TED学院 ｜ 为什么要保护科研的自由？

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　　演说者：kirsty duncan

　　演说题目：为什么要保护科研的自由？

　　中英文对照翻译

　　Let me tell you about rock snot. Since1992, Dr. Max Bothwell, a Government of Canada scientist, has beenstudying a type of algae that grows on rocks. Now, the very unscientificterm for that algae is rock snot, because as you can imagine, itlooks a lot like snot. But scientists also call it Didymospheniageminata and for decades, this algae has been sliming upriverbeds around the world. The problem with this algae is thatit is a threat to salmon, to trout and the river ecosystems it invades.

　　让我来解释一下什么是岩石鼻涕。自1992年以来，麦克斯 · 博斯维尔博士，一位加拿大的科学家，一直在研究一种生长于岩石上的藻类。这种藻类俗称岩石鼻涕，因为正如你所想的那样，它看起来非常像鼻涕。但科学家也称之为双生双楔藻。数十年来，该藻类不断使全世界的河床变得越来越薄。这一藻类带来的问题是，它会对三文鱼、鳟鱼造成威胁，甚至破坏河流的生态系统。

　　Now, it turns out Canada's Dr.Bothwell is actually a world expert in the field, so it was nosurprise in 2014 when a reporter contacted Dr. Bothwell for a storyon the algae. The problem was, Dr. Bothwell wasn't allowed to speak to thereporter, because the government of the day wouldn't let him. 110pages of emails and 16 government communication experts stood in Dr.Bothwell's way. Why couldn't Dr. Bothwell speak? Well, we'll neverknow for sure, but Dr. Bothwell's research did suggest that climatechange may have been responsible for the aggressive algae blooms.

　　不得不承认，加拿大的博斯维尔博士，的确是这方面的专家，所以在2014年，记者联系博斯维尔博士询问该藻类的信息，就非常合理了。不过博斯维尔博士并不能给记者透露任何消息。原因是当权政府不允许他这样做。110页的电子邮件以及16位政府交际专家都在阻止博斯维尔博士。为什么博斯维尔博士不能谈论它呢？我们也许无从得知，但博斯维尔博士的研究确实表明气候变化也许是导致岩石鼻涕爆发式增长的原因。

　　But who the heck would want to stifleclimate change information, right? Yes, you can laugh. It's ajoke, because it is laughable.

　　但到底是谁想切断气候变化相关消息的外泄渠道呢？是的，你可以笑。这是个玩笑，因为的确可笑。

　　We know that climate change is suppressedfor all sorts of reasons. I saw it firsthand when I was a universityprofessor. We see it when countries pull out of international climateagreements like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Accord, and we seeit when industry fails to meet its emissions reduction targets.

　　我们知道，不论出于什么原因，气候变化都应得到控制。以前在大学任教的时候，曾亲身参与其中。我们见证了许多国家共同签署的国际气候协议，如京都议定书、巴黎协定，我们同时也发现，公司企业并没有完成自身节能减排的目标。

　　But it's not just climate changeinformation that's being stifled. So many other scientific issues areobscured by alternate facts, fake news and other forms ofsuppression. We've seen it in the United Kingdom, we've seen it inRussia, we've seen it in the United Statesand, until 2015, right herein Canada. In our modern technological age, when our very survivaldepends on discovery, innovation and science, it is critical,absolutely critical, that our scientists are free to undertake theirwork, free to collaborate with other scientists, free to speak to themedia and free to speak to the public. Because afterall, science is humanity's best effort at uncovering the truth aboutour world, about our very existence. Every new fact that isuncovered adds to the growing body of our collective knowledge. Scientistsmust be free to explore unconventional or controversial topics. Theymust be free to challenge the thinking of the day and they must befree to present uncomfortable or inconvenient truths, because that'show scientists push boundaries and pushing boundaries is, after all, whatscience is all about.

　　但并不只是气候变化的信息被压下来。太多其他的科学问题也被不同的说法，假新闻和其他形式的压制所掩盖。英国出现过这样的情况，俄罗斯也是，还有美国。直到2015年，在加拿大，就在这里，也出现了。在这个现代化的技术时代，我们的生存依赖探索，创新和科学。毫无疑问，我们的科学家可以毫无阻碍的进行工作，和其他科学家合作，自由地和媒体交流，与公众对话，这一点至关重要。因为毕竟，科学是人类揭开与我们的世界，我们的存在有关的真相的最佳手段。每个新发现的真相都使得我们的集体知识愈发丰富。科学家必须不受约束地探索非传统或是有争议的主题。他们必须自由地挑战主流思想，同时还必须不受束缚地表达令人不快或是难以面对的真相，因为这就是科学如何拓宽认知界限的，毕竟，不断超越就是科学的全部。

　　And here's another point: scientistsmust be free to fail, because even a failed hypothesis teaches ussomething. And the best way I can explain that is through one of my ownadventures. But first I've got to take you back in time.

　　另一点是：科学家必须坦然接受失败，因为即使不成立的假设也会使我们从中获益。对此，我的一次个人经历可以做出最好的解释。但首先，我得带大家回到过去。

　　It's the early 1900s and Claire andVera are roommates in southern Ontario. One evening during the height ofthe Spanish flu pandemic, the two attend a lecture together. The endof the evening, they head for home and for bed. In the morning, Clairecalls up to Vera and says she's going out to breakfast. When shereturns a short while later, Vera wasn't up. She pulls back thecovers and makes the gruesome discovery. Vera was dead. When itcomes to Spanish flu, those stories are common, of lightning speeddeaths.

　　20世纪初，住在安大略省南部的克莱尔和薇拉是舍友。在西班牙大流感高峰期的一天晚上，这两个女孩儿一起去上课。下课后，她们回家，然后上床睡觉。第二天早上克莱尔给薇拉打电话，说她要出去吃早餐。当她不久后回来，薇拉还没起床。她把被子拉起来，发现了一件可怕的事情。薇拉死了。提及西班牙流感，这种一夜致命的情况非常普遍。

　　Well, I was a professor in mymid-20s when I first heard those shocking facts and the scientist inme wanted to know why and how. My curiosity would lead me to a frozenland and to lead an expedition to uncover the cause of the 1918Spanish flu. I wanted to test our current drugs against one of history'sdeadliest diseases. I hoped we could make a flu vaccine that would beeffective against the virusand mutation of it, should it everreturn. And so I led a team, a research team, of 17 men fromCanada, Norway, the United Kingdomand the United States to the SvalbardIslands in the Arctic Ocean. These islands are between Norway and theNorth Pole. We exhumed six bodies who had died of Spanish flu andwere buried in the permafrost and we hoped the frozen ground wouldpreserve the body and the virus.

　　当我第一次听说这些令人震惊的事情，还是一名20多岁的教授，我体内的“科学家”在觉醒，想知道它为什么会发生，以及是怎样发生的。好奇心驱使我去往一个冰冻之地，同时也促成了另一段征程，去弄清楚1918年西班牙流感的成因。我想要检验当今的药物能否对抗历史上最致命的疾病之一。我希望我们可以培育出流感疫苗，从而有效应对病毒和基因突变，以及病情是否会反复。于是我带领了一个17人的研究小组，他们当中有加拿大人、挪威人、英国人、和美国人，还有人来自北冰洋的斯瓦尔巴群岛。斯瓦尔巴群岛位于挪威和北极之间。我们挖掘出了六具尸体，他们皆死于西班牙流感，并被长埋于此。我们希望冰封的土地可以同时保存尸体和病毒。

　　Now, I know what you are all waitingfor, that big scientific payoff. But my science story doesn't havethat spectacular Hollywood ending.Most don't. Truth is, we didn't find thevirus, but we did develop new techniques to safely exhumebodies that might contain virus. We did develop newtechniques to safely remove tissue that might contain virus. Andwe developed new safety protocols to protect our research team and thenearby community. We made important contributions to science eventhough the contributions we made were not the ones originallyintended. In science, attempts fail, results proveinconclusive and theories don't pan out. In science, researchbuilds upon the work and knowledge of others, or by seeing further, bystanding on the shoulders of giants, to paraphrase Newton. The pointis, scientists must be free to choose what they want to explore, whatthey are passionate about and they must be free to report their findings.

　　我知道你们在期待什么，一个重大的科研成果。但我的科学故事并没有一个宏大的好莱坞式的结局。大多数都没有。事实是，我们并没有找到病毒。但我们的确发展了新技术，能够安全挖掘可能携带病毒的尸体。我们也开发了新技术，安全移除可能携带病毒的人体组织。此外，我们还建立了新的安全协议以保护我们的研究小组和附近的社区。我们为科学做出了重要的贡献，尽管这些成就并不是原先设想的那样。在科学里，努力以失败收场，结果也往往不确定，因此理论也不成功。在科学里，研究依赖于其他人的努力和知识，或是目光长远，站在巨人的肩膀上，这句话是牛顿的名言。问题在于，科学家必须可以自由的选择他们进行研究探索的内容，他们的兴趣所在，以及随心所欲发表研究结果。

　　You heard me say that respect forscience started to improve in Canada in 2015. How did we gethere? What lessons might we have to share? Well, it actually goesback to my time as a professor. I watched while agencies, governments andindustries around the worldsuppressed information on climate change. Itinfuriated me. It kept me up at night. How could politicians twistscientific fact for partisan gain? So I did what anyone appalled bypolitics would do: I ran for office, and I won.

　　你们也听到我说的了，在2015年，加拿大对于科学的尊重开始改善。我们是怎么做到的？我们可以分享什么经验？事实上，这得回到我还是教授的时候。我注意到，全球的组织、政府以及工业 在气候变化这一问题上都有所隐瞒。这让我非常愤怒。夜不能寐。政客怎么可以为了党派利益扭曲科学事实？所以我做了件事，一件任何对政治感到震惊的人都会做的事：我参加了竞选，然后我成功了。

　　I thought I would use my new platform totalk about the importance of science. It quickly became a fight for thefreedom of science.After all, I was a scientist, I came from the world underattack, and I had personally felt the outrage. I could be a voice forthose who were being silenced. But I quickly learned that scientists werenervous, even afraid to talk to me.

　　我原想可以利用我的新平台来讲述科学的重要性。它很快就变成了为科学的自由而战。我终究是一位科学家，全球正在遭受攻击，我也感受到了这种愤怒。我可以为那些保持沉默的人发声。但我很快明白，科学家们都小心翼翼，甚至不敢和我说话。

　　One government scientist, a friend ofmine, we'll call him McPherson, was concerned about theimpact government policies were having on his research and the stateof science deteriorating in Canada. He was so concerned, he wrote tome from his wife's email account because he was afraid a phone callcould be traced. He wanted me to phone his wife's cell phone so thatcall couldn't be traced. I only wish I were kidding. It quicklybrought what was happening in Canada into sharp focus for me. How could myfriend of 20 years be that afraid to talk to me? So I did what I could atthe time. I listened and I shared what I learned with my friend inParliament, a man who was interested in all things environment,science, technology, innovation. And then the 2015 election rolledaround and our party won. And we formed government. And thatfriend of mine is now the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

　　我的一个朋友在政府从事科研工作， 我们叫他麦克弗森，政府政策对他的研究产生了一定影响，如今加拿大科学的状态正在恶化，他对此非常担心。他在忧虑之中写信给我，用了他妻子的邮箱账号，因为他担心打电话可能会被追踪。他想让我打给他妻子的手机，这样就不会被查到。我真希望我是在开玩笑。很快，加拿大发生的一切让我成为了焦点。和我有20年交情的朋友为何惧怕和我说话？所以我做了当时我所能做的。我仔细聆听，并把我所学的分享给我在议会的朋友，他对环境、科学、技术、创新的一切都感兴趣。随后2015年大选到来，我们的政党赢了。我们组建了政府。我的那个朋友现在是加拿大的总理贾斯汀· 特鲁多。

　　And he asked if I would serve as hisMinister of Science. Together, with the rest of the government, weare working hard to restore science to its rightful place. I will neverforget that day in December 2015 when I proudly stood in Parliament andproclaimed, "The war on science is now over."

　　他问我是否愿意担任科技部部长。同时，和政府其他部门一起，我们努力试图重树科学的传统地位。我永远都不会忘记2015年12月的那一天，当我自豪地站在议会前宣布，“科学的战争结束了。”

　　And I have worked hard to back up thosewords with actions. We've had many successes. There's still more workto do, because we're building this culture shift. But we want ourgovernment scientists to talk to the media, talk to the public. It'll taketime, but we are committed. After all, Canada is seen as a beacon forscience internationally. And we want to send a message that you donot mess with something so fundamental, so precious, as science.

　　我努力工作，尽量做到知行合一。我们已经取得了很多成就，但仍然任重道远，因为我们正在进行文化的转变。但是我们希望我们的科学家能够和媒体、公众对话。这需要时间，但我们对此坚定不移。毕竟，加拿大在国际上被视为科学的标杆。我们想传达一个信息，不要把科学这样基础的、珍贵的东西 搞得一团糟。

　　So, for Dr. Bothwell, for Claire andVera, for McPherson and all those other voices, if you see thatscience is being stifled, suppressed or attacked, speak up. If yousee that scientists are being silenced, speak up. We must hold our leadersto account. Whether that is by exercising our right to vote, whetherit is by penning an op-ed in a newspaper or by starting a conversation onsocial media, it is our collective voice that will ensure the freedom ofscience. And after all, science is for everyone, and it will lead toa better, brighter, bolder future for us all.Thank you.

　　因此，为了博斯维尔博士、克莱尔、薇拉、麦克弗森和其他的很多人，如果你发现科学正在被扼杀、镇压或是攻击，请大声说出来。如果你发现科学家沉默不语，请说出来。我们必须让领导人对自己的行为做出解释。 无论是行使我们的选举权，还是写报纸专栏，或是与媒体对话，这是我们集体的声音，以确保科学的自由。毕竟，科学是每一个人的，它会带给我们一个更美好的、光明的、大胆的未来。谢谢。

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