和大家分享一篇Ernest Rutherford的文章：一个另类的学生
首先介绍一下Ernest Rutherford, 他是近代原子核物理之父，是1908年的诺奖获得者。由于他没有在我们高中物理课本上提及，所以很多人并不知道，他是和牛顿，法拉第齐名的物理学家。但是这不是他最大的成就，他更大的成就在于，他培养的学生和助手中，有12个获得了诺奖，包括我们现在提及的这位odd student。不想这么早剧透了，看看Rutherford怎么认识这位奇人并写下了这个故事。
One day I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for this answer to a physical problem, while the student claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agrreed to ask for an impartial arbiter, and I was selected. I read the examination problem:\"Show how it is possilbe to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer\" The student had answered:\"Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of all the builing.\"
我不想在这里给出中文，是希望读者能够仔细看这一段。大意就是：Rutherford接到同事一电话，说他的一个学生有个物理题的回答他觉得不正确想给他零蛋，但是学生却声明这个回答完美应该满分。于是两个人相持不下，只能叫一个公正的仲裁者，就挑中了Rutherford。 Ruthford读了考试题：用一个气压计来计算一个高楼的楼高到底有多少的可能方式。该学生回答：拿着气压计来到高楼的楼顶，将一根绳子系在气压计上，然后把它放低到街上，然后把它拉上来，测量一下绳子的长度，就知道大楼有多高了。
The student really had a strong case for full marks since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! On the other hand, if full marks were given, it could well contribute a high grade in his physics course and certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he hadn\'t written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer, which read:\"Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then using the physical formula, calculating the height of the building.\"
我们的Rutherford亲临试场，去检验这个学生是否是真的不知道问题的答案。这个学生的回答让老师非常矛盾，矛盾之处在于，他回答得很完整而且正确，因此有着充分的理由拿到这道题的分数；但是另一方面，如果这个高分给了他，就应该能证明其在物理方面有竞争力，然后显然，答案又无法证明这一点。于是Rutherford吃不准了，打算给他另一次机会，明辨真伪。他给了他6分钟来重新回答这个题目，同时警告其需要给出一个能够显示出物理方面知识的答案。在最后5分钟，这个学生还没有写任何东西。Rutherford问他是否打算放弃，学生却回答：对这道题，他有太多的答案了。他只是在想着最好的那个答案。于是Rutherford还为自己打断他的行为而道了歉，并让他继续。在后面一分钟，他匆忙写下了答案，是这样的：把气压计带到高楼顶部，让它靠在天花板上，然后让其掉落，用秒表测算它掉落的时间，用物理公式，来计算出这个大楼的高度。
At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full marks. While leaving my colleagues\'s office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were. \"Well,\" saild the student, \"there are many ways of getting the height of the building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and the use of the simple proportion, determining the height of the building.\"
这时候，Rutherford问他的同事是否他愿意放弃了。最后，他的同事妥协了，给了这个学生几乎满分的成绩。当Rutherford离开同事的办公室的时候，回忆起那个学生曾经说这个题目，他还有别的答案，于是他大概出于好奇心，就去问了他。学生说：“的确有很多种用气压计测量大楼高度的方式。比如说，你可以在晴天把气压计带出去，测量它影子的长度，同时测量大楼影子的长度。用简单的比例关系就可以确定大楼的高度。”
\"Fine,\" I said, \"and others?\"
\"Yes,\" said the student, \"There is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of the marks, and this will give you the height of the building in a barometer unit.\"
\"A very direct method.\"
显然，这时候Rutherford有了兴趣，继续发问：还有别的吗？学生答：当然有啦。有一种非常简单的方式。这种方法，你可以走楼梯，然后把气压计的长度记录在墙上，然后计算一共有多少个标记，你就知道大楼有多少个气压计高度。Rutherford想，这的确是一种非常直接的方式。
\"And you also could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the build by the period of the precession.
学生继续提供另一种方式，你也可以把气压计拿到楼顶，系一根绳在上头，把它放低到离地面一定距离的地方，然后像一个钟摆一样地摇晃它，这样，你可以通过计算摆动周期来计算出大楼的高度。
这时候，估计Rutherford心里想，这个孩子真有点不简单了。但是他没有打断他。继续听他说。
\"Finally,\" he concluded, \"there are many other ways of solving the problem.\"
\"Probably the best,\" he said, \"is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent\'s door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follow, \'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer.\'\"
这个学生最后又提供了一种他认为最好的。”你拿着这个气压计到地下室敲开看门人的屋子，当看门人回答时，你就说：看门人先生，这里有一支很好的气压计，如果你肯告诉我大楼的高度，我就把它给你了。“
看到这里我总是忍俊不禁，看起来这个学生哪怕从商都是一块好材料的。但是也能感受到他内心深刻的叛逆和反抗意识。
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.
The name of the student was Bohr who later was famous all over the world. The Dane won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.
这时候，Rutherford问他是否真的不知道这道题目的传统答案。学生承认他是知道的，但是他说他受够了高中和大学的老师来教他怎么去思考。
这名另类学生的名字在此终于揭晓了，他的名字是玻尔，世界知名的物理学家。那个曾经在光的本性的探讨中和爱因斯坦持相反意见的光的波动论的奠基者，1922年获得诺奖的丹麦人。当然，最重要的，他也是Rutherford众多成功学生中的一个。
这里我们感慨的是Rutherford这个伯乐又发现了一个奇才，还是感慨一下，奇才就是这么另类，无论何时都要闪现一下自己身上与众不同的光芒？
同时，我也在深度思索，作为家长培养孩子的方向在哪里？是成为一个听老实话的孩子，老师说什么都信奉为真理的孩子，还是一个敢于挑战传统，敢于怀疑现状的孩子？当然，天才孩子也毕竟需要底气的，但是，这种敢于怀疑传统的精神和理念还是值得我们这种哪怕是凡人家庭去学习，因为成功的第一步一定是敢于突破，绝不是安于现状的人能够做到的。
