For the past five years, Paula Smith, a historian of science, has devoted herself to re-creating long-forgotten techniques. While doing research for her new book, she came across a 16th-century French manuscript consisting of nearly 1,000 sets of instructions, covering subjects from tool making to finding the best sand.
在過去五年里，科學(xué)歷史學(xué)家保拉·史密斯一直致力于重現(xiàn)人們早已遺忘的技術(shù)。在為她的新書做研究時，她偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了一本16世紀(jì)的法國手稿，包括近1000份說明書，涵蓋范圍從工具制作到如何尋找最佳沙子。

The author's intention remains as mysterious as his name; he may have been simply taking notes for his own records. But Smith was struck mainly by the fact that she didn't truly grasp any of the skills the author described. "You simply can't get an understanding of that handwork by reading about it," she says.
作者的意圖如同他的名字一樣神秘；他可能只是在為自己的記錄做筆記。但讓史密斯備受打擊的是，她并沒有真正掌握作者描述的任何技能?！澳愀緹o法通過閱讀來理解手工作品”，她說。

Though Smith did get her hands on the best sand, doing things the old-fashioned way isn't just about playing around with French mud. Reconstructing the work of the craftsmen who lived centuries ago can reveal how they viewed the world, what objects filled their homes, and what went on in the workshops that produced them. It can even help solve present-day problems: In 2015, scientists discovered that a 10th-century English medicine for eve problems could kill a drug-resistant virus.
盡管史密斯確實得到了最好的沙子，但用傳統(tǒng)的方法做事情并不只是玩法國泥。重建生活在幾個世紀(jì)前的工匠作品可以揭示他們是如何看待世界，他們的家中裝滿的物品，以及這些物品在作坊里如何進(jìn)行生產(chǎn)。它甚至可以幫助解決當(dāng)代問題：2015年，科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)，一種用于解決女性問題的10世紀(jì)英國藥物可以殺死耐藥病毒。

The work has also brought insights for museums, Smith says. One must know how on object was made in order to preserve it. What's more, reconstructions might be the only way to know what treasures looked like before time wore them down. Scholars have seen this idea in practice with ancient Greek and Roman statues. These sculptures were painted a rainbow of striking colours. We can't appreciate these kinds of details without seeing works of art as they originally appeared-something Smith believes you can do only when you have a road map.
史密斯說，這項工作也為博物館帶來了啟發(fā)。為了保存文物，人們必須知道這個物體是如何制作的。更重要的是，重建可能是了解寶藏在時間磨損之前是什么樣子的唯一途徑。學(xué)者們在古希臘和古羅馬雕像的實踐中看到了這種想法，這些雕塑被漆成了鮮艷的彩虹色。如果不看藝術(shù)作品最初出現(xiàn)的樣子，我們無法欣賞這些細(xì)節(jié)——史密斯認(rèn)為，只有當(dāng)你有路線圖時，你才能做到這一點。

Smith has put the manuscript's ideas into practice. Her final goal is to link the worlds of art and science back together: She believes that bringing the old recipes to life can help develop a kind of learning that highlights experimentation, teamwork, and problem solving.
史密斯把手稿的想法付諸實踐。她最終的目標(biāo)是將藝術(shù)和科學(xué)的世界重新聯(lián)系起來：她相信，將古老的食譜帶到生活中有助于發(fā)展一種強(qiáng)調(diào)實驗、團(tuán)隊合作和解決問題的學(xué)習(xí)方式。

Back when science—then called “the new philosophy”—took shape, academics looked to craftsmen for help in understanding the natural world. Microscopes and telescopes were invented by way of artistic tinkering, as craftsmen experimented with glass to better bend light.
當(dāng)科學(xué)——也就是所謂的“新哲學(xué)”——初具雛形時，學(xué)術(shù)界尋求工匠幫助理解自然世界。正如工匠嘗試用玻璃更好地彎曲光線，顯微鏡和望遠(yuǎn)鏡因為藝術(shù)修補(bǔ)而發(fā)明。

If we can rediscover the values of hands-on experience and craftwork, Smith says, we can marry the best of our modern insights with the handiness of our ancestors.
史密斯說，如果我們能重新發(fā)現(xiàn)動手經(jīng)驗和工藝的價值，我們就能把我們最好的現(xiàn)代洞察力與我們祖先的靈巧結(jié)合起來。