TED2016
Kenneth Lacovara: Hunting for dinosaurs showed me our place in the universe
肯尼斯拉科瓦: 搜寻恐龙告诉了我我们在宇宙中的处境
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当你发现恐龙后会发生什么？古生物学家Kenneth Lacovara 展示了他关于 Dreadnoughtus——一种7700万年前的与两层房子一样高，和喷气客机一样重的蜥脚类生物的发现和发现引起的关于原先生活在恐龙夹缝中的哺乳动物进化成能理解和分析的生物的想法。和他一起庆祝地球的地质历史和深层思考我们在实践中的处境吧。
Kenneth Lacovara - Paleontologist
In his quest to understand the largest dinosaurs to have walked the Earth, Lacovara blends exploration with the latest imaging and modeling techniques from engineering to medicine. Full bio
In his quest to understand the largest dinosaurs to have walked the Earth, Lacovara blends exploration with the latest imaging and modeling techniques from engineering to medicine. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
How do you find a dinosaur?
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你能找到恐龙吗？
00:15
Sounds impossible, doesn't it?
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听起来不可思议，不是吗？
00:18
It's not.
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其实并不难。
00:19
And the answer relies on a formula
that all paleontologists use.
that all paleontologists use.
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古生物学家都会用到的一个公式可以帮助我们找到。
00:24
And I'm going to tell you the secret.
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而且我将会告诉你这个秘密。
00:27
First, find rocks of the right age.
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首先，找到相应年代的岩石。
00:31
Second, those rocks
must be sedimentary rocks.
must be sedimentary rocks.
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第二点需要注意的是，这些岩石必须是沉积岩。
00:35
And third, layers of those rocks
must be naturally exposed.
must be naturally exposed.
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然后，岩石表面需要自然暴露在外。
00:40
That's it.
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就这些。
00:41
Find those three things
and get yourself on the ground,
and get yourself on the ground,
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满足这三点，你就可以开始了。
00:45
chances are good
that you will find fossils.
that you will find fossils.
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找到化石的可能性还是很大的。
00:48
Now let me break down this formula.
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接下来，咱们来具体分解一下这个公式。
00:50
Organisms exist only during certain
geological intervals.
geological intervals.
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生物只在特定的地质间隔时期存活。
00:55
So you have to find
rocks of the right age,
rocks of the right age,
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因此你必须找到特定时期的岩石。
00:57
depending on what your interests are.
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这取决于你的兴趣。
00:59
If you want to find trilobites,
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如果你想要找三叶虫，
01:01
you have to find the really,
really old rocks of the Paleozoic --
really old rocks of the Paleozoic --
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那你必须找非常古老的古生代地层岩石-
01:04
rocks between a half a billion
and a quarter-billion years old.
and a quarter-billion years old.
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年龄在5到2.5亿年间。
01:08
Now, if you want to find dinosaurs,
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那么问题来了，如果你想找到恐龙。
01:10
don't look in the Paleozoic,
you won't find them.
you won't find them.
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别去看古生代的岩石，那里找不到。
01:12
They hadn't evolved yet.
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恐龙还没有演化呢。
01:14
You have to find the younger
rocks of the Mesozoic,
rocks of the Mesozoic,
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你需要去找中生代的岩石，
01:17
and in the case of dinosaurs,
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并且是有恐龙存活的年代。
01:18
between 235 and 66 million years ago.
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大概是2.35亿至6600万年前。
01:23
Now, it's fairly easy to find rocks
of the right age at this point,
of the right age at this point,
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目前找这些岩石还是挺容易的，
01:26
because the Earth is, to a coarse degree,
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因为我们已有了地球的大致地理
01:29
geologically mapped.
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地质面貌。
01:31
This is hard-won information.
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这可不是个简单的工程。
01:34
The annals of Earth history
are written in rocks,
are written in rocks,
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地球的编年史可以说是由岩石写成的，
01:37
one chapter upon the next,
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一章接着一章，
01:38
such that the oldest pages are on bottom
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也就是说最久远的在最底层，
01:41
and the youngest on top.
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年代最近的位于表面。
01:43
Now, were it quite that easy,
geologists would rejoice.
geologists would rejoice.
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然而，如果又真的这么简单，地理学家会欣喜若狂了。
01:47
It's not.
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其实并不简单。
01:48
The library of Earth is an old one.
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地球像是一个古老的图书馆。
01:51
It has no librarian to impose order.
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并没有管理员来为每一本书排序，
01:54
Operating over vast swaths of time,
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来管理如此大范围的时代，
01:57
myriad geological processes
offer every possible insult
offer every possible insult
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无数的地质进程又可能对岩石年龄的判断带来不利影响。
02:02
to the rocks of ages.
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02:04
Most pages are destroyed
soon after being written.
soon after being written.
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地理编年史中的书页，大多数也许刚被写成就遭到毁灭。
02:07
Some pages are overwritten,
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有些书页又有重复，
02:09
creating difficult-to-decipher palimpsests
of long-gone landscapes.
of long-gone landscapes.
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对早前的年代做了难解的重叠赘述。
02:14
Pages that do find sanctuary
under the advancing sands of time
under the advancing sands of time
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在时间的流逝中找到庇护的历史，
02:19
are never truly safe.
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永远不是那么安全。
02:21
Unlike the Moon --
our dead, rocky companion --
our dead, rocky companion --
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和月亮这样没有生命的顽石不同，
02:24
the Earth is alive, pulsing
with creative and destructive forces
with creative and destructive forces
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地球是活的，同时具备创造和毁灭的力量给了他生命，
02:28
that power its geological metabolism.
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也促进其地质的新陈代谢。
02:31
Lunar rocks brought back
by the Apollo astronauts
by the Apollo astronauts
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月球上的岩石由阿波罗宇航员带回
02:34
all date back to about the age
of the Solar System.
of the Solar System.
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一直追溯到太阳系的年岁
02:37
Moon rocks are forever.
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月亮上的岩石是永恒的，
02:40
Earth rocks, on the other hand,
face the perils of a living lithosphere.
face the perils of a living lithosphere.
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地球上的岩石在经历了撞击，压缩，折叠，撕裂
和高温的作用后都会遭到破坏。
和高温的作用后都会遭到破坏。
02:45
All will suffer ruination,
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02:46
through some combination
of mutilation, compression,
of mutilation, compression,
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02:49
folding, tearing, scorching and baking.
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因此，纵观地球历史是不完整而且是散乱的。
02:53
Thus, the volumes of Earth history
are incomplete and disheveled.
are incomplete and disheveled.
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地球这个图书馆年代久远而且藏书丰富。
02:59
The library is vast and magnificent --
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03:03
but decrepit.
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而且，岩石记录的复杂又使之丧失了原本的意义。
03:06
And it was this tattered complexity
in the rock record
in the rock record
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03:09
that obscured its meaning
until relatively recently.
until relatively recently.
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大自然并没有为地理学家留下任何记录
03:13
Nature provided no card catalog
for geologists --
for geologists --
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03:15
this would have to be invented.
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而是让他们去总结。
03:18
Five thousand years after the Sumerians
learned to record their thoughts
learned to record their thoughts
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在苏美尔人学着在岩土上记录想法的五千年后，
03:21
on clay tablets,
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03:22
the Earth's volumes remained
inscrutable to humans.
inscrutable to humans.
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地质史对于人类来说还是高深莫测。
03:26
We were geologically illiterate,
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我们可以说对地理其实是一无所知，
对地球的古老也是一知半解，
03:29
unaware of the antiquity
of our own planet
of our own planet
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并对我们与"久远时间"的联系很无知。
03:32
and ignorant of our connection
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03:34
to deep time.
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直到19世纪的到来，
03:37
It wasn't until the turn
of the 19th century
of the 19th century
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我们的无知才渐渐消失
03:40
that our blinders were removed,
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首先，James Hotton所著的《地球理论》向我们揭示了
03:42
first, with the publication
of James Hutton's "Theory of the Earth,"
of James Hutton's "Theory of the Earth,"
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03:47
in which he told us that the Earth
reveals no vestige of a beginning
reveals no vestige of a beginning
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地球的初始毫无痕迹，
终结也会毫无预兆。
03:50
and no prospect of an end;
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随着William Smith绘制了第一张国家疆域范围的英国地图，
03:53
and then, with the printing
of William Smith's map of Britain,
of William Smith's map of Britain,
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03:57
the first country-scale geological map,
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我们得以预见
03:59
giving us for the first time
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04:01
predictive insight into where
certain types of rocks might occur.
certain types of rocks might occur.
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哪里会有特定年代的岩石。
由此，你可以这样说：
04:05
After that, you could say things like,
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04:07
"If we go over there,
we should be in the Jurassic,"
we should be in the Jurassic,"
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“我们去那儿能找到侏罗纪”
“爬过这座山我们能找到白垩纪”。
04:10
or, "If we go up over that hill,
we should find the Cretaceous."
we should find the Cretaceous."
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好吧，如果你现在想找三叶虫，
04:15
So now, if you want to find trilobites,
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先要有一张好的地图，
04:18
get yourself a good geological map
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寻找古生代的岩石。
04:20
and go to the rocks of the Paleozoic.
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04:23
If you want to find dinosaurs like I do,
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如果你想像我一样去寻找恐龙的痕迹，
那就先去找中生代的岩石。
04:25
find the rocks of Mesozoic and go there.
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04:29
Now of course, you can only make
a fossil in a sedimentary rock,
a fossil in a sedimentary rock,
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当然，你只能在沉积岩中找到化石。
这种岩石又沙和泥土形成。
04:32
a rock made by sand and mud.
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岩浆形成的火成岩，比如花岗岩中，
04:34
You can't have a fossil
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04:35
in an igneous rock formed
by magma, like a granite,
by magma, like a granite,
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就没有化石。
04:39
or in a metamorphic rock
that's been heated and squeezed.
that's been heated and squeezed.
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那种经受高温和挤压的变质岩里也没有化石。
04:42
And you have to get yourself in a desert.
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你一定要去沙漠，
不是说恐龙只生活在沙漠，
04:45
It's not that dinosaurs
particularly lived in deserts;
particularly lived in deserts;
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他们生活在每一片大陆，
04:48
they lived on every land mass
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04:50
and in every imaginable environment.
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和所有可以想的到的环境中。
04:52
It's that you need to go to a place
that's a desert today,
that's a desert today,
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你需要去沙漠的原因是，
沙漠中的岩石没有太多植被覆盖
04:55
a place that doesn't have
too many plants covering up the rocks,
too many plants covering up the rocks,
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04:58
and a place where erosion is always
exposing new bones at the surface.
exposing new bones at the surface.
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并且其风蚀能够使岩石暴露于地表。
所以，去寻找这三样东西吧：
05:03
So find those three things:
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特定年代的岩石，
05:04
rocks of the right age,
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沙漠的沉积岩，
05:06
that are sedimentary rocks, in a desert,
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然后让自己行走在地面上，
05:09
and get yourself on the ground,
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05:11
and you literally walk
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直到你看到岩石表面有显露出来的骨化石。
05:12
until you see a bone
sticking out of the rock.
sticking out of the rock.
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05:16
Here's a picture that I took
in Southern Patagonia.
in Southern Patagonia.
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这是一张南巴塔哥尼亚的图片。
你现在看到的地上的每一片圆石，
05:20
Every pebble that you see
on the ground there
on the ground there
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都是恐龙的骨头。
05:23
is a piece of dinosaur bone.
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所以当你身处这种环境下，
05:25
So when you're in that right situation,
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05:27
it's not a question of whether
you'll find fossils or not;
you'll find fossils or not;
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能否找到化石已不再是问题，
你一定会找到。
05:30
you're going to find fossils.
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问题是，你发现的东西是否具有科研价值？
05:31
The question is: Will you find something
that is scientifically significant?
that is scientifically significant?
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为了帮助理解，我将为这个公式加上第四条。
05:35
And to help with that, I'm going to add
a fourth part to our formula,
a fourth part to our formula,
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那就是:
05:39
which is this:
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05:41
get as far away from other
paleontologists as possible.
paleontologists as possible.
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离那些古生物学家越远越好。
05:44
(Laughter)
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（笑声...）
并非我讨厌他们，
05:46
It's not that I don't like
other paleontologists.
other paleontologists.
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而是如果你去一个相对未被探索的地方，
05:49
When you go to a place
that's relatively unexplored,
that's relatively unexplored,
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你不仅更容易找到化石，
05:51
you have a much better chance
of not only finding fossils
of not only finding fossils
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05:54
but of finding something
that's new to science.
that's new to science.
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而且更有可能为科学带来新发现。
这就是我的恐龙寻找攻略。
05:57
So that's my formula
for finding dinosaurs,
for finding dinosaurs,
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05:59
and I've applied it all around the world.
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我在全世界都使用过。
06:01
In the austral summer of 2004,
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在2004夏季，
我去到位于南半球南美的最南端，
06:04
I went to the bottom of South America,
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阿根廷的巴塔哥尼亚最南部，
06:06
to the bottom of Patagonia, Argentina,
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去探究恐龙：
06:08
to prospect for dinosaurs:
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那儿有特定年代的陆相沉积岩。
06:10
a place that had terrestrial
sedimentary rocks of the right age,
sedimentary rocks of the right age,
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在那片还未被古生物学家发掘过的沙漠，
06:13
in a desert,
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06:15
a place that had been barely visited
by paleontologists.
by paleontologists.
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我们找到了这个。
06:19
And we found this.
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这是一个巨型食草恐龙的股骨。
06:21
This is a femur, a thigh bone,
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06:23
of a giant, plant-eating dinosaur.
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这块股骨有2.2米宽，
06:25
That bone is 2.2 meters across.
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也就是7尺多长。
06:28
That's over seven feet long.
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遗憾的是，这是现存的唯一一块。
06:31
Now, unfortunately,
that bone was isolated.
that bone was isolated.
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我们不停地挖，然而再也没有别的发现。
06:33
We dug and dug and dug,
and there wasn't another bone around.
and there wasn't another bone around.
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06:36
But it made us hungry to go back
the next year for more.
the next year for more.
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这使得我们来年又再一次踏上这片土地寻找。
06:39
And on the first day
of that next field season,
of that next field season,
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在新探索的第一天，
我发现了这个：第二块两米的股骨
06:42
I found this: another two-meter femur,
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这不是唯一的发现，
06:45
only this time not isolated,
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06:47
this time associated with 145 other bones
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我们又发现了145块食草恐龙的化石。
06:50
of a giant plant eater.
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06:53
And after three more hard,
really brutal field seasons,
really brutal field seasons,
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在三次艰苦的现场挖掘后，
06:57
the quarry came to look like this.
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挖掘现场场变成了这样。
你可以看到，这只大型野兽的尾骨在我身边蜷曲。
06:59
And there you see the tail
of that great beast wrapping around me.
of that great beast wrapping around me.
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躺在挖掘现场的这个大型生物，是恐龙的新物种。
07:03
The giant that lay in this grave,
the new species of dinosaur,
the new species of dinosaur,
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07:07
we would eventually call
"Dreadnoughtus schrani."
"Dreadnoughtus schrani."
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最后它被命名为”Dreadnoughtus schrani“
07:11
Dreadnoughtus was 85 feet
from snout to tail.
from snout to tail.
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Dreadnoughtus 从头到尾有85英尺长。
07:15
It stood two-and-a-half stories
at the shoulder,
at the shoulder,
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站起来肩部有两层半楼这么高。
07:18
and all fleshed out in life,
it weighed 65 tons.
it weighed 65 tons.
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活着的时候身体有65吨重。
07:23
People ask me sometimes,
"Was Dreadnoughtus bigger than a T. rex?"
"Was Dreadnoughtus bigger than a T. rex?"
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人们有时候问我，它比暴龙大吗？
实际上，它有暴龙的8至9倍大。
07:26
That's the mass of eight or nine T. rex.
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话说，成为古生物学家很棒的是，
07:30
Now, one of the really cool things
about being a paleontologist
about being a paleontologist
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07:33
is when you find a new species,
you get to name it.
you get to name it.
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你可以为发现的新物种命名。
07:36
And I've always thought it a shame
that these giant, plant-eating dinosaurs
that these giant, plant-eating dinosaurs
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我常常觉得羞愧的是，这些大型的食草恐龙
07:40
are too often portrayed as passive,
lumbering platters of meat
lumbering platters of meat
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往往被描绘成笨拙的一大团肉
07:44
on the landscape.
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（笑声）
07:46
(Laughter)
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07:47
They're not.
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然而并非如此。
07:48
Big herbivores can be surly,
and they can be territorial --
and they can be territorial --
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大型食草动物是很有领地意识的
07:51
you do not want to mess with a hippo
or a rhino or a water buffalo.
or a rhino or a water buffalo.
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你不会想和河马、犀牛或是水牛这样的动物胡来。
07:56
The bison in Yellowstone injure
far more people than do the grizzly bears.
far more people than do the grizzly bears.
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黄石公园的野牛比灰熊伤的人要多得多。
所以你能想象一个65吨的公牛，
08:01
So can you imagine a big bull,
65-ton Dreadnoughtus
65-ton Dreadnoughtus
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08:07
in the breeding season,
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在繁殖季节，
会怎样保护自己的领土？
08:08
defending a territory?
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它们会难以置信的危险。
08:10
That animal would have been
incredibly dangerous,
incredibly dangerous,
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08:13
a menace to all around, and itself
would have had nothing to fear.
would have had nothing to fear.
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对于周围都是一种威胁，而它自己则无所畏惧。
所以他才被称为“Dreadnoughtus”
08:18
And thus the name, "Dreadnoughtus,"
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意为“无所畏惧”
08:20
or, "fears nothing."
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为了能长到像Dreadnoughtus这样体型的动物
08:24
Now, to grow so large,
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08:25
an animal like Dreadnoughtus
would've had to have been
would've had to have been
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他们生来就就很有效率。
08:27
a model of efficiency.
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08:29
That long neck and long tail help it
radiate heat into the environment,
radiate heat into the environment,
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其长颈和长尾能够散热，
间接地调节了自身的体温。
08:32
passively controlling its temperature.
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长颈提供了一个极度有效的进食机制。
08:35
And that long neck also serves
as a super-efficient feeding mechanism.
as a super-efficient feeding mechanism.
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Dreadnoughtus 能够站在原地，
08:38
Dreadnoughtus could stand
in one place and with that neck
in one place and with that neck
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用它长长的脖子把一大片植被一扫而光。
08:41
clear out a huge envelope of vegetation,
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08:44
taking in tens of thousands of calories
while expending very few.
while expending very few.
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摄入数以万计的卡路里而同时消耗很少。
这些动物进化为牛头犬似的宽步动物。
08:48
And these animals evolved
a bulldog-like wide-gait stance,
a bulldog-like wide-gait stance,
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这样能够有更好的稳定性。
08:52
giving them immense stability,
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08:55
because when you're 65 tons,
when you're literally as big as a house,
when you're literally as big as a house,
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因为如果你有65吨重，并且像房子那么大，
摔倒的后果
08:59
the penalty for falling over
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是死亡。
09:01
is death.
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没错，这些动物又大又坚硬
09:03
Yeah, these animals are big and tough,
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但是他们承受不了这样的打击。
09:05
but they won't take a blow like that.
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Dreadnoughtus摔倒后肋骨会断裂并且刺伤肺部，
09:07
Dreadnoughtus falls over,
ribs break and pierce lungs.
ribs break and pierce lungs.
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09:10
Organs burst.
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导致器官爆裂。
09:11
If you're a big 65-ton Dreadnoughtus,
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如果你是一只65吨的Dreadnoughtus
你绝不想摔倒，一次都不。
09:13
you don't get to fall down
in life -- even once.
in life -- even once.
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现在，在这只恐龙的躯体被埋葬
09:17
Now, after this particular
Dreadnoughtus carcass was buried
Dreadnoughtus carcass was buried
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肉体被各种细菌和虫类侵蚀，
09:21
and de-fleshed by a multitude
of bacteria, worms and insects,
of bacteria, worms and insects,
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09:25
its bones underwent a brief metamorphosis,
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它的骨头会变质，
和地下水进行分子交换
09:28
exchanging molecules with the groundwater
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09:30
and becoming more and more
like the entombing rock.
like the entombing rock.
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变得越来越接近埋葬它的石头
当一层一层的沉积岩慢慢积累
09:33
As layer upon layer
of sediment accumulated,
of sediment accumulated,
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09:36
pressure from all sides
weighed in like a stony glove
weighed in like a stony glove
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各方面的压力会像石膏套一样向内增压
09:38
whose firm and enduring grip held
each bone in a stabilizing embrace.
each bone in a stabilizing embrace.
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其坚硬而持久的握力把每块石头牢牢的包裹在内。
09:45
And then came the long ...
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而后就是旷日持久的
虚无....
09:48
nothing.
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经历了一个又一个纪元，什么都没有发生
09:49
Epoch after epoch of sameness,
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09:53
nonevents without number.
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恐龙的骨骼长久的处于一种恒定不变的
09:55
All the while, the skeleton lay
everlasting and unchanging
everlasting and unchanging
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09:58
in perfect equilibrium
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完美平衡的状态
10:01
within its rocky grave.
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在它的石头坟墓里。
同时，地球历史也随着展开。
10:03
Meanwhile, Earth history unfolded above.
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2017
10:06
The dinosaurs would reign
for another 12 million years
for another 12 million years
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恐龙会统治另一个1200万年
10:08
before their hegemony was snuffed out
in a fiery apocalypse.
in a fiery apocalypse.
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直到他们在地球大灾难中灭绝
然后大陆漂移，哺乳动物随之而生。
10:13
The continents drifted. The mammals rose.
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10:16
The Ice Age came.
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冰河时代来临
然后，在东非
10:18
And then, in East Africa,
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一种没有前途的猿，
10:20
an unpromising species of ape
evolved the odd trick of sentient thought.
evolved the odd trick of sentient thought.
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进化出了一种奇怪的用来感知事物的把戏。
10:27
These brainy primates were not
particularly fast or strong.
particularly fast or strong.
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他们不是特别快或是强壮
但他们很擅长占领土地
10:32
But they excelled at covering ground,
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2206
10:34
and in a remarkable diaspora
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他们用一种出色的散居方式
10:36
surpassing even the dinosaurs' record
of territorial conquest,
of territorial conquest,
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他们的土地甚至超越了恐龙所征服的领地的记录
10:39
they dispersed across the planet,
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他们分布在地球的各个地方
10:41
ravishing every ecosystem
they encountered,
they encountered,
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他们掠夺每一个遇到的生态系统
10:44
along the way, inventing culture
and metalworking and painting
and metalworking and painting
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3181
在这个过程中，他们创造了文化，金属加工术，绘画
10:47
and dance and music
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舞蹈，音乐
10:49
and science
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科学，
10:51
and rocket ships that would eventually
take 12 particularly excellent apes
take 12 particularly excellent apes
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还有能搭载12名特别优秀猿猴
并将他们送去月球表面的火箭船。
10:56
to the surface of the Moon.
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1851
11:00
With seven billion peripatetic
Homo sapiens on the planet,
Homo sapiens on the planet,
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3639
伴随着70亿在地球上走来走去的人
11:05
it was perhaps inevitable
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不可避免的
11:06
that one of them would eventually
trod on the grave of the magnificent titan
trod on the grave of the magnificent titan
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4038
有人最终会踏在这些巨大生物的坟墓上
11:10
buried beneath the badlands
of Southern Patagonia.
of Southern Patagonia.
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在巴塔哥尼亚南部的荒地下
11:14
I was that ape.
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我就是那个人
11:17
And standing there, alone in the desert,
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孤独的站在沙漠里
11:20
it was not lost on me
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1151
我没有忘记
11:21
that the chance of any one individual
entering the fossil record
entering the fossil record
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每个人遇到化石的机会
11:25
is vanishingly small.
228
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1673
都十分的渺小
但是地球非常非常的古老
11:28
But the Earth is very, very old.
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2048
11:30
And over vast tracts of time,
the improbable becomes the probable.
the improbable becomes the probable.
230
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在漫长的时间轨迹里，不可能变为可能
11:34
That's the magic of the geological record.
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这就是地理的魔力
11:37
Thus, multitudinous creatures
living and dying on an old planet
living and dying on an old planet
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3182
大量生物在这颗星球上生活、死去
11:40
leave behind immense numbers of fossils,
233
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1927
留下大量的化石
11:42
each one a small miracle,
234
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1642
每个化石都是一个奇迹
11:44
but collectively, inevitable.
235
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但都难以逃脱它们的命运
11:48
Sixty-six million years ago,
an asteroid hits the Earth
an asteroid hits the Earth
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六千六百万年前，一颗小行星撞击地球
11:51
and wipes out the dinosaurs.
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使恐龙灭绝
11:54
This easily might not have been.
238
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1928
或许没这么简单
11:57
But we only get one history,
and it's the one that we have.
and it's the one that we have.
239
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2855
但我们只有一个历史，那就是我们所处的这个
12:00
But this particular reality
was not inevitable.
was not inevitable.
240
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2276
但这个特定的现实并非无法改变
12:02
The tiniest perturbation
of that asteroid far from Earth
of that asteroid far from Earth
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2802
即使最微小的对于那颗遥远的小行星的扰动
12:05
would have caused it to miss
our planet by a wide margin.
our planet by a wide margin.
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也有可能让它远离我们的星球
12:08
The pivotal, calamitous day during which
the dinosaurs were wiped out,
the dinosaurs were wiped out,
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3353
那个关键的，灾难的性的恐龙灭绝的日子
12:12
setting the stage
for the modern world as we know it
for the modern world as we know it
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3211
为现代搭建了一个舞台
即使我们知道这并不必要
12:15
didn't have to be.
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12:16
It could've just been another day --
246
724922
1965
它完全可以是另一天
12:19
a Thursday, perhaps --
247
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1341
或许是一个周四
12:21
among the 63 billion days
already enjoyed by the dinosaurs.
already enjoyed by the dinosaurs.
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4927
在恐龙生存的630亿天中
12:27
But over geological time,
249
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1385
但是在地理的时间轴中
12:28
improbable, nearly impossible events
250
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2885
不大可能，甚至完全不可能的事情
12:31
do occur.
251
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1151
确实会发生
12:32
Along the path from our wormy,
Cambrian ancestors
Cambrian ancestors
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从虫子，寒武纪的祖先
12:35
to primates dressed in suits,
253
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2403
到穿着正式的人
12:38
innumerable forks in the road
led us to this very particular reality.
led us to this very particular reality.
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4881
不可计数的岔路带领我们到了这个独特的处境
Dreadnoughtus 的骨头在地下沉寂了7700万年。
12:43
The bones of Dreadnoughtus
lay underground for 77 million years.
lay underground for 77 million years.
255
751982
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又有谁能想到
12:48
Who could have imagined
256
756899
1171
12:50
that a single species of shrew-like mammal
257
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2964
那种精明的
12:53
living in the cracks of the dinosaur world
258
761082
2044
在恐龙世界的缝隙中生存的哺乳动物
12:55
would evolve into sentient beings
259
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2052
却进化成一种能感知的
12:57
capable of characterizing
and understanding
and understanding
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765226
2356
有能力去描绘与理解
12:59
the very dinosaurs they must have dreaded?
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他们曾经害怕的恐龙的生物
我曾经站在密苏里河的源头
13:04
I once stood at the head
of the Missouri River
of the Missouri River
262
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3023
然后跨过它
13:09
and bestraddled it.
263
777107
1381
那只不过是汩汩的
13:11
There, it's nothing more
than a gurgle of water
than a gurgle of water
264
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2202
13:13
that issues forth from beneath a rock
in a boulder in a pasture,
in a boulder in a pasture,
265
781349
4611
从一块比特鲁特山脉上草地上的石头下
流出的水罢了
13:17
high in the Bitterroot Mountains.
266
785984
1697
13:20
The stream next to it
runs a few hundred yards
runs a few hundred yards
267
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2392
它旁边的小溪只流了几百码
13:23
and ends in a small pond.
268
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1452
并停在了一个小池塘里
13:25
Those two streams -- they look identical.
269
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2897
这两条小溪，看上去一模一样
13:29
But one is an anonymous trickle of water,
270
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2539
但一条是无名的涓流
13:32
and the other is the Missouri River.
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2269
但另一条是密苏里河
13:35
Now go down to the mouth
of the Missouri, near St. Louis,
of the Missouri, near St. Louis,
272
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3497
现在来到密苏里河在圣路易斯的河口
很明显它是很大一条河
13:39
and it's pretty obvious
that that river is a big deal.
that that river is a big deal.
273
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2717
13:42
But go up into the Bitterroots
and look at the Missouri,
and look at the Missouri,
274
810640
2714
但是回到比特鲁特山脉，看看密苏里河
13:45
and human prospection does not
allow us to see it as anything special.
allow us to see it as anything special.
275
813378
4470
人类的眼光不足以让我们看出它有多么特别
再回到寒武纪时期
13:51
Now go back to the Cretaceous Period
276
819030
1954
13:53
and look at our tiny, fuzzball ancestors.
277
821008
2445
看看我们小小的，带绒毛的祖先
13:55
You would never guess
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823477
1437
你永远不会猜到
13:56
that they would amount
to anything special,
to anything special,
279
824938
2077
他们会发展成任何种族
13:59
and they probably wouldn't have,
280
827039
1648
他们也许确实不会
14:00
were it not for that pesky asteroid.
281
828711
2237
如果没有那烦人的小行星
14:03
Now, make a thousand more worlds
and a thousand more solar systems
and a thousand more solar systems
282
831797
3361
现在，再创造1000个世界，1000个太阳系
14:07
and let them run.
283
835182
1286
让它们运行
14:09
You will never get the same result.
284
837047
2154
你永远不会有同样的结果
14:11
No doubt, those worlds would be
both amazing and amazingly improbable,
both amazing and amazingly improbable,
285
839225
3405
毫无疑问，它们会很惊人，令人感到不可能的惊人，
14:14
but they would not be our world
and they would not have our history.
and they would not have our history.
286
842654
3308
但它们不会是我们的世界，也不会有我们的历史
14:17
There are an infinite number of histories
that we could've had.
that we could've had.
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2979
那里有无穷的历史是我们不曾有拥有的
但我们只有一个，哇，我们得到的是一个好的吗？
14:20
We only get one, and wow,
did we ever get a good one.
did we ever get a good one.
288
848989
2526
14:23
Dinosaurs like Dreadnoughtus were real.
289
851539
2838
像 Dreadnoughtus 一样的恐龙是真实存在的
像沧龙一样的水怪也是真的
14:27
Sea monsters like the mosasaur were real.
290
855058
3365
翼展像鹰一样的一样的蜻蜓，汽车大小的飞虫
14:31
Dragonflies with the wingspan of an eagle
and pill bugs the length of a car
and pill bugs the length of a car
291
859216
4096
14:35
really existed.
292
863336
1563
都真实存在
为什么我们研究遥远的过去
14:39
Why study the ancient past?
293
867192
1603
因为它给与我们对于未来的看法
14:42
Because it gives us perspective
294
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1667
以及谦虚。
14:45
and humility.
295
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1254
恐龙在地球的第五次大灭绝中死亡
14:46
The dinosaurs died in the world's
fifth mass extinction,
fifth mass extinction,
296
874977
3432
14:50
snuffed out in a cosmic accident
through no fault of their own.
through no fault of their own.
297
878433
3768
它们没有做错什么，那只是一场宇宙的事故
14:55
They didn't see it coming,
and they didn't have a choice.
and they didn't have a choice.
298
883114
3459
它们没有预见到它的到来，也没有选择
但我们，却有着选择
15:00
We, on the other hand, do have a choice.
299
888009
3466
15:03
And the nature of the fossil record
tells us that our place on this planet
tells us that our place on this planet
300
891943
3991
化石揭示了我们在地球上的地位
15:07
is both precarious
and potentially fleeting.
and potentially fleeting.
301
895958
2799
很不稳固，有可能转瞬即逝。
15:11
Right now, our species is propagating
an environmental disaster
an environmental disaster
302
899127
3768
现在，我们的种族正在引起关于地理平衡的灾难
15:14
of geological proportions
that is so broad and so severe,
that is so broad and so severe,
303
902919
3583
这种灾难既广泛又致命
15:18
it can rightly be called
the sixth extinction.
the sixth extinction.
304
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2625
它现在可以被称为第六次大灭绝
15:22
Only unlike the dinosaurs,
305
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1816
唯一与恐龙不同的是
15:25
we can see it coming.
306
913128
1491
我们可以看见它的到来
15:27
And unlike the dinosaurs,
307
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1673
与恐龙不同的是
15:29
we can do something about it.
308
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我们可以做些什么
选择权在我们手里
15:32
That choice is ours.
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谢谢
15:35
Thank you.
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15:36
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kenneth Lacovara - PaleontologistIn his quest to understand the largest dinosaurs to have walked the Earth, Lacovara blends exploration with the latest imaging and modeling techniques from engineering to medicine.
Why you should listen
Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara famously unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk our planet, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, which at 65 tons weighs more than seven T.Rex.
When he's not excavating fossils from far-flung locations, Lacovara works on the cutting edge of applying 21st-century technology to the study of dinosaurs. By using 3D imaging, 3D printing, robotics, and medical modeling techniques, his work is helping to shift our perspective of giant herbivorous dinosaurs from their historic portrayal as hapless lumbering prey to that of fearsome, hulking, hyper-efficient eating machines.
Lacovara led the effort to create the Rowan University Fossil Park in suburban Mantua Township, New Jersey. The quarry preserves a rich cache of marine fossils that Lacovara is using to shed light on the calamitous events that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Kenneth Lacovara | Speaker | TED.com