TEDGlobal 2011
Robin Ince: Science versus wonder?
羅賓因斯 科學與幻想
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科學到底有沒有毀掉人們對於科學的想像？羅賓因斯藉由這有些荒誕卻吸引人的獨白中，做出了否定的回答。當我們對這個宇宙中驚奇的事了解的越多，我們對宇宙的敬畏就越多。
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I'd like to apologize, first of all, to all of you
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首先 我想向大家
00:18
because I have no form
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為我沒有任何
00:20
of PowerPoint presentation.
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投影片的事情先道個歉
00:23
So what I'm going to do
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所以 爲了補償
00:25
is, every now and again, I will make this gesture,
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我會不時的做這個動作
00:27
and in a moment of PowerPoint democracy,
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並停一下 你可以用這個片刻
00:29
you can imagine what you'd like to see.
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想像一下你有看到的投影片
00:33
I do a radio show.
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我做了一個廣播節目
00:35
The radio show is called "The Infinite Monkey Cage."
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名字叫做“無限的猴子籠”
00:38
It's about science, it's about rationalism.
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是關於科學和純理論想法
00:41
So therefore, we get a lot of complaints
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我們每週會收到
00:43
every single week --
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很多的抱怨
00:45
complaints including one we get very often,
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最常收到的就是關於
00:48
which is to say the very title, "Infinite Monkey Cage,"
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我們的這個特別的名字， "無限猴子籠"
00:51
celebrates the idea of vivisection.
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提倡了活體解剖
00:54
We have made it quite clear to these people
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然後我們都很明白的回覆了那些人
00:56
that an infinite monkey cage is roomy.
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無限猴子籠是很寬廣的一個籠子
00:59
(Laughter)
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（笑）
01:01
We also had someone else who said,
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也有人說道
01:03
"'The Infinite Monkey Cage' idea is ridiculous.
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無限猴子理論是荒謬的
01:05
An infinite number of monkeys
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無限數量的猴子
01:07
could never write the works of Shakespeare.
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不可能打出莎士比亞的作品
01:09
We know this because they did an experiment."
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我們是通過實驗知道的
01:12
Yes, they gave 12 monkeys a typewriter for a week,
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是這樣的， 他們給了12個猴子一台打字機
01:16
and after a week, they only used it as a bathroom.
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過了一個星期，打字機只是被猴子當成了廁所
01:19
(Laughter)
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（笑）
01:21
So the main element though, the main complaint we get --
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雖然大多都是在抱怨我們的標題
01:23
and one that I find most worrying --
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但有一個我感覺很焦慮的抱怨
01:25
is that people say, "Oh, why do you insist
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是有人說道
01:28
on ruining the magic?
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爲什麽你總是毀滅我們的想像
01:30
You bring in science, and it ruins the magic."
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你帶來了科學，然後它完全破壞了幻想
01:32
Now I'm an arts graduate;
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好吧， 這樣說吧！我是一個念藝術的人
01:34
I love myth and magic
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我喜愛神話和幻想
01:36
and existentialism and self-loathing.
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還有存在主義和自我厭惡
01:38
That's what I do.
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這就是我
01:40
But I also don't understand
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但是我還是不明白
01:42
how it does ruin the magic.
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科學是怎麼毀掉了幻想
01:44
All of the magic, I think,
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我認為所有的幻想
01:46
that may well be taken away by science
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被科學證明其錯誤後
01:48
is then replaced by something as wonderful.
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都會被一個完美的東西代替掉
01:50
Astrology, for instance:
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比如說 占星學
01:52
like many rationalists, I'm a Pisces.
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和很多理性主義者一樣我也是雙魚座
01:55
(Laughter)
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（笑）
01:58
Now astrology --
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占星學
02:00
we remove the banal idea
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我們廢棄了
02:02
that your life could be predicted;
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我們的生活是可以被預知的古板的思想
02:04
that you'll, perhaps today, meet a lucky man
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像你今天可能碰到一個幸運的男人
02:06
who's wearing a hat.
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一個戴帽子的男人
02:08
That is gone.
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占星學已經過去了
02:10
But if we want to look at the sky and see predictions, we still can.
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但是假如我們觀測天空來預測點什麽，我們還是可以做到的
02:13
We can see predictions of galaxies forming,
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我們是可以預知星系的形成的
02:16
of galaxies colliding into each other, of new solar systems.
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兩個星系相互碰撞成為新的星系
02:19
This is a wonderful thing.
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這是一件極為美妙的事情
02:21
If the Sun could one day -- and indeed the Earth, in fact --
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假如太陽系有一天，舉說地球來說吧
02:24
if the Earth could read its own astrological, astronomical chart,
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假如地球人有一天能夠讀懂地球的星象，
02:28
one day it would say,
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有一天是有可能這樣的一幕的
02:30
"Not a good day for making plans.
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今天並不是一個做事的日子
02:32
You'll been engulfed by a red giant."
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你將會被紅巨星包圍
02:34
And that to me as well,
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我自己身上也能有這樣的例子
02:36
that if you think I'm worried about losing worlds,
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我其實在擔心消失的世界
02:39
well Many Worlds theory --
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平行世界論 你知道的
02:41
one of the most beautiful, fascinating,
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從量子論中得出的
02:44
sometimes terrifying ideas
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一個很有意思
02:46
from the quantum interpretation --
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有時有相當駭人的理論
02:48
is a wonderful thing.
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它是一個有趣的東西
02:50
That every person here, every decision that you've made today,
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我們每個人每天所作的決定
02:53
every decision you've made in your life,
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在你生活中的每個決定
02:55
you've not really made that decision,
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也許不是真的想要做那樣的決定
02:57
but in fact, every single permutation of those decisions
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但是實際上每個一決定間的置換
03:01
is made, each one going off into a new universe.
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那麼每個都會形成一個新的宇宙
03:04
That is a wonderful idea.
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多麼奇妙的想法啊
03:06
If you ever think that your life is rubbish,
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假如你有想過你的生活很無聊
03:10
always remember
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永遠記住
03:12
there's another you that's made much worse decisions than that.
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有那麼一個比你要慘的多的你
03:15
(Laughter)
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（笑）
03:17
If you ever think, "Ah, I want to end it all,"
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你如何曾想過 我要結束這一切
03:19
don't end it all.
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別想不開
03:21
Remember that in the majority of universes,
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記住那裡還有宇宙的大多數
03:23
you don't even exist in the first place.
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你不是宇宙第一的存在
03:25
This to me, in its own strange way,
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雖然是個很奇怪的方法
03:28
is very, very comforting.
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但是對我而言是很有效的自我安慰
03:30
Now reincarnation, that's another thing gone -- the afterlife.
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重生轉世，又是一個不在被相信的東西
03:32
But it's not gone.
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但是它還沒走
03:34
Science actually says
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是科學告訴我們
03:36
we will live forever.
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我們是可以永生的
03:39
Well, there is one proviso.
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但是這是有一個前提的
03:41
We won't actually live forever. You won't live forever.
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我們其實不能永生 沒有誰可以
03:44
Your consciousness, the you-ness of you, the me-ness of me --
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你的意識 你的自我 我的自我
03:47
that gets this one go.
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這是會消失的
03:50
But every single thing that makes us,
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但是組成我們的東西
03:52
every atom in us,
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每個組成我們的原子
03:54
has already created a myriad of different things
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是已經創造了各種東西的
03:57
and will go on to create a myriad of new things.
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然後再將來還會繼續創造
04:00
We have been mountains
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我們可能是山
04:03
and apples and pulsars
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是蘋果 是脈衝星
04:05
and other people's knees.
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是別人的膝蓋
04:07
Who knows, maybe one of your atoms was once Napoleon's knee.
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可能你的原子回事拿破崙的膝蓋
04:10
That is a good thing.
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這是件好事
04:12
Unlike the occupants of the universe,
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宇宙並不像
04:14
the universe itself is not wasteful.
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宇宙中的物質一樣是浪費的
04:17
We are all totally recyclable.
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我們是完全可回收的
04:19
And when we die,
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但我們死了
04:21
we don't even have to be placed in different refuse sacs.
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我們不必把我們自己分類裝入不同的回收袋
04:24
This is a wonderful thing.
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這太有趣了
04:26
Understanding, to me,
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真的
04:28
does not remove the wonder and the joy.
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我並不是想否奇蹟和幻想
04:32
For instance, my wife could turn to me and she may say,
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比如 我老婆會問我
04:35
"Why do you love me?"
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我爲什麽愛他
04:37
And I can with all honesty
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然後我會十分真誠的
04:39
look her in the eye and say,
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看著她的眼睛然後說
04:41
"Because our pheromones
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因為我們的費洛蒙
04:43
matched our olfactory receptors."
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和我們的嗅覺神經是相匹配的
04:46
(Laughter)
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（笑）
04:48
Though I'll probably also say something
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可能我還會說點別的
04:50
about her hair and personality as well.
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比如她的頭髮和個性
04:52
And that is a wonderful thing there.
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我這樣回答是有好處的
04:55
Love does not die because of that thing.
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因為如此 愛情是永恆的
04:57
Pain doesn't go away either.
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疼痛一樣是不會消失的
04:59
This is a terrible thing, even though I understand pain.
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只是一件可怕的事情 儘管我理解疼痛
05:01
If someone punches me --
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假如有人因為我的性格
05:03
and because of my personality,
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打了我一拳
05:05
this is recently a regular occurrence --
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這是最近經常發生的事情
05:07
I understand where the pain comes from.
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我知道疼痛是從哪裡來的
05:09
It is basically momentum to energy
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而且其本身只不過是動能所轉換出的能量
05:12
where the four-vector is constant -- that's what it is.
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同時四維能量守恆的概念而起
05:14
But at no point can I react and go,
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但是我不可能這樣回應他啊
05:16
"Ha! Is that the best momentum-to-energy fourth vector constant you've got?"
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嘿 這就是你能做到的最好的動能轉換以維持四維能量守恆嗎?
05:21
No, I just spit out a tooth.
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當然不可能啊 我只會吐出一顆牙齒
05:23
(Laughter)
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（笑）
05:25
And that is all of these different things -- the love for my child.
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這就是以上這些不同的事
05:28
I have a son. His name is Archie.
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我對我孩子的愛 我有個孩子就阿奇
05:30
I'm very lucky,
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我很幸運
05:32
because he's better than all the other children.
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因為他比任何一個小孩都要好
05:34
Now I know you don't think that.
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我知道你可能不那樣想
05:36
You may well have your own children
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你可能有你自己的小孩
05:38
and think, "Oh no, my child's best."
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並認為：我的才是最棒的
05:41
That's the wonderful thing about evolution --
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這就是進化的美妙了
05:43
the predilection to believe
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大家都傾向於相信
05:45
that our child is best.
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我的孩子最棒
05:47
Now in many ways, that's just a survival thing.
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但是從很多方面來說 那隻不過是生存的問題
05:50
The fact we see here is the vehicle for our genes,
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實際上我們眼中看到的是我們基因的遺傳者
05:53
and therefore we love it.
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然後我們回去愛它
05:55
But we don't notice that bit; we just unconditionally love.
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但是我們並沒有注意到這點 我們就無條件的去愛了
05:58
That is a wonderful thing.
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這是一件多麼好的事
06:00
Though I should say that my son is best
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但是我還是要說我兒子好
06:02
and is better than your children.
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比你們的都好
06:05
I've done some tests.
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我做了這樣一些實驗
06:07
And all of these things to me
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然後這些東西
06:09
give such joy and excitement and wonder.
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給了我很多快樂和幻想
06:12
Even quantum mechanics can give you an excuse
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甚至量子理論都可以幫你找到一個理由
06:15
for bad housework, for instance.
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比如說相當糟的家務
06:17
Perhaps you've been at home for a week on your own.
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也許你一個人在家待了一個星期
06:20
You house is in a terrible state.
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你家的房子相當的亂
06:22
Your partner is about to return.
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然後你的伴侶要回來了
06:24
You think, what should I do?
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你認為我該幹什麼
06:26
Do nothing.
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什麽也別做
06:28
All you have to do
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你要做的就是
06:30
is, when she walks in, using a quantum interpretation,
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當她向你說教時，你可以用上量子理論
06:32
say, "I'm so sorry.
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說：對不起
06:34
I stopped observing the house for a moment,
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我停止觀察這個房間有一段時間了
06:36
and when I started observing again,
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但我再次觀察時
06:38
everything had happened."
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所有的事情發生了
06:40
(Laughter)
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（笑）
06:42
That's the strong anthropic principle of vacuuming.
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這就是在真空下強烈的人擇原理
06:46
For me, it's a very, very important thing.
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對我來說快樂真的是一件很重要的事啊
06:48
Even on my journey up here --
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從我活到現在
06:50
the joy that I have on my journey up here every single time.
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從我活到現在每一次都很快樂
06:52
If you actually think, you remove the myth and there is still something wonderful.
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如果屏除你的迷思你仔細想一想你扔然還有許多美好的事情
06:55
I'm sitting on a train.
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我現在就在一個火車上
06:57
Every time I breathe in,
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每一次我呼吸
06:59
I'm breathing in a million-billion-billion
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我都呼入了 無數的
07:01
atoms of oxygen.
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氧原子
07:03
I'm sitting on a chair.
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我坐在椅子上
07:05
Even though I know the chair is made of atoms
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就算我知道 椅子只不過是由原子構成的
07:07
and therefore actually in many ways empty space,
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而且有很多的空隙
07:09
I find it comfortable.
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但是我感覺它很舒服
07:11
I look out the window, and I realize
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我往窗戶外面看 然後我發現
07:13
that every single time we stop and I look out that window,
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每一次我們停下來看向窗外
07:15
framed in that window,
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鑲在窗戶上的
07:17
wherever we are,
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景象
07:19
I am observing more life
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我正在看比除了地球以外已知宇宙中
07:21
than there is in the rest of the known universe
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所有東西加起來
07:24
beyond the planet Earth.
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還顯得生機盎然
07:26
If you go to the safari parks
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假如你去到在土星
07:28
on Saturn or Jupiter,
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或者冥王星上的徒步公園
07:30
you will be disappointed.
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你將會相當失望
07:32
And I realize I'm observing this
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然後是我發現了我在觀察這個
07:34
with the brain, the human brain,
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用的腦袋 人腦
07:36
the most complex thing in the known universe.
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在已知宇宙中最為複雜的東西
07:39
That, to me, is an incredible thing.
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這對我而已是不可思議的
07:41
And do you know what, that might be enough.
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你知道你在做什麽 這已經不可思議了
07:44
Steven Weinberg, the Nobel laureate, once said,
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史蒂夫溫伯格 諾貝爾的得獎人曾說過
07:47
"The more the universe seems comprehensible,
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宇宙越是看起來能理解
07:49
the more it seems pointless."
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就越是沒有意義
07:51
Now for some people,
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現在這句話
07:53
that seems to lead to an idea of nihilism.
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對有些人理解成了虛無主義
07:55
But for me, it doesn't. That is a wonderful thing.
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但是對我不是這樣的 這是件美好的事
07:58
I'm glad the universe is pointless.
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我很高興宇宙是不能定論的
08:00
It means if I get to the end of my life,
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這就意味著 當我死的時候
08:02
the universe can't turn to me and go, "What have you been doing, you idiot?
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有種不看能對我說 傻子 你做了什麽啊
08:05
That's not the point."
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這都是無意義的
08:07
I can make my own purpose.
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我可以做我自己的打算
08:09
You can make your own purpose.
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你可以有你的想法
08:11
We have the individual power
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我們每個人都有能力
08:13
to go, "This is what I want to do."
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說 這是我想要的
08:15
And in a pointless universe, that, to me, is a wonderful thing.
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在這沒有定論的宇宙中 這樣的感覺 對我是很有趣的事
08:18
I have chosen to make silly jokes
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我選擇了對量子論
08:20
about quantum mechanics and the Copenhagen interpretation.
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和哥本哈根的理論做些愚蠢的笑話
08:23
You, I imagine, can do much better things with your time.
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我認為你們肯定可以用你們的時間做些更有價值的事
08:26
Thank you very much. Goodbye.
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謝謝大家 再見
08:28
(Applause)
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掌聲
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robin Ince - ComedianThe rational-minded Robin Ince conducts live experiments in comedy.
Why you should listen
Is rational thought funny? And is comedy scientific? are the pair of questions on which Robin Ince has built his recent career. On his own and as part of the BBC4 radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage, Robin Ince makes science-friendly comedy with pals like Brian Cox, Ben Goldacre and Simon Singh. TIMC just won the Best Speech Programme at the 2011 Sony Radio Awards, the first science program to win in ... aeons. They recently took the show on the road as "Uncaged Monkeys," about which the Telegraph's critic said, "I was expecting more knickers thrown at the stage, to be honest."
Onstage, Ince conducts live experiments into the science of comedy and laughter. He and his team set out to discover secret of timing, discover if people are born funny, and if computers can tell jokes.
He says: "Most scientists I know have movies and novels in their houses, whereas there are novelists whose houses I've been to who don't have any science books."
Robin Ince | Speaker | TED.com