????相比較而言，人們?cè)搅私馀撂乩锟?布萊克特，就越會(huì)被他的事跡所震驚。從防空火炮到反潛裝備，從戰(zhàn)略轟炸到原子彈，整個(gè)二戰(zhàn)之中，布萊克特始終居于盟軍武器裝備的設(shè)計(jì)、理論以及決策的中心。這位曾在1948年角逐諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)的物理學(xué)家曾經(jīng)是英國(guó)海軍的一名軍官，他通過將簡(jiǎn)單的數(shù)學(xué)、實(shí)驗(yàn)以及數(shù)據(jù)分析進(jìn)行極其精巧的跨學(xué)科綜合應(yīng)用，徹底改變了他所參與開發(fā)的每一件武器裝備。

????經(jīng)過在海軍和拉瑟福德郡卡文迪什實(shí)驗(yàn)室的歷練，布萊克特深知如何把事情搞定。他的傳記作者認(rèn)為，布萊克特早就應(yīng)該為大眾所知。“布萊克特堪稱他那一代科學(xué)家中的傳奇人物，因?yàn)樗軐?duì)物理學(xué)與數(shù)學(xué)的深厚功底與非凡的實(shí)踐技能結(jié)合起來，”布迪安斯基寫道。“當(dāng)他去進(jìn)行實(shí)際操作時(shí)，他還會(huì)展現(xiàn)出其他同事所稱之為的‘卓越的深思熟慮’的天賦。”

????《布萊克特的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)》一書不僅是一本有關(guān)科學(xué)家或軍事家的傳記文學(xué)，它還是一本精心寫就，有著詳實(shí)史料的精英科學(xué)家在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)時(shí)期動(dòng)向的社會(huì)歷史著作。本書中講述了希特勒崛起之后，德國(guó)的學(xué)術(shù)界開始驅(qū)逐猶太裔科學(xué)家。而當(dāng)時(shí)的英國(guó)，無論從機(jī)構(gòu)上還是組織上都沒有做好準(zhǔn)備，有效地利用亨利?蒂澤德和布萊克特這些由科學(xué)人才轉(zhuǎn)變而來的頂尖科學(xué)家，把他們變成掌握技術(shù)的企業(yè)家。

????“傳統(tǒng)的軍事理論認(rèn)為，科學(xué)家的任務(wù)就是開發(fā)‘武器和裝備’然后交到部隊(duì)的手上就可以了，” 布迪安斯基寫道。“但是如今，科學(xué)家們卻可以深度參與到曾經(jīng)只有軍事指揮官才能觸及的項(xiàng)目和行動(dòng)中去。”

????高大英俊、散發(fā)著領(lǐng)袖氣質(zhì)的布萊克特自然就是其中的典型。除了超高的智商和堂堂的儀表之外，布萊克特的影響力還體現(xiàn)在他的分析、實(shí)驗(yàn)以及建議可以令同事或是合作者產(chǎn)生醍醐灌頂感覺的天賦。他能夠啟發(fā)他人的智慧，激發(fā)他人的靈感。

????開發(fā)新的雷達(dá)系統(tǒng)或是在飛機(jī)上增加副油箱所需的分分秒秒都決定著前方成千上萬名士兵和平民百姓的生死。訓(xùn)練技術(shù)人員或是團(tuán)隊(duì)成員以開發(fā)似乎不斷增多的技術(shù)改進(jìn)開始變成一種不受贊賞的人力資源的負(fù)擔(dān)。能令對(duì)科學(xué)一竅不通的軍隊(duì)指揮官理解精密的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)分析開始成為一種科學(xué)的藝術(shù)。布萊克特所開創(chuàng)的“運(yùn)籌學(xué)”就是后勤學(xué)作為新的新經(jīng)驗(yàn)科學(xué)所取得的重大突破。事實(shí)上，他將軍事上的作戰(zhàn)區(qū)轉(zhuǎn)化為未來戰(zhàn)術(shù)和武器的試驗(yàn)場(chǎng)。

????By contrast, the more closely one looks at Patrick Blackett, the more impressive he appears. From anti-aircraft gunnery to anti-submarine warfare, strategic bombing and the atomic bomb, Blackett was at or near the center of Allied military design, doctrine, and decision-making throughout the war. This British naval officer turned physicist (he went on to win the Nobel Prize in 1948) transformed every military service he counseled through the clever, interdisciplinary application of simple mathematics, experimentation, and data-driven advice.

????A polished product of the Navy and Rutherford's Cavendish Lab, Blackett knew how to get things done. He richly deserves to be better known; his biographer delivers. "Blackett would become legendary among his fellow scientists for his ability to combine physical insight, mathematical insight and extraordinary practical skills," writes Budiansky. "[H]e displayed what one colleague would call 'his remarkable facility' of thinking most deeply when he was working with his hands.'"

????Far more than a scientific or military biography, Blackett's War is also a finely wrought and well-sourced social history of elite science's wartime mobilization. Hitler's rise, German academe's expulsion of its Jewish scientists, and the growing realization that Britain was institutionally and organizationally unprepared to effectively utilize its scientific talent turned elite scientists like Henry Tizard and Blackett into technocratic entrepreneurs.

????"The traditional military view was that the scientists' role was to develop 'weapons and gadgets,' hand them over, and that was that," Budiansky notes. "But now scientists were intimately involved in what previously had been the exclusive purview of military commanders, in running operations."

????Tall, handsome, and blessed with command presence, Blackett led by example. His influence derived not just from an intimidating intellect and style but a genius in making his analyses, experiments, and proposals palatable to his military colleagues and collaborators. He made others think better. He inspired insight.

????The time needed to develop a new radar system or add "drop tanks" to planes determined the fates of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Training technicians and crews to exploit seemingly incremental technical enhancements became a human capital imperative that was often underappreciated. The ability to make sophisticated statistical analyses persuasively accessible to innumerate commanders emerged as a new scientific art form. "Operational research" -- Blackett's baby -- broke through as a new empirical science of logistics. In effect, he turned military theaters of operations into research laboratories for future tactics and weaponry.