What a stunning realization it must have been.
这项认定一定很让人震惊
The Universe is a machine governed by principles, or laws,
宇宙有如机器 依循原理或法则而行
laws that can be understood by the human mind.
而且是人类心智能了解的法则
I believe the discovery of these laws has been humankind's greatest achievement,
我认为发现这些法则 是人类最伟大的成就
for it's these laws of nature, as we now call them,
因为就是这些我们现在所称的自然法则
that will tell us whether we need a God to explain the Universe at all.
能告诉我们是否需要上帝 才能解释宇宙
For centuries,it was believed that disabled people like me
数百年来 人们相信像我这样的残疾人士
were living under a curse inflicted by God.
是活在上帝所降的诅咒中的
While I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there,
我想我是有可能 惹恼了上面某人
I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way by the laws of nature.
但我更倾向认为 一切都可以用另一种方式解释 也就是自然法则
So,what exactly is a law of nature,
到底什么是自然法则
and why is it so powerful?
它的威力又为何如此强大
I'll show you with a game of tennis.
我用网球赛来说明
Tennis is governed by two sets of laws.
网球受到两套法则所规范
One set is man-made the rules of the game.
一套是人所制定的 比赛规则
They govern things such as the size of the court,the height of the net,
所规范的事包括球场尺寸 网子的高度
and what determines if a shot is in...or if a shot is out.
以及如何判定球是落在界内 还是界外