诺贝尔化学奖得主：异想天开很重要

    作为一个化学家，您还学到了什么？

    我从化学学到的一件事就是：事物是复杂的，必须接受这种复杂性。即使我的大脑喜欢简明，想要把事情区分为非黑即白。但现实世界是复杂的，问题的答案，特别是社会问题，从来不会很简单。现在是大选年，不管哪个政党，他们的竞选广告总是想要把复杂的世界简单化。

    但我认为我们必须避免过度简化：人类行为、政治解决方案、社会系统都如此。化学让我对此保持着清醒的头脑，因为在化学的世界里，我们需要复杂。我们为何需要7,000万个分子？因为人体是复杂的，含有92种元素，非常美妙。但元素并不重要，重要的是从元素中能构建出什么，而那就是复杂结构。这就是我从化学学到的教训之一。我接受了复杂性，我能够理性地看待这种复杂性。

    听起来也像是对政客和商业领袖的忠告。

    没错，我很想让他们再重温一下化学课。

    What else have you learned from being a chemist?

    One thing that chemistry has taught me is that things are complex and you must come to terms with complexity. Even as my mind wants simplicity -- it wants things classified as good or bad -- the world is complex and the solutions to problems, social problems, are not going to be not easy. We're in an election year and everything in those election commercials, it doesn't matter what party, is inclined to simplify a complex world.

    But I think we should resist oversimplification of everything -- human behavior, political solutions, social systems. I think chemistry keeps me aware of that because you need complicated. Why do we need 70 million molecules? Because the human body is complicated and 92 elements, that's very nice. But it's not the elements that matter, it's what you can build from them, and what you build from them is complex structures. That, to me, is one of the lessons of chemistry. And I'm at peace -- I'm at reasonable peace with that.

    That sounds like a lesson for politicians and business leaders as well.

    Yes, I'd love to get them back in chemistry class.