The absence of choice is a circumstance that is very, very rare.

以上是今天的issue题目，拿到题目的时候我就觉得，在这个时候谈选择，真的是再合适不过。我们一生要面对无数次的选择，每一次的选择都会把我们带向不同的人生道路。没有选择的情况就像题目所说，very,very rare。 然而，在我们已经迈入了20岁的时候，我们不妨自己问问自己，到底有多少的选择是自己决定的呢？详细的审视下自己的一生，你会发现从出生开始，你就有了无从选择的性别、父母；在成长的过程中，或许很多人并不是自愿而是遵循了大众化的成长之路“上学——工作——成家立业——抚育后代”，你的后代或许也会和你走着一样的人生之路。这样看来，似乎并不存在着选择，然而，就是在这个已经被确立的道路上，人们正在努力的通过自己的努力改变生活环境，进入理想的学校，选择自己喜欢的专业，从事感兴趣的职业，和自己爱的人组建家庭。

其实我们面临着很多的选择。

比如现在，我们需要面临着选择是工作还是考研。而这次选择，其实只是以后人生无数的选择中的一个罢了。而这个决定，将或多或少的改变我们未来的人生道路。

我们为什么感到迷茫？因为从小到大，我们走的几乎是一条单行道，所谓的选择至多就是考入一个更好的更高等级的学校。在潜意识里，我们认为只有升学这一条路，离开这条路以后是什么样子？没有人知道。

这是我们某种意义上第一次真正意义上自己做出选择。我想，无论你选择什么，无论结果怎样，其实都无所谓。

我想，

不妨，把所有世俗的想法全抛开，不要考虑——钱，房子，汽车，结婚，生子——因为这些都不是你的生活。

不妨，安静下来，听一听自己内心的想法。

只有你自己的内心深处，知道自己应该选择什么，而那一定会引领你进入到一个幸福快乐的生活。

TOPIC: ISSUE184 - "It is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data."

WORDS:375          TIME: 0:50:00          DATE: 2009-2-16

 

According to the title statement, it is a grave mistake to theorize before one has data. While I agree that data is very important to stabilize one's theory, I insist that sometime we can put forward a theory before we have data. In order words, scientists should not wait to theorize until they obtain too much data, this phenomenon is equally leads to grave consequences.

In academic physics field, scientists tend to thought experiments in the form of imaginary, some time they use mathematics method to derive a new formula without using any data. Like Albert Einstein when he first put forward his principle of relativity, it is pure mathematics formula in his paper and has a few support data. Because, at that time, the start of the 20's century, the experiment technique and condition is not highly develop. However, to validate his theory with data, the experiment must be set up precisely. Until now, some deduces of his relativity has not been approved with data yet.

Therefore, in many time, scientists use thought experiments when particular physical experiments are impossible to conduct, in fact, it was never carried out, but this unique use of scientific thought experiment led to a successful theory that was proven by other empirical means.

In addition, scientist also use proxy experiments which they conduct prior to a real physical experiment, and the result of the proxy experiment will often be so clear that there will be no need to conduct a physical experiment at all. In medical fields, a newly-develop medicine should not be used on human beings before it test hundreds more times on the experimental animals. Scientist uses these animals to validate their theory and collect the relative data to confer its effects.

However, after one's theory is established, the support data become very important to stabilize a theory and it makes it appear to lend more credence to the theory than the theory actually does. And in common sense it is impossible to theorize in the first place without at least some data.

To conclude, there is no easy solution to such a complex issue. However, taking into account all the dimensions discussed in the above analysis might be a decisive step out of this dilemma.

 

字数不够，感觉没什么可写的，论证过于宽泛..真的得努力了！

要不就完了.....

70 "In any profession—business, politics, education, government—those in power should step down after five years. The surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership."

 

 

The speaker asserts that in any profession, those in power should step down after five years, and it is the surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership. In my opinion, one does not have to go very far to see the truth of this statement.

 

It is unfortunate but true, that there is no flawless individual in this world. Great success, fame and wealth, awe and respect from subordinates can seduce an initially wise and cool-minded leader. This possibility of long-term leadership makes things worse by granting these leaders sufficient time and power to abuse success.

 

One of the famous piece in the Declaration of Independence says "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security". To avoid such harmful phenomenon, we need to introduce a periodic change mechanism which will lead to a quite different result. By maintaining proper competitive mechanisms, the enterprise is always able to replenish itself with fresh blood and new leading ideologies. Newly emerged leaders bring new ways of leading and managing, and they are more likely to keep in better touch with the changing times as well.

 

However, a proper competitive mechanism is sometime very hard to constitute. The key problem is how to identifying and preparing suitable employees. In addition, to avoid many gusty affairs, an internal candidate also must be prepared well.  Nevertheless, a frequently change to the key players of one organization may create instability. Thus, an organization must insure the key person so that funds are available if she or he dies and these funds can be used by the business to cope with the problems before a suitable replacement is found or developed.

 

A five-year period is proper tenure in most cases. Longer terms would ossify the enterprise while shorter ones may create instability.

 

In summary, while some people may remain unconvinced by my argument, the reasons I have analyzed so far should at least make them aware of the complexities of the issue under discussion. There is little doubt that more and more people will come to realize that any profession will be benefited by a periodic change mechanism.

212. "If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable."

The speaker asserts that if a goal is worthy then any means of attaining that goal is justifiable. In my point of view this extreme position misses the point. In fact, we need to weight a goal by take into consideration both the benefits and costs, or harm. If the goal is really worth and benefit for both personal and societal, we can do our best to achieve it.

However, although some goals are worthy indeed, it does not mean that one can attain it by any means. In the process of attaining these goals, people such as political leaders and others should root in their minds that they can do nothing to harm the welfare of other people. That means we cannot do as the adage says "One general achieves renown over the dead bodies of ten thousand soldiers".

In business, the goal of maximizing profits and minimizing costs and expenses cannot be attained by illegal means or at the expense of social well beings. For example, it is unjustifiable for an enterprise to improve its profitability by releasing poisonous water into rivers.

Although I disagree that any means taken to attain it is justifiable, it doesn’t means that we cannot sacrifice or endure highly cost to achieve a goal. Believe it or not, sacrifice or endure highly cost sometimes is the only way to achieve the benefit goal. It just like the proverb said "one cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs”. When we playing chess, we know that our final goal is to win the game, therefore, some time we need to sacrifice our chessman to establish a better situation. Since sacrifice a chessman is a highly cost during playing, but if the goal is worthy and it can lead to a victory situation, we can sacrifice it, because this means is justifiable. It is the same principle in our life.

For example, during World War II, German booming destroyed the center of the city Coventry. On the night of 14-15 November 1940, rather than compromise a decisive source of intelligence, Winston Churchill left the city of Coventry to the mercies of the German Air force. Winston Churchill and colleagues had cracked the Inigma code at Bletchley House and knew that Coventry was to be bombed. Winston Churchill said and did nothing because it was too late to start any preparations and if the Nazi knew their Inigma code had been decrypted and changed the encrypt method, much more valuable information might lost. Churchill knew his goal was to achieve the victory and brought the world peace. Therefore, we can forgive his decisions to sacrifice the city of Coventry.

In addition, when we try to cut down the let of CO2 to stop the global warming, many governments must pay much money and may harm a lot of people's benefit. But it is surely benefited for the world, and also, our offspring. 

In sum, the speaker begs the question. The worthiness of any goal, whether it is personal or societal, can be determined only by weighing the benefits of achieving the goal against its costs -- to us as well as others.

 

 

“Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests, however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem.”

 

According to the title statement, the speaker asserts that scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society and just pursue their individual interests.  As in my opinion, this assert must be considered in two facets – scholars and researchers who works in academic field and those who works in utilize field, and, if doing so, it may gained a total different conclusion.

 

G.H.Hardy, a prominent English mathematician, preferred his work to be considering “pure mathematics”. He made several famous statements, one of the most famous statements is”I have never done anything ‘useful’. No discovery of mine has made, or is likely to make, directly or indirectly, for good or ill, the least difference to the amenity of the world.” However, aside from formulating the Hardy-Weinberg principle in population genetics, his famous work on integer partitions with his collaborator Ramanujan, known as the Hardy-Ramanujan asymptotic formula, has been widely applied in physics to find quantum partition functions of atomic nuclei and to derive thermodynamic functions of non-interacting Bose-Einstein systems. Though Hardy wanted his maths to be “pure” and devoid of any application, much of his work has found applications in other branches of science.

 

According to the example above, we can conclude that those who work in academic fields may have the freedom just to pursue their individual interests. In fact, in academic field, most theory is put forward without the intent that these theories aim at makes a contribution to the larger society.  ‘What is the use of an infant? ” Dr. Franklin says to such.

 

However, in contrast, the scholars and researchers who works for the utilize field has not hold the freedom. They must concern what the outer society need and if the work they do has the practicality, and if not, the research work is useless.

 

For example, during the World War II, many scholars and researchers took part in a project named “The Manhattan project”, which is now be known as to develop atomic weapon. Those who attend the project is work for the U.S military, and their work is to follow the reasonable step to design a A-bomb. Everybody must be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the project. In fact, during war time, each science project must consider its utility, because the Nazi’s scientists were doing the same thing at the same time. If ally’s research dropped behind, they may be in hot water and be in passive phase.

 

In addition, even in the peacetime, scholars and researchers who work for the corporation may consider their work’s practicability. Obviously, the manager of a develop group must provide its production to the company, not the just the theory.  In most companies, even the most talent designer must limit by the rule, they cannot design the production without consider the cost.

 

There are still several other aspects relevant to the issue under discussion, which, unfortunately, I have no time to explore in detail.  But the above-discussed reasons should to a large extent justify my claim that scholars and researchers who works in utilize field must concern with their work whether contribute large society, and those who works for the academic does not.

第一遍写的不小心给弄丢了，又写了第二遍 太累了 肯定很多错误懒得查了 先睡了