粉筆界“勞斯萊斯”，數(shù)學(xué)家的摯愛

- The legend around this chalk is that it's impossible to write a false theorem.
關(guān)于這支粉筆的傳說是用它不可能寫出一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤的定理。

- I assume the special ingredient was angel tears.
我猜里面包含特殊的成分——天使的眼淚。

- Mathematicians from all of the top schools very frequently use it.
所有頂尖學(xué)校的數(shù)學(xué)家都經(jīng)常使用它。

- It's a cult favorite.
它是數(shù)學(xué)界的最愛。

- As soon as I use it I was a convert.
我一用它，我就被折服了。

- The chalk is one of the best kept secrets in the math world.
這支粉筆是數(shù)學(xué)界保守得最好的秘密之一。

- It's the Rolls Royce of chalk.
它是粉筆中的勞斯萊斯。

- Hagoromo is a brand of Japanese chalk.
Hagoromo是一個(gè)日本粉筆的品牌。

The way it flows on a board is a bit hard to describe in words.
它在黑板上的板書流動(dòng)方式有點(diǎn)難以用語言描述。

- It's really hard to get.
這款粉筆真的很難買到。

You can only get it from Japan, you need a Japanese person to bring it back for you.
你只能從日本買到它，你需要一個(gè)日本人幫你帶回來。

- I discovered it when I went to visit the University of Tokyo and one of the professors there said to me, you know, we have better chalk than you do in the States and I said, oh go on, chalk is chalk.
我去東京大學(xué)的時(shí)候發(fā)現(xiàn)了這款粉筆，那里的一個(gè)教授對我說，你知道，我們的粉筆要比美國的好，我說，噢，那就看看吧，粉筆就是粉筆。

And so I tried it out, and I was surprised to find that he was right.
接著我試了一下，我驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)他是對的。

- I tried it, and I thought it was phenomenal.
我試過了，我覺得很了不起。

It's the densest, it erases the cleanest, it leaves the nicest line.
它是密度最高的，它是能擦除最干凈的，它留下的是最漂亮的線條。

- If you use bad chalk often you have to press really hard for anyone to see what you're writing so using Hagoromo on a good board, it doesn't really feel like you're working hard to write.
如果你經(jīng)常用劣質(zhì)粉筆，你就得使勁按，讓別人看到你在寫什么，而在一個(gè)好的黑板上使用Hagoromo粉筆，就不會(huì)覺得你在費(fèi)力寫板書。

- When I'm teaching I get a feeling of energy, confidence, and the chalk absolutely helps.
當(dāng)我上課的時(shí)候，我會(huì)有一種充滿活力、自信的感覺，而粉筆絕對起到了幫助的作用。

- Slowly the math world has become aware of this, and it became a bit of a fad in some circles.
慢慢地，數(shù)學(xué)界已經(jīng)意識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)，這在一些圈子里成了一種時(shí)尚。

- It was like maybe four years ago the word came out that the company was going out of business.
好像是四年前有消息說這家粉筆公司要倒閉了。

I sort of jokingly referred to it as a chalk apocalypse.
我會(huì)開玩笑地把它稱為粉筆啟示錄。

So I immediately started hoarding up as much as I could.
所以我立刻開始盡可能多地去囤積這款粉筆。

- I ordered three boxes of Hagoromo and kept it in my office and used it very sparingly.
我訂購了三盒羽衣粉筆，保存在我的辦公室里，并非常節(jié)省地用它。

- I should've bought more but I have friends that bought boxes and boxes and boxes of the stuff.
我本應(yīng)該多買點(diǎn)，但我有朋友買了一箱又一箱。

They might very well be set for the rest of their career.
他們或許為以后的職業(yè)生涯做好了準(zhǔn)備。

- We've got like 1,500 sticks.
我們買了大概1500支。

That's a lot of days, four sticks a day.
一天用四支，能用好長時(shí)間。

I think I'm gonna make it.
我想我能做到。

- I have probably a 10-year supply still at home.
我可能有10年的供應(yīng)量囤在家里。

- I calculated how many boxes would I need to last for 10 or 15 years.
我計(jì)算了10年或15年我會(huì)需要多少盒。

I didn't wanna become a chalk dealer, but I did like the idea that I could be the first stick is free chalk dealer on the block in my department.
我不想成為一個(gè)粉筆經(jīng)銷商，但我確實(shí)喜歡這樣的想法，我可以成為這個(gè)街區(qū)我的部門中第一個(gè)免費(fèi)粉筆經(jīng)銷商。 

- I was probably selling it regularly to maybe eight to 10 colleagues.
我可能定期把它賣給8到10個(gè)同事。

I would reach into my cupboard in my office and pull out another box and we'd do the deal in my office.
我會(huì)伸手到我辦公室里的柜子里，再拿出另一盒，我們會(huì)在我辦公室里做這筆交易。

Yeah, we all had a chalk fix.
是啊，我們都有粉筆固定使用量。

And we still do.
而且我們依然還是這樣。

- The original Hagoromo chalk is slowly disappearing.
原來的羽衣粉筆正在慢慢消失。

A few years ago, a Korean company bought their formulas and did the best job of faithfully reproducing it in Korea.
幾年前，一家韓國公司購買了他們的配方，并盡最大努力在韓國遵循配比生產(chǎn)。

- It was mixed emotions.
這很耐人尋味。

I was happy to know that it would still be made.
我很高興知道它仍然會(huì)被制造出來。

But I was a little disappointed that I was less clever than I thought I was.
但我有點(diǎn)失望，因?yàn)槲覜]有想象中那么聰明。

- In many ways mathematics is like craftsmanship, in some ways it's like artistry; in some ways it's like science.
在許多方面，數(shù)學(xué)就像手工藝，在某些方面，它就像藝術(shù)；在某些方面，它就像科學(xué)。

But there's a real high craft side to getting a beautiful lecture on a blackboard.
但在黑板上進(jìn)行一個(gè)漂亮的演講確實(shí)要很高的技巧。

Mathematicians admire this in each other and like to use the best tools for it.
數(shù)學(xué)家們互相欣賞這一點(diǎn)，并喜歡使用最好的工具。

- There's incredible value to this but the value is in using it up, not hoarding it.
這支粉筆有難以置信的價(jià)值，而價(jià)值在于用光它，不是囤積它。