評論
打印
And every single part of this mechanism is actually plausible in biology.
實際上，這個機制的每一個步驟在生物領域中都是可行的。
In other words, I've taken off-the-shelf components, and I've made a spectroscope.
換句話講，我用現成的部件做成了一個分光鏡。
What's nice about this idea, if you have a philosophical bent of mind, is that then it tells you that the nose, the ear and the eye are all vibrational senses.
如果你有點哲學的天賦，你會發現這個點子的絕妙之處在于它告訴你，鼻子、耳朵、眼睛可以感知震動。
Of course, it doesn't matter, because it could also be that they're not.
當然，這關系并不大，因為他們不能感知震動也是有可能的。
But it has a certain -- it has a certain ring to it which is attractive to people who read too much 19th-century German literature.
但是，它有一定的，這個理論對某些人來說有一定的吸引力，對閱讀了太多十九世紀德國文學的人來說有吸引力。
And then a magnificent thing happened: I left academia and joined the real world of business,
于是發生了一件絕妙的事情，我離開了學術界，到現實世界經營起生意，
and a company was created around my ideas to make new molecules using my method, along the lines of, let's put someone else's money where your mouth is.
一個公司在我的想法的基礎上建成了，用我的方式合成新分子，依照這樣一個理念：用別人的錢來喂自己的嘴。
And one of the first things that happened was we started going around to fragrance companies asking for what they needed,
最開始發生了一件事情，我們來到香水公司問他們需要什么，
because, of course, if you could calculate smell, you don't need chemists.
因為如果你能計算氣味的話，當然也就不需要化學家了。
You need a computer, a Mac will do it, if you know how to program the thing right, OK?
你需要的是一臺電腦，一臺蘋果電腦就成，如果你知道如何正確操作。
So you can try a thousand molecules, you can try ten thousand molecules in a weekend,
你可以試一千個分子，也可以一個星期試一萬個分子，
and then you only tell the chemists to make the right one.
然后只需告訴化學家讓他們去制造那一個正確的就可以了。
And so that's a direct path to making new odorants.
這是制造新氣味的直接方式。
And one of the first things that happened was we went to see some perfumers in France -- and here's where I do my Charles Fleischer impression -- and one of them says,
最開始發生的事情是我們去法國見香水師，那里給我留下了一個印象，就像是查爾斯·弗萊舍經歷的一般，其中一個人說，
"You cannot make a coumarin." He says to me, "I bet you cannot make a coumarin."
“你一定合成不出香豆素。”他對我說，“我打賭你肯定合成不出香豆素。”
