托福 GRE 满分作文附带重点 Issue 138 3页

Issue138:Aremistakesnecessaryfordiscoveryorprogress?‘Onlythroughmistakescantherebediscoveryorprogress.’Thespeakercontendsthatdiscoveryandprogressaremadeonlythroughmistakes.Istronglyagreewiththiscontention,fortworeasons.First,itaccordswithourpersonalexperiences.Secondly,historyinformsusthatonasocietalleveltrialanderrorprovidestheveryfoundationfordiscoveryandtrueprogress,inallrealmsofhumanendeavor.Tobeginwith,thecontentionaccordswithoureverydayexperienceashumansfromearlychildhoodthroughadulthood.Asinfantswelearnhowtowalkbyfallingdownagainandagain.Asadolescentswediscoveroursocialniche(functionorpositionwithinacommunity),anddevelopself-confidenceandassertiveness.Throughfailedrelationshipsnotonlydowediscoverwhoweareandarenotcompatiblewith,wealsodiscoverourselvesintheprocess.And,mostofusfindthecareerpaththatsuitsusonlythroughtryingjobsthatdon’t.Thissameprinciplealsoappliesonasocietallevel.Consider,forexample,howweprogressinourscientificknowledge.Ourscientificmethodisessentiallyacallforprogressthroughtrialanderror.Anynewtheorymustbetestedbyempiricalobservation,andmustwithstand rigorousscientificscrutiny.Moreover,thehistoryoftheoreticalscienceisessentiallyahistoryoftrialanderror.Onemodernexampleinvolvestwocontrarytheoriesofphysics:wavetheoryandquantumtheory.Duringthelastquarter-centuryscientistshavebeenstrugglingtodisproveoneortheother-ortoreconcilethem.Asitturnsout,anewso-calledstringtheoryshowsthatthequantumandwavetheoriesaremistakesinthesensethateachoneisinadequatetoexplainthebehaviorofallmatter;yetbothsocalledmistakeswerenecessaryforphysicstoadvance,orprogress,tothisnewertheory.Thevalueoftrialanderrorisnotlimitedtothesciences.Ingovernmentandpolitics,progressusuallycomesaboutthroughdissension(disagreement)andchallenge-thatis,whenpeoplepointoutthemistakesofthoseinpower.Infact,withoutourchallengingthemistakennotionsofestablishedinstitutions,politicaloppressionandtyrannywouldgounchecked.Similarly,inthefieldsofcivilandcriminallaw,juristsandlegislatorswhoupholdanddefendlegalprecedentmustfacecontinualoppositionfromthosewhoquestionthefairnessandrelevanceofcurrentlaws.Thisongoingchallengeiscriticaltothevitalityandrelevanceofoursystemoflaws.Insum,thespeakercorrectlyassertsthatitisthroughmistakesthat discoveryandtrueprogressaremade.Indeed,ourpersonalgrowthasindividuals,aswellasadvancesinscience,governmentandlaw,dependsonmakingmistakes.