【读书笔记】Stein’s Law and Science’s Mission（Scientific American January,2019)（18）

Words and phrases

1.dictum:a statement that expresses sth that people believe is always true or should be followed 名言；格言

2.speak for itˈself/themˈselves:to be so easy to see and understand that you do not need to say anything else about it/them 不言而喻；有目共睹

    ◆ Her success speaks for itself. 她的成功有目共睹。

3.provisional proscenium 临时舞台

4.instantiation 实例

5.in the realm of ：an area of activity, interest, or knowledge 领域；场所

   ◆ in the realm of literature 在文学领域内

6.noculate sb (against sth)：to protect a person or an animal from catching a particular disease by injectingthem with a mild form of the disease （给…）接种，打预防针

7.capital punishment 死刑

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Sentences

1.If we cannot clearly convey our ideas to others, data and theory lie dormant.

如果我们不能清楚地向他人传达我们的想法，数据和理论就会处于休眠状态

    dormant adj not active or growing now but able to become active or to grow in the future 休眠的；蛰伏的；暂停活动的

2.In the 18th century the application of scientific naturalism to the understanding and solving of human and social problems / led to the widespread embrace of Enlightenment humanism, a cosmopolitan worldview that esteems science and reason, eschews magic and the supernatural, rejects dogma and authority, and seeks to understand how the world works.

在18世纪,科学自然主义应用到对人类和社会问题的理解和解决促进了人们广泛接受人文主义启蒙运动，即,重视科学和理性,摈弃迷信,反对教条和权威,努力理解世界的运行规律的世界观。

      application (of sth) (to sth)： the practical use of sth, especially a theory, discovery, etc. （尤指理论、发现等的）应用，运用

      esteemsb/sth： to respect and admire sb/sth very much 尊重；敬重

       eschew sth：( formal) to deliberately avoid or keep away from sth （有意地）避开，回避，避免

3.Will the upward bending arcs of knowledge and wellbeing reach a fixed upper ceiling?

不断增加的知识和幸福会达到一个固定的上限吗?

4.Science and progress are asymptotic curves reaching ever upward but never touching omniscience or omnibenevolence. The goal of scientific humanism is not utopia but protopia—incremental improvements in understanding and beneficence as we move ever further into the open-­ended frontiers of knowledge and wisdom.

科学和进步是一条渐近的曲线，向上延伸但永远不会全知或全善。科学人文主义的目标不是乌托邦，而是进托邦——在我们不断深入知识和智慧的无限前沿的同时，不断改进理解和行善。

5.asymptotic curves

6.omni- ：COMBINING FORM ( in nouns, adjectives and adverbs 构成名词、形容词和副词 ) of all things; in all ways or places 总；全部；遍

     omniscience  无所不知

     omnibenevolence 至善

7.incremental improvements 不断的改进

8.frontiers :[countable ,  usually plural ] frontier(of sth) the limit of sth, especially the limit of what is known about a particular subject or activity （学科或活动的）尖端，边缘

    ◆ to push back the frontiersof science (= to increase knowledge of science) 开拓科学新领域