ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andrew Blum - Network author
For his new book, "Tubes," Andrew Blum visited the places where the internet exists in physical form: the cables and switches and servers that virtually connect us.

Why you should listen

In his book Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, Andrew Blum wanted to capture the "spirit of place" of the Internet. Because as far-reaching and virtual as our connection to the Net is, the signals travel on good old-fashioned cabling, glass fibers jacketed in polymer, running through conduit under streets. The immaterial Internet runs on a very material, industry-like infrastructure. So that when Alaska senator Ted Stevens called the Internet "a series of tubes" ... well, he was kind of right, and he did inspire the title of this utterly fascinating book, which explores the switches, data centers, sea crossings and many, many tubes that make up our online reality.

Blum is a writer for Newsweek, and has written for Wired, Popular Science, Metropolis and more.

Learn more about Tubes:

Read excerpts on submarine cables and Internet exchange points (like 60 Hudson in NYC).

Browse book club materials (from the Amherst Reads book club)

Listen to Andrew Blum's audio interview on Fresh Air

 

More profile about the speaker
Andrew Blum | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2012

Andrew Blum: Discover the physical side of the internet

Andrew Blum: 你以為的網路世界,真的嗎?

Filmed:
1,521,702 views

在松鼠咬斷電纜並把他趕下線之後,記者Andrew Blum 開始思考網路實際是如何構成的。所以他開始出外查訪-海底電纜、不為人知的資訊交換所,和其他實際組成網際網路的元件。
- Network author
For his new book, "Tubes," Andrew Blum visited the places where the internet exists in physical form: the cables and switches and servers that virtually connect us. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I've always written書面 primarily主要 about architecture建築,
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我主要的著作都有關建築學、或建物
00:18
about buildings房屋, and writing寫作 about architecture建築
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而寫這些建築時
00:21
is based基於 on certain某些 assumptions假設.
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都要從一個特定的假設開始
00:24
An architect建築師 designs設計 a building建造, and it becomes a place地點,
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有一個建築師設計了一座建築,然後變成一個地點
00:26
or many許多 architects建築師 design設計 many許多 buildings房屋, and it becomes
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或是許多建築師設計許多建築,然後成為一個城市
00:28
a city, and regardless而不管 of this complicated複雜 mix混合 of forces軍隊
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而無論這些造就了這些地方的文化或社會力量、經濟
00:32
of politics政治 and culture文化 and economics經濟學 that shapes形狀
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有多麼的錯綜複雜
00:34
these places地方, at the end結束 of the day, you can go
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在最終,變成一個你能去的地方
00:37
and you can visit訪問 them. You can walk步行 around them.
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你能拜訪各處,你能繞著他們走
00:40
You can smell them. You can get a feel for them.
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你能聞到這些建築、你能感覺到這些建築
00:41
You can experience經驗 their sense of place地點.
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你能感覺這個地方的氛圍
00:45
But what was striking引人注目 to me over the last several一些 years年份
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但這幾年嚇到我自己的是
00:47
was that less and less was I going out into the world世界,
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我越來越少走出外面的世界
00:51
and more and more, I was sitting坐在 in front面前 of my computer電腦 screen屏幕.
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取而代之的是越來越常坐在電腦螢幕前面
00:54
And especially特別 since以來 about 2007, when I got an iPhone蘋果手機,
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特別是2007年開始,我買iPhone以後
00:58
I was not only sitting坐在 in front面前 of my screen屏幕 all day,
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我不只是整天坐在電腦螢幕前
01:00
but I was also getting得到 up at the end結束 of the day
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我還開始在每天結束前爬起來
01:02
and looking at this little screen屏幕 that I carried攜帶的 in my pocket口袋.
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看著我口袋裡帶著的那塊小螢幕
01:06
And what was surprising奇怪 to me was how quickly很快
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令我驚訝的是
01:08
my relationship關係 to the physical物理 world世界 had changed.
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我與外在世界的關係改變得如此迅速
01:11
In this very short period of time, you know, whether是否 you
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在如此短暫的時間內
01:13
call it the last 15 years年份 or so of being存在 online線上, or the last,
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不管你認為這個線上時代是在十五年前
01:17
you know, four or five years年份 of being存在 online線上 all the time,
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或是四、五年前開始
01:19
our relationship關係 to our surroundings環境 had changed in that
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我們與外在的關係已經改變
01:23
our attention注意 is constantly經常 divided分為. You know,
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我們的注意力也時常地被分散
01:24
we're both looking inside the screens屏幕 and we're looking
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我們都在往螢幕裡看
01:27
out in the world世界 around us.
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去看我們身處的世界
01:29
And what was even more striking引人注目 to me, and what I really
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而更令我震驚的是,也讓我真正
01:31
got hung up on, was that the world世界 inside the screen屏幕
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開始注意的是,這個螢幕裡頭的世界
01:34
seemed似乎 to have no physical物理 reality現實 of its own擁有.
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似乎自己沒有一點實際的存在
01:38
If you went and looked看著 for images圖片 of the Internet互聯網,
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如果你想看一張網路的圖
01:41
this was all that you found發現, this famous著名 image圖片 by OpteOPTE
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你會找到這張由Opte計畫所生成的著名圖片
01:44
of the Internet互聯網 as the kind of Milky乳白色 Way, this infinite無窮 expanse廣闊
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把網路看作銀河一般,這樣無限
01:47
where we don't seem似乎 to be anywhere隨地 on it.
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好像我們沒辦法身在其中任一處
01:49
We can never seem似乎 to grasp把握 it in its totality整體.
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我們好像永遠無法完全掌握它
01:52
It's always reminded提醒 me of the Apollo阿波羅 image圖片 of the Earth地球,
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這張圖總讓我聯想到阿波羅號上看到的地球
01:55
the blue藍色 marble大理石 picture圖片, and it's similarly同樣 meant意味著 to suggest建議,
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那張藍寶石的圖片,而它的相似度也暗示了
01:58
I think, that we can't really understand理解 it as a whole整個.
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我認為,我們永遠無法完全整體地去了解它
02:01
We're always sort分類 of small in the face面對 of its expanse廣闊.
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我們永遠會是它擴張中的一小部分
02:04
So if there was this world世界 and this screen屏幕, and if there was
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所以如果有這麼一個世界和這塊螢幕
02:08
the physical物理 world世界 around me, I couldn't不能 ever get them
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好像現實世界這樣圍繞著我的話
02:11
together一起 in the same相同 place地點.
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我永遠無法把他們放在一起
02:14
And then this happened發生.
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然後這件事發生了
02:17
My Internet互聯網 broke打破 one day, as it occasionally偶爾 does,
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有一天,我網路如同偶而會發生地,壞了
02:19
and the cable電纜 guy came來了 to fix固定 it, and he started開始 with
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工程師前來維修
02:22
the dusty塵土飛揚 clump of cables電纜 behind背後 the couch長椅,
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然後他從沙發後沾滿灰塵的一團線開始
02:24
and he followed其次 it to the front面前 of my building建造 and into the basement地下室 and out to the back yard,
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然後他跟著那條線到了我大樓前面,下了地下室,然後再出了後院
02:28
and there was this big jumble混亂 of cables電纜 against反對 the wall.
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那兒有個很大的集線區安在牆上
02:30
And then he saw a squirrel松鼠 running賽跑 along沿 the wire,
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然後他看見一隻松鼠在電纜上跑著
02:33
and he said, "There's your problem問題.
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然後他說,"這就是你的問題
02:36
A squirrel松鼠 is chewing咀嚼 on your Internet互聯網." (Laughter笑聲)
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有一隻松鼠在咀嚼你的網路"(笑聲)
02:40
And this seemed似乎 astounding驚人. The Internet互聯網 is
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這看來挺驚人的
02:43
a transcendent超然 idea理念. It's a set of protocols協議 that has changed
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網路是個形而上的概念。網路是種囊括
02:47
everything from shopping購物 to dating約會 to revolutions革命.
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購物到約會到革命等等的各種東西在上面的交換協議
02:50
It was unequivocally明確 not something
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這本來不是個
02:53
a squirrel松鼠 could chew on. (Laughter笑聲)
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松鼠能咬的東西(笑聲)
02:56
But that in fact事實 seemed似乎 to be the case案件.
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但事實上看來如此
02:58
A squirrel松鼠 had in fact事實 chewed咀嚼 on my Internet互聯網. (Laughter笑聲)
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一隻松鼠真的咬了我的網路(笑聲)
03:01
And then I got this image圖片 in my head of what would happen發生
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然後我腦袋就開始幻想這樣一個圖像
03:03
if you yanked猛拉 the wire from the wall and if you started開始
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如果你把網路線扯出牆壁
03:06
to follow跟隨 it. Where would it go?
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然後開始跟著它走,它會走到哪?
03:07
Was the Internet互聯網 actually其實 a place地點 that you could visit訪問?
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網路是否真的為一個你能拜訪的地方
03:11
Could I go there? Who would I meet遇到?
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我能到那嗎?,我會遇到誰
03:12
You know, was there something actually其實 out there?
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你懂?就是網路是否是否真的在"外面"?
03:15
And the answer回答, by all accounts賬戶, was no.
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而這個答案,按照認知來說,應該是沒有
03:18
This was the Internet互聯網, this black黑色 box with a red light on it,
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這該是網路,有著紅燈亮著的黑箱子
03:21
as represented代表 in the sitcom情景喜劇 "The IT Crowd人群."
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如同喜劇"The IT Crowd所呈現的樣子
03:25
Normally一般 it lives生活 on the top最佳 of Big Ben,
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通常會設在大笨鐘的頂層
03:28
because that's where you get the best最好 reception招待會,
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因為是收訊最好的地方
03:31
but they had negotiated that their colleague同事 could borrow it
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但他們在協商後把它借到了大學校園裡
03:35
for the afternoon下午 to use in an office辦公室 presentation介紹.
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所以當天下午的簡報能夠使用
03:38
The elders長老 of the Internet互聯網 were willing願意 to part部分 with it
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網路的管理者們願意短暫的把它借出
03:40
for a short while, and she looks容貌 at it and she says,
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然後她看著這個盒子然後說
03:43
"This is the Internet互聯網? The whole整個 Internet互聯網? Is it heavy?"
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這就是網路?整個網路?它重嗎?
03:46
They say, "Of course課程 not, the Internet互聯網 doesn't weigh稱重 anything."
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他們說,當然不重,網路一點重量都沒有
03:50
And I was embarrassed尷尬. I was looking for this thing
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然後我尷尬了。我像是笨蛋一樣
03:53
that only fools傻瓜 seem似乎 to look for.
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在找一個不存在的東西
03:55
The Internet互聯網 was that amorphous非晶 blobBLOB, or it was a silly愚蠢
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網路要麼不是無形的一小滴
03:58
black黑色 box with a blinking閃爍 red light on it.
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要麼就是一個有著會閃紅燈的小黑盒
04:00
It wasn't a real真實 world世界 out there.
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網路之外好像沒甚麼實際形體
04:02
But, in fact事實, it is. There is a real真實 world世界 of the Internet互聯網 out there,
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但,事實上,它有的。網路外有個實際的形體
04:06
and that's what I spent花費 about two years年份 visiting訪問,
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而我花了大概兩年派訪這些網路的「地點」
04:07
these places地方 of the Internet互聯網. I was in large data數據 centers中心
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我拜訪了大型資訊中心
04:11
that use as much power功率 as the cities城市 in which哪一個 they sit,
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那個中心的電力消耗和它所坐落城市的電力消耗相同
04:14
and I visited參觀 places地方 like this, 60 Hudson哈德森 Street in New York紐約,
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我還拜訪了這種地方,紐約哈德遜街60號
04:17
which哪一個 is one of the buildings房屋 in the world世界,
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它是世界上的其中一棟
04:18
one of a very short list名單 of buildings房屋, about a dozen buildings房屋,
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一種為數不多的建築,大約十來棟左右
04:21
where more networks網絡 of the Internet互聯網 connect to each other
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網路在那編織成網、互相連通
04:24
than anywhere隨地 else其他.
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量比其他地方都大
04:25
And that connection連接 is an unequivocally明確 physical物理 process處理.
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裏頭的連接是靠著實際的物理運作的
04:28
It's about the router路由器 of one network網絡, a FacebookFacebook的 or
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這大約是一個網路架構的路由器,如臉書
04:30
a Google谷歌 or a B.T. or a Comcast康卡斯特 or a Time Warner華納, whatever隨你 it is,
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或是Google、BT、Comcast或是Time Warner,不管是甚麼
04:33
connecting with usually平時 a yellow黃色 fiber纖維 optic視神經 cable電纜 up into
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都通常是用黃色的光纖電纜牽入天花板
04:36
the ceiling天花板 and down into the router路由器 of another另一個 network網絡,
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然後走進路由器去連接其他網路
04:39
and that's unequivocally明確 physical物理, and it's surprisingly出奇 intimate親密.
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那是實際的物質,也看來意外地親切
04:43
A building建造 like 60 Hudson哈德森, and a dozen or so others其他,
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如哈德遜街60號這樣的建築,或是其他十幾個
04:46
has 10 times more networks網絡 connecting within it
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都有著比身邊一排建築物
04:49
than the next下一個 tier一線 of buildings房屋.
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相加起來的十倍連接量
04:50
There's a very short list名單 of these places地方.
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這些地方並不多
04:52
And 60 Hudson哈德森 in particular特定 is interesting有趣 because it's home
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而哈德遜街六十號特別有趣的地方在於
04:55
to about a half a dozen very important重要 networks網絡,
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它是好幾個非常重要網路的家
04:58
which哪一個 are the networks網絡 which哪一個 serve服務 the undersea海底 cables電纜
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那些網路通聯著
05:00
that travel旅行 underneath the ocean海洋
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在海裡蜿蜒的海底電纜
05:03
that connect Europe歐洲 and America美國 and connect all of us.
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牽起歐美,和我們所有人
05:05
And it's those cables電纜 in particular特定 that I want to focus焦點 on.
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這些特別的電纜就是我想要專注的地方
05:08
If the Internet互聯網 is a global全球 phenomenon現象, if we live生活
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如果網際網路是種全球現象
05:12
in a global全球 village, it's because there are cables電纜 underneath
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如果我們住在一個地球村,就是因為海底的網路
05:15
the ocean海洋, cables電纜 like this.
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像這樣的電纜
05:17
And in this dimension尺寸, they are incredibly令人難以置信 small.
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在這樣的特點下,它們微不足道
05:20
You can you hold保持 them in your hand. They're like a garden花園 hose軟管.
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你能將他們握在手中,他們像是花園水管一樣
05:23
But in the other dimension尺寸 they are incredibly令人難以置信 expansive廣闊,
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但在另一個面向來看,他們不可思議的廣布
05:27
as expansive廣闊 as you can imagine想像.
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你能想像有多廣布就有多廣布
05:28
They stretch伸展 across橫過 the ocean海洋. They're three or five
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他們爬佈滿海底。
05:31
or eight thousand miles英里 in length長度, and
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大概是三、五或八千英里長
05:34
if the material材料 science科學 and the computational計算 technology技術
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要說這項材料科學和電機記算數學
05:36
is incredibly令人難以置信 complicated複雜, the basic基本 physical物理 process處理
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是極為複雜的,但它的物理過程
05:40
is shockingly令人吃驚 simple簡單. Light goes in on one end結束 of the ocean海洋
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又驚人地簡單,光從海洋的一端傳入
05:43
and comes out on the other, and it usually平時 comes
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然後從另外一端傳出。
05:47
from a building建造 called a landing降落 station that's often經常
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它通常在下水前進入一個叫做陸地站的建築
05:49
tucked away inconspicuously不明顯 in a little seaside海濱 neighborhood鄰里,
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通常很不起眼地座落在海邊的一小區
05:52
and there are amplifiers放大器 that sit on the ocean海洋 floor地板
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然後在海床上會有增幅器
05:55
that look kind of like bluefin藍鰭金槍魚 tuna金槍魚, and every一切 50 miles英里
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長的有點像藍鰭鮪魚
05:58
they amplify放大 the signal信號, and since以來 the rate of transmission傳輸
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每五十英里他們就會強化訊號,
06:01
is incredibly令人難以置信 fast快速, the basic基本 unit單元 is a 10-gigabit-per-second-gigabit每秒
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當他們以如此快的速度傳遞,最小單位是每道光每秒內傳遞10G
06:04
wavelength波長 of light, maybe a thousand times your own擁有
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速度或許是你網路的一千倍
06:07
connection連接, or capable of carrying攜帶 10,000 video視頻 streams,
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或是能夠下載10000部影片的流量
06:10
but not only that, but you'll你會 put not just one wavelength波長 of light
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旦不只如此,你能在光纖中放入不只一道光
06:13
through通過 one of the fibers纖維, but you'll你會 put maybe
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一條光纖能大概放入
06:16
50 or 60 or 70 different不同 wavelengths波長 or colors顏色 of light
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50、60、70條不同長短或是顏色的光波
06:19
through通過 a single fiber纖維, and then you'll你會 have maybe
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然後一條電纜之中
06:22
eight fibers纖維 in a cable電纜, four going in each direction方向.
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大概會有八條光纖,來去各四條
06:25
And they're tiny. They're the thickness厚度 of a hair頭髮.
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他們非常細,如髮絲一樣細小
06:28
And then they connect to the continent大陸 somewhere某處.
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然後他們連接到大陸的某地
06:30
They connect in a manhole沙井 like this. Literally按照字面,
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他們會連接到像這樣的沙井,實質上的
06:33
this is where the 5,000-mile-英里 cable電纜 plugs插頭 in.
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5000英里路的電纜最後會插在這裡
06:36
This is in Halifax哈利法克斯, a cable電纜 that stretches舒展 from Halifax哈利法克斯 to Ireland愛爾蘭.
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這在哈利法克斯(Halifax),中間有條連接到愛爾蘭(Ireland)的電纜
06:40
And the landscape景觀 is changing改變. Three years年份 ago,
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整體地貌也在都改變。三年前
06:43
when I started開始 thinking思維 about this, there was one cable電纜
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當我開始琢磨這些東西時,在西非海底下
06:45
down the Western西 coast of Africa非洲, represented代表
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有一條電纜,在Steve Song畫的這張地圖中
06:48
in this map地圖 by Steve史蒂夫 Song歌曲 as that thin black黑色 line.
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看來就像一條小黑線
06:51
Now there are six cables電纜 and more coming未來, three down each coast.
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現在那裏有六條電纜,三條會分別鋪設在東西岸,接下來還有
06:56
Because once一旦 a country國家 gets得到 plugged in by one cable電纜,
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因為只要插入了一條電纜
06:59
they realize實現 that it's not enough足夠. If they're going to build建立
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那個國家就會意識到根本不夠
07:00
an industry行業 around it, they need to know that their connection連接
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如果們他們想在附近發展產業
07:03
isn't tenuous纖細 but permanent常駐, because if a cable電纜 breaks休息,
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他們得確保連線是穩定而非不穩定的
07:06
you have to send發送 a ship out into the water, throw
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因為如果電纜壞了,你得送艘船下水
07:08
a grappling擒拿 hook over the side, pick it up, find the other end結束,
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然後伸出鉤子,把電纜溝起來,在找到另一端
07:11
and then fuse保險絲 the two ends結束 back together一起 and then dump傾倒 it over.
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然後把兩邊焊接後,再丟回水里
07:14
It's an intensely激烈, intensely激烈 physical物理 process處理.
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這是極度、極度精密的物理處理
07:18
So this is my friend朋友 Simon西蒙 Cooper庫珀, who until直到 very recently最近
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所以我和我的朋友Simon Cooper
07:23
worked工作 for Tata塔塔 Communications通訊, the communications通訊 wing翅膀
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這個最近在Tata電信工作的朋友,
07:25
of Tata塔塔, the big Indian印度人 industrial產業 conglomerate集團.
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Tata是一個印度大工業企業集團的通訊部門
07:28
And I've never met會見 him. We've我們已經 only communicated傳達
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我從未真正見過他
07:31
via通過 this telepresence網真 system系統, which哪一個 always makes品牌 me
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我們只能透過電話聯絡,而這總是讓我去想像
07:35
think of him as the man inside the Internet互聯網. (Laughter笑聲)
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他是一個住在網路裡的人(笑聲)
07:39
And he is English英語. The undersea海底 cable電纜 industry行業
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而他是英格蘭人。海底電纜工業是
07:42
is dominated佔主導地位 by Englishmen英國人, and they all seem似乎 to be 42.
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被英國人主導,而且好像都是四十二歲
07:46
(Laughter笑聲) Because they all started開始 at the same相同 time
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(笑聲)因為他們都是在20年前
07:49
with the boom繁榮 about 20 years年份 ago.
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這項工業開始發展時加入
07:51
And Tata塔塔 had gotten得到 its start開始 as a communications通訊 business商業
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而Tata就從買下兩條電纜開始他們的通訊營運
07:54
when they bought two cables電纜, one across橫過 the Atlantic大西洋
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一條通過大西洋
07:57
and one across橫過 the Pacific和平的, and proceeded繼續 to add pieces
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一條通過太平洋,然後一段一段加建
08:00
onto them, until直到 they had built內置 a belt around the world世界,
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直到他們建立了圍繞整個世界的紐帶
08:04
which哪一個 means手段 they will send發送 your bits to the East or the West西.
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這表示他們能夠將你的資訊位元送過整個地球
08:06
They have -- this is literally按照字面 a beam光束 of light around the world世界,
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他們已經,這是實際光線在世界傳導的樣子
08:08
and if a cable電纜 breaks休息 in the Pacific和平的, it'll它會 send發送 it around
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如果電纜在太平洋斷掉,資訊能繞往其他方向
08:10
the other direction方向. And then having doneDONE that,
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而他們在完成了這個建設後
08:13
they started開始 to look for places地方 to wire next下一個.
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就開始找下一個鋪設纜線的地方
08:17
They looked看著 for the unwired未連線 places地方, and that's meant意味著
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他們想找沒鋪設過的地點,代表
08:20
North and South, primarily主要 these cables電纜 to Africa非洲.
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北方和南方,大抵上是通往非洲
08:23
But what amazes驚訝 me is Simon's西蒙的 incredible難以置信 geographic地理 imagination想像力.
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但是我覺得很驚奇的是,Simon對地理不可思議的想像
08:26
He thinks about the world世界 with this incredible難以置信 expansiveness豪爽.
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在他的思考世界裡充滿著無限的廣闊
08:29
And I was particularly尤其 interested有興趣 because I wanted to see
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而我特別感興趣因為我想要去看
08:33
one of these cables電纜 being存在 built內置. See, you know, all the time
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電纜建設的過程,你知道,一直以來
08:35
online線上 we experience經驗 these fleeting流年 moments瞬間 of connection連接,
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我們在線上所體驗到那些瞬間連接的快感
08:38
these sort分類 of brief簡要 adjacencies鄰接, a tweet鳴叫 or a FacebookFacebook的 post崗位
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這些短暫的銜接,一封推特文或者是臉書更新
08:41
or an email電子郵件, and it seemed似乎 like there was a physical物理 corollary推論 to that.
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或是電子郵件,這看來是有個實際的推移過程
08:45
It seemed似乎 like there was a moment時刻 when the continent大陸
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看起來像是在某個時機
08:47
was being存在 plugged in, and I wanted to see that.
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陸地之間會被電纜插入,我就想看那個
08:49
And Simon西蒙 was working加工 on a new cable電纜,
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而Simon正忙於新的電纜
08:52
WACSWACS, the West西 Africa非洲 Cable電纜 System系統, that stretched拉伸
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WACS,西非光纖電纜系統
08:54
from Lisbon里斯本 down the west西 coast of Africa非洲,
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從里斯本(Lisbon)延伸到西非海岸
08:56
to Cote科特 d'Ivoire科特迪瓦, to Ghana加納, to Nigeria尼日利亞, to Cameroon喀麥隆.
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到柯特狄瓦(Cote d'Ivoire)、到迦納(Ghana)、奈及利亞(Nigeria)、卡麥隆(Cameroon)
08:59
And he said there was coming未來 soon不久, depending根據
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然後他說工程日期將近,
09:01
on the weather天氣, but he'd他會 let me know when,
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看天氣如何,但時候到了他會讓我知道
09:04
and so with about four days notice注意, he said to go
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所以大概工程四天前,他通知了我
09:07
to this beach海灘 south of Lisbon里斯本, and a little after 9,
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去里斯本南方的海岸,而大約九點過後不久
09:10
this guy will walk步行 out of the water. (Laughter笑聲)
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這傢伙會從水中走出來(笑聲)
09:13
And he'll地獄 be carrying攜帶 a green綠色 nylon尼龍 line, a lightweight輕量級 line,
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然後他會帶著一條綠色的尼龍線、很輕的線
09:18
called a messenger信使 line, and that was the first link鏈接
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叫做傳輸線,然後那就是
09:20
between之間 sea and land土地, this link鏈接 that would then be
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陸地和海洋的第一次接觸,這個連接之後將會
09:23
leveraged槓桿 into this 9,000-mile-英里 path路徑 of light.
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光經過九千英里路後的連接橋梁
09:27
Then a bulldozer推土機 began開始 to pull the cable電纜 in from this
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然後一台推土機開始將電纜從
09:29
specialized專門 cable電纜 landing降落 ship, and it was floated浮動
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特製的電纜登陸船上拉下,並會在
09:33
on these buoys浮標 until直到 it was in the right place地點.
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定好位之前靠著這些浮標飄在海面
09:36
Then you can see the English英語 engineers工程師 looking on.
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接著就能看見這些英國工程師在旁看著
09:38
And then, once一旦 it was in the right place地點, he got back
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然後,一旦它就定位,這傢伙
09:41
in the water holding保持 a big knife, and he cut each buoy浮標 off,
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拿著一把大刀回到海中,然後把每個浮標砍下
09:44
and the buoy浮標 popped膨化 up into the air空氣, and the cable電纜
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浮標飄出水面,然後電纜
09:47
dropped下降 to the sea floor地板, and he did that all the way out
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沉入海底,那個男人一路砍到船那端
09:49
to the ship, and when he got there,
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當他到船那端時
09:51
they gave him a glass玻璃 of juice果汁 and a cookie曲奇餅,
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他們給他一杯果汁和一塊餅乾
09:53
and then he jumped跳下 back in, and he swam back to shore支撐,
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之後他跳回海中,游回岸邊
09:55
and then he lit發光的 a cigarette香煙. (Laughter笑聲)
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然後他開始抽起菸來了(笑聲)
10:03
And then once一旦 that cable電纜 was on shore支撐,
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一旦電纜到了海岸上
10:05
they began開始 to prepare準備 to connect it to the other side,
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他們開始準備把它連接到另外一端
10:09
for the cable電纜 that had been brought down from the landing降落 station.
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因為電纜那時已經開始有點被扯離陸地站
10:12
And first they got it with a hacksaw鋼鋸, and then they start開始
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他們先拿了一把鋼鋸,他們開始
10:15
sort分類 of shaving away at this plastic塑料 interior室內 with a --
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用像是廚師的手法開始刮除塑膠內皮
10:17
sort分類 of working加工 like chefs廚師, and then finally最後 they're working加工
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接著他們終於開始用像珠寶商的手法
10:20
like jewelers珠寶商 to get these hair-thin細如髮絲的 fibers纖維 to line up
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把這些髮絲般細的光纖排成一束
10:22
with the cable電纜 that had come down,
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跟牽來電纜一起
10:24
and with this hole-punch打孔機 machine they fuse保險絲 it together一起.
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然後他們用這些打洞機把它們焊接起來
10:27
And when you see these guys going at this cable電纜 with a hacksaw鋼鋸,
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當你看到這些工人用鋼鋸來處理這些電纜時
10:30
you stop thinking思維 about the Internet互聯網 as a cloud.
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你不會再去把網路想做雲朵
10:33
It starts啟動 to seem似乎 like an incredibly令人難以置信 physical物理 thing.
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它開始看來像個非常真實存在的東西
10:37
And what surprised詫異 me as well was that as much as this
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同樣讓我驚訝的
10:39
is based基於 on the most sophisticated複雜的 technology技術, as much
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除了這樣一項高度精密的技術,和這個
10:42
as this is an incredibly令人難以置信 new thing, the physical物理 process處理
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不可思議的新工藝外
10:45
itself本身 has been around for a long time, and the culture文化 is the same相同.
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是它的操作手法已經存在了很久,連同其中蘊含的文化也是
10:49
You see the local本地 laborers勞動者. You see the English英語 engineer工程師
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你會看到當地勞工,在後指揮的英國工程師
10:51
giving directions方向 in the background背景. And more importantly重要的,
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還有更重要地
10:54
the places地方 are the same相同. These cables電纜 still connect
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都還在同樣的地點,這些電纜連接的
10:57
these classic經典 port港口 cities城市, places地方 like Lisbon里斯本, Mombasa蒙巴薩,
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仍是一些古老的港都,像是里斯本,蒙巴薩
11:00
Mumbai孟買, Singapore新加坡, New York紐約.
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孟買、新加坡、紐約
11:03
And then the process處理 on shore支撐 takes around three or four days,
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而接下來這些海岸邊的工程大概需要三四天
11:07
and then, when it's doneDONE, they put the manhole沙井 cover
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當一切完成時,他們重新填上沙井
11:11
back on top最佳, and they push the sand over that,
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他們用沙重新覆上
11:14
and we all forget忘記 about it.
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直到大家都忘了它
11:17
And it seems似乎 to me that we talk a lot about the cloud,
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就我看來,我們花很多時間在談論雲端
11:19
but every一切 time we put something on the cloud,
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但每當我們能夠將東西放到雲端之上
11:21
we give up some responsibility責任 for it.
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我們便放棄了一些責任
11:24
We are less connected連接的 to it. We let other people worry擔心 about it.
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我們就更少與它連結,我們讓別人去操心
11:27
And that doesn't seem似乎 right.
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這好像不大對勁
11:29
There's a great Neal尼爾 Stephenson斯蒂芬森 line where he says
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Neal Stephenson有句名言
11:31
that wired有線 people should know something about wires電線.
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他說:「被連接的人應該熟知連接他們的橋樑」
11:35
And we should know, I think, we should know
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而我們也該知道,我認為,我們應該知道
11:38
where our Internet互聯網 comes from, and we should know
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我們的網路從何而來,而我們該知道
11:40
what it is that physically物理, physically物理 connects所連接 us all.
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實際上、物理上連接著我們的東西是甚麼
11:45
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝各位(鼓掌)
11:48
(Applause掌聲)
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(鼓掌)
11:50
Thanks謝謝. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝(鼓掌)
Translated by Cheno Chen
Reviewed by Anna Dung

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Andrew Blum - Network author
For his new book, "Tubes," Andrew Blum visited the places where the internet exists in physical form: the cables and switches and servers that virtually connect us.

Why you should listen

In his book Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, Andrew Blum wanted to capture the "spirit of place" of the Internet. Because as far-reaching and virtual as our connection to the Net is, the signals travel on good old-fashioned cabling, glass fibers jacketed in polymer, running through conduit under streets. The immaterial Internet runs on a very material, industry-like infrastructure. So that when Alaska senator Ted Stevens called the Internet "a series of tubes" ... well, he was kind of right, and he did inspire the title of this utterly fascinating book, which explores the switches, data centers, sea crossings and many, many tubes that make up our online reality.

Blum is a writer for Newsweek, and has written for Wired, Popular Science, Metropolis and more.

Learn more about Tubes:

Read excerpts on submarine cables and Internet exchange points (like 60 Hudson in NYC).

Browse book club materials (from the Amherst Reads book club)

Listen to Andrew Blum's audio interview on Fresh Air

 

More profile about the speaker
Andrew Blum | Speaker | TED.com