昨夜看到一本新书,但题目和内容似乎都不新鲜:Einstein's Greatest Mistake, A Biography(by David Bodanis, HoughtonMifflin, 2016)。作者认为宇宙学常数还不是最大的错误,更大的错误是老爱因此再也不相信实验了。(... he never had to follow experimental evidence again. When his critics tried to bring in evidence against his later beliefs, he ignored them, confident that he would be vindicated again.) 本书真正讲的“The Greatest Mistake”是老爱对量子论的态度,但我从来不认为那是老爱的“错误”——那是他的信仰。如果不是信仰,似乎很难想象他那么科学的人会无视量子论带来的那么多果实。也许,量子论的硕果在他眼里就是一堆芒果和榴莲,我都不吃的,他大概也不会去吃。
如今科学似乎很“科学”,不谈空虚的信仰而只信实验和数据了。明天要听一个巴基斯坦留学生的博士论文答辩,看他的论文,惊讶地看见他在论文前面的“献词”(Dedication): ALLAH, thank you for allowing me to live in this country. ALLAH, I live up my country to you for blessings today. I thank youfor allowing me to live in a place that lets me pray to you every day, that lets me speak out my beliefs. Thank you for the blessing that this country isto me and my family. 这好像是一段基督教的祷告词,他把Lord改成了ALLAH。这应该是他的信仰了吧?我们不祷告,却有更响亮的口号——也许口号里的信仰比心里的信仰更有力?(李泳)
爱因斯坦的信仰式错误? |