At that age, I'd take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic. I'd calculate our gas mileage -- figure out useless statistics on things like grocery spending. I'd been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. I can't remember the details, but basically the ad said, every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life: I think it might have been two minutes per puff. At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother. I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on. When I was satisfied that I'd come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, "At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your life!"
在那样的年纪,我会找任何借口做些估测或者小算术。我会计算油耗还有杂货花销等鸡毛蒜皮的小事。我听过一个有关吸烟的广告。我记不得细节了,但是广告大意是说,每吸一口香烟会减少几分钟的寿命,大概是两分钟。无论如何,我决定为祖母做个算术。我估测了祖母每天要吸几支香烟,每支香烟要吸几口等等,然后心满意足地得出了一个合理的数字。接着,我捅了捅坐在前面的祖母的头,又拍了拍她的肩膀,然后骄傲地宣称,"每天吸两分钟的烟,你就少活九年!"
是时候抛弃这种迷信了:在哲学家解决归纳问题之前,自然科学就无法在逻辑上站得住脚。
If you’re not failing occasionally, you’re not pushing the boundaries enough.
我们这年代的人读书太多而不聪明,想得太多而不美丽。
生活中最重要的事情是学会如何付出爱,并让它进来。