Why should it be considered witty to celebrate the uselessness of knowledge? I witnessed a similar attitude from a cosmologist when I participated in a radio show a few years ago: the host remarked to him that his research “has virtually no practical applicability,” to which he quickly replied, “I’m proud of that, yes.”
为什么人们会把庆祝知识无用看作一种诙谐的态度？几年前，我在参与一档广播节目时曾亲眼目睹一位宇宙学家抱有同样的态度：当主持人说他的研究“几乎没有任何实际用处”时，他很快回答说，“是这样，我感到非常骄傲。”