演讲文本

I'm sure that, throughout the hundred-thousand-odd years of our species' existence, and even before,
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
our ancestors looked up at the night sky, and wondered what stars are.
我们的祖先仰望夜空，想知道那些星星究竟是什么
Wondering, therefore, how to explain what they saw in terms of things 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
Okay, so, most people only wondered that occasionally, like today,
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
in breaks from whatever normally preoccupied them.
从日常活动中抽空解脱出来的时候才行
But what normally preoccupied them also involved yearning to know.
但实际上人们的日常活动同样富含着对知识的渴望
They wished they knew how to prevent their food supply from sometimes failing,
人们希望知道如何避免食物来源不时的中断
and how they could rest when they were tired without risking starvation,
如何在疲惫时得以充分休整，又不会因为停止劳作而断粮
be warmer, cooler, safer, in less pain.
如何创造更温暖，或更凉爽；更安全的环境，如何减轻痛苦

I bet those prehistoric cave artists would have loved to know how 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
In every aspect of their lives, they wished for progress, just as we 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
But they failed, almost completely, to make any.
但是他们得到的发展微乎其微
They didn't know how to.
他们还不懂其中的秘诀
Discoveries like fire
像人工生火这样的重大发明
happened so rarely, that from an individual's point of view, the world never improved.
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
Nothing new was learned.
知识停滞不前
The first clue to the origin of starlight happened as recently as 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
Within 40 years, physicists discovered the whole explanation,
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
expressed, as usual, in elegant symbols.
然后像往常一样用简明优雅的数学符号把它表示了出来
But never mind the symbols.
可别把这些符号不当回事
Think how many discoveries they represent.
想想它们表达了多少人类的发现
Nuclei and nuclear reactions, of course.
这些么就是原子核，核反应
But isotopes, particles of electricity, antimatter, neutrinos,
再看看这些：同位素，带电粒子，反物质，中微子
the conversion of mass to energy -- that's E=mc^2 -- gamma rays, transmutation.
物质到能量的转化 E=mc^2，伽马射线，嬗变（一种元素通过核反应转化为另一种元素）
That ancient dream that had always eluded the alchemists
那个古代炼金术师们为之枉费心机的梦想
was achieved through these same theories
现在由这些
that explained starlight and other ancient mysteries, and new, unexpected phenomena.
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

视频及简介

演讲简介：

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。