評論
打印
If the Oval Earth man answers - what I believe is true - that the ancient Egyptians, who thought the sun goes round the earth, could also predict eclipses, then bang goes my ace.I have only one card left: navigation. People can sail ship round the world, and reach theplaces theyaim at, by calculations which assume that the earth is spherical. I believe that finishes the Oval Earth man, though even then he may possibly have some kind of counter.
如果"地球卵形說"者反駁道-我以為他反駁得有理-認為太陽繞地球轉的古代埃及人也能預言月食，那我的"愛司"牌便立刻化為烏有。我只剩下一張牌：航海。人們可以揚帆繞地球航行而到達他們的目的地，其航程的計算，就是以地球是球形的假定為依據的。我相信這一下可以徹底擊敗"地球卵形說"者了。不過即便如此，他還可能有某種回擊的辦法。
It will be seen that my reasons for thinking that the earth is round are rather precarious ones. Yet this is an exceptionally elementary piece of information. On most other questions I should have to fall back on the expert much earlier, and would be less able to test his pronouncements. And much the greater part of our knowledge is at this level.It does not rest on reasoning or on experiment, but on authority. And how can it be otherwise, when the range of knowledge is so vast that the expert himself is an ignoramus as soon as he strays away from his own specialty? Most people, if asked to prove that the earth is round, would not even bother to produce the rather weak arguments I have outlined above. They would start off by saying that "everyone knows" the earth to be round, and if pressed further, would become angry. In a way Shaw is right. This is a credulous age, and the burden of knowledge which we now have to carry is partly responsible.
由此可見，我認為地球是圓的，其根據是相當不牢靠的。然而這卻是一點極其基本的知識。在別的大多數問題上，我只得更早地依賴專家的理論，且更少有辦法檢驗他的結論了。我們的知識，其絕大部分都停留在這一水平上。它不是依靠推理或實驗，而是依賴權威。可是，不這樣，又有什么別的法子呢？知識的范圍如此廣博，一旦越出其專業范圍，專家也會變成一無所知。對大多數人來說，如果要他們證明地球是圓的話，就連我上面概述的這些相當無力的論據，他們也不愿提供出來。他們一開始就會說：誰都知道地球是圓的。要是再加追問，就會生氣了。在某種程度上講，蕭伯納是說對了，如今是一個輕信的時代。究其緣由，部分在于，我們現今必須掌握的知識實在太多了。
