TEDGlobal 2012
Karen Thompson Walker: What fear can teach us
Karen Tompson Voker (Karen Thompson Walker): Šta možemo da naučimo iz straha
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Zamislite da ste izgubljeni mornar potonulog broda usred ogromnog Pacifika. Možete da izaberete jedan od tri pravca i spasite sebe i druge mornare - ali svaki izbor nosi i strašne posledice. Kako da izaberete? Dok priča priču o kitolovcu Eseks, književnica Karen Tompson Voker nam pokazuje kako strah podstiče maštu jer nas navodi da zamislimo moguće buduće događaje i kako da se nosimo sa njima.
Karen Thompson Walker - Novelist
Fiction writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the connection between fear and the imagination. Full bio
Fiction writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the connection between fear and the imagination. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
One day in 1819,
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Jednog dana 1819. godine,
00:18
3,000 miles off the coast of Chile,
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5 000 kilometara od obale Čilea,
00:21
in one of the most remote regions of the Pacific Ocean,
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u jednom od najudaljenijih regiona Pacifika,
00:24
20 American sailors watched their ship flood with seawater.
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20 američikih mornara gledalo je
kako njihov brod preplavljuje voda.
kako njihov brod preplavljuje voda.
00:28
They'd been struck by a sperm whale, which had ripped
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Naleteli su na ulješuru,
koja je napravila
koja je napravila
00:30
a catastrophic hole in the ship's hull.
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strašan procep na trupu njihovog broda.
00:33
As their ship began to sink beneath the swells,
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Kako je njihov brod
počeo da tone ispod talasa,
počeo da tone ispod talasa,
00:35
the men huddled together in three small whaleboats.
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ljudi su se zbili u tri mala čamca.
00:40
These men were 10,000 miles from home,
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Ovi ljudi su bili 15 000 kilometara
udaljeni od kuće
udaljeni od kuće
00:42
more than 1,000 miles from the nearest scrap of land.
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i više od 1 500 kilometara
od najbližeg kopna.
od najbližeg kopna.
00:45
In their small boats, they carried only
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U svojim malim čamcima, imali su samo
00:47
rudimentary navigational equipment
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zastarelu navigacionu opremu
00:49
and limited supplies of food and water.
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i ograničene zalihe hrane i vode.
00:53
These were the men of the whaleship Essex,
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Bila je to posada kitolovca Eseks,
00:55
whose story would later inspire parts of "Moby Dick."
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čija priča će kasnije poslužiti kao insipiracija
za delove ‚‚Mobi Dika".
za delove ‚‚Mobi Dika".
00:57
Even in today's world, their situation would be really dire,
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Čak i u današnje vreme,
njihova situacija bila bi vrlo kobna,
njihova situacija bila bi vrlo kobna,
01:00
but think about how much worse it would have been then.
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zamislite koliko je to tada bilo teže.
01:02
No one on land had any idea that anything had gone wrong.
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Niko na kopnu nije znao
da je bilo šta krenulo po zlu.
da je bilo šta krenulo po zlu.
01:05
No search party was coming to look for these men.
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Nijedna spasilačka ekipa nije krenula
u potragu za ovim ljudima.
u potragu za ovim ljudima.
01:08
So most of us have never experienced a situation
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Mnogi od nas nikada nisu iskusili
toliko strašnu nesreću
toliko strašnu nesreću
01:11
as frightening as the one in which these sailors found themselves,
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kao tu koja je snašla ove mornare,
01:15
but we all know what it's like to be afraid.
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ali svi znamo kako izgleda bojati se.
01:17
We know how fear feels,
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Znamo kako je kada osećamo strah,
01:19
but I'm not sure we spend enough time thinking about
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ali nisam sigurna da razmišljamo
dovoljno vremena
dovoljno vremena
01:21
what our fears mean.
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o značenju naših strahova.
01:23
As we grow up, we're often encouraged to think of fear
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Kako odrastamo, često nas ohrabruju
da strah doživljavamo
da strah doživljavamo
01:26
as a weakness, just another childish thing to discard
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kao slabost, još jedna sitnica iz detinjstva
koju treba odbaciti
koju treba odbaciti
01:28
like baby teeth or roller skates.
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kao mlečne zube ili rolšue.
01:31
And I think it's no accident that we think this way.
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Mislim da nije slučajno
što ovako razmišljamo.
što ovako razmišljamo.
01:34
Neuroscientists have actually shown that human beings
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Neurolozi su zapravo dokazali
da su ljudska bića
da su ljudska bića
01:36
are hard-wired to be optimists.
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urođeni optimisti.
01:39
So maybe that's why we think of fear, sometimes,
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Možda je to razlog
što strah ponekad doživljavamo
što strah ponekad doživljavamo
01:42
as a danger in and of itself.
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kao opasnost samu po sebi.
01:44
"Don't worry," we like to say to one another. "Don't panic."
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‚‚Ne brini", volimo da kažemo drugima.
‚‚Ne paniči."
‚‚Ne paniči."
01:47
In English, fear is something we conquer.
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U engleskom jeziku,
strah je nešto čime ovladavamo.
strah je nešto čime ovladavamo.
01:49
It's something we fight. It's something we overcome.
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Ono protiv čega se borimo.
Ono što prevazilazimo.
Ono što prevazilazimo.
01:53
But what if we looked at fear in a fresh way?
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Šta ako pogledamo na strah
na novi način?
na novi način?
01:56
What if we thought of fear as an amazing act of the imagination,
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Šta ako zamislimo strah
kao jedan neverovatan oblik mašte,
kao jedan neverovatan oblik mašte,
02:00
something that can be as profound and insightful
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nešto što može biti
toliko duboko i pronicljivo
toliko duboko i pronicljivo
02:02
as storytelling itself?
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kao i samo pripovedanje?
02:05
It's easiest to see this link between fear and the imagination
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Ovu vezu između straha i mašte
je najlakše videti
je najlakše videti
02:07
in young children, whose fears are often extraordinarily vivid.
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kod male dece, čiji su strahovi
često nesvakidašnje živopisni.
često nesvakidašnje živopisni.
02:11
When I was a child, I lived in California,
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Kad sam bila dete,
živela sam u Kaliforniji,
živela sam u Kaliforniji,
02:13
which is, you know, mostly a very nice place to live,
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što je, kao što znate,
uglavnom vrlo prijatno mesto za život,
uglavnom vrlo prijatno mesto za život,
02:16
but for me as a child, California could also be a little scary.
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ali za mene, kao dete,
Kalifornija je bila i pomalo strašna.
Kalifornija je bila i pomalo strašna.
02:20
I remember how frightening it was to see the chandelier
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Sećam se koliko je bilo strašno videti luster,
02:23
that hung above our dining table swing back and forth
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koji visi iznad trpezarijskog stola,
kako se ljulja napred nazad
kako se ljulja napred nazad
02:25
during every minor earthquake,
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za vreme svakog manjeg potresa,
02:27
and I sometimes couldn't sleep at night, terrified
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ponekad nisam mogla da zaspim,
uplašena
uplašena
02:29
that the Big One might strike while we were sleeping.
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da nas možda ‚‚Veliki"
ne zadesi dok spavamo.
ne zadesi dok spavamo.
02:32
And what we say about kids who have fears like that
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Za decu
koja imaju takve strahove kažemo
koja imaju takve strahove kažemo
02:35
is that they have a vivid imagination.
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da imaju bujnu maštu.
02:38
But at a certain point, most of us learn
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Ali u određenom trenutku,
monogi od nas nauče
monogi od nas nauče
02:41
to leave these kinds of visions behind and grow up.
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da ovakve maštarije
ostave iza sebe i da odrastu.
ostave iza sebe i da odrastu.
02:43
We learn that there are no monsters hiding under the bed,
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Shvatimo da ne postoje čudovišta
koja se kriju ispod kreveta
koja se kriju ispod kreveta
02:46
and not every earthquake brings buildings down.
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i da ne može svaki zemljotres
da sruši zgradu.
da sruši zgradu.
02:49
But maybe it's no coincidence that some of our most creative minds
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Možda nije slučajnost
da neki naši najkreativniji umovi
da neki naši najkreativniji umovi
02:53
fail to leave these kinds of fears behind as adults.
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nisu uspeli da ostave ovakve strahove
iza sebe kada su odrasli.
iza sebe kada su odrasli.
02:56
The same incredible imaginations that produced "The Origin of Species,"
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Ista ta neverovatna mašta
koja je stvorila ‚‚O poreklu vrsta",
koja je stvorila ‚‚O poreklu vrsta",
03:00
"Jane Eyre" and "The Remembrance of Things Past,"
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‚‚Džejn Ejr" i
‚‚Potragu za izgubljenim vremenom",
‚‚Potragu za izgubljenim vremenom",
03:02
also generated intense worries that haunted the adult lives
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proizvela je i snažne brige
koje su progonile doba zrelosti
koje su progonile doba zrelosti
03:06
of Charles Darwin, Charlotte BrontĂŤ and Marcel Proust.
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Čarlsa Darvina,
Šarlote Bronte i Marsela Prusta.
Šarlote Bronte i Marsela Prusta.
03:10
So the question is, what can the rest of us learn about fear
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Pitanje je, šta mi ostali
možemo da naučimo o strahu
možemo da naučimo o strahu
03:13
from visionaries and young children?
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od vizionara i male dece?
03:16
Well let's return to the year 1819 for a moment,
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Hajde da se na trenutak
vratimo u 1819. godinu
vratimo u 1819. godinu
03:19
to the situation facing the crew of the whaleship Essex.
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i okolnosti sa kojima se suočila
posada kitolovca Eseks.
posada kitolovca Eseks.
03:23
Let's take a look at the fears that their imaginations
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Hajde da pogledamo strahove
koje je njihova mašta
koje je njihova mašta
03:25
were generating as they drifted in the middle of the Pacific.
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izrodila dok su plutali nasred Pacifika.
03:29
Twenty-four hours had now passed since the capsizing of the ship.
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Prošlo je dvadeset četiri časa
od prevrtanja njihovog broda.
od prevrtanja njihovog broda.
03:32
The time had come for the men to make a plan,
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Došlo je vreme da članovi posade
naprave plan,
naprave plan,
03:35
but they had very few options.
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ali imali su vrlo malo mogućnosti.
03:38
In his fascinating account of the disaster,
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U svom fascinantnom pomenu
ove katastrofe,
ove katastrofe,
03:40
Nathaniel Philbrick wrote that these men were just about
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Natanijel Filbrik je napisao
da su se ovi ljudi našli
da su se ovi ljudi našli
03:43
as far from land as it was possible to be anywhere on Earth.
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na mestu najudaljenijem
od kopna na čitavoj planeti Zemlji.
od kopna na čitavoj planeti Zemlji.
03:47
The men knew that the nearest islands they could reach
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Znali su da su im najbliža ostrva
03:50
were the Marquesas Islands, 1,200 miles away.
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bila ostrva Markiz,
udaljena 2 000 kilometara.
udaljena 2 000 kilometara.
03:53
But they'd heard some frightening rumors.
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Ali su čuli neke zastrašujuće glasine.
03:56
They'd been told that these islands,
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Rekli su im da su ova ostrva
03:58
and several others nearby, were populated by cannibals.
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i nekoliko njih u blizini,
naseljavali ljudožderi.
naseljavali ljudožderi.
04:02
So the men pictured coming ashore only to be murdered
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Ljudi su zamišljali kako dolaze na kopno
samo da bi ih ubili
samo da bi ih ubili
04:04
and eaten for dinner.
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i pojeli za večeru.
04:06
Another possible destination was Hawaii,
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Drugo moguće odredište su bili Havaji,
04:09
but given the season, the captain was afraid
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ali zbog godišnjeg doba, kapetan se bojao
04:11
they'd be struck by severe storms.
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da će ih sustići žestoke oluje.
04:14
Now the last option was the longest, and the most difficult:
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Poslednja opcija je bila najduža i najteža:
04:18
to sail 1,500 miles due south in hopes of reaching
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plovidba 2 400 kilometara na jug
sa nadom da će naići
sa nadom da će naići
04:21
a certain band of winds that could eventually
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na neki niz vetrova
koji bi ih najzad mogao
koji bi ih najzad mogao
04:23
push them toward the coast of South America.
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odgurnuti prema obali Južne Amerike.
04:25
But they knew that the sheer length of this journey
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Ali su znali da zbog same dužine
ovog putovanja
ovog putovanja
04:28
would stretch their supplies of food and water.
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neće imati dovoljno zaliha hrane i vode.
04:32
To be eaten by cannibals, to be battered by storms,
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Da li da ih pojedu ljudožderi,
da ih izmuči oluja
da ih izmuči oluja
04:35
to starve to death before reaching land.
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ili da izgladne do smrti
pre nego stignu do kopna?
pre nego stignu do kopna?
04:38
These were the fears that danced in the imaginations of these poor men,
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Ovakvi strahovi su bujali u mašti
ovih unesrećenih ljudi,
ovih unesrećenih ljudi,
04:42
and as it turned out, the fear they chose to listen to
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a na kraju,
strah koji su izabrali da poslušaju
strah koji su izabrali da poslušaju
04:45
would govern whether they lived or died.
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vodiće ih do života ili do smrti.
04:47
Now we might just as easily call these fears by a different name.
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Ove strahove vrlo lako
možemo nazvati i drugim imenom.
možemo nazvati i drugim imenom.
04:51
What if instead of calling them fears,
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Šta bi bilo kada bismo rekli
da to nisu strahovi
da to nisu strahovi
04:54
we called them stories?
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već priče?
04:55
Because that's really what fear is, if you think about it.
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Jer strah je u stvari baš to,
ako malo razmislite.
ako malo razmislite.
04:58
It's a kind of unintentional storytelling
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To je nekakav
nenameran način pripovedanja
nenameran način pripovedanja
05:01
that we are all born knowing how to do.
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koji umemo da koristimo od rođenja.
05:04
And fears and storytelling have the same components.
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Strahovi i pripovedanje
su sastavljeni od istih delova.
su sastavljeni od istih delova.
05:06
They have the same architecture.
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Imaju istu strukturu.
05:08
Like all stories, fears have characters.
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Kao sve priče, strahovi imaju likove.
05:11
In our fears, the characters are us.
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U našim strahovima, mi smo likovi.
05:13
Fears also have plots. They have beginnings and middles and ends.
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Strahovi imaju i zaplet.
Imaju početak, sredinu i kraj.
Imaju početak, sredinu i kraj.
05:18
You board the plane. The plane takes off. The engine fails.
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Ukrcate se u avion.
Avion poleti. Motor se pokvari.
Avion poleti. Motor se pokvari.
05:22
Our fears also tend to contain imagery that can be
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Naši strahovi sadrže slike koje mogu biti
05:24
every bit as vivid as what you might find in the pages of a novel.
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živopisne koliko i slike
na stranicama u romanu.
na stranicama u romanu.
05:28
Picture a cannibal, human teeth
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Zamislite ljudoždera, ljudske zube
05:31
sinking into human skin,
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kako zaranjaju u ljudsku kožu,
05:33
human flesh roasting over a fire.
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ljudsko meso koje se peče na vatri.
05:36
Fears also have suspense.
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Strahovi su puni napetosti.
05:39
If I've done my job as a storyteller today,
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Ako sam dobro obavila posao
pripovedača danas,
pripovedača danas,
05:41
you should be wondering what happened
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trebalo bi da se pitate šta se dogodilo
05:42
to the men of the whaleship Essex.
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ljudima sa kitolovca Eseks.
05:45
Our fears provoke in us a very similar form of suspense.
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Naši strahovi izazivaju
vrlo sličan oblik napetosti.
vrlo sličan oblik napetosti.
05:49
Just like all great stories, our fears focus our attention
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Baš kao i sve sjajne priče,
naši strahovi nam privlače pažnju
naši strahovi nam privlače pažnju
05:52
on a question that is as important in life as it is in literature:
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na pitanje koje je važno u životu
kao i u književnosti:
kao i u književnosti:
05:56
What will happen next?
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šta će se sledeće dogoditi?
05:59
In other words, our fears make us think about the future.
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Drugim rečima, naši strahovi nas navode
da mislimo o budućnosti.
da mislimo o budućnosti.
06:02
And humans, by the way, are the only creatures capable
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Ljudi su, uzgred,
jedina bića sposobna
jedina bića sposobna
06:04
of thinking about the future in this way,
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da razmišljaju o budućnosti na ovaj način,
06:05
of projecting ourselves forward in time,
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da zamislimo sebe u budućnosti,
06:08
and this mental time travel is just one more thing
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a to mentalno putovanje kroz vreme
je samo još jedna stvar
je samo još jedna stvar
06:11
that fears have in common with storytelling.
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koja je zajednička
strahovima i pripovedanju.
strahovima i pripovedanju.
06:14
As a writer, I can tell you that a big part of writing fiction
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Kao pisac, mogu vam reći
da je dobar deo pisanja fikcije
da je dobar deo pisanja fikcije
06:17
is learning to predict how one event in a story
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učenje da predvidite
kako će jedan događaj u priči
kako će jedan događaj u priči
06:19
will affect all the other events,
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da utiče na ostale događaje,
06:20
and fear works in that same way.
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a strah deluje isto tako.
06:22
In fear, just like in fiction, one thing always leads to another.
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U strahu, kao i u fikciji,
jedna stvar uvek vodi drugoj.
jedna stvar uvek vodi drugoj.
06:28
When I was writing my first novel, "The Age Of Miracles,"
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Dok sam pisala svoj roman,
‚‚Vreme čuda",
‚‚Vreme čuda",
06:30
I spent months trying to figure out what would happen
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provela sam mesece trudeći se
da shvatim šta bi se dogodilo
da shvatim šta bi se dogodilo
06:33
if the rotation of the Earth suddenly began to slow down.
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ako bi brzina kojom se Zemlja okreće
počela da opada.
počela da opada.
06:36
What would happen to our days? What would happen to our crops?
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Šta bi se desilo našim danima?
Šta bi se desilo našim prinosima?
Šta bi se desilo našim prinosima?
06:39
What would happen to our minds?
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Šta bi se desilo našim umovima?
06:41
And then it was only later that I realized how very similar
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A tek kasnije sam shvatila
koliko ova pitanja liče
koliko ova pitanja liče
06:44
these questions were to the ones I used to ask myself
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na ona koja sam nekad postavljala sebi
06:47
as a child frightened in the night.
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kao upašeno dete u noći.
06:49
If an earthquake strikes tonight, I used to worry,
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Ako večeras bude zemljotres,
pitala sam se,
pitala sam se,
06:51
what will happen to our house? What will happen to my family?
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šta će se desiti našoj kući?
Šta će se desiti mojoj porodici?
Šta će se desiti mojoj porodici?
06:55
And the answer to those questions always took the form of a story.
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A odgovori na ta pitanja
su uvek uzimali oblik priče.
su uvek uzimali oblik priče.
07:00
So if we think of our fears as more than just fears
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Ako doživimo naše strahove
kao nešto više od strahova,
kao nešto više od strahova,
07:02
but as stories, we should think of ourselves
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kao priče, videli bismo sebe
07:05
as the authors of those stories.
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kao autore tih priča.
07:08
But just as importantly, we need to think of ourselves
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Podjednako je važno da vidimo sebe
07:10
as the readers of our fears, and how we choose
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i kao čitaoca svojih strahova,
a kako odlučimo
a kako odlučimo
07:12
to read our fears can have a profound effect on our lives.
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da čitamo svoje strahove
može imati snažan uticaj na naše živote.
može imati snažan uticaj na naše živote.
07:16
Now, some of us naturally read our fears more closely than others.
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Neki od nas po prirodi bolje čitaju
svoje strahove od ostalih.
svoje strahove od ostalih.
07:19
I read about a study recently of successful entrepreneurs,
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Nedavno sam pročitala istraživanje
o uspešnim preduzetnicima,
o uspešnim preduzetnicima,
07:22
and the author found that these people shared a habit
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pisac je zaključio
da svi ovi ljudi imaju istu naviku
da svi ovi ljudi imaju istu naviku
07:25
that he called "productive paranoia," which meant that
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koju je nazvao ‚‚produktivna paranoja",
što znači
što znači
07:28
these people, instead of dismissing their fears,
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da ovi ljudi,
umesto da odbace svoje strahove
umesto da odbace svoje strahove
07:31
these people read them closely, they studied them,
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oni ih pažljivo čitaju, proučavaju ih
07:34
and then they translated that fear into preparation and action.
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i onda te strahove
pretvore u pripreme i dela.
pretvore u pripreme i dela.
07:37
So that way, if their worst fears came true,
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Na taj način,
ako bi im se ostvarili najgori strahovi,
ako bi im se ostvarili najgori strahovi,
07:39
their businesses were ready.
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njihov posao bi bio spreman.
07:41
And sometimes, of course, our worst fears do come true.
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Ponekad se, naravno,
naši najgori strahovi ostvaruju.
naši najgori strahovi ostvaruju.
07:45
That's one of the things that is so extraordinary about fear.
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To je stvar koja je vrlo neobična u strahu.
07:49
Once in a while, our fears can predict the future.
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Ponekad, naši strahovi
mogu predvideti budućnost.
mogu predvideti budućnost.
07:54
But we can't possibly prepare for all of the fears
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Ali ne možemo uvek
da se pripremimo za sve strahove
da se pripremimo za sve strahove
07:57
that our imaginations concoct.
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koje naša mašta može da smisli.
07:59
So how can we tell the difference between
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Kako možemo razlikovati
08:01
the fears worth listening to and all the others?
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strahove vredne slušanja od onih drugih?
08:05
I think the end of the story of the whaleship Essex
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Mislim da nam kraj priče o kitolovcu Eseks
08:08
offers an illuminating, if tragic, example.
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nudi poučan, mada tragičan, primer.
08:12
After much deliberation, the men finally made a decision.
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Nakon puno razmatranja,
muškarci su konačno odlučili.
muškarci su konačno odlučili.
08:17
Terrified of cannibals, they decided to forgo the closest islands
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U strahu od ljudoždera,
odlučili su da odustanu od najbližih ostrva
odlučili su da odustanu od najbližih ostrva
08:20
and instead embarked on the longer
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i umesto toga krenu na duži
08:23
and much more difficult route to South America.
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i mnogo teži put do Južne Amerike.
08:26
After more than two months at sea, the men ran out of food
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Posle više od dva meseca na pučini,
ponestalo im je hrane
ponestalo im je hrane
08:29
as they knew they might,
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kao što su i očekivali,
08:30
and they were still quite far from land.
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a još uvek su bili prilično daleko od kopna.
08:33
When the last of the survivors were finally picked up
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Kada su poslednje preživele
konačno spasila
konačno spasila
08:36
by two passing ships, less than half of the men were left alive,
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dva broda u prolazu,
manje od polovine ljudi je bilo živo,
manje od polovine ljudi je bilo živo,
08:41
and some of them had resorted to their own form of cannibalism.
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a neki od njih su pribegli
sopstvenom obliku kanibalizma.
sopstvenom obliku kanibalizma.
08:45
Herman Melville, who used this story as research for "Moby Dick,"
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Herman Melvil, koji je istraživao ovu priču
za roman ‚‚Mobi Dik",
za roman ‚‚Mobi Dik",
08:49
wrote years later, and from dry land, quote,
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je godinama kasnije,
na čvrstom tlu napisao:
na čvrstom tlu napisao:
08:53
"All the sufferings of these miserable men of the Essex
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‚‚Sve patnje ovih unesrećenih ljudi sa Eseksa
08:55
might in all human probability have been avoided
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mogle su se izbeći
08:58
had they, immediately after leaving the wreck,
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da su oni, napustivši olupinu
09:01
steered straight for Tahiti.
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krenuli pravo ka Tahitiju.
09:02
But," as Melville put it, "they dreaded cannibals."
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Ali", kako Melvil kaže,
‚‚bojali su se ljudoždera."
‚‚bojali su se ljudoždera."
09:07
So the question is, why did these men dread cannibals
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Pitanje je, zašto su se ovi ljudi
bojali ljudoždera
bojali ljudoždera
09:10
so much more than the extreme likelihood of starvation?
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više nego gotovo sigurne smrti od gladi?
09:14
Why were they swayed by one story
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Zašto je jedna priča
09:16
so much more than the other?
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imala jači uticaj od druge?
09:19
Looked at from this angle,
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Sa druge strane gledano,
09:20
theirs becomes a story about reading.
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njihova priča postaje priča o čitanju.
09:24
The novelist Vladimir Nabokov said that the best reader
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Književnik Vladimir Nabokov
kaže da najbolji čitalac
kaže da najbolji čitalac
09:26
has a combination of two very different temperaments,
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ima kombinaciju
dva različita temperamenta,
dva različita temperamenta,
09:29
the artistic and the scientific.
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umetnički i naučni.
09:32
A good reader has an artist's passion,
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Dobar čitalac
ima strast jednog umetnika,
ima strast jednog umetnika,
09:34
a willingness to get caught up in the story,
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spremnost da se unese u priču,
09:37
but just as importantly, the readers also needs
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ali isto tako važno,
čitaoci bi trebalo da imaju
čitaoci bi trebalo da imaju
09:39
the coolness of judgment of a scientist,
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bistrinu rasuđivanja jednog naučnika,
09:42
which acts to temper and complicate
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koja ublažava i komplikuje
09:44
the reader's intuitive reactions to the story.
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intuitivnu reakciju čitaoca na priču.
09:47
As we've seen, the men of the Essex had no trouble with the artistic part.
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Videli smo da ljudi sa Eseksa
nisu imali problema sa umetničkom stranom.
nisu imali problema sa umetničkom stranom.
09:50
They dreamed up a variety of horrifying scenarios.
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Zamislili su mnoštvo jezivih scenarija.
09:54
The problem was that they listened to the wrong story.
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Problem je što su poslušali
pogrešnu priču.
pogrešnu priču.
09:58
Of all the narratives their fears wrote,
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Od svih priča
koje su napisali njihovi strahovi,
koje su napisali njihovi strahovi,
10:00
they responded only to the most lurid, the most vivid,
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odgovorili su samo na najmračnije,
najživopisnije
najživopisnije
10:04
the one that was easiest for their imaginations to picture:
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na one koje je njihova mašta
najlakše predstavila:
najlakše predstavila:
10:07
cannibals.
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na ljudoždere.
10:09
But perhaps if they'd been able to read their fears
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Da su možda mogli
da čitaju svoje strahove
da čitaju svoje strahove
10:11
more like a scientist, with more coolness of judgment,
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kao naučnici, sa bistrim umom
10:15
they would have listened instead to the less violent
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poslušali bi manje nasilnu
10:17
but the more likely tale, the story of starvation,
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ali realniju priču, priču o izgladnjivanju
10:21
and headed for Tahiti, just as Melville's sad commentary suggests.
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i krenuli ka Tahiiju,
kako Melvil žalosno objašnjava.
kako Melvil žalosno objašnjava.
10:26
And maybe if we all tried to read our fears,
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Možda, ako bismo svi pokušali
da čitamo svoje strahove,
da čitamo svoje strahove,
10:29
we too would be less often swayed
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ređe bi nas pokolebali
10:31
by the most salacious among them.
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najstrašniji od njih.
10:33
Maybe then we'd spend less time worrying about
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Možda bismo onda
provodili manje vremena u strahu
provodili manje vremena u strahu
10:35
serial killers and plane crashes,
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od serijskih ubica i avionskih nesreća,
10:37
and more time concerned with the subtler
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a više brinuli o suptilnijim
10:39
and slower disasters we face:
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i sporijim katastrofama koje susrećemo:
10:41
the silent buildup of plaque in our arteries,
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nečujnom nagomilavanju
naslaga u arterijama,
naslaga u arterijama,
10:43
the gradual changes in our climate.
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sporim promenama naše klime.
10:46
Just as the most nuanced stories in literature are often the richest,
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Baš kao što su u književnosti
priče sa najviše nijansi najbogatije
priče sa najviše nijansi najbogatije
10:50
so too might our subtlest fears be the truest.
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tako i naši najsuptilniji strahovi
postaju najverniji.
postaju najverniji.
10:54
Read in the right way, our fears are an amazing gift
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Ako ih pročitamo na pravi način,
strahovi su neverovatan poklon
strahovi su neverovatan poklon
10:57
of the imagination, a kind of everyday clairvoyance,
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mašte, vrsta svakodnevne vidovitosti,
11:00
a way of glimpsing what might be the future
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način da se osvrnemo na ono
što donosi budućnost
što donosi budućnost
11:02
when there's still time to influence how that future will play out.
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dok još ima dovoljno vremena
da utičemo na događaje u budućnosti.
da utičemo na događaje u budućnosti.
11:06
Properly read, our fears can offer us something as precious
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Ako ih ispravno čitamo, strahovi
mogu da ponude nešto dragoceno
mogu da ponude nešto dragoceno
11:09
as our favorite works of literature:
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kao naša omiljena književna dela:
11:11
a little wisdom, a bit of insight
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malo mudrosti, nekakav uvid
11:14
and a version of that most elusive thing --
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i verziju te neuhvatljive stvari -
11:17
the truth.
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istine.
11:18
Thank you. (Applause)
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Hvala.
(Aplauz)
(Aplauz)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Thompson Walker - NovelistFiction writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the connection between fear and the imagination.
Why you should listen
In Karen Thompson Walker's 2012 book The Age of Miracles, a young girl and her family awake one morning to discover that the rotation of the Earth has suddenly begun to slow, stretching the length of the 24-hour day and throwing the natural world into disarray. It's a big, speculative book, but at heart, it's a simple human drama, told through the eyes of an observant adolescent girl.
A former book editor at Simon & Schuster, Walker worked on the novel for three years, an hour each morning before work. Fun fact: The Age of Miracles was published on June 21, 2012 -- the longest day of the year. Since then, the bestselling, much-awarded book has been translated into 29 languages.
Karen Thompson Walker | Speaker | TED.com