——如何閱讀一本書筆記 17
Part 3 Approaches to Different Kinds of Reading Matter
CH17 How to Read Science and Mathematics
“ If we want to know something about what our age is all about, we should have some understanding of what mathematics is, and of how the mathematician operates and thinks. ”
如果我們想了解我們生活的年代，我們應(yīng)該了解數(shù)學(xué)是什么，數(shù)學(xué)家是如何思考的？
不要被這一章的標(biāo)題迷惑，實(shí)際上這一章并不是讓指導(dǎo)我們?nèi)绾伍喿x某類具體的學(xué)科書籍，因?yàn)樽鳛槟愁悓W(xué)科的外行，我們沒(méi)有必要想專家一樣閱讀專業(yè)的書籍。但是，科技是我們生活不可或缺的一部分，你不必成為專家，但是如果想更好的了解我們的生活，應(yīng)該了解一些科技，要會(huì)讀科普讀物或是科技文章。懂點(diǎn)量子力學(xué)，相對(duì)論，至少看《星際穿越》時(shí)候會(huì)更開心
作者推薦閱讀兩類科學(xué)書籍：
1.偉大的科學(xué)經(jīng)典著作，目的是了解科學(xué)的歷史和哲學(xué)
2.科普讀物， 目的是更好的了解我們的生活
我們之前學(xué)習(xí)的針對(duì)論述類作品的閱讀方法更適合于閱讀科技類書籍，閱讀過(guò)程是:發(fā)現(xiàn)作者要解決的問(wèn)題，認(rèn)識(shí)問(wèn)題本身及問(wèn)題的背景。
Words & Phrases (每日五詞）
1.fall back on (something)
alsofall back upon (something): to use (something) for help or protection when you are in a bad situation
When her health insurance was canceled she had nothing tofall back on.
2.recourse /r??k??s/noun
a source of help in a difficult situation
求助的對(duì)象; （賴以得救的）方法, 手段：
surgery may be the only recourse.
外科手術(shù)可能是惟一的解救辦法。
3. interstitial /??nt??st???l/adjective
of, forming, or occupying interstices
空隙的, 間隙的, 裂隙的, 縫隙的：
the interstitial space.
空隙。
4.theorem /?θ??r?m/noun
Physics & Mathematics a general proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning; a truth established by means of accepted truths.
【物理, 數(shù)】定理, 定律, 命題。
5. attentive /??tent?v/adjective
paying close attention to something
注意的; 專心的：
never before had she had such an attentive audience
以前她從未有過(guò)這樣專心的聽眾
Summary of chapter 17
Aa a layman, why do we need to read science and Mathematics?
Here, the author means we need to read two kinds of these works: one istraditional great scientific and mathematical classics, and the other is modern scientific popularization.
- The task of reading great scientific is to understand the history and philosophy of science.
- Reading popular science is to know something about what our age is all about.
Suggestions or reading Classical scientific books
- Grasp the propositions by leading terms
-Distinguish two propositions: inductive proposition ( observable evidence)and deductive proposition (proved by other propositions)
- Don’t be afraid of mathematics. Just keep in mind mathematics is just a language, so it has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax.
Your obligation is not to become competent in the subject matter but instead to understand the problem.
Rules for Popular Science ( similar to expository works)
- Read actively is much more important.
- Identify the subject matter.
- Discover the relation between the whole and its parts.
- Come to terms and plot the propositions and arguments.
- Criticize before complete understanding.
感悟：
作為一枚理工女實(shí)在慚愧，好多科普文章都看不懂了。其實(shí)不是看不懂，是不會(huì)看。其一是缺乏足夠的專注，二是沒(méi)有抓住事實(shí)，沒(méi)有把推論，原理，論述之間的關(guān)系搞清楚。
最后有個(gè)翻譯問(wèn)題想跟大家討教：
Most important of all, it is an activity of the mind that is essential to education, the central aim of which has always been recognized, from Socrates’ day down to our own, as the freeing of the mind through the discipline of wonder.
我把句子的主干提取出來(lái)，
It is an activity which has always been recognized as the freeing of the mind through the discipline of wonder.
這個(gè)the discipline of wonder怎么理解？我去查了譯本，翻譯的讓我云里霧里的 ，居然是“透過(guò)懷疑的訓(xùn)練”。
感謝@張老師發(fā)來(lái)的參考
But what does he mean by the discipline of wonder?
The ideal of lifelong learning, that catchphrase so often bandied about, implies that wonder is a quality that can outlast childhood, perhaps even survive adolescence. What Adler says very clearly inThe Paideia Proposal(1982) and elsewhere is that it is a fundamental attribute of the human psyche, and not onlycanit outlast the splendor of childhood, but itshould. It is an attribute of any healthy, evolving adult. What gives the free and open state of wonder the necessary durability to last a lifetime is discipline—in the sense that wonder can and should be sharpened, focused, trained.
