何江　黄文君

When I was in middle school， a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help， but instead of taking me to a doctor， my mom set my hand on fire. After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton， then soaking in wine， she put a chopstick into my mouth and ignited the cotton. Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The searing pain made me want to scream， but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn—one minute， then two minutes—until my mom put out the fire.

You see， the part of China I grew up in was a rural village and at that time， pre-industrial. When I was born， my village had no cars， no telephones， no electricity， not even running water. And we certainly didnt have access to modern medical resources. There was no doctor my mom could bring me to see about the spider bite.

For those who study biology， you may have grasped the science behind my moms cure—heat deactivates proteins and a spiders venom is simply a form of protein. Its cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basics about chemistry， isnt it？ But I am a Ph.D. student in biochemistry at Harvard. I now know that better， less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I cant help but ask myself why I didnt receive one at the time.

Fifteen years have passed since that incident. Im happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers and I continue to be troubled by the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge throughout the world. Weve learnt to edit the human genome and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can manipulate neural activity literally with a switch of light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research—exciting transformative accomplishments. Yet， despite the knowledge weve amassed， we havent been so successful in deploying it to where it is needed most. According to the World Bank， 12 percent of the world population lives on less than $2 a day. Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. 300 million people are afflicted by malaria globally. All over the world， we constantly see these problems of poverty， illness and a lack of resources impeding the flow of scientific information. Life-saving knowledge we take for granted in our modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions. And so， in far too many places， people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire.

While studying at Harvard， I saw how scientific knowledge can help others in simple yet profound ways. The bird flu pandemic in the 2000s looked to my village like spell cast by demons. Our folk medicine didnt even have half measures to offer. Whats more， famers didnt know the difference between common cold and flu. They didnt understand that the flu was much more lethal than common cold.

Most of them were also unaware that the virus could transmit across different animal species. So when I realized that simple hygiene practices like separating different animal species could help contain the spread of this disease and that I could help make this knowledge available to my village， that was my first “ah-ha” moment as a budding scientist. But it was more than that. It was also a vital inflection point of my own ethical development， my own self-understanding as a member of the global community.

Harvard dares us to dream big， to aspire to change the world. Here on this Commencement Day， were probably thinking of the grand destinations and big adventures that await us. As for me， Im also thinking of the farmers in my village. My experience here reminds me how important it is for researchers to communicate our knowledge to those who need it. Because by using the science we already have， we could probably bring my village and thousands like it into the world you and I take for granted every day. And thats an impact every one of us can make！

But the question is： will we make the effort or not？

More than ever before， our society emphasizes science and innovation. But an equally important emphasis should be on distributing the knowledge we have to those who need it. Changing the world doesnt mean everyone has to find the next big thing， it can be as simple as becoming better communicators and finding more creative ways to pass on the knowledge we have to people like my mom and farmers in the local community.

Our society also needs to recognize that the equal distribution of knowledge is a pivotal step of human development. And well work to bring this into reality. And if we do that， then perhaps a teenager in rural China who is bitten by a poisonous spider will no longer have to burn his hand， but will know to seek a doctor instead.

我讀中学的时候，被一只毒蜘蛛咬伤了右手。我跑去向妈妈求助，但她并没有带我去看医生，而是在我手上点火。她在我的手上缠了几层棉布，把它们用酒浸泡后，让我咬住一根筷子，同时点燃了棉布。热浪飞快地穿透棉布，开始炙烤我的右手。灼热的剧痛让我想哇哇大叫，但是口中的筷子阻止我出声。我只好眼睁睁地看着右手被火灼烧着——一分钟，两分钟，直到我妈妈将火熄灭。

你能看出，我长大的地方是中国的农村，那个时候，我的家乡还处在前工业化时代。我出生的时候，我们村没有汽车，没通电话，没有电，甚至连自来水都没有。更不用说，我们没有机会接触到现代的医疗资源。我被蜘蛛咬伤的时候，我妈妈都找不到一个医生为我处理伤口。

在座各位如果有生物研究背景的话，或许已经理解到我妈妈的治疗手法隐藏着科学依据——高热能让蛋白质失活，而蜘蛛的毒素只是一种形式的蛋白质。当你想到这种土方法实际上包含了化学的基本原理时，是不是还觉得挺酷的？但是，我已经是哈佛大学生物化学专业的博士了，我现在知道了治疗咬伤其实有更好的、让人免遭巨大痛苦和风险的疗法。所以，我忍不住问自己，为什么当初我就不能接受一次这样的治疗呢？

我被蜘蛛咬伤的事件已经过去了15年之久。我很高兴地向在座的各位报告一下，我的手现在没什么事儿。但是这个问题一直在我脑海中挥之不去，我继续被科学知识在全球范围内不平等传播的事实所困扰。我们已经学会了如何编辑人类的基因，如何解锁癌症演化的一系列秘密。我们已经能用一束光控制大脑神经元的活动。每一年，生物医药领域都在进步——令人振奋、充满颠覆性的成就不断涌现。然而，尽管我们的知识不断累进，我们仍然不能成功地将其应用到需求最迫切的地方。根据世界银行的统计，世界上还有12%的人口每天的生活费用不足两美元。每年超过300万儿童会死于营养不良，还有3亿的地球人口受到疟疾的折磨。在全球范围内，我们不断地看到贫困、疾病和资源缺失的问题阻碍着科学信息的流动。那些我们在现代社会认为理所当然的、可以拯救生命的知识在欠发达地区往往难以获取。正因如此，目前为止在世界上太多的地方，人们基本上还是在用火烧的办法治疗蜘蛛的咬伤。

在哈佛的学习期间，我看到了科学知识如何以一种简单但是深刻的方法帮助他人。本世纪初，禽流感对我们村的村民来说，如同恶魔施加的诅咒。我们当地土医一点儿法子都没有。农民们甚至无法区分普通感冒和流感。他们不明白流感其实比普通感冒更具有致命性。

他们中的大部分人也不知道感冒病毒可以在不同的物种之间传播。因此，当我意识到，简单的卫生措施——譬如把不同种动物分隔开来——就可以抑制这些疾病的传播，并且我可以把这样的知识带给我们村庄的时候，我作为崭露头角的科学家遇到了第一个顿悟时刻。但是它的意义不仅仅局限于此，这是我自身品德培养以及我理解自己作为国际社区成员责任的关键转折点。

哈佛让我们敢于拥抱大的梦想，渴望改变世界。在毕业典礼这样特殊的日子，我们可能畅想到的都是伟大的终点和等待我们的巨大冒险。对我来说，我也会想到我们村庄的农民。我自己的经历在提醒我，对于研究者来说，将我们的知识传递给那些真正需要它们的人是多么重要。因为通过应用我们已经拥有的科学知识，我们也许就能够把我的家乡，以及千万万万个同样的村庄带入到这个我们认为理所当然的世界中来。并且，这是一种我们每个人都力所能及的改变。

但问题是：我们要不要去努力呢？

我们的社会比以往何时都更加强调科学和创新。但是同样需要被强调的，就是如何把我们所拥有的知识传递给需要它们的人。改变世界不意味着每一个人都必须找到下一个重大突破，它可以十分简单，简单到成为一个更好的交流者，打磨更加具有创意的方法，把知识传递给像我妈妈和我故乡农民们一样的人。

我们的社会也需要认识到知识的平等传播是人类进步的关键一步。我们要努力把这一愿景转化为现实。如果我们真的这样做了，那么以后，一个中国的乡村少年被毒蜘蛛咬伤了以后，就再也不用受火疗的罪，而是知道去看医生了。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）