect of their lives,they wished for progress,just aswe do.我们的祖先在生活的方方面面 都像我们一样地期望进步01:24But they failed,almost completely,to make any.但是他们得到的发展微乎其微01:34in terms of:依据;按照;在方面;以措词 unseen:adj.看不见的,未看见的;未经预习的/n.(事前未看过原

5、文的)即席翻译preoccupied:adj.全神贯注的;心事重重的;被先占的/v.抢先占有;使全神贯注(preoccupy的过去式)yearning:adj.向往的;渴望的;怀念的/n.渴望;怀念;同情/v.渴望;向往;想念(yearn的ing形式)starvation:n.饿死;挨饿;绝食 prehistoric:adj.史前的;陈旧的They didnt know how to.他们还不懂其中的秘诀01:40Discoveries like fire happen so rarely,that from anindividuals point of view,the world neve

6、r improved.像人工生火这样的重大发明 凤毛麟角，于是乎从一个个人的角度看来 世界几乎毫无改善01:43Nothing new was learned.知识停滞不前01:54The first clue to the origin of starlight happened as recentlyas 1899:radioactivity.星星闪光的奥秘初步被揭开 是在不久前的1899年-放射现象01:58Within 40 years,physicists discovered the whole explanation,expressed,as usual,in elegant s

7、ymbols.而这之后的仅仅40年间 物理学家们发现了一个完整的解释 然后像往常一样用简明优雅的数学符号把它表示了出来02:08But never mind the symbols.可别把这些符号不当回事02:19Think how many discoveries they represent.想想它们表达了 多少人类的发现02:21Nuclei and nuclear reactions,of course.这些么就是原子核 核反应02:27But isotopes,particles of electricity,antimatter,neutrinos,the conversion o

8、f mass to energy-thats E=mc2-gamma rays,transmutation.再看看这些：同位素 带电粒子 反物质 中微子 物质到能量的转化 E=mc2 伽马射线 嬗变（一种元素通过核反应转化为另一种元素）02:30point of view:观点;见地;立场 starlight:n.星光/adj.有星光的;星光照耀的 radioactivity:n.放射性;核放射能力;核放射现象 physicists:n.物理学家;机械唯物论者(physicist的复数)expressed:v.表达(express的过去式和过去分词);(用符号等)表示;榨;(如在说话,写作或绘

9、画中)表达(自己)的意见 as usual:像往常一样;照例 Nuclei:n.核心,核子;原子核(nucleus的复数形式)isotopes:n.核同位素(isotope的复数);核素 antimatter:n.物反物质 neutrinos:n.中微子(neutrino的复数)conversion:n.转换;变换;金融兑换;改变信仰 gamma:n.微克;希腊语的第三个字母 rays:n.射线;光线(ray的复数);日光浴/v.辐射(ray的三单形式);照射 transmutation:n.变形;变化;演变That ancient dream that had always eluded t

10、he alchemistswas achieved through these same theories that explainedstarlight and other ancient mysteries,and new,unexpectedphenomena.那个古代炼金术师们为之枉费心机的梦想 现在由这些 解释了星光的实质 以及其他古代的谜团 和意料之外新现象的理论变为现实02:53That all that,discovered in 40 years,had not beendiscovered in the previous hundred thousand,was not f

11、orlack of thinking about stars,and all those other urgentproblems they had.这40年中的所有发现 是数千年来所未有的 而这可不能归结为古人思维懒惰 对星星啊，还有那些迫切的问题不闻不问03:08They even arrived at answers,such as myths,that dominated他们不光思考了，还给出了答案 比如说神话 可虽说神话统治了古人的生活，包罗万象 却与真正的TED演讲者：David Deutsch|大卫.多伊奇演讲标题：David Deutsch:A new way to expla

12、in explanation|科学解释之新探内容概要：David Deutsch.s 1997 book The Fabric of Reality laid the groundwork for an all-encompassing Theory of Everything,and galvanized interest in the idea of a quantumcomputer,which could solve problems of hitherto unimaginable complexity.上古的数万年间我们的祖先通过神话来理解世界，他们认知的发展十分缓慢，而科学认知的

13、兴起仅用几个世纪就在世界上产生了翻天覆地的变革。欲知其因，请看物理学家大卫.多伊奇的精妙分析They even arrived at answers,such as myths,that dominatedtheir lives,yet bore almost no resemblance to the truth.说神话统治了古人的生活，包罗万象 却与真正的现实 几乎搭不上边03:23The tragedy of that protracted stagnation isnt sufficientlyrecognized,I think.这种长期认知停滞所造成的悲哀 我觉得，并没有被古人足够

14、重视03:36These were people with brains of essentially the same designthat eventually did discover all those things.古人们的大脑 和我们的这些发现了种种新知识的大脑 实质上没有分别03:43But that ability to make progress remained almost unused,until the event that revolutionized the human condition,andchanged the universe.但是其中那个用来产生进步的

15、潜力 始终几乎没有被利用 直到有一件事 彻底更新了人们的生活状态改天换地03:53eluded:vt.逃避,躲避 alchemists:n.炼金师(alchemist的复数形式)mysteries:n.神秘的事物;难以理解的事;古代的秘密宗教仪式(mystery的复数)for lack of:因缺乏;因缺少;因没有 myths:神话/谬见 dominated:adj.占主导地位的;强势的;占统治地位的;数受控的/v.控制,支配;处于支配地位(dominate的过去式)resemblance:n.相似;相似之处;相似物;肖像protracted:adj.拖延的/v.拖延;绘制;伸展(protra

16、ct的过去分词)stagnation:n.停滞;滞止 sufficiently:adv.充分地;足够地unused:adj.不用的;从未用过的 revolutionized:adj.革命化的;被彻底改革的/v.彻底改革(revolutionize的过去式)Or so we should hope.至少我们希望情况是这样的04:07Because that event was the scientific revolution,ever sincewhich our knowledge of the physical world,and of how toadapt it to our wish

17、es,has been growing relentlessly.这个大事件就是 科学革命 从那以后我们对于 物质世界的认知 和对如何根据我们的意愿改造它的了解 就一个劲地增长着04:09Now,what had changed?现在想想，到底是发生了什么变化呢？04:23What were people now doing for the first time that madethat difference between stagnation and rapid,open-endeddiscovery?当时人们 究竟初次尝试了什么 就打破了僵局 开始了快速而无休无止的发现之旅？04:26

18、How to make that difference is surely the most importantuniversal truth that it is possible to know.这一僵局的打破 肯定是一个极为重要的广泛真理而我们是可以了解它的04:36Worryingly,there is no consensus about what it is.让人担忧的是，对它究竟是怎么做到的人们众说纷纭04:44So,Ill tell you.我这就来说说我的解释04:49But Ill have to backtrack a little first.但先得稍稍回顾一下04:5

19、1Before the scientific revolution,they believed that everythingimportant,knowable,was already known,enshrined inancient writings,institutions,and in some genuinely usefulrules of thumb-which were,however,entrenched asdogmas,along with many falsehoods.在科学革命发生之前 古人相信一切重要而可知的事物 都已经被了解了 这些知识被高高供起在古籍里，经院

20、中 还在日常生活的惯用窍门中被深信不疑 而这些窍门，和许多谬论一同 都成了根深蒂固的教条04:55relentlessly:adv.残酷地,无情地 open-ended:adj.开放式的;无限制的;自由回答的;两端未封闭的 Worryingly:adv.焦虑地;烦恼地 consensus:n.一致；舆论；合意 backtrack:vi.计回溯;由原路返回;放弃/vt.追踪;循迹调查 knowable:adj.可知的;能认识的;易知的 enshrined:把置于神龛内/把奉若神/珍藏/铭记(enshrine的过去式和过去分词)writings:n.作品,篇章(writing的复数形式)genui

21、nely:adv.真诚地;诚实地 entrenched:adj.根深蒂固的;确立的,不容易改的/v.确立;保证;挖掘壕沟(entrench的过去分词)dogmas:n.教条(定理;武断的意见)falsehoods:n.说谎;假话;不真实;错误的信仰So they believed that knowledge came from authorities thatactually knew very little.那时人们相信知识来自权威 这些权威其实知道的不多05:15And therefore progress depended on learning how to rejectthe au

22、thority of learned men,priests,traditions and rulers.所以知识的进步 取决于学会如何摈弃 学究 教士，传统习惯和统治者们的权威05:22Which is why the scientific revolution had to have a widercontext:the Enlightenment,a revolution in how peoplesought knowledge,trying not to rely on authority.这就是为什么科学革命 必须有一个大背景 那就是启蒙运动 对于求知方法的一场革命 试着摆脱对权威

23、的依赖05:35Take no ones word for it.“切勿轻信人言”05:50But that cant be what made the difference.可这还不够05:52Authorities had been rejected before,many times.历史上摈弃权威的例子比比皆是05:56And that rarely,if ever,caused anything like the scientificrevolution.而这些事件的结果却很难，或根本不能 与科学革命同日而语05:58At the time,what they thought dis

24、tinguished science was aradical idea about things unseen,known as empiricism.在那个时候，启蒙学者们认为 科学的独特标志 是一个关于不可见事物的激进看法 叫做经验主义06:04All knowledge derives from the senses.认为所有的知识来自我们的感官06:15authorities:n.当局,官方(authority的复数)authority:n.权威；权力；当局 traditions:传统 rulers:n.统治者;标尺,数直尺 Enlightenment:n.启迪;启蒙运动;教化 re

25、ly on:依靠,依赖 distinguished:adj.著名的;卓著的;高贵的/v.区别(distinguish的过去式)empiricism:n.经验主义;经验论 derives:源于/得自(derive的第三人称单数)Well,weve seen that that cant be true.呵呵，我们知道这样说有些偏颇06:20It did help by promoting observation and experiment.但经验主义成就了 科学观察与实验06:23But,from the outset,it was obvious that there was somethi

26、nghorribly wrong with it.然而乍一看之下，似乎很明显地 经验主义存在着可怕的漏洞06:29Knowledge comes from the senses.“知识源自感官”06:34In what language?Certainly not the language of那么感官得来的知识由什么语言承载呢？肯定不会是数学语言吧 可伽利略却有此精辟一语“自然之In what language?Certainly not the language ofmathematics,in which,Galileo rightly said,the book ofnature is

27、 written.是数学语言吧 可伽利略却有此精辟一语“自然之书乃数学著成”06:36Look at the world.You dont see equations carved on tomountainsides.看看这世界，你看不到山崖上刻着方程式 刻着方程式06:45If you did,it would be because people had carved them.就算碰巧看到了，那也是因为人们 刻上去的06:51By the way,why dont we do that?顺便问一句，我们干嘛不这样做呢？06:55Whats wrong with us?这不是有毛病嘛？06

28、:58www.XiYuS锡育软件(Laughter)Empiricism is inadequate because,well,scientifictheories explain the seen in terms of the unseen.（笑声）经验主义本身是不足的 这大概是因为 科学理论用不可见的来解释可见的07:00And the unseen,you have to admit,doesnt come to usthrough the senses.而那些不可见的-你得承认-可不是从感官得来的07:10promoting:促进/晋升/促销 rightly:adv.正确地;恰当地;

29、公正地;合适地 equations:n.方程式;等式;均等;均势(equation的复数形式)carved:adj.有雕刻的/v.雕刻(carve的过去式和过去分词)mountainsides:n.山腰;山坡 inadequate:adj.不充分的,不适当的We dont see those nuclear reactions in stars.我们可看不见恒星中的核反应07:14We dont see the origin of species.看不见物种起源07:18We dont see the curvature of space-time,and otheruniverses.还有时

30、空弯曲 其他的平行宇宙07:21But we know about those things.但我们知道这些07:27How?我们是怎么做到的呢？07:30Well,the classic empiricist answer is induction.经验主义的经典的答案是“归纳法”07:32The unseen resembles the seen.认为不可见的与可见的相似07:37But it doesnt.其实不然07:41You know what the clinching evidence was that space-time iscurved.你能找到一个决定性的反例 比如：时

31、空是弯曲的这一事实07:43It was a photograph,not of space-time,but of an eclipse,with a dot there rather than there.我们知道它的证据是一张照片，不是关于时空本身而是拍摄的一次日食，上面有个小点在这儿而不在那儿07:48And the evidence for evolution?至于物种起源的证据呢？07:55Some rocks and some finches.一些岩石和雀类化石07:57And parallel universes?Again:dots there,rather than the

32、re,on a screen.平行宇宙的证据何在啊？又是屏幕上这儿有些点而不是那儿08:00curvature:n.弯曲,数曲率 space-time:adj.时空的/n.时空(等于spacetime)empiricist:n.经验主义者;使用观察实验法的人;庸医 induction:n.电磁感应;归纳法;感应现象;入门培训,入职仪式 resembles:似 clinching:v.使钉牢(clinch的ing形式)/n.铆钉 curved:adj.弯曲的;弄弯的/n.倒弧角/vt.弯曲(curve的过去式)eclipse:vt.使黯然失色;形成蚀/n.日蚀,月蚀;黯然失色 finches:n

33、.雀科鸣鸟;雀类What we see,in all these cases,bears no resemblance to thereality that we conclude is responsible-only a long chain oftheoretical reasoning and interpretation,connects them.这些事例中我们眼睛观察到的 和事实没有什么相似之处-所以前面的“相似说”不成立-只有一条长长的理论推导与解读的链条 把它们（观察现象与真理）连在一起08:05Ah!say creationists,So you admit its all

34、 interpretation.于是那些神创论者就说:“啊哈！”“所以你承认这些科学理论都只是某种解读08:20No one has ever seen evolution.没人知道答案是什么08:25We see rocks.我们都看得见石头08:28You have your interpretation.We have ours.你有你的理解，我们有我们的08:30Yours comes from guesswork;ours,from the Bible.你的理解来自理论猜测 我们的来自圣经。”08:33But what creationist and empiricists both

35、 ignore is that,inthat sense,no one has ever seen a bible either,that the eyeonly detects light,which we dont perceive.可是有一点神创论者和经验主义者同时忽略了 那就是，从先前的那种意义上看 没有人真正切实“观察”到一本圣经 眼睛只是探测到阳光，而我们无法有意识地感知它08:37Brains only detect nerve impulses.大脑只侦测神经脉冲08:52And they dont perceive even those as what they really

36、 are,namely electrical crackles.但却无法感知它们究竟本身是什么 而它们其实是带电粒子“小爆破”08:55So we perceive nothing as what it really is.如此说来我们无法感知任何事物的现实究竟是什么09:00Our connection to reality is never just perception.而我们与现实的联系 从不会只是感知09:05reasoning:n.推理;论证;评理/adj.推理的/v.推论;说服(reason的ing形式)creationists:n.神造说鼓吹者;神灵论者;特创论者(即相信万物皆

37、由上帝一次造成者)detects:发现 impulses:n.心理冲动;电子脉冲(impulse的复数)/v.推动(impulse的第三人称单数);推进 crackles:v.发出爆裂声;表面形成碎裂花纹;充满(crackle的第三人称单数)/n.细碎爆裂声;陶瓷器的碎裂花纹;陶瓷器皿(crackle的复数)Its always,as Karl Popper put it,theory-laden.而是如卡尔波普尔所说 充满着理论假设09:10Scientific knowledge isnt derived from anything.科学知识不是从什么直接推导而来09:17Its like

38、 all knowledge.Its conjectural,guesswork,tested byobservation,not derived from it.而是像所有其他知识一样，是假设性的，一种推测由观察来检验 却不从观察直接推导而来09:20So,were testable conjectures the great innovation thatopened the intellectual prison gates?这么说来，是不是可以检验的假设 就是把人类放出认知牢笼的伟大发明呢？09:31No.Contrary to whats usually said,testabili

39、ty is common,inmyths and all sorts of other irrational modes of thinking.不是。和人们常常所说的不同 可检验性其实不稀奇，就是 在神话和其他非理性的思维方式中都广泛存在09:38Any crank claiming the sun will go out next Tuesday has gota testable prediction.随便哪个家伙想说下周二太阳将要熄灭 他的假设都是可检验的09:47Consider the ancient Greek myth explaining seasons.让我们想想一个古希腊

40、的神话 是用来解释季节更替的09:54Hades,God of the Underworld,kidnaps Persephone,theGoddess of Spring,and negotiates a forced marriagecontract,requiring her to return regularly,and lets her go.哈德斯，冥界之神 绑架了春之神普西芬妮 又强迫她签下一纸婚书 只允许她每年定时回到地面，然后就放她走了10:00Popper:n.服药成瘾者;发出啪声的人或物;爆竹;炮手;爆玉米花机 derived:adj.导出的;衍生的,派生的/v.得到;推

41、断(derive的过去分词);由而来 conjectural:adj.推测的;好推测的 guesswork:n.猜测;臆测;凭猜测所作之工作 testable:adj.可试验的;有资格立遗嘱的;可根据遗嘱处理的;有资格作证人的 conjectures:n.推测;猜想/vi.推测;揣摩/vt.推测 innovation:n.创新,革新;新方法 Contrary to:与相反,违反 irrational:adj.不合理的;无理性的;荒谬的/n.数无理数 modes:n.模式(mode的复数形式);方法;分辨率 crank:n.曲柄;奇想/adj.易怒的/vt.装曲柄 prediction:n.预报

42、;预言 Hades:n.地狱;冥府;阎王 Underworld:n.黑社会;地狱;下层社会;尘世 kidnaps:vt.绑架;诱拐;拐骗 negotiates:vt.谈判,商议;转让;越过/vi.谈判,交涉And each year,she is magically compelled to return.于是每一年 她都被某种魔力带回冥界10:12And her mother,Demeter,Goddess of the Earth,is sad,andmakes it cold and barren.她的妈妈迪米特 大地女神 十分伤心，土地于是冻结荒芜10:17That myth is t

43、estable.这则神话是可以检验的10:26If Winter is caused by Demeters sadness,then it musthappen everywhere on Earth,simultaneously.如果迪米特的哀伤导致了冬天 那么它必须在地球上的所有地方同时发生10:29So if the ancient Greeks had only known that Austrailia is atits warmest when Demeter is at her saddest,theyd haveknown that their theory is false

44、.所以其实只要古希腊人知道澳大利亚 在迪米特最伤心时正经历着最热的天气 它们肯定知道自己的理论错了10:37So what was wrong with that myth,and with all pre-scientificthinking,and what,then,made that momentous difference?那么这则神话究竟错在哪儿呢？科学到来前人们的思维有什么问题呢？又是什么改变了这一切呢？10:47I think there is one thing you have to care about.我觉得有一样东西我们得关注10:58And that implies

45、 testability,the scientific method,theEnlightenment,and everything.它同时意味着 可验证性，科学方法 启蒙运动，还有前面说的一切11:02And here is the crucial thing.我现在要说的就是那个万分重要的东西：11:09There is such a thing as a defect in a story.一个故事里可能出现缺陷11:11magically:adv.用魔法地;如魔法般地 compelled:v.迫使(compel的过去式及过去分词形式);强迫 simultaneously:adv.同时地

46、 saddest:adj.悲伤的(sad的最高级)pre-scientific:前科学 momentous:adj.重要的;重大的 implies:v.意味着(imply的第三人称单数);蕴含;暗指I dont just mean a logical defect.I mean a bad explanation.我不是指逻辑缺陷，我是说坏解释的存在的11:14What does that mean?Well,explanation is an assertionabout whats there,unseen,that accounts for whats seen.什么意思呢？所谓解释 是

47、一个关于不可见物 如何描述可见物的断言11:19Because the explanatory role of Persephones marriagecontract could be played equally well by infinitely manyother ad hoc entities.因为普西芬妮婚书 对季节的解释作用 可以完好无损地 由无限多个其他 临时想出的事物来完成11:28Why a marriage contract and not any other reason forregular annual action?为什么是一纸婚书而不是其他什么原因 使普西芬妮

48、定期往返呢？11:39Here is one.Persephone wasnt released.我且来举个例子：普西芬妮并没有被放走11:46She escaped,and returns every spring to take revenge onHades,with her Spring powers.她逃走了，每年春天又回冥府 找哈德斯报仇 用她春天的神力11:49She cools his domain with Spring air,venting heat up to thesurface,creating summer.她让春风给冥界降温 热气排到地上，成了夏天11:57Th

49、at accounts for the same phenomena as the original myth.这个说法和先前的神话能解释同样的现象12:06Its equally testable.而且同样可以检验12:10Yet what it asserts about reality is,in many ways,theopposite.可是它对现实的描述，断言 却和刚才的在许多方面正好相反12:13assertion:n.断言,声明;主张,要求;坚持 explanatory:adj.解释的;说明的 infinitely:adv.无限地；极其 entities:n.实体;存在(ent

50、ity的复数形式);字符实体 venting:n.排气;机通气/v.排放(vent的现在分词)heat up:加热/变热/升温 asserts:维护And that is possible because the details of the original myth这看似矛盾的情况之所以存在 是因为原先那个神话的诸多细节?除了在这则神话的背景中外 与季And that is possible because the details of the original mythare unrelated to seasons,except via the myth itself.话的诸多细节?除