Laura Snyder: The Philosophical Breakfast Club

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Morten Kelder Skouboe Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

I'd like you to come back with me for a moment

Jeg vil gerne tage jer med tilbage et øjeblik

to the 19th century,

til det 19. århundrede,

specifically to June 24, 1833.

specifikt til den 24. juni, 1833.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science

The British Association for the Advancement of Science

is holding its third meeting at the University of Cambridge.

afholder sit tredje møde ved University of Cambridge.

It's the first night of the meeting,

Det er den mødets første aften,

and a confrontation is about to take place

og en konfrontation vil finde sted,

that will change science forever.

der vil ændre videnskaben for evigt.

An elderly, white-haired man stands up.

En ældre, hvidhåret man rejser sig.

The members of the Association are shocked to realize

Medlemmerne af selskabet er chokerede over at indse,

that it's the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge,

at det er digteren Samuel Taylor Coleridge,

who hadn't even left his house in years until that day.

der ikke havde forladt sit hus i flere år før den dag.

They're even more shocked by what he says.

De er endda mere chokerede over det, han siger.

"You must stop calling yourselves natural philosophers."

"I må holde op med at kalde jer selv naturfilosoffer."

Coleridge felt that true philosophers like himself

Coleridge mente at sande filosoffer som han selv

pondered the cosmos from their armchairs.

spekulerede over kosmos fra deres lænestol.

They were not mucking around in the fossil pits

De svinede sig ikke til ved at rode rundt i fossile grave

or conducting messy experiments with electrical piles

eller udføre grisede eksperimenter med elektriske dynger

like the members of the British Association.

ligesom medlemmerne af British Association.

The crowd grew angry and began to complain loudly.

Folkemængden blev vrede og begyndte at beklage sig højlydt.

A young Cambridge scholar named William Whewell stood up

En ung lærd fra Cambridge, William Whewell, rejste sig

and quieted the audience.

og dæmpede publikummet.

He politely agreed that an appropriate name

Han indvilligede høfligt i, at der ikke eksisterede

for the members of the association did not exist.

et passende navn til medlemmerne af selskabet.

"If 'philosophers' is taken to be too wide and lofty a term,"

"Hvis 'filosoffer' anses for at være for bred og storsnudet en term,"

he said, "then, by analogy with 'artist,'

sagde han, "så, i analogi med 'kunstner,'

we may form 'scientist.'"

kan vi forme 'forsker.'"

This was the first time the word scientist

Dette var den første gang ordet forsker

was uttered in public,

blev ytret i offentligheden,

only 179 years ago.

for kun 179 år siden.

I first found out about this confrontation when I was in graduate school,

Jeg hørte først ud af noget om denne konfrontation da jeg studerede på overbygningen,

and it kind of blew me away.

og det blev jeg temmelig imponeret af.

I mean, how could the word scientist

Jeg mener, hvordan kunne ordet forsker

not have existed until 1833?

ikke have eksisteret før 1833?

What were scientists called before?

Hvad blev forskere kaldt inden det?

What had changed to make a new name necessary

Hvad havde ændret sig for at gøre nødvendigt med et nyt navn

precisely at that moment?

på præcis det tidspunkt?

Prior to this meeting, those who studied the natural world

Forud for dette møde, var dem der havde studeret den naturlige verden

were talented amateurs.

talentfulde amatører.

Think of the country clergyman or squire

Tænk på sognepræsten eller herremanden

collecting his beetles or fossils,

der samlede sine biller eller fossiler,

like Charles Darwin, for example,

som Charles Darwin, for eksempel,

or, the hired help of a nobleman, like Joseph Priestley,

eller, adelsmandens tjenestefolk, som Joseph Priestley,

who was the literary companion

der var den litterære følgesvend

to the Marquis of Lansdowne

til Marquisen af Lansdowne

when he discovered oxygen.

da han opdagede ilt.

After this, they were scientists,

Derefter var de forskere,

professionals with a particular scientific method,

professionelle med en specifik videnskabelig metode,

goals, societies and funding.

mål, selskaber og finansiering.

Much of this revolution can be traced to four men

Meget af denne revolution kan spores tilbage til fire mænd

who met at Cambridge University in 1812:

der mødtes på Cambridge University i 1812:

Charles Babbage, John Herschel, Richard Jones and William Whewell.

Charles Babbage, John Herschel, Richard Jones og William Whewell.

These were brilliant, driven men

Dette var geniale, drevne mænd

who accomplished amazing things.

der opnåede utrolige ting.

Charles Babbage, I think known to most TEDsters,

Charles Babbage, som jeg tror de fleste TEDstere kender,

invented the first mechanical calculator

opfandt den første mekaniske regnemaskine

and the first prototype of a modern computer.

og den første prototype på en moderne computer.

John Herschel mapped the stars of the southern hemisphere,

John Herschel kortlagde stjernerne på den sydlige halvkugle,

and, in his spare time, co-invented photography.

og var medopfinder til fotografering i sin fritid, .

I'm sure we could all be that productive

Jeg er sikker på at vi alle kunne være så produktive

without Facebook or Twitter to take up our time.

uden Facebook eller Twitter der beslaglagde vores tid.

Richard Jones became an important economist

Richard Jones blev en vigtig økonom

who later influenced Karl Marx.

der senere påvirkede Karl Marx.

And Whewell not only coined the term scientist,

Og Whewell introducerede termen forsker,

as well as the words anode, cathode and ion,

lige så vel som ordet anode, katode og ion,

but spearheaded international big science

men stod i spidsen for stor international forskning

with his global research on the tides.

med hans globale forskning om tidevandet.

In the Cambridge winter of 1812 and 1813,

I Cambridge i vinteren 1812 og 1813,

the four met for what they called philosophical breakfasts.

mødtes de fire til det de kaldede filosofisk morgenbord.

They talked about science

De talte om videnskab

and the need for a new scientific revolution.

og behovet for en ny videnskabelig revolution.

They felt science had stagnated

De følte at videnskaben var stagneret

since the days of the scientific revolution that had happened

siden de dage hvor den videnskabelige revolution havde fundet sted

in the 17th century.

i det 17. århundrede.

It was time for a new revolution,

Det var på tide med en ny revolution,

which they pledged to bring about,

som de gav deres ord på at de skulle skabe,

and what's so amazing about these guys is,

og det der er så fantastisk ved disse fyre er,

not only did they have these

ikke nok med at de havde disse

grandiose undergraduate dreams,

storstilede bachelorstuderende drømme,

but they actually carried them out,

men de havde faktisk udført det,

even beyond their wildest dreams.

selv ud over deres vildeste fantasi.

And I'm going to tell you today

Og jeg vil i dag fortælle jer

about four major changes to science these men made.

om fire betydningsfulde ændringer i videnskaben som disse mænd skabte.

About 200 years before,

Omkring 200 år forinden,

Francis Bacon and then, later, Isaac Newton,

havde Francis Bacon og så, senere, Isaac Newton,

had proposed an inductive scientific method.

foreslået en induktiv videnskabelig metode.

Now that's a method that starts from

Nu er det en metode der udspringer fra

observations and experiments

observationer og eksperimenter

and moves to generalizations about nature called natural laws,

og flyttes over på generaliseringer om naturen der hedder naturlige love,

which are always subject to revision or rejection

der altid er underlagt revision eller afslag

should new evidence arise.

i det tilfælde at nyt bevis dukker op.

However, in 1809, David Ricardo muddied the waters

Men i 1809, forplumrede David Ricardo vandende

by arguing that the science of economics

ved at argumentere for at vi den videnskabelige økonomi

should use a different, deductive method.

burde bruge en anderledes, deduktiv metode.

The problem was that an influential group at Oxford

Problemet var at en indflydelsesrig gruppe ved Oxford

began arguing that because it worked so well in economics,

begyndte at argumentere for at fordi det virkede så godt i økonomi,

this deductive method ought to be applied

burde denne deduktive metode også blive anvendt

to the natural sciences too.

til de naturlige videnskaber.

The members of the philosophical breakfast club disagreed.

Medlemmerne af den filosofiske morgenmads klub var uenige.

They wrote books and articles promoting inductive method

De skrev bøger og artikler der fremmer den induktive metode

in all the sciences

i alle videnskaber

that were widely read by natural philosophers,

der blev læst i stor udstrækning af de naturlige filosofer,

university students and members of the public.

universitets studerende, medlemmer og offentligheden.

Reading one of Herschel's books

At læse en af Herschels bøger

was such a watershed moment for Charles Darwin

var sådan et vendepunkt for Charles Darwin

that he would later say, "Scarcely anything in my life

som han senere kaldte, "Knap noget i mit liv har

made so deep an impression on me.

gjort så stort et indtryk på mig.

It made me wish to add my might

Det fik mig til at ønske at jeg tilføje min kunnen

to the accumulated store of natural knowledge."

til det akkumulerede lager af naturlig viden."

It also shaped Darwin's scientific method,

Det formede også Darwins videnskabelige metode,

as well as that used by his peers.

lige så vel som dem der blev brugt af hans ligemænd.

[Science for the public good]

[Videnskab til gavn for offentligheden]

Previously, it was believed that scientific knowledge

Førhen, mente man at videnskabelig viden

ought to be used for the good of the king or queen,

bør bruges til kongens eller dronningens bedste,

or for one's own personal gain.

eller til ens personlige fortjeneste.

For example, ship captains needed to know

For eksempel, kaptajner har brug for at kende

information about the tides in order to safely dock at ports.

information om tidevandet for at kunne lægge sikkert til i havn.

Harbormasters would gather this knowledge

Havnefogeden indsamlede denne viden

and sell it to the ship captains.

og solgte den til skibenes kaptajner.

The philosophical breakfast club changed that,

Den filosofiske morgenmads klub ændrede det,

working together.

arbejde sammen.

Whewell's worldwide study of the tides

Whewells verdensomspændende studie af tidevand

resulted in public tide tables and tidal maps

resulterede i en offentlige kort og skema over tidevandet

that freely provided the harbormasters' knowledge

der frit leverede havnefogedens viden

to all ship captains.

til at skibes kaptajner.

Herschel helped by making tidal observations

Herschel hjalp med at lave observationer over tidevandet

off the coast of South Africa,

ud for Sydafrikas kyst,

and, as he complained to Whewell,

og, som han beklagede til Whewell,

he was knocked off the docks during a violent high tide for his trouble.

blev han væltet ned fra dokken under et voldsomt højvande.

The four men really helped each other in every way.

De fire mænd hjalp virkelig hinanden på alle måder.

They also relentlessly lobbied the British government

De lobbyede også ubarmhjertigt i den britiske regering

for the money to build Babbage's engines

for at skaffe penge til at bygge Babbages maskiner

because they believed these engines

fordi de troede på at disse maskiner

would have a huge practical impact on society.

ville have en kæmpestor praktisk indflydelse på samfundet.

In the days before pocket calculators,

I dagene inden lommeregnerne,

the numbers that most professionals needed --

kunne de tal som de fleste professionelle havde brug for --

bankers, insurance agents, ship captains, engineers —

bankierer, forsikringsagenter, skibskaptajner, ingeniører --

were to be found in lookup books like this,

findes i opslags bøger som denne,

filled with tables of figures.

der var fyldte med tabeller med tal.

These tables were calculated

Disse tabeller blev beregnet

using a fixed procedure over and over

ved at bruge en fast procedure igen og igen

by part-time workers known as -- and this is amazing -- computers,

af deltidsansatte kendt som -- og dette er forbløffende -- computere,

but these calculations were really difficult.

men disse beregninger var virkelig svære.

I mean, this nautical almanac

Jeg mener, denne nautiske almanak

published the lunar differences for every month of the year.

udgav forskellene i månen for hver måned det pågældende år.

Each month required 1,365 calculations,

Hver måned krævede 1.365 beregninger,

so these tables were filled with mistakes.

så disse tabeller var fyldt med fejl.

Babbage's difference engine was the first mechanical calculator

Babbages difference maskine var den første mekaniske lommeregner

devised to accurately compute any of these tables.

der var opfundet til nøjagtigt at beregne enhver af disse tabeller.

Two models of his engine were built in the last 20 years

To modeller af hans maskiner blev bygget i de sidste 20 år

by a team from the Science Museum of London

af et team fra Science Museum of London

using his own plans.

ved hjælp af hans egne tegninger.

This is the one now at the Computer History Museum in California,

Den her står nu ved Computer History Museum i Californien,

and it calculates accurately. It actually works.

og den beregner nøjagtigt. Den fungerer faktisk.

Later, Babbage's analytical engine

Senere, var Babbages analytiske maskine

was the first mechanical computer in the modern sense.

den første mekaniske computer i den moderne forstand.

It had a separate memory and central processor.

Den havde en separat hukommelse og en central processor.

It was capable of iteration, conditional branching

Den var i stand til gentagelse, betinget forgrening

and parallel processing,

og parallel behandling,

and it was programmable using punched cards,

og den var programmerbar ved at bruge stempelkort,

an idea Babbage took from Jacquard's loom.

en ide som Babbage tog fra Jacquards væv.

Tragically, Babbage's engines never were built in his day

Tragisk nok, blev Babbages maskiner aldrig bygget i hans tid

because most people thought that

fordi de fleste mennesker mente at

non-human computers would have no usefulness

ikke-menneskelige computere ikke ville have nogen nytte

for the public.

for offentligheden.

[New scientific institutions]

[Nye videnskabelige institutioner]

Founded in Bacon's time, the Royal Society of London

Grundlagt i Bacon tid, var Royal Society of London

was the foremost scientific society in England

det førende videnskabelige selskab i England

and even in the rest of the world.

og selv i resten af verden.

By the 19th century, it had become

I det 19. århundrede var det blevet

a kind of gentleman's club

en slags herreklub

populated mainly by antiquarians, literary men and the nobility.

der var befolket af antikvarer, litterære mænd og de adelige.

The members of the philosophical breakfast club

Medlemmer af den filosofiske morgenmads klub

helped form a number of new scientific societies,

hjalp med at danne nye videnskabelige foreninger,

including the British Association.

inklusiv British Association.

These new societies required

Disse nye foreninger krævede

that members be active researchers publishing their results.

at medlemmerne var aktive forskere der udgav deres resultater.

They reinstated the tradition of the Q&A

De genindførste traditionen med spørgerunder

after scientific papers were read,

efter de videnskabelige afhandlinger var gennemlæst,

which had been discontinued by the Royal Society

som var blevet afskaffet af Royal Society

as being ungentlemanly.

for at ikke at være dannet.

And for the first time, they gave women a foot in the door of science.

Og for første gang, gav de en kvinde en fod i videnskabens dør.

Members were encouraged to bring their wives,

Medlemmer blev opfordret til at medbringe deres koner,

daughters and sisters to the meetings of the British Association,

døtre og søstre til møderne i British Association,

and while the women were expected to attend

og medens det blev forventet af kvinderne at de mødte op

only the public lectures and the social events like this one,

til de offentlige forelæsninger og de sociale begivenheder som denne,

they began to infiltrate the scientific sessions as well.

begyndte de også at infiltrere de videnskabelige møder.

The British Association would later be the first

British Association blev senere den den første

of the major national science organizations in the world

af de større nationale videnskabelige foreninger i verden,

to admit women as full members.

der optager kvinder som fuldgyldige medlemmer.

[External funding for science]

[Ekstern finansiering til forskning]

Up to the 19th century,

Indtil det 19. århundrede,

natural philosophers were expected to pay

blev det forventet at naturlige filosofer betalte

for their own equipment and supplies.

for deres eget udstyr og forsyninger.

Occasionally, there were prizes,

Af og til var der legater,

such as that given to John Harrison in the 18th century,

som det der blev givet til John Harrison i det 18. århundrede,

for solving the so-called longitude problem,

til at løse det såkaldte længdegrads problem,

but prizes were only given after the fact,

men legater blev kun givet efter resultatet,

when they were given at all.

hvis de overhovedet blev givet.

On the advice of the philosophical breakfast club,

På den filosofiske morgenmads klubs råd,

the British Association began to use the extra money

begyndte British Association at bruge ekstra penge

generated by its meetings to give grants

der blev genereret af deres møder, til at give legater

for research in astronomy, the tides, fossil fish,

for at forske i astronomi, tidevandet, fiske fossiler,

shipbuilding, and many other areas.

skbsbygning, og mange andre områder.

These grants not only allowed

Disse legater blev ikke kun givet

less wealthy men to conduct research,

til mindre velhavende mænd til at udføre forskning,

but they also encouraged thinking outside the box,

men de opfordrede også til at tænke udenfor kassen,

rather than just trying to solve one pre-set question.

i stedet for at prøve at løse et forudbestemt spørgsmål.

Eventually, the Royal Society

Endelig, fulgte Royal Society

and the scientific societies of other countries followed suit,

og de andre videnskabelige foreninger fra andre lande efter,

and this has become -- fortunately it's become --

og dette er blevet -- det er heldigvis blevet --

a major part of the scientific landscape today.

en stor del af det videnskabelige landskab i dag.

So the philosophical breakfast club

Så den filosofiske morgenmads klub

helped invent the modern scientist.

hjalp med at opfinde den moderne videnskabsmand.

That's the heroic part of their story.

Det er den heroiske del af historien.

There's a flip side as well.

Der er også en bagside.

They did not foresee at least one consequence

De forudså ikke mindst en af konsekvenserne

of their revolution.

af deres revolution.

They would have been deeply dismayed

De ville have været dybt rystet

by today's disjunction between science and the rest of culture.

over nutidens adskillelse mellem videnskab og resten af kulturen.

It's shocking to realize

Det er chokerende at indse

that only 28 percent of American adults

at kun 28 procent af voksne amerikanere

have even a very basic level of science literacy,

kun har en basis viden indenfor videnskab,

and this was tested by asking simple questions like,

og dette blev testet ved at stille simple spørgsmål som,

"Did humans and dinosaurs inhabit the Earth at the same time?"

"Boede der mennesker og dinosaurer på jorden samtidig?"

and "What proportion of the Earth is covered in water?"

og "Hvor stor en del af jorden er dækket af vand?"

Once scientists became members of a professional group,

Engang blev videnskabsfolk medlemmer af en professionel gruppe,

they were slowly walled off from the rest of us.

de blev langsomt skærmet af fra resten af os.

This is the unintended consequence of the revolution

Dette er den utilsigtede konsekvens af revolutionen

that started with our four friends.

der startede med vores fire venner.

Charles Darwin said,

Charles Darwin sagde,

"I sometimes think that general and popular treatises

"Jeg tror nogle gange, at generelle og populære afhandlinger

are almost as important for the progress of science

næsten er lige så vigtige for videnskabens fremskridt

as original work."

som originalt arbejde."

In fact, "Origin of Species" was written

Faktisk, blev "Origin of Species" skrevet

for a general and popular audience,

til et generelt og populært publikum,

and was widely read when it first appeared.

og blev læst vidt og bredt fa den udkom første gang.

Darwin knew what we seem to have forgotten,

Darwin vidste det som vi tilsyneladende har glemt,

that science is not only for scientists.

at videnskab ikke kun er for videnskabsfolk.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)