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| Prof. Richard Zare |
史坦福大學化學系教授
2005年沃爾夫化學獎得主
美國國家科學院院士
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講題1：Can We Teach Creativity?
我們能教創造力嗎？ |
Theories of creativity appear to focus on four P’s: Process, Product, Person, and Place. There appears to be few common definitions of creativity, but general agreement seems to involve producing something that is both original and worthwhile. This lecture will examine whether creativity can be taught or fostered. If so, how is this accomplished?
Much of the thinking done in formal education emphasizes analysis skills. Students are taught how to understand claims, how to follow or create a logical argument, how to figure out the answer to a problem, how to eliminate incorrect paths, etc. Another kind of thinking exists, one that focuses on exploring ideas, generating possibilities, looking for wild connections, etc. We seem to have no test for creativity but many tests for knowledge. Several arresting quotations about creativity are attributed to Albert Einstein, one of the most creative people who ever lived:
“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
We must consider the proposition that creativity is actually an attitude: a willingness to play, the ability to accept change and to learn from failure, a flexibility of outlook, the recognition of good but the desire to find better, etc. In that sense, perhaps, creativity can actually be taught, if not learned!
創造力的理論似乎聚焦在四個P字：Process（過程）、Product（產品）、Person（個人）、和Place（場所）。創造力似乎少見有共同的定義，但一般同意創造力涉及能產生具有原創性和價值性的東西。本演講將檢驗創造力是否可被教導或培養？如果可以的話，那如何實現呢？
在正規教育中，所做有關創造力的的思考大多著重在分析技巧。學生被教導如何去理解主張，如何遵循或創造邏輯辯證，如何得出問題的解答，如何避免走上錯誤之路等等。另一種思考方式是，著重在探索新想法，創生可能性，尋找別出心栽的連結等等。看起來我們似乎無法測試創造力，但卻有許多方法來測試知識能力。有幾句針對創造力的雋永名句皆來自於愛因斯坦─史上最有創造力的偉人之一：
「如果一個想法在一開始時不是荒謬的，那它將沒有什麼希望。」
「邏輯會把你從A帶到B，但想像力則使你處處去得。」
「想像力遠比知識重要，知識有其侷限性，但想像力可繞行全世界。」
我們必須設想「創造力其實是一種態度」：願意嘗試、接受改變和從失敗學習的能力、對展望有變通性、認同好的但更熱望尋求更好等等。基於這樣的論點，如果創造力不是可以學會的，也許是可以被教導的！
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講題2：Introduction to Chemical Kinetics
化學動力學簡介 |
The rate at which chemical transformations take place is often presented in an abstract, mathematical format that can hide how interesting this topic can be. To make this topic of immediate interest, this lecture will begin be examining “human alcoholysis,” the chemistry behind drinking to excess. How fast and how long does the consumption of alcohol affect human activity? It is all a matter of chemical kinetics. This lecture will develop the kinetics needed to understand the answer to this question. It will then present an overview of what we can and cannot learn from the study of reaction rates.
化學變化的速率常以抽象的數學式來表示，因之遮掩了該主題的趣味性。為了使這個講題能立即引發興趣，我將以探究「人體醇解」，即飲酒過量背後的化學，作為開場。攝取酒精對身體活動的影響會有多快和多久？這完全取決於化學動力學。本演講將展示為解答這個問題所需的動力學。我將提出從化學反應速率的探討中，所能學得的和學不到的概要論述。
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