有个朋友今天告诉我，他很郁闷，因为和我一样身为“洋博士”的他，虽然拥有满腹学识，但在专业不对口的单位却找不到自己的位置，人家只把他当一个好用的翻译，先让他做交传，又让他做笔译，据说不久就该让他做同声传译了。他们公司是咨询业，所以常跟企业打交道。英语很好的这位朋友，就免不了经常要为企业翻译各种文档，人家还不按翻译的稿费标准给他发钱。今天，他又接到一个活，帮一个企业修改他们的英文项目计划书。他看到人家的英语可能放回初中都考不及格，而自己堂堂博士竟然要为企业做这种毫无技术含量的无偿低水平劳动，再想到自己当年两千多分的 GRE 和洋洋数万言的学位论文，不由悲从中来。他不断地问我：“你说，我一海归博士，有必要天天这么擦他们弱智的屁股吗？”
我听了也很为他感到郁闷，不过想不出能有什么解决问题的好办法。作为一个博士，我也愿意相信造成这一切的是社会没有给知识其应有的位置。但是，知识有那么多门类，如果每一种都获得了其应有的位置，社会上大概就没有贩夫走卒和中低水平的技术人员的位置了，而这些人才是维持社会的存续所不可缺少的。
从个人的待遇来说，一个十年寒窗的博士到头来要为可能只有本科甚至中专文化程度的老板打工总是有些落差的。可是，真正在毕业后走学术道路，也未必见得心理落差就会小。既然不走学术道路，就要接受这个现实：知识是跟着资本的指挥棒走的。当初你打破头要挤进这间待遇不错的公司的时候，可曾想过你也是要和其他人一样干这种捧人臭脚的活的么？
虽然说学科不分贵贱，但有些学科就是不能直接创造资本，选择学习它们的人就是经常不得不委身于学历不如自己，但掌握了会赚钱的技能的人手下，这是残酷的现实。到了21世纪，读有些书仍然“无用”，但既然我们选了这些学科，又选择读到博士来推迟就业压力的到来，那也怨不得会被掌握了“有用”知识的人领导。或者，我们中还能有一些人能够继续探寻这“无用”的知识，成为学养超群的大家，推动人类知识的增加，但这种人总是极少数。我们这些其他人，大概唯一的道路是利用学习“无用”知识的过程中掌握的能力多学一些“有用”的东西。
另外，我们现在有这种处境和心理落差也可说是一半自找，一半大势所迫。如果这个社会不是如此唯学历论，我们在学校里不是对社会如此无知，像我们这样资质一般的人便根本不用读博士，早一点接受职业训练走入社会，把大学、研究所里的位置让给真正有才能的人不是更好吗？写道这里，不由又要感叹英国人在这件事上的精明：大部分硕士就是职业培训，研究型学位留给那些真正的 nerd 和 geek。
2010年10月16日星期六
Are you not Wanted?
I went to a friend's wedding today. The bride and the bridegroom fell in love when they were both undergraduates, and it has been 8 years since then. Needless to say, many of their classmates, including me, participated the event as guests. We were supposed to be the selected few and the future elite of China when we got the admission from our university. But nothing particular happened afterwards, we all become faceless clerks in some organizations that have remote relation to what we learn, and all have to work 10 hours a day just to pay our credit card bills.
What went wrong? I could not help thinking about those people who dropped out of school due to poor academic performance in the university. Have they find a better way to spend their life than we do? After all, they probably learned not to listen to everything the education system told them. And that gives them more possibilities in life, probably?
Now I think I am beginning to understand Wanted, the graphic novel by Mark Millar. The institutionalized individuals are surrounding us, trying to tell us what to do and what is right. Sometimes these advices can be helpful, but in many cases, they just make you hesitate, doubt, and fail. One does not need to possess super power to control their life. The important thing is to know what one wants, and ignore the distractions in the guise of "for your own good" that prevent you from achieving your goal. In this way, you can one day pretty much fuck anyone you want, or die trying.
In the novel, the point where Wesley proved that he know what he wanted was not when he walked out of his miserable clerk life, but the moment after his most beloved and respected father told him to become the best gunslinger in the world, he still can seriously consider defying Fox and his father and return to the old life. The strongest super power is the ability to make decision for oneself and bear the consequences, and it is free will at its best. And you do not need to be special to have that power.
What went wrong? I could not help thinking about those people who dropped out of school due to poor academic performance in the university. Have they find a better way to spend their life than we do? After all, they probably learned not to listen to everything the education system told them. And that gives them more possibilities in life, probably?
Now I think I am beginning to understand Wanted, the graphic novel by Mark Millar. The institutionalized individuals are surrounding us, trying to tell us what to do and what is right. Sometimes these advices can be helpful, but in many cases, they just make you hesitate, doubt, and fail. One does not need to possess super power to control their life. The important thing is to know what one wants, and ignore the distractions in the guise of "for your own good" that prevent you from achieving your goal. In this way, you can one day pretty much fuck anyone you want, or die trying.
In the novel, the point where Wesley proved that he know what he wanted was not when he walked out of his miserable clerk life, but the moment after his most beloved and respected father told him to become the best gunslinger in the world, he still can seriously consider defying Fox and his father and return to the old life. The strongest super power is the ability to make decision for oneself and bear the consequences, and it is free will at its best. And you do not need to be special to have that power.
2010年9月28日星期二
2010年9月5日星期日
It's just an idea
Sometimes the mass can be really untolerable: they may pay very little attention to cinemas at any other time of the year, but once they hear that the movie in question was directed by James Cameron, or Christopher Nolan, they become so worked up and so enthusiastic to watch their most recent work -- some even without knowing Alien, the Abyss, or Momento. Because of this we had some trouble getting tickets for Inception in the first week it is shown in Beijing. The watching was satisfying, yet we also feel that we were all cheated by the media to some extent. One thing for sure is that this layered movie is still straightforward, with clear indication of the level of dreams, any average audience will have no problem following the story.
On the one hand, No doubt that some of the audiences just want to watch the said-to-be-convoluted movie to enjoy the ecstasy from imagined improvement in their intelligence. On the other hand, the script is sophisticated enough for a movie with considerable potential of being interpreted in many ways and become a model that may be praised in the highest form of imitation. The execution of photography, editing and acting is almost flawless, too. However, I cannot find the shock after watching the Matrix, nor the health confusion brought by Mulholland Drive. The theme of the movie, I think, is that ideas can grow and transform people, any overinterpretation will not serve the purpose of the movie any better. Concerning the argument of whether the ending was a dream, it is just the way Nolan proves that he managed to plant the idea in the minds of the audiences, and is not in any sense the centre of the issue. Thus, there is not anything revolutionarily new suggested by the movie. If you think Nolan want to imply an endlessly layered dream, Inception would not do any better than the 13th Floor, decades after the latter's release.
Based on these reasons, I can give Inception a score of 4/5, or 90/100, meaning that it has done perfectly in almost every aspect required by a masterpiece, but have not changed the way I perceive and react to the world.
On the one hand, No doubt that some of the audiences just want to watch the said-to-be-convoluted movie to enjoy the ecstasy from imagined improvement in their intelligence. On the other hand, the script is sophisticated enough for a movie with considerable potential of being interpreted in many ways and become a model that may be praised in the highest form of imitation. The execution of photography, editing and acting is almost flawless, too. However, I cannot find the shock after watching the Matrix, nor the health confusion brought by Mulholland Drive. The theme of the movie, I think, is that ideas can grow and transform people, any overinterpretation will not serve the purpose of the movie any better. Concerning the argument of whether the ending was a dream, it is just the way Nolan proves that he managed to plant the idea in the minds of the audiences, and is not in any sense the centre of the issue. Thus, there is not anything revolutionarily new suggested by the movie. If you think Nolan want to imply an endlessly layered dream, Inception would not do any better than the 13th Floor, decades after the latter's release.
Based on these reasons, I can give Inception a score of 4/5, or 90/100, meaning that it has done perfectly in almost every aspect required by a masterpiece, but have not changed the way I perceive and react to the world.
2010年8月24日星期二
一本睹物思人的小说
我看小说本来是只看写成十年以上的，因为小说太多，去芜存青最简单的办法就是看它出来以后10年还有没有影响力，有没有书商愿意再版。但董其章的《天工开物·栩栩如真》体例比较特别，初看到的时候还以为就是一本介绍香港风物的非虚构作品，而且在豆瓣上评价似乎还好，所以在书店里没有多翻几页就买下了，结果现在只好破这个十年之例。
小说还只看了个开头。我对作者虚构的“人物”世界还没有看得很明白，但描写“我”以及“我”的祖父和父亲的生活史那些章节却看得我很是唏嘘，作者以电波和声音比喻情感的写法很是新奇，而又似乎格外准确。作者状物而不役于物，寄情而不耽于情，这样的写作风格我很喜欢，而且估计华语小说界是没有别人模仿得来这种写法的。不过也如“独裁者”的序言所说，作者写的一切还是太自我。希望作者在这三部曲里能有一个立意上的突破。
小说还只看了个开头。我对作者虚构的“人物”世界还没有看得很明白，但描写“我”以及“我”的祖父和父亲的生活史那些章节却看得我很是唏嘘，作者以电波和声音比喻情感的写法很是新奇，而又似乎格外准确。作者状物而不役于物，寄情而不耽于情，这样的写作风格我很喜欢，而且估计华语小说界是没有别人模仿得来这种写法的。不过也如“独裁者”的序言所说，作者写的一切还是太自我。希望作者在这三部曲里能有一个立意上的突破。
2010年8月23日星期一
就这么一说
今天读完了 Maur d'Entrèves 的 The Political Philosophy of Hannah Arendt。对 Arendt 的政治主张有了一些了解。直接民主看上去很美，但不难想象在人口规模达到一定程度后还是需要一定的代议制，否则达成一项决议要吵一年，即使它真的完美无缺，也不免失去了时效性和相关性。更何况阿伦特理想中的政治公民未必一定存在。
不过，阿伦特提出的通过在公共空间中发起讨论，让想法撞击从而形成公民身份的想法似乎是很可取的。不排除中国“木秀于林，风必摧之”的文化造成了社会生活中英雄式政治和大众化政治的缺失，结果中国人一直处于不关心，不负责，不行动的臣民状态中。我曾考虑过网络空间能否成为阿伦特所讨论的那种政治空间，但网络毕竟不是面对面的交流，也许对练习诡辩有帮助，但化身背后的争辩对于形成个人的政治身份恐怕一点用都没有。看来国人要形成自己的政治主张，只有从在咖啡馆里跟意见相左的人聊天开始了。这也许可以解释为什么我跟传教的人可以聊得那么 high。温和地让不同的观点冲突是最给人满足感，最让人愉悦的交流形式。就这么一说。
不过，阿伦特提出的通过在公共空间中发起讨论，让想法撞击从而形成公民身份的想法似乎是很可取的。不排除中国“木秀于林，风必摧之”的文化造成了社会生活中英雄式政治和大众化政治的缺失，结果中国人一直处于不关心，不负责，不行动的臣民状态中。我曾考虑过网络空间能否成为阿伦特所讨论的那种政治空间，但网络毕竟不是面对面的交流，也许对练习诡辩有帮助，但化身背后的争辩对于形成个人的政治身份恐怕一点用都没有。看来国人要形成自己的政治主张，只有从在咖啡馆里跟意见相左的人聊天开始了。这也许可以解释为什么我跟传教的人可以聊得那么 high。温和地让不同的观点冲突是最给人满足感，最让人愉悦的交流形式。就这么一说。
2010年8月15日星期日
文明4倒数第二高难度总算赢了一次
很久以前玩 Civ 4 都是用的最低的 Settler 难度，后来尝试着玩次高的 Chieftain 难度，发现再也不能像最低难度那样用坦克去轰别人的象兵了，而且从这个难度开始就应该自习考虑走哪条胜利条件的路线了，最低难度那样全面胜利是不可能的。我试着走穷兵黩武路线，结果发现前期别的借助城防优势完全可以防住我先进一两代的兵力，而后期我科技就落后了……结果被打得大败，最后侥幸不死。
把文明搁下很久后我试图再来一次，继续挑战 Chieftain 难度。这次是类似地球的地形，普通速度，7个文明，随机领导人我抽到了萨拉丁。这次我决定采取的策略是先研究有关国防的技术，防止别人来打，然后集中精力发展科技和文化事业。最先建立的 Mecca 和 Medina 受制于地形，后期发展乏力，但后来建立的 Baghdad 作为专业的文化城贡献了巨大的控制范围，因而为我的文明打下了良好的经济基础。当然这也离不开 Mecca 源源不断为它供应的伟人。城市建设方面，我只建立基本的防御，全部力量都用来搞经济了。好在除了成吉思汗以落后两世代的兵种跟我打了两仗以外世界还算和平。
后期想光凭文化策反他人的城市很难，我只在早期策反了蒙古人一座城。估计要走这个路线的话除了文化还要加上间谍。成吉思汗有一次要求进贡150金子，不然就打仗。我因为心疼金子没给他，结果后来军费开销和战争造成的损失更大。其实金子在完成关于经济和政治制度的一些研究后自然会多起来，不必看着负的两位数就心疼。
打完仗后的科技发展基本上是科技和经济并重，兼顾军事。这大概仍然不是最优的发展路径，不过确实宗教政体什么都没有大用，别人会跟你交换的。文化路线还有个好处就是可以研发诸如大众传媒这样的科技，基本可以保证位置较好的城市不丢，比较落后的音乐等科技还可以用来跟其它文明交换。最后侥幸研发出了所有有关的科技，在2043年造出太空船实现空间胜利。不知道要玩多少次才能实现精确地了解科技树的走向。如果外交搞得好一点，说不定我也可以拿外交胜利，就是蒙古人和俄国人老是唱反调。
最后对领导能力的评价是最低的 Dan Quayle……不过反正是赢了。高难度下的电脑更爱作弊，等这个难度玩熟了我试着挑战一下 Warlord，如果太难，就只玩这难度了。
把文明搁下很久后我试图再来一次，继续挑战 Chieftain 难度。这次是类似地球的地形，普通速度，7个文明，随机领导人我抽到了萨拉丁。这次我决定采取的策略是先研究有关国防的技术，防止别人来打，然后集中精力发展科技和文化事业。最先建立的 Mecca 和 Medina 受制于地形，后期发展乏力，但后来建立的 Baghdad 作为专业的文化城贡献了巨大的控制范围，因而为我的文明打下了良好的经济基础。当然这也离不开 Mecca 源源不断为它供应的伟人。城市建设方面，我只建立基本的防御，全部力量都用来搞经济了。好在除了成吉思汗以落后两世代的兵种跟我打了两仗以外世界还算和平。
后期想光凭文化策反他人的城市很难，我只在早期策反了蒙古人一座城。估计要走这个路线的话除了文化还要加上间谍。成吉思汗有一次要求进贡150金子，不然就打仗。我因为心疼金子没给他，结果后来军费开销和战争造成的损失更大。其实金子在完成关于经济和政治制度的一些研究后自然会多起来，不必看着负的两位数就心疼。
打完仗后的科技发展基本上是科技和经济并重，兼顾军事。这大概仍然不是最优的发展路径，不过确实宗教政体什么都没有大用，别人会跟你交换的。文化路线还有个好处就是可以研发诸如大众传媒这样的科技，基本可以保证位置较好的城市不丢，比较落后的音乐等科技还可以用来跟其它文明交换。最后侥幸研发出了所有有关的科技，在2043年造出太空船实现空间胜利。不知道要玩多少次才能实现精确地了解科技树的走向。如果外交搞得好一点，说不定我也可以拿外交胜利，就是蒙古人和俄国人老是唱反调。
最后对领导能力的评价是最低的 Dan Quayle……不过反正是赢了。高难度下的电脑更爱作弊，等这个难度玩熟了我试着挑战一下 Warlord，如果太难，就只玩这难度了。
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