Science, in practice, depends far less on the experiments it prepares than on the preparedness of the minds of the men who watch the experiments. Sir Isaac Newton supposedly discovered gravity through the fall of an apple. Apples had been falling in many places for centuries and thousands of people had seen them fall. But Newton for years had been curious about the cause of the orbital motion of the moon and planets. What kept them in place? Why didn’t they fall out of the sky? The fact that the apple fell down toward the earth and not up into the tree answered the question he had been asking himself about those larger fruits of the heavens, the moon and the planets.
How many men would have considered the possibility of an apple falling up into the tree? Newton did because he was not trying to predict anything. He was just wondering. His mind was ready for the unpredictable. Unpredictability is part of the essential nature of research. If you don’t have unpredictable things, you don’t have research. Scientists tend to forget this when writing their cut and dried reports for the technical journals, but history is filled with examples of it.
In talking to some scientists, particularly younger ones, you might gather the impression that they find the 「scientific method」 a substitute for imaginative thought. I』ve attended research conferences where a scientist has been asked what he thinks about the advisability of continuing a certain experiment. The scientist has frowned, looked at the graphs, and said, 「The data are still inconclusive.」 We know that, the men from the budget office have said, 「but what do you think? Is it worthwhile going on? What do you think we might expect?」 The scientist has been shocked at having even been asked to speculate.
What this amounts to, of course, is that the scientist has become the victim of his own writings. He has put forward unquestioned claims so consistently that he not only believes them himself, but also has convinced industrial and business management that they are true. If experiments are planned and carried out according to plan as faithfully as the reports in the science journals indicate, then it is perfectly logical for management to expect research to produce results measurable in dollars and cents. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactly where they are going and how they will get there should not be distracted by the necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the microscope. Nor, if regularity and conformity to a standard pattern are as desirable to the scientist as the writing of his papers would appear to reflect, is management to be blamed for discriminating against the 「odd balls」 among researchers in favor of more conventional thinkers who 「work well with the team.」
譯文
在實踐中，科學與其說是依靠事先準備的試驗還不如說是依靠觀察實驗者的有準備的頭腦。據稱艾薩克•牛頓爵士通過蘋果落地，發現了萬有引力。多少個世紀以來，蘋果一直在許多地方落下，成千上萬的人看見它落地。但多年來牛頓一直對月球和行星繞軌道運行的起因感到好奇。是什麼使它們各就其位？它們為什麼不從天上掉下來？蘋果朝地下掉落而不是往樹上飛這一事實，回答了牛頓長期以來對月球和行星那些較大的天上果實所存的疑問。
有多少人會考慮過蘋果向上飛到樹上的可能性？牛頓考慮過，因為他不想對任何事情進行預測。他只是在不斷思考。他的思想對不可預測的事情有所準備。不可預測性是研究的本質不可缺少的一部分。如果沒有不可預測的事物，就沒有研究。科學家們在撰寫千篇一律、枯燥乏味的論文供專業期刊發表時往往忘記這一點，而歷史上這樣的例子比比皆是。
在和一些科學家，特別是較為年輕的科學家們交談時，也許會得出這樣一種印象，即他們認為「科學方法」，可以取代想像思維。我參加過不少研討會，會上某一位科學家總被問到，他對繼續進行某項實驗的合理性有何想法。那位科學家皺皺眉頭，看看圖表，然後說「數據仍不夠充分」。「這點我們知道，」預算辦公室人員說，「但你的意見如何？還值得往下做嗎？」「你認為我們的結果可能會如何？」那位科學家大為震驚，他沒有料到別人會讓他預測。
當然這些就等於說，那位科學家已經成為自己論文的犧牲品，他所提出的種種斷語不容置疑，以致他不僅自以為是，而且使工商管理人員深信無疑。如果試驗完全按照科學期刊報告中陳述的那樣，照計劃不折不扣地去設計完成，那麼，管理人員就認為，研究的結果可以美元，美分計，這完全符合邏輯。審計人員也完全有理由相信，確切知道自己的目標並知道如何使其實現的科學家們根本沒必要三心二意，一直眼睛盯著現金記錄卡，另一隻眼睛則盯著顯微鏡。如果像科學家寫論文所反映的那樣，渴求規律性和與某種標準模式的一致性，那麼管理人員歧視研究人員中的「標新立異者」而讚賞「善於合作者，」即思想上也較為循規蹈矩的人，也是無可指責的。
詞彙
blame v. 譴責，責備；歸咎 n. 責任，過失
例句：I don’t blame you for the failure of the exam. 我不因為考試的失敗而責怪你。
詞組：blame sth on 把某事歸咎於……；blame sb. for sth. 因某事責備某人；in blame of 責備
budget n. 預算
例句：Most of our defense budget goes for conventional forces and manpower. 我們大部分的國防預算是用在常規力量和人員上面。
conference n. 會議，協商會，討論會
例句：After the interview they held a press conference together. 會談後，他們共同舉行了記者招待會。
詞組：in conference 正在開會討論；have a conference with 和……協商
Conformity n. 符合，依照（法規，習俗等）
派生：conform v. 遵守，依照，符合，順應（與to 連用）
例句：We should act in conformity with rules and laws. 我們應該依照規定和法律辦事。
詞組：in conformity with sth. 與某事物相一致
conventional a. 按慣例辦事的，守舊的；傳統的
派生：convention n. 慣例，習俗；大會，會議
例句：After a few conventional remarks, he made a brilliant speech. 講了幾句套話後，他做了一個非常精彩的演講。
Convince v. 使某人確信，使某人明白
派生：convinced a. 被說服的 convincing a. 令人信服的
例句：What he said convinced me of the truth. 他所說的話使我相信了這個事實。
詞組：convince sb. of sth. 使某人相信某事
提示：convince 只能做及物動詞，後面跟sb. 做其賓語。
curious a. 好奇的，好打聽的
派生：curiosity n. 好奇心
例句：She is curious about what has happened. 她很想知道發生了什麼。
詞組：be curious about 對……好奇；be curious to do 很想（做）；渴望（做）
Distract v. 轉移注意力；迷惑，擾亂
例句：The noise in the classroom distracted me from reading. 教室裡的嘈雜聲使我不能集中注意力看書。
反義詞：attract
essential a. 必要的；本質的
例句：We must dispose of too many essential features of the investigated phenomenon. 我們不得不排除所研究現象的許多基本特徵。
辨析：essential, fundamental, vital
essential 指屬於本事物最本質的東西或者能與其他事物相區別的特徵；fundamental 指某一體系事物或建築的基礎；vital 指重要的，對事物的存在、持續的活力或效率必不可少的。
faithfully ad. 忠誠地，誠實地
派生：faithful a. 忠誠的，可靠的 faith n. 信任，信用；信仰
例句：The old nurse has served the family faithfully for forty years. 這個老保姆為這個家庭忠誠地服務了四十年。
frown v. 皺眉；表示不高興
例句：The government frowns at any waste of taxpayers』 money. 政府對任何浪費納稅者財稅的行為表示不滿。
詞組：frown on/upon 不贊成，不以為然
gravity n. 重力，引力
例句：Gravity, although the weakest known force, is the only universal force. 引力雖然是已知力中最弱的力，它卻是唯一普遍存在的力。
inconclusive a. 非決定性的；不確定的
例句：The jury found the evidence against the prisoner inconclusive and acquitted him. 陪審團發現控告罪犯的罪證不確鑿，所以放了他。
反義詞：conclusive
indicate v. 提示，引起對……注意；表示；暗示
派生：indication n. 指示；象徵，跡象 indicator n. 指示器 indicative a. 指示的，象徵的（常與of 連用）
例句：A signpost on the road indicates the right way for the drivers. 馬路上的路標為司機標出適合的路。
orbital a. 軌道的
例句：If it fails, a new cargo spaceship must be launched to transport cargo to the orbital station. 如果失敗必須發射新的載貨飛船為軌道站運送貨物。
predict v. 語言，預示
派生：predictable a. 可語言的 predictor n. 預言家 prediction n. 語言；預報
例句：Could Marx predict that the October Revolution would take place in backward Russia? 馬克思能預料到在一個落後的俄國會實現十月革命嗎？
speculate v. 推斷，推測（on, upon, about）；投機
派生：speculation n. 推測，推斷
例句：The doctor speculated that a virus caused the disease. 醫生推斷是某種病毒引起了這種疾病。
substitute v. 代替，替代 n. 代替品
派生：substitution n. 代替，代替物
例句：When a member is injured, a substitute plays in his place. 球員受傷時，替補球員就代替他的位置。
詞組：substitute for 代替，取代
同義詞：replace
victim n. 受害者，犧牲者
例句：We should not be a victim of materialism. 我們不應該成為物質主義的犧牲品。
詞組：fall a victim to 成為……的犧牲品
(責任編輯：鄧躍)