诺贝尔经济学奖得主、哈佛大学校级教授谈科研(2)

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摘要：同样，爱因斯坦发现了相对论，因为他想了解重力。后来发现，相对论对我们来说是绝对必要的理论，比如GPS技术，没有爱因斯坦，没有相对论，就不会有

同样，爱因斯坦发现了相对论，因为他想了解重力。后来发现，相对论对我们来说是绝对必要的理论，比如GPS技术，没有爱因斯坦，没有相对论，就不会有GPS的出现。但是爱因斯坦当时并不知道，他只是好奇才进行研究，他想了解重力的原理。

再举一个例子，居里夫人对无线电活动着迷，例如镭元素放射出的射线，这引导着她发现了这一元素，这对于我们研究现代原子能有至关重要的作用。但当时的居里夫人也不曾想到。她只是想了解这种无线电活动的来源。

03

下面告诉大家有关我是如何进入经济学领域的，以及我如何涉足科学领域。

当我进入大学时，我甚至不知道经济学是什么。事实上，我以为我会成为一个数学家，我在大学期间花了很多时间学习数学，这是我很喜欢的一门学科，学习数学令我感到快乐，而且我一度极有可能朝着数学发展下去，直到我得到一个偶然的机会去参加经济学讲座。

有趣的是，这个讲座是由后来成为我的博士导师的那个人讲授的。我觉得那场讲座相当精彩，从某种意义上说，他们向我展示了经济学这样的学科其实两全其美，因为它使得你能够研究具有社会价值的问题，比如解决不平等问题，以及结束经济衰退的问题等。而且它也从数学的角度去分析这些问题，你可以利用数学的力量和严谨性来回答这些重要的社会问题，我认为这是个无与伦比的组合。

结果，我改变了方向，并决定要学习经济学。最后，我得到了同一个提供电气课程的人的博士学位，我很高兴我这么做了。

04

让我为大家提出这样的建议：

永远保持一个开放的心态，即便你已经确定你喜欢学习什么样的学科；

永远做好准备，当机会来了，也要去尝试一些新的事物；

并且记住无论做什么，无论是否从事科学相关的研究，最重要的是你要享受你所从事的事业。

科学，充满着无限乐趣。

我鼓励大家认真思考是否从事科研，但即便不从事科研，重要的一点是你选择的道路应该对你个人而言，是获益最大的。

我的讲话就到这里，谢谢聆听。

演讲原文

English Version

Hello, everyone. I'm Eric Maskin, Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard University in the United States. I'm happy to join you for the China International School Competitiveness Ranking Conference. I believe you'll be seeing this video on Christmas Day. And so I'd like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

Today, I'd like to talk to you about science.

It's no exaggeration to say that science is the most important force behind human progress. Almost all the growth we see from year to year is attributable to scientific and technological discoveries. It's no coincidence that the countries that have made the biggest public investment in science are the ones that have grown the most.

But I'm not interested in talking primarily about that. What I'd like to concentrate on is the possibility of a career in science.

Some of you may be considering such a career. And I would urge you to think about doing that. Now, the best reason for going into science is actually not that it will help the world. It will help the world. The best reason we're going into science is simply to satisfy your own curiosity. Because the questions that arise in science are fascinating, they are among the most interesting.

We can imagine how did the universe begin? How did life begin? What is consciousness? How can we cure or prevent cancer? Or Alzheimer's disease?

In my own field, which is economics, there are big questions, too. How can we stop inequality from increasing? How can we prevent recessions from occurring? And if they do occur, how can we end them? How can we solve the problem of global warming?

All of these are interesting and very difficult problems. And just about anyone, even people who don't know much about science, here're the problems. We'll want to know the answers. They are innately interesting.

But the, great thing about science is that, it gives us the tools to have a chance of actually finding the answers. And if you have a career in scientific research, you can spend your day trying to answer some of these big questions. In most jobs, you have to do what your boss says, you might be trying to answer questions and solve problems, but your're solving the questions and problems that someone else is directing you to solve. In a career of scientific research, you get to sets the agenda. You got to ask and answer the questions that you're interested. And that, I think, is the biggest attraction of a scientific career of all.

Now, some of the most important discoveries in science that we've made, not because the discovery was interested in helping humanity, but simply because he or she, one and two, get to the answer of some interesting problems.

文章来源：《环渤海经济瞭望》 网址: http://www.hbhjjw.cn/zonghexinwen/2021/0622/1181.html

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