π看人生

⊙ By Ephrat Livni

翻譯：趙菲菲

你知道圓周率日（Pi Day）嗎？每年的3月14日，不少人會在15點9分舉行慶祝活動——有時甚至精確到26秒！在普通人眼中，π也許只是一個數(shù)學符號；但是在有心人看來，這個無窮無盡的數(shù)列當中其實蘊含著豐富的哲理……

You probably first met pi—the number used to calculate the circumference[圓周]of a circle—when you were in school. If you aren’t really a math fan, you probably haven’t thought about it since then. But pi has practical applications for everyone as a real tool to better understand the universe and life itself.

Numerically[數(shù)字上], pi is 3.14159, plus some. That added bit—the plus some—continuesinfinitely[無限地], a series of digits that never stop in a numbersequence[序列]that doesn’t repeat, ever. In that infinite repetition lies pi’s greatest lesson.

Computers have calculated pi to thetrillions[萬億]of digits. But pi isn’t really solved and doesn’t appear to be solvable.Pi is wonderful precisely[正好]because it can only ever be understood theoretically, never actually grasped in itsentirety[全部]. The lack of solution can be ademonstration[證明]of a classicaxiom[格言]: The wisest among us know only how little we know.

The more we know, the more apparent it is that there is much more to know. For each individual, and for humanity as a whole,there is always that added bit that simply can’t be figured out, no matter how much information or education we possess.

Mysteries remain, always, and that can be a good thing. Like the digits of pi that have yet to be calculated andstretch[延伸]on

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建議時間：4分鐘

閱讀難度endlessly, it is proof that calculations could be imperfect. Things we can’t imagine could still happen, for better and for worse.

Life and the universe, like pi, don’t make perfect sense. We may have a very good idea of what is likely to occur under a certain set of circumstances, applying all the information we have at a given time, and we may attempt toinsure against[使免于]all unknowns.But mystery is aconstant[恒量], something containing infinite possibilities in our lives.That is what pi demonstrates so certainly.Math is our guide, but not our master. It cannot provide all the answers.

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參考譯文

你初次認識π大概是在上學的時候，這個數(shù)字是用來計算圓周的。如果沒有數(shù)學愛好，恐怕你在那以后就沒再想過它。但是，π其實對每個人都有很實際的用處，它能幫助我們更好地認識天地萬物和生活本身。

π的數(shù)值為3.14159，后面還有一些東西。那附加的一點點——也就是后面那些東西，是一長串無限不循環(huán)的數(shù)字。正是在這種無窮無盡之中，蘊含著π帶給我們的一個最重要的道理。

計算機能算出π小數(shù)點后的萬億位。但是，π這個問題并沒有真正解決，似乎也無法解決。它之所以絕妙，恰恰因為它只能在理論上理解，而無法真正被全部領(lǐng)會。這種無解的局面證明了一條經(jīng)典的格言：我們當中最有智慧的人深知我們是多么無知。

我們知道得越多，就越明白我們還有更多不知道的東西。對每一個體乃至全人類而言，無論我們掌握多少信息，受過多高的教育，永遠存在無法解開謎團的“附加的一點點”。

謎在，永遠都在，這可能是件好事。就像π的那些還沒有計算出來，并且無窮無盡的數(shù)字一樣，它證明了算式也有可能不夠完美，超乎我們想象的事情總有可能發(fā)生——不管是好事還是壞事。

就像π一樣，生命和宇宙有時也會讓人摸不著頭腦。對于在某些條件下可能發(fā)生什么，我們或許抱有相當肯定的看法，利用限定時間內(nèi)掌握的所有信息，試圖防備一切的未知情況。但是，謎是一個恒量，蘊含著無限的人生可能性。這就是π向我們明確揭示的道理。數(shù)學能引導我們前行，卻不能主宰我們的人生——它不能給你所有的答案。

Life and the universe, like pi, don’t make perfect sense.

無論是口語還是書面語，我們在各種不同的語境中經(jīng)常會碰到make sense這個詞組，它可以表示“講得通，有意義”，也可以表示“合情合理，明智”，還可以搭配of表示“理解，弄懂”。要理解這個詞組的準確意思，我們需要根據(jù)具體的上下文進行判斷，如：

● A sentence must make sense.（句子必須有意義。）

● It makes sense to take care of your health.（注重健康實乃明智之舉。）

● Can you make sense of what he says?（你能聽懂他在說什么嗎？）