Knowledge and progress
原文
Lesson 22
Knowledge and progress
In what two areas have people made no 'progress' at all?
Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world?
Surely because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around us
and is becoming more and more manifest.
Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality,
it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge.
Knowledge began to increase as soon as the thoughts of one individual
could be communicated to another by means of speech.
With the invention of writing, a great advance was made,
for knowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored.
Libraries made education possible, and education in its turn added to libraries:
the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound interest law,
which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing.
All this was comparatively slow until, with the coming of science,
the tempo was suddenly raised.
Then knowledge began to be accumulated according to a systematic plan.
The trickle became a stream: the stream has now become a torrent.
Moreover, as soon as new knowledge is acquired, it is now turned to practical account.
What is called 'modern civilization'
is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature,
but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life.
The problem now facing humanity is:
What is going to be done with all this knowledge?
As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon
which can be used equally for good or evil.
It is now being used indifferently for both.
Could any spectacle, for instance, be more grimly whimsical
than that of gunners using science to shatter men's bodies
while, close at hand, surgeons use it to restore them?
We have to ask ourselves very seriously
what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge,
with its ever-increasing power, continues.
译文
第22课
知识与进步
在哪些领域，人们完全没有取得任何进展？
为什么“进步”的概念在现代社会中显得如此重要（或者说，为什么人们对“进步”的追求如此强烈）？
肯定是因为某种形式的进步正在我们周围实实在在地发生着。
而且这种现象正变得越来越明显（或：这种现象正逐渐变得清晰可见）。
尽管人类的智力或道德水平并没有普遍性的提升，
在知识的积累方面，它取得了非凡的进展。
一旦某个人的思想能够通过语言传达给另一个人，知识就开始增加了。
通过语言的方式。
随着文字的发明，人类社会取得了巨大的进步。
这样一来，知识不仅可以被传播，还可以被储存起来。
图书馆使教育成为可能，而教育又反过来促进了图书馆的发展（即促进了图书馆资源的丰富与建设）。
知识的增长遵循了一种类似于“复利”的规律。
这一情况因印刷术的发明而得到了极大的促进。
在科学出现之前，所有这些发展都相对缓慢。
节奏突然加快了。
于是，知识开始按照系统的计划被逐步积累起来。
起初只是细小的水流，后来逐渐汇聚成了一条小溪；如今，这条小溪已经变成了湍急的急流。
此外，一旦获得了新的知识，就会立即将其应用于实际中。
所谓的'现代文明'
这并不是人类所有天性得到平衡发展的结果。
而是积累的知识应用于实际生活的结果。
人类现在面临的问题是：
这些知识将会被用来做什么呢？
正如人们经常指出的那样，知识是一把双刃剑。
既可以用于行善，也可以用于作恶。
而现在，它被不加区分地用于这两种目的。
比如说，还有哪种场景能比这更加荒诞、又充满阴郁的幽默感呢？
炮手们利用科学来摧毁人体，
而近在咫尺的外科医生却用它来修复人体？
我们必须非常严肃地问自己一个问题。
如果这种对知识的双重使用，
在其力量不断增强的情况下继续下去，会发生什么？