Heavenly: Interviews with Famous Scientists and Cultural Figures

Author: Liu Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-20
Features: In the "Wooden Plow Book Series," a new sub-series called "Complementing the Sky Anthology" has been added. From the name alone, its implied meaning seems not difficult to understand. The legend of Nuwa repairing the sky has long been a fundamental piece of common knowledge in our cultural tradition. Interestingly, within Chinese traditional culture, the concept of "heaven" is inherently multi-faceted, referring both to the natural sky and to the sky of moral principles. From a certain contemporary perspective, we can even unify these concepts, using it to denote our understanding and knowledge of nature, that is, our science.
When it comes to science, we do not merely believe that only established, concrete scientific knowledge constitutes its entirety. The scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes that coexist with scientific knowledge are also considered important components of the broader scientific whole. In the process of popularizing and disseminating science, attention must be equally given to both the "hard content" of scientific knowledge and these accompanying "soft contents." For scholars outside the scientific community, as well as for the broader public, the latter may even be more important—only by understanding these aspects can one more deeply grasp what science truly is and what it truly means.
However, in China's past efforts at science popularization and dissemination, traditional science education, which focuses solely on the dissemination and popularization of specific scientific knowledge, has long dominated. With the development of science, culture, and society, as well as the adoption of more advanced science education concepts through international integration, an increasing number of scholars in China are now recognizing the significance of new-style science communication efforts, such as "Public Understanding of Science." In such work, the foremost priority is the study and dissemination of scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes. From another perspective, this effort is also an important part of the broader international and domestic initiative to bridge two cultures.
However, changing one's perspective is merely the first step—what is more important is to translate that perspective into action. Of course, we see that in society and academia, there are many dedicated individuals working on this. They are the admirable "sky-repairers" in the field of science communication. But it cannot be denied that compared to countries that have made greater strides in the study and development of science itself, as well as in science communication and scientific culture research, our level of achievement still has a significant gap. This also means that it will be challenging to immediately produce large-scale works aligned with these new perspectives to meet the urgent needs of academia and the public.
Therefore, in this anthology, we have chosen to compile short articles that have already been published or partially unpublished, as well as some excellent interviews, all related to scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes. This approach of gathering the achievements of multiple contributors, concentrating and timely reflecting the brilliant ideas of the "sky-repairers" in the fields of scientific culture and science communication, may be the most viable and effective method at this stage. In our research on scientific culture and science communication, we hope to see more "sky-repairers" join the effort. After all, we are under "the same blue sky."
The achievements of science have been widely accepted by the public, but have the spirit and methods of science been equally deeply rooted in people's hearts? Complementing the Sky: Interviews with Science and Culture Celebrities takes the form of interviews, compiling the achievements of multiple contributors to concentrate on the current study and dissemination of scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes. This excerpt is from an interview with the renowned Chinese astronomer and science popularizer Li Yuan titled "Making Science Popularization Artistic."
Why is it necessary to "complement the sky"? Naturally, because the sky has flaws. If we compare the science currently disseminated to the public to the sky, its flaw lies in the fact that most of what is spread consists only of specific scientific knowledge, while the coexisting scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes are relatively scarce. One consequence of this is that many people in society are in a state of "having technology but not understanding science" or "having knowledge but lacking culture." How can this flaw be remedied? Read Complementing the Sky: Interviews with Science and Culture Celebrities, and you may gain insight into the "way of complementing the sky."
The interviewees in this collection are prominent figures in China's scientific culture and science communication fields, as well as the truly hardworking and dedicated "sky-repairers." Among them are both elderly renowned scientists, inventors, and scholars, as well as young talents who have emerged in the field of scientific culture. Their work spans scientific research, scientific invention, science popularization, science and technology management, the history of science, philosophy of science, science and society, the translation, editing, and publication of science and technology works and science popularization books. In essence, it covers all the fundamental areas of scientific culture and science communication.
Because of this, reading this book offers at least two significant benefits: First, it allows you to understand the current state and challenges of scientific culture and its dissemination in China, as well as the various "methods of complementing the sky" proposed by the "sky-repairers." Second, it enables you to gain a personal understanding of these science and culture celebrities. Since it explains science and culture through Q&A, reading it is like having face-to-face conversations with these celebrities, engaging in relaxed and enjoyable discussions about science and culture alongside them. This not only enlightens your mind but also allows you to appreciate the unique charm and appeal of these famous individuals.
By delving deeper and carefully listening to the interviews, you will discover their unique interpretations of various fascinating topics: What role does mathematics, which seems detached from reality, play in society? Hu Zuoxuan, a prominent mathematician, would tell you, "Mathematics is a cost-effective risk investment—if you invest wisely, it can be very rewarding. For instance, those who achieve significant accomplishments in various fields are often those who combine mathematics well with their disciplines, particularly in physics. At least half of the Nobel Prize winners in Economics rely on mathematics, and at least two contemporary stream mathematicians." However, the Chinese mathematical community is in a rather awkward position, with the public often holding the widespread belief that mathematics is useless. How can this problem be solved? Hu argues that it can be gradually addressed through the education of the history and philosophy of mathematics.
However, mathematician Wang Yuan, an academician, believes, "Mathematics does not need so many people working on it; otherwise, it would bring disaster to the public. For example, how could so many people understand the Goldbach Conjecture? It should only be left to a few experts." He also thinks that China's development in mathematics "depends heavily on the evaluation system. If the evaluation system is good, it's like a person's hematopoietic function—it will attract talent. If it's not good, talented people won't emerge. Some foreigners think China's evaluation system is not very good." But he firmly believes that the field where China will first achieve world-class results is mathematics. He also quotes Yang Zhenning as saying, "China is particularly suited to achieving Nobel Prize-level achievements in mathematics."
How can science popularization be made most effective? The renowned science popularizer Li Yuan would tell you, "Make science popularization artistic!" He says, "I visited Disneyland in the United States, and they all combine scientific content with entertainment. The combination of entertainment and science is very effective—you shouldn't draw a clear line between the two. Science and entertainment should be integrated into a unified structure. Because science, art, culture, and entertainment combined are the most effective, they are more deeply rooted in people's minds and more enjoyable."
Famous science popularizer Bian Yulin then proposes, "Science popularization is too important to be shouldered solely by science popularization writers." "Scientists should play the role of the one who serves the ball, because the ball of scientific achievements is thrown by scientists. Scientists should consciously promote science to the public, so that the public can understand science."
What can the history of science do? From a utilitarian perspective, many people see the history of science as "useless." However, the renowned historian of science Xi Zexong, an academician, points out incisively, "Looking at things solely from the perspective of 'useless' or 'useful' may not always be appropriate. What seems useless may actually be the most useful." "Promoting scientific knowledge and scientific spirit through historical methods can yield excellent results. The history of science is an important to science popularization."
What kind of relationship should science and humanities maintain to strike the right balance? Professor Jiang Xiaoyuan believes, "Maintain a necessary tension and a moderate integration. Don't make the boundary between the two too clear—this boundary is fuzzy, and the group of people active at the boundary should communicate frequently. Achieving a moderate balance is ideal." He also advocates that science popularization itself should become a profession, and this profession can be undertaken by those who are part of the scientific culture.
How can one become a person of scientific culture? He believes there are two methods: "One is to design special courses to consciously cultivate such individuals; the other is personal pursuit." In fact, his own experience shows that he is a successful practitioner of the second method. Currently, he is also trying a new method: he has established the Department of the History of Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and serves as the first director of China's first department of the history of science, with one of its main goals being the planned and step-by-step cultivation of individuals of scientific culture.
What is the significance of philosophy of science for society? Researcher Fan Dainian believes: "The philosophy of science is a bridge between natural science and the humanities. Its main social function is enlightenment, promoting the liberation of thought, and breakthroughs in the philosophy of science are often the forerunners of scientific revolutions." What is the current state of the discipline of philosophy of science in China? Professor Wu Guosheng will tell you frankly, "There have been no significant achievements yet," so he calls for the establishment of a reasonable pyramid structure for Chinese philosophy of science, with a clear paradigm.
What are the main contents of scientific spirit? Doctor Tian Song believes: "Scientific spirit has two main contents: First, from the perspective of ontology, all knowledge insists on explaining the material world with the material world itself, without the position of supernatural forces—this is roughly the spirit of reason; second, from the perspective of methodology, all theories must be tested by experiments—this should be the spirit of empiricism."
In addition, some science and culture celebrities have also explored issues such as "Why do pseudoscience, cults, and superstition thrive?," "Why do diseases also require reverence?," "Is cultural decline inevitable?," and "How can science and culture publishing break out of its?" Among these, after reading this book, you will likely find satisfactory answers to these questions.
Listening to these celebrities' in-depth yet accessible and humorous discussions, you can not only understand their journey in becoming "sky-repairers" but also appreciate their deep contemplation of science and their heartfelt care for the humanities! Their hard work and exploration in the field of scientific culture are aimed at disseminating scientific knowledge and its coexisting scientific spirit, scientific culture, scientific methods, and scientific attitudes to the public. They seek to "infuse science with humanistic elements," bridging the gap between humanistic spirit and scientific spirit, and "making life rational yet rich!"
As the editor-in-chief of the Complementing the Sky series, Professor Liu Bing, has said, "They are the admirable 'sky-repairers' in the field of science communication." (Of course, including himself.) While their proposed "ways of complementing the sky" may vary in perspective, they are all the crystallization of their hard work and wisdom. It is believed that they will surely enlighten the readers and bring a touch of humanistic care to the masses bound by science!