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1、2010 12一In the early 20th century, few things were more appealing than the promise of scientific knowledge. In a world struggling with rapid industrialization, science and technology seemed to offer solutions to almost every problem. Newly created state colleges and universities devoted themselves a
2、lmost entirely to scientific, technological, and engineering fields. Many Americans came to believe that scientific certainty could not only solve scientific problems, but also reform politics, government, and business. Two world wars and a Great Depression rocked the confidence of many people that
3、scientific expertise alone could create a prosperous and ordered world. After World War , the academic world turned with new enthusiasm to humanistic studies, which seemed to many scholars the best way to ensure the survival of democracy. American scholars fanned out across much of the worldwith sup
4、port from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright program, etc.to promote the teaching of literature and the arts in an effort to make the case for democratic freedoms.In the America of our own time, the great educational challenge has become an effort to strengthen the teaching of what is now known as t
5、he STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). There is considerable and justified concern that the United States is falling behind much of the rest of the developed world in these essential disciplines. India, China, Japan, and other regions seem to be seizing technological leade
6、rship.At the same time, perhaps inevitably, the humanitieswhile still popular in elite colleges and universitieshave experienced a significant decline. Humanistic disciplines are seriously underfunded, not just by the government and the foundations but by academic institutions themselves. Humanists
7、are usually among the lowest-paid faculty members at most institutions and are often lightly regarded because they do not generate grant income and because they provide no obvious credentials (资质) for most nonacademic careers.Undoubtedly American education should train more scientists and engineers.
8、 Much of the concern among politicians about the state of American universities today is focused on the absence of “real world” educationwhich means preparation for professional and scientific careers. But the idea that institutions or their students must decide between humanities and science is fal
9、se. Our society could not survive without scientific and technological knowledge. But we would be equally impoverished (贫困的) without humanistic knowledge as well. Science and technology teach us what we can do. Humanistic thinking helps us understand what we should do.It is almost impossible to imag
10、ine our society without thinking of the extraordinary achievements of scientists and engineers in building our complicated world. But try to imagine our world as well without the remarkable works that have defined our culture and values. We have always needed, and we still need, both.二Will there eve
11、r be another Einstein? This is the undercurrent of conversation at Einstein memorial meetings throughout the year. A new Einstein will emerge, scientists say. But it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from his nearest rival, Isaac Newton.Many physicists say the n
12、ext Einstein hasnt been born yet, or is a baby now. Thats because the quest for a unified theory that would account for all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created before the problem can be solved.But researchers say there are many other factors wo
13、rking against another Einstein emerging anytime soon.For one thing, physics is a much different field today. In Einsteins day, there were only a few thousand physicists worldwide, and the theoreticians who could intellectually rival Einstein probably would fit into a streetcar with seats to spare.Ed
14、ucation is different, too. One crucial aspect of Einsteins training that is overlooked is the years of philosophy he read as a teenagerKant, Schopenhauer and Spinoza, among others. It taught him how to think independently and abstractly about space and time, and it wasnt long before he became a phil
15、osopher himself.“The independence created by philosophical insight isin my opinionthe mark of distinction between a mere artisan (工匠) or specialist and a real seeker after truth,” Einstein wrote in 1944.And he was an accomplished musician. The interplay between music and math is well known. Einstein
16、 would furiously play his violin as a way to think through a knotty physics problem.Today, universities have produced millions of physicists. There arent many jobs in science for them, so they go to Wall Street and Silicon Valley to apply their analytical skills to more practicaland rewardingefforts.“Maybe there is an Einstein out there today,” said Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, “but it would be a lot harder
