ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Thompson Walker - Novelist
Fiction 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.

More profile about the speaker
Karen Thompson Walker | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2012

Karen Thompson Walker: What fear can teach us

卡伦·汤普森·沃克:我们能从恐惧中学到什么

Filmed:
2,257,399 views

想象一下你是在浩瀚的太平洋上遇到了海难的水手。你有三种选择来拯救自己和难友——但是每个选择都可能有可怕的后果。你如何抉择?通过讲述捕鲸船ESSEX号的故事,小说家卡伦·汤普森·沃克给我们展示了恐惧如何推动我们的想象,如何迫使我们想象将来的可能性以及如何应对他们。
- Novelist
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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1819年的某一天,
00:18
3,000 miles英里 off the coast of Chile智利,
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在距离智利海岸3000英里的地方,
00:21
in one of the most remote远程 regions地区 of the Pacific和平的 Ocean海洋,
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有一个太平洋上的最偏远的水域,
00:24
20 American美国 sailors水手 watched看着 their ship flood洪水 with seawater海水.
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20名美国船员目睹了他们的船只进水的场面。
00:28
They'd他们会 been struck来袭 by a sperm精子 whale, which哪一个 had ripped撕开
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他们和一头抹香鲸相撞,给船体撞了
00:30
a catastrophic灾难性的 hole in the ship's船舶 hull船壳.
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一个毁灭性的大洞。
00:33
As their ship began开始 to sink水槽 beneath下面 the swells骤升,
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当船在巨浪中开始沉没时,
00:35
the men男人 huddled together一起 in three small whaleboatswhaleboats.
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人们在三条救生小艇中抱作一团。
00:40
These men男人 were 10,000 miles英里 from home,
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这些人在离家10000万英里的地方,
00:42
more than 1,000 miles英里 from the nearest最近的 scrap废料 of land土地.
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离最近的陆地也超过1000英里。
00:45
In their small boats, they carried携带的 only
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在他们的小艇中,他们只带了
00:47
rudimentary初步 navigational equipment设备
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落后的导航设备
00:49
and limited有限 supplies耗材 of food餐饮 and water.
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和有限的食物和饮水。
00:53
These were the men男人 of the whaleshipwhaleship Essex埃塞克斯,
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他们就是捕鲸船ESSEX上的人们,
00:55
whose谁的 story故事 would later后来 inspire启发 parts部分 of "Moby白鲸 Dick迪克."
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后来的他们的故事成为《白鲸记》的一部分。
00:57
Even in today's今天的 world世界, their situation情况 would be really dire可怕的,
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即使在当今的世界,碰上这种情况也够杯具的,
01:00
but think about how much worse更差 it would have been then.
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更不用说在当时的情况有多糟糕。
01:02
No one on land土地 had any idea理念 that anything had gone走了 wrong错误.
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岸上的人根本就还没意识到出了什么问题。
01:05
No search搜索 party派对 was coming未来 to look for these men男人.
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没有任何人来搜寻他们。
01:08
So most of us have never experienced有经验的 a situation情况
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我们当中大部分人没有经历过
01:11
as frightening可怕的 as the one in which哪一个 these sailors水手 found发现 themselves他们自己,
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这些船员所处的可怕情景,
01:15
but we all know what it's like to be afraid害怕.
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但我们都知道害怕是什么感觉。
01:17
We know how fear恐惧 feels感觉,
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我们知道恐惧的感觉,
01:19
but I'm not sure we spend enough足够 time thinking思维 about
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但是我不能肯定我们会花很多时间想过
01:21
what our fears恐惧 mean.
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我们的恐惧到底意味着什么。
01:23
As we grow增长 up, we're often经常 encouraged鼓励 to think of fear恐惧
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我们长大以后,我们总是会被鼓励把恐惧
01:26
as a weakness弱点, just another另一个 childish幼稚 thing to discard丢弃
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视为软弱,需要像乳牙或轮滑鞋一样
01:28
like baby宝宝 teeth or roller滚筒 skates冰鞋.
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扔掉的幼稚的东西。
01:31
And I think it's no accident事故 that we think this way.
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我想意外事故并非我们所想的那样。
01:34
Neuroscientists神经学家 have actually其实 shown显示 that human人的 beings众生
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神经系统科学家已经知道人类
01:36
are hard-wired硬连线 to be optimists乐观主义者.
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生来就是乐观主义者。
01:39
So maybe that's why we think of fear恐惧, sometimes有时,
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这也许就是为什么我们认为有时候恐惧,
01:42
as a danger危险 in and of itself本身.
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本身就是一种危险或带来危险。
01:44
"Don't worry担心," we like to say to one another另一个. "Don't panic恐慌."
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“不要愁。”我们总是对别人说。“不要慌”。
01:47
In English英语, fear恐惧 is something we conquer征服.
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英语中,恐惧是我们需要征服的东西。
01:49
It's something we fight斗争. It's something we overcome克服.
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是我们必须对抗的东西,是我们必须克服的东西。
01:53
But what if we looked看着 at fear恐惧 in a fresh新鲜 way?
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但是我们如果换个视角看恐惧会如何呢?
01:56
What if we thought of fear恐惧 as an amazing惊人 act法案 of the imagination想像力,
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如果我们把恐惧当做是想象力的一个惊人成果,
02:00
something that can be as profound深刻 and insightful见地
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是和我们讲故事一样
02:02
as storytelling评书 itself本身?
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精妙而有见地的东西,又会如何呢?
02:05
It's easiest最简单的 to see this link链接 between之间 fear恐惧 and the imagination想像力
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在小孩子当中,我们最容易看到恐惧与想象之间的联系,
02:07
in young年轻 children孩子, whose谁的 fears恐惧 are often经常 extraordinarily异常 vivid生动.
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他们的恐惧经常是超级生动的。
02:11
When I was a child儿童, I lived生活 in California加州,
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我小时候住在加利福尼亚,
02:13
which哪一个 is, you know, mostly大多 a very nice不错 place地点 to live生活,
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你们都知道,是非常适合居住的位置,
02:16
but for me as a child儿童, California加州 could also be a little scary害怕.
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但是对一个小孩来说,加利福尼亚也会有点吓人。
02:20
I remember记得 how frightening可怕的 it was to see the chandelier吊灯
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我记得每次小地震的时候
02:23
that hung鸿 above以上 our dining用餐 table swing摇摆 back and forth向前
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当我看到我们餐桌上的吊灯
02:25
during every一切 minor次要 earthquake地震,
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晃来晃去的时候是多么的吓人,
02:27
and I sometimes有时 couldn't不能 sleep睡觉 at night, terrified
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我经常会彻夜难眠,担心大地震
02:29
that the Big One might威力 strike罢工 while we were sleeping睡眠.
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会在我们睡觉的时候突然袭来。
02:32
And what we say about kids孩子 who have fears恐惧 like that
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我们说小孩子感受到这种恐惧
02:35
is that they have a vivid生动 imagination想像力.
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是因为他们有生动的想象力。
02:38
But at a certain某些 point, most of us learn学习
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但是在某个时候,我们大多数学会了
02:41
to leave离开 these kinds of visions愿景 behind背后 and grow增长 up.
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抛弃这种想法而变得成熟。
02:43
We learn学习 that there are no monsters怪物 hiding under the bed,
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我们都知道床下没有魔鬼,
02:46
and not every一切 earthquake地震 brings带来 buildings房屋 down.
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也不是每个地震都会震垮房子。
02:49
But maybe it's no coincidence巧合 that some of our most creative创作的 minds头脑
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但是我们当中最有想象力的人们
02:53
fail失败 to leave离开 these kinds of fears恐惧 behind背后 as adults成年人.
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并没有因为成年而抛弃这种恐惧,这也许并不是巧合。
02:56
The same相同 incredible难以置信 imaginations想象 that produced生成 "The Origin起源 of Species种类,"
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同样不可思议的想象力创造了《物种起源》,
03:00
"Jane Eyre艾尔" and "The Remembrance追忆 of Things Past过去,"
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《简·爱》和《追忆似水年华》,
03:02
also generated产生 intense激烈 worries that haunted闹鬼 the adult成人 lives生活
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也就是这种与生俱来的深深的担忧一直缠绕着成年的
03:06
of Charles查尔斯 Darwin达尔文, Charlotte夏洛特 Bront勃朗特ĂŤ and Marcel马塞尔 Proust普鲁斯特.
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查尔斯·达尔文, 夏洛特·勃朗特和马塞尔·普罗斯特。
03:10
So the question is, what can the rest休息 of us learn学习 about fear恐惧
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问题就来了, 我们其他人如何能从这些
03:13
from visionaries梦想家 and young年轻 children孩子?
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梦想家和小孩子身上学会恐惧?
03:16
Well let's return返回 to the year 1819 for a moment时刻,
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让我们暂时回到1819年,
03:19
to the situation情况 facing面对 the crew船员 of the whaleshipwhaleship Essex埃塞克斯.
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回到ESSEX捕鲸船的水手们面对的情况。
03:23
Let's take a look at the fears恐惧 that their imaginations想象
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让我们看看他们漂流在太平洋中央时
03:25
were generating发电 as they drifted漂流 in the middle中间 of the Pacific和平的.
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他们的想象力给他们带来的恐惧感觉。
03:29
Twenty-four二十四 hours小时 had now passed通过 since以来 the capsizing倾覆 of the ship.
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船倾覆后已经过了24个小时。
03:32
The time had come for the men男人 to make a plan计划,
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这时人们制定了一个计划,
03:35
but they had very few少数 options选项.
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但是其实他们没什么太多的选择。
03:38
In his fascinating迷人 account帐户 of the disaster灾害,
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在纳撒尼尔·菲尔布里克(Nathaniel Philbrick)描述这场灾难的
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Nathaniel纳撒尼尔 Philbrick菲尔布里克 wrote that these men男人 were just about
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动人文章中,他写到“这些人离陆地如此之远,
03:43
as far from land土地 as it was possible可能 to be anywhere随地 on Earth地球.
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似乎永远都不可能到达地球上的任何一块陆地。”
03:47
The men男人 knew知道 that the nearest最近的 islands岛屿 they could reach达到
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这些人知道离他们最近的岛
03:50
were the Marquesas马克萨斯 Islands岛屿, 1,200 miles英里 away.
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是1200英里以外的马克萨斯群岛(Marquesas Islands)。
03:53
But they'd他们会 heard听说 some frightening可怕的 rumors传闻.
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但是他们听到了让人恐怖的谣言。
03:56
They'd他们会 been told that these islands岛屿,
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他们听说这些群岛,
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and several一些 others其他 nearby附近, were populated人口稠密 by cannibals食人族.
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以及附近的一些岛屿上都住着食人族。
04:02
So the men男人 pictured合照 coming未来 ashore岸上 only to be murdered谋杀
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所以他们脑中都是上岸以后就会被杀掉
04:04
and eaten吃过 for dinner晚餐.
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被人当做盘中餐的画面。
04:06
Another另一个 possible可能 destination目的地 was Hawaii夏威夷,
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另一个可行的目的地是夏威夷,
04:09
but given特定 the season季节, the captain队长 was afraid害怕
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但是船长担心
04:11
they'd他们会 be struck来袭 by severe严重 storms风暴.
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他们会被困在风暴当中。
04:14
Now the last option选项 was the longest最长, and the most difficult:
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所以最后的选择是到最远,也是最艰险的地方:
04:18
to sail 1,500 miles英里 due应有 south in hopes希望 of reaching到达
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往南走1500英里希望某股风
04:21
a certain某些 band of winds that could eventually终于
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能最终把他们
04:23
push them toward the coast of South America美国.
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吹到南美洲的海岸。
04:25
But they knew知道 that the sheer绝对 length长度 of this journey旅程
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但是他们知道这个行程中一旦偏航
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would stretch伸展 their supplies耗材 of food餐饮 and water.
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将会耗尽他们食物和饮水的供给。
04:32
To be eaten吃过 by cannibals食人族, to be battered受虐 by storms风暴,
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被食人族吃掉,被风暴掀翻,
04:35
to starve饿死 to death死亡 before reaching到达 land土地.
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在登陆前饿死。
04:38
These were the fears恐惧 that danced跳舞 in the imaginations想象 of these poor较差的 men男人,
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这就是萦绕在这群可怜的人想象中的恐惧,
04:42
and as it turned转身 out, the fear恐惧 they chose选择 to listen to
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事实证明,他们选择听从的恐惧
04:45
would govern治理 whether是否 they lived生活 or died死亡.
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将决定他们的生死。
04:47
Now we might威力 just as easily容易 call these fears恐惧 by a different不同 name名称.
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也许我们可以很容易的用别的名称来称呼这些恐惧。
04:51
What if instead代替 of calling调用 them fears恐惧,
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我们不称之为恐惧,
04:54
we called them stories故事?
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而是称它们为故事如何?
04:55
Because that's really what fear恐惧 is, if you think about it.
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如果你仔细想想,这是恐惧真正的意义。
04:58
It's a kind of unintentional无意 storytelling评书
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这是一种与生俱来的,
05:01
that we are all born天生 knowing会心 how to do.
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无意识的讲故事的能力。
05:04
And fears恐惧 and storytelling评书 have the same相同 components组件.
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恐惧和讲故事有着同样的构成。
05:06
They have the same相同 architecture建筑.
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他们有同样的结构。
05:08
Like all stories故事, fears恐惧 have characters人物.
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如同所有的故事,恐惧中有角色。
05:11
In our fears恐惧, the characters人物 are us.
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在恐惧中,角色就是我们自己。
05:13
Fears恐惧 also have plots地块. They have beginnings开始 and middles中段 and ends结束.
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恐惧也有情节。他们有开头,有中间,有结尾。
05:18
You board the plane平面. The plane平面 takes off. The engine发动机 fails失败.
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你登上飞机。飞机起飞。结果引擎故障。
05:22
Our fears恐惧 also tend趋向 to contain包含 imagery意象 that can be
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我们的恐惧会包括各种生动的想象,
05:24
every一切 bit as vivid生动 as what you might威力 find in the pages网页 of a novel小说.
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不比你看到的任何一个小说逊色。
05:28
Picture图片 a cannibal食人族, human人的 teeth
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想象食人族,人类牙齿
05:31
sinking下沉 into human人的 skin皮肤,
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咬在人类皮肤上,
05:33
human人的 flesh roasting焙烧 over a fire.
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人肉在火上烤。
05:36
Fears恐惧 also have suspense悬念.
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恐惧中也有悬念。
05:39
If I've doneDONE my job工作 as a storyteller说故事的人 today今天,
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如果我今天像讲故事一样,留个悬念不说了,
05:41
you should be wondering想知道 what happened发生
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你们也许会很想知道
05:42
to the men男人 of the whaleshipwhaleship Essex埃塞克斯.
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ESSEX捕鲸船上,人们到底怎么样了。
05:45
Our fears恐惧 provoke in us a very similar类似 form形成 of suspense悬念.
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我们的恐惧用悬念一样的方式刺激我们。
05:49
Just like all great stories故事, our fears恐惧 focus焦点 our attention注意
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就像一个很好的故事,我们的恐惧也如同一部好的文学作品一样,
05:52
on a question that is as important重要 in life as it is in literature文学:
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将我们的注意力集中在对我们生命至关重要的问题上:
05:56
What will happen发生 next下一个?
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后来发生了什么?
05:59
In other words, our fears恐惧 make us think about the future未来.
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换而言之,我们的恐惧让我们想到未来。
06:02
And humans人类, by the way, are the only creatures生物 capable
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另外,人来是唯一有能力
06:04
of thinking思维 about the future未来 in this way,
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通过这种方式想到未来的生物,
06:05
of projecting突出 ourselves我们自己 forward前锋 in time,
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就是预测时间推移后我们的状况,
06:08
and this mental心理 time travel旅行 is just one more thing
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这种精神上的时间旅行是恐惧
06:11
that fears恐惧 have in common共同 with storytelling评书.
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与讲故事的另一个共同点。
06:14
As a writer作家, I can tell you that a big part部分 of writing写作 fiction小说
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我是一个作家,我要告诉你们写小说一个很重要的部分
06:17
is learning学习 to predict预测 how one event事件 in a story故事
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就是学会预测故事中一件
06:19
will affect影响 all the other events事件,
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事情如何影响另一件事情,
06:20
and fear恐惧 works作品 in that same相同 way.
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恐惧也是同样这么做的。
06:22
In fear恐惧, just like in fiction小说, one thing always leads引线 to another另一个.
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恐惧中,如同小说一样,一件事情总是导致另一件事情。
06:28
When I was writing写作 my first novel小说, "The Age年龄 Of Miracles奇迹,"
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我写我的第一部小说《奇迹时代》的时候,
06:30
I spent花费 months个月 trying to figure数字 out what would happen发生
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我花了数月的时间想象如果地球旋转突然变慢了之后
06:33
if the rotation回转 of the Earth地球 suddenly突然 began开始 to slow down.
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会发生什么。
06:36
What would happen发生 to our days? What would happen发生 to our crops作物?
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我们的一天变得如何?我们身体会怎样?
06:39
What would happen发生 to our minds头脑?
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我们的思想会有什么变化?
06:41
And then it was only later后来 that I realized实现 how very similar类似
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也就是在那之后,我意识到
06:44
these questions问题 were to the ones那些 I used to ask myself
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我过去总是问自己的那些些问题
06:47
as a child儿童 frightened受惊 in the night.
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和孩子们在夜里害怕是多么的相像。
06:49
If an earthquake地震 strikes罢工 tonight今晚, I used to worry担心,
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要是在过去,如果今晚发生地震,我会很担心,
06:51
what will happen发生 to our house? What will happen发生 to my family家庭?
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我的房子会怎么样啊?家里人会怎样啊?
06:55
And the answer回答 to those questions问题 always took the form形成 of a story故事.
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这类问题的答案通常都会和故事一样。
07:00
So if we think of our fears恐惧 as more than just fears恐惧
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所以我们认为我们的恐惧不仅仅是恐惧
07:02
but as stories故事, we should think of ourselves我们自己
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还是故事,我们应该把自己当作
07:05
as the authors作者 of those stories故事.
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这些故事的作者。
07:08
But just as importantly重要的, we need to think of ourselves我们自己
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但是同样重要的是,我们需要想象我们自己
07:10
as the readers读者 of our fears恐惧, and how we choose选择
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是我们恐惧的解读者,我们选择如何
07:12
to read our fears恐惧 can have a profound深刻 effect影响 on our lives生活.
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去解读这些恐惧会对我们的生活产生深远的影响。
07:16
Now, some of us naturally自然 read our fears恐惧 more closely密切 than others其他.
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现在,我们中有些人比其他人更自然的解读自己的恐惧。
07:19
I read about a study研究 recently最近 of successful成功 entrepreneurs企业家,
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最近我看过一个关于成功的企业家的研究,
07:22
and the author作者 found发现 that these people shared共享 a habit习惯
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作者发现这些人都有个习惯
07:25
that he called "productive生产的 paranoia偏执," which哪一个 meant意味着 that
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叫做“未雨绸缪“,
07:28
these people, instead代替 of dismissing解聘 their fears恐惧,
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意思是,这些人,不回避自己的恐惧,
07:31
these people read them closely密切, they studied研究 them,
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而是认真解读并研究恐惧,
07:34
and then they translated翻译 that fear恐惧 into preparation制备 and action行动.
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然后把恐惧转换成准备和行动。
07:37
So that way, if their worst最差 fears恐惧 came来了 true真正,
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这样,如果最坏的事情发生了,
07:39
their businesses企业 were ready准备.
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他们的企业也有所准备。
07:41
And sometimes有时, of course课程, our worst最差 fears恐惧 do come true真正.
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当然,很多时候,最坏的事情确实发生了。
07:45
That's one of the things that is so extraordinary非凡 about fear恐惧.
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这是恐惧非凡的一面。
07:49
Once一旦 in a while, our fears恐惧 can predict预测 the future未来.
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曾几何时,我们的恐惧预测将来。
07:54
But we can't possibly或者 prepare准备 for all of the fears恐惧
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但是我们不可能为我们想象力构建的所有
07:57
that our imaginations想象 concoct编造.
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恐惧来做准备。
07:59
So how can we tell the difference区别 between之间
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所以,如何区分值得听从的恐惧
08:01
the fears恐惧 worth价值 listening to and all the others其他?
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和不值得的呢?
08:05
I think the end结束 of the story故事 of the whaleshipwhaleship Essex埃塞克斯
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我想捕鲸船ESSEX的故事结局
08:08
offers报价 an illuminating照明, if tragic悲惨, example.
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提供了一个有启发性,同时又悲惨的例子。
08:12
After much deliberation审议, the men男人 finally最后 made制作 a decision决定.
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经过数次权衡,他们最终做出了决定。
08:17
Terrified of cannibals食人族, they decided决定 to forgo放弃 the closest最近的 islands岛屿
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由于害怕食人族,他们决定放弃最近的群岛
08:20
and instead代替 embarked开始 on the longer
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而是开始更长
08:23
and much more difficult route路线 to South America美国.
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更艰难的南美洲之旅。
08:26
After more than two months个月 at sea, the men男人 ran out of food餐饮
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在海上呆了两个多月后,他们
08:29
as they knew知道 they might威力,
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的食物如预料之中消耗殆尽,
08:30
and they were still quite相当 far from land土地.
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而且他们仍然离陆地那么远。
08:33
When the last of the survivors幸存者 were finally最后 picked采摘的 up
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当最后的幸存者最终被过往船只救起时,
08:36
by two passing通过 ships船舶, less than half of the men男人 were left alive,
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只有一小半的人还活着,
08:41
and some of them had resorted使出 to their own拥有 form形成 of cannibalism自相残杀.
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实际上他们中的一些人自己变成了食人族。
08:45
Herman赫尔曼 Melville梅尔维尔, who used this story故事 as research研究 for "Moby白鲸 Dick迪克,"
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赫尔曼·梅尔维尔(Herman Melville)将这个故事作为
08:49
wrote years年份 later后来, and from dry land土地, quote引用,
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《白鲸记》的素材,在数年后写到:
08:53
"All the sufferings痛苦 of these miserable men男人 of the Essex埃塞克斯
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ESSEX船上遇难者的悲惨结局
08:55
might威力 in all human人的 probability可能性 have been avoided避免
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或许是可以通过人为的努力避免的,
08:58
had they, immediately立即 after leaving离开 the wreck破坏,
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如果他们当机立断地离开沉船,
09:01
steered转向 straight直行 for Tahiti大溪地.
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直奔塔西提群岛。
09:02
But," as Melville梅尔维尔 put it, "they dreaded可怕的 cannibals食人族."
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“但是”,梅尔维尔说道:“他们害怕食人族”
09:07
So the question is, why did these men男人 dread恐惧 cannibals食人族
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问题是,为什么这些人对于食人族的恐惧
09:10
so much more than the extreme极端 likelihood可能性 of starvation饥饿?
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超过了更有可能的饥饿威胁呢?
09:14
Why were they swayed动摇 by one story故事
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为什么他们会被一个故事
09:16
so much more than the other?
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影响如此之大呢?
09:19
Looked看着 at from this angle角度,
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从另一个角度来看,
09:20
theirs他们的 becomes a story故事 about reading.
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这是一个关于解读的故事。
09:24
The novelist小说家 Vladimir弗拉基米尔 Nabokov纳博科夫 said that the best最好 reader读者
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小说家弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫(Vladimir Nabokov)说
09:26
has a combination组合 of two very different不同 temperaments性情,
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最好的读者能把两种截然不同的性格结合起来,
09:29
the artistic艺术的 and the scientific科学.
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一个是艺术气质,一个是科学精神。
09:32
A good reader读者 has an artist's艺术家 passion,
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好的读者有艺术家的热情,
09:34
a willingness愿意 to get caught抓住 up in the story故事,
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愿意融入故事当中,
09:37
but just as importantly重要的, the readers读者 also needs需求
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但是同样重要的是,这些读者还要
09:39
the coolness凉意 of judgment判断 of a scientist科学家,
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有科学家的冷静判断,
09:42
which哪一个 acts行为 to temper脾气 and complicate复杂
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这能帮助他们稳定情绪并分析
09:44
the reader's读者 intuitive直观的 reactions反应 to the story故事.
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其对故事的直觉反应。
09:47
As we've我们已经 seen看到, the men男人 of the Essex埃塞克斯 had no trouble麻烦 with the artistic艺术的 part部分.
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我们可以看出来,ESSEX上的人在艺术部分一点问题都没有。
09:50
They dreamed梦见 up a variety品种 of horrifying可怕的 scenarios场景.
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他们梦想到一系列恐怖的场景。
09:54
The problem问题 was that they listened听了 to the wrong错误 story故事.
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问题在于他们听从了一个错误的故事。
09:58
Of all the narratives叙事 their fears恐惧 wrote,
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所有他们恐惧中
10:00
they responded回应 only to the most lurid, the most vivid生动,
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他们只对其中最耸人听闻,最生动的故事,
10:04
the one that was easiest最简单的 for their imaginations想象 to picture图片:
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也是他们想象中最早出现的场景:
10:07
cannibals食人族.
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食人族。
10:09
But perhaps也许 if they'd他们会 been able能够 to read their fears恐惧
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也许,如果他们能像科学家那样
10:11
more like a scientist科学家, with more coolness凉意 of judgment判断,
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稍微冷静一点解读这个故事,
10:15
they would have listened听了 instead代替 to the less violent暴力
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如果他们能听从不太惊悚但是更可能发生的
10:17
but the more likely容易 tale故事, the story故事 of starvation饥饿,
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半路饿死的故事,他们可能就会直奔塔西提群岛,
10:21
and headed当家 for Tahiti大溪地, just as Melville's梅尔维尔 sad伤心 commentary评论 suggests提示.
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如梅尔维尔充满惋惜的评论所建议的那样。
10:26
And maybe if we all tried试着 to read our fears恐惧,
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也许如果我们都试着解读自己的恐惧,
10:29
we too would be less often经常 swayed动摇
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我们就能少被
10:31
by the most salacious猥亵 among其中 them.
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其中的一些幻象所迷惑。
10:33
Maybe then we'd星期三 spend less time worrying令人担忧 about
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我们也就能少花一点时间在
10:35
serial串行 killers杀手 and plane平面 crashes崩溃,
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为系列杀手或者飞机失事方面的担忧,
10:37
and more time concerned关心 with the subtler微妙
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而是更多的关心那些悄然而至
10:39
and slower比较慢 disasters灾害 we face面对:
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的灾难:
10:41
the silent无声 buildup建立 of plaque牌匾 in our arteries动脉,
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动脉血小板的逐渐堆积,
10:43
the gradual changes变化 in our climate气候.
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气候的逐渐变迁。
10:46
Just as the most nuanced细致入微 stories故事 in literature文学 are often经常 the richest首富,
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如同文学中最精妙的故事通常是最丰富的故事,
10:50
so too might威力 our subtlest微妙 fears恐惧 be the truest最真实的.
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我们最细微的恐惧才是最真实的恐惧。
10:54
Read in the right way, our fears恐惧 are an amazing惊人 gift礼品
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用正确的方法的解读,我们的恐惧就是我们想象力
10:57
of the imagination想像力, a kind of everyday每天 clairvoyance千里眼,
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赐给我们的礼物,借此一双慧眼,
11:00
a way of glimpsing瞥见 what might威力 be the future未来
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让我们能管窥未来
11:02
when there's still time to influence影响 how that future未来 will play out.
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甚至影响未来。
11:06
Properly正确 read, our fears恐惧 can offer提供 us something as precious珍贵
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如果能得到正确的解读,我们的恐惧能
11:09
as our favorite喜爱 works作品 of literature文学:
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和我们最喜欢的文学作品一样给我们珍贵的东西:
11:11
a little wisdom智慧, a bit of insight眼光
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一点点智慧,一点点洞悉
11:14
and a version of that most elusive难以捉摸 thing --
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以及对最玄妙东西——
11:17
the truth真相.
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真相的诠释。
11:18
Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢。(掌声)
Translated by James Yu
Reviewed by Psycho Decoder

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Thompson Walker - Novelist
Fiction 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.

More profile about the speaker
Karen Thompson Walker | Speaker | TED.com