科学必然通过理论的变革而进步。理论是普遍的,但不是完美无缺的。而且,理论只有不完善,有一定的外部输入,才能具有普遍性。如关于天体、生命和宇宙的起源的理论,不管其发展是唯一的,还是有一定频率,都不可能有完善的描述。对于完整系统如热力学系统的描述,更必需一定的不完善性。正因为无需乎了解“一切”,科学才可能说出“一些”。可惜一些科学大师如爱因斯坦、海森堡都未能抵住这种完美性的诱惑,以全付精力投入“宇宙方程”等虚妄的追求之中。例如对于四种力统一的研究就是这样。因此,作者认为,最成功的科学理论就是对未知留有充分余地的理论,而不是出于完美性的考虑而完全排斥无知。 Sir H.Bondi是英国著名天体物理学家、宇宙学家,任国防部科学总顾问、伦敦大学数学教授。他同Thomas Gold一起最早提出宇宙起源的稳恒态理论。本文原载英国《无知百科全书》,伦敦,1978年。 Science must progress through theoretical changes. Theory is universal, but not perfect. Moreover, the theory is not perfect, there is a certain amount of external input, can be universal. As theories about the origins of celestial bodies, lives, and the universe, no matter whether their development is unique or have a certain frequency, there can be no perfect description. For a complete system such as thermodynamic system description, but also must be imperfect. Just because there is no need to know everything, science can say something. Unfortunately, some scientific masters such as Einstein and Heisenberg failed to withstand the temptation of perfection and devote themselves fully into the illusory pursuit of “cosmological equations.” This is the case, for example, for the unity of the four forces. Therefore, the author believes that the most successful scientific theory is the theory of leaving enough room for the unknown, rather than completely ignoring ignorance for the sake of perfection. Sir H. Bondi is a famous British astrophysicist and cosmologist who served as General Adviser to the Department of Defense Science and a professor of mathematics at the University of London. Together with Thomas Gold, he first proposed the steady state theory of the origin of the universe. This article originally contained the British “Encyclopedia of Ignorance,” London, 1978.