教一个一岁的孩子量子力学 Teaching quantum mechanics to a 1-year-old

Like most dads, I buy picture books for my 1-year-old girl to stoke her interest in the world.

和许多父亲一样，我给我一岁大的女儿买图画书，以激发她对这个世界的兴趣。

But I thought I’d made an ordering mistake when I opened a new box of books last week. The title of the first book wasQuantum Physics, and the second one wasQuarks.

但是上周，当我打开一盒新书的时候，我觉得我订错书了。第一本书的名字是量子物理学，第二本书是夸克。

The third seemed a bit more practical:AerospaceEngineering.

第三本书相比前两本还实用一点：航空航天工程。

It was only after careful examination that I noticed two words in small print above the large titles:Baby Loves.

经过仔细的检查，我才注意到大标题上面的两个小字：少儿。

Wow! Did the publishers expect a 1-year-old to learn what her father didn’t until his junior year in university? How should I explain complicated concepts like, say, the superposition state, to my tot?

我的天呐，出版商不会是希望一个一岁大的孩子去学习她父亲大三之前都没学过的东西吧？我应该怎么给我女儿解释这些复杂的概念呢？比如叠加状态？

As I read through, though, I discovered it may not be as tricky as it seems. The quantum physics book is still suitable for babies. The first page features a tiny kid chasing a cat, a favorite pastime of nearly every toddler.

然而，当我看完这本书后，我发现它可能不像看起来那么难懂。这本量子物理学还是适合小孩看的。书的第一页是一个追逐猫的小孩，这是每个孩子都喜欢的消遣。

The storyline quickly picked up pace. The cat jumped into the box, and it shut. The baby sat, staring, wondering if her furry friend was inside.

故事情节迅速加快。那只猫跳进了盒子里，然后盖上了盖子。孩子坐着，注视着盒子，想知道她毛茸茸的朋友是不是在里面。

 “Is the cat awake or asleep?” the book asked.

书中问道：“猫是醒着还是睡着了呢？”

It answered on the next page: “It can be both in quantum physics. We call this a superposition state of being asleep and awake. When the baby opens the box, the superposition becomes a sure position.”

答案在书的下一页：“在量子力学中，两种状态都可能存在。我们称之为睡眠和清醒的叠加状态。当孩子打开盒子时，叠加成为一个确定的状态。”

After I read the book to her, she picked up our dog to conduct a similar experiment. Fortunately, I was able to stop her in time.

我给女儿读这本书的时候，她立马想用家里的狗做一个类似的实验，还好我及时阻止了她。 

I’m pretty sure she still knows little about quantum mechanics. But she has at least heard the story and will be interested when her teacher later mentions it in class.

我很确定她仍然对量子力学知之甚少。但至少在她听过这个故事之后，如果老师在课堂上提到量子力学时，她会感兴趣。

This is a good move science-popularization institutions. Natural science is the knowledge of the world’s top minds accumulated over centuries. As such, it’s very difficult for people without a strong interest.

这是一个给孩子科普知识的好办法。自然科学是一门积累了几个世纪以来世界顶级思想的学问。因此，对于没有强烈兴趣的人来说，它是很难的。

More babies’ books on quantum physics means more children will receive a boost in early life.

更多关于量子力学的婴儿书籍，意味着更多的孩子可以在童年得到提升。

More importantly, the science-popularization books are written so that they’re easy enough to read that even children can understand. Rather than present complicated concepts on their own, the publishers nest them in stories that are easy to grasp with a bit of explanation from adults.

更重要的是，科普书籍的编写对于孩子来说很容易阅读，甚至孩子们都能理解。出版商不是呈现复杂的概念，而是巧妙地将这些知识融入到易懂的故事中，并通过家长做一些简单的解释。

Frankly, I’d prefer that university textbooks were written this way.

坦率地说，我更希望大学的教科书也能这样编写。

The idea of making science interesting applies not only to children’s education.

让科学变得有趣的想法不仅适用于儿童教育。

Only 3.27 percent of Chinese have ample knowledge of natural science compared with averages exceeding 10 percent in developed countries, according to a survey of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology.

根据中国科学技术协会的一项调查，只有3.27%的中国人充分了解自然科学知识，而发达国家的数据超过10%。

A key reason is the lack of appropriate science-popularization materials, especially for adults, experts say.

专家说：导致这一问题的一个关键原因就是缺乏适当的科普教材，特别是成人教材。

This perhaps at least partly explains why China has a large number of excellent engineers but not as many high-performing scientists. A larger proportion of people with natural-science literacy would create a base for increasing the number of outstanding scientists and bring prosperity to the nation.

这或许可以在某种意义上解释为什么中国拥有大量的优秀工程师，但是没有很多卓越的科学家。拥有自然科学素养的人口比例较大，可以为增加优秀科学家的数量，以及为国家带来繁荣奠定基础。

I plan on ordering the book, Baby Loves Programming, for my daughter.

我打算给我女儿订购《少儿编程》这本书。

I was a coding junky during my university days, and I hope my kid can encounter the field early on. Happy coding!

在大学时期，我是一个编码瘾君子，我希望我的孩子可以尽早接触这个领域。快乐编码！