TEDGlobal 2009
James Geary: Metaphorically speaking
James Geary, metaforički govoreći
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Ljubitelj aforizama i autor James Geary govori o fascinantnoj zadanosti ljudskog jezika: metafori. Prijateljica pisaca od Aristotela do Elvisa, metafora može suptilno utjecati na naše odluke, tvrdi Geary.
James Geary - Aphorist
Lost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it. Full bio
Lost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Metaphor lives a secret life all around us.
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Metafora živi tajnim životom svuda oko nas.
00:19
We utter about six metaphors a minute.
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Izustimo prosječno šest metafora u minuti.
00:23
Metaphorical thinking is essential
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Metafora je ključna
00:25
to how we understand ourselves and others,
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u našem razumijevanju sebe i drugih,
00:28
how we communicate, learn, discover
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u našoj komunikaciji, učenju, otkrićima
00:31
and invent.
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i izumima.
00:33
But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.
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Ali metafora je način razmišljanja prije nego je način govorenja.
00:38
Now, to assist me in explaining this,
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Kako bi mi pomogao u objašnjavanju ovoga,
00:41
I've enlisted the help of one of our greatest philosophers,
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uposlio sam jednog od naših najvećih filozofa,
00:44
the reigning king of the metaphorians,
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vladara metaforičara,
00:48
a man whose contributions to the field
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čovjeka čiji su doprinosi tom polju
00:50
are so great that he himself
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tako veliki da je on
00:53
has become a metaphor.
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sam postao metaforom.
00:55
I am, of course, referring to none other
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Naravno, ne govorim ni o kome drugom
00:59
than Elvis Presley.
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nego o Elvisu Presleyju.
01:01
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
01:02
Now, "All Shook Up" is a great love song.
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„All Shook Up“ je velika ljubavna pjesma.
01:05
It's also a great example of how
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Također je odličan primjer kako,
01:07
whenever we deal with anything abstract --
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kad se god bavimo s nečim apstraktnim,
01:09
ideas, emotions, feelings, concepts, thoughts --
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idejama, emocijama, osjećajima, konceptima, mislima,
01:13
we inevitably resort to metaphor.
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neizbježno se koristimo metaforom.
01:15
In "All Shook Up," a touch is not a touch, but a chill.
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U „All Shook Up“, dodir nije dodir, već jeza.
01:20
Lips are not lips, but volcanoes.
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Usne nisu usne, već vulkani.
01:23
She is not she, but a buttercup.
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Ona nije ona, već ljutić.
01:26
And love is not love, but being all shook up.
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A ljubav nije ljubav, već bivanje potresenim od glave do pete.
01:31
In this, Elvis is following Aristotle's classic definition of metaphor
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Elvis slijedi Aristotelovu klasičnu definiciju metafore
01:35
as the process of giving the thing
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kao procesa nazivanja stvari imenom
01:38
a name that belongs to something else.
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koje pripada nečem drugom.
01:41
This is the mathematics of metaphor.
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To je matematika metafore.
01:44
And fortunately it's very simple.
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I, na sreću, vrlo je jednostavna.
01:46
X equals Y.
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X je jednako Y.
01:48
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
01:51
This formula works wherever metaphor is present.
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Ova formula vrijedi kad god je metafora prisutna.
01:54
Elvis uses it, but so does Shakespeare
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Elvis ju koristi, kao i Shakespeare
01:57
in this famous line from "Romeo and Juliet:"
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u svojoj slavnoj rečenici iz „Romea i Julije“,
01:59
Juliet is the sun.
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Julija je sunce.
02:02
Now, here, Shakespeare gives the thing, Juliet,
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Ovdje, Shakespeare daje stvari, Juliji,
02:06
a name that belongs to something else, the sun.
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ime koje pripada nečem drugom, suncu.
02:11
But whenever we give a thing a name that belongs to something else,
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Ali, kad god pridamo jednoj stvari ime koje pripada drugoj stvari,
02:14
we give it a whole network of analogies too.
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također joj pridajemo cijelu mrežu analogija.
02:17
We mix and match what we know about the metaphor's source,
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Miješamo i slažemo ono što znamo o izvoru metafore,
02:20
in this case the sun,
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u ovom slučaju suncu,
02:22
with what we know about its target, Juliet.
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s onim što znamo o njezinom cilju, Juliji.
02:25
And metaphor gives us a much more vivid understanding of Juliet
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Metafora nam daje mnogo životniju sliku Julije
02:28
than if Shakespeare had literally described what she looks like.
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nego da ju je Shakespeare direktno opisao.
02:33
So, how do we make and understand metaphors?
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Dakle, kako stvaramo i razumijemo metafore?
02:35
This might look familiar.
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Ovo može zvučati poznato.
02:37
The first step is pattern recognition.
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Prvi je korak prepoznavanje uzoraka.
02:39
Look at this image. What do you see?
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Pogledajte ovu sliku. Što vidite?
02:42
Three wayward Pac-Men,
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Zapravo se radi o tri ćudljiva Pacmana
02:44
and three pointy brackets are actually present.
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i tri izlomljene zagrade.
02:47
What we see, however,
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Ono što mi vidimo, međutim,
02:49
are two overlapping triangles.
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dva su preklapajuća trokuta.
02:51
Metaphor is not just the detection of patterns;
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Metafora nije samo zapažanje uzoraka;
02:54
it is the creation of patterns.
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ona je stvaranje uzoraka.
02:56
Second step, conceptual synesthesia.
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Sljedeći je korak konceptualna sinestezija.
02:59
Now, synesthesia is the experience of a stimulus in once sense organ
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Sinestezija je doživljaj podražaja u dva osjetila
03:04
in another sense organ as well,
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istovremeno,
03:06
such as colored hearing.
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kao slušanje boja.
03:08
People with colored hearing
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Ljudi koji slušaju boje
03:10
actually see colors when they hear the sounds
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zapravo vide boje kada čuju zvuk
03:13
of words or letters.
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riječi ili slova.
03:15
We all have synesthetic abilities.
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Svi posjedujemo sinestezijske sposobnosti.
03:17
This is the Bouba/Kiki test.
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Ovo je Bouba/Kiki test.
03:20
What you have to do is identify which of these shapes
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Ono što morate napraviti jest razlikovati koji se od ovih oblika
03:22
is called Bouba, and which is called Kiki.
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zove Bouba, a koji Kiki.
03:26
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
03:27
If you are like 98 percent of other people,
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Ako ste slični 98 posto drugih ljudi,
03:29
you will identify the round, amoeboid shape as Bouba,
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identificirat ćete okrugli, ameboidni oblik kao Boubu,
03:33
and the sharp, spiky one as Kiki.
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a oštri, šiljasti kao Kiki.
03:36
Can we do a quick show of hands?
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Možete li podignuti ruke?
03:38
Does that correspond?
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Da li to odgovara?
03:40
Okay, I think 99.9 would about cover it.
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Ok, mislim da je to 99.9 posto.
03:44
Why do we do that?
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Zašto to činimo?
03:46
Because we instinctively find, or create,
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Zato što instinktivno pronalazimo, ili stvaramo
03:50
a pattern between the round shape
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uzorak između okruglog oblika
03:52
and the round sound of Bouba,
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i okruglastog zvuka Boube,
03:55
and the spiky shape and the spiky sound of Kiki.
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i šiljastog oblika i šiljatog zvuka Kikija.
04:00
And many of the metaphors we use everyday are synesthetic.
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Mnoge svakodnevne metafore su sinestezijske.
04:04
Silence is sweet.
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Tišina je slatka.
04:06
Neckties are loud.
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Kravate su kričave.
04:08
Sexually attractive people are hot.
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Seksualno privlačni ljudi nas uzbuđuju.
04:11
Sexually unattractive people leave us cold.
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Seksualno neprivlačni nas ostavljaju hladnima.
04:14
Metaphor creates a kind of conceptual synesthesia,
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Metafora stvara neku vrstu konceptualne sinestezije,
04:17
in which we understand one concept
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u kojoj razumijemo jedan koncept
04:19
in the context of another.
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u kontekstu drugog.
04:22
Third step is cognitive dissonance.
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Treći je korak kognitivna disonanca.
04:24
This is the Stroop test.
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Ovo je Stroopov test.
04:26
What you need to do here is identify
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Ono što morate učiniti jest prepoznati
04:28
as quickly as possible
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što je brže moguće
04:30
the color of the ink in which these words are printed.
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boju tinte kojom su ove riječi tiskane.
04:33
You can take the test now.
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Sada možete početi test.
04:37
If you're like most people, you will experience
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Ako ste poput većine ljudi, iskusit ćete
04:39
a moment of cognitive dissonance
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trenutak kognitivne disonance
04:41
when the name of the color
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ako je ime boje tiskano
04:44
is printed in a differently colored ink.
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tintom druge boje.
04:46
The test shows that we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words
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Test pokazuje da ne možemo ignorirati doslovno značenje riječi
04:49
even when the literal meaning gives the wrong answer.
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čak i kad ono pruža krivi odgovor.
04:52
Stroop tests have been done with metaphor as well.
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Stroopovi testovi primijenjeni su i na metaforu.
04:54
The participants had to identify, as quickly as possible,
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Sudionici su morali što je brže moguće identificirati
04:58
the literally false sentences.
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doslovno netočne rečenice.
05:00
They took longer to reject metaphors as false
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Trebalo im je duže da odbiju metafore kao netočne
05:03
than they did to reject literally false sentences.
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nego da odbiju doslovno netočne rečenice.
05:06
Why? Because we cannot ignore
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Zašto? Zato što ne možemo ignorirati
05:09
the metaphorical meaning of words either.
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ni metaforičko značenje riječi.
05:12
One of the sentences was, "Some jobs are jails."
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Jedna od rečenica glasila je: „Neki su poslovi zatvori.“
05:15
Now, unless you're a prison guard,
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Sad, osim ako niste zatvorski čuvar,
05:18
the sentence "Some jobs are jails" is literally false.
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rečenica je doslovno netočna.
05:21
Sadly, it's metaphorically true.
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Nažalost, metaforički ovo je točno.
05:24
And the metaphorical truth interferes with our ability
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A metaforička istina sprječava da ovu rečenicu shvatite
05:27
to identify it as literally false.
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kao doslovno netočnu.
05:29
Metaphor matters because
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Metafora je bitna jer je
05:31
it's around us every day, all the time.
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oko nas svaki dan, cijelo vrijeme.
05:34
Metaphor matters because it creates expectations.
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Metafora je bitna jer stvara očekivanje.
05:37
Pay careful attention the next time you read the financial news.
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Obratite posebnu pažnju kad slijedeći put čitate financijske vijesti.
05:41
Agent metaphors describe price movements
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Agentne metafore opisuju kretanja cijena
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as the deliberate action of a living thing,
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kao namjerne činove živih bića,
05:45
as in, "The NASDAQ climbed higher."
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kao npr. „NASDAQ je otišao gore.“
05:49
Object metaphors describe price movements
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Objektne metafore opisuju kretanja cijena
05:52
as non-living things,
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kao neživa bića,
05:54
as in, "The Dow fell like a brick."
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npr. „Dow je pao poput cigle.“
05:57
Researchers asked a group of people
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Istraživači su zamolili grupu ljudi
05:59
to read a clutch of market commentaries,
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da pročitaju šačicu marketinških komentara
06:01
and then predict the next day's price trend.
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i onda predvide sutrašnji trend cijena.
06:04
Those exposed to agent metaphors
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Oni izloženi agentnim metaforama
06:06
had higher expectations that price trends would continue.
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češće su očekivali da će se trend cijena nastaviti.
06:09
And they had those expectations because
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A to su očekivali zato što
06:11
agent metaphors imply the deliberate action
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agentne metafore impliciraju namjerne činove
06:14
of a living thing pursuing a goal.
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živih bića usmjerene nekom cilju.
06:17
If, for example, house prices
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Ako se, primjerice, cijene
06:19
are routinely described as climbing and climbing,
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rutinski opisuju kao neprestano
06:22
higher and higher, people might naturally assume
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rastuće, ljudi bi prirodno mogli pretpostaviti
06:24
that that rise is unstoppable.
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da je taj rast nezaustavljiv.
06:26
They may feel confident, say,
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Mogli bi se osjećati uvjereni, recimo,
06:28
in taking out mortgages they really can't afford.
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u podizanje hipoteka koje si ne mogu priuštiti.
06:31
That's a hypothetical example of course.
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Ovo je hipotetski primjer, naravno.
06:34
But this is how metaphor misleads.
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Ali ovako metafora obmanjuje.
06:38
Metaphor also matters because it influences decisions
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Metafora je također bitna jer utječe na odluke
06:41
by activating analogies.
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aktiviranjem analogija.
06:44
A group of students was told that a small democratic country
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Grupi studenata rečeno je da je mala demokratska država
06:46
had been invaded and had asked the U.S. for help.
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napadnuta i da je tražila pomoć od SAD-a.
06:49
And they had to make a decision.
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Oni su morali odlučiti.
06:51
What should they do?
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Što će učiniti?
06:53
Intervene, appeal to the U.N., or do nothing?
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Intervenirati, žaliti se UN-u, ili ne činiti ništa?
06:56
They were each then given one of three
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Svakome je od njih dan jedan od tri
06:58
descriptions of this hypothetical crisis.
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opisa ove hipotetske krize.
07:00
Each of which was designed to trigger
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Svaka od njih bila je osmišljena da izazove
07:03
a different historical analogy:
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drukčiju povijesnu analogiju:
07:05
World War II, Vietnam,
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II. svjetski rat, Vijetnam,
07:07
and the third was historically neutral.
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dok je treća bila povijesno neutralna.
07:10
Those exposed to the World War II scenario
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Oni izloženi scenariju II.svjetskog rata
07:12
made more interventionist recommendations
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preporučali su intervenciju
07:14
than the others.
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više od drugih.
07:16
Just as we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words,
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Kao što ne možemo zanemariti doslovno značenje riječi,
07:19
we cannot ignore the analogies
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ne možemo ignorirati ni analogije
07:21
that are triggered by metaphor.
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izazvane metaforom.
07:25
Metaphor matters because it opens the door to discovery.
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Metafora je bitna jer otvara vrata otkriću.
07:28
Whenever we solve a problem, or make a discovery,
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Kad god riješimo problem, ili otkrijemo nešto novo,
07:31
we compare what we know with what we don't know.
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uspoređujemo ono što znamo s onim što ne znamo.
07:34
And the only way to find out about the latter
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A jedini način da otkrijemo nešto o zadnjem
07:36
is to investigate the ways it might be like the former.
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jest da istražimo na koji je način ono poput prvog.
07:40
Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play.
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Einstein je opisao vlastitu znanstvenu metodu kao igru kombinatorike.
07:44
He famously used thought experiments,
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Poslovično se koristio eksperimentima s mislima,
07:46
which are essentially elaborate analogies,
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koji su zapravo bili razvijene analogije,
07:49
to come up with some of his greatest discoveries.
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kako bi došao do nekih od svojih najvećih otkrića.
07:52
By bringing together what we know
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Spajajući ono što znamo
07:54
and what we don't know through analogy,
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s onim što ne znamo kroz analogije,
07:56
metaphorical thinking strikes the spark
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metaforičko razmišljanje stvara iskru
07:58
that ignites discovery.
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koja će dovesti do otkrića.
08:02
Now metaphor is ubiquitous, yet it's hidden.
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Metafora je općeprisutna pa ipak je prikrivena.
08:06
But you just have to look at the words around you
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Ali trebate samo pogledati riječi koje vas okružuju
08:09
and you'll find it.
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i naći ćete je.
08:11
Ralph Waldo Emerson described language
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R. W. Emerson opisao je jezik
08:13
as "fossil poetry."
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kao „fosiliziranu poeziju.“
08:15
But before it was fossil poetry
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Ali prije nego je bio fosilizirana poezija,
08:17
language was fossil metaphor.
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jezik je bio fosilizirana metafora.
08:20
And these fossils still breathe.
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A ti fosili još dišu.
08:23
Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy:
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Uzmite tri najpoznatije riječi u čitavoj zapadnjačkoj filozofiji:
08:28
"Cogito ergo sum."
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„Cogito ergo sum.“
08:30
That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am."
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Uobičajeno se prevodi kao „Mislim dakle jesam.“
08:34
But there is a better translation.
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Ali postoji bolji prijevod.
08:36
The Latin word "cogito"
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Latinska riječ „cogito“
08:38
is derived from the prefix "co," meaning "together,"
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izvodi se iz prefiksa „co“, „zajedno“,
08:41
and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake."
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i glagola „agitare“, „tresti“.
08:44
So, the original meaning of "cogito"
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Dakle, originalno značenje „cogito“
08:47
is to shake together.
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je „tresti zajedno“.
08:49
And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum"
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A točan prijevod „cogito ergo sum“
08:52
is "I shake things up, therefore I am."
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je „Protresam stvari, dakle jesam“.
08:56
(Laughter)
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(Smijeh)
08:58
Metaphor shakes things up,
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Metafora protresa stvari pritom
09:00
giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process.
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nam dajući sve od Shakespearea do znanstvenih otkrića.
09:05
The mind is a plastic snow dome,
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Um je plastična snježna kupola,
09:08
the most beautiful, most interesting,
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najljepša, najzanimljivija,
09:10
and most itself, when, as Elvis put it,
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i najviše svoja, kad je, prema Elvisu,
09:13
it's all shook up.
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sva protresena.
09:15
And metaphor keeps the mind shaking,
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A metafora čini da se um trese,
09:17
rattling and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building.
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klepeće i kotrlja, dugo nakon što je Elvis napustio zgradu.
09:20
Thank you very much.
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Hvala vam puno.
09:22
(Applause)
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(Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
James Geary - AphoristLost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it.
Why you should listen
One of a handful of the world's professional aphorists, James Geary has successfully fused early creative endeavors in performance art, poetry and juggling with his childhood fascination with the "Quotable Quotes" column in Reader's Digest. His books Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists and the bestselling The World in a Phrase are invaluable journeys through the often-ignored art of the witty (and memorably brief) summation.
His next book is about the secret life of metaphors, and how metaphorical thinking drives invention and creativity. Geary is a former writer for Time Europe and is now an editor for Ode magazine, a print and online publication devoted to optimism and positive news.
James Geary | Speaker | TED.com