在网上看到一个好帖，贴过来和大家分享
Impossible Dreams (by E. J. Corey)  

既然是做有机的, 就不能不提本领域内"活着的丰碑"--E.J.Corey, 这老先生是鼎鼎大名, 光荣事迹就轮不着我说了. 今天我选他2004年在JOC- Perspective上发表的文章---Impossible Dreams---(J. Org. Chem., 69 (9), 2917 -2919, 2004. 10.1021/jo049925d).

其实这篇文章在网上也见到有评价, 大体是说Corey自命不凡, 居然在JOC上给自己写自传. 我倒是觉得老爷子还是蛮可爱的, 在其他地方看到一些大牛把Angew.Chem.和JACS当成自己家的后花园撒泼吵架或者当成自家杂志写长篇小说连载.,觉得那境界也就彼此彼此吧.大家都是人,而且人家是化学界的名人, 也要允许显显摆嘛,不然一辈子混得什么劲儿. 他首先说小时候自己是波士顿红袜队的超级粉丝. 做了一辈子的球迷,终于有了回报. 十七年前孩提时代的英雄Ted Williams与他交谈共处了一个多小时. 然后谈到自己的不可能梦想. (插一句嘴, 我怎么老想着Impossible Mission呢) 我看完了这篇文章也没闹明白老爷子嘴里挂着的Impossible Dreams是什么东东, 难道是小时候琢磨的"电灯电话, 楼上楼下"?

下面是我的摘录:You will understand the title at one level by knowing that I have been a fan of the Boston Red Sox for about seventy years. This loyalty was partially rewarded about seventeen years ago when by chance I had the pleasure of spending an hour with my boyhood hero, Ted Williams. At about the time that I started to follow the Red Sox games by radio, I acquired the notion that I would like someday to know in detail how to build from scratch radios, planes, skyscrapers, bridges, and all the other objects of modern life. I sometimes wonder, in retrospect, whether this impossible dream somehow had an influence on the course of my life.

接着讲他在MIT的求学经历, 以及后来到Illinois谋得教职. 后来又到哈佛做教授.这些就省略了,反正大家有兴趣自己找来看就是,也不用我在这儿啰嗦. 我想说得就是文章的末段:

在倒数第三段里, Corey对化学界的年轻人做了"寄语":To them and to those starting careers in chemistry, I would offer the following advice: Never underestimate what you can accomplish if you prepare yourself well, continue to learn, work hard and optimistically, and value your integrity. 这一段话相当精彩, 反正我是把它做成自己的QQ签名了.




在Nicholau在Angew.Chem.上写的一篇全合成综述里提到一段话,我把它抄过来:Corey's contributions have turned the art of synthesis into a science....就是说Corey把有机合成艺术变成了一门科学. 正文的标题还有一句"Dedicated to Professor E. J. Corey for his outstanding contributions to organic synthesis".不光是做学问的,其实很多时候最重要的不是自己吹嘘自己多厉害, 同行的认可和尊重显得更为重要.  我等小辈在这个时候所能做的就是给予滔滔江水般景仰.


I am often asked about my vision for the future of chemistry, especially synthetic chemistry. As just stated, I believe that chemical synthesis will make enormous contributions to human progress in the next century especially when coupled to biology and medicine. However, those developments will not be fully realized without great and continuing advances in the central disciplines of chemistry. There is so much that remains to be discovered, in my opinion, that today's chemistry will seem archaic to a 22nd century chemist. I envy the young people in chemistry who will experience the excitement and pleasure of making the many discoveries of the next century of chemical research. Yet, at the same time, I worry about whether the younger generations of this country and the world will aspire to high creativity and persevere to achieve their impossible dreams.


在倒数第二段里,Corey提到自己经常被问到对有机合成化学的前景. 他讲道化学合成和生物及药物结合起来, 必定对人类的发展做出巨大贡献. 然而如果没有化学作为中心学科持续取得很大进展, 这些发展就无从谈起. 在他看来,仍然有许多有待探索的东东,今天的化学在未来22世纪看来可能就是archaic(古代的, 已经废弃的). 另外他很羡慕这个领域的年轻人etc....还有他担心下一代会不会有足够的抱负及高的创造力来坚持去实现他们自己的Impossible Dreams.....我觉得,他的意思是和"九斤老太"一样----担心一代不如一代, 一方面对新来的鼓励,另外也是吹捧自己吧,呵呵.
by 刘军涛 in 2007
原文:
http://www.fs2you.com/files/f7018763-5302-11dd-b0dd-0014221b798a/

[ Last edited by gauss_ren on 2008-7-16 at 14:51 ] 返回小木虫查看更多