天堂

In the United States, Hawaii is called a Paradise State and Las Vegas is called a Sin City. The interesting thing is that most people in Hawaii pick Las Vegas for vacation. People in the paradise travel to the sin city for vacation? And a lot of Hawaiians move to Las Vegas for job, living and completely abandon the life style of the paradise . So what is wrong with the Paradise?  Isn't Paradise also called Heaven, 天堂? 

天堂是每個人嚮往的地方,可是為什麽有那多的天堂人要去罪惡之城? 這是一個值得深思的話题. 祇要有人描繪出一個'極樂世界'的模型---像夏威夷,四季如春,鳥語花香,到處水果香豆,隨處取用,人們不用维生,天天享樂. So far so good. 可是再努力往下描述,慢慢毛病就會叢生,不是虫類太多就是火山灰太密. 加上物资不全,離大陸太遠,物價昂貴, ....不多時天堂的人就纷纷想去 Sin City Las Vegas 了. 

人們不瞭解天堂底细,主要原因大概是天堂從來就沒有好好的被發現过,更不要說天堂是怎樣被建造的. 天堂一般來說是宗教假想出來的,它和地獄是兩極化相反的地方,是宗教為了勸人為善而創造出來的兩個虛擬世界,完全没有証實而要求信徒信之不疑. 為了勸人不作惡,把地獄描繪得光怪陸離,非常陰慘的地方. 至於天堂,既然是好地方,就不用多加描述,讓人自己想像,有多好就有多好. 只要能被選上天堂,一切安心無慮,永生永遠. 如果再加描述,慢慢的, '夏威夷效應' 就會顯现出來,不可避免的,就是 Sin City Las Vegas 了.

每個人都想上天堂,可是又不想死,没死就一定上不了天堂. 既然人生不如意事,十之八九,為什应大部分人还要留恋多災多難的塵世呢? 這真是宗教最大的矛盾之處. 宗教有幾百種,对天堂的這種心理矛盾都是一模一樣,没有例外. 天堂被描繪成一個極樂世界,盡善盡美. 可是一個人如果真上了天堂,他又如何生活,如何享受'天'生? 世上沒有一本名著專門敍述或採討天堂的生活和社會組織以及人與人和人與神的関係. 如果有的話,也是各說各話,每一宗派各有一套門路,可說是 各憑天才,百家爭鳴.

嚴格来說,天堂没法描述，你一下筆,一定寫到一些與你時代有関的生活方式和科技,像班揚的天堂或但丁的天堂比起 Bill Gate 和 Steve Jobs 的天堂,一定有天大的差別. 既然古代的天堂和近世的天堂不一樣,那天堂还有什麽意義? 天堂隨時代而進步? 那天堂算是什麼極樂世界? 我們這種想法是一種倒果為因的邏輯: 是先有天堂还是先有人類? A good old 'Chicken and Egg' problem or dilemma. 以上不能解答的原因是'先有天堂'的假設. 如果換成'先有人類',則不同天堂的理由非常明顯,一點也不難解釋. 這可說是天堂地獄之謎,豁然開朗.

另外一點和天堂有関的是 Soul and Body. 人死了就物化,失去了躯体,如果还有靈存在,那应靈是没佔空間,没有質量. 既然靈不佔空間,為什麼还需要一個天堂,有空間的實体来装這些靈? 如果靈下了地獄,既没有肉身,故亦無痛楚,那地獄的處罚还有何意義? 是不是天堂和地獄都是不佔空間的虛幻迷物或虛擬世界? 如果天堂和地獄不存在,也不能証實它的確存在,那萬物之靈的人類有何理由要相信天堂和地獄?

有衛道人士說,大千世界,如果没有天堂和地獄的观念,社會一定會大乱,因為人類將一無顧忌,要幹坏事一点也沒摭欄. 這也不無道理. 不过總之讓人想起孔老夫子說的話:"民可使由之，不可使知之", 很有點给人愚民政策的观感. 想來人類ㄏ史也不过幾千年,也許在文明進程中,不可避免的一定要经过這些宗教和天堂地獄的陣痛, 似乎沒有一條康莊的捷徑,通往 美好的未來. 那美好的未來究竟是什麼呢? 要有一個美好的未來社會和世界,應該是從教育著手,培植深耕. 像文藝復興和開明時代,对人文和科學的追求, 用理性 (Reason) 的思考去理解大自然的神秘和化解一切神绩和迷信. 把所有道德,倫理和真善美好好地用理性來分析化解和综合,理出一個理想的烏托邦.

Tesla

Nicola Tesla

There is a section of land in Palo Alto which is encircled by Foothill Expressway, Arastradero, Deer Creek and Page Mill Road. In the past 40 years, there are many prominent companies reside here with their headquarters. The most prestigious one is PARC, or Palo Alto Research Center of Xerox. When time goes by, most people almost forget Xerox, but PARC, its name is still around. Perhaps it is because in mid-1970, Steve Jobs toured the center and put the PARC's graphic display and mouse into practice. It is the Macintosh personal computer. After a while, Microsoft lost little time to create Windows Operating System and it becomes the standard of the PC industry. Lately, a company called Tesla quietly moved into the Deer Creek area and set up its headquarter here.

Tesla has become a hot company these days and its name with CEO Elon Musk listed in parallel with Amazon, Google and Apple. The emergence of the industry is not just a battery car, but also a lot of communicating devices, wire or wireless which include some vehicles destine to Mars. Now the first thing we ask is why it is called Tesla. We are electrical engineers and know who Tesla is. He worked on induction motors and the alternating current (AC) transmission system. Is there any relation between Tesla & Elon Musk? It turns out very little here. The company was set up in the east coast with two founders, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who chose between Tesla & Faraday and finally picked Tesla. Elon Musk joined in the company later and said he preferred Edison. But Tesla was picked already, he is not going to change it easily. It is still not obvious why Tesla is chosen by the first two founders. The only thing we know is that is is just very cool to name it Tesla. Is Tesla cool? I am not sure. Tesla was a weird inventor most people knew at the time he lived. However, he was forgotten after he died. Edison seems a much more popular name to the public in the US and the world.

It is interesting to point out here that in 1891 Thomas Edison set up his lab at Menlo Park in New Jersey and now Elon Musk set up his company in Palo Alto, near Menlo Park in California. However, the name of the company is Tesla, the main rival of Edison. Here Chaos plays a big role. If Elon Musk is the first founder of the company, he would have picked up Edison as the name of the new company. The result will be great to Edison as his historical Menlo Park Laboratory in New Jersey is going to move to Menlo Park of California.

Tesla was a Serbian engineer who used to work for Edison in New York. At the time of 1890 to 1910, the need of electricity surged. The key decision at that time was to use DC or AC for long distance transmission and distribution. Edison was familiar with the DC method and thought it is much safer. Tesla thought it differently. He preferred AC technology to utilize high voltage with low current to reduce the power loss of transmission. The transformer is useful only when AC is used. Tesla left Edison to find other support and finance his endeavor. He found the Westinghouse. Eventually his AC technology was used to power the 1893 Exhibition in Chicago and proved to be successful. 

If we look at the electric car Tesla is producing now, it uses batteries, a complete DC device. However, it is inevitable, the voltage used in the car can not be a single voltage. In order to convert to other DC voltage, the AC technique must be used and rectified again to DC. No matter how we look at it, it is just not practical not to use AC technology in a DC electric car. Meanwhile it is much better to call it Electric Car instead of DC Electric Car. With this logic, we think Tesla may be cooler even Edison is a more popular name.

When we were in junior years of NTU, we studied the subject of Alternating Current. The professor was 楊進顺. He was a nice person but the way he lectured on the subject was poor at best. I am not sure he mentioned anything about Tesla at all in the class. Some of us mentioned that they don't know who Tesla is. I am not sure that is true, perhaps they just forgot what they learned before or just forgot it due to the memory loss. However, if you have chance to visit Niagara Fall in New York, you will not miss Tesla. The electric generators and the transmission system of the Niagara Fall Station uses the design of Tesla and Westinghouse. If we review the courses and subjects we studied in the first four years of EE, we will realize more than 85% of our time and effort are spent on the AC related phenomena. If everything is DC, there will be no Hertz, Induction, Laplace, Fourier, Maxwell, EM Wave, etc etc etc.

If you studied AC Circuitry and don't know Nicola Tesla, how about Steinmetz? In AC Circuitry, another prominent engineer must be mentioned along with Tesla. He is Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923), a German mathematician and electrical engineer. He came to America to avoid the prosecution at home. He went to work for a little company later purchased by GE. He showed his brilliance in the labs of GE and generated many papers on the AC circuitry. He actually worked out most of the mathematics related to AC with vector concept called Phasor. Using complex variable with rotational concept, he was able to put AC circuit on a much more rigorous basis on paper. Most of the equations and calculations in calculus becomes algebraic, a much easier to handle in the field and industry. He also made some discoveries in magnetic hysteresis that enabled engineers to design some motors for use in industry. I can't remember either 馬雲龍 or 楊進顺 have ever mentioned Steinmetz at all.

Since AC is so important in electrical engineering, we should spend some time looking into what Tesla was doing at that time. Nicola Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian inventor, migrated to America, served as electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist and futurist. His most contribution is the design of the modern alternation current electricity supply system. He worked for a short time at Edison Machine Works in NY before moving on his own. His AC induction motor and poly-phase AC patents, licensed by Westinghouse Electric earned him some money. However, he never tried to setup his own company earnestly to make profit from what he had invented. Instead he tried to develop a series of inventions with varying degrees of success. Having spent most of his money, he lived in a series of New York hotels, leaving behind unpaid bills. The nature of his earlier work and some comments he made to the press later in life earned him the reputation of 'Mad Scientist' in American public society. Tesla died in New York City in January 1943. His work fell into relative obscurity following his death. However in 1960, the scientific circle named the SI unit of magnetic flux density the 'Tesla' in his honor. Since then, there has been a resurgence in popular interest in Tesla since early 1990.

PS: The Phasor concept is also used in the HP-35 scientific calculator in the functions of trigonometry---Sequential Table Lookup and Rotational Vector.

The Old Age & The New Age of Life

In the course of my playing tennis in the last fifty years, I found that I got hurt in some way here and there. Of course I needed some time for my body to heal or I went to see chiropractor. In the former case, it is simple, I just take it easy with rest.  Usually, it improves little the first week, then heal better and eventually recover completely.  In the latter case, a chiropractor would perform some muscle manipulation and circulate my blood circulation nicely.  Usually I feel better the first week, however, the second week, it sort of return to the original pain.  So I just kept visiting him some more times.  After 4 or 5 more times of visiting, eventually, I got the pain healed too.  However, the tricky thing to ask is whether the healing is due to the chiropractor or just by natural healing as the case without visiting chiropractor.  Since the time of healing between the two cases of healing is about the same, why should I go to see chiropractor?  After all, the end result is about the same to my body.  I always think life should be simpler the better.  So eventually, I stick to the natural healing at home with some good rest.

However, in the last ten years, the time of healing was getting longer and longer. As we all know that when we are getting older, it takes longer to recover our pain or to heal.  I lose the patience for this kind of wait for healing. I gradually develop a new way and procedure to handle the problem. Nothing is really a miracle, it is simply a way to work around to avoid the same kind of pain. 

Several years ago, with my age getting over 65, I found that my backhand under-spin shot caused pain in my elbow. I waited for a few weeks and saw little improvement. I decided to change the stroke using both hands. With my tennis tutor machine, I practiced the new stroke for a few weeks and got a good handle of the trick. When time went by, I regained my record to match the old stroke. So I kept playing like this for sometime and satisfied my standing and performance on the court. One early morning, while I was chasing some fast pacing ball on my backhand, I just have to use one-hand under-spin stroke. Surprisingly, I could hit it nicely without feeling pain at all. After all, it might be that it just took such a long time to recover my previous pain. I suspect it may take shorter time to do it, but I didn't test or verify it, so I don't have valid data to prove my point. Anyway, nowadays I can perform my backhand with single or double-hand without problems. It is even better that I can choose whichever way I like at the moment to execute the stroke. I also found that with 50% time of single-hand and 50% time of double-hand, I can evenly distribute my muscle load to the body.

Good thing usually doesn't last long. Until one day, I found that my powerful forehand drive became weaker and eventually also caused muscle pain. It is really a frustrate thing that see your killer stroke going away. I know when we get older, our muscle shrinks further and so becomes weaker. But the pain in the elbow can not be the excuse. I did the same as before and in vain. So I did the good old trick, change the stroke or the method how I hit the ball. I started to learn the stroke of two-hand forehand. With the ball machine on the court for a few weeks, I got to the point that I can perform this stroke with some confidence. I just need to run a little bit faster to compensate the limitation of the stretch of arm. When I was ready to play the game on both-hand forehand and backhand, I become a new man, a new old man on the court. It is a new experience in my life. Not only I hit the ball easier, but also I distribute my load of hitting ball more evenly among my arm and muscle. I feel more eased and feel better with more evenly distributed load to my body. I used to have bigger right hand, but now my left hand gets a shot and exercise that it grows larger.

So far my tutor machine is doing nicely to me for the adaptation. I am not sure what else I need in the future. The machine is simple and costs not much for me to handle. The only drawback I get is that it somehow sometime got the ball stuck in the hole that holds up the whole thing. I have to stop the routine to manually clear up the problem and restart the machine. There are many different types of ball machines on the field. The 'Tennis Tutor Lite' is the one I use. It is light and easy to carry around with a price tag of about $800.

舊日情懷

有人說少年時代最大的快樂就是讀書. 這句話有部分真確,但說'最大'的快樂,未免太牽強. 運動和娛樂其實也是同等讓少年快樂的活動. 大部分論述和比較最好避免用'最'這個字,因為例外的情况是很容易被人找出来的. 就我所知,讀書的確是少年時代一件赏心愉快的活動,尤其是在小學畢業後,我們的閲讀能力已经有能力在学校課程外,吸收一些課外讀物. 加上初中以後,個人的机動性 (mobility) 大大提高,可以探訪書店和逛舊書攤,涉獵各種書本和購買或借一些有趣的書本和雜誌. 在假日或週末,可在圖書館或家庭後院,赏心地看一些有趣的書,如厂史,地理,人文和自然,可說是少年人生的享受之一. 記得小學時代有開明書店和中華書局,學友和東方出版社. 那兒有很多適合中小学生的書籍如数学列車,生物奇观,人類厂史,星空巡礼,愛的教育,談美,文藝心理學,詩論,談文學,欧遊雜記,馬先生談算學,法布尔的昆虫記和化學学校,加上林肯,愛迪生,達尔文,哥倫布 ... 的傳記,實在是琳覽滿目,看不完的奇書和趣闻. 我想大家都有這些類似的阅讀和经验. 到現在回想也都是一種美好的回憶. 現時大家年过七十,已经進入人生另外的階段,不但常旅行,对讀書和看 YouTube 也是快樂的選项之一,尤其當体力已不如青年時代,讀書和观看 video/audio multimedia 更是有趣和慢慢取代了遠程的旅遊. 現在 YouTube 的 platform, 節目豊富,目不接暇,可說應有盡有,对退休生活來說真是功不可沒,可說是退休人士的福音書. 晚年的閲讀更有一强项,那就是不但能吸收新知識,对以前看过的書,尤其是世界名著,再讀一次常有更深一層的感受和体驗,有一種說不出來的味道和感受,尤其是对社會的加深瞭解和对名著的詮釋,這真是心靈和益智的享受. 把少年時代無法品赏到的人生原味找回来,细细回味欣赏,充分享受人生之精華.

在高中課外閱讀時,認識了一位叫'沉櫻'的女作家,她也翻譯一些外国小說,我对她的譯作印象很深,覺得她不但譯得好,又感情豊富,令人印象深刻,久久不能忘怀. 沉女士說'翻譯是半創作'. 因為內容结構是人家的,譯者只在遣詞造句的筆調上,以及字行間裏的意味上,用心就行了. 這是沉櫻在顧到譯文的流暢优美的同時,是如何重视对原作的忠實. 有没有譯作比原作更精彩和感人? 答案是否定的,因為理論上也許說不过去. 但仔细想想,大部分中国人的外文程度是和外国人有一定的差距. 不管多麼用心力,阅讀原文後,不一定會比好的中文翻譯感受更深. 在這五十年間,最令我感受到類似的经验是一本 Rachael Carson 的 'The Sea Around Us'. 夏道平先生在翻譯這本書時用書名'海的故事'. 利用他的英文和中文底子,他真的是在'半創作'. 讓我深深觉得讀其譯作更令人感動. 這當然不是 Carson 女士的原作差,而是我的英文底子不夠好到能感受到一些微妙的語言訣竅。現在想想,時隔五十多年,还能記得一些以前的閲讀经验. 最近整理一些記憶,把我印象最深的沉樱女士譯作的幾篇故事,重新找出,再重讀一次,發觉还是那麼清新,那麼令人感動,久久不能忘懷. 尤其在国外多年,对西方文化和生活背景的認識加深不少,再讀這些名作,認識作者和体會社會環境,也因而加深欣赏的程度. 我想選其中一篇,來探討其中的感受和韻味. 

一位陌生女子的來信

這是 Stefan Zweig 在 1922 年出版的小說. Zweig 是奥围近代文豪之一. 他的小說特点,非常重視结構和和諧,每一篇都像精细的藝術,計算好而寫出来。有人說美好的小說可以做到在文字方面如詩,在佈局方面如画,進行的節奏如音樂,而其內在的意義如信仰之虔誠. Zweig 的小說可說'雖不中亦不遠矣'. 在 1920到 1930年間, Zweig 是世界小說界內很有名氣的一位作家. 在他逝世後,有很多小說作品被搬上影幕,一直到今日. 他的一些名著如下: 一位陌生女子的來信, 馬來亞狂人 (蠱, Amok), 怕 (Fear, Angst), 奇遇, 情網, 抉擇, 家庭教師, Beware of Pity, 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman, A Promise ...

幾乎五十年前,我第一次接觸到這本小說 '一位陌生女子的來信',當時並没有什麼特別印像,倒是对作者 Zweig 有初步的認識和喜好. 幾年後,查到有一舊电影,是 'A Letter From An Unknown Woman',是 Joan Fontaine 和 Louis Jourdan 主演的黑白老影片,看了以後,才感受良深,对一位癡情的女人能对一位青年鋼琴手有這樣的爱情,實在超乎我的想像之外. 這和我第一次阅讀的感受完全不同. 在我們正常的愛情和婚姻関係,很難理解有這樣的爱情存在,尤其是這位癡情的女士. 她甚至可以為了他而完全犧牲自己的幸福和未來. 而這位男士的未婚生涯卻是蜻蜓點水,來去無蹤,是一種享受人生但不负太大责任的人生. 這種人在社會上很多,他們的行為和生活方式是可以理解的.小說的突出特點是在這位女人,她的單恋和癡情是難以想像和解釋,可也是人性中的正常狀態或病態. 

故事發生在维也納的一個公寓內,有一新近搬來的 concert pianist, Stefan Brand. 他在维也纳颇有一些名氣. Lisa 住在对面的 unit, 開始对他非常注意,常常聽他彈琴至夜深,後來卻癡情到有点变態. 可是她祇是在一段距離外看著他,卻也没明顯的表示心意. 這種情况维持一段時日,祇到有一天,她的媽媽想搬去 Linz 和一位男士结婚. Lisa 不能忍受離開這位 pianist, 毅然返回公寓去見這位 pianist. 他的佣人讓他進去,可是 Stefan 卻遲遲才回來,还带一位女人回家度夜. Lisa 失望到極点,祇好迴避他,並回 Linz 她妈妈那兒. Lisa 在 Linz 生活中慢慢步入軌道,有一位軍人想和她談婚事,可是她卻拒绝並告訴他,她已经有一位恋人. 婚事告吹,她媽媽和继父非常不高兴,Lisa 祇好回 Vienna 找工作. 她在那兒也不交新朋友,卻天天在 Stefan 公寓外面等他注意. 終於有一次,他注意到她,可是不知她就是以前住在他对面的那位女孩子. 他們就這樣萍水相逢,出外喝咖啡和晚餐, having a good time 和有了一夜情. 隔天 Stefan 說有事要去 Milan, 回來後再見. 可是時日过了,Stefan 卻從未出現來找她. 光陰如流水,她已经怀孕,不久以後就孩子出生,一個没有父親的孩子. 多年过後,Lisa 已经和一位男士 Johann 结婚,他也知道她的孩子是別人的. 因緣差錯,就在一次音樂會中,Lisa 忽瞥見 Stefan 而渾身不適,和丈夫說想先回去. 結果 Stefan 也正離開戲院而碰到她. 奇怪的是 Stefan 很奇怪地迷上她,卻不知她是誰,更不記得以前和他有一夜情的女人. 幾年下來 Stefan 已经走下坡路,鋼琴手生涯也慢慢结束. 這時 Lisa 和丈夫因這些有関 Stefan 的事,不能和諧相處. 於是她去找 Stefan. 他很高兴見她,可是他还是不清楚她到底是誰,对來龍去脈更是一無所知,這是蜻蜓點水式男士生涯的充分寫照. Lisa 失望透顶,黯然離開他. 幾天後她孩子患斑疹傷寒而病逝. 她也病重而傷心不已,知道時日不多,就在病床上寫了一封信給 Stefan. 這封信就是這小說的名字,可說是她的自剖,闡釋她的生涯和她对他真誠和純情的愛.

從正常的社會观點來看,這是畸型而富罗曼蒂克的病態恋爱故事. 看了以後令人唏噓而替這位女士婉惜. 自然界怎麼會產生這樣的愛情和悲剧. 總之,我第一次看這小說完全没有這種感受. 時日推演,現在閲之,再想之,這種悲剧是可能發生,因為一些男人的生活方式和对人生的態度完全忽視長遠的爱情,而是著重短暫的愛和肉体的欢樂. 她一次次的接近他,有驚喜有欢欣,但每次他都認不出她是同一個女人,也就没有個人的爱存在,這是悲剧的主因,全程是在男人完全不知情的狀况下發生. 為什放女人不顺時推舟,點出以前的秘密和纯情? 爱情的真諦和真正價值在那裏? 也許這是作者抛给讀者們,要大家探討的問题. 

Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) 和 Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) 是很好的朋友,他們对二十世紀初的 '心理分析' 有一些研究和探討. Zweig 曾经对 Freud 說: "Psychology is the great business of my life". 怪不得現在看他的小說,幾乎每篇都带著'心理分析'的架構,慢慢堆砌起整個故事. 除了'一位陌生女子的來信'外, Stefan Zweig 的另外两部小說也是非常精彩和戲劇化, 是刻畫上層社會女人的一些心理反應和行為的结局,很值得大家欣赏: Amok (馬來亞狂人, 蠱), Angst (怕, Fear). 括弧內的名字是小說的不同譯名. '馬來亞狂人' 在 1960 年代初曾在 讀者文摘雜誌刊載過,故事曲折離奇,引人入勝.

音樂與我

現在回想小時候的音樂教育,祇是唱遊,对樂理並不注重,能看五線譜和幾種豆芽菜就可以交差了. 來美國以後,看到孩子們在学校的課程,也没高明到那兒. 真正要學音樂还是要自己掏腰包,找鋼琴老師,按步就班,勤学幾年. 不过据我所知,要看簡單的譜和参加普通合唱團並不難. 欣賞音樂到底分好幾個層次,從最簡單的唱遊到 Bernstein 可以在台上指揮並彈鋼琴,講解如何欣赏之道,其間有非常大的差別. 对大部分没有正式接受音樂教育的人們,他們也喜欢音樂,也有時上音樂會. 雖不會任何樂器,但也照樣會唱和欣赏某種程度的音樂. 正因為人們有不同的與趣,也就出现不同的欣赏方式. 歸根結底,從音樂的接觸而得到深層的心靈感受,影响到生活並且变成生活的一部分,這就是音樂的功用和对人生的影响力.

我從小學開始,才真正接觸到音樂,但這是唱遊式的音樂和简單的看譜,至於大調小調,完全不通. 小學連英文字母都不教, 如何知道 G大調是啥? 所以小學看的譜大概都是 C 大調. 雖然那麽基本,但也學到不少音樂. 到现在我还記得的歌很多,大部分是反共歌曲,怀念大陸家鄉的歌及富民族主義的中華音樂. 另外一大部分是外国名曲,當时不知,到上中學以後,才在音樂雜誌和不同的資訊,慢慢摸清楚,讓這些名典纷纷歸隊. 這些外國曲子到现在还記得很清楚,如春神,甜蜜的家庭,小蜜蜂,念故鄉,怀鄉,驪歌,憶兒時,小學畢業纪念歌等等. 說來可笑,小學的音樂教育似乎比中学好. 至少在小學時看到很多風琴,音樂老師也常把風琴搬到教室,大家一起唱遊,在以後的日子給我們一些美好的回憶. 小學老師用的風琴,型体不大,也不太重,兩三個小朋友就可抬著走,声音不大,但悠遠有韻,常有繞樑之感. 以前台北在颱風時常會淹水,最讓人不捨的就是這些風琴. 在災後重建時,也不忘在風琴旁唱 '大家同在一起' 的快樂曲子. 在踩踏板時,一大堆颱風水就跟著風琴後面流出來,不知是悲傷的淚水还是喜極而泣的欢樂之水. 音樂實在是很富感性的藝術活動. 有件事需要一提,我大哥在我上小学时,在旁边市政府的印刷館找到一份差事. 他食宿無虞就花錢買了手搖唱机和後来的一台电唱机,加上一些 78 轉的老唱 片. 对我當時影响不大,倒是上了初中後,讓我開始注意並利用這些工具.

上初中以後,音樂課程和小学差不了多少,还是边唱边遊,可是風琴却不見了. 說來奇怪,在中学連小風琴也從来没出現过. 初中老師陳如雲和蔡國欽都是在台上自己教唱. 初中的音樂課对我来說是幾乎等於零. 唯一可提的是蔡老師住在学校宿舍,他有一台手提唱机和一些唱片. 我和幾位对音樂有興趣的同学常去拜訪他. 他给我們聽海顿的時鐘和軍隊交响曲. 這台唱机和我大哥的那台很像,是要随时手搖發條,不然轉盤就會慢下來. 对我們小孩子,這机器真有趣,在轉發條運動後,又可聆赏音樂,声音清淅,真是一大享受. 於是回家後,我到大哥房間探訪机器真相,發現那些 78 轉的唱片倒是琳欖滿目,有些單張,有些一大冊 (album,multiple records),其中有一冊是一個印地安人雄姿英發的在馬上. 另外一冊是一個女人在金黄色的陽光下,載歌載舞. 當時大喜,在以後的時日,我常到那兒欣赏一些異音美樂. 在初中念了英文,又有机會逛重慶南路的書店,從此音樂知識大開. 原來大哥房間的兩大冊音樂是 '新世界交响曲' 和 '阿萊城姑娘組曲'. 

中学的音樂教育照差不誤,老師們好像總有一大堆苦衷,抱怨有餘,教學不足. 我还記得陳暖玉這位女老師,她學厂很好,可是整天愁眉苦臉,牢骚滿腹,完全没盡教学之力. 上高中我第一件事就参加音樂欣赏課外活動,由陳暖玉主持. 結果祇上一堂,然後就無疾而終. 我認為這完全是陳暖玉怠職,不把学生興趣和熱忱當一回事. 現在想想,當时應該參加學校樂隊,選一樣樂器如小喇叭或双簧管. 人生之中,往往有些事,一去無回,或稍縱即逝,不可不慎. 上高中後,陈暖玉後来由张世傑接任. 這位先生很有精力,創做了一首'偉大的领袖',是反共的爱國歌曲,对音樂很热心,有时还介绍一些西方的作曲家. 有一次教唱一首名曲霍夫曼的'船歌',是 Offenbach 作品,但他把這位奥芬巴哈當成音樂之父的 巴哈 ( Johann Sebastian Bach), 倒是讓人驚訝. 當时班上有幾位同学也知 奥芬巴哈 和 JS Bach 是不同的人物. 可見就是音樂老師也有一些驚人的盲点. 有一次他在班上,忽然抱怨時下中学生熱中搖滾樂,对好音樂一点不感興趣,非常不爽. 接著就唱一小節音樂,問我們知不知道? 我一聽就知道是修伯尔特的未完成交响曲的開頭主题. 當時我小心翼翼,小声告訴前排的同學,才由他們轉達信息. 張世傑很驚訝,說'不錯,程度相當高'. 這時他開始微笑講些另外的音樂軼事. 這個小插曲我一直記得,到底我聽一些唱片,居然在教室也派上用場. 

関於音樂,有幾件事在初高中時影响我很多. 記得在初中時,一本音樂教科書的付錄有介绍一些古典名曲,其中有一頁介绍 Grieg 的培尔金特組曲 (Peer Gynt Suite),是朱永鎮介绍的. 他當時駐泰國,做有関大使馆的服務,是音樂文化交流的主任. 他的文筆和介绍很精彩,我非常喜欢. 從此以後,在高中時就往中華路逛唱片行,買唱片,回家好好欣赏. 还記得其中一张是 Peer Gynt 的第一和第二組曲. 第一组曲的'清晨'和第二組曲的'索尔维格之歌'就是朱永鎮介绍的曲子,當時印象深刻. 另外一件事是初中時,家住士林,那時是 1954-1957,士林到處是農田,每當秋天來臨,農人開始收割稻田. 那時家中剛買了一部收音机,我常聽警察廣播電台.就在這初秋時節,电台一直在播 Ravel 的 Bolero, 這是西班牙的一種舞曲,可是我觸景生情,一直就把這曲子和士林秋收稻田連在一起. 我當時也認為這曲調及氣氛和收割稻米非常適合. 至於 Bolero 是什麼,當時一点也不知,音樂之功用和影响實在超乎我想像之外. 再一件事,士林的夏天,每當日落時,西边一片彩霞,時而泛紅,時露金光,有時翠綠,有時金黃,真是美不勝收,不時更有一群小鳥列隊在遙遠的天边飛过天际,真有心曠神怡的感受. 這時偶而從收音机傳來修伯爾特的未完成交响曲第二樂章. 從開頭一直到结尾,我就看著西下的太陽,五色繽紛,冉冉下降,直到曲子最後的旋律由法国管奏出悲傷和感嘆的信息,真是印証了'夕陽無限好,祇是近黄昏'的心靈感受. 從那時以後,這一幕永遠印在我的心版上. 直到现在,我在 Palo Alto 观看日落時,這旋律不時出现,我又沈浸在士林的落霞當中.

上大學電机系以後,我開始玩 HiFi,這是音响的嗜好. 後來又有 Stereo 加入,當時因家教存了一些錢,於是中華路,西門汀,衡陽路变成我常去逛的地方. 自己裝裝收音机,買些好喇叭,加上大學的电机課程,居然有所学,有所用,生活过得很充實,也有一些成就感. 加上重慶南路的書店和牯嶺街的舊書攤,實在也沒多少時間做別的事了. 當時覺得台大有点讓人失望,如果不是這些課外活動和興趣,大學生涯可說是太單調了. 記得大二以後,台湾才開始有 TV 出現. 我找敏弘兄買了一台国际牌黑白电视机,從此以後,裝天線,調频和信号,有声有色,也有音樂. 當時'天韻歌声',節目很紅,唱得不錯. 大部分是中國歌曲和宗教音樂. 也有一些西方流行音樂在不同電視台播出,從此以後,貓王和 Paul Anka 以及 Beetle,這些音樂也開始進入生活當中. 另外一些美国电视節目也很流行,有 Lassie, Mighty Mouse, I Love Lucy, 六壯士,勇士們 等好節目,讓我度过不少有意義的時光. 唱片也買了不少,不过隨著時日進展,我發覺大部分錢皆花在古典音樂上,尤其是貝多芬,莫差特,修伯尔特,海顿,孟得尔遜,比才 ... 這些都是了33 轉的軟唱片,買回家放在架上,隨時可欣赏,用 HiFi Stereo 的音响加上15/8/3 吋喇叭,真是心曠神怡,一大享受. 出国後,當然一身轻,我買的書和唱片全部歸零. 來美国後,一切重來. Dallas WRR FM, 好的電台,好的古典音樂節目,讓人耳不接聞. 時代開始在变,唱片少買了,我買了 Tape Recorder & Player. 從大型的 reel tape 到 cassette tape,然後 CD, 幾乎每五年就有新的 media 出現. 以前的東西还可用,不过等十年後,連 hardware player 也不見了,那些 tapes 祇能進 博物館了. 我發覺每次搬家就會丢一大堆東西,像 tape, cassette, cd 等等. 唯一不变的喜好,祇有 software contents---音樂本身. 時至今日,這些音樂皆存雲端,再也沒必要像以前一樣,要買一大堆唱片. 說來你不會相信,我有一位同事,是猶太人,他看我喜欢音樂,請我到他家去. 我才發觉他有一小地方擺著海顿 104 首交响曲的唱片, 104 首,一首不差. 長長的一條架子,令人嘆為观止. 另外一位猶太同事也很精彩,他每次從 Oregon 南下湾区,碰到我,一定花半天時間哼些曲子,要我猜. 我也有一些曲子给他猜. 說来奇怪,常常兩三小時就這樣过去. 正经事祇好等晚上,在實驗室挑灯夜战了.

時光飛逝,自己從職場退休,正好互联網登場, YouTube 正好趕上用場. 现在五花八門,那種音樂,皆不缺乏,加上 High Definition (HD) video 和 Stereo, audio/video (multimedia),買個 65" HD TV, 在客廳,天天可欣赏好的音樂和 concert. 我發觉我以前買的 CD, DVD 開始用得少了. 現在每當想看什麼音樂會或聽什麽音樂,第一就是開 電視, 经过 Chromebook, 進入 YouTube, search 我要的東西,馬上以 HD/HDR 高密度的 video, 加上 Stereo 的音响, 以 65" 的大影幕, 就像坐在 concert hall 的中間好位置,而且隨時可有適時的 close up. 必要時还可以 pause, 仔细观察細微的小動作,都是以前没经驗过的感受, a truly instant real time enjoyment.

說來奇怪,在幾十年的音樂经驗中,我發覺真正欣赏古典音樂如貝多芬的交响曲和協奏曲,最好是関起門來,打開音响,把灯関掉,好好靜坐下來,從頭聽到尾. 不受指揮,不受交响樂团的影响,纯粹是音符音响的心靈共鳴. 在這種情景下,好的音樂真能觸動人類深層的靈性. 這種影响,隨時日而不同. 在我一生中,貝多芬的音樂在我的大學生涯中影响最大. 求学过程中有痛苦有快樂,在智力上有長進也有挫折,那時最能得到安慰的是從貝多芬交响樂中,汲取力量,奮發圖強. 貝多芬九大交响曲,曲曲動聽,風回路轉,繞樑三日. 在我最没落的時候也能從第二樂章如泣如訴的樂音中找到安慰. 當音樂轉至第四樂章時,一鼓澎湃的生命浪潮常一湧而上,在最後的结尾声中,貝多芬不但安慰失落的心靈,而且賦以人們堅強的毅力,準備下一場可歌可泣的人生凱歌.

Angel Investors

天使投资

"矽谷天使林富元的投资告白", 詳述他四十年的投資實战经驗,教你如何找趨勢賺大錢. 厚厚三百來頁,洋洋灑灑,妮妮道來,很是有趣. 不过很多细節略去不少,对有實戰經驗的人來說,也許有隔鞋搔癢之感. 对没有實戰經驗的人來說,卻是意猶未盡, something is missing.天使投资 (Angel Investment) 和正式的 Venture Capital (VC) Investment 尚有一大差距,但比 TV 的 Shark Tank 則又更進一步,不可等閒視之. 什么是天使投资? Angel Investors are individuals, often successful business people,who are investing their own personal funds into a potentially rewarding business opportunity. 從這定義,則 VC 和 Shark Tank 皆可通用,但通常 VC 是比較大的投资,大多以公司型態出現. Shark Tank 則以小投资在 TV 媒体出場,具有速成投资和廣告效果,也可說是天使投资的新变体 (mutation or new variation).

林先生的天使投资從七零年代的盲目投资到八零年代的屡战屢敗,再经九零年代的漸入佳境,至零零年代的黄金收割,就像一幅人生寫照,可說是他的半部人生歷史. 從藝術和大自然的的观点,也很像是 Vivaldi 或 Glazunov 的四季,從冬天的凜烈寒風,經春夏到秋天的豊收時期. 他提到的一些著名矽谷 Angel Investors 有下面幾位: Peter Thiel, PayPal Mafia, Jack Dorsey, Esther Dyson, Kevin Rose, Mitch Kapor, Marrisa Mayer, Ron Conway, Chris Dixon, Reid Hoffman, ... 這些是比較大的 Angel Investors, 像 Peter Thiel, Esther Dyson, Ron Conway, Reid Hoffman 皆赫赫有名. 普通小規模的 Angel Investors, 在矽谷不少. 据我所知,大凡高科技公司的 CEO 和 Senior VP,在公司賺錢後,皆因 stock options 的 exercise 或 bonus 而加入天使投资的行業. 大部分工程師雖有 stock options,但数目不大,大部分没到 critical mass 的標竿,祇能在房地產方面做小额投资. 至於 TV 的 Shark Tank 是一種新型的天使投资,但大部分限於 consumer product ideas, 经过幾分鐘的 presentation, 和幾個問答就决定投资的最後決定. 這種 business deal 看起来實在草率而不合乎健全的投资準則.

這本書在 Part 3 提到 '誠信'是創業家最重要的核心價值. 誠信乃 'Integrity' : adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. 林先生提到一些偽创業家,奪權的 CEO, 中飽私囊的中間人等等,這些都是比較是非明顯的例子. 有些比较模擬兩可,在中間遊走的例子,在矽谷很多. 如 Apple 的 Steve Jobs, Oracle 的 Larry Ellison, Borland 的 Philippe Kahn, Avanti 的 Gerald Hsu (徐建國), ... 太多例子,讓人不敢相信 Integrity 的用處. 尤其 Integrity 和 Honesty 有多少直接関係讓人思索萬分而不得解答. 像 Steve 和 Larry 成功了以後,他們以前的坏点子或 bad behavior 都给人淡忘了. 至於 Gerald 失敗後則给人一個很差的的印像. 話雖如此, Avanti 公司雖然失敗,但 Gerald 还是賺了不少錢,在以後的日子,也一樣在 industry 和 VC investment 遊走無礙. 林富元說 Avanti 是九零年代,他的第一响炮,意外地開啟了後續一連串的成功. Ironically, Avanti 就是在抄襲 Cadence Design Systems 的 CAD 軟体不慎,連 error message,也錯得一模一樣,在法庭上實在很難辯護,敗訴乃不可避免. 雖然如此,林富元最终还是從 Avanti 回收二十倍的回報率. 由此可知 '誠信' 和 Angel Investment 並没有什麽蛛絲馬跡的関係.

由'誠信'的討論,林富元提到一件讓人震驚的事,那是'華人的龐氏騙局'. 這件事的來龍去脈和 2008 年 Bernie Madoff 的 scandel 有典曲同工之妙. 以前聽到 Madoff 詐騙猶太同胞的血汗錢,数目驚人,達五十多 billion 之多. 這個 '華人的龐氏騙局'雖没那麽大手筆,其他部分則是翻版,唯妙唯肖. 讓人跌破眼鏡的是居然有這麽多的華人 Angel Investors 落入塵網中而不知觉. When they found it out, it was too late. 照理天使投资工作十幾年,怎麽會对某些 hedge funds 或高回收率 (30%/per year) 的 investing scheme 有信心呢? 至少 proposal, paper, data, 投资方案需要詳查. 這位華人龐氏騙子 胡其正 就和 Madoff 一樣,有本事信服這些有錢人,說他有本事做高回報的投资,但细節不能公開. Madoff 曾做过 Nasdaq 的高階主管,也許可信服某些人,但胡其正則没有什麼 track records,居然也能把一大批 angel investors 蒙在鼓裡,耍来耍去,讓人啧啧稱奇. 林先生在此並没解釋為什麼在投资前没细查或经 angel investment 的 due process. 祇是說笨到丢了幾百萬,才去 FBI 告發. 經过八九年的訴訟才将胡其正判坐牢十二年. 所损失的投资則一文也拿不回來. 當然 Angel Investment 有賠有賺,勝负乃兵家常事,不过胡其正這椿騙局和 Madoff 的大騙局真是太像了,連時間都幾乎是同時,叫人驚嘆大骗子到處都有,中西不分. 更令人深思的是想 'Get Rich Quick' 的贪念也中外皆然. 林先生又說真正的天使投资人有時候說難聽一点就是有一點 '賭性堅强'. 這種信念並不是不好,不过水能载舟,亦能覆舟,还是要小心為妙.

嚴格說来,Madoff 和胡其正的騙案是一種 Ponzi Scheme,早在 1920 年代由一位 Charles Ponzi 首先發難,他是利用新投资人士的钱來付已经投资者的高回收率,並没有把錢真正投资在正常金融的系统. 所以一定要一直有新的投资者参加陣容,這就有点像金字塔,要有很多下面的人去支持上層的投资者. 麻烦的是有那应一天,居然没有足夠的人新来加入,那時金字塔就會塌下來,其结果就是最高階属的人携款捲逃,消失無踪. Madoff 的 scheme 能持久主要是侧重 charity foundation organization, 祇要這些大号顧客 reinvest the profit, 就是没有新的投资人也可應付. 不过人算不如天算, 碰到 2008 年的 market crash, 一些慈善投资机構也要提款救他們的急,反正家家有一本難念的經. 等到要提錢的人超过 critical point, 金字塔非倒不可. Madoff 撑不住,胡其正也一樣. 最终结果也都一樣,大家興訟,一個判 120年,一個判 12 年,大概和騙錢的数目成正比. 最吃虧的是這些投资人,很多是天使投资專家. 他們如果不是 greedy 就是大意失荆州. 他們的投资一向要求 20-30% 的回報率, 這都是要幾年的工夫心血. 现有现成的高回報率,每年投资就可達到目的,怎不令人吃驚. 說不定还會保守秘密,不告訴別人,自己找錢或借錢再投资---too greedy, 太贪心了.

看了幾年 ABC 的 Shark Tank,好像這些投资 guru 很少賠本,也許 TV 總是 show the successful stories, 說不定 bad new 就不報或 ignore. 很少投资是100%稳賺的,除了很低收報率的銀行存款帳戶或 CD account. 雖說如此,Shark Tank 的這些 guru 真是幸運的一夥人物,有這麼多人有新点子,自動找上門來,你就說 yes or no, 然後開始賺錢. 以前一陣子我就觉得怎麽没有别的 internet program 来和他们競爭. 果然最近已经有一些很像 Shark Tank 在互联網出現,只是缺乏 TV 節目的的廣告效果. 可以预测的是未来的 VC 和天使投资皆會受到不少的衝擊. 就像 Amazon 一樣,互联網在投資市场上,將有很大的影响力.

Scotland

The population of Scotland is about 5 million, less than 0.07 % of the world population. However, in history, it creates many brilliant thinkers, scientists, inventors and other scholars and industrialists. Historically, they are under the influence and control of English people. The movie 'Braveheart' documents one tragic chapter of the Scottish history. It tells the story of the legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero named William Wallace who rallies the Scottish against the English monarch and Edward I after he suffers a personal tragedy by English soldiers. It seems they have not been very successful in gaining political independence. Lately, there was an opportunity in 2014 for them to become independent by referendum. They voted 'no' to the referendum, 55%-45% split. In other words, a little less than half of them are for the independence, a split society indeed. It seems the economic factor is more important to Scots than the independent political state. Ironically, in 2016, British voted to exit EU which seems to oppose the will of Scots. History is unpredictable and uncertain. We don't know whether Scots made a good decision but we know they will bear the consequence of the decision.

It is worthwhile to mention some of the most influential persons to our civilization from Scotland. Since we can't list them all here, I pick only six of them.

Adam Smith (June 16, 1723 - July 17, 1790)

Born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.

He was the first to present a systematic theory of economics in his book 'The Wealth of Nations'. The full title is 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'. The central idea is that the seemingly chaotic free market is actually a self-regulating mechanism that automatically tends to produce the type and quantity of goods that are most desired and needed by the community. Since then, Adam Smith has become the father of capitalism. It ruled and influenced the world economy for more than 200 years.  Adam Smith picked the right time to be born. The publication of his book was 1776, the time of American Revolution and almost the same time when James Watt invented the Steam Engine. British businessmen, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, recognized the validity of Smith's doctrines, discarded mercantilist restrictions and privileges, and in the 19th century developed Britain into the world's wealthiest nation.

With the challenge of socialism and communism, even today the capitalism continues to dominate the world economy and market.  The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990's and the recent economic transition in China prove that communism is simply no match to the system of capitalism. The impact of Smith's ideas and his book was so great that few would deny that Adam Smith richly deserves the title of "Father of Modern Economics."

James Watt (January 19, 1736 - August 25, 1819)

Born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Industrial Revolution is a monumental event in our civilization. It started around 1768 about the time James Watt invented a steam engine. After this, the limitation of the power source was removed, not limited to the river bank or windy seashore. Human being was able to move the steam engine anywhere he wants and increases the industrial productivity tremendously. Steam engine also made locomotive and train possible. Even today we sometime stand before a railway track to watch a locomotive hauls more than 100 cargo boxcars and streams along a railway track. It is mind boggling. The steam engine eventually moved on to power ships and created a new kind of navy. The sea power became a potent tool in the 19th century. This also made western world the upper hand in world politics. Within just a few decades, the steamboat and the railroad were to revolutionize both land and water transportation in the world.

Strictly speaking, Watt was not the first person to have the concept of steam engine or build a steam engine. However, his work and improvement on some existing model such as Newcomen's device were so important that it converts a not very useful device to an instrument of industrial workhorse. The world is never be the same when steam power replaces muscle power. He is honored in the world as his name is used as the unit of power, Watt. Even today the electric power is replacing mechanical power, people still use Watt as their usage of electricity. Power is the rate of energy or work, it doesn't matter what kind of energy it is. James Watt is truly a powerful and influential person in our civilization.

James Clerk Maxwell (June 13, 1831 - November 5, 1879)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Maxwell was a genius in mathematics. While he worked on problems on physics with well known scientists such as Gauss, Faraday, Ampere et al, he was able to synthesize the known results and some new findings to come up with even newer mathematical equations. He is best known for his four Maxwell Equations which expresses the basic laws of electricity and magnetism. All the previously known laws of electricity and magnetism can be derived from his equations. From the equations, Maxwell was able to predict a new kind of electromagnetic wave (EM wave) and calculate its speed. He then boldly predicted the light is a kind of EM wave as the speed of light is the same as that of EM wave. The idea was so new at the time as the EM wave has not been discovered yet. Heinrich Hertz later confirmed and detected the invisible waves as Maxwell predicted. This led to the wireless communication started by Guglielmo Marconi. His equations basically unifies the field of electricity, magnetism and the optics. Maxwell is generally considered to be the greatest theoretical physicist in the whole interval between Newton and Einstein.

Maxwell also made significant contribution in the study of kinetic theory of gases.  He worked out a formula (at any fixed temperature) which specifies what fraction of the molecules of a given gas will be moving at any specified velocity.  This formula has important applications in many other branches of physics.  Ludwig Boltzmann was much influenced by him in the work on transport phenomena. The formula is called 'Maxwell Distribution'.  The significance of this theory is that even we don't know the behavior of each molecule of the gas, we were able to figure out and predict the behavior of the gas as a whole.  This intriguing concept is like the study of evolution.  Although species go through a lot of mutations and random events, the environment and living things as a whole can be studied and predicted with certain degree of accuracy without the interference of emotion and faith.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 - August 2, 1922)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Bell worked and invented the telephone. The device is used so widely and have had a tremendous impact upon everyday life. The telephone becomes a major communication device in our society. Bell Telephone becomes a great success and enterprise in the world.  However, Bell's original interest was in the reproduction of vocal sounds to help the deaf.  His wife was a deaf girl whom he had formerly tutored. Bell's research and work on helping the deaf led him to the invention of a device which created a tremendous application and market in the industry.

Bell filed a patent application of the invented device in 1876. Interestingly, Elisha Gray also filed a similar patent claim on the same day but at slightly later time.  This created a lot of confusion later and several law suits followed.  When time went by, Bell Telephone faced more than 500 law suits concerning to the validity of the patent claims. Bell himself decided to leave the company in order to focus his time on other work instead of attending the law suits.

Even today with so many new development and inventions, most of them revolved around the concept of telephone. Mobile devices used widely today are basically a personal telephone with all bunches of applications built around it. It is interesting to see the incorporation of audio (phonograph), video (movie), computer and other business or personal applications onto a mobile phone which essentially the same as the one invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

James Hutton (June 3, 1726 - March 26, 1797)

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland

Hutton is truly a naturalist. The earth becomes to him transparent. Everywhere he sees significance, harmonies, laws, chains of cause and effect endlessly interlinked. He originated the theory of uniformitarianism, a doctrine of uniformity, a fundamental principle of geology. He also advocated uniformitarianis for living creatures, an evolution in effect.  He even suggested natural selection as a possible mechanism for living things. Darwin used to spend some time in Edinburgh and might pick up the idea from Hutton.

Hutton is the father of Modern Geology. With his 'Theory of the Earth' he challenged existing ideas about the age of the earth. He places strong emphasis upon the time factor, the vastness of the geological eons necessary to accomplish the 'system of decay and renovation'. As Newton had widened man's conception of space, so Hutton enlarged his conception of time.

Hutton was more than a geologist. He was a philosopher who believed that all activities that make humanity what it is and suggest, with blended hope and despair, what it might become, are inexorably geared to the earth. As Copernicus opened the new heavens, so James Hutton revealed the new earth.

Alexander Fleming (August 6, 1881 - March 11, 1955)

Born in Lochfield, Scotland

Fleming is the discoverer of penicillin. He made the great discovery in his laboratory, a cultures of staphylococcus bacteria was exposed to the air and became contaminated by a mold. He found that the mold killed bacteria. He showed the similar substance inhibited the growth of many other types of harmful bacteria. He called the substance penicillin.

Fleming published his finding in 1929 but drew little attention at the time.  He continued working on the project with progress but not good enough to qualify as an effective drug for human use.  It was until the Pearl Harbor Attack during WWII, some other researchers used the research funds supported from the US and British government to purify and mass produce penicillin and use it effectively on the field as an antibiotic medicine. By the end of 1945, the uses of penicillin spread all over the world and save many many lives. The discovery of penicillin has indeed changed the world of modern medicine by introducing the age of useful antibiotics.

It is interesting to note that Fleming's incidental discovery of Penicillin is similar to Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-Ray and its use in the field of medicine. They are not the intended research project. However, the unintended consequence of the finding creates a new application that extends far beyond the expectation.