TEDGlobal 2012
Neil Harbisson: I listen to color
Neil Harbisson：听声
Filmed:
Readability: 3.8
2,994,716 views
Artist Neil Harbisson从一出生起就是全色盲，但现在，他的大脑里安装了一个设备，可以将颜色转变成听得到的频率。虽然他看到的世界依然是灰暗的，但他能够“听”到由颜色组成的交响曲合奏--没错，他甚至能听到人们的脸和绘画。
Neil Harbisson - Sonochromatic Cyborg Artist
Neil Harbisson's "eyeborg" allows him to hear colors, even those beyond the range of sight. Full bio
Neil Harbisson's "eyeborg" allows him to hear colors, even those beyond the range of sight. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
Well, I was born with a rare visual condition
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我出生在一个色彩极少的世界
00:20
called achromatopsia, which is total color blindness,
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世界只有明暗之分，这叫做全色盲
00:23
so I've never seen color,
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所以我不知道什么是颜色，
00:25
and I don't know what color looks like,
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也不知道颜色是什么样的，
00:28
because I come from a grayscale world.
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因为我来自一个灰色的国度。
00:31
To me, the sky is always gray,
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对我来说，天空永远是暗灰的，
00:33
flowers are always gray,
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花儿也是暗灰的，
00:35
and television is still in black and white.
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电视依然是黑白电视。
00:37
But, since the age of 21,
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但是，当我21岁时，
00:40
instead of seeing color, I can hear color.
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虽然看不见颜色，但我能听见颜色。
00:44
In 2003, I started a project
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在2003年，我开始了一项计划
00:47
with computer scientist Adam Montandon,
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和一位叫Adam Montandon的计算机科学家合作，
00:49
and the result, with further collaborations
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在其他人的合作帮助下，
00:53
with Peter Kese from Slovenia
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例如来自斯洛文尼亚的Peter Kese
00:55
and Matias Lizana from Barcelona,
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和来自巴塞罗那的Matias Lizana，
00:58
is this electronic eye.
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我们的成果就是这个电子眼。
01:00
It's a color sensor that detects
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它是一个色彩传感器，
01:02
the color frequency in front of me — (Frequency sounds) —
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它可以探测到我眼前颜色的频率——（频率的声音）
01:06
and sends this frequency to a chip installed
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然后把这个频率传回植入我后脑里的
01:08
at the back of my head, and I hear the color in front of me
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一个芯片里，这样通过骨头传导声音
01:11
through the bone, through bone conduction.
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我就能听到我眼前的颜色了。
01:14
(Frequency sounds) So, for example, if I have, like —
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（频率的声音）举个例子吧，我拿出这个
01:21
This is the sound of purple. (Frequency sounds)
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这个就是紫色的声音。（频率的声音）
01:24
For example, this is the sound of grass. (Frequency sounds)
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又例如，这个是草地颜色的声音。（频率的声音）
01:32
This is red, like TED. (Frequency sounds)
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这个是红色的，就像TED的颜色。（频率的声音）
01:34
This is the sound of a dirty sock. (Laughter)
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这个是脏袜子的声音。（笑声）
01:38
Which is like yellow, this one.
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脏袜子是黄色的。
01:40
So I've been hearing color all the time for eight years,
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所以，自2004年起，我已经持续听了8年的颜色，
01:44
since 2004, so I find it completely normal now
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现在这些持续不断的声音
01:47
to hear color all the time.
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对我来说已经习以为常了。
01:49
At the start, though, I had to memorize the names you give
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一开始我不仅需要记住你们为不同色彩所命的名字
01:53
for each color, so I had to memorize the notes,
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我还要去记住这些调子，
01:56
but after some time, all this information
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不过过了一段时间，所有的这些信息，
01:58
became a perception.
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都变成了一种知觉。
02:00
I didn't have to think about the notes.
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对这些调子已经不需多加思索。
02:02
And after some time, this perception became a feeling.
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再过一段时间，这种知觉就变成了一种感觉。
02:04
I started to have favorite colors,
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我开始有了喜欢的颜色，
02:06
and I started to dream in colors.
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我的梦里也开始有了色彩。
02:08
So, when I started to dream in color is when I felt
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所以，当我有了彩色的梦时，
02:12
that the software and my brain had united,
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我知道这个软件已经和我大脑合为一体了，
02:15
because in my dreams, it was my brain creating
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因为在梦里，是我的大脑
02:18
electronic sounds. It wasn't the software,
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在制造电子声音，而非这个软件，
02:20
so that's when I started to feel like a cyborg.
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此时我觉得自己像个半机械人。
02:24
It's when I started to feel that the cybernetic device
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我开始意识到这个神经控制装置
02:27
was no longer a device.
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不再仅是一个电子装置。
02:29
It had become a part of my body,
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它已经成为我身体的一部分，
02:32
an extension of my senses,
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我知觉的一种延伸，
02:34
and after some time, it even became a part
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不久之后，它甚至成了我官方形象
02:37
of my official image.
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不可分割的一部分。
02:40
This is my passport from 2004.
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这是我2004年的护照。
02:43
You're not allowed to appear on U.K. passports
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在英国的护照相片上，
02:46
with electronic equipment, but I insisted
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你是不能戴任何电子装备的，但我坚持
02:48
to the passport office that what they were seeing
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跟护照处的人说，你们看到的
02:51
was actually a new part of my body,
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其实是我身体新的一部分，
02:53
an extension of my brain, and they finally accepted me
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是我大脑的延伸，最后他们同意了
02:57
to appear with the passport photo.
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让我以这样的形象出现在护照上。
02:59
So, life has changed dramatically since I hear color,
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所以自从我能听见颜色，我的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化
03:03
because color is almost everywhere,
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因为颜色无处不在，
03:05
so the biggest change for example is
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最大的改变就是
03:08
going to an art gallery, I can listen to a Picasso,
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去艺术画廊，例如，我能听到毕加索了。
03:13
for example. So it's like I'm going to a concert hall,
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这感觉就像去音乐厅，
03:16
because I can listen to the paintings.
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因为我能到听到那些绘画作品。
03:18
And supermarkets, I find this is very shocking,
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还有超市，这真心让我惊讶，
03:20
it's very, very attractive to walk along a supermarket.
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在超市里漫步真的非常，非常吸引人。
03:23
It's like going to a nightclub.
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就像去泡夜吧一样。
03:25
It's full of different melodies. (Laughter) Yeah.
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耳边总响起不同的旋律。（笑声）是这样的。
03:28
Especially the aisle with cleaning products.
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尤其是那条卖清洁用品的过道。
03:30
It's just fabulous. (Laughter)
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真是太神奇了。（笑声）
03:33
Also, the way I dress has changed.
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而且，我穿着的方式也变了。
03:36
Before, I used to dress in a way that it looked good.
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以前，我只穿看起来还行的。
03:38
Now I dress in a way that it sounds good. (Laughter)
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现在我会穿听起来悦耳的。（笑声）
03:43
(Applause)
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（掌声）
03:48
So today I'm dressed in C major,
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今天我的穿着基于C大调，
03:51
so it's quite a happy chord. (Laughter)
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这是个愉快的和弦。（笑声）
03:54
If I had to go to a funeral, though,
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如果我需要去参加一个葬礼，
03:56
I would dress in B minor, which would be
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那么我会穿B小调的衣服，
03:58
turquoise, purple and orange. (Laughter)
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也就是蓝绿色的，紫色和还有橙色。（笑声）
04:07
Also, food, the way I look at food has changed,
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还有，食物，我看待食物的方式也变了，
04:11
because now I can display the food on a plate,
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因为现在我能把食物组合好放在盘子里，
04:15
so I can eat my favorite song. (Laughter)
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然后我就可以把我喜欢的音乐吃掉。（笑声）
04:18
So depending on how I display it,
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这取决于我怎么排列我的食物，
04:19
I can hear and I can compose music with food.
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我能听见食物也能和食物一起作曲了。
04:22
So imagine a restaurant where we can have, like,
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设想一下有这么一家餐厅，
04:25
Lady Gaga salads as starters. (Laughter) I mean,
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供应Lady Gaga沙拉作为开胃菜。（笑声）我想，
04:28
this would get teenagers to eat their vegetables, probably.
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这样可能会鼓舞一些年轻人多吃蔬菜，也许吧。
04:31
And also, some Rachmaninov piano concertos
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还有，餐厅供应拉赫玛尼诺夫钢琴协奏曲
04:34
as main dishes, and some Bjork or Madonna desserts,
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作为主菜，还有Björk乐队或麦当娜甜点，
04:37
that would be a very exciting restaurant
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那这家餐厅一定很赞
04:40
where you can actually eat songs.
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你都能在那里吃音乐了。
04:43
Also, the way I perceive beauty has changed,
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还有，我对美的感知也产生变化了，
04:48
because when I look at someone, I hear their face,
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因为当我看一个人时，我能听到他的脸，
04:52
so someone might look very beautiful but sound terrible.
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所以可能有人看起来很美但听起来却很恐怖。
04:57
(Laughter) And it might happen the opposite,
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（笑声）相反的情况也可能发生，
04:59
the other way around. So I really enjoy creating, like,
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看起来恐怖听起来悦耳。所以我很享受
05:01
sound portraits of people.
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创造人的“声画像”，
05:03
Instead of drawing someone's face, like drawing the shape,
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而不是画出他的样子，画出他的轮廓。
05:07
I point at them with the eye and I write down
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我用一只眼看着他们，同时写下
05:09
the different notes I hear, and then I create sound portraits.
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我听到的不同音符，然后创出“声画像“。
05:12
Here's some faces.
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这些是他们的脸。
05:14
(Musical chords)
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（音乐和声）
05:29
Yeah, Nicole Kidman sounds good. (Laughter)
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嗯，妮可基德曼听起来还不错。（笑声）
05:32
Some people, I would never relate, but they sound similar.
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有些听起来相似的人脸，我之前怎样也无法关联起来。
05:35
Prince Charles has some similarities with Nicole Kidman.
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查尔斯王子和妮可基德曼就有相似之处。
05:38
They have similar sound of eyes.
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他们的眼睛听起来很像。
05:40
So you relate people that you wouldn't relate,
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当你将一些毫无相关的人联系起来时，
05:42
and you can actually also create concerts
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你事实上就能够举办一场音乐会了
05:46
by looking at the audience faces.
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单单看观众的脸就够了。
05:48
So I connect the eye, and then I play the audience's faces.
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连接上电子眼，我就能演奏观众的脸了。
05:51
The good thing about this is,
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这么做的好处是
05:53
if the concert doesn't sound good, it's their fault.
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如果音乐会听起来不怎样，那是他们问题。
05:56
It's not my fault, because — (Laughter)
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这不是我的错，原因你知道的——（笑声）
05:58
And so another thing that happens is that
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另外还有一件事就是
06:02
I started having this secondary effect
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我开始体会到一些副作用了
06:05
that normal sounds started to become color.
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那些平凡的声音开始变成颜色了。
06:09
I heard a telephone tone, and it felt green
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我听到电话铃声，我就感觉它是绿色的
06:12
because it sounded just like the color green.
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因为它和绿色的声音听起来一样。
06:15
The BBC beeps, they sound turquoise,
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BBC的”哔“声，它们是蓝绿色的，
06:18
and listening to Mozart became a yellow experience,
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还有听莫扎特的歌成了一场黄色的体验，
06:21
so I started to paint music and paint people's voices,
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所以我开始给音乐和人们的声音上色，
06:26
because people's voices have frequencies
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因为人声也是有频率的
06:28
that I relate to color.
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我可以将其与颜色关联起来。
06:29
And here's some music translated into color.
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这是一些转换成颜色的音乐。
06:34
For example, Mozart, "Queen of the Night," looks like this.
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例如，莫扎特的，“夜晚的王后”，看起来就是这样。
06:40
(Music) Very yellow and very colorful,
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（音乐）很绚黄，很多彩，
06:41
because there's many different frequencies.
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因为有很多不同的频率。
06:44
(Music)
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（音乐）
06:48
And this is a completely different song.
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这首歌则完全不同。
06:50
(Music) It's Justin Bieber's "Baby." (Laughter)
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（音乐）这是Justin Bieber的“Baby”。（笑声）
06:54
(Music)
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（音乐）
06:56
It is very pink and very yellow.
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很粉也很黄。
06:59
So, also voices, I can transform speeches into color,
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还有声音，我能把演讲也变成颜色，
07:06
for example, these are two very well-known speeches.
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例如，这是两个非常著名的演讲。
07:10
One of them is Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream,"
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一个是马丁路德金的“我有一个梦想”，
07:14
and the other one is Hitler.
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另外一个则是希特勒的。
07:15
And I like to exhibit these paintings in the exhibition halls
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然后我喜欢把这两幅画放在展览厅里
07:18
without labels, and then I ask people,
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不贴标签，然后我问人们，
07:21
"Which one do you prefer?"
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“你比较喜欢哪个？”
07:23
And most people change their preference
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当我告诉他们左边那幅是希特勒时，
07:25
when I tell them that the one on the left is Hitler
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大部分人都改变了他们的选择。
07:28
and the one on the right is Martin Luther King.
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右边那幅是马丁路德金的。
07:31
So I got to a point when I was able to perceive 360 colors,
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当我能够感知360种颜色，就像正常人的视觉一样时，
07:37
just like human vision.
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我萌生了一个想法。
07:39
I was able to differentiate all the degrees of the color wheel.
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虽然我能够辨别色环里不同角度的所有的颜色。
07:42
But then, I just thought that
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然而，我觉得，
07:44
this human vision wasn't good enough.
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人类的视觉还是不足够使用。
07:47
There's many, many more colors around us
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在我们周围还有好多好多的颜色，
07:50
that we cannot perceive,
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我们感应不到，
07:51
but that electronic eyes can perceive.
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而电子眼却能做到。
07:53
So I decided to continue extending my color senses,
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所以我决定扩展我的颜色感知度，
07:57
and I added infrared and I added ultraviolet
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于是我在色音传感范围内
08:01
to the color-to-sound scale, so now I can hear colors
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加了红外线和紫外线，所以我现在能听到
08:05
that the human eye cannot perceive.
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人类肉眼无法感应到的颜色。
08:07
For example, perceiving infrared is good because you can
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例如，感应红外线是挺棒的事情，
08:10
actually detect if there's movement detectors in a room.
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因为如果房间里有移动探测器，那么你就能探测到了。
08:14
I can hear if someone points at me with a remote control.
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如果有人用遥控指着我，那我就能听到了。
08:18
And the good thing about perceiving ultraviolet is that
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感应紫外线的好处则是，
08:21
you can hear if it's a good day or a bad day to sunbathe,
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你能听到说今天的天气适不适合晒日光浴，
08:26
because ultraviolet is a dangerous color,
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因为紫外线还是比较危险的，
08:28
a color that can actually kill us, so I think we should all have this wish
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它能够使人类致死的。因此我觉得人们应该想要去
08:32
to perceive things that we cannot perceive.
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感知那些我们无法感知的东西。
08:35
That's why, two years ago,
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这就是为什么两年前，
08:37
I created the Cyborg Foundation,
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我建立了半机械人基金会，
08:38
which is a foundation that tries to help people
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这个基金会旨在帮助人们
08:41
become a cyborg, tries to encourage people
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成为半机械人，鼓励人们
08:44
to extend their senses
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去扩展自己的知觉
08:45
by using technology as part of the body.
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用科技装备自己的身体。
08:48
We should all think that knowledge comes from our senses,
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我们都知道知识来源于我们的感知，
08:52
so if we extend our senses,
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所以如果我们扩展了自己的知觉，
08:54
we will consequently extend our knowledge.
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我们也就相应地扩展了我们的知识。
08:57
I think life will be much more exciting
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我觉得生活将会变得更加刺激
09:00
when we stop creating applications for mobile phones
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当我们不再为手机开发各种应用，
09:03
and we start creating applications for our own body.
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而转为对自己的身体开发应用。
09:06
I think this will be a big, big change
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我想这将会是本世纪
09:08
that we will see during this century.
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我们见证的一个巨大的转变。
09:10
So I do encourage you all to think about which senses
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你们不妨想一下
09:14
you'd like to extend.
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你们想扩展哪些感知。
09:16
I would encourage you to become a cyborg.
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我会鼓励你们成为一个半机械人。
09:19
You won't be alone. Thank you. (Applause)
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你不会感到孤单的。谢谢。（掌声）
09:23
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Neil Harbisson - Sonochromatic Cyborg ArtistNeil Harbisson's "eyeborg" allows him to hear colors, even those beyond the range of sight.
Why you should listen
Born with the inability to see color, Neil Harbisson wears a prosthetic device — he calls it an "eyeborg" — that allows him to hear the spectrum, even those colors beyond the range of human sight. His unique experience of color informs his artwork — which, until he met cyberneticist Adam Montandon at a college lecture, was strictly black-and-white. By working with Montandon, and later with Peter Kese, Harbisson helped design a lightweight eyepiece that he wears on his forehead that transposes the light frequencies of color hues into sound frequencies.
Harbisson's artwork blurs the boundaries between sight and sound. In his Sound Portraits series, he listens to the colors of faces to create a microtonal chord. In the City Colours project, he expresses the capital cities of Europe in two colors (Monaco is azure and salmon pink; Bratislava yellow and turquoise).
Neil Harbisson | Speaker | TED.com