1897年《太陽報》編輯給8歲女孩的回信真的那麼好嗎？

1897年，《太陽報》編輯Francis Church回應8歲女孩「有沒有聖誕老人」的一篇社論引起轟動。這位資深編輯用了很大的篇幅來告訴女孩，「」是的，聖誕老人確實存在。「可是文中的語言卻是從大人的視角出發，我認為一個8歲的女孩是難以理解的。況且，那個女孩對答案是否滿意也無人知曉。幾乎所有的大人都為這篇社論拍手叫好，可是孩子真的懂了大人所說的嗎？她會對答案一頭霧水嗎？這個答案真的那麼好嗎？

我們可以從Virginia的信中看看她期待得到怎樣的回復。

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it"s so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

當她的小夥伴質疑沒有聖誕老人的時候，她需要一個讓夥伴們，讓自己信服的人告訴她聖誕老人是否存在。她需要的是一個能夠滿足童心期待的答案。

而在編輯Francis P. Church給Virginia的回信中：

Virginia, your little friends are wrong.

They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men"s or children"s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that"s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby"s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

編輯Francis P. Church給了Virginia想要的答案。

• Virginia, your little friends are wrong.

• Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

• But even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.

• No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

題主質疑Virginia是否滿意報社寫下的回復，Virginia曾在多年後接受WNYC採訪。

「爸爸總是會說到太陽日報，他說我們可以從中找到一切想要的答案。所以我想要給太陽報社寫信，請它告訴我聖誕老人是否存在的事實。如果它說聖誕老人不存在，我會相信；如果它說聖誕老人是真的，我會讓那些曾經為此讓我傷心的女孩們感到後悔。」

「當太陽日報告訴我真的有聖誕老人存在，並且他會永遠的活著時，我覺得從未那樣的幸福！」

題主質疑文中的語言是從大人的角度出發，8歲的小女孩難以理解。

我覺得對於一段無論是簡單亦或是複雜的言語，不同的人生經歷總會有不同的理解。無論是怎樣的經歷，只要當我們能從中有所獲得，對成長有所啟示，對生活有所信心，就足夠了。

當小王子來到地球在花園裡看到那裡種著五千多朵玫瑰，卻沒有一朵是和他的那朵一樣是可以被了解的。當狐狸對小王子說，如果你馴服了我，我們就相互不可缺少了。對我來說，你就是世上的唯一了。我對你來說，也是世界上的唯一了。 或許小王子沒有深切的體會狐狸的話，但是他知道自己將會回到星球上照顧屬於他的那朵玫瑰。

順便說說題主另外一個關於證偽的問題。&<這方面完全沒有背景知識，只當閱讀理解來做了&>

編輯Francis P. Church在回信中說聖誕老人是存在的，並且 『you might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus』。如果說聖誕老人並不存在，那麼從邏輯上我們假定如果爸爸在聖誕夜能活捉了聖誕老人，那麼聖誕老人就是存在的。那麼觀點「聖誕老人並不存在」具有偽證性。

波普爾從反對邏輯實證主義關於科學理論來自對經驗歸納的觀點出發，把科學理論看作是普遍命題，認為科學理論不斷通過有限的，個別的經驗事實而被證實，但個別的經驗事實都能證偽普遍命題，即如果根據演繹推理得出的結論是假的，其前提必假。一種理論所提供的經驗內容愈豐富、愈精確和普遍，它的可證偽度就愈大，科學性就愈高。

可證偽性是一切科學理論的必要條件。比如自由落體定律，在忽略空氣阻力的情況下，如果存在兩個質量相差很大的圓球，而很重的圓球遠遠率先抵達最低點，且此實驗結果可靠，那麼就會推翻自由落體定律。越容易構建證偽實驗，說明該理論的可證偽性越強。證偽自由落體的實驗非常容易做，但是至今為止沒有找到任何一個成功證偽的實驗，那麼也說明的定律的可靠性。科學理論建立在有限的觀察基礎上，具有客觀、邏輯、實證、可重複檢驗等特性，雖然不保證永遠正確，但它是人類可以依賴的最可靠的知識。在科學理論的適用範圍內，新出現的情況總是不斷地驗證它的正確性，它本身具有可以在將來被證偽的途徑，一旦被證偽了，理論就被推翻了。

可證偽性和證偽的概念並不相同。可證偽性是作為一種邏輯上的假定存在來驗證命題，證偽是尋找存在的經驗事實來否定命題的正確性。

至於對於梅羅維茨的媒介情境論，好了土豆喊我去騎馬。