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第122行： − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + − In the late 60s, as professor of physics, he joined a group of scientists for social responsibility who were concerned about human impacts on the environment. Reading around the subject led him to undertake his work on stability and diversity, and make the switch from physics to ecology.+ − 60年代末，作为物理学教授，他加入了一个关注人类对环境影响的社会责任科学家小组。围绕这一主题的阅读使他开始从事有关稳定性和多样性的工作，并从物理学转向生态学。 − He first came to prominence in 1973 when he challenged the conventional wisdom that simpler ecosystems, such as the monocultures developed through commercial farming, are more vulnerable to collapse than more complex ecosystems containing many different species. His book Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems − 罗伯特·梅在1973年首次崭露头角，当时他挑战了传统观点，即相对于包含许多不同物种的复杂生态系统，更简单的生态系统，如通过商业农业发展起来的单一栽培，更容易崩溃。他的书《模型生态系统的稳定性和复杂性》 − This theoretical challenge provoked numerous field studies, concluding that diverse systems were generally more stable in the real world, but that stability depended critically on the nature of the relationships (such as predator and prey) within the community. Even diverse environments, such as rainforests and coral reefs, can still be highly vulnerable to changes they have not evolved to withstand. − 这理论挑战引发了大量的实地研究，得出的结论是，在现实世界中，不同的系统通常更稳定，但这种稳定主要取决于群落中各种关系(如捕食者和猎物)的性质。即使是像热带雨林和珊瑚礁这样的多样化环境，在没有进化到可以承受的变化面前，仍然是高度脆弱的。 − + − + + + − + + +
→研究领域
==研究领域==
==研究领域==
If you asked Bob May, Lord May of Oxford, to explain the bewildering eclecticism of his scientific interests, he would say that he liked playing games and solving puzzles. His idea of play was anything but frivolous: to him mathematics was “no more – and no less – than thinking very clearly about something”. The things he chose to think about were complex systems: from modelling the survival of species in diverse ecosystems to the spread of Aids, and, later, the stability of global finance.
If you asked Bob May, Lord May of Oxford, to explain the bewildering eclecticism of his scientific interests, he would say that he liked playing games and solving puzzles. His idea of play was anything but frivolous: to him mathematics was “no more – and no less – than thinking very clearly about something”. The things he chose to think about were complex systems: from modelling the survival of species in diverse ecosystems to the spread of Aids, and, later, the stability of global finance.<br>
如果你问罗伯特·梅如何解释科学兴趣中令人困惑的折衷主义，他会说他喜欢玩游戏和解谜。他对游戏的看法绝不是轻浮的:对他来说，数学和非常清楚地思考某件事一样，不是更多，也不是更少。他选择考虑的是复杂系统:从模拟不同生态系统中物种的生存到艾滋病的传播，再到后来全球金融的稳定。
如果你问罗伯特·梅如何解释科学兴趣中令人困惑的折衷主义，他会说他喜欢玩游戏和解谜。他对游戏的看法绝不是轻浮的:对他来说，数学和非常清楚地思考某件事一样，不是更多，也不是更少。他选择考虑的是复杂系统:从模拟不同生态系统中物种的生存到艾滋病的传播，再到后来全球金融的稳定。<br>
May referred to himself as an r-selected scientist: an early-stage person who liked to work in fields where he could do “nice, simple things that are important.” This self-assessment understates May’s prodigious works but aptly summarizes a career in fundamental and applied research that boasted contributions to physics, astrophysics, theoretical ecology, population biology, host-parasite and infectious disease dynamics, biodiversity, and finance.<br>
罗伯特·梅称自己是一名被选为r级科学家的人，他早期阶段自我评价：喜欢在他能做“漂亮、简单但重要的事情”的领域工作。这种自我评估低估了罗伯特·梅的大量著作所做的贡献，但恰当地总结了他在基础和应用研究领域的职业生涯，这些领域包括对物理学、天体物理学、理论生态学、人口生物学、宿主-寄生虫和传染病动力学、生物多样性和金融等领域的贡献。<br>
===气候变化合作===
===气候变化合作===
罗伯特·梅感兴趣于流行病学(非临床)、生态学(包括行为生态学)、环境生物学、生物模型、进化、种群遗传学。
罗伯特·梅感兴趣于流行病学(非临床)、生态学(包括行为生态学)、环境生物学、生物模型、进化、种群遗传学。
An uncompromising and bluntly spoken Australian, May, who has died aged 84, reached the highest levels of the British scientific and political establishment. As chief scientific adviser to the government from 1995 to 2000, he shook up the cosy relationship between politicians and the scientific community, and made both think about the public they served. A scientific career conducted across three continents ensured that his ecological models, forensically developed and delivered with exemplary clarity, have been influential internationally.
An uncompromising and bluntly spoken Australian, May, who has died aged 84, reached the highest levels of the British scientific and political establishment. As chief scientific adviser to the government from 1995 to 2000, he shook up the cosy relationship between politicians and the scientific community, and made both think about the public they served. A scientific career conducted across three continents ensured that his ecological models, forensically developed and delivered with exemplary clarity, have been influential internationally.<br>
罗伯特·梅是一名毫不妥协、直言不讳的澳大利亚人，享年84岁，他在英国科学界和政界和科学界之间的亲密关系，并让他们都考虑到他们所服务的公众。他横跨三大洲的科学研究生涯确保了他的生态模型在法医学上的发展和其清晰表述在国际上具有的影响力。
罗伯特·梅是一名毫不妥协、直言不讳的澳大利亚人，享年84岁，他在英国科学界和政界和科学界之间的亲密关系，并让他们都考虑到他们所服务的公众。他横跨三大洲的科学研究生涯确保了他的生态模型在法医学上的发展和其清晰表述在国际上具有的影响力。<br>
In the late 60s, as professor of physics, he joined a group of scientists for social responsibility who were concerned about human impacts on the environment. Reading around the subject led him to undertake his work on stability and diversity, and make the switch from physics to ecology.<br>
60年代末，作为物理学教授，他加入了一个关注人类对环境影响的社会责任科学家小组。围绕这一主题的阅读使他开始从事有关稳定性和多样性的工作，并从物理学转向生态学。<br>
He first came to prominence in 1973 when he challenged the conventional wisdom that simpler ecosystems, such as the monocultures developed through commercial farming, are more vulnerable to collapse than more complex ecosystems containing many different species. His book Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems<br>
罗伯特·梅在1973年首次崭露头角，当时他挑战了传统观点，即相对于包含许多不同物种的复杂生态系统，更简单的生态系统，如通过商业农业发展起来的单一栽培，更容易崩溃。他的书《模型生态系统的稳定性和复杂性》<br>
This theoretical challenge provoked numerous field studies, concluding that diverse systems were generally more stable in the real world, but that stability depended critically on the nature of the relationships (such as predator and prey) within the community. Even diverse environments, such as rainforests and coral reefs, can still be highly vulnerable to changes they have not evolved to withstand.<br>
这理论挑战引发了大量的实地研究，得出的结论是，在现实世界中，不同的系统通常更稳定，但这种稳定主要取决于群落中各种关系(如捕食者和猎物)的性质。即使是像热带雨林和珊瑚礁这样的多样化环境，在没有进化到可以承受的变化面前，仍然是高度脆弱的。<br>
He next explored mathematically why the number of individuals of a particular species might vary from year to year, often quite unpredictably. He showed that relatively constant numbers, cyclic boom and bust, or wildly unpredictable fluctuations, could all be explained by the same equation, with very small variations in initial conditions such as the number of animals or the rate of reproduction. This was one of the first applications of chaos theory to biology.
He next explored mathematically why the number of individuals of a particular species might vary from year to year, often quite unpredictably. He showed that relatively constant numbers, cyclic boom and bust, or wildly unpredictable fluctuations, could all be explained by the same equation, with very small variations in initial conditions such as the number of animals or the rate of reproduction. This was one of the first applications of chaos theory to biology.<br>
Although May enjoyed such puzzles for their own sake, he believed strongly in the responsibility of the scientist to work for the benefit of society. With the advent of the Aids crisis in the 1980s, he turned to studying the spread of infection. A model he developed with Roy Anderson of Imperial College London accurately predicted the rapid transmission of HIV in communities where encounters with multiple sexual partners were the norm.
Although May enjoyed such puzzles for their own sake, he believed strongly in the responsibility of the scientist to work for the benefit of society. With the advent of the Aids crisis in the 1980s, he turned to studying the spread of infection. A model he developed with Roy Anderson of Imperial College London accurately predicted the rapid transmission of HIV in communities where encounters with multiple sexual partners were the norm.<br>
接下来，他从数学的角度探究了为什么一个特定物种的个体数量每年都可能发生变化，而且往往是不可预测的。他指出，相对恒定的数量，周期性的繁荣和衰退，或不可预测的剧烈波动，都可以用同一个方程来解释，即所提到的逻辑斯谛克映射。在初始条件下，比如动物的数量或繁殖率，只有很小的变化。这是混沌理论在生物学中最早的应用之一。
接下来，他从数学的角度探究了为什么一个特定物种的个体数量每年都可能发生变化，而且往往是不可预测的。他指出，相对恒定的数量，周期性的繁荣和衰退，或不可预测的剧烈波动，都可以用同一个方程来解释，即所提到的逻辑斯谛克映射。在初始条件下，比如动物的数量或繁殖率，只有很小的变化。这是混沌理论在生物学中最早的应用之一。
尽管梅喜欢这些谜题本身，但他坚信科学家有责任为科学而工作。随着20世纪80年代艾滋病危机的到来，他开始研究感染的传播。他与伦敦帝国理工学院的罗伊•安德森’’’Roy Anderson’’’合作开发的一个模型准确地预测了艾滋病毒在社区的快速传播，在那里，与多个性伴侣发生接触是常态。
尽管梅喜欢这些谜题本身，但他坚信科学家有责任为科学而工作。随着20世纪80年代艾滋病危机的到来，他开始研究感染的传播。他与伦敦帝国理工学院的罗伊•安德森’’’Roy Anderson’’’合作开发的一个模型准确地预测了艾滋病毒在社区的快速传播，在那里，与多个性伴侣发生接触是常态。
===金融===
===金融===
By the time of the financial crisis of 2008, May had already begun to work with colleagues on the stability of the banking system. Their review, Ecology for Bankers, published in the journal Nature seven months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, explained how ecological models could expose vulnerabilities in the system and suggest ways to mitigate them.
By the time of the financial crisis of 2008, May had already begun to work with colleagues on the stability of the banking system. Their review, Ecology for Bankers, published in the journal Nature seven months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, explained how ecological models could expose vulnerabilities in the system and suggest ways to mitigate them.<br>
到2008年金融危机爆发时，罗伯特·梅已经开始与同事们就银行体系的稳定性展开合作。他们在雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)倒闭前7个月发表在《自然》(Nature)杂志上的一篇评论文章《银行家的生态学》(Ecology for Bankers)解释了生态模型如何暴露金融体系中的漏洞，并提出了缓解这些漏洞的方法。
到2008年金融危机爆发时，罗伯特·梅已经开始与同事们就银行体系的稳定性展开合作。他们在雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)倒闭前7个月发表在《自然》(Nature)杂志上的一篇评论文章《银行家的生态学》(Ecology for Bankers)解释了生态模型如何暴露金融体系中的漏洞，并提出了缓解这些漏洞的方法。