如歌的行板：东方之珠我的爱人

摘要：I believe, many other fellow students, brothers, and sisters, who sat in the same classroom as me once did, have also benefited a great deal from the the days with you. It is from you that we sensed, in a genuine way, there could be so many possibilities -- instead of simply other-directedness -- in one's mental life, for a young person in a bckward region.　查看全文

摘要：(本文转自smth)等到成 为青年教师的时候，零字班的学生已经不需要我来告诉他们清华的东西南北了。好在一 位清华的老教师说过：燕子去了，有再来的时候；杨柳枯了，有再青的时候；桃花谢了， 有再开的时候。于是我暗下决心：等下一个零字班，当班主任。 当然，后来发现我的自然常识课没有学好，因为燕子再来用不着等那么久。结果， 我就成了一字班的班主任。只是，当时我还年轻，不知道为人师表的诸多凶险。　查看全文

摘要：Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.　查看全文

本周一去钓墨鱼。这是MSSS（大陆学生学者联谊会）一年一度的传统节目。晚风习习，我们从科大的码头踏上帆船出海。在夜色中尽情拥抱海风，感受海洋的深沉，顺便钓钓墨鱼。
In Wikipedia, the explanation of cuttlefish is:

Cuttlefish are animals of the order Sepiida, and are marine cephalopods, small relatives of squids and nautilus.

... ...

Cuttlefish are sometimes called the chameleon of the sea because of their remarkable ability to rapidly alter their skin color. Their skin flashes a fast-changing pattern as communication to other individual of the same species, as well as serving as camouflage from predators.

钓墨鱼,乃是借助于灯光吸引墨鱼,鱼钩很普通,不用诱饵.两三个小时内,有经验的人可以钓十几条,很多人则两手空空.大家开玩笑说可能是rpwt吧.

刚出锅的墨鱼味道很鲜美.不过我只吃了两块. 后来在舱顶上和挚友对着海面chat, 很惬意.

摘要：穷人家的快乐也许是很多人永远无法理解的，Billy Elliot让我领悟到这种快乐是属于全世界的穷人的，无论国籍文化，无论职业阶层。　查看全文

摘要：For some friends, this joke is still 2222222222 old, while for me, it is rather provoking. The elegancy of the program lies in the example given by the MIT students: " One useful purpose for such a program is to auto-generate submissions to conferences that you suspect might have very low submission standards.　查看全文

摘要：Click to listen to the funny presentation about Chinese and Indian　查看全文

摘要：While I am extremely busy at the very moment, my blog has been so ill-managed that the pages are in turmoil, the framework is very ugly, and the content is outdate-- everything is far from satisfactory. Of course I have full reason to blame Blogchina.com who conducted a totally unsuccessful system upgrading. Yet my laziness is something cannot be simply overlooked in a self-rightours way.　查看全文

If You Forget Me ~ Pablo Neruda I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everything carries me to you, as if everythin that exists: aromas, light, metals, were little boats that sail toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.



But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

摘要：A ray of hope flitters in the sky A shiny star lights up way up high All across the land dawns a brand new morn This comes to pass when a child is born　查看全文

摘要：I read Chinese version of this prestigious prose poem "Youth" by Samuel Ullman nine yeas ago, when I was a junior middle school student. I love this essay. For years, it has been my permanent motto. Every day I recite it for several times. Today I want to share it with all my dear friends.The spirit explicitly exhibited in "Youth" shall inspire us to push limits, to seek responses in times of uncertainty, and to fulfill our "unfading childlike dreams."　查看全文

摘要：早晨九点跟随科大的大部队出发，11:30才到达长洲。很爽，很诗意的一个小岛。海风柔柔的，空气清新入脾，到处绿意葱茏。拍了很多照片，上传了一部分：http://community.webshots.com/album/312680959zgIOmp 去的地方主要有：张保仔藏宝洞、长洲花园、关公忠义寺、东湾沙滩、石刻、北帝庙.wikipedia 都有详细介绍,照片远远比语言丰富哦,欢迎浏览我的像册　查看全文

摘要：hiking club发邮件称"长洲是一个著名渔港.可游览的地方有海盗张保仔藏宝洞和柱栋精雕细刻的北帝庙.此庙藏有古剑一柄. 岛上风光如画,东湾水清沙幼... 没有汽车,只有十分偕意怡情的明朗小径."　查看全文

To A.P. Kern
by : Alexander Pushkin (1799 - 1837), Henry Gibson

I remember a wonderful moment
As before my eyes you appeared,
Like a vision, fleeting, momentary,
Like a spirit of the purest beauty.

In the torture of hopeless melancholy,
In the bustle of the world's noisy hours,
That voice rang out so tenderly,
I dreamed of that lovely face of yours.

The years flew quickly. The storm's blast
Scattered the dreams of former times,
And I forgot your tender voice,
And the features of your heavenly face.

In remoteness, in gloomy isolation,
My days dragged quietly, nothing was new,
No godlike face, no inspiration,
No tears, no life, no love, no you.

Then to my soul an awakening came,
And there again your face appeared,
Like a vision, fleeting, momentary,
Like a spirit of the purest beauty.

And my heart beat with a rapture new,
And for its sake arose again
A godlike face, an inspiration,
And life, and tears, and love, and you.

我记得那美妙的一瞬：
在我的面前出现了你，
有如昙花一现的幻想，
有如纯洁之美的天仙。

在那无望的忧愁的折磨中，
在那喧闹的浮华生活的困扰中，
我的耳边长久地响着你温柔的声音，
我还在睡梦中见到你可爱的倩影。

许多年过去了，暴风骤雨般的微笑
驱散了往日的梦想，
于是我忘却了你温柔的声音，
还有你那天仙似的的倩影。

在穷乡僻壤，在囚禁的阴暗生活中，
我的日子就那样静静地消逝，
没有倾心的人，没有诗的灵感，
没有眼泪，没有生命，也没有爱情。

如今心灵以开始苏醒：
这时在我面前又重新出现了你，
有如昙花一现的幻影，
有如纯洁之美的天仙。

我的心在狂喜中跳跃，
心中的一切又重新苏醒，
有了倾心的人，有了诗的灵感，
有了生命，有了眼泪，也有了爱情。

戈宝权译

It is a shame I cannot tell the name of plants while hiking. Now that I am warming up GRE vocabulary, it becomes even more worthwhile to invest some time on it.

1. Natural Vegetation in Hong Kong 香港的植被 （Copyright: HK nature net）
Common plants: Psychotria asiatica 九節,Machilus chekiangensis 浙江潤楠,
Hibiscus tiliaceus 黃槿,Dicranopteris pedata 芒萁

香港的植被

文：香港植物標本室

由於長期受到人類活動的影響，香港的原生植被早已不復存在。現存的植被是戰後經過半個世紀恢復起來的次生林。主要的植被群落大致可分為樹林、灌叢和草地三種，而小型的群落則在淡水及海岸環境等特殊生境出現。

樹林

香港島扯旗山的樹林

南亞熱帶常綠闊葉林為香港的主要植被，以大戟科、山欖科、桑科、梧桐科、桃金娘科、殼斗科、樟科和山茶科為優勢 科，根據生態外貌和種類組成特徵可分為河岸林、低地林、低山林和山地林。河岸林常見於溝谷河溪兩旁和低窪地，主要的種類有水翁、蒲桃、秋楓和香港算盤子。 低地林分布於海拔300-400米以下的山麓或溝谷，以大戟科、桑科、山欖科、桃金娘科為優勢科，主要樹種有榕樹、黃桐、山蒲桃、五月茶、九節、土沉香 等。低山林主要分布於海拔300-800米的山地，以樟科、殼斗科和山茶科為優勢科，主要樹種有紅楠、短序潤楠、浙江潤楠、黃樟、木荷、羅浮錐等。山地林 主要分布於海拔700-1 00米的山地，以殼斗科、山茶科、木蘭科和金縷梅科為主，主要種類有落瓣油茶、厚皮香、木蓮、五列木等。

蓮澳風水林

在古老的村落後方或廟宇附近常有面積小但種類豐富的「風水林」，村民因需要保護當地的風水，不僅不會破壞其中的樹木，還會時常加以保護，使許多物種能在這些樹林中繁衍生息。村民也有添種其他樹木，種類包括土沉香、樟樹、果樹如龍眼、荔枝和蒲桃，以及大竹叢。

香港的天然山坡亦種植了不少人工林，主要種類有臺灣相思、馬尾松、濕地松、桉樹、紅膠木等，而近年山坡植樹亦較多採用一些本地樹種，包括浙江潤楠、黧蒴錐及木荷等。

本港的竹林主要由灌木型散生竹組成，常見的種類有篲竹、托竹、華箬竹等。

馬鞍山的草地生境

大嶼山鳳凰山的灌叢生境

灌叢和草地

灌叢在香港分布面積較大，主要有崗松、桃金娘、大頭茶群落。草地主要有刺芒野古草、青香茅、芒萁群落及芒、纖毛鴨咀草群落。

海岸生境

西貢大灣的沙灘

米埔的紅樹林

香港的海岸長而多灣，有頗多能適應海邊環境的植物生長。在沙灘上，植物的分布多成帶狀。近海的一方，常見的品種為厚藤、單葉蔓荊、鬣刺及滷地菊，屬 先鋒植物，有固沙作用。向陸地的一方可見灌木如苦郎樹、露兜樹及草海桐。在灘頂則可見大型灌木或喬木如黃槿、血桐及海芒果等。在石灘或散石灘頂，常有如天 門冬、雞眼藤等藤本植物及如草海桐、露兜樹及刺葵等灌木生長。在泥灘上，常見海欖雌屬、桐花樹屬、海漆屬及紅樹科植物。沿海常見矮小的紅樹林，主要有秋 茄、桐花樹、海欖雌群落、老鼠群落和鹵蕨群落。

雨季時的山澗

旱季時的山澗

淡水生境

本港的河溪通常較短小，但水流湍急，在夏季雨天時，水位會突然高漲，但在冬季旱天時，水位則低，有時只留下一些小水漥。長在溪邊或河床淺灘上的植物有天胡荽屬、丁香蓼屬、蓼屬、菖蒲屬及谷精草屬植物。

一些香港常見的野生植物

Psychotria asiatica 九節 ─ 香港林地的常見灌木	Machilus chekiangensis 浙江潤楠 ─ 香港樹林常見樹種
Hibiscus tiliaceus 黃槿 ─ 香港海岸生境常見植物	Dicranopteris pedata 芒萁 ─ 香港山坡常見植物

摘要：When the child was a child It walked with its arms swinging, wanted the brook to be a river, the river to be a torrent, and this puddle to be the sea. When the child was a child, it didn't know that it was a child, everything was soulful, and all souls were one.　查看全文

Oooops, it has been nearly one month since my personal blog was attacked by some illegal users. This blog has not been updated for a terribly long period. Today, when I tried to access my administration tools page, wow, it works! I sincerely thank you, my dear readers, it is your warm feedback that spurs me to share my pieces of ideas with you.

I went hiking to Tai Mo Shan（大帽山), the highest mountain in Hong Kong last Sunday. It was sunny, and everything seemed too good to be true. As Hong Kong's highest mountain, Tai Mo Shan dominates the central New Territories north of Kowloon, and is rather near to Chinese University of Hong Kong. This journey, which turned out to be very long and painstaking, is, however, incredibly beautiful. We sang one song after another in the forests. We also took many wonderful pictures. Please click here to have a look at them:

http://community.webshots.com/album/290042799iXRXdK

摘要：Its territory may be small in size, but Hong Kong's achievements are substantial. Hong Kong's gross domestic income per capita was US$24,690 in 2002 - more than that of Canada, France, and Germany. At the heart of Hong Kong's success is its economic system, which for the last three decades was the freest in the world.　查看全文

用了一段时间了，慢慢发现现在听音乐已经习惯于用foobar2000了, winamp备受冷落。 foobar2000十分简单但不简陋，外观极尽朴素之能事。它很swift and smart, 对内存的利用也很有效率，提供了大部分用户最常用的一些功能. 下面是网上的一段介绍：

foobar2000 是由winamp的主要开发人员Peter Pawlowski开发的一款音频播放软件， Peter Pawlowski由于不满winamp的开发方向而离开了winamp开发团队。Foobar播放界面虽然简单，不像Winamp有很多Skin，它能 提供非常好的音质，且不需要像Winamp那样需要借助外部的类似于DFX的音效插件。

感兴趣的朋友可以到http://www.foobar2000.org/ 下载。

Features

• Open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player
• Audio formats supported "out-of-the-box": WAV, AIFF, VOC, AU, SND, Ogg Vorbis, MPC, MP2, MP3, MPEG-4 AAC
• Audio formats supported through official addons: FLAC, OggFLAC, Monkey's Audio, WavPack, Speex, CDDA, TFMX, SPC, various MOD types; extraction on-the-fly from RAR, 7-ZIP & ZIP archives
• Full Unicode support on Windows NT
• ReplayGain support
• Low memory footprint, efficient handling of really large playlists
• Advanced file info processing capabilities (generic file info box and masstagger)
• Highly customizable playlist display
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts
• Most of standard components are opensourced under BSD license (source included with the SDK)

又开学了，这学期一共选了4门PG courses, 四位教授都挺牛的，容我今后慢慢介绍。

上午听了Prof. Xiuli Cao的课，很mathematical的，有趣。 Cao的名头甚响，很有牛相，也是一个十分有趣的人, I really enjoying working with him.

准备本周末请假回上海过春节，一周左右。因为是personal arragement，上海的朋友们，我到时候可能不和你们联系了，请原谅。

也祝各位朋友春节快乐！

昨晚去旺角永成买DC，看了十分钟就喜欢上了Canon A95, HK$2680拿下。回来HKUST已经是深夜了，匆忙间在tower拍了几张。今天很想拍照，香港大雾弥漫, RH(空气相对湿度)94%. 行走在校园中，有一种"吞云吐雾"的妙处。可惜间有小雨，一手拿伞，一手握相机，诸多不便。镜头也被屡屡打湿。

如果你的电脑显示本文图片有困难，请按这里

"一个清华学生在香港留学时的心灵震撼"一文作者starrycao在我的blog上留言，指出这篇已经火爆了两年的文章和原文有一定差异，并且被删去了部分内容。

这里贴出此文的最原始链接(北大未名bbs海外学子版)，大家不妨一读：

1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.

附starrycao的评论：

这是我在2002年初写的一系列文章， 最初发表在北大bbs上，
没多久我就到了美国读博士，
这次寒假回国，才有同学告诉我被到处转载，
在google上都可以查出若干链接。同时还有两本以上的杂志转载。
很高兴文章到今天还有反响，
但可气的是网友们转载都不标出处，似乎当他们自己写的一样，还有这并不是我的全部原文，
有些段落被网友去掉了。
我已经找到两个杂志社要了稿酬，
现在继续在网上打打假。读者可以直接和我email联系。caolethy@yahoo.com
看原文的途径是：
北大bbs(bbs.pku.edu.cn)--三角地－－海外学子－查询作者：starrycao.
还可以看到我的更多文章。

微软发布Internet Explore以来，尽管有多种版本，而且不断update，但总体上固步自封，没有突破性的举动。坊间也有多款浏览器推出，如Tencent Explore, My IE, GoSurf等。 但它们都是基于IE，摆脱不了IE在安全性、易用性等方面的固有缺陷。

2004 年底，FireFox突然闯入人们的视野，一时好评如潮，更有很多人干脆卸载掉Internet Explore，改投FireFox旗下。据统计,目前全世界使用FireFox浏览网页的用户已占网络用户总数的6.5%(《明报》报道).大家不妨看 看水木清华BBS就有一个讨论区，专门分享使用firefox的心得(http://proxy.smth.org/bbsdoc.php?board=Firefox)。

在此大好形势鼓舞下，Mozilla目标直指IE, 在其官方网页上称"Join more than 20 million others and make the switch today — FireFox imports your Favorites, settings and other information, so you have nothing to lose." 具体FireFox怎么样，大家下载(http://www.firefox.com)试试看就知道了，一定会有很多前所未有的惊喜。 这里有一篇IT.COM.CN上的文章比较详细地介绍了FireFox.

微软的IE浏览器自从6.0版本以后就没有更新过，最近还被暴出有不少安全漏洞，传说中的google浏览器到现在也还没有见到冰山一 角，但浏览器那么大的市场总会有人来争夺，现在Mozilla Foudation 推出了Firefox1.0，也加入了这一战团。

软件简介

软件名称： Mozilla Firefox1.0 中文版

运行环境： Windos/Linux/Mac OS（需安装对应版本）

软件大小： 4.68M（Windos版本）

软件下载：【立即点击下载】

软 件简介： 原来的Firebird浏览器，现在改名为Firefox。一款开源浏览器，运行速度快，支持多页面浏览、弹出广告过滤、方便的下载管理，并且具有强大的 插件扩展支持，可以极大的扩充浏览器的功能。目前的中文版是测试版本，非官方发布，某些菜单仍然为英文显示，正式发布的版本中还未包含中文版。

Mozilla Firefox是一款开源浏览器，如果你是一名软件开发人员，那么安装时可以选择自定义安装，这样会安装开发工具包，如果你是普通用户，只需要使用它来浏 览网页的话，那么按照软件默认的设置安装即可。图1是用Firefox浏览it.com的效果，简介明了。

图1

基本功能介绍

Firefox浏览器支持多页面浏览，打开网页的速度很快，在页面标签上单击鼠标滚轮（中键）就可以关闭该页面，使用起来简单方便，不过它不支持目前流行的鼠标手势功能，希望能在以后的版本中加入。

Firefox 可以过滤弹出式广告和activex控件，经笔者测试，可以有效的过滤3721，baidu等用户反应较多的控件，弹出式广告的过滤功能也很全面，过滤是 会像IE一样，在窗口的上方浮现一条黄色的警告带，提示你已经过滤的内容，单击该警告带可以进行进一步的设置。

浏览器界面的右上方设置有搜索栏，其中内置了google、yahoo和baidu mp3等常用的搜索引擎，选择一个搜索引擎，输入关键字便可直接搜索。（图2）

图2

书签是一个比较实用的功能，通过它你可以将你喜欢的网页或者未浏览的网页放入书签中，今后点击书签中相应的链接就可以快速回到你要浏览的网页了。

下载方面Firefox做的中规中矩，你可以指定你下载文件的存放目录，点击菜单栏上的"工具—>选项"，选择左侧的"下载"图标，可以更改下载存放的文件夹。（图3）

图3

软 件内置了一个简易的下载管理器，下载是你可以关闭下载窗口，此时下载任务不会中止，而改为在后台运行，下载完毕后系统任务栏上会浮现一个小窗口提示你下载 已完成。点击Firefox菜单栏上的"工具—>下载项"可以打开下载管理器，对下载完的文件进行操作。（图4）我查阅官方资料说Firefox支 持断点续传功能，可以经笔者实际使用下来似乎并不支持，也没有找到相关选项支持，可能正式版本中会支持吧。

图4

打造你的Firefox工具栏

Firefox 默认的工具条很简洁，只放置了几个最常用的按钮图标，你可以通过设置，放上你需要的按钮，使用起来会更加得心应手。右键点击工具栏，选择"定制"，然后在 定制工具栏面板中将你需要按钮拖放到工具栏即可，如果一条工具栏放不下所有的图标的话，在这里你还可以添加新的工具栏。

图5

超强的插件功能

Firefox 最重要的特性就是支持插件，通过安装插件可以极大的扩展Firefox的功能，在Firefox官方主页上有许多插件提供下载，而且由于它是一款开源软 件，全世界所有的开发人员都可以为Firefox开发插件，因此它插件的种类非常多。由于大多数插件是英文版本的，这里笔者为大家介绍几款很实用的插件。

插件的安装

将 下载下来的文件（后缀名位xpi的文件）放到Firefox安装目录的plugin文件夹中，然后打开Firefox，点击菜单栏的"文件—>打开 文件"，打开插件文件，会弹出一个软件安装窗口，提示你发现插件，按"立即安装"，安装完毕后会提示你需要重新启动Firefox是插件生效。插件生效 后，可以通过点击Firefox菜单栏上的"工具—>扩展"可以对已经安装的插件进行管理。（图6 图7）

图6

　　

图7

几款实用的插件

adblock 能够根据过滤词来阻止显示网页上的广告，装好后会在"工具"菜单中生成一个子菜单项，可以进行过滤的设定。

Autofill 一个自动填表的插件，预先填写好你的信息之后，Firefox就可以帮助你自动地对网页中的相应字段进行填充。这个插件还可以将它能自动填充的项目以你指定的样式显示出来。

flashgot 虽然Firefox内置了一个简易下载管理器，可是仍然有用户喜欢用Flashget、Net transport等专门的下载软件来下载，这个插件可以让你用指定的下载软件来进行下载。

gm-notifier Gmail邮件通知，不用登陆Google的页面就可以知道你的邮箱里面是不是有新邮件到达。

Weatherfox 显示你指定城市的天气信息，预报比较准确。选定中国城市时用拼音，比如你要显示上海的天气，就输入shanghai ,china。

FoxyTunes： 很多朋友喜欢上网的时候同时播放歌曲，使用这个插件，会在浏览器下方显示一个控制栏，不用切换到音乐播放软件就可以实现调整音量、暂停、选择歌曲等常用控 制了。让你更方便的浏览网页。它支持的播放软件有10多种，包括 WinAmp, iTunes, foobar2000, Windows Media Player, Musicmatch, Quintessential, J. River, jetAudio, MediaMonkey, Media Player Classic, Sonique, wxMusik, Real Player, XMMS, Noatun, Juk, Amarok, Music Player Daemon, Rhythmbox等大多数主流播放软件。

这里只介绍了一些常用插件，实际上Firefox的插件数量非常多，读者可以访问update.mozilla.org寻找你需要的插件。

兼容性

Firefox完全支持W3C标准，因此只要是按照W3C标准设计的网页都能正常显示。实际上由于IE的市场占有率非常大，因此很多网站的代码都使用兼容IE代码，没有完全遵守W3C的标准，访问这些网站可能会显示不正常。

zZsoft 评论

Mozilla 公司希望借着Firefox从微软的IE这里夺回一些浏览器市场的份额，实际上他们做的很不错，Firefox的表现的确很不错。但是不是说 Firefox就比IE好，由于IE的市场占有率非常之高，将近有95%，因此很多网站都将兼容IE代码放在第一位。有选择总是好的，用IE不爽的话，你 可以来试试Firefox，只要用的舒服就行。有了竞争，才有技术上的发展，受益的最终还是用户。

Firefox, Picasa, 以及Foobar2000分别是Internet Explore, Acd See，Winamp的替代软件。用了一段时间，感觉正如Bruce所说的,"出人意料，跟google/gmail一样让我干得吃了一碗极品的香干回锅 肉"，兹推荐如下。

发信人: Bruce (bruce.9zi.com), 信区: NewSoftware
标 题: 体验google picasa
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Thu Jan 20 21:15:14 2005), 站内

典范·古哥·毕加索
bruce | 一月 20,2005 20:35

如果微软说他的产品简单易用，google笑了

如果问我眼中什么样的产品叫完美，我会说，参考一下picasa2的中文支持版。

说实话，本来对微软的产品已经很满足了。虽然有些不可理解的地方，但还是可以忍受。

前几天google买的picasa发了新版本，2.0，本以为没啥变化，没有体验。今天htj说值得看看。

用了片刻，果然出人意料，跟google/gmail一样让我干得吃了一碗极品的香干回锅肉。

没得话说，面向公众的基本可以说是比较完美的软件了吧。

定位，个人图像信息管理。

功能上，围绕图像数据展开一切功能。

输入：方便的从数码设备读入照片，以后不用再拷来拷去了。方便从现有目录中读取
照片列表。

输出：只要你最常用的功能，都能一键到位，如打印、刻碟、备份、做影集、做海报
，作电影，做屏保，做桌面。确实不用怎么动手，默认模式可以做得很好。除了打印
刻碟，利用网络方便共享也能一次到位，如email，他的hello p2p，直接blog到网上
。你的照片还要做什么？

浏览：暂且不说很COOL的显示效果，光他的信息组织方式就很爽，按类别、名称分类
，按日期分类，自组织定义。

重新定义后分卷分目录（不再关心磁盘目录方式了），标星级

时间线浏览，这个UI在微软的程序中也常见，TimeLine，按时间显示统计表达信息，


检索，虽然很简单，但是如果一直详细做标记，会很快找到想要的东西，他是google
的嘛。

处理：图片处理虽然他不是专家，但他提供的图像处理功能基本是最常用的80%功能
，针对个人大众用户提供最实用的几个功能，相当方便。

最常见的旋转是在主界面，编辑模式下提高的功能一目了然，这么免费的提供，估计
clayman的软件无法赢利。

没一个细节处理得相当好，简单体验一下，就欣喜得不得了。

总之，你的照片，交给他了（如果微软不出来搀和的话）

UI上：
美观新爽，又酷但不失一致性，各种细节都注意得很好（平面层次性、无横向滚动条
，控件风格一致性），界面框架程序也很完美。

UI理论上的东西基本表达得差不多了，什么低层次的好看，深层次的易用，都发挥得
淋漓尽致。不可多得啊。真想看看他们的产品规格说明书是怎么写的。

基本上，需要的功能轻松点击一下即可完成，最需要的功能在最显眼的地方，

键盘支持得差了一点，估计只是是面对鼠标用户，因为点2下鼠标基本可以完成所有
功能。

主界面的按钮都是最常用的功能，次常用的也可以方便找到，点2下就可以完成。


缺憾：中文支持得差一点，如果用上黑体显示中文，跟MACOS有得一比了。

比较：

此类软件，adobe也有，但似乎承袭photoshop的传统，够专业，自然够大够麻烦。

acdsee也有，但总觉得琳琅满目的按钮菜单让人头晕。

微软也有此类产品，但好像最好用的还是他绑在windows里的图片浏览器（因为不用
装）。

如果微软全盘抄袭，捆绑到windows里面，相信可以打垮一切对手。

稍微欣赏一下，还不赶快去下一个体验。为什么google参与以后很多东西都变得不一
样？

下载地址：http://www.picasa.com/

有些人批评我到神经所做的事情，就是把美国那一套带回来，不合国情。
"不合国情、要安定团结"，这些说法是中国社会腐败现象、科学界虚假浮夸、
人事关系主导一切等等各种弊端的最好挡箭牌。我们科学界，甚至整个社会改革
目前最大的阻力就是来自这种要安定团结、要合国情、要讲人情的做事方式。这
是我个人，也希望神经所同学老师们要坚决抵制的。

◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.freedns.us)◇◇

　　蒲慕明所长在神经所2004年所年会上的讲话
　　（2004年11月27日08:30）

　　根据录音整理

　　今天我们很多人起个大早来参加会议，还有很多同学没有到，我们就不等了。
在一个星期前我们神经所得到一个好消息，现在大家都知道了，就是蒋辉、郭炜、
梁新华的论文被Cell接受了。这是给我们所年会的一个礼物，是一件大事。国内
的工作在Cell上发表，在这二十五年还是第一次。蒋辉、郭炜、梁新华在吗？站
起来！我们大家向他们祝贺（众鼓掌！）。

　　大家可以看看这篇文章，三位同学努力工作是很明显的，饶毅老师的指导也
很有功劳。但主要的成功还是实验工作的成功。在实验科学界常常有人说
"ideas are cheap, it's the experiment that counts"。Ideas大家都有，
大家都知道什么是重要的问题。谁把实验工作做成功、做完整，谁就有主要贡献。
有人说这是我的想法，那是你的想法，要分清楚。事实上Idea在实验科学上是没
有太大意义的，再说科学研究是讲交流的，在交流的过程中ideas是free 
floating，大家都有份，很难说这idea完全是你的，不是别人的，除非是非常非
常新颖的想法。这篇Cell文章也不是一个重大的突破，我们也不要吹牛说这是重
大突破。这只是在axon differentiation 过程中signal transduction的一个环
节，这个环节做得很清楚，面面俱到，结论无懈可击，这样就达到了Cell的标准。
但不是说axon differentiation的问题就解决了。所以我常常说我们每个人手中
做的实验，都可以达到这个准，只要你能够把你的实验做得彻底、做得完整，
就可以达到Cell标准。

　　我看很多实验室的课题，包括我们自己的实验室，常有一个问题，就是很容
易就被自己的数据信服，对自己得到的结果常常不够critical。一般的project，
开始的时候总有一个基本现象，根据这个基本现象提出一个假说，然后就围绕这
个假说做实验。但在做实验的过程中，你会发现有些数据很合你的假说，有些数
据不合，常有的做法就是把不合的数据放在一边，合得就相信了，认为自己的假
说果然被证实。其实许多数据并不是那么令人信服，自己却已被自己说服了。而
且继续朝原来的方向做下去，有反证也不认真对待，到最后很可能走上歧途，因
为你的假说可能有问题。所以重要的是任何假说只能作为working hypothesis，
不要被自己的假说所局限，假如你的实验结果跟假说不合，是很自然的事情，这
只是告诉你假说需要修正，以便进一步提一个更好的假说。那个新的假说应该能
包括解释与原来预测不合的、有反证的结果。

　　我想很多同学、老师都会碰到这样的情况，常常做实验求证自己的假说，得
到的结果不合，就放弃了，不往下走，另外开一个头。这其实是不对的，有时是
很可惜的。假如你得到的结果没有证实你的假说，你一定要分析是什么原因？假
如你一次实验、两次、多次实验都得不到你想要的，你就要问，是因为你的实验
技术不行，还是你的实验的方法有问题？为什么不能够重复、有正有负、有太多
的 noise？假如是方法不行，这个方法在你那个系统内应该行，而你做不出来，
那是你自己的问题。如果你放弃继续下去就是没有克服实验的关。假如别人在类
似的系统，用同样的方法可以有这样的结果，在你手中却不行，你就得继续做，
不能放弃。反过来说，假如你能够证明你的实验技术方法没有问题，但是你的结
果就是和你的假说不一样，那你就更不应该放弃。这就表示说你原来的假说有问
题。你原来的假说是在大家公认的思路, 公认的概念中引申出来的，假如实验证
据跟你的假说不合的话，表示说现在公认的想法是不对的。你应该换一个新的想
法才会能够包涵你现在的结果。这样常常就可以引导到更重要的发现。科学发展
就是把现有的公认想法改变。你得到与你假说不合的反证其实可能是最好的结果。
就是说你的假说有错误，大家想法都有错误，当然首先你要完全确信你的实验结
果是可信的。

　　我们常常强调我们要出好文章，其实出好文章不是目的，当然出好文章你马
上就可以毕业，这是好事。但我们所里强调出好文章，最主要的目的是我们要把
科学研究工作脚踏实地做彻底，做严谨，能够拿到真实可信的研究结果。只有这
样才能达到最高水平的杂志。所以出高水平杂志的文章反映了我们的工作水平。
这使我想到现在外面有些人在批评神经所，包括我们有些科学院的领导。他们认
为神经所没怎么样，不过就是出几篇好文章，而基础科学文章对社会没有什么大
意义等等。确实我们现在做的东西对社会没有什么很直接的意义，我们没有办法
治神经系统疾病。那我们的社会意义在什么地方呢？我们现在为什么要做基础研
究？要强调出好文章？在整个科学界除非有重大的突破，出几篇文章可以说不起
一丝波澜，没有那么大的意义。但是我们是一个起点，我们就是要强调脚踏实地、
严谨、彻底地做科学研究，建立一个不浮夸的学风。现在我们科学界、社会上，
盛行浮夸风。做出一点小成绩就是世界领先，有多大突破，对社会有多大意义。
几十年社会运动遗留下来的浮夸风，在科学界里还仍然盛行。我们就是要做一个
榜样，把不浮夸、脚踏实地、严谨地做科学的态度在中国神经科学界好好建立。
这才是我们出好文章的意义。

　　我们有没有社会良心？是不是只为了自己成名成家出好文章？我相信不是的，
大家都知道我们做的工作，工作做得彻底从长远来说自然会有社会意义的，尤其
是神经科学的工作很容易联系到神经系统疾病，退行性疾病等问题。时候到了，
工作做严谨了，是credible，自己相信，别人也相信，在国际上大家相信，在这
个时候就能做出与疾病相关的问题有突破的工作，才会有人take it seriously，
才会真正达到有社会意义的目的。所以我们现在不会树"一个大旗"，说我们要
解决重大神经退行性疾病，要解决Alzheimer's disease、Parkinson's 
disease。不是因为我们对这些疾病没有兴趣，不愿意解决这些问题，而是时候
未到。当我们建立了高水平的研究室，能够把科学问题解决得很清楚，这个时候
我们自然会有能力解决与疾病有关的问题，也许到那个时候我们集中大家精力去
解决一个重大疾病问题，才有成功的把握，现在还没有。

　　我们有些科学家动不动就向国家要几亿的钱，举个大旗就要几亿，为他们自
己的项目要国家投资大笔的经费，没有想想做这种研究到底是否真正能解决问题？
在目前的情况下，在一些基本功夫还没有建立的实验室投入大量资金，这对社会
是多大的浪费。我想提醒这些科学家，去看看我们社会现在的情况，看看农村的
情况。我们现在有些农村还很穷，你买个大仪器放在实验室不能确实好好用，可
以养活多少困苦的农民？所以我觉得现在不浮夸，谨慎地使用科研资金，好好做
科学，是我们做科研人员的一个基本的社会良心。

　　讲到这里，我还想讲一些心里话。我们这一代年轻的朋友们、同学老师们都
非常关注自己的前途，大家不再喊口号了，很多人也不理社会上的一些事情。科
学家生活在象牙塔里，对社会上的事情不关心，看到的就是上海、北京繁华的一
面，生活是很不错的。心里想的、盘算的都是自己实验室、工作上的事情。我觉
得科学家是社会的一分子，我们生活在这个社会里，对这个社会要有一些了解。
平时我们离开上海到外面去，都是到一些旅游点去旅游，去陶冶心情。但事实上
中国社会现在还有很多困难，还有很多不安定因素，有些农村还很穷。社会虽然
是繁荣了，但有严重的两极分化，还存在着许多不合理、不公平的现象。作为一
个科学家，关在门里做你自己的事情就可以了吗？是否还要考虑一下你对这个社
会的关心如何表达出来？对这个社会将来的发展有什么贡献？也许这有点唱高调，
有时候我批评中国传统文化对现代科学发展有些阻力。但是几千年的传统，中国
知识分子特有的精神，就是社会良心、对社会的关心。到现代，"五四运动"以
来要民主、要科学，这都是知识分子提出来的，是推动社会进步的动力，知识分
子在中国社会的重要性是非常高的。中国传统就是知识分子不是只顾自己，要先
天下之忧而忧。这个传统在我们这一代是应该继承下去的。这里大部分同学都要
离开这个所，很多都要出国，都是为自己前途奋斗。大家关心中国，关心国内社
会，关心我们这个社会的延续，关心到什么程度？是不是积极地参与？参与的方
式是什么？我希望大家能想想这些问题。我最敬佩的科学家，像过去的爱因斯坦、
Niles Bohr，现在的 David Baltimore、Richard Lewontin、Steven J. Gould 
都是有社会良心的科学家，不但自己工作做得好，他们对社会关心，对社会不正
义的事情提出抗议。而且最重要的不光是批评，自己批评的事自己首先要做好。
现在大家不满的事很多，批评的事很多，而对自己的要求却不够。我觉得从一个
科学家社会良心上来讲，最简单的起点就是从你自己的工作做起。你自己的研究
工作也好，你待人处世也好，能够做到脚踏实地，真实严谨的态度，然后你还要
能够慢慢地影响别人、影响这个社会。假如我们的科学界大家都说，照着国情吧，
国家是怎么样就怎么样，社会怎样做我们是管不了的，那我们就永远变不了，情
况就会越来越坏。现在我经常会听到我们一些科学家说："腐败现象在中国到处
可见，上亿的钱很容易地就被浪费掉。现在政府愿意投资科学研究，这些经费是
不拿白不拿。如果你不拿这些经费，同样会被别人浪费掉"，"与社会上可见的
腐败相比，科学家用科研经费款待朋友、公费旅游等算不上什么大不了的事"。
即便从科研工作上讲，在神经所也存在着严重的浪费现象，有些经费被轻易地浪
费掉，只是因为我们在开始实验前没有好好的思考与计划，在定购仪器前没有认
真考虑购买的必要性和该仪器的使用率。所以科学家的社会责任感，应该从严格
要求自己的工作开始，看我们是怎样对待自己的研究工作，作为社会的一分子我
们是怎样表现的？科学家和知识分子们代表着这个社会的良心，如果我们自己都
腐化了，我们还能期望我们的社会不腐化吗？现在我们的社会真正需要的并不是
所谓的"圣人"、"烈士"，而是绝大多数人能成为遵纪守法的好公民。让我们
从争做神经所的"好所民"开始，然后尽可能地去影响我们周围的同事、我们的
朋友，在科学界、在这个社会成为好公民。

　　有些人批评我到神经所做的事情，就是把美国那一套带回来，不合国情。
"不合国情、要安定团结"，这些说法是中国社会腐败现象、科学界虚假浮夸、
人事关系主导一切等等各种弊端的最好挡箭牌。我们科学界，甚至整个社会改革
目前最大的阻力就是来自这种要安定团结、要合国情、要讲人情的做事方式。这
是我个人，也希望神经所同学老师们要坚决抵制的。我觉得我们所这五年来在科
学研究上有一个好的开端，但我希望我们的意义不止在这里。我们要在神经科学
界、乃至整个学术界做一个榜样。我们的工作，我们做科学的态度，都能作出一
个好的榜样，将来对社会有更大的影响。今天我就大致讲到这里，开始我们所的
报告（众鼓掌！）。

勉励和支持！








蒲慕明    1970年毕业于台湾清华大学，1974年在美国约翰霍普金斯大学获得生物物理博士学位。1974-1976在普度大学完成博士后研究，以后在美国加州大学欧文分校（1976-1985）、耶鲁大学（1985-1988），哥伦比亚大学（1988-1995），及加州大学圣地亚哥分校（1996-2000）任职。蒲慕明博士自1999年11月起任中国科学院神经科学研究所所长。他现在还担任加州大学圣地亚哥分校Stephen W. Kuffler神经生物学讲座教授及美国加州大学柏克利分校分子与细胞生物学系神经生物学讲座教授。蒲慕明博士至今共发表了130余篇有关膜生物物理、突触生理、发育神经生物学等方面的论文。他目前是《细胞生物学杂志》、《神经科学杂志》、《神经元》杂志的编委。承担国家重点基础研究发展规划项目"脑发育和可塑性的基础研究"(2000-2004)。 

Dear Members of ION: 


At the beginning of 2004, I wish everyone a happy and fruitful New
Year. On my way back to Berkeley, I attended the Advisory Board meeting
of the Institute of Molecular Biology of Academia Sinica in Taiwan. I
found out that ION's progress has been closely watched by quite a few
scientists in Taiwan and ION is viewed as a successful example of
research institution in China. I am surprised that the modest
achievement of ION has attracted so much attention. Here are some of my
thoughts on my flight over the Pacific.

What exactly have we done in the past four years? First, we have
published a dozen or so high-quality papers. However, we have not yet
made any discovery that is generally considered as highly significant
or ground-breaking. This publication record can be accomplished easily
by a single active laboratory of a dozen people in most first-rate
research institutions in the world, with a small fraction of the
resources and facilities we have in ION. Second, we have tried to
instigate a better administrative support structure. However, the
efficiency of ION offices was due largely to the diligence and devotion
of our staff members, rather than to any real innovation of
administrative infrastructure. Third, we have tried to build a research
environment that is more conducive to first-rate creative work for our
PIs and students. We have probably succeeded in creating an environment
with a higher pressure for productivity, but we have a long way to go
in creating an environment that I would consider to be a "Safe Haven"
for creative scientific work. Just take a poll among our students and
asked them whether they feel ION has provided them with an environment
for intellectual stimulation, freedom and satisfaction, I bet ION will
score very low. Over the years, I heard repeated stories that some of
our laboratory heads strictly forbid students to explore their own
ideas or consider attending student-run journal clubs and discussion
groups, even reading papers and books unrelated to their immediate work
a waste of time, on the basis that working only on the assigned project
is more likely to yield publications. Each laboratory head may have a
different style of running a laboratory, and I myself have known a few
famous scientists who are "dictators" in the laboratory. However,
unless the dictator is truly a first-rate scientist with a clear
vision, I have not seen any success story. When an ambitious
postdoctoral fellow James Watson and a graduate student Francis Crick
wanted to play with the modeling approach in solving the structure of
DNA in the Cavandish Laboratory, the director Bragg disapprove it and
considered it a waste of time, but Watson and Crick were not prevented
from their model playing, only discouraged. The creativity of the young
minds is the most precious asset of ION and of any other scientific
institution. Thus, I take it as my duty to help to shape ION into a
place where young researchers have the opportunity to realize their
full potential and to learn to be not only productive but also creative
as well. 

In my opinion, the job of a laboratory head is to set the general
direction of the research and suggest research projects and strategies.
Students are here not just to carry out the research that yields good
publications, but also to learn to become a first-rate creative
scientist, not an efficient technician. The only way to learn to be
creative, like any activity-dependent process in the brain, is to have
the opportunity to exercise with the creative process. Following strict
orders and trying to solve assigned duties may provide some
opportunities for the mind to work, but motivation and enthusiasm,
which provide the essential driving force for the creative mental
process, will be more abundant when some of the ideas originate from
the students themselves. Furthermore, young students are usually less
inhibited by the existing ideas and paradigms, partly due to their
"ignorance", thus are more likely to come up with new and important
findings, which usually involve challenges to existing ideas and
paradigms. Thus my first New Year message to all ION PIs is to allow
the students substantial freedom in pursuing their own ideas, however
feeble and naïve their ideas may sound initially. I am fully confident
with my assertion that the most creative (and most productive)
laboratory in ION in the long run is the one in which the students have
the intellectual freedom to pursue their own ideas. Since one of the
founding principles of ION is to provide an environment for creative
scientific work, I will ensure that only such a laboratory will have my
full support. 

My second message is the follwing: Complacency is the worst enemy
of progress. As I said in the ION Retreat last November, ION is now
only at the beginning phase of the "critical period" of institutional
growth. There is already significant achievement by the Chinese
standard. However, our self-assessment should always be based on
comparison with other first-rate institutions in the world. As Dr.
Shigang He's recent survey of publication records shows, by the latter
comparison, we should feel highly inadequate and refrain from any
self-glorification, especially to our Chinese colleagues and media. Our
productivity and general quality of research are not even close to that
of the Institute of Molecular Biology in Taiwan. 

My third message is to stress the point that our PIs should spend
the majority of their time on their own research problems in the
laboratory, not on matters related (or unrelated) to their research,
e.g., applying for additional resources and attending irrelevant
meetings. Our facilities and financial support are now much better than
all other neuroscience institutions in China. It is unjustified to
channel more resources into our laboratories, many of which now have
banked enough reserves that could last for many years, at the expense
of other seemingly "less productive" laboratories in other
institutions. How can we ever be proud of ourselves when our modest
achievement can be attributed to the fact that we have much more
resources than others? Thus, starting from this year, I will strictly
enforce the rule that no grant application will leave ION unless I am
personally convinced of the necessity of the application. My hope is
that this will save the PIs from excessive grant-related writing,
reporting, and meetings, so that they can spend more time in the
laboratory.

Since becoming the Director of ION, I have done many things that
have antagonized some people here who have different views on how
things should be run. However, I come here with a mission of shaping
ION into one of the world's best neuroscience institutes, not to
promote my own research or to make friends. I will not be deterred by
any antagonism, and am very happy to see that the great majority of my
ION colleagues and students remain to be as enthusiastic as I am in
working for the mission of ION. Thus, at the beginning of our "growth"
period, I am as confident and resolved as ever to continue our long
march toward the success. 
Mu-ming Poo

P.S. I am enclosing an essay commissioned by Nature Editor for a
special "China Supplement" in the latest Nature Asian Edition. In this
essay, I describe in more detail the cultural issue I touched upon in
our Annual Retreat.


Building Scientific Research Institutions in China - Cultural Reflections

Mu-ming Poo

Modern science as we know it had its origin in Western Europe and
flourished over past centuries mainly in the Western world. It was the
defeat and humiliation under the power of foreign gunboats that drove
the progressive reformers and educators of the late Qing dynasty to
import Western science and technology into China. Young students were
sent abroad for training, foreign books were translated in large
quantities, and Western-style education was introduced into China.

Scientific research activity in the Western sense, however, did not
begin until the early 20th century. The founding of Academia Sinica and
its associated research institutes in 1928 signified the beginning of
modern research institutions in China, yet their activities were
seriously disrupted by intermittent wars and political turmoil.
"Democracy" and "Science", hailed by Chinese intellectuals in the early
20th century as "Mr. D" and "Mr. S" - the would be saviors of China in
the modern world - had little chance to grow on Chinese soil. An
internationally competitive tradition of scientific research, whether
for technological development or pure intellectual pursuit, has been
historically difficult to cultivate in most institutions. 

Now in the 21th century, given the soundness of the current Chinese
economy, the steady increase in the government's funding for basic and
applied research, and general societal appreciation for the importance
of scientific development, it appears that the time has finally come
for a sustained effort in building scientific research institutions in
China. On the other hand, as someone who has participated in building
several academic programs in China in the past two decades, I have come
to appreciate that the remaining obstacles to Chinese research
institutions achieving excellence in the international arena may reside
in factors cultural rather than economic. 

Authority versus creativity

The Confucian tradition of respecting the customs and hierarchy in
society has cast a long shadow on modern China. The atmosphere of
authoritarian rule and political conformity over the past decades did
not help to create a social environment that fosters individual
creativity, a key element in scientific pursuit. Abiding by teacher's
words and submission to rules and rituals in classic books is the
foundation of Confucian education. But it remains debatable whether
this educational philosophy had helped or hindered the development of
Chinese society. Deference to authority and existing paradigms is a
major barrier to scientific breakthrough and technological innovation.

Science education in China is now extensive and rigorous at all
levels. To cultivate budding scientists, however, it is important to
reinforce the notion that inspiring students in the pursuit of
knowledge is more important than teaching knowledge itself, and that
textbook and teacher's words should not be considered the gospel truth.
A habit of raising questions needs to be cultivated both inside and
outside the classrooms and lecture halls. Challenges to existing
evidence, hypotheses and concepts, however naïve and feeble, ought to
be encouraged and seriously addressed. 

Respect for authorities and the spirit of conformity leave their
mark on the style of scientific research as well. Research programs are
often characterized and honored as the first in "covering an empty
area" in Chinese science, with reference to progress in the West.
Research along existing lines, using similar paradigms, often leads to
competition at a disadvantaged position. Colleagues in China often
complain that their results were not appreciated, while similar work
done in Western countries is published in high-profile journals. In
fact, strengthening the uniqueness of the work and improving writing
and presentation skills will increase the visibility of their work. At
Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, we give regular classes on
scientific writing, using realistic examples of early drafts of
manuscripts to illustrate how to improve scientific presentation and
how to write scientific English with precision, conciseness and
effectiveness. 

While the presentation and writing skills are important, ultimately
it is the confidence and prowess in attacking important problems in new
scientific frontiers that will lead to major discoveries and
international recognition. One recalls the international acclamation
given to the Chinese biochemists who first synthesized biologically
active insulin in the late 1960's. We can be confident that truly
significant findings will be noticed by the international community.

Encouraging critical attitudes

Related to the social aspect of scientific activity, there is a
general problem in scientific communication. Critical scientific
exchange between scientists is rarely seen, especially in public.
Increasing open and frank dialogue is needed to make scientific
conferences in China not merely friendly gathering to enjoy, but also
intellectual events to benefit from.

The attitude towards scientific criticism is also veryrelevant to
the submission of scientific papers to international journals. While
critical comments by referees may be seen at first glance as being
unfair or hostile, one may take them as constructive advice for
improving the quality of the work. When a manuscript is rejected, it is
often useful to reflect upon the deficiency of the work and go back to
the laboratory bench, rather than sending it immediately to a different
journal without much improvement. A case in point is the dramatic
increase in the number of publications in high quality journals in the
last few years from Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, where
investigators have made distinct efforts in improving the quality of
the work upon rejection of their papers, until the manuscripts
eventually became acceptable. 

A positive attitude towards scientific critiques will contribute to
the establishment of a scientific culture, in which scientific truth is
more important than "face saving", and negative comments are not always
taken as personal attacks. Undue courtesy and pretence may be
indispensable for maintaining the Confucian order in a traditional
Chinese family, but it is detrimental to a research institution, where
critical and frank inputs from colleagues are essential for one's
scientific development. For example, the annual retreat of each
institute provides an opportunity for cultivating critical
interactions. It may be helpful for the organizers of such event to
begin with the pre-emptive opening statement that critical or even
negative comments are to be taken as devil's advocates and constructive
inputs. 

Essential tension

For frequent synergistic interactions among colleagues, a lack of
critical mass of well-trained researchers in any given research area
has been a major drawback in most Chinese institutions. Since late
1970's, hundreds of thousands of students and researchers have gone
abroad for advanced training. A fraction of these people who have
returned to China now constitute a major driving force in scientific
institutions. It would be of interest to compare the productivity and
achievement of these returnees before and after their return. For those
returnees who did not perform as well in China, is this attributable to
insufficient research funding or the lack of a stimulating environment?
We here focus on the latter.

In major research institutions around the world, there is always an
"essential tension" that drives scientists to put their heart and mind
to the goal of solving the scientific problem at hand, a tension
created by one's own desire to excel, by challenges from surrounding
colleagues and students, by competition with scientific peers, or
simply by the pressure of "publish or perish". An intellectual
environment where "adversity breeds creativity" is critical for all
forms of creative activity, including scientific discovery and
technological innovation. Universal praise for the quality of training,
the intelligence and diligence of Chinese students and researchers
aside, it is the "essential tension" that can rapidly shape them into
high-achievers in major research institutions around the world. 

Students and investigators of similar quality abound in many
research institutions in China. There is every reason to expect, when
proper environment is provided in these institutions, that major
scientific achievements "made in China" will soon emerge. Thus, the
most urgent task in building research institutions in China is the
creation of an intellectual environment with an "essential tension"
that is conducive to creative work and scientific development of its
existing researchers. Until a large number of returnees can accomplish
important work by international standards, a significant flow of
scientific talents back to China is unlikely to occur. 

Burdens beyond science

Directly linked to the creation of a conducive intellectual
environment, many Chinese research institutions are facing two
important tasks - the reform of the administrative structure and the
establishment of a merit-based system for staff evaluation and resource
allocation. 

It is not unusual to find an investigator spending most of his/her
time dealing with non-scientific issues largely created by
administrators both within and above the institution. Complaints of
administrative constraints and nuisance appear to be universal, but
there is an added hurdle for Chinese scientists. Scientific research,
like many other aspects of the society, is under direct government
planning and driven by policy agenda. While there are a few granting
systems, e.g., National Natural Sciences Foundation, that do provide
funding for small individual research grants, significant proportions
of funding are awarded to organized research projects involving a large
number of investigators, aiming at subjects clearly defined by the
government, usually for applied sciences. 

This top-down approach in major governmental funding creates an
enormous responsibility and power for scientific administrators at all
levels. Administrators in the scientific establishment often act as
managers who control resources and give instructions rather than
provide services to scientists to facilitate their work. Substantial
restructuring of the administrative system, including reduced number
and increased efficiency of administrative staff and simplification of
budgeting and reporting procedures (under reasonable fiscal
accountability and oversight), will be important steps for the reform
of administrative structure of scientific institutions. Recent
restructuring effort at Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences is
an interesting example. Here supporting offices of several institutes
are integrated into central units, with increased efficiency and
reduced total staff number. If steps can be taken to prevent the
alienation between central office staff and institute researchers and
the homogeneous office practices overriding unique institute needs,
this approach may prove to be a good model for restructuring a group of
institutes in related research areas. 

Merit-based practices

The quality of a research institution depends critically on
merit-basis appointment, promotion and resource allocation. I am not
aware of any research institution in China that has terminated the
employment of a scientist simply based on poor research performance, a
common practice in major research institutions around the world. In the
past, the career of a scientist has not been directly linked to
scientific performance. The government has taken care of the entire
life of a scientist, from college graduation to retirement, regardless
of the performance. The result has been the absence of pressure or
incentive to excel. 

Reforms are underway in many institutions to break the "iron bowl"
by instituting regular reviews of its scientific staff. However,
successful merit-based review requires a system for objective
evaluation of research performance and achievement of the scientist.
This must include confidentiality of the identities of the reviewers.
Besides the shortage of qualified reviewers in each scientific area
within China, the lack of confidentiality - a concept largely foreign
to Chinese institutions - makes objective review extremely difficult.
Extensive use of international colleagues, as now practiced by all
major research institutions around the world, will help to remedy this
situation. 

Distinctive goals

The rapid progress in all fields of science in the Western world,
fueled in part by a large number of overseas Chinese in recent years,
poses a formidable challenge to the development of Chinese research
institutions. Are there sufficient resources and will to compete with
powerful scientific establishments in the West on major unsolved
scientific problems? Unlike the task of an engineering project,
scienific progress is much harder to achieve simply by organizing and
mobilizing the scientists towards a defined common goal. 

The spectacular success of the genome projects has given the
impression that the only way forward in science is to organize
large-scale projects, but the history of modern biology clearly shows
that major breakthroughs mostly originated in small laboratories
pursuing their own research interests. The major task for a scientific
institution is thus to provide a stable and enriched environment in
which individual scientists are free to explore their own scientific
interests, with impetus to address major scientific issues in diverse
directions. Major outstanding problems in each field are generally well
recognized, yet effective approaches to solve these problems are
elusive. In the new frontier of neuroscience, for example, there is
even serious paucity of attractive hypotheses, not to mention effective
methods to deal with complex interacting systems.
Thus, opportunities abound for distinctive new approaches to major unsolved problems. 

For individual scientist to compete along the line of research
currently pursued by major established laboratories in the West is
disadvantageous and likely to be a waste of resources. It will take
time to develop distinct approaches to science away from mainstream
influences, and it requires patience and persistence on the part of
individual scientists and scientific administrators. Furthermore, the
perceived scientific isolation by many Chinese scientists may be
double-edged. Relative isolation from mainstream scientific circles
also allows more room for independent thinking and development of
unique approaches. After all, science may evolve as the evolution of
species, through "splendid isolation". 

A question that had intrigued many historians of Chinese
civilization is why modern science had developed in Europe but not in
China, while elements of science and technology had clearly emerged in
earlier ages of Chinese civilization. After decades of systematic study
of Chinese science and technology, Joseph Needham concluded that it was
the Chinese form of "bureaucratic feudalism" that inhibited the rise of
modern science. A major challenge for China, in the new century, is to
overcome the cultural vestige from the past and begin a full-fledged
development of its research institutions.
Mu-ming Poo is a Professor
and Head of Division of Neurobiology, Department of Molecular and Cell
Biology at University of California, Berkeley. He also serves
concurrently as Director of Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy
of Sciences. 


(XYS20050125)

◇◇新语丝(www.xys.org)(xys.dxiong.com)(xys.3322.org)(xys.freedns.us)◇◇
 
					  

有网友在qq上问我为什么现在不写写香港的生活，尤其是HKUST。原因一方面是最近开始忙research了，而且要take PG course,做TA，时间紧张，来不及形成系统的思考。另外就是有人已经写了很好的几篇文章。其中一篇我想推荐给大家，就是水木清华网友 astrologer写的

【我在香港科技大学这半年】（一）校园初体验
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（二）学习："不要命的上科大"
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（三）年薪百万的副教授
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（四）"我们不读研究生"
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（五）清水湾不眠夜
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（六）"等额选举"的校学生会主席
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（七）一半是海水，一半是绿荫
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（八）独占一条泳道的日子
【我在香港科技大学这半年】（九）（连载完）永远的科大

还有一篇在互联网上广为流传的文章一个清华留学生在香港留学的心灵震撼（转载），作者是一位清华毕业的1998年入学的PhD,想必大家都读过，这篇文章也是驱动我申请香港的唯一理由。

astrologer 是清华自动化系大三学生，这篇文章写的是他对自己在HKUST做半年的交换生的体验和感慨，"字里行间无处不透露出作者扎实的文字功底和敏锐深刻的洞察 力。应用自如的逸闻典故，既丰富了内涵又毫无掉书袋之嫌"(引自水木清 blog评论帖子). 需要指出的是
astrologer所写的主要是本科生活，而HKUST更加重视的似乎是研究生教育，astrologer对研究生的生活涉及得很少，实际上展示的只是科大生活的一小部分。当然，也很不容易了。我今后会尽量补充。谢谢大家的关注！

astrologer的blog地址是：http://proxy.smth.org/pc/index.php?id=astrologer

Cold hre, icy cold there. You belong to neither, leaves have withered.
Your face is pale and blue, a tearful smile. Something in your eyes,
whispers words of last good-bye. My heart sinks down, tears surge out.

此处冷，彼处更冷。枯叶凋零，君属何人。君面惨淡忧郁，含泪而笑。君热泪盈
眶，喃喃自语，难言再见。妾心沉落，泪涌似涛。
Hot summer. Cheerful Cocktail. You took my hand. We fled into another
world of band. You sat by my side, long hair tied behind, cool and
killing. Smile floating on the lemonade, soft and smooth. How I was
amazed. Your face looked like the cover of the magazine. My head spin.
You led my hand, danced along the crazy theme.

酷夏。仍忆鸡尾酒会。君执妾手，共享二人世界。君坐妾之侧，长发束于脑后，
英姿勃发。笑容荡漾。妾讶君面尤类杂志封面。旋转，君执妾手，疯狂舞曲。

Light vied with wine, elegance mixed with fragrance, laughing covered
by greetings, the crowed was busy at handshaking. You stood there,
eyes on me. I trembled at the sparkles, brighter than the light. A
masterpiece from God, I felt di. We were not near, yet we were
together.

灯酒相辉，芳雅相应，祝辞笑声此起彼伏，芸芸皆劳碌于握手。君站立一旁，美
目探妾。妾莹灯下颤颤而立。此必上帝之杰作，使 晕眩。虽妾与君相隔甚远，
然心相近。

Days ended. You said, you would wait for me at the Alps side. We would
ski against snowflakes dancing in the sky. I gave no answer but a
good-bye to accompany your flight. Gone was the plane, I suddenly tasted
my pain. I knew I had been silly and stupid, you were in my heart, I
shouldn't have hidden in the dark. I tried to forget your
disappointment. I made believe sometime someday, I would tell you, I
feel all the same.

往日已去。君云君将于阿尔卑斯山畔待妾，滑雪于雪花飞舞之天空下。妾欲说还
休，但嘱祝福。飞机渐逝，妾心将苦。妾深知妾之愚蠹，君已窃妾心，妾当不可
漠然于暗中彷徨。妾尝试忘君之失，然无可善终。妾信某日某时，妾将告君妾心
永驻。

My thought struggled at confessing, somehow hesitation ended in
flinching. I continued my role of a fool, clinched to my maiden pride,
yet secretly indulged in your promise of the white land -- snow
measuring down to us, in your arms I am lifted up. The chiming of
Christmas bell!

妾于忏悔中挣扎，不时退缩，犹豫。妾愚于处子之婚，然潜纵于君之诺。白雪皑
皑，君挽妾身，妾意甚欢，共听圣诞钟声。

The bell died in the patter of rain, from hell came the laughing of
Satan at my brain. Tearful smile, swallowed by the darkness. How could I
trace your hair to wipe your tears? My hands reached out, catching
nothing but a raindrop, on a leaf that had withered.

钟声忽止于急雨，乃听撒旦之笑声。含泪微笑，黑暗相伴。妾欲寻君之发擦君之
泪而不可。妾伸手欲触，无他，但枯叶一雨滴耳。

Snowflakes have melted into water, we are no more together.
雪花渐融，妾与君天涯一方。

posted by 翁帆 @ 2004-08-13 21:28
翻译：synyan@bbs.smth.edu.cn 15:11 2004-12-19
2004-8-13 星期五(Friday) 晴
Wind Flower


Life was lonely. I used to stand in my balcony, watching the stars
shinning far away. I was a seed, full of life, buried in the earth,
waiting for the rain of spring.

There came a cool winter night. By the glass wall above the misty sea,
we were touching edges of the dream. Red wine painted a fragrant smile.
Isn't it a magic beginning of spring?

Life began again the moment you took my hand. Under the neon light, your
kissed set me free. Out from the earth rose a sweet sweet rose. I felt
again the warmth of spring.

Each day I see you pass by me. Your broad shoulders are all my dream.

You are always here, shinning. My darling monster. If your thoughts are
with me, I could see the color of spring.

How could I ever neglect you before? You are the star I have been
searching for. Who says sacrifice is moth to the flame? Could you
understand I am dying for the spirit of spring?

Your breath caressed my ears; your sweat tiptoed my hands. Through the
windowpane, blue sky in my eyes. The night was so pretty and so young.
If I could ever stay here forever, I would ignore the hope of spring.


Wind flower. It has captured every young dreamer. I know I should keep
away, but your charm carried me away. I hold you so closely and lost in
the beauty of spring.

# posted by 翁帆 @ 2004-08-13 22:42


2004-8-13 星期五(Friday) 晴
I Have to Go

I have to go, my darling. Spring arrives. Life in nature blooms but

breath of love dies. I take a deep inhale, depressed at the freshness. I
have to go.

Darling, too many walls have been built between us. Your heart is up
where I cannot find. I look into your eyes and see nothing inside. Your
smile is no longer here to shine. When clouds abruptly darken the sky,
when turns suddenly occupy the road, I have to go.

Darling, my shelter shatters. Sunshine glitters on the sea. Light stings
my eyes. Uttering a cry, the sea gull flaps its wings. My island sways
in the wind.

The waves run onto the rocks - crash, boom, bang. When hope turns into
foam, I have to go.

Darling, night no longer lights fire. Access to your voice has expired.
I glare at my phone, catching no trace of your name. As stars twinkle,
magic slides from my hands. It falls to the ground like china -- crash,
boom, bang.
When the pieces could no longer make a whole, I have to go.

Darling, the city stands in the dark, dazzlingly splendid. I find no
glory but a riot of chaos. Sobriety twists in reality; solidity switches
to fragility.

I live like a butterfly, struggling out of the cocoon. When sorrow
bursts out from the hollow, I have to go.

I have to go, my darling. I once looked over your shoulders and saw a
beautiful world. But now, when life is without you, when promise is no
longer promise, I have to go.

# posted by 翁帆 @ 2004-08-13 23:01

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest(1975)

Directed by
Milos Forman

Writing credits
Bo Goldman
Lawrence Hauben

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	....	Randle Patrick McMurphy
Louise Fletcher	....	Nurse Mildred Ratched
William Redfield	....	Harding
Michael Berryman	....	Ellis (tall bald patient)
Peter Brocco	....	Col. Matterson
Dean R. Brooks	....	Dr. John Spivey
Alonzo Brown	....	Miller
Scatman Crothers	....	Orderly Turkle
Mwako Cumbuka	....	Attendant Warren
Danny DeVito	....	Martini
William Duell	....	Jim Sefelt
Josip Elic	....	Bancini
Lan Fendors	....	Nurse Itsu
Nathan George	....	Attendant Washington
Ken Kenny	....	Beans Garfield

I saw the movie "One flew over the Cockoo's Nest" this afternoon in Self-Access
Center of HKUST this afternoon. It is so thrilling!

"A milestone in the cinematic history, and the best movie ever", writes the cover of the movie package.



I would like to say, it is overwhelming. And I was totally moved by the significant
strength of the masterpiece. After seeing it, i admit that it is rather difficult for me to
think or speak calmly for quite a while. It tears your heart constantly. The
performance are perfect, and the story reveals a unbelievable story about a mental
institutions. It is so cruel. The seemingly kind willing nurse always irritates even the
best tempered audience. I love it.

Below are several comments from web users of IMDb:

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One Flew Over One of the Best Movies Ever Made!!! (And that person was me), 19 March 1999
Author: Brandon (horrormvfn@aol.com) from here

First thing's first, while I watched this movie, I found myself stunned. This movie so entertained the viewer, as it did fascinate, and inform. A chilling, disturbing, and revealing look into the mental institutions as seen through the eyes of a con. Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd, round out the excellent, and very well casted cast.

Jack Nicholson brilliantly plays Randall Patrick McMurphy, an ex-con, who fakes being mentally insane, to enter the institution. As he goes to the hospital, he doesn't realize, that the people, and the atmosphere there is so out there. The patients are really psycho, and creepy. Randall, must try and survive these days, before he has to go to Jail. He has to entertain himself while at the same time, find good in this place of craziness.

Lousie Fletcher plays Nurse Ratched, a soft; but strong willed nurse, who will not take anything from anyone, or put up with misbehavior. She watches Randall, and notices something different about him, he's not as psycho as the others, but he is a little out there. Her job is tough indeed, having to put up with all these men, who don't listen, some go crazy and throw fits, and others just sit there and don't do anything.

Randall meets many new friends in this place, Brad Dourif who plays Billy Bibbit, is a mentally unstable, but voluntarily institutionalized person. Danny DeVito plays Martini, a slow but charming and sweet man, who means know harm in what he does or say. Christopher Lloyd plays Taber, a man, who also voluntarily institutionalized himself. He also meets Chief, a big 'dumb, and deaf' Indian, who happens to like to play basketball. Randall must try and survive these days with his new friends, and the hospital, as well as an everlasting war as to which they can watch the world series on TV. Put up with Nurse Ratched, and the other patients, doctors, vistors, and nurses. Ultimately leading up to a dramatic finale, that makes you want to stand up and cheer.

I think what was best about this film was the realism. I had no problem believing that this was happening. Almost like a documentary, it was striking and powerful, making the viewer not want to stop watching till the end. Some of the sequences are memorable as the basketball game, and the fishing trip. Jack Nicholson, who as always plays his character absolutely excellent, and makes the viewer want to hand him an Oscar himself.

The supporting cast, Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif also give terrific performances. Danny, Christopher, and Brad's careers all were made with this superb movie. It's all sentimental, funny, dramatic, intense, chilling, disturbing, diverting, and tragic. The finale leaves the viewer stunned and sitting there thinking about what he just saw. See this film, and believe it. I think you will find, its one of the BEST ever.

The second film to win all five major Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher), Director, and Screenplay. And it deserved all of them.

Rated R for language, violence, sexual content, and brief nudity.

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Poetic - Powerful - Simple: The Greatness of Cuckoo's Nest., 22 January 2000
Author: Donald J. Lamb (djlamb@hotmail.com) from Philadelphia, PA

The opening shot of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is a bleak glance at an Oregon morning. Stirring, haunting music plays gracefully o the soundtrack and a car approaches. Inside the car is one of film history's most remarkable characters. "Randle McMurphy" is about to bring hope, humor, and a glimmer of reality to some disturbed people in a mental hospital. Jack Nicholson as "McMurphy", is something of a paradox. Is this guy crazy or is he really the lazy, conniving criminal most believe him to be? That is the magical mystery and start to a journey into mental illness and the effect this man will have on some truly messed up men.

Milos Forman directs this all-time classic, which swept the Oscars deservedly, and holds up so well 25 years later. It is a simplistic film about small people living in their own small worlds. Manic moments are mixed with poignant acting all leading to an astounding climax. Not before or since CUCKOO'S NEST has a collection of different characters had such an impact on me. You could write a book report about each of the patients in the ward. The two most important people here are, of course, Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher.

Nicholson has his greatest moments in this picture. One brilliant scene has him doing an imaginary play-by-play commentary of the 1963 World Series to the group, who are not allowed to watch the game on TV. It is a poetic sequence and Nicholson goes crazy with his delivery, describing baseball with colorful anecdotes and profanity. "McMurphy" immediately makes an impression on the crazies and shows them how they don't have to stick to the "normal routine". He knows their names right away, he sprays them with water, he makes impossible bets with them, he introduces them to fishing, and he even gets a suffering young kid (played well by Brad Dourif) a "date".

Louise Fletcher plays one of the more reprehensible human beings in film as "Nurse Mildred Ratched". She is a hardened woman, one who makes the daily meetings with the group a contest to see who will win. Her stubbornness and lack of compassion for the poor guys is rather one dimensional. That's perfect because that is exactly who she is. Her strong will to keep things monotonous leads to a final showdown with the free spirited "McMurphy" in what is easily one of the most shocking and disturbing climaxes in recent memory.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST does not try to make a statement about mental illness or how the unstable should be treated. Rather, it is a very simple portrait of the long days and hilarious scenarios that can come about when a mixed bag of suffering people are thrown together. Mental illness is nothing to laugh about, but the fact that Nicholson is not really crazy (at least in my opinion) allows us to be amused. He seems to love his compadres in the hospital. He is mislead, however, into thinking he can do as he pleases.

There is no denying the power of CUCKOO'S NEST. The two main powerhouse performances are golden, the cinematography is morbid and gritty like it should be, the "Chief" is great as Nicholson's right hand, ah, protagonist, and you care a lot about what will happen as the film moves on. The famous, final shot ironically happens to be an exit of a major character into that bleak, Oregon morning.

NOTE: I have never read the book and I find it hard to believe author Ken Kesey has never watched the filmed version. Comparing a book to a movie is impossible. They are 2 distinctly different artistic methods of story-telling.

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Both uplifting and disheartening, sometimes both at once, 14 January 2005
Author: pyrocitor from Ontario, Canada

I went into this film with the knowledge that it had been the second film in history to win the 'top five' Oscars (for Best Picture, Best actor, Best actress, Best director and best screenplay) and has been praised as "one of Jack Nicholson's finest roles" and "one of the classics of the 70's". Naturally, after hearing all this, I had high expectations for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. But nonetheless, I was surprised at how easily the film surpassed my expectations and easily led me to understand how it merited all that praise.

Based on the novel by Ken Kesey, the story follows Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who, in an attempt to get out of spending more time in prison, pleads insanity for his crime, and is therefore sentenced to time in a mental institution. This was McMurphy's intention, as he believes the conditions in a "crazy house" will be significantly easier to contend with than another harsh stay in prison. However, he quickly finds out that surviving the institution with it's desolate patients (including Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Vincent Schiavelli and an absolutely brilliant Brad Dourif as the stuttering Billy Bibbit) and the monstrously repressive Nurse Ratchet (Louise Fletcher, in a career defining role) is considerably harder than he imagined. McMurphy plays pranks, horseplay, and is generally defiant to the rules of the institution in an attempt to raise spirits. His constant optimism and reckless defiance to the out of date rules in the institution can be very uplifting, and often quite funny as well, but much of the movie can be very depressing - the generally decrepit state of the institution is a consistently (and intentionally) bleak background to a superb story with a truly bittersweet ending.

Jack Nicholson is at his best here, head and shoulders above other excellent performances such as in 'Chinatown' or 'As Good as it Gets'. McMurphy is an apparently unquenchable optimist, refusing to succumb to the defeated spirit of all the other patients. His livewire antics, inspiring the patients are generally uplifting, and when his indomitable spirit is finally broken, we really feel for him and his fellow patients. Nicholson conveys the essence of McMurphy to perfection, demonstrating his excellent understanding and interpretation of the character. When McMurphy announces that he is going to lift a huge stone fountain and hurl it through the window to escape, the other patients are so caught up in his intoxicating spirit of freedom that they honestly believe he can do it, despite the fact it would be impossible for a man much stronger than him. When McMurphy finally discovers that despite his best efforts, he cannot lift the fountain, he is so openly crushed that we can't help but feel for him. Beneath the frequent profanities and livewire antics, there are real human emotions, which come across as truly touching.

What can be said about One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest which hasn't already been said? It has an excellent storyline, top notch acting, painfully bleak visuals, perfectly setting the tone for the movie, and alternates between being truly uplifting to devastatingly depressing. It features perhaps the most memorable film ending ever, next to a man on his horse riding off into the sunset, and leaves the viewer beaten down by the conflicting emotions, unaware what to think of the picture next to reveling in it's glorious entirety. It's hard to produce a final outcome any better than this.

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