第6章 红牙利爪的科学 Science Red in Tooth and Claw · 第7讲S3

1. 老师，讲稿里说古生物学家有'tons of old bones to pick over'，这里的'pick over'具体是指啥操作呀？是随便挑挑还是仔细研究？
2. Kelvin勋爵认为地球只有2000万年，讲稿里说这会导致'whole orders of ancient creatures'在同一个'geological instant'里生灭，'orders'在这里是指生物分类里的‘目’吗？为啥说这样'makes no sense'？
3. Samuel Houghton第一次算出地球23亿年，后来 recalculated 变成1.53亿年，他用的数据没变，为啥结果差这么多？是哪里算错了吗？
4. Edmund Halley用海洋含盐量来算地球年龄，为啥讲稿里说他'hopelessly adrift'？'be adrift'在这里是比喻他迷路了吗？
5. Kelvin算出2000万年，Halley算出8900万年，这两个数字虽然都不对，但讲稿说Halley的结果'fit neatly enough with Calvin's assumptions'，这俩假设到底咋关联的？

1. Teacher, the transcript says paleontologists had 'tons of old bones to pick over'. What exactly does 'pick over' mean here? Is it just casually choosing or carefully examining?
2. Lord Kelvin thought the Earth was only 20 million years old. The text says this would mean 'whole orders of ancient creatures' appeared and disappeared in the same 'geological instant'. Does 'orders' refer to the biological classification 'Order' here? Why does the text say this 'makes no sense'?
3. Samuel Houghton first calculated the Earth's age as 2.3 billion years, but later recalculated it to 153 million years. He used the same data, so why was the result so different? Did he make a calculation error?
4. Edmund Halley tried to calculate the Earth's age using ocean salinity. Why does the transcript say he was 'hopelessly adrift'? Does 'be adrift' metaphorically mean he was lost or off track here?
5. Kelvin calculated 20 million years, and Halley calculated 89 million years. Although both are wrong, the text says Halley's result 'fit neatly enough with Calvin's assumptions'. How are these two assumptions related?

1 00:00:05,900 --> 00:00:09,240 The upshot is that,by the turn of the 20th century, 2 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:13,220 paleontologists had literally tons of old bones to 3 00:00:13,220 --> 00:00:13,720 pick over. 4 00:00:13,940 --> 00:00:17,300 The upshot means the final result of a situation. 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,840 Literally,这个以前学过了, 6 00:00:20,940 --> 00:00:23,760 就是指按自明意思解释, 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,980 就是说我们现在在讲的这件事情完全是真实的, 8 00:00:28,060 --> 00:00:31,160 没有任何的夸张,没有使用修辞手法。 9 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,520 所以相当于是 actually to pick up for means to examine 10 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:36,540 and choose 11 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:44,530 最后的结果是在 21 世纪刚开始的那几年古生物学家有 12 00:00:44,530 --> 00:00:49,470 了成吨的古老的骨头化石供他们挑选 The 13 00:00:49,500 --> 00:00:53,460 problem was that they still didn't have any idea how old 14 00:00:53,460 --> 00:00:55,080 any of these bones were 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,560 问题是呢这些骨头究竟有多古老他们仍然毫无概念 16 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,960 Worse The agreed ages for the earthcouldn't 17 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:08,840 comfortably support the numbers of aeons and ages and 18 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,800 epochs that the past obviously contained 19 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,800 我们现在看一下这个部分 The 20 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,480 numbers of aeons and ages and epochs that the past 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,460 obviously contained 这个 number 指的是 22 00:01:25,710 --> 00:01:26,910 周、七、 23 00:01:27,170 --> 00:01:32,750 世这些东西的数量这些东西数量巨大也就是地球的地 24 00:01:32,750 --> 00:01:37,700 质历史时期是非常的长里面分为很多的周期式这样这 25 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:42,630 个数量很大而这个数量呢是 The past obviously 26 00:01:42,630 --> 00:01:43,450 contained 27 00:01:44,110 --> 00:01:49,470 地球的历史显然包括了这么大数量的不同的时期 28 00:01:50,450 --> 00:01:58,070 而当时人们所普遍认为的地球的年龄跟这个数字之间 29 00:01:58,070 --> 00:02:03,750 相互是不能够兼容的也就是人们当时所认为的地球年 30 00:02:03,750 --> 00:02:10,790 龄相对来说是很小也就是历史是很短它根本就不能够 31 00:02:10,790 --> 00:02:14,570 包含这么大数量的一个不同的历史时期 32 00:02:30,830 --> 00:02:35,670 in the same geological instant it just makes no sense 假 33 00:02:36,020 --> 00:02:39,080 如地球真的像 Calvin 34 00:02:39,140 --> 00:02:44,900 勋爵所坚持的那样只有 only 20 million years or so 只有 35 00:02:44,900 --> 00:02:49,740 2000 万年大概那么 whole orders of ancient 36 00:02:49,740 --> 00:02:51,520 creaturesorders 37 00:02:52,030 --> 00:02:57,550 这里应该不是顺序的意思因为如果是顺序的话它不该 38 00:02:57,550 --> 00:03:01,630 是复数形式所以这个 orders 应该是界门、 39 00:03:01,690 --> 00:03:02,270 钢、木、 40 00:03:02,470 --> 00:03:02,670 科、 41 00:03:02,790 --> 00:03:07,810 鼠种中的这个木但是也不是非常严格的指的是这个级 42 00:03:07,810 --> 00:03:13,690 别的分类而是指泛指各种的种类 Whole orders of 43 00:03:13,690 --> 00:03:18,710 ancient creatures 各种不同的古代生物 must have come 44 00:03:18,710 --> 00:03:22,550 into being and gone out againpractically in the same 45 00:03:22,550 --> 00:03:28,190 geological instantinstant means moment 在同一个地 46 00:03:28,190 --> 00:03:32,110 质历史时刻在同一个时刻产 47 00:03:32,210 --> 00:03:38,630 生然后又在同一个时刻消亡在同一个时刻灭绝 It just 48 00:03:38,630 --> 00:03:45,960 makes no sense 这根本就讲不通嘛没有这个道理 Other 49 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,580 scientists besides Kelvinturned their minds to the 50 00:03:49,580 --> 00:03:53,500 problem and came up with results that only deepened the 51 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:54,080 uncertainty 52 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:59,740 除了 Kelvin 之外还有一些科学家 turned their minds to 53 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:04,680 the problem 把心思放在这个问题上也就是他们也在研 54 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,900 究这个问题 and came up with the results 那他们得出的 55 00:04:08,900 --> 00:04:13,020 结论呢 only deepened the uncertainty 并没有解决问题 56 00:04:13,020 --> 00:04:17,040 反而加深了这种不确定性比如 57 00:04:17,230 --> 00:04:21,770 这个 Samuel Hought on a respected geologist at Trinity 58 00:04:21,770 --> 00:04:26,390 College in Dublinannounced an estimated age for the 59 00:04:26,390 --> 00:04:26,990 Earth of 60 00:04:35,510 --> 00:04:41,170 这位科学家来自都柏林也就是爱尔兰的都柏林三一学 61 00:04:41,170 --> 00:04:46,450 院这是一所久复盛名的非常著名的一所学府这位科学 62 00:04:46,450 --> 00:04:49,870 家也是一个受人尊敬的地质学家 63 00:04:50,660 --> 00:04:57,160 他宣布地球的年龄估计是在 23 亿年这个数字 way 64 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,920 beyond anything way means farfar beyond anything 65 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,220 anybody else was suggesting 比当时任何人所提出来的 66 00:05:06,220 --> 00:05:08,520 都要大得多然 67 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,680 而遗憾的是 when 68 00:05:10,810 --> 00:05:14,510 this was drawn to his attention he recalculated using 69 00:05:14,510 --> 00:05:20,770 the same data and put the figure at 153 million years 70 00:05:20,770 --> 00:05:21,990 when 71 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:26,580 this was drawn to his attention this 指的是这么大的一 72 00:05:26,580 --> 00:05:27,220 个数字 73 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:33,660 引起他的注意的时候他这里用的是被动语态也就是当 74 00:05:33,660 --> 00:05:39,020 时应该是有人问他为什么是怎么算出来这么大的一个 75 00:05:39,020 --> 00:05:44,200 数字的所以他自己呢就注意到了这个问题于是 76 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,940 recalculate it using the same data 用同样的数据再算 77 00:05:48,940 --> 00:05:54,080 了一遍结果这回算出来只剩下 1.53 亿年那 78 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,040 这就小了很多距离正确的就越来越远了 79 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:22,100 我们先看一下这两个词 worldworld 是旋转比如这个 80 00:06:22,100 --> 00:06:25,060 The dancers whirled across the stage 81 00:06:25,750 --> 00:06:30,290 还有我们很熟悉的惠尔普 Whirlpool 就是这样一个漩 82 00:06:30,290 --> 00:06:35,370 涡 To give an idea a whirl means to give it a try 他准备试 83 00:06:35,370 --> 00:06:39,070 一下他准备试一下 Edmund Halley 提出的这个 Ocean 84 00:06:39,070 --> 00:06:39,770 Swords Idea 85 00:06:41,220 --> 00:06:46,440 这个 Ocean Swords Idea 就是假设最初海水是淡的 86 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:53,360 那河水呢把那个陆地上的盐冲到海里面去那这样使得 87 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:59,320 海水变咸那如果我们知道目前海水的含盐量以及每年 88 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:05,520 河流能够冲刷多少的盐分到海洋里面去就可以算出海 89 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,460 洋的年龄这样进一步可以推算出地球的年龄 90 00:07:10,580 --> 00:07:14,080 但是这个方法呢 was based on so many faulty 91 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:14,600 assumptions 92 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:22,200 它的基础它是基于很多错误的前提之上的比如说海水 93 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:27,940 最初到底是咸的还是淡的这个我们并不确定还有每年 94 00:07:27,940 --> 00:07:34,260 从陆地冲刷到海洋里的这个盐量其实每年也不确定所 95 00:07:34,260 --> 00:07:40,680 以这很多的假设是错误的因此呢这个计算的结果就是 96 00:0 ……（后略，完整文稿见视频页字幕）