9楼pp_dream
(Another day in paradise)
发表于 2012-8-31 23:41
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家家这本难念的经呀(8) —— 关于“Show”和“Tell”
我在这个念经系列之四,唠叨过写短文一节。阿碧有跟帖说,可否再说说Show和Tell的区别。这次,我家小爱的两篇短文,可以做个示范。第一版和第二版,前面的部分的区别,在我看来就是show和tell的区别。小爱寄给我的目的,是因为他和老师两人争论第一版好还是第二版好,我就跟他说,你把两版都寄来,给我看看。现在就在下面了,大家说说,你喜欢哪个。先谢!
Version 1
I sat there, allowing the plethora of information to permeate through my cranium while actively reducing the porosity of my mind. The third episode of Planet Earth had just transitioned to a scene illustrating Iguassu Falls, one of the widest waterfalls in the world. My minds porosity dropped to 0; “Planet Earth, Episode Three, Fresh Water” had just trekked onto my domain, abstract fluid dynamics.
The efficiency of my mind grew to optimal levels; its capacity for memory proliferated; all thought processes warped into parallel, and out of my control.
The narrator explained: "Iguassu Falls, on the boarder of Brazil and Argentina, is one of the widest waterfalls in the world – one and a half miles across. In flood, 30 million liters of water spill over every second.” As the data permeated through my skull my mind inevitably pondered. It questioned: "How were these computations carried out?". It wondered: "what data was necessary to validate this statement?". It sought: "how would researchers measure such a vast amount of water with accuracy?".
The next day at my internship at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, while discussing practical uses of Lattice Boltzmann simulations with a seasoned researcher and expert in fluid dynamics, I suggested: "Couldn't the Lattice Boltzmann Scheme be applied to a waterfall to compute the average outpour of water per second?”
“Maybe. Explain.”
I then proceeded to describe the problems with measuring the outpour of water per second of Iguassu Falls, and suggested: “Perhaps researchers set up devices to measure the progression of water depth as the water approaches the mouth of the waterfall over several equal sub-intervals to map Iguassu's geography."
“With slight but inevitable complications of course.”
I continued: "to ensure accuracy, maybe researchers measured the water's initial velocity at each sub-interval as the water enters the region of study."
“That would be a must!”
I hypothesized: "with this data, researchers would be able to run 3d Lattice Boltzmann simulations that compute the accumulated water flow crossing the edge of the waterfall over a definite period of time."
“They very well could.”
I concluded: "this series of computations calculates the permeability of the river system. It's almost like measuring the permeability of a certain layer of a porous rock, but on a macroscale.”
His response was simple: "excellent.”
Version 2
Planet Earth, by BBC, is one of my absolute favorite television series. I've recorded and re-watched each of the eleven episodes numerous times. Each episode discusses the ecology of a different ecosystem such as glaciers, caves, and deep oceans, its geological characteristics, and the specific, fascinating organisms that reside within each ecosystem.
I found one particular episode to be especially intriguing. The narrator explained, "Iguassu Falls, on the boarder of Brazil and Argentina, is one of the widest waterfalls in the world – one and a half miles across. In flood, 30 million liters of water spill over every second.” On my own accord, I started to hypothesize ways scientists could have calculated Iguassu's rate of outpour, realizing that there must have been a more scientific and abstract approach to solving this problem because it's impossible to physically measure such a large measure of water with accuracy.
I made the connection to my project at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. As an intern, I was working on two-dimensional porous media (e.g. a rock), and in the process, I learned how to calculate the permeability of a structure, or the rate at which water could flow through the material. The waterfall system was essentially a porous medium in that fluids flow through a maze-like porous structure. The only difference is: the waterfall had a depth at each location that affects the speed of the water, and thus, how much water would be deposited into the river beneath the waterfall.
The next day at work, I discussed the dilemma of computing the large scale waterfall outpour rate with a professional researcher. I had already come up with a thoroughly thought through solution to the problem. The next step was to validate my hypothesis. I suggested: “Perhaps researchers set up devices to measure the progression of water depth as the water approaches the mouth of the waterfall over several equal sub-intervals to map Iguassu's geography."
“With slight but inevitable complications of course.”
I continued: "to ensure accuracy, maybe researchers measured the water's initial velocity at each sub-interval as the water enters the region of study."
“That would be a must!”
I hypothesized: "with this data, researchers would be able to run 3d Lattice Boltzmann simulations that compute the accumulated water flow crossing the edge of the waterfall over a definite period of time."
“They very well could.”
I concluded: "this series of computations calculates the permeability of the river system. It's almost like measuring the permeability of a certain layer of a porous rock, but on a macroscale.”.