科学家和演员是平等的吗？

近日，明星考编的话题引发网友关注。有媒体评论提出科学家和演员平等的观点，再次引发热议。

无注释原文：

Is Entertainment More Important Than Science?

The Daily Nexus

April 1, 2021

by Athina Mihalopoulos

The whole world revolves around them: actors, singers, models, athletes and TV personalities. If I scroll through Instagram, Snapchat or any social media newsfeed, I get too familiar. 

I have nothing against the entertainment industry and celebrities. I think they’re talented in their field and do a lot of good with their work. What I can’t see is what their big contribution to the world is other than entertainment. It seems as if entertainment has become a first priority and the uttermost thing that the world cares about. 

The problem is that by idolizing the entertainment industry so much, we sometimes completely forget about the things that are truly important and that are changing our world. The screen that you’re reading this from right now wouldn’t have existed if someone hadn’t discovered how the wavelengths of light work. The same thing goes for when you FaceTime a loved one from the other side of the globe, or how you can leave LA and be in NY in under six hours. These are all things that are taken for granted now but are made possible by hard work and years of studying done by specific scientists, most of whom probably receive little recognition for their accomplishments.

Here’s an example. You probably know who Leonardo DiCaprio is — a very talented American actor and film producer — who has gifted the world with some of the most successful films in history. But then you probably don’t know who Cori Bargmann is. Bargmann is a scientist who is uncovering the causes of Alzheimer’s and autism, which have been unknown for years. Both are very talented in their fields; however, it’s logical to argue that Bargmann’s contribution to the world is much more important. 

What I think is wrong here, though, is that DiCaprio’s net worth is $260 million dollars, while Bargmann’s is less than $1 million dollars. DiCaprio is definitely talented and has worked hard to give us such good films, but Bargmann is working for something that can save thousands of humans who are suffering. And just because our society prefers to idolize the entertainment industry instead of science and medicine, she gets paid much less than she deserves.

Imagine if the money that every Hollywood actor and director makes went into medical research and pharmaceuticals. It would be so much easier for scientists to diagnose diseases and unknown viruses.

So, if it would benefit the world so much to invest all of our time and attention toward scientists, why don’t we do it? Why don’t we make scientists our new “celebrities,” if they are the ones that deserve it the most? I believe that there are plenty of reasons that stop this vision from becoming a reality.

First of all, we like being entertained. Most people might not praise scientists because it’s not something entertaining. People will care more about the latest drama of Charli D’Amelio or Brad Pitt’s upcoming new movie, rather than NASA’s most current space exploration that might change the way we live our lives. That’s not because we’re careless human beings. It’s because we simply like being entertained. We love aesthetic lifestyles, pretty faces and easy-to-digest information. It’s easier to care about simple stuff rather than scientific, complicated things.

Another reason is that most scientists don’t like being in the spotlight. There are studies that have identified the personality traits of people most likely to become scientists. They’re mostly reserved, introverted and like to have privacy. Even if we gave them that much attention, they wouldn’t be so excited to be followed by paparazzi all day or get invited to events every weekend. They’re busy people, which explains why they haven’t attracted the media the same way that performers have.

Also, it’s not as if we could make a worldwide announcement and say: “From now on, every human is commanded to idolize scientists and make them their No.1 choice of attention.” People have free will and the right to be interested in whatever they want to be. Unfortunately, no one can make you instantly interested in science. Even if you care about science’s contributions and you want to give scientists more recognition, you can’t do it only by your will to do better.

Therefore, it’s very unlikely that scientists will ever become the “celebrities” of modern days. Even in the middle of a pandemic, science is still not as popular as entertainment. However, interest in science has definitely risen since the pandemic began. Studies have shown that young people are more interested in a scientific career as a result of COVID-19. 

The pandemic has also made known some scientists who have suddenly started appearing on TV and guiding us on how to get protected from this deadly virus. We didn’t know who Dr. Anthony Fauci was before March 2020, and now he is recognized as “America’s Doctor”.  All the scientists who emerged the past year have gained public recognition due to unprecedented circumstances but still didn’t see their bank account growing.

Maybe that’s the start of the development of a different point of view against science for future generations. It would be extremely interesting to witness the world waking up and realizing the exceptional contribution of scientists.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Is Entertainment More Important Than Science?

The Daily Nexus

April 1, 2021

by Athina Mihalopoulos

The whole world revolves around them: actors, singers, models, athletes and TV personalities. If I scroll through Instagram, Snapchat or any social media newsfeed, I get too familiar. 

整个世界都围绕着他们：演员、歌手、模特、运动员和电视明星。如果我刷Instagram、Snapchat或任何社交媒体新闻推送，我就会觉得太熟悉了。

revolve around sb/sth

表示“以…为中心；以…为主题；围绕…”，英文解释为“to have someone or something as the main or most important interest or subject”举个🌰：

The conversation revolved around childcare problems.

这次会谈的中心议题是儿童保育方面的问题。

personality

除了表示“性格，个性”，还可以表示“名人，名流”，英文解释为“a famous person”举个🌰：

The show is hosted by a popular TV personality.

该节目由一位广受欢迎的电视名人主持。

scroll

表示“滚动；滚屏”，英文解释为“to move text or other information on a computer screen in order to see a different part of it”举个🌰：

Scroll to the end of the document.

滚动至文件的最后。

🎬电影《兔子洞》（Rabbit Hole）中的台词提到：Scroll down with your finger. 用手指向下滑动。

newsfeed

表示“动态消息，新闻推送，新闻源”，英文解释为“a web page or screen that updates (= changes) often to show the latest news or information”举个🌰：

LabSpaces has all of the features of a social-networking site with the addition of a daily science newsfeed.

“实验室空间”拥有社交网站的所有功能，并增加了每日科学新闻推送。

I have nothing against the entertainment industry and celebrities. I think they’re talented in their field and do a lot of good with their work. What I can’t see is what their big contribution to the world is other than entertainment. It seems as if entertainment has become a first priority and the uttermost thing that the world cares about. 

我不反对娱乐业和明星。我认为他们在自己的领域很有天赋，工作做得很好。我看不到的是，除了娱乐，他们对世界的巨大贡献是什么。似乎娱乐已经成为第一要务，也是世界最关心的事情。

other than

表示“不同于；除了”，英文解释为“different from or except”举个🌰：

Cruises other than the ones listed below are not discounted at this time.

除了下面列出的乘船游览项目以外，其他项目没有折扣。

The problem is that by idolizing the entertainment industry so much, we sometimes completely forget about the things that are truly important and that are changing our world. The screen that you’re reading this from right now wouldn’t have existed if someone hadn’t discovered how the wavelengths of light work. The same thing goes for when you FaceTime a loved one from the other side of the globe, or how you can leave LA and be in NY in under six hours. These are all things that are taken for granted now but are made possible by hard work and years of studying done by specific scientists, most of whom probably receive little recognition for their accomplishments.

问题是，由于过度崇拜娱乐业，我们有时会完全忘记那些真正重要的、正在改变我们世界的事情。如果没有人发现光的波长是如何工作的，你现在正在阅读这篇文章的屏幕就不会存在。当你与来自地球另一端的爱人进行视频通话时，或者你如何在六个小时内从洛杉矶到纽约时，情况也是如此。这些都是现在被认为理所当然的事情，但通过特定科学家的辛勤工作和多年研究，这些事情才成为可能，其中大多数科学家的成就可能很少得到认可。

idolize

idolize /ˈaɪ.dəl.aɪz/ 表示“把…当偶像，十分崇拜”，英文解释为“to admire and respect someone very much, often too much”举个🌰：

She idolized her father.

她十分崇拜她的父亲。

take sth for granted

表示“认为…是理所当然的”，英文解释为“to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it”举个🌰：

I didn't realize that she hadn't been to college - I suppose I just took it for granted.

我不知道她没上大学——我只是想当然地认为她上过了。

Here’s an example. You probably know who Leonardo DiCaprio is — a very talented American actor and film producer — who has gifted the world with some of the most successful films in history. But then you probably don’t know who Cori Bargmann is. Bargmann is a scientist who is uncovering the causes of Alzheimer’s and autism, which have been unknown for years. Both are very talented in their fields; however, it’s logical to argue that Bargmann’s contribution to the world is much more important. 

举个例子。你可能知道莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥（Leonardo DiCaprio）是谁——一位非常有才华的美国演员和电影制片人——他为世界带来了历史上最成功的一些电影。但是你可能不知道柯里·巴格曼（Cori Bargmann）是谁。巴格曼是一位科学家，她正在揭露阿尔茨海默氏症和自闭症的原因，这些原因多年来一直不为人知。两人在各自的领域都非常有才华；然而，认为巴格曼对世界的贡献要重要得多是合乎逻辑的。

uncover

表示“揭露，发现（秘密或隐藏物）；揭开（覆盖物）”，英文解释为“to discover something secret or hidden or remove something covering something else”举个🌰：

The investigation uncovered evidence of a large-scale illegal trade in wild birds.

调查发现了大规模非法交易野生鸟类的证据。

🎬电影《弯伦》（Machete）中的台词提到：We need to uncover and dismantle this network. 我们必须揭露并且除掉这个网络。

autism

autism /ˈɔː.tɪ.zəm/ 表示“孤独症；自闭症”，英文解释为“a condition that starts in young children and typically causes behaviour that is unusually centred on the self while limiting the development of social and communication skills”举个🌰：

Autism is four times more common in boys than in girls.

男孩子患自闭症的发病率是女孩子的4倍。

What I think is wrong here, though, is that DiCaprio’s net worth is $260 million dollars, while Bargmann’s is less than $1 million dollars. DiCaprio is definitely talented and has worked hard to give us such good films, but Bargmann is working for something that can save thousands of humans who are suffering. And just because our society prefers to idolize the entertainment industry instead of science and medicine, she gets paid much less than she deserves.

然而，我认为这里有问题的是，迪卡普里奥的净资产是2.6亿美元，而巴格曼的净资产不到100万美元。迪卡普里奥绝对有才华，并且努力为我们制作如此好的电影，但是巴格曼正在为拯救成千上万受苦受难的人而努力。仅仅因为我们的社会更喜欢把娱乐业当偶像崇拜，而不是科学和医学，她得到的报酬就远远低于她应得的。

Imagine if the money that every Hollywood actor and director makes went into medical research and pharmaceuticals. It would be so much easier for scientists to diagnose diseases and unknown viruses.

想象一下，如果每个好莱坞演员和导演赚的钱都花在医学研究和制药上。科学家诊断疾病和未知病毒会容易得多。

pharmaceutical

pharmaceutical /ˌfɑːməˈsjuːtɪkəl/ 作形容词，表示“制药的；配药的；卖药的”，英文解释为“connected with making and selling drugs and medicines”，如：pharmaceutical products 药物，pharmaceutical companies 制药公司，the pharmaceutical industry 制药业。

也可以直接作名词，常用复数，pharmaceuticals表示“药品，药物，药剂”，英文解释为“a medicine”。

So, if it would benefit the world so much to invest all of our time and attention toward scientists, why don’t we do it? Why don’t we make scientists our new “celebrities,” if they are the ones that deserve it the most? I believe that there are plenty of reasons that stop this vision from becoming a reality.

因此，如果把我们所有的时间和注意力都投入到科学家身上会让世界受益匪浅，我们为什么不这样做呢？如果科学家是最值得关注的人，我们为什么不把他们作为我们新的“名人”呢？我相信有很多原因阻止这一愿景成为现实。

First of all, we like being entertained. Most people might not praise scientists because it’s not something entertaining. People will care more about the latest drama of Charli D’Amelio or Brad Pitt’s upcoming new movie, rather than NASA’s most current space exploration that might change the way we live our lives. That’s not because we’re careless human beings. It’s because we simply like being entertained. We love aesthetic lifestyles, pretty faces and easy-to-digest information. It’s easier to care about simple stuff rather than scientific, complicated things.

首先，我们喜欢被娱乐。大多数人可能不会称赞科学家，因为这不是娱乐性的东西。人们会更关心查理·德阿梅里奥（Charli D’Amelio）或布拉德·皮特（Brad Pitt）即将上映的新电影的最新剧情，而不是美国航天局（NASA）可能改变我们生活方式的最新太空探索。这不是因为我们不在乎，而是因为我们只喜欢被娱乐。我们喜欢美的生活方式、漂亮的脸蛋和易于消化的信息。关心简单的事情比关心科学、复杂的事情更容易。

aesthetic

aesthetic /iːsˈθetɪk；esˈθetɪk/ 表示“审美的；有审美观点的；美学的”，英文解释为“concerned with beauty and art and the understanding of beautiful things”，如：an aesthetic appreciation of the landscape 用审美的眼光欣赏风景。

Another reason is that most scientists don’t like being in the spotlight. There are studies that have identified the personality traits of people most likely to become scientists. They’re mostly reserved, introverted and like to have privacy. Even if we gave them that much attention, they wouldn’t be so excited to be followed by paparazzi all day or get invited to events every weekend. They’re busy people, which explains why they haven’t attracted the media the same way that performers have.

另一个原因是，大多数科学家不喜欢成为聚光灯下的焦点。有研究发现，最有可能成为科学家的人的性格特征。他们大多拘谨、内向，喜欢有隐私。即使我们给予他们那么多关注，他们也不会因为整天被狗仔队跟踪或每个周末被邀请参加活动而特别开心。他们很忙，这解释了为什么他们没有像明星那样吸引媒体。

spotlight

1）作名词，除了聚光灯，还可以表示“媒体和公众的注意”，英文解释为“attention from newspapers, television and the public”举个🌰：

Unemployment is once again in the spotlight.

失业问题再次受到人们的关注。

2）作动词，表示“特别关注，突出报道（以使公众注意）”，英文解释为“to give special attention to a problem, situation, etc. so that people notice it”举个🌰：

The programme spotlights problems in the health service.

节目突出报道了公共医疗机构的问题。

📺动画片《鲍勃汉堡店》（Bob's Burgers）中的台词提到：You couldn't share the spotlight with Francis, could you? 你无法忍受弗兰西斯抢你风头是吧？

trait

表示“特征，特性，品质”，英文解释为“a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour”举个🌰：

His sense of humour is one of his better traits.

具有幽默感是他更讨人喜欢的特点之一。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述比特币的文章中提到：Scarcity is a trait of many things that are perceived to have value. 稀缺性正是许多被视为有价值的事物共有的特征。

reserved

表示“拘谨；矜持；内向”，英文解释为“Reserved people do not often talk about or show their feelings or thoughts.”如：a quiet, reserved woman 一位安静、矜持的女子。

introverted

introverted /ˈɪntrəvɜːtɪd/ 表示“内向的；不喜欢交往的”，英文解释为“Introverted people are quiet and shy and find it difficult to talk to other people.”

paparazzi

单数 paparazzo /ˌpæpəˈrætsəʊ/，通常用复数 paparazzi /ˌpæpəˈrætsɪ/ 表示“追逐名人的摄影记者，狗仔队”，英文解释为“photographers who follow famous people in order to take photographs they can sell to newspapers”。

Also, it’s not as if we could make a worldwide announcement and say: “From now on, every human is commanded to idolize scientists and make them their No.1 choice of attention.” People have free will and the right to be interested in whatever they want to be. Unfortunately, no one can make you instantly interested in science. Even if you care about science’s contributions and you want to give scientists more recognition, you can’t do it only by your will to do better.

此外，我们也不能在全球范围内宣布：“从现在开始，每个人都必须以科学家为偶像，让他们成为他们受关注的首选。”人们有自由意志和权利对他们想要的东西感兴趣。不幸的是，没有人能让你立刻对科学感兴趣。即使你关心科学的贡献，你想给科学家更多的认可，你也不能仅仅依靠你的意愿来做得更好。

command

1）表示“命令，指示”，英文解释为“to give someone an order”举个🌰：

He commanded that the troops (should) cross the water.

他命令部队渡河。

2）表示“指挥；统帅；管辖”，英文解释为“to control someone or something and tell him, her, or it what to do”

3）熟词僻义，表示“应得，值得”，英文解释为“to deserve and get something good, such as attention, respect, or a lot of money”举个🌰：

She was one of those teachers who just commanded respect.

她是那些值得尊敬的老师中的一位。

She commands one of the highest fees per film in Hollywood.

她是好莱坞片酬最高的演员之一。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述当今汽车产业的文章中提到：The only firm that commands their confidence is Tesla, an electric-car specialist, whose shares are up by 64% this year. 唯一能赢得投资者信心的公司是专做电动汽车的特斯拉，它的股票今年上涨了64%。

Therefore, it’s very unlikely that scientists will ever become the “celebrities” of modern days. Even in the middle of a pandemic, science is still not as popular as entertainment. However, interest in science has definitely risen since the pandemic began. Studies have shown that young people are more interested in a scientific career as a result of COVID-19. 

因此，科学家不太可能成为现代的“名人”。即使在疫情期间，科学仍然不如娱乐那么受欢迎。然而，自疫情以来，对科学的兴趣肯定已经上升。研究表明，由于新冠病毒，年轻人对科学生涯更感兴趣。

The pandemic has also made known some scientists who have suddenly started appearing on TV and guiding us on how to get protected from this deadly virus. We didn’t know who Dr. Anthony Fauci was before March 2020, and now he is recognized as “America’s Doctor”.  All the scientists who emerged the past year have gained public recognition due to unprecedented circumstances but still didn’t see their bank account growing.

这场疫情还让一些突然开始出现在电视上的科学家出名，并指导我们如何保护自己免受这种致命病毒的侵害。在2020年3月之前，我们不知道安东尼·福奇博士（Dr. Anthony Fauci）是谁，现在他被公认为“美国医生”。过去一年中出现的所有科学家都因前所未有的情况而获得公众认可，但他们的银行账户仍然没有增长。

unprecedented

表示“史无前例的，空前的；绝无仅有的”，英文解释为“never having happened or existed in the past”举个🌰：

This century has witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale.

环境在本世纪遭到了空前的破坏。

🎬电影《星运里的错》（The Fault in Our Stars）中的台词提到：You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are. 你太忙于做自己 都没有意识到自己是那么的令人心动。

Maybe that’s the start of the development of a different point of view against science for future generations. It would be extremely interesting to witness the world waking up and realizing the exceptional contribution of scientists.

也许这就是子孙后代对科学的不同观点发展的开始。如果能见证世界觉醒并意识到科学家的杰出贡献，那将是极其有趣的。

exceptional

表示“（尤指在技能、才智、品质等方面）卓越的，杰出的，不同凡响的”，英文解释为“much greater than usual, especially in skill, intelligence, quality, etc.”如：an exceptional student 出类拔萃的学生。

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