錢學森系統談話：國家要培養會動腦子的科技創新人才（下）
Qiang Xuesen talks: The nation should cultivate talents engaging in scientific and technological innovations (II)
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| 加州理工學院給這些學者、教授們，也給年輕的學生、研究生們提供了充分的學術權力和民主氛圍。不同的學派、不同的學術觀點都可以充分發表。學生們也可以充分發表自己的不同學術見解，可以向權威們挑戰。過去我曾講過我在加州理工學院當研究生時和一些權威辯論的情況，其實這在加州理工學院是很平常的事。那時，我們這些搞應用力學的，就是用數學計算來解決工程上的復雜問題。所以人家又管我們叫應用數學家。可是數學系的那些搞純粹數學的人偏偏瞧不起我們這些搞工程數學的。兩個學派常常在一起辯論。有一次，數學系的權威在學校布告欄里貼出了一個海報，說他在什么時間什么地點講理論數學，歡迎大家去聽講。我的老師馮·卡門一看，也馬上貼出一個海報，說在同一時間他在什么地方講工程數學，也歡迎大家去聽。結果兩個講座都大受歡迎。這就是加州理工學院的學術風氣，民主而又活躍。我們這些年輕人在這里學習真是大受教益，大開眼界。今天我們有哪一所大學能做到這樣？大家見面都是客客氣氣，學術討論活躍不起來。這怎么能夠培養創新人才？更不用說大師級人才了。 |
Caltech provided scholars, professors, undergraduates and graduates with adequate academic rights and democracy. Different schools were free to express their different opinions. Students could also fully express their different academic understandings and even challenge the authorities. I once talked about my having debates with authorities as a graduate at Caltech in the past; actually, such things are very normal at Caltech. At that time, we studied applied mechanics and used mathematical calculations to resolve complicated engineering problems. Therefore, people called us “applied mathematicians.” But those focusing their study on mathematics in the department of mathematics were usually contemptuous of those of us studying engineering mathematics. These two schools often disputed with one another. Once, an authority from the department of mathematics pasted a poster on a bulletin board at Caltech, asserting that he was going to give a lecture on theoretical mathematics at a certain place and time and everyone was welcome to his lecture. Upon hearing the news, my professor, von Karman, immediately pasted another poster, claiming that he was going to give a lecture on engineering mathematics at another place at the same time and also welcomed everyone to attend his lecture. These two lectures both proved to be very successful. This was the academic atmosphere of Caltech, both democratic and active. We young people benefited a lot from learning there and immensely widened our visions. Today, which of our universities can do the same as Caltech? Everyone is polite when meeting each other and academic discussions cannot become animated. How can such atmosphere cultivate innovative talents, not to mention a mastery of talents? |
| 有趣的是，加州理工學院還鼓勵那些理工科學生提高藝術素養。我們火箭小組的頭頭馬林納就是一邊研究火箭，一邊學習繪畫，他后來還成為西方一位抽象派畫家。我的老師馮·卡門聽說我懂得繪畫、音樂、攝影這些方面的學問，還被美國藝術和科學學會吸收為會員，他很高興，說你有這些才華很重要，這方面你比我強。因為他小時候沒有我那樣的良好條件。我父親錢均夫很懂得現代教育，他一方面讓我學理工，走技術強國的路；另一方面又送我去學音樂、繪畫這些藝術課。我從小不僅對科學感興趣，也對藝術有興趣，讀過許多藝術理論方面的書，像普列漢諾夫的《藝術論》，我在上海交通大學念書時就讀過了。這些藝術上的修養不僅加深了我對藝術作品中那些詩情畫意和人生哲理的深刻理解，也學會了藝術上大跨度的宏觀形象思維。我認為，這些東西對啟迪一個人在科學上的創新是很重要的。科學上的創新光靠嚴密的邏輯思維不行，創新的思想往往開始于形象思維，從大跨度的聯想中得到啟迪，然后再用嚴密的邏輯加以驗證。 |
Interestingly, Caltech also encouraged students of science and technology to improve their artistic attainments. The head of our rocket group, Frank Malina, learned painting while studying rockets. He later became an abstract painter of the West. When my professor, von Karman, learned that I knew a lot about painting, music and photography, and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science, he was very pleased and said that my talents in these areas were very important, also mentioning that I was better than him in those areas. This was because he did not have the favorable conditions as I did when he was young. My father, Qian Junfu, knew a lot about modern education. He encouraged me to learn science and engineering in order to help strengthen our nation through technology; yet, on the other hand, he sent me to learn the arts, such as music and painting. I was interested not only in science, but also in the arts and read a lot of books on artistic theory. I had already read “Art Theory” by Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov when I studied at the Shanghai Jiaotong University. Such artistic attainments deepened my understanding of the poetic beauty and philosophy of life in those artistic works, and I learned a large span of macro-thinking in images of art. I think those things are very important to inspire one’s creativity in science. Scientific innovation cannot just depend on meticulous logical thinking. Creative thoughts usually start from the thinking of images, followed by enlightenment through large span thinking, and then finally proving the creative thoughts with unassailable logic. |
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