Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world?

积木为何是世界上最巧妙的玩具？

THE ATOM THEORY

原子理论 

Here I am again, Sophie. Today you are going to hear about the last of the great natural philosophers. His name is Democritus (c. 460-370 B.C.) and he was from the little town of Abdera on the northern Aegean coast.

苏菲，我又来了!今天我们将谈到最后一位伟大的自然派哲学他的名字叫德谟克里特斯(约公元前四六零～公元前三七零）来自爱琴海北部海岸一个叫阿布德拉的小镇。 

If you were able to answer the question about Lego blocks without difficulty, you should have no problem understanding what this philosopher's project was.

如果你能够毫无困难地回答有关积木的问题，你将可以了解这位哲学家的课题。 

Democritus agreed with his predecessors that transformations in nature could not be due to the fact that anything actually "changed." He therefore assumed that everything was built up of tiny invisible blocks, each of which was eternal and immutable. Democritus called these smallest units atoms.

德谟克里特斯同意前面几位哲学家的看法，认为自然界的转变不是因为任何事物真的有所“改变”。他相信每一种事物都是由微小的积木所组成，而每一块积木都是永恒不变的。德谟克里特斯把这些最小的单位称为原子。 

The word "atom" means "un-cuttable." For Democritus it was all-important to establish that the constituent parts that everything else was composed of could not be divided indefinitely into smaller parts. If this were possible, they could not be used as blocks. If atoms could eternally be broken down into ever smaller parts, nature would begin to dissolve like constantly diluted soup.

原子(atom)这个字的本意是“不可分割的”。德谟克里特斯认为，证明组成各种事物的单位不可能被无限制分割成更小的单位是很重要的。因为如果每一个组成各种事物的单位都可以被分割成更小的单位，则大自然将开始像不断被稀释的汤一般消失了。 

Moreover, nature's blocks had to be eternal--because nothing can come from nothing. In this, he agreed with Parmenides and the Eleatics. Also, he believed that all atoms were firm and solid. But they could not all be the same.

更重要的是，大自然的积木必须是永恒的，因为没有一件事物会来自虚无。在这方面，他同意帕梅尼德斯与伊利亚地区那些哲学家的看法，也认为所有的原子都是坚硬结实的，但却非完全一样。 

If all atoms were identical, there would still be no satisfactory explanation of how they could combine to form everything from poppies and olive trees to goatskin and human hair.

他说，如果所有原子都一模一样，则我们将无法圆满解释它们何以能够聚合成像罂粟花、橄榄树、羊皮、人发等各种不同的东西。 

Democritus believed that nature consisted of an unlimited number and variety of atoms.

德谟克里特斯相信，大自然是由无数形状各异的原子组成的。 

Some were round and smooth, others were irregular and jagged. And precisely because they were so different they could join together into all kinds of different bodies. But however infinite they might be in number and shape, they were all eternal, immutable, and indivisible.

其中有些是平滑的圆形，有些是不规则的锯齿形。正因为它们形状如此不同，才可以组合在一起，成为各种不同的物体。然而，无论它们的数量和形状多么无穷无尽，它们都是永恒不变、不可被分割的。 

When a body--a tree or an animal, for instance--died and disintegrated, the atoms dispersed and could be used again in new bodies. Atoms moved around in space, but because they had "hooks" and "barbs," they could join together to form all the things we see around us.

当一个物体——如一棵树或一只动物——死亡并分解时，原子就分散各处并可用来组成新的物体。这些原子在空间中到处移动，但因为它们有“钩”与“刺”，因此可以组成我们周遭所见的事物。 

So now you see what I meant about Lego blocks. They have more or less the same properties as those which Democritus ascribed to atoms. And that is what makes them so much fun to build with. They are first and foremost indivisible. Then they have different shapes and sizes. They are solid and impermeable. They also have "hooks" and "barbs" so that they can be connected to form every conceivable figure. These connections can later be broken again so that new figures can be constructed from the same blocks.

因此，现在你明白我问你积木问题的用意了吧？积木的性质多少与德谟克里特斯所说的原子相似，这也是为何积木如此好玩的原因。首先它们是不可分割的，其次它们有各种不同的形状与尺寸，它们是硬而且不可渗透的。它们也有“钩”与“刺”，使得它们可以组合在一起，形成任何你想象得到的形状。组合完成后，你也可以将它们拆掉，用同一批积木再组成新的东西。 

The fact that they can be used over and over is what has made Lego so popular. Each single Lego block can be part of a truck one day and part of a castle the day after. We could also say that lego blocks are "eternal." Children of today can play with the same blocks their parents played with when they were little.

它们可以一再重复使用，这也是积木为何如此受到欢迎的原因。同一块积木今天可以用来造卡车，明天可以用来造城堡。我们也可以说积木是“永恒”的玩具，因为父母小时玩的积木可以拿给下一代玩。 

We can form things out of clay too, but clay cannot be used over and over, because it can be broken up into smaller and smaller pieces. These tiny pieces can never be joined together again to make something else.

我们也可以用黏土来做东西，不过黏土不可以重复使用，因为它可以不断被分割成更小的单位。这些微小的单位不能够再度组合，做成别的东西。 

Today we can establish that Democritus' atom theory was more or less correct. Nature really is built up of different "atoms" that join and separate again. A hydrogen atom in a cell at the end of my nose was once part of an elephant's trunk. A carbon atom in my cardiac muscle was once in the tail of a dinosaur.

今天我们可以确定，德谟克里特斯的原子理论或多或少是正确的。大自然的确是由聚散不定的不同“原子”所组成。我鼻头细胞里的一个氢原子以前可能属于某只大象的鼻子；我的脏肌肉里的一个碳原子从前可能在恐龙的尾巴上。 

In our own time, however, scientists have discovered that atoms can be broken into smaller "elemental particles." We call these elemental particles protons, neutrons, and electrons. These will possibly some day be broken into even lesser particles. But physicists agree that somewhere along the line there has to be a limit. There has to be a "minimal part" of which nature consists.

不过，现代科学家已经发现原子可以分裂为更小的“基本粒子”。我们称之为质子、中子与电子。也许这些粒子有一天也可以被分裂成更小的粒子。但物理学家一致认为这样分裂下去，一定会有一个极限。一定有一个组成大自然的“最小单位”。 

Democritus did not have access to modern electronic apparatus. His only proper equipment was his mind. But reason left him no real choice. Once it is accepted that nothing can change, that nothing can come out of nothing, and that nothing is ever lost, then nature must consist of infinitesimal blocks that can join and separate again.

德谟克里特斯当年并没有现代的电子设备可以利用。他唯一的工具就是他的心灵。不过在运用他的理性思考之后，他其实也只能提出这样的答案。他既然接受没有任何事物会改变、没有任何事物来自虚无、没有任何事物会消失的说法，那么大自然必定是由可以一再聚散的无限小单位组成的。 

Democritus did not believe in any "force" or "soul" that could intervene in natural processes. The only things that existed, he believed, were atoms and the void. Since he believed in nothing but material things, we call him a materialist.

德谟克里特斯并不相信有任何“力量”或“灵魂”介入大自然的变化过程。他认为世间唯一存在的东西就只有原子与虚空。由于只相信物质的东西，因此我们称他为唯物论者。 

According to Democritus, there is no conscious "design" in the movement of atoms. In nature, everything happens quite mechanically. This does not mean that everything happens randomly, for everything obeys the inevitable laws of necessity. Everything that happens has a natural cause, a cause that is inherent in the thing itself. Democritus once said that he would rather discover a new cause of nature than be the King of Persia.

根据德谟克里特斯的说法，原子的移动并没有任何刻意的“设计”。在自然界中，每一件事物的发生都是相当机械化的。这并不是说每一件事都是偶然发生的，因为万事万物都遵从必要的“必然法则”。每一件事之所以发生都有一个自然的原因，这个原因原本即存在于事物的本身。德谟克里特斯曾经说过，他对发现新的自然法则比当波斯国王更有兴趣。

The atom theory also explains our sense perception, thought Democritus. When we sense something, it is due to the movement of atoms in space. When I see the moon, it is because "moon atoms" penetrate my eye.

德谟克里特斯认为，原子理论同时也解释了我们的感官何以会有知觉。我们之所以会感觉到某样东西，是因为原子在空间中移动的缘故，我们之所以能看到月亮，是因为“月亮原子”穿透了我们的眼睛。 

But what about the "soul," then? Surely that could not consist of atoms, of material things? Indeed it could. Democritus believed that the soul was made up of special round, smooth "soul atoms." When a human being died, the soul atoms flew in all directions, and could then become part of a new soul formation.

然而，有关“灵魂”这档事又怎么说呢？它一定不可能是由原子、由物质组成的吧？事实上，那是可能的。德谟克里特斯认为，灵魂是由一种既圆又平滑的特别的“灵魂原子”组成。人死时，灵魂原子四处飞散，然后可能变成另一个新灵魂的一部分。 

This meant that human beings had no immortal soul, another belief that many people share today. They believe, like Democritus, that "soul" is connected with brain, and that we cannot have any form of consciousness once the brain disintegrates.

这表示人类并没有不朽的灵魂。今天许多人都持有这种想法。他们像德谟克里特斯一样，相信“灵魂”与脑子连在一起，脑子分解之后，我们就没有任何知觉意识了。 

Democritus's atom theory marked the end of Greek natural philosophy for the time being. He agreed with ,Her-aclitus that everything in nature "flowed," since Torms come and go. But behind everything that flowed there were some eternal and immutable things that did not flow. Democritus called them atoms.

关于希腊的自然派哲学，我们暂时就讨论到德谟克里特斯的原子理论为止。他赞成赫拉克里特斯的看法，认为各种物体出现、消失、出现、消失，因此自然界的一切事物都是“流动”的。不过每一件“流动”的事物背后，有某种永恒不变、不会流动的东西，德谟克里特斯称之为原子。