TED2012
Terry Moore: Why is 'x' the unknown?
Terry Moore: 为什么 'x' 代表未知数?
Filmed:
Readability: 5.1
3,872,013 views
为什么 'x' 是未知数的符号？在这个短而有趣的演讲里，Terry Moore 带给我们一个吃惊的答案。
Terry Moore - Thinker
Terry Moore is the director of the Radius Foundation, a forum for exploring and gaining insight from different worldviews. Full bio
Terry Moore is the director of the Radius Foundation, a forum for exploring and gaining insight from different worldviews. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
I have the answer to a question that we've all asked.
0
611
3601
我来回答一个大家都问过的问题。
00:20
The question is,
1
4212
1117
这个问题是，
00:21
Why is it that the letter X
2
5329
2284
为什么字母“X”
00:23
represents the unknown?
3
7613
1998
代表着未知数？
00:25
Now I know we learned that in math class,
4
9611
2967
我知道这在数学课学过，
00:28
but now it's everywhere in the culture --
5
12578
1751
现在它在日常文化里也随处可见
00:30
The X prize, the X-Files,
6
14329
2801
X奖，X档案，
00:33
Project X, TEDx.
7
17130
3923
Projet X，TEDx。
00:36
Where'd that come from?
8
21053
1995
这些都是从哪里来的？
00:38
About six years ago
9
23048
1218
大约六年前，
00:40
I decided that I would learn Arabic,
10
24266
2716
我决定学习阿拉伯语，
00:42
which turns out to be a supremely logical language.
11
26982
3952
这是一个非常有逻辑性的语言。
00:46
To write a word or a phrase
12
30934
2317
每用阿拉伯语写一个词
00:49
or a sentence in Arabic
13
33251
1681
或一个句子，
00:50
is like crafting an equation,
14
34932
2233
就如编解一道方程，
00:53
because every part is extremely precise
15
37165
2366
因为它的每一部分都非常精确
00:55
and carries a lot of information.
16
39531
2852
还伴随着很多信息。
00:58
That's one of the reasons
17
42383
1350
这是为什么
00:59
so much of what we've come to think of
18
43733
1515
大多数的我们认为
01:01
as Western science and mathematics and engineering
19
45248
3819
西方的科学、数学和技术
01:04
was really worked out in the first few centuries of the Common Era
20
49067
3322
都是在公元最初的世纪
01:08
by the Persians and the Arabs and the Turks.
21
52389
3316
被波斯人、阿拉伯人和土耳其人所发明的原因之一。
01:11
This includes the little system in Arabic
22
55705
2317
这其中包括一个在阿拉伯语中称为
01:13
called al-jebra.
23
58022
1716
“al-jabr”的系统。
01:15
And al-jebr roughly translates to
24
59738
3168
而“al-jabr”大致的意思是
01:18
"the system for reconciling disparate parts."
25
62906
3699
“一套将无关‘代’化成相关的体系”。
01:22
Al-jebr finally came into English as algebra.
26
66605
4050
后来“Al-jabr”变成了英文中的代数。
01:26
One example among many.
27
70655
2167
这是众多（关于阿拉伯语的）例子之一。
01:28
The Arabic texts containing this mathematical wisdom
28
72822
3966
最终，带有数学智慧的阿拉伯文学
01:32
finally made their way to Europe --
29
76788
1783
传播到了欧洲，
01:34
which is to say Spain --
30
78571
1286
确切的来说，也就是说西班牙--
01:35
in the 11th and 12th centuries.
31
79857
2465
在11和12世纪。
01:38
And when they arrived
32
82322
1150
而它们的到来
01:39
there was tremendous interest
33
83472
1883
在当时社会，人们有着浓厚的兴趣
01:41
in translating this wisdom
34
85355
1734
想要把这个智慧
01:42
into a European language.
35
87089
1649
翻译成为欧洲的语言。
01:44
But there were problems.
36
88738
2018
但是问题也随着出现了。
01:46
One problem
37
90756
1717
其中一个问题说的是
01:48
is there are some sounds in Arabic
38
92473
2633
阿拉伯语中存在一些发音
01:51
that just don't make it through a European voice box
39
95106
2999
是欧洲人无论如何也无法发出的
01:54
without lots of practice.
40
98105
2267
如果没有经过大量的练习。
01:56
Trust me on that one.
41
100372
1734
这点您可相信我
01:58
Also, those very sounds
42
102106
2217
此外，这些发音
02:00
tend not to be represented
43
104323
1914
往往不能被
02:02
by the characters that are available in European languages.
44
106237
3588
欧洲语言中已有的字母来表示。
02:05
Here's one of the culprits.
45
109825
1814
有这么一个例子，
02:07
This is the letter SHeen,
46
111639
1884
这是字母“SHeen”，
02:09
and it makes the sound we think of as SH -- "sh."
47
113523
3599
它对应我们英文中SH的发音－“sh”。
02:13
It's also the very first letter
48
117122
2602
它也是
02:15
of the word shalan,
49
119724
2432
“shalan”这个词的首字母，
02:18
which means "something"
50
122156
1794
意思是 “某物”。
02:19
just like the the English word "something" --
51
123950
1848
就跟英语中的“某物 (something)”一个意思，
02:21
some undefined, unknown thing.
52
125798
3286
代表某些未定义或未知的东西。
02:24
Now in Arabic,
53
129084
1165
而在阿拉伯语中，
02:26
we can make this definite
54
130249
1201
它可以变得有意义
02:27
by adding the definite article "al."
55
131450
2148
当我们写上定冠词 “al”之后
02:29
So this is al-shalan --
56
133598
2602
这是 al-shalan,
02:32
the unknown thing.
57
136200
1650
代表着“未知的东西”。
02:33
And this is a word that appears throughout early mathematics,
58
137850
3303
而这个单词的行踪贯穿于早期数学，
02:37
such as this 10th century derivation of proofs.
59
141153
7200
比如在这个10世纪的证明题里。
02:44
The problem for the Medieval Spanish scholars
60
148353
2510
当时负责翻译这些材料的
02:46
who were tasked with translating this material
61
150863
2568
中世纪西班牙学者遇到了难题
02:49
is that the letter SHeen and the word shalan
62
153431
4482
这个“SHee”字母和“shalan” 一词
02:53
can't be rendered into Spanish
63
157913
1950
无法用西班牙语表达
02:55
because Spanish doesn't have that SH,
64
159863
2586
因为西班牙语中没有“SH”的
02:58
that "sh" sound.
65
162449
1297
“sh”发音。
02:59
So by convention,
66
163746
1582
所以依照惯例，
03:01
they created a rule in which
67
165328
1666
他们创建了一个规则，
03:02
they borrowed the CK sound, "ck" sound,
68
166994
4218
他们借用“CK”的发音－“ck”，
03:07
from the classical Greek
69
171212
1748
这来自于古希腊语中的
03:08
in the form of the letter Kai.
70
172960
2681
字母“X (Kai)”。
03:11
Later when this material was translated
71
175641
2719
后来，当这篇文章被翻译成为
03:14
into a common European language,
72
178360
2348
一个欧洲的通用语言，
03:16
which is to say Latin,
73
180708
2050
也就是拉丁语，
03:18
they simply replaced the Greek Kai
74
182758
2033
他们简单的把希腊语中的“X (Kai)”
03:20
with the Latin X.
75
184791
2350
用拉丁语中的“X”代替。
03:23
And once that happened,
76
187141
1269
一旦这实现了，
03:24
once this material was in Latin,
77
188410
2465
一旦翻译成了拉丁语，
03:26
it formed the basis for mathematics textbooks
78
190875
3583
它就为数学教科书打下了基础
03:30
for almost 600 years.
79
194458
2083
从此至今已将近600年。
03:32
But now we have the answer to our question.
80
196541
2018
我们现在有了一开始问题的答案。
03:34
Why is it that X is the unknown?
81
198559
2781
为什么是“X”代表着未知数？
03:37
X is the unknown
82
201340
1823
“X”是未知数
03:39
because you can't say "sh" in Spanish.
83
203163
3782
因为你无法在西班牙语中发"sh"这个音。
03:42
(Laughter)
84
206945
2384
（笑）
03:45
And I thought that was worth sharing.
85
209329
2317
我认为这值得共享。
03:47
(Applause)
86
211646
3117
（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Terry Moore - ThinkerTerry Moore is the director of the Radius Foundation, a forum for exploring and gaining insight from different worldviews.
Why you should listen
Terry Moore directs the Radius Foundation in New York, which, as its website says, "seeks new ways of exploring and understanding dissimilar conceptual systems or paradigms -- scientific, religious, philosophical, and aesthetic -- with the aim to find a world view of more complete insight and innovation. The Radius Foundation is a forum for different views."
The foundation has published several works that examine the intersection of religion and metaphysics with science and social action.
Terry Moore | Speaker | TED.com