ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pico Iyer - Global author
Pico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships.

Why you should listen

In twelve books, covering everything from Revolutionary Cuba to the XIVth Dalai Lama, Islamic mysticism to our lives in airports, Pico Iyer has worked to chronicle the accelerating changes in our outer world, which sometimes make steadiness and rootedness in our inner world more urgent than ever. In his TED Book, The Art of Stillness, he draws upon travels from North Korea to Iran to remind us how to remain focused and sane in an age of frenzied distraction. As he writes in the book, "Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds ... All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world."

More profile about the speaker
Pico Iyer | Speaker | TED.com
TEDSummit

Pico Iyer: The beauty of what we'll never know

皮寇 萊爾: 未知的美麗

Filmed:
1,827,446 views

幾乎30年以前,皮寇 萊爾去日本旅行,愛上了那個國家並移居日本。作為一個敏銳的人類內心觀察者,萊爾十幾年前認為他了解日本,但是後來才知道他對日本的一切了解甚少。在這個充滿智慧和旋律感的演講中,萊爾闡述了隨著年齡增長獲取到的知識的秘密:我們知道的越多,我們越難發現我們知道的很少。
- Global author
Pico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships. Full bio

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

00:13
One hot October十月 morning早上,
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在一個炎熱的十月的早晨,
00:16
I got off the all-night徹夜 train培養
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我下了過夜火車,
00:19
in Mandalay曼德勒,
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在曼德勒,
00:20
the old royal王室的 capital首都 of Burma緬甸,
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那是舊緬甸皇室首度,
00:23
now Myanmar緬甸.
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現在是緬甸聯邦了。
00:25
And out on the street, I ran into
a group of rough men男人
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我到了街上,
碰到一群衣著樸素的人,
00:29
standing常設 beside their bicycle自行車 rickshaws人力車.
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站在他們的黃包車旁邊。
00:33
And one of them came來了 up
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其中一個走上前,
00:35
and offered提供 to show顯示 me around.
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想帶我在附近逛逛。
00:38
The price價錢 he quoted was outrageous蠻橫的.
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他要求的價格讓人難以置信,
00:41
It was less than I would pay工資
for a bar酒吧 of chocolate巧克力 at home.
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價格比我在家吃一根巧克力棒還要便宜。
00:45
So I clambered爬上 into his trishaw三輪車,
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所以我爬上他的三輪車,
00:49
and he began開始 pedaling蹬踏 us slowly慢慢地
between之間 palaces宮殿 and pagodas寶塔.
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他載著我,緩緩地穿梭在皇宮和寶塔之間。
00:55
And as he did, he told me how
he had come to the city from his village.
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同時,他開始講述他從他的村莊來到城市的經歷。
01:01
He'd他會 earned a degree in mathematics數學.
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他擁有數學系學位。
01:03
His dream夢想 was to be a teacher老師.
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夢想成為一名老師。
01:06
But of course課程, life is hard
under a military軍事 dictatorship專政,
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但是,受軍閥獨裁統治的生活是很困難的,
01:11
and so for now, this was the only way
he could make a living活的.
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所以這是他唯一能賴以生存的方式。
01:16
Many許多 nights, he told me,
he actually其實 slept in his trishaw三輪車
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多少個夜晚,他告訴我,
他睡在自己的三輪車裡
01:20
so he could catch抓住 the first visitors遊客
off the all-night徹夜 train培養.
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為了能夠接到走下連夜火車的第一個乘客
01:27
And very soon不久, we found發現
that in certain某些 ways方法,
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很快的,我們發現,在很多方面,
01:31
we had so much in common共同 --
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我們其實很相似——
01:33
we were both in our 20s,
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我們都二十幾歲,
01:34
we were both fascinated入迷
by foreign國外 cultures文化 --
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我們都熱愛異國文化。
01:38
that he invited邀請 me home.
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他邀請我到他家。
01:42
So we turned轉身 off the wide,
crowded streets街道,
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所以我們離開了寬大而擁擠的馬路,
01:45
and we began開始 bumping碰撞
down rough, wild野生 alleyways小巷.
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開始顛簸在一條條凹凸不平的巷子裡。
01:50
There were broken破碎 shacks窩棚 all around.
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身邊都是破舊的小屋。
01:52
I really lost丟失 the sense of where I was,
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我完全不知道我在哪,
01:56
and I realized實現 that anything
could happen發生 to me now.
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我意識到什麼都有可能發生在我身上。
01:59
I could get mugged搶劫 or drugged迷藥
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我可能會被打劫或者下藥,
02:02
or something worse更差.
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或者更糟。
02:03
Nobody沒有人 would know.
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沒人會知道。
02:06
Finally最後, he stopped停止 and led me into a hut棚屋,
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最終,他停下車,
帶我進了一個棚屋,
02:10
which哪一個 consisted of just one tiny room房間.
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棚屋只有一個小小的房間。
02:14
And then he leaned湊近 down,
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然後他趴下,
02:16
and reached到達 under his bed.
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伸手到床下,
02:19
And something in me froze凍結.
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這讓我有點不知所措。
02:24
I waited等待 to see what he would pull out.
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我等待著,
想知道他會拿出什麼東西。
02:27
And finally最後 he extracted提取 a box.
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終於,他抽出一個盒子,
02:31
Inside it was every一切 single letter
he had ever received收到
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裡面是每一封他從外國遊客那裡
02:36
from visitors遊客 from abroad國外,
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收到的信。
02:39
and on some of them he had pasted粘貼
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其中的一些,被他黏貼上了
02:41
little black-and-white黑與白 worn磨損的 snapshots快照
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他新結交的外國朋友的
02:44
of his new foreign國外 friends朋友.
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小小的黑白照片。
02:48
So when we said goodbye再見 that night,
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那個晚上,當我們道別的時候,
02:52
I realized實現 he had also shown顯示 me
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我意識到,他向我展示了
02:54
the secret秘密 point of travel旅行,
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旅行的秘密,
02:56
which哪一個 is to take a plunge跳水,
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那就是沈浸其中,
02:59
to go inwardly裡面 as well as outwardly向外
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由裡及外,
03:01
to places地方 you would never go otherwise除此以外,
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去你不會去的地方,
03:04
to venture冒險 into uncertainty不確定,
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去探索不確定,
03:07
ambiguity歧義,
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模糊,
03:09
even fear恐懼.
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甚至恐懼。
03:12
At home, it's dangerously危險 easy簡單
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在家,我們極容易
03:14
to assume承擔 we're on top最佳 of things.
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認為事情都在掌控之中。
03:17
Out in the world世界, you are reminded提醒
every一切 moment時刻 that you're not,
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離家在外的時候,
你要記住,每一分每一秒,
你不會,也不能了解事情的全部。
03:22
and you can't get to the bottom底部
of things, either.
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03:26
Everywhere到處, "People wish希望 to be settled安定,"
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“無論何處,人們都想通曉世事,”
03:29
Ralph拉爾夫 Waldo沃爾多 Emerson艾默生 reminded提醒 us,
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拉爾夫 沃爾多 愛默生提醒過我們,
03:31
"but only insofar只要
as we are unsettled
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“但是正因為我們無法通曉世事
03:34
is there any hope希望 for us."
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我們才有希望。”
03:36
At this conference會議,
we've我們已經 been lucky幸運 enough足夠
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在這個會上,我們都很幸運,
03:39
to hear some exhilarating令人振奮
new ideas思路 and discoveries發現
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能夠聽到一些令人激動的
新想法和發現,
03:42
and, really, about all the ways方法
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而真的就是在這樣的時刻
03:44
in which哪一個 knowledge知識 is being存在
pushed excitingly令人興奮 forwards前鋒.
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知識被熱情地往前推動。
03:48
But at some point, knowledge知識 gives out.
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但是有的時候,知識不起作用
03:52
And that is the moment時刻
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那就是
03:54
when your life is truly decided決定:
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在人生的關鍵點上:
03:57
you fall秋季 in love;
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墜入愛河,
04:00
you lose失去 a friend朋友;
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失去朋友,
04:02
the lights燈火 go out.
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面對死亡。
04:05
And it's then, when you're lost丟失
or uneasy不安 or carried攜帶的 out of yourself你自己,
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然後,當你失敗或失落的時候,
04:10
that you find out who you are.
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你才會發現你是誰。
04:14
I don't believe that ignorance無知 is bliss.
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我不相信無知是福。
04:18
Science科學 has unquestionably毫無疑問 made製作 our lives生活
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科學無庸置疑讓我們的生活
04:21
brighter光明 and longer and healthier健康.
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變得更光明,更長久,更健康。
04:24
And I am forever永遠 grateful感激 to the teachers教師
who showed顯示 me the laws法律 of physics物理
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我永遠感激教導我物理定律的老師
04:29
and pointed out that
three times three makes品牌 nine.
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和教會我三三得九的老師。
04:33
I can count計數 that out on my fingers手指
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我能在任何時候
04:36
any time of night or day.
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用手指算出來。
04:40
But when a mathematician數學家 tells告訴 me
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但是當一個數學家告訴我,
04:42
that minus減去 three times
minus減去 three makes品牌 nine,
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負三乘負三等於九,
04:45
that's a kind of logic邏輯
that almost幾乎 feels感覺 like trust相信.
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這種邏輯感覺有點像信任。
04:52
The opposite對面 of knowledge知識, in other words,
isn't always ignorance無知.
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知識的對岸,換句話說,不一定是無知。
04:56
It can be wonder奇蹟.
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也可能是思考,
04:58
Or mystery神秘.
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或者懷疑,
04:59
Possibility可能性.
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都有可能。
05:01
And in my life, I've found發現
it's the things I don't know
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在我的人生中,我發現,那些我不知道的事情
05:05
that have lifted取消 me up
and pushed me forwards前鋒
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為我帶來的進步和成長,
05:08
much more than the things I do know.
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遠超過我所知道的事情。
05:12
It's also the things I don't know
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而且也是我不知道的那些事情,
05:14
that have often經常 brought me closer接近
to everybody每個人 around me.
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讓我和身邊的人更親近。
05:18
For eight straight直行 Novembers11月的, recently最近,
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過去的八個十一月,
05:20
I traveled旅行 every一切 year across橫過 Japan日本
with the Dalai達賴 Lama喇嘛.
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我和達賴喇嘛在日本遊歷。
05:26
And the one thing he said every一切 day
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有一句話他每天都說,
05:29
that most seemed似乎 to give people
reassurance放心 and confidence置信度
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也似乎最能夠讓人們感到安慰和自信,
05:32
was, "I don't know."
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就是“我不知道。”
05:36
"What's going to happen發生 to Tibet西藏?"
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“西藏會發生什麼?”
05:39
"When are we ever
going to get world世界 peace和平?"
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“什麼時候世界會和平?”
05:42
"What's the best最好 way to raise提高 children孩子?"
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“培養孩子最好的方式是什麼?”
05:46
"Frankly坦率地說," says this very wise明智的 man,
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“坦白說”,這個智者說,
05:49
"I don't know."
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“我不知道。”
05:52
The Nobel諾貝爾 Prize-winning獎得主
economist經濟學家 Daniel丹尼爾 Kahneman卡尼曼
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諾貝爾奬得主
經濟學家 丹尼爾 卡爾曼
05:55
has spent花費 more than 60 years年份 now
researching研究 human人的 behavior行為,
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花了超過60年研究人類行為,
06:00
and his conclusion結論 is
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他的結論是,
06:02
that we are always much more confident信心
of what we think we know
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相較於我們真正知道的事情,
我們總是對
自認為知道的事情更為自信。
06:07
than we should be.
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06:08
We have, as he memorably令人難忘 puts看跌期權 it,
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他的表述是,“我們擁有
06:11
an "unlimited無限 ability能力
to ignore忽視 our ignorance無知."
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無限忽視無知的能力。”
06:16
We know -- quote引用, unquote引文結束 -- our team球隊
is going to win贏得 this weekend週末,
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我們知道”我們隊伍這週末會贏。“
06:21
and we only remember記得 that knowledge知識
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而我們只會在極罕見的時刻
06:24
on the rare罕見 occasions場合 when we're right.
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記得那些我們正確的知識。
06:27
Most of the time, we're in the dark黑暗.
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大多數時候,
我們都處在無知當中,
06:31
And that's where real真實 intimacy親密關係 lies.
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這是所謂的親密。
06:36
Do you know what your lover情人
is going to do tomorrow明天?
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你知道你的愛人明天要做什麼嗎?
06:40
Do you want to know?
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你想知道嗎?
06:43
The parents父母 of us all,
as some people call them,
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對於一些人來說,我們的父母,
06:46
Adam亞當 and Eve前夕,
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亞當和夏娃,
06:47
could never die, so long as they
were eating from the tree of life.
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如果他們只從生命之樹獲取食物,
他們可以永生。
06:52
But the minute分鐘 they began開始 nibbling
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但是他們開始一點一點地從
06:54
from the tree of the knowledge知識
of good and evil邪惡,
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知善惡樹上獲取食物的時候,
06:57
they fell下跌 from their innocence無辜.
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他們落入了無知的陷阱。
06:59
They grew成長 embarrassed尷尬 and fretful煩躁,
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他們萌生害羞,煩躁
07:02
self-conscious自我意識.
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和自我意識。
07:04
And they learned學到了,
a little too late晚了, perhaps也許,
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他們意識到,可能晚了一點,
07:07
that there are certainly當然 some things
that we need to know,
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總有些事情是需要了解的,
07:10
but there are many許多, many許多 more
that are better left unexplored未開發.
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但是有更多的事情還是不要知道指導的好。
07:15
Now, when I was a kid孩子,
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當我還是個孩子的時候,
07:17
I knew知道 it all, of course課程.
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當然,我覺得我什麼都知道,
07:21
I had been spending開支 20 years年份
in classrooms教室 collecting蒐集 facts事實,
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我已經花了20年在教室裡了解事實,
07:25
and I was actually其實
in the information信息 business商業,
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我在資訊業工作,
07:28
writing寫作 articles用品 for Time Magazine雜誌.
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給時代雜誌寫文章。
07:31
And I took my first real真實 trip to Japan日本
for two-and-a-half兩個半 weeks,
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我的第一次日本之旅花了兩週半,
07:36
and I came來了 back with a 40-page-頁 essay文章
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回來的時候,
我寫了一份40頁的文章,
07:39
explaining說明 every一切 last detail詳情
about Japan's日本 temples寺廟,
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詳述每一個細節。
日本寺廟
時尚潮流,棒球比賽,
07:43
its fashions時裝, its baseball棒球 games遊戲,
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07:46
its soul靈魂.
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日本的民主魂。
07:49
But underneath all that,
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但是,深埋底下的,
07:51
something that I couldn't不能 understand理解
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一些我無法理解的東西,
07:54
so moved移動 me for reasons原因
I couldn't不能 explain說明 to you yet然而,
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無法言表地打動了我,
08:00
that I decided決定 to go and live生活 in Japan日本.
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讓我決定到日本定居。
08:04
And now that I've been there for 28 years年份,
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現在,我已經在那兒待了28年,
08:07
I really couldn't不能 tell you
very much at all
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我真的沒有辦法告訴你們很多
08:09
about my adopted採用 home.
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關於我的第二個家。
08:12
Which哪一個 is wonderful精彩,
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這真的很棒,
08:13
because it means手段 every一切 day
I'm making製造 some new discovery發現,
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因為這意味著我每天都有新發現。
08:16
and in the process處理,
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在這個過程中,
08:18
looking around the corner
and seeing眼看 the hundred thousand things
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我環視角落,發現上萬的
08:21
I'll never know.
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我永遠不會知道的東西。
08:24
Knowledge知識 is a priceless無價 gift禮品.
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知識是無價的禮物。
08:28
But the illusion錯覺 of knowledge知識
can be more dangerous危險 than ignorance無知.
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但是知識的幻象可能比無知更危險。
08:33
Thinking思維 that you know your lover情人
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你以為你了解你的愛人,
08:37
or your enemy敵人
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或者你的敵人,
08:38
can be more treacherous奸詐
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可能會認知到你不了解他們
08:40
than acknowledging承認 you'll你會 never know them.
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還要危險。
08:43
Every一切 morning早上 in Japan日本, as the sun太陽
is flooding洪水 into our little apartment公寓,
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在日本的每一個早上,
當陽光湧入我們的小公寓時,
08:48
I take great pains辛勞 not to consult請教
the weather天氣 forecast預測,
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我都掙扎著看不看天氣預報,
08:52
because if I do,
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因為如果我看了,
08:54
my mind心神 will be overclouded更要命, distracted分心,
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我的意念會被烏雲遮蔽,渙散,
08:57
even when the day is bright.
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即使那是個晴天。
09:02
I've been a full-time全職
writer作家 now for 34 years年份.
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我當全職作家已經34年了,
09:06
And the one thing that I have learned學到了
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我學到一件事,
09:09
is that transformation轉型 comes
when I'm not in charge收費,
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就是改變是在不去掌控的時候發生的,
09:13
when I don't know what's coming未來 next下一個,
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當我不知道接下來會發生什麼,
09:15
when I can't assume承擔 I am bigger
than everything around me.
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當我不自以為是。
09:21
And the same相同 is true真正 in love
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這也發生在墜入愛河的時候,
09:23
or in moments瞬間 of crisis危機.
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或者身陷危機的時候。
09:26
Suddenly突然, we're back in that trishaw三輪車 again
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突然,我們又回到那台三輪車,
09:30
and we're bumping碰撞 off the broad廣闊,
well-lit明亮 streets街道;
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我們顛簸地駛離寬大明亮的馬路,
09:34
and we're reminded提醒, really,
of the first law of travel旅行
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我們記得,旅行的真諦,
09:38
and, therefore因此, of life:
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也是生命的真諦:
09:41
you're only as strong強大
as your readiness準備就緒 to surrender投降.
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你因面對未知的能力而強壯,
09:47
In the end結束, perhaps也許,
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可能,到最後,
09:49
being存在 human人的
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做普通人,
09:51
is much more important重要
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比做一個無所不知的人,
09:53
than being存在 fully充分 in the know.
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還要重要。
09:56
Thank you.
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謝謝。
09:57
(Applause掌聲)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Conway Ye
Reviewed by JiaYen Lai

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pico Iyer - Global author
Pico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships.

Why you should listen

In twelve books, covering everything from Revolutionary Cuba to the XIVth Dalai Lama, Islamic mysticism to our lives in airports, Pico Iyer has worked to chronicle the accelerating changes in our outer world, which sometimes make steadiness and rootedness in our inner world more urgent than ever. In his TED Book, The Art of Stillness, he draws upon travels from North Korea to Iran to remind us how to remain focused and sane in an age of frenzied distraction. As he writes in the book, "Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds ... All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world."

More profile about the speaker
Pico Iyer | Speaker | TED.com