整齐的节俭性

Tidy Parsimony

少年时代对地图的兴趣滋养了我对结构和精确性的品位,也滋养了我对世界的好奇心。在学业上,我很早就表现出数学的才华,并偏好语言和哲学。大学时代,我选择了数学专业,并将数理逻辑作为我的优等生学习内容。随后的20年,我的大部分精力都用于从事数理逻辑或与之相关的研究。45岁之后,我的注意力更多地转移到了科学哲学。整齐的节俭性,即标准的清晰性和假设的经济性,对于我来说,在逻辑、数学和自然科学以及关于它们的哲学中,都是一盏指路明灯。

A childhood interest in maps fostered my taste for structure and precision as well as curiosity about the world. Aptitude for mathematics emerged, and a leaning toward language and philosophy. In college I majored in mathematics with honors reading in mathematical logic. My work in and about mathematical logic occupied most of my next twenty years after college. Then my attention turned more to the philosophy of natural science. Tidy parsimony, that is, sharpness of criteria and economy of assumptions, is a beacon for natural science as well, and for its philosophy.