文章来源：NATURE

作者：StevenWeinberg分享人：yc

编辑：颜惜

WhenIreceivedmyundergraduatedegree—aboutahundredyearsago—thephysicsliteratureseemedtomeavast,unexploredocean,everypartofwhichIhadtochartbeforebeginninganyresearchofmyown.HowcouldIdoanythingwithoutknowingeverythingthathadalreadybeendone?Fortunately,inmyfirstyearofgraduateschool,Ihadthegoodlucktofallintothehandsofseniorphysicistswhoinsisted,overmyanxiousobjections,thatImuststartdoingresearch,andpickupwhatIneededtoknowasIwentalong.Itwassinkorswim.Tomysurprise,Ifoundthatthisworks.ImanagedtogetaquickPhD—thoughwhenIgotitIknewalmostnothingaboutphysics.ButIdidlearnonebigthing:thatnooneknowseverything,andyoudon’thaveto.

Anotherlessontobelearned,tocontinueusingmyoceanographicmetaphor,isthatwhileyouareswimmingandnotsinkingyoushouldaimforroughwater.WhenIwasteachingattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyinthelates,astudenttoldmethathewantedtogointogeneralrelativityratherthantheareaIwasworkingon,elementaryparticlephysics,becausetheprinciplesoftheformerwerewellknown,whilethelatterseemedlikeamesstohim.Itstruckmethathehadjustgivenaperfectlygoodreasonfordoingtheoppo-site.Particlephysicswasanareawherecreativeworkcouldstillbedone.Itreallywasamessinthes,butsincethattimetheworkofmanytheoreticalandexperimentalphysicistshasbeenabletosortitout,andputeverything(well,almosteverything)togetherinabeautifultheoryknownasthestandardmodel.Myadviceistogoforthemesses—that’swheretheactionis.

Mythirdpieceofadviceisprobablythehardesttotake.Itistoforgiveyourselfforwastingtime.Studentsareonlyaskedtosolveproblemsthattheirprofessors(unlessunusuallycruel)knowtobesolvable.Inaddition,itdoesn’tmatteriftheproblemsarescientificallyimportant—theyhavetobesolvedtopassthecourse.Butintherealworld,it’sveryhardtoknowwhichproblemsareimportant,andyouneverknowwhetheratagivenmomentinhistoryaproblemissolvable.Atthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury,severalleadingphysicists,includingLorentzandAbraham,weretryingtoworkoutatheoryoftheelectron.ThiswaspartlyinordertounderstandwhyallattemptstodetecteffectsofEarth’smotionthroughtheetherhadfailed.Wenowknowthattheywereworkingonthewrongproblem.Atthattime,noonecouldhavedevelopedasuccessfultheoryoftheelectron,becausequantummechanicshadnotyetbeendiscovered.IttookthegeniusofAlbertEinsteinintorealizethattherightproblemonwhichtoworkwastheeffectofmotiononmeasurementsofspaceandtime.Thisledhimtothespecialtheoryofrelativity.Asyouwillneverbesurewhicharetherightproblemstoworkon,mostofthetimethatyouspendinthelaboratoryoratyourdeskwillbewasted.Ifyouwanttobecreative,thenyouwillhavetogetusedtospendingmostofyourtimenotbeingcreative,tobeingbecalmedontheoceanofscientificknowledge.

Finally,learnsomethingaboutthehistoryofscience,orataminimumthehistoryofyourownbranchofscience.Theleastimportantreasonforthisisthatthehistorymayactuallybeofsomeusetoyouinyourownscientificwork.Forinstance,nowandthenscientistsarehamperedbybelievingoneoftheover-simplifiedmodelsofsciencethathavebeenproposedbyphilosophersfromFrancisBacontoThomasKuhnandKarlPopper.Thebestantidotetothephilosophyofscienceisaknowledgeofthehistoryofscience.

Moreimportantly,thehistoryofsciencecanmakeyourworkseemmoreworthwhiletoyou.Asascientist,you’reprobablynotgoingtogetrich.Yourfriendsandrelativesprobablywon’tunderstandwhatyou’redoing.Andifyouworkinafieldlikeelemen-taryparticlephysics,youwon’tevenhavethesatisfactionofdoingsomethingthatisimmediatelyuseful.Butyoucangetgreatsatisfactionbyrecognizingthatyourworkinscienceisapartofhistory.

Lookbackyears,to.HowimportantisitnowwhowasPrimeMinisterofGreatBritainin,orPresidentoftheUnitedStates?WhatstandsoutasreallyimportantisthatatMcGillUniversity,ErnestRutherfordandFrederickSoddywereworkingoutthenatureofradioactivity.Thiswork(ofcourse!)hadpracticalapplica-tions,butmuchmoreimportantwereitsculturalimplications.TheunderstandingofradioactivityallowedphysiciststoexplainhowtheSunandEarth’scorescouldstillbehotaftermillionsofyears.Inthisway,itremovedthelastscientificobjectiontowhatmanygeologistsandpaleontologiststhoughtwasthegreatageoftheEarthandtheSun.Afterthis,ChristiansandJewseitherhadtogiveupbeliefintheliteraltruthoftheBibleorresignthemselvestointellectualirrelevance.ThiswasjustonestepinasequenceofstepsfromGalileothroughNewtonandDarwintothepresentthat,timeaftertime,hasweakenedtheholdofreligiousdogmatism.Readinganynewspapernowa-daysisenoughtoshowyouthatthisworkisnotyet







































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