East Timor & VerveEarth

Thanks Clayton for his kindly sharing!
I had placed the page element on the upper right(changed to bottom right of blog template-20080520) of the blog. Just as the sponsor's saying, "It shows spatial and geographic connections that a blog search engine could never reveal. "
I reviewed briefly the website, there are few user have been registered and paste their blog. The access speed is excellent, and searching the internet for the world's blogs by geography is smart and creative, which to certain degree overlaps the thinking of Google Earth- Landmark Information. However, the accurate landmark info is not implemented well enough, see the cluster of blog makrs for example.
Hope the design improves to a high level so that bloggers may find another way to ad sense their blog:)

Don't Become a Scientist!

Jonathan I. Katz
Professor of Physics
Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
Katz @wuphys.wustl.edu

Are you thinking of becoming a scientist? Do you want to uncover the mysteries of nature, perform experiments or carry out calculations to learn how the world works? Forget it! Science is fun and exciting. The thrill of discovery is unique. If you are smart, ambitious and hard working you should major in science as an undergraduate. But that is as far as you should take it. After graduation, you will have to deal with the real world. That means that you should not even consider going to graduate school in science. Do something else instead: medical school, law school, computers or engineering, or something else which appeals to you.

Why am I (a tenured professor of physics) trying to discourage you from following a career path which was successful for me? Because times have changed (I received my Ph.D. in 1973, and tenure in 1976). American science no longer offers a reasonable career path. If you go to graduate school in science it is in the expectation of spending your working life doing scientific research, using your ingenuity and curiosity to solve important and interesting problems. You will almost certainly be disappointed, probably when it is too late to choose another career.

American universities train roughly twice as many Ph.D.s as there are jobs for them. When something, or someone, is a glut on the market, the price drops. In the case of Ph.D. scientists, the reduction in price takes the form of many years spent in ``holding pattern'' postdoctoral jobs. Permanent jobs don't pay much less than they used to, but instead of obtaining a real job two years after the Ph.D. (as was typical 25 years ago) most young scientists spend five, ten, or more years as postdocs. They have no prospect of permanent employment and often must obtain a new postdoctoral position and move every two years. For many more details consult the Young Scientists' Network or read the account in the May, 2001 issue of the Washington Monthly.

As examples, consider two of the leading candidates for a recent Assistant Professorship in my department. One was 37, ten years out of graduate school (he didn't get the job). The leading candidate, whom everyone thinks is brilliant, was 35, seven years out of graduate school. Only then was he offered his first permanent job (that's not tenure, just the possibility of it six years later, and a step off the treadmill of looking for a new job every two years). The latest example is a 39 year old candidate for another Assistant Professorship; he has published 35 papers. In contrast, a doctor typically enters private practice at 29, a lawyer at 25 and makes partner at 31, and a computer scientist with a Ph.D. has a very good job at 27 (computer science and engineering are the few fields in which industrial demand makes it sensible to get a Ph.D.). Anyone with the intelligence, ambition and willingness to work hard to succeed in science can also succeed in any of these other professions.

Typical postdoctoral salaries begin at $27,000 annually in the biological sciences and about $35,000 in the physical sciences (graduate student stipends are less than half these figures). Can you support a family on that income? It suffices for a young couple in a small apartment, though I know of one physicist whose wife left him because she was tired of repeatedly moving with little prospect of settling down. When you are in your thirties you will need more: a house in a good school district and all the other necessities of ordinary middle class life. Science is a profession, not a religious vocation, and does not justify an oath of poverty or celibacy.

Of course, you don't go into science to get rich. So you choose not to go to medical or law school, even though a doctor or lawyer typically earns two to three times as much as a scientist (one lucky enough to have a good senior-level job). I made that choice too. I became a scientist in order to have the freedom to work on problems which interest me. But you probably won't get that freedom. As a postdoc you will work on someone else's ideas, and may be treated as a technician rather than as an independent collaborator. Eventually, you will probably be squeezed out of science entirely. You can get a fine job as a computer programmer, but why not do this at 22, rather than putting up with a decade of misery in the scientific job market first? The longer you spend in science the harder you will find it to leave, and the less attractive you will be to prospective employers in other fields.

Perhaps you are so talented that you can beat the postdoc trap; some university (there are hardly any industrial jobs in the physical sciences) will be so impressed with you that you will be hired into a tenure track position two years out of graduate school. Maybe. But the general cheapening of scientific labor means that even the most talented stay on the postdoctoral treadmill for a very long time; consider the job candidates described above. And many who appear to be very talented, with grades and recommendations to match, later find that the competition of research is more difficult, or at least different, and that they must struggle with the rest.

Suppose you do eventually obtain a permanent job, perhaps a tenured professorship. The struggle for a job is now replaced by a struggle for grant support, and again there is a glut of scientists. Now you spend your time writing proposals rather than doing research. Worse, because your proposals are judged by your competitors you cannot follow your curiosity, but must spend your effort and talents on anticipating and deflecting criticism rather than on solving the important scientific problems. They're not the same thing: you cannot put your past successes in a proposal, because they are finished work, and your new ideas, however original and clever, are still unproven. It is proverbial that original ideas are the kiss of death for a proposal; because they have not yet been proved to work (after all, that is what you are proposing to do) they can be, and will be, rated poorly. Having achieved the promised land, you find that it is not what you wanted after all.

What can be done? The first thing for any young person (which means anyone who does not have a permanent job in science) to do is to pursue another career. This will spare you the misery of disappointed expectations. Young Americans have generally woken up to the bad prospects and absence of a reasonable middle class career path in science and are deserting it. If you haven't yet, then join them. Leave graduate school to people from India and China, for whom the prospects at home are even worse. I have known more people whose lives have been ruined by getting a Ph.D. in physics than by drugs.

If you are in a position of leadership in science then you should try to persuade the funding agencies to train fewer Ph.D.s. The glut of scientists is entirely the consequence of funding policies (almost all graduate education is paid for by federal grants). The funding agencies are bemoaning the scarcity of young people interested in science when they themselves caused this scarcity by destroying science as a career. They could reverse this situation by matching the number trained to the demand, but they refuse to do so, or even to discuss the problem seriously (for many years the NSF propagated a dishonest prediction of a coming shortage of scientists, and most funding agencies still act as if this were true). The result is that the best young people, who should go into science, sensibly refuse to do so, and the graduate schools are filled with weak American students and with foreigners lured by the American student visa.

最新实事语录

"...如今的时代，指责统治者愚弄人民是个方便且有效的不二法宝，但无限放大执政者的过失，以此掩盖自己主观上的懒惰与无知，这就是大国公民应有的修养？这么说 不是为无良官僚屏蔽信息、插播广告寻找借口，而是只要自己是个有心人，就不会惧怕资讯的闭塞、观点的单一、思想的匮乏。与其把时间浪费在呼吁放松管制，不 如自己学着自力更生。当然这个过程需要很多的耐心，也不是每个人都能坚持下来的。除非你自认没必要浪费光阴做些无谓的事情，在叫嚣核平台湾的发泄声中，任 由智慧慢慢地沉沦..."
- 沈宇哲(ifeng)

至少在网络这个平台上可以穿越封锁，自由搜索，自由表达言论。

转：牛鼻顿（很好很强大）

3月28号是牛顿的忌日，但是知道的人很少，我们毕竟更关心沈殿霞和张国荣。其实牛顿老师在科学圈里曾经很有权势，被女王封了爵位成了贵族，人称牛爵爷，官至皇家造币局局长兼皇家学会会长。如果阿尔伯特没有辞了以色列总统的话和他有一拼。
说他有权势并不仅是官大，主要是贡献大。如果17世纪就有诺贝尔奖的话，牛顿老师至少能连续垄断4届物理学奖（分光计；力学体系的构建；反射望远镜；万有引力），同时为了表彰他在炼金方面的造诣，再奉送他一届化学奖。而且这孙子鼓捣出了流数术，所以菲尔兹数学奖也要给他。要知道，他的这些发现基本都是在26岁以前获得的，30岁以后牛顿就开始玩票了，成天琢磨上帝和炼金，以及怎样把莱布尼茨搞臭，捎带手的把以前的发现整理成书。所以你能想象到他在当时的欧洲是如何的一呼万应，敢跟他叫板的只有莱布尼茨和大主教贝克莱。牛老师死的时候，全英国的名流以给他扶柩为荣，全欧洲的名流蜂拥伦敦。来自法国的傻逼文科生伏尔泰在国葬现场大受刺激，回去就写了首诗，嫉妒之情溢于言表。
牛顿老师的一生是天才的一生，战斗的一生，也是孤独的一生。一辈子没有朋友，也没有结过婚，很可能到死都是处男，关于牛顿是否处男的问题，由于篇幅过长，我将在另一篇文中论证。当然他肯定不会孤独，因为科学的世界里乐趣无限，快感连连。出乎世俗想象的是，科学其实远比任何娘们儿都风骚，玩科学比玩女人爽得多，得到一个成果所获得的高潮强烈而持久，不仅有快感，更有巨大的自我认同感，远胜于那几秒寒颤之后无边的空虚与落寞。所以陈景润其实是沉溺于美色不能自拔，身体弱架不住高潮过度被爽死了。
牛顿老师茕茕孑立，形影相吊的原因是多方面的。首先他生性孤傲，自恃高才，瞅谁都是傻逼，当然不会真心跟傻逼交朋友。同时在他眼里人是不分男女的，只有傻逼和巨傻逼两种，所以他对女色没兴趣也就可以理解了。有婚介中心给他介绍过几个名媛，拾掇拾掇都是当王妃的坯子，但一见面就受不了牛顿的牛逼烘烘和不知所云。比如有次相亲，他把姑娘的手指头塞进了烟斗。
另一方面是外在的，不光他不愿意交朋友，也没有人真正想跟牛顿当朋友，结交他的人都是有目的的。人们对他只有敬畏和仰慕，并不真的喜欢他。这道理其实很浅显，绝大部分人都热衷于跟比自己傻的人待着，很少有人愿意在人精的身边衬托自己的二逼。所以好多人都喜欢小动物和小孩子，就是因为这些东西够傻。不少姑娘一见到小猫小狗小人儿都会迫不及待的搂抱，接踵而至的就是很嗲的说好可爱欧~，听得我阴毛都竖起来了。有时候可爱和憨态可掬的潜台词就是弱智。小猴子也很好玩，喜欢的人就少多了，因为猴子机灵到能戏弄人，那些人没有驾驭猴子的自信。同理，喜欢小孩的都是喜欢他们的单纯与缺心眼，在他们眼里，小孩跟小动物没有本质区别，也都是四条腿走路，露着屁眼随时拉撒。如果遇到一个小天才，3岁就会心算三位数乘法或者知道傻逼二字的正确写法，她们一定会骇破了胆。所以那些喜欢养猫狗的女士们别再标榜自己有爱心了，你们其实比谁都缺德。我从不喜欢猫狗，这是因为我敬畏大自然的生灵而不忍戏弄它们；我也不喜欢小孩，因为我把他们当作一个大写的人而不是小畜生看待。
大家不喜欢牛顿的另一个原因是他性格暴戾乖张。长年在他身边的人回忆说，牛顿在人前只笑过两回，其中一次还是嘲笑：有人问他，欧几里得的《几何原本》那么老朽，不知道还有什么价值。牛顿闻听放声大笑。而且他人品太差，跟谁都打架。众所周知他从小就有校园暴力的记录，胖子同学不小心踩了他的风车，他抬手就把胖子打哭了，我们的教科书居然说这是他有志气的表现。长大了不以拳脚论高下，他就雇用枪手大骂莱布尼茨，甚至不惜化名亲自去骂，人品至此真是无以复加。莱布尼茨若不是脸皮厚早就跟纳什一样疯了，而且牛顿老师肯定会拍个片子叫《丑陋心灵》继续恶心人家。
关于牛顿的另一个谎言是他的谦虚，证据就是牛顿老师说过两段著名的话，一段是站在巨人肩膀上，另一段是海边捡石头子。这确实很有迷惑性，我第一次听到后感动的直冒鼻涕泡。但任何话语都是有语境的，巨人肩膀那一句的语境是这样的：胡克其实早就发现了万有引力定律并推导出了正确的公式，但由于数学不好，他只能勉强解释行星绕日的圆周运动，而且他没有认识到支配天体运行的力量其实是普遍存在的，是“万有”的。第谷早在100年前就发现了行星的公转其实是椭圆运动，开普勒甚至提出了行星运动三定律。所以科学界对胡克的成果不太重视。后来数学小狂人牛顿用微积分极其圆满的解决了这个问题并把他提出的力学三条基本定律成功推广到了星系空间，改变了自从亚里士多德以来公认的天地不一的旧观点，被科学界奉为伟大的发现。于是胡克大怒，指责牛顿剽窃了自己的成果。牛顿尖酸刻薄的回敬道：是啊，我他妈还真是站在巨人的肩膀上呢！这本是一句反语，至少不是真的想客气一下。几百年后罗永浩说自己只是站在巨人的肩膀上也是这意思。但后人出于塑造完人的目的，只保留了孤立的原话而去掉了语境，变成了一句彻头彻尾的谦辞。同样的情况出现在另一段话上：牛顿晚年因为树敌过多，来自欧洲大陆比如法德的一些新锐科学家质问他：“牛顿你丫牛逼什么啊？”牛顿此时完全的展现了他科学界大宗师的风度与水平，潇洒的回敬道：“我没有什么牛逼的。我只是一个在海边独自玩耍的小孩，偶尔会为捡到几个美丽的贝壳而欣喜若狂，却对面前浩瀚的真理大海无所察觉。”意思是说你们他妈的连贝壳都看不见有什么资格评价我？几十年的官场毕竟不是白混的，牛老师甩片儿汤话的水平已经到了信手拈来闲庭信步宠辱不惊的境界，所以我们只记住了这一段优美至极、深邃如同诗歌的话语。
牛顿老师人品差，不谦虚，没朋友，按现在的说法这是典型的高智商低情商，事业不会成功。但我们也发现，当智商高到一定程度的时候是可以取代情商的。所以那些说自己情商低的所谓天才们，你们没成功只是他妈的还不够聪明而已，怨不着人家情商。要知道牛顿是个遗腹子和早产儿，出生时体重不到5斤，没吃过DHA和RHA配方的奶粉。亲娘改嫁后跟文盲姥姥度过无聊的童年，没有任何的早期智力开发和学前启蒙，7岁上学以前脑子里空空如也，牛妈妈对他的期望仅仅是认识点字然后回家务农。但是牛顿上中学后已经熟练掌握了拉丁语希腊语西班牙语和英语，然后被推荐进了剑桥，20出头就当了卢卡斯教席的终身教授。如果他能活到今天，我一定会请他当熊博网的形象代言人兼吉祥物。
晚年的牛顿除了升官发财再无其他骄傲之处，而且官迷心窍，没退休一直干到85岁寿终。当然他并没闲着，写了150万字的神学著作，同时一心扑在化学事业上，在家里盖了窑子，拿出年轻时搞物理的劲头玩命试验。但这次他的出发点就错了，总是希望从黄铜和煤渣中提炼出黄金。要知道化学反应只能改变分子并不能改变原子，能给原子做变性手术的只能是核反应。他违背了化学定律里的物质不灭原则，所以虾米了。
最后，说两段悼词。一段是他的墓志铭：伊萨克牛顿爵士，安葬在这里。他以超乎常人的智力，第一个证明了行星的运动与形状；彗星轨道与海洋的潮汐。他孜孜不倦地研究，光线的各种不同的折射角，颜色所产生的种种性质。让人类欢呼，曾经存在过这样一位，伟大的人类之光。另一段是英国诗人写的：自然和自然的规律隐藏在茫茫黑夜之中。上帝说：让牛顿降生吧。于是一片光明。
不知道为什么，一想到这里，我总是有点感动。

五一到来

经过一个月的鏖战，终于慢慢适应了工作的节奏：并行处理多个项目，同时跟多种角色沟通，开会开会，一个接一个的开，division的乒乓球比赛，早起，晚归...终于迎来了自工作以来的第二个五一劳动节。与以往不一样的是，假期缩到了3天；无出游计划；关注网站的发展；蜗居式休息；
刚打电话回家，老妈很高兴地谈到小表妹的婚事，估计她跟小姨现在都沉浸在表妹找到归宿的欢愉。老爸单位明天还有出游的机会，活动就是去家里一个水库那边野炊，妹妹在电话那头兴奋得让我也受到了感染，反复叮嘱她把活动过后的细节讲给我听。妹妹确实长大了不少，她知道了学习上的压力和给自己定目标的动力，也知道了跟我交流，问我的情况。女大十八变，希望我们家的小宝贝能够一天天茁壮成长起来。
之后就是过账到蔡的帐户，两个创业的小夫妻现在忙得如火如荼。给他们一点支持，也是给梦想更多的激励。真正打算并执行一个事情的时候，哪怕再简单都是不简单的。我现在在公司每天会面对很对杂事，虽然都成文成规，但是优化和细化的工作足以让人没有闲暇，何况是白手起家去创造一个事情出来呢?呵呵！难怪老胡也说对此深表感动啊。
三天假期，大部分人都想好好休息。我反而不老实的总想去瞄瞄邮件，看看最近的反馈。
今天听项目组几个人八卦了一些生活琐事，让我对“游戏”人生又有了一些经验。只要有资本，无论任何方面，都可以创造价值。如果你认可，都可以很坦然去面对和承受。当然，个中滋味也只有当事人才能明了。
之前约了几个熟人去活动，但我好像还提不起精神。想去找老胡切磋一下球技，去郊区透透气...就这样吧！

流浪

清明假期在此告一段落。有道是“清明时节雨纷纷...牧童遥指杏花村”，清明除了缅怀先辈的意义，同时也昭示着季节变换的到来，迎面吹来的风已经可以隐隐感觉透着一丝暖意。
假期的前两天老胡和蔡来这边了，先是在台球馆打了一下午的斯洛克，那天我的状态奇佳，很多只有大师才能够进的球被我准准几杆推进，那个感觉真是爽！昨天去了上海科技馆，这是一个在来学校之时就听兴旺说过的好地方，但是直到来上海两年的今天才去。如果说没去前很憧憬是因为科普性质的题材会给人很多新奇的幻想，那么去过后的话就会发现这里仅仅是一个普及科普知识的场所，有小孩的话带着去玩玩是很好的选择，但离成人的科技方面的趣味性还是有一段距离。当然，科技馆的外观确实很时尚很宏大，里面根据学科划分的场馆鳞次栉比，估计需要花费一天的时间才能走完。最吸引成人的恐怕是特制电影，如imax，巨幕这些在一般电影院难得见到的大制作。以前在海南的热带海洋世界看过“恐龙之行”，就是那种带着3D眼镜坐在旋转椅子上的那种，电影的放映过程会让观众觉得身临其境。这次本想再次体验一下的，可惜几个老家伙都被折腾得像老狗一样的累了，况且等五点那一场的话放映的话天也快黑了，就只好作罢。晚饭在小迟住所附近的一个小馆子，我们一边吃一边聊，聊来说去就说到了男女之事，各自说了些近期的经历和周围朋友同事的琐事。蔡跟小迟的状况很好，恋爱朝着婚姻的方向发展着；老胡的话跟我一样也在找寻另一半，但他似乎攻守平衡，这比我单方面的那种“捂”来的更加生动，看得出他们对我的那种闷骚也是很不赞同的......确实，生活中很多问题就是需要找人倾述的，特别是像我们这种外漂族，压力比较大，如何很好的调节自己以获得比较健全的心理状况除了平时多运动，更是需要把一些积压在心里的苦闷说出来。Just speak out more!那一刻不禁对生活中能有他们两个哥们感到庆幸！朋友是相知相惜的，特别是我们这种经历相仿的，他们不要求你的付出，却会默默听你诉说，听你长谈。在这过程当中，你会发现理想和信赖的存在 - 理想使人充实、信赖使人踏实。这跟我上周五下班回家在肯德基一个人啃着面包的心情形成鲜明的对比，当时的我很没“活生生”的状态：天早已经黑下来了，身体很疲乏，又饿又困，却还是一个人在那守着一个盘子狂啃，周围充满了陌生，外面下着小雨，还要挤公车回到那个冰凉的宿舍...
其实，人可以告诫自己做到淡定，但是真到了某种孤立无助的场合，还是需要圈内人安慰的。现在的我，就是一个流浪汉，吃人俸禄，在城市的一角挣扎着以找寻机会。朋友的存在会增添很多生活的色彩(群体的归属)，又若能在纷乱的思绪中理出一些理想主义的成分（独立的自我），我便会发现自己不是那么在意繁琐的生活点滴，生活会变得有意思。
即使流浪，也要做个有理想的流浪汉，呵呵~

时光
演唱: 许巍

在阳光温暖的春天
走在这城市的人群中
在不知不觉的一瞬间又想起你......
你是记忆中最美的春天
是我难以再回去的昨天
你像鲜花那样地绽放让我心
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~
在阳光温暖的春天
走在这城市的人群中
在不知不觉的一瞬间又想起你......
也许就在这一瞬间
你的笑容依然如晚霞般
在川流不息的时光中神采飞扬
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~
we~~~say~~~~

First duty in east office

上班是公司班车拖着所有的器材去的，因一路没有换班车的麻烦就没有计算时间。下班是6点30的样子，回家7点45.路上总耗时75分钟。估计早上坐车会比较挤一些，算下来路上花费2-3小时是基本的时耗。
一路上可以看到有的人拿着报纸杂志翻来覆去的看，有的人戴着耳机一副自我享受的神情，有的人手里拿着学习教材紧紧把握着学习的机会...大部分都如我今天这般，只是拉着扶手四处观望或者发呆。如果可以找到位置，坐下来看看书、听听新闻也是很好的选择。
今天有些冒失。我怕到达办公室的时间回比较晚，因而没有跟那边team里的同事打招呼。另一方面，payton却早早发邮件说为迎接新人的到来大家一起去吃饭，之后邮件里面还跟了好几个人的热忱欢迎的信息。可惜都被我的冒失给错过了，等到吃完饭再把机器装好才知道他们是这么的考虑周到。汗！这件事情确实给我一个经验教训：以后办事情的话应该先考虑团队的反应，真诚地对待同事。公司管理的人性化又给我留下了难以挥去的情愫，呵呵~
接下来，我该好好地跟陈伟他们好好交流了，毕竟人家都是专业背景很强很扎实的同行。当然，跟他们交往(也主要就是一起吃饭)会冷落了2楼的那帮一起搬过去的家伙。这就只能通过平时的多点心思多为他们做点事情出发了。都是很smart的人，交流不成问题，但如果能跟他们一起找归属那以后工作起来会更加和谐、轻松。
just do it！