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朱棣文演講：生命太短暫，不能空手過(guò)！
朱棣文演講：生命太短暫，不能空手過(guò)!
Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, today’s graduates：
尊敬的Faust校長(zhǎng)，哈佛集團(tuán)的各位成員，監(jiān)管理事會(huì)的各位理事，各位老師，各位家長(zhǎng)，各位朋友，以及最重要的各位畢業(yè)生同學(xué)：
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.
感謝你們，讓我有機(jī)會(huì)同你們一起分享這個(gè)美妙的日子。
I am not sure I can live up to the high standards of Harvard Commencement speakers. Last year, J.K. Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a classics student, graced this podium. The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here. Today, sadly, you have me. I am not wealthy, but at least I am a nerd.
我不太肯定，自己夠得上哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮演講人這樣的殊榮。去年登上這個(gè)講臺(tái)的是，英國(guó)億萬(wàn)身家的小說(shuō)家J.K. Rowling女士，她最早是一個(gè)古典文學(xué)的學(xué)生。前年站在這里的是比爾·蓋茨先生，他是一個(gè)超級(jí)富翁、一個(gè)慈善家和電腦天才。今年很遺憾，你們的演講人是我，雖然我不是很有錢，但是至少我是一個(gè)書(shū)呆子。
I am grateful to receive an honorary degree from Harvard, an honor that means more to me than you might care to imagine. You see, I was the academic black sheep of my family. My older brother has an M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a law degree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would be pleased. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, “That’s nice, but when are you going to visit me next.” Now, as the last brother with a degree from Harvard, maybe, at last, she will be satisfied.
我很感激哈佛大學(xué)給我榮譽(yù)學(xué)位，這對(duì)我很重要，也許比你們會(huì)想到的還要重要。要知道，在學(xué)術(shù)上，我是我們家的異類。我的哥哥在麻省理工學(xué)院得到醫(yī)學(xué)博士，在哈佛大學(xué)得到哲學(xué)博士;我的弟弟在哈佛大學(xué)得到一個(gè)法律學(xué)位。我本人得到諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)的時(shí)候，我想我的媽媽會(huì)高興。但是，我錯(cuò)了。消息公布的那天早上，我給她打電話，她聽(tīng)了只說(shuō)：“這是好消息，不過(guò)我想知道，你下次什么時(shí)候來(lái)看我?”如今在我們兄弟當(dāng)中，我最終也拿到了哈佛學(xué)位，我想這一次，她會(huì)感到滿意。
Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that some of you may disapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material from previous speeches. I ask that you forgive me for two reasons.
在哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上發(fā)表演說(shuō)，還有一個(gè)難處，那就是你們中有些人可能有意見(jiàn)，不喜歡我重復(fù)前人演講中說(shuō)過(guò)的話。我要求你們諒解我，因?yàn)閮蓚�(gè)理由。
First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same message more than once. In science, it is important to be the first person to make a discovery, but it is even more important to be the last person to make that discovery.
首先，為了產(chǎn)生影響力，很重要的方法就是重復(fù)傳遞同樣的信息。在科學(xué)中，第一個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)者是重要的，但是在得到公認(rèn)前，最后一個(gè)做出這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)的人也許更重要。
Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?
其次，一個(gè)借鑒他人的作者，正走在一條前人開(kāi)辟的最佳道路上。哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)生、詩(shī)人愛(ài)默生曾經(jīng)寫(xiě)下：“我最好的一些思想，都是從古人那里偷來(lái)的。”畫(huà)家畢加索宣稱“優(yōu)秀的藝術(shù)家借鑒，偉大的藝術(shù)家偷竊。”那么為什么畢業(yè)典禮的演說(shuō)者，就不適用同樣的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)呢?
I also want to point out the irony of speaking to graduates of an institution that would have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to “Dean Jean,” the former dean of admissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the chance. When I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected strongly to my use of the word “rejected.” She never rejected applicants; her letters stated that “we are unable to offer you admission.” I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, “deans of rejection.” Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing.
我還要指出一點(diǎn)，向哈佛畢業(yè)生發(fā)表演說(shuō)，對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是有諷刺意味的，因?yàn)槿绻?dāng)年我斗膽向哈佛大學(xué)遞交入學(xué)申請(qǐng)，一定會(huì)被拒絕。我的妻子Jean當(dāng)過(guò)斯坦福大學(xué)的招生主任，她向我保證，如果當(dāng)年我申請(qǐng)斯坦福大學(xué)，她會(huì)拒絕我。我把這篇演講的草稿給她過(guò)目，她強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)我使用“拒絕”這個(gè)詞，她從來(lái)不拒絕任何申請(qǐng)者。在拒絕信中，她總是寫(xiě)：“我們無(wú)法提供你入學(xué)機(jī)會(huì)。”我分不清兩者到底有何差別。不過(guò)，那些大熱門學(xué)校的招生主任總是很現(xiàn)實(shí)的，堪稱“拒絕他人的主任”。很顯然，我需要好好學(xué)學(xué)怎么來(lái)推銷自己。
My address will follow the classical sonata form of commencement addresses. The first movement, just presented, were light-hearted remarks. This next movement consists of unsolicited advice, which is rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed. As Oscar Wilde said, “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” So, here comes the advice. First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it possible. Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your professors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other professors whose less-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions, hug them. Also, of course, thank Harvard. Should you forget, there’s an alumni association to remind you. Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. In all negotiations, don’t bargain for the last, little advantage. Leave the change on the table. In your collaborations, always remember that “credit” is not a conserved quantity. In a successful collaboration, everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.
畢業(yè)典禮演講都遵循古典奏鳴曲的結(jié)構(gòu)，我的演講也不例外。剛才是第一樂(lè)章——輕快的閑談。接下來(lái)的第二樂(lè)章是送上門的忠告。這樣的忠告很少有價(jià)值，幾乎注定被忘記，永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)被實(shí)踐。但是，就像王爾德說(shuō)的：“對(duì)于忠告，你所能做的，就是把它送給別人，因?yàn)樗鼘?duì)你沒(méi)有任何用處�！彼裕旅婢褪俏业闹腋�。第一，取得成就的時(shí)候，不要忘記前人。要感謝你的父母和支持你的朋友，要感謝那些啟發(fā)過(guò)你的教授，尤其要感謝那些上不好課的教授，因?yàn)樗麄兤仁鼓阕詫W(xué)。從整體看，自學(xué)能力是優(yōu)秀的文科教育中必不可少的，將成為你成功的關(guān)鍵。你還要去擁抱你的同學(xué)，感謝他們同你進(jìn)行過(guò)的許多次徹夜長(zhǎng)談，這為你的教育帶來(lái)了無(wú)法衡量的價(jià)值。當(dāng)然，你還要感謝哈佛大學(xué)。不過(guò)即使你忘了這一點(diǎn)，校友會(huì)也會(huì)來(lái)提醒你。第二，在你們未來(lái)的人生中，做一個(gè)慷慨大方的人。在任何談判中，都把最后一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)利益留給對(duì)方。不要把桌上的錢都拿走。在合作中，不要把榮譽(yù)留給自己。成功合作的任何一方，都應(yīng)獲得全部榮譽(yù)的90%。
Jimmy Stewart, as Elwood P. Dowd in the movie “ Harvey” got it exactly right. He said: “Years ago my mother used to say to me, ‘In this world, Elwood, you must be … she always used to call me Elwood … in this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.’” Well, for years I was smart. ... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me on that.
電影《Harvey》中，Jimmy Stewart扮演的角色Elwood P. Dowd，就完全理解這一點(diǎn)。他說(shuō)：“多年前，母親曾經(jīng)對(duì)我說(shuō)，‘Elwood，活在這個(gè)世界上，你要么做一個(gè)聰明人，要么做一個(gè)好人�！蔽易雎斆魅�，已經(jīng)做了好多年了�！�，我推薦你們做好人。你們可以引用我這句話。
My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your passion. If you don’t have a passion, don’t be satisfied until you find one. Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something. When I was your age, I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college, I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley, and then nine years at Bell Labs. During that my time, my central focus and professional joy was physics.
我的第三個(gè)忠告是，當(dāng)你開(kāi)始生活的新階段時(shí)，請(qǐng)跟隨你的愛(ài)好。如果你沒(méi)有愛(ài)好，就去找，找不到就不罷休。生命太短暫，所以不能空手走過(guò)，你必須對(duì)某樣?xùn)|西傾注你的深情。我在你們這個(gè)年齡，是超級(jí)的一根筋，我的目標(biāo)就是非成為物理學(xué)家不可。本科畢業(yè)后，我在加州大學(xué)伯克利分校又待了8年，讀完了研究生，做完了博士后，然后去貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室待了9年。在這些年中，我關(guān)注的中心和職業(yè)上的全部樂(lè)趣，都來(lái)自物理學(xué)。
Here is my final piece of advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important, but it should not be your only goal. When you are old and gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won’t be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
我還有最后一個(gè)忠告，就是說(shuō)興趣愛(ài)好固然重要，但是你不應(yīng)該只考慮興趣愛(ài)好。當(dāng)你白發(fā)蒼蒼、垂垂老矣、回首人生時(shí)，你需要為自己做過(guò)的事感到自豪。物質(zhì)生活和你實(shí)現(xiàn)的占有欲，都不會(huì)產(chǎn)生自豪。只有那些受你影響、被你改變過(guò)的人和事，才會(huì)讓你產(chǎn)生自豪。
After nine years at Bell labs, I decided to leave that warm, cozy ivory tower for what I considered to be the “real world,” a university. Bell Labs, to quote what was said about Mary Poppins, was “practically perfect in every way,” but I wanted to leave behind something more than scientific articles. I wanted to teach and give birth to my own set of scientific children.
在貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室待了9年后，我決定離開(kāi)這個(gè)溫暖舒適的象牙塔，走進(jìn)我眼中的“真實(shí)世界”——大學(xué)。我對(duì)貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室的看法，可以引用Mary Poppins的話，“實(shí)際上十全十美”。但是，我想離開(kāi)那種僅僅是科學(xué)論文的生活。我要去教書(shū)，培育我自己在科學(xué)上的后代。
Ted Geballe, a friend and distinguished colleague of mine at Stanford, who also went from Berkeley to Bell Labs to Stanford years earlier, described our motives best:
我在斯坦福大學(xué)有一個(gè)好友兼杰出同事Ted Geballe。他也是從伯克利分校去了貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室，幾年前又離開(kāi)貝爾實(shí)驗(yàn)室去了斯坦福大學(xué)。他對(duì)我們的動(dòng)機(jī)做出了最佳描述：
“The best part of working at a university is the students. They come in fresh, enthusiastic, open to ideas, unscarred by the battles of life. They don"t realize it, but they"re the recipients of the best our society can offer. If a mind is ever free to be creative, that"s the time. They come in believing textbooks are authoritative, but eventually they figure out that textbooks and professors don"t know everything, and then they start to think on their own. Then, I begin learning from them.”
“在大學(xué)工作，最大的優(yōu)點(diǎn)就是學(xué)生。他們生機(jī)勃勃，充滿熱情，思想自由，還沒(méi)被生活的重壓改變。雖然他們自己沒(méi)有意識(shí)到，但是他們是這個(gè)社會(huì)中你能找到的最佳受眾。如果生命中只有一段時(shí)間是思想自由和充滿創(chuàng)造力，那么那段時(shí)間就是你在讀大學(xué)。進(jìn)校時(shí)，學(xué)生們對(duì)課本上的一字一句毫不懷疑，漸漸地，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)課本和教授并不是無(wú)所不知的，于是他們開(kāi)始獨(dú)立思考。從那時(shí)起，就是我開(kāi)始向他們學(xué)習(xí)了�！�
My students, post doctoral fellows, and the young researchers who worked with me at Bell Labs, Stanford, and Berkeley have been extraordinary. Over 30 former group members are now professors, many at the best research institutions in the world, including Harvard. I have learned much from them. Even now, in rare moments on weekends, the remaining members of my biophysics group meet with me in the ether world of cyberspace.
我教過(guò)的學(xué)生、帶過(guò)的博士后、合作過(guò)的年輕同事，都非常優(yōu)秀。他們中有30多人，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是教授了。他們所在的研究機(jī)構(gòu)有不少是全世界第一流的，其中就包括哈佛大學(xué)。我從他們身上學(xué)到了很多東西。即使現(xiàn)在，我偶爾還會(huì)周末上網(wǎng)，向現(xiàn)在還從事生物物理學(xué)研究的學(xué)生請(qǐng)教。
I began teaching with the idea of giving back; I received more than I gave. This brings me to the final movement of this speech. It begins with a story about an extraordinary scientific discovery and a new dilemma that it poses. It’s a call to arms and about making a difference.
我懷著回報(bào)社會(huì)的想法，開(kāi)始了教學(xué)生涯。我的一生中，得到的多于我付出的，所以我要回報(bào)社會(huì)。這就引出了這次演講的最后一個(gè)樂(lè)章。首先我要講一個(gè)了不起的科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)，以及由此帶來(lái)的新挑戰(zhàn)。它是一個(gè)戰(zhàn)斗的號(hào)令，到了做出改變的時(shí)候了。
In the last several decades, our climate has been changing. Climate change is not new: the Earth went through six ice ages in the past 600,000 years. However, recent measurements show that the climate has begun to change rapidly. The size of the North Polar Ice Cap in the month of September is only half the size it was a mere 50 years ago. The sea level which been rising since direct measurements began in 1870 at a rate that is now five times faster than it was at the beginning of recorded measurements. Here’s the remarkable scientific discovery. For the first time in human history, science is now making predictions of how our actions will affect the world 50 and 100 years from now. These changes are due to an increase in carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The Earth has warmed up by roughly 0.8 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the Revolution. There is already approximately a 1 degree rise built into the system, even if we stop all greenhouse gas emissions today. Why? It will take decades to warm up the deep oceans before the temperature reaches a new equilibrium.
過(guò)去幾十年中，我們的氣候一直在發(fā)生變化。氣候變化并不是現(xiàn)在才有的，過(guò)去60萬(wàn)年中就發(fā)生了6次冰河期。但是，現(xiàn)在的測(cè)量表明氣候變化加速了。北極冰蓋在9月份的大小，只相當(dāng)于50年前的一半。1870年起，人們開(kāi)始測(cè)量海平面上升的速度，現(xiàn)在的速度是那時(shí)的5倍。一個(gè)重大的科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)就這樣產(chǎn)生了�？茖W(xué)第一次在人類歷史上，預(yù)測(cè)出我們的行為對(duì)50~120xx年后的世界有何影響。這些變化的原因是，從工業(yè)革命開(kāi)始，人類排放到大氣中的二氧化碳增加了。這使得地球的平均氣溫上升了0.8攝氏度。即使我們立刻停止所有溫室氣體的排放，氣溫仍然將比過(guò)去上升大約1度。因?yàn)樵跉鉁剡_(dá)到均衡前，海水溫度的上升將持續(xù)幾十年。
If the world continues on a business-as-usual path, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that there is a fifty-fifty chance the temperature will exceed 5 degrees by the end of this century. This increase may not sound like much, but let me remind you that during the last ice age, the world was only 6 degrees colder. During this time, most of Canada and the United States down to Ohio and Pennsylvania were covered year round by a glacier. A world 5 degrees warmer will be very different. The change will be so rapid that many species, including Humans, will have a hard time adapting. I’ve been told for example, that, in a much warmer world, insects were bigger. I wonder if this thing buzzing around is a precursor.
如果全世界保持現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟(jì)模式不變，聯(lián)合國(guó)政府間氣候變化專門委員會(huì)(IPCC)預(yù)測(cè)，本世紀(jì)末將有50%的可能，氣溫至少上升5度。這聽(tīng)起來(lái)好像不多，但是讓我來(lái)提醒你，上一次的冰河期，地球的氣溫也僅僅只下降了6度。那時(shí)，俄亥俄州和費(fèi)城以下的大部分美國(guó)和加拿大的土地，都終年被冰川覆蓋。氣溫上升5度的地球，將是一個(gè)非常不同的地球。由于變化來(lái)得太快，包括人類在內(nèi)的許多生物，都將很難適應(yīng)。比如，有人告訴我，在更溫暖的環(huán)境中，昆蟲(chóng)的個(gè)頭將變大。我不知道現(xiàn)在身旁嗡嗡叫的這只大蒼蠅，是不是就是前兆。
We also face the specter of nonlinear “tipping points” that may cause much more severe changes. An example of a tipping point is the thawing of the permafrost. The permafrost contains immense amounts of frozen organic matter that have been accumulating for millennia. If the soil melts, microbes will spring to life and cause this debris to rot. The difference in biological activity below freezing and above freezing is something we are all familiar with. Frozen food remains edible for a very long time in the freezer, but once thawed, it spoils quickly. How much methane and carbon dioxide might be released from the rotting permafrost? If even a fraction of the carbon is released, it could be greater than all the greenhouse gases we have released to since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Once started, a runaway effect could occur.
我們還面臨另一個(gè)幽靈，那就是非線性的“氣候引爆點(diǎn)”，這會(huì)帶來(lái)許多嚴(yán)重得多的變化�！皻夂蛞c(diǎn)”的一個(gè)例子就是永久凍土層的融化。永久凍土層經(jīng)過(guò)千萬(wàn)年的累積形成，其中包含了巨量的凍僵的有機(jī)物。如果凍土融化，微生物就將廣泛繁殖，使得凍土層中的有機(jī)物快速腐爛。冷凍后的生物和冷凍前的生物，它們?cè)谏飳W(xué)特性上的差異，我們都很熟悉。在冷庫(kù)中，冷凍食品在經(jīng)過(guò)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間保存后，依然可以食用。但是，一旦解凍，食品很快就腐爛了。一個(gè)腐爛的永久凍土層，將釋放出多少甲烷和二氧化碳?即使只有一部分的碳被釋放出來(lái)，可能也比我們從工業(yè)革命開(kāi)始釋放出來(lái)的所有溫室氣體還要多。這種事情一旦發(fā)生，局勢(shì)就失控了。
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