异类之不一样的成功启示录 第61期:天才的潦倒生活

We took factory jobs and minor civil service positions and eventually became a bouncer in a bar on Long Island,

他当过工厂工人，也当过政府底层公务员，最后在长岛的一家酒吧当保安，

which was his principle occupation through much of his adult years.

这是他成年之后最主要的一份工作。

Through it all, he continued to read deeply in philosophy, mathematics and physics as he worked on a sprawling treaties he calls the "CTMU"

整段时间，他都在深入阅读哲学、数学和物理学著作，此时，他草草完成了自己的论文，

the "Cognitive Theoretical Model of the Universe."

构建了CTMU(大学认知的理论模型，CognitiveTheoreticModeloftheUniversity)理论。

But without academic credentials, he despairs of every getting published in a scholarly journal.

但由于没有大学的支持，他的论文从来没有在一家学术杂志上发表，真是令人沮丧。

"I'm a guy who has a year and a half of college," he says, with a shrug.

“我是一个才在大学呆了一年半的家伙，”他无奈地耸了耸肩，说道，

"And at some point this will come to the attention of the editor, as he is going to take the paper and send it off to the referees,

“一般情况下，编辑会注意到这篇论文，然后他会把它送给论文评审委员会的人，

and these referees are going to try and look me up, and they are not going to find me.

评审委员会的人应该尽量了解我的来历。但他们没有这么做，

And they are going to say, "this guy has a year and a half college. How would he know what he's talking about?"

他们也许会说，这家伙只读了一年半的大学，他又怎么可能知道他所说的这一切呢?”

It is a heartbreaking stroy.

这是一个悲伤的故事。

At one point I asked Langan whether he would take a job at Harvard University, hypothetical, were it offered to him.

我问兰根，假如哈佛大学给他留了一个职位——假设而已——他是否愿意接受这份挑战。

"Well, that's a difficult question," he replied.

“确实，这是一个很难回答的问题，”

"Obviously, as a full professor at Harvard, I would count.

他回答说，“担任哈佛大学的全职教授，我想我是完全够格的。

My ideas would have weight and I could use my position, my affiliation at Harvard, to promote my ideas.

如果真能那样，我提出的想法就有了一定的砝码，我也能够很好地利用这个身份，和哈佛的这层关系也能够提升我的思想，

An institution like that is a great source of intellectual energy, and if I were at a place like that,

哈佛这样的机构是使得一个人的智慧喷发出能量的最大源泉，假如我能站在这样一个地方，

I could absorb the vibration in the air."

就是空气中的一丁点波动，我也能够感受到。”

It was suddenly clear how lonely his life would have been

在忽然之间，我们感觉他的生活是那样孤独寂寞。

Here he was, a man with an insatiable appetite for learning,

我们面前的他，是一个求知若渴的男人，

forced for much of his adult life to live in intellectual isolation.

但他成年之后的生活却总是生活在智力的孤岛上。

"I even noticed that kind of intellectual energy in a year and a half was in college," he said, almost wistfully.

“虽然只有一年半的大学时光，但我依旧感觉到了一种智慧的力量，”他说道，语句间充满了渴望，

"Ideas are in the air constantly. It's such a stimulating place to be."

“人的思想无处不在，这一直激励着我前进。”

"On the other hand," he went on.

“另一方面，”他继续说，

"Harvard is basically a glorified cooporation, operating with a profit incentive. That's what makes it a tick.

“哈佛基本上成为了一家声名显赫的公司，完全依靠利益驱动，这是它做事情的动机。

It has a endowment in the billions of dollars. The people running it are not necessarily searching for truth and knowledge.

它拥有数十亿美元的捐赠，对经营哈佛的人来说，探求真理和追求知识并非必要。

They want to be big shots, and when you accept a paycheck from those people,

他们想成为大腕，如果你想从他们手中领取薪水，那还得看你想怎样做，看你的想法是否正确，

it is going to come down to what you want to do and what you feel is right

否则，他们会说你可以做自己的事情，

versus what the man says you can do to recieve another paycheck.

但必须到别人那里领取薪水。

When you are their, they got a thumb right on you.

如果你想去那儿，经验告诉他们，

They are out to make sure you don't step out of line."

你必须让他们相信，你是不会随意跨出这条底线的。”