爱因斯坦在1953年给J.E.Switzer的回信,很多人对信中最后一句话中those discoveries如何翻译产生了歧义,下面是原文与中文翻译对比,大家也可以理解一下。
The development of Western Science has been based on two great achievements, the invention of the formal logical system (in Euclidean geometry) by the Greek philosophers, and the discovery of the possibility of finding out causal relationships by systematic experiment (at the Renaissance). In my opinion one need not be astonished that the Chinese sages did not make these steps. The astonishing thing is that those discoveries were made at all.
西方科学的发展是建立在两项重大成就的基础上的:希腊哲学家们(在欧几里德几何学中)发明的形式逻辑体系,和(文艺复兴时期)发现的通过系统实验找到因果关系的可能性。在我看来,中国的先贤们没有能够走上做出这些发现的道路,是不值得惊奇的。令人惊奇的是,竟然有人做出了那些(西方科学)发现。