Diane Ackerman / 迪安.阿克曼

The word “discovery” literally means, uncovering something that’s hidden from view. But what really happens is a change in the viewer. The familiar offers comfort few can resist, and fewer still want to disturb. But as relatively recent inventions such as the telescope and microscope have taught us, the unknown has many layers. Every truth has geological strata, and you can’t have an orthodoxy without a heresy. The moment a newborn opens its eyes, discovery begins. I learned this with a laugh one morning after delivering a calf. When it lifted up its fluffy head and looked at me, its eyes held the absolute bewilderment of the newly born. A moment before it had the even black nowhere of the womb, and suddenly its world was full of colour, movement and noise. I’ve never seen anything so shocked to be alive.

“發現”一詞，字面上是指揭開某種視線以外的隱藏的事物。不過其實是觀察者自身發生了變化。很少人能抗拒熟悉事物帶來的舒適，愿意擾亂這種舒適的人更少。然而，正如望遠鏡、顯微鏡這些較為近期的發明所揭示給我們的，求知事物具有多種層次。每個事實都有地質層次，沒有異端也就無所謂正統。新生兒睜開雙眼的那一刻起，發現也就開始了。我是在一天清晨給一頭小牛犢接生的時候突然意識到這一點的，不禁大笑。小牛仰起毛茸茸的腦袋看著我，目光中透出這個新生命對世界的一無所知。片刻這前，它還呆在母體里某個黑暗而平靜的地方，突然，它的世界變得五光十色，變得活潑而喧鬧。我從未見過任何東西在獲得生命時是如些的驚異。