TEDSalon London Fall 2012
Ben Saunders: Why bother leaving the house?
本·桑德斯(Ben Saunders)： 干嘛那么麻烦要离开家么
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探险家本·桑德斯希望你们踏出家门，看看外面的世界！并不是因为外面的世界总是充满了快乐开心，是因为那里才是生命的真谛所在，“在那里我们汲取日常生活的真露。”桑德斯下一次的户外探险是什么？他想成为世界上第一个徒步往返南极洲海岸和南极点的人。
Ben Saunders - Polar explorer
In 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot. Full bio
In 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
I essentially drag sledges for a living,
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基本可以说 我是靠拉雪橇来谋生的
00:18
so it doesn't take an awful lot to flummox me intellectually,
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所以 拼智力的话真的不用花很大力气就能赢我
00:21
but I'm going to read this question
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不过 我还是会读一下这个问题
00:22
from an interview earlier this year:
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这是今年早些时候一个采访中的问题：
00:25
"Philosophically, does the constant supply of information
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"从哲学的角度来说 源源不断的资讯
00:28
steal our ability to imagine
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是否偷走了我们想象的能力
00:31
or replace our dreams of achieving?
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或是取代了我们的成功梦？
00:34
After all, if it is being done somewhere by someone,
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毕竟 如果某人在某地不论做什么事情
00:37
and we can participate virtually,
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我们都能感同身受地参与的话
00:39
then why bother leaving the house?"
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那么干嘛还要那么麻烦离开家呢?"
00:42
I'm usually introduced as a polar explorer.
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人们通常介绍我是一名极地探险家。
00:45
I'm not sure that's the most progressive or 21st-century
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我不确定极地探险家是否是21世纪最激进的一个职位
00:47
of job titles, but I've spent more than two percent now
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但是我一生中有超过2%的时间
00:52
of my entire life living in a tent inside the Arctic Circle,
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都是在北极圈内的一个帐篷里度过的
00:56
so I get out of the house a fair bit.
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所以可以说 我离家颇久。
00:59
And in my nature, I guess, I am a doer of things
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我想我的个性是属于实干派
01:03
more than I am a spectator or a contemplator of things,
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我不能算是旁观者或沉思者一类的
01:07
and it's that dichotomy, the gulf between ideas and action
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我想简单和大家探讨一下的正是这种分歧
01:12
that I'm going to try and explore briefly.
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这种想法和行动之间不可逾越的鸿沟。
01:15
The pithiest answer to the question "why?"
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过去的12年间 我一直不停在思考"为什么"
01:18
that's been dogging me for the last 12 years
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而最好的答案
01:20
was credited certainly to this chap, the rakish-looking gentleman
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应当归功于站在后排从左往右数第二位
01:23
standing at the back, second from the left,
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看上去一脸轻松的这位先生
01:25
George Lee Mallory. Many of you will know his name.
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他就是乔治·李·马洛里 你们当中有很多应该知道他的名字
01:28
In 1924 he was last seen disappearing into the clouds
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1924年，他消失在
01:32
near the summit of Mt. Everest.
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珠穆朗玛峰峰顶一片云雾中，从此踪迹全无。
01:34
He may or may not have been the first person to climb Everest,
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不知道他是不是第一位攀登珠穆朗玛峰的人
01:37
more than 30 years before Edmund Hillary.
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比埃德蒙·希拉里早30多年。
01:39
No one knows if he got to the top. It's still a mystery.
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没有人知道他是否到达山顶 这仍旧是个迷
01:42
But he was credited with coining the phrase, "Because it's there."
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他人们总是把他和这句话联系在一起"因为它就在那儿"("Because it's there.")
01:45
Now I'm not actually sure that he did say that.
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现在我并不确定他是否说过这句话
01:47
There's very little evidence to suggest it, but what he did say
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并没有确凿的证据可以证明，但事实上
01:50
is actually far nicer,
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他却说过更棒的话
01:52
and again, I've printed this. I'm going to read it out.
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一样 我也打印出来了 念给大家听
01:55
"The first question which you will ask
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"你们必然会问的 也是我必须回答的
01:57
and which I must try to answer is this:
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第一问题是：
02:00
What is the use of climbing Mt. Everest?
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攀登珠穆朗玛峰有什么用呢？
02:03
And my answer must at once be, it is no use.
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而我的答案毫无疑问一定是 毫无用处。
02:06
There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever.
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爬珠穆朗玛峰不会带来哪怕是一丁点儿的好处
02:10
Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior
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恩 我们可以了解一下
02:12
of the human body at high altitudes,
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人体在高海拔地区会有哪些反应
02:14
and possibly medical men may turn our observation
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或许医学人士可以
02:16
to some account for the purposes of aviation,
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用我们的观察结果做一些航空学上有价值的解释
02:19
but otherwise nothing will come of it.
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但在别的方面不会有任何收获
02:22
We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver,
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我们不会带着任何一点金银宝石或煤铁回来。
02:24
and not a gem, nor any coal or iron.
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我们不会带着任何一点金银宝石或煤铁回来。
02:27
We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted
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我们找不到一寸土地
02:29
with crops to raise food. So it is no use.
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可种庄稼收获食物 所以真是一无是处。
02:34
If you cannot understand that there is something in man
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如果你无法理解 人就是有一种情结
02:35
which responds to the challenge of this mountain
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要迎接山的挑战
02:38
and goes out to meet it, that the struggle
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要走出去和它相见 这种斗争
02:41
is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward,
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是人生永远的斗争 向上 永远向上
02:46
then you won't see why we go.
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那么你永远都不明白我们为什么登山。
02:49
What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy,
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我们探险旅程给予我们的是纯粹的快乐
02:52
and joy, after all, is the end of life.
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而快乐 毕竟才是生命的终极。
02:55
We don't live to eat and make money.
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我们活着不是为了吃饭挣钱。
02:57
We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life.
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我们吃饭挣钱是为了能够享受生活。
03:00
That is what life means, and that is what life is for."
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这才是生命的意义 这才是生活的目的。"
03:05
Mallory's argument that leaving the house,
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马洛里坚持离开家踏上精彩的历险旅途
03:08
embarking on these grand adventures is joyful and fun,
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会多么快乐有趣
03:10
however, doesn't tally that neatly with my own experience.
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然而 这和我的经历并非完全一致
03:14
The furthest I've ever got away from my front door
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2004年的春天
03:18
was in the spring of 2004. I still don't know exactly
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我第一次离开家去了生平最远的地方
03:21
what came over me, but my plan was to make
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我仍旧不知道自己哪儿来的主意
03:23
a solo and unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean.
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不过我的计划是单枪匹马穿越北冰洋
03:28
I planned essentially to walk from the north coast of Russia
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我的计划是从俄罗斯北岸出发 向北极前进
03:30
to the North Pole, and then to carry on to the north coast of Canada.
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然后继续向加拿大北岸前进
03:34
No one had ever done this. I was 26 at the time.
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此举前所未有 而当时我仅26岁。
03:36
A lot of experts were saying it was impossible,
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当时很多专家都说这是不可能的
03:39
and my mum certainly wasn't very keen on the idea.
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当然，我妈妈肯定不太喜欢这个主意。
03:42
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
03:44
The journey from a small weather station on the north coast
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从西伯利亚北部的一个气象站开始
03:47
of Siberia up to my final starting point,
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到我最终的起点
03:49
the edge of the pack ice, the coast of the Arctic Ocean,
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北冰洋海岸上一块漂浮冰块的边沿
03:52
took about five hours, and if anyone watched fearless
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这一段小小旅程就花了整整五个小时
03:55
Felix Baumgartner going up, rather than just coming down,
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如果任何人看过菲利克斯·鲍姆加特纳（从“太空”往地球跳
）升上太空
）升上太空
03:59
you'll appreciate the sense of apprehension,
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而不仅仅是他纵身一跳 那么就一定会有同感
04:01
as I sat in a helicopter thundering north,
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正如我坐在一架轰鸣在北方高空的直升机上
04:05
and the sense, I think if anything, of impending doom.
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那种感觉 我想一定就是末日临头的感觉
04:07
I sat there wondering what on Earth I had gotten myself into.
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我坐在那儿 禁不住想究竟给自己惹了什么麻烦事儿。
04:11
There was a bit of fun, a bit of joy.
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有一点点有趣 有一点点快乐。
04:13
I was 26. I remember sitting there
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那时我26岁。我记得坐在那里
04:15
looking down at my sledge. I had my skis ready to go,
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俯视着我的雪橇。我的滑雪板已经准备就绪
04:18
I had a satellite phone, a pump-action shotgun
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我有一台卫星电话 一把连发猎步枪
04:20
in case I was attacked by a polar bear.
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以防万一被北极熊袭击。
04:22
I remember looking out of the window and seeing the second helicopter.
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我还记得望出窗外 看着第二架的直升机
04:24
We were both thundering through this incredible Siberian dawn,
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在西伯利亚无比美丽的破晓前 我们一同在空中轰鸣
04:28
and part of me felt a bit like a cross between Jason Bourne
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一部分的我感觉像是杰森·伯恩和威弗瑞·塞西格的合体
04:30
and Wilfred Thesiger. Part of me
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还有一部分的我对自己感到非常自豪
04:33
felt quite proud of myself, but mostly I was just utterly terrified.
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但最多的感觉还是彻彻底底的恐惧
04:40
And that journey lasted 10 weeks, 72 days.
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这一旅程整整持续了10周，72天
04:42
I didn't see anyone else. We took this photo next to the helicopter.
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一路上我没遇到任何人 我们在直升机旁边一起留了影
04:44
Beyond that, I didn't see anyone for 10 weeks.
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除此之外 整整10周 我没看到任何人
04:47
The North Pole is slap bang in the middle of the sea,
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北极恰好位于大海中央
04:49
so I'm traveling over the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean.
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所以我的旅程穿越了北冰洋上冰冻的表面
04:52
NASA described conditions that year as the worst since records began.
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美国宇航局称当时的情况是有史以来最恶劣的。
04:56
I was dragging 180 kilos of food and fuel and supplies,
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我拖着180公斤的食物和400磅的燃料供给
05:00
about 400 pounds. The average temperature for the 10 weeks
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整整10周里 平均温度是零下35度
05:02
was minus 35. Minus 50 was the coldest.
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最冷的时候有零下50度
05:05
So again, there wasn't an awful lot of joy or fun to be had.
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所以 再说一遍 真的没什么值得开心高兴的事儿
05:12
One of the magical things about this journey, however,
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然而 这段旅程最神奇的事情之一是
05:14
is that because I'm walking over the sea,
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因为我在穿越海洋
05:16
over this floating, drifting, shifting crust of ice
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穿越北冰洋上
05:20
that's floating on top of the Arctic Ocean is
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随波逐流的硬邦邦的冰块
05:22
it's an environment that's in a constant state of flux.
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那是一个流动的世界
05:24
The ice is always moving, breaking up, drifting around,
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冰块不停地移动 破裂 漂流 又重新结冻
05:27
refreezing, so the scenery that I saw for nearly 3 months
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因此 在那三个月里所见到的景象
05:30
was unique to me. No one else will ever, could ever,
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对于我来说是独一无二 任何人都将不可能目睹那种景象
05:33
possibly see the views, the vistas, that I saw for 10 weeks.
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任何人都不可能见到我在那十周的日子里看到的景象
05:38
And that, I guess, is probably the finest argument for leaving the house.
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我想也许这就是为什么要离开家最好的理由
05:42
I can try to tell you what it was like,
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我可以尽量为大家形容那番景象
05:46
but you'll never know what it was like,
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但你们永远都不可能真正知道
05:48
and the more I try to explain that I felt lonely,
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我越是想说明 就越觉得孤单
05:51
I was the only human being in 5.4 million square-miles,
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在方圆5百40万平方英里内 我是唯一一个人类
05:55
it was cold, nearly minus 75 with windchill on a bad day,
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天气很冷 寒风凛凛的日子 有将近零下75度
05:59
the more words fall short, and I'm unable to do it justice.
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言语越发显得贫乏 而我无法准确地形容
06:03
And it seems to me, therefore, that the doing,
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因此 对于我来说
06:07
you know, to try to experience, to engage, to endeavor,
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你们知道 比起旁观想象
06:12
rather than to watch and to wonder, that's where
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行动起来 努力体验 参与尝试
06:18
the real meat of life is to be found,
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才能发现生命的真谛
06:20
the juice that we can suck out of our hours and days.
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才能从日常生活中获取动力之源
06:24
And I would add a cautionary note here, however.
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然而 在这里我想提出一个警告
06:26
In my experience, there is something addictive
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根据我的个人经验 人们对于在极限状态下
06:29
about tasting life at the very edge of what's humanly possible.
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品味人生总会有些上瘾
06:33
Now I don't just mean in the field of
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我所指的不仅仅是爱德华七世时期
06:35
daft macho Edwardian style derring-do,
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盛行的愚蠢大男子主义一类的大胆行径
06:38
but also in the fields of pancreatic cancer,
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还有像罹患胰腺癌什么的
06:40
there is something addictive about this, and in my case,
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又有些什么让人欲罢不能 而我的情况是
06:42
I think polar expeditions are perhaps not that far removed
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我认为或许极地探险
06:44
from having a crack habit.
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与一般人的毒瘾没有很大区别。
06:46
I can't explain quite how good it is until you've tried it,
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除非你们亲身体验过 否则我无法解释清楚那感觉有多好
06:49
but it has the capacity to burn up all the money I can get my hands on,
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它能够让我心甘情愿花光手上每一分钱
06:53
to ruin every relationship I've ever had,
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抛弃一切友情爱恋
06:57
so be careful what you wish for.
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所以 一定要慎重
07:01
Mallory postulated that there is something in man
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马洛里假定人类会本能地
07:03
that responds to the challenge of the mountain,
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回应高山的挑战
07:06
and I wonder if that's the case whether there's something
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而我想是否是挑战本身
07:08
in the challenge itself, in the endeavor, and particularly
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是努力的过程 特别是人类所面临的
07:11
in the big, unfinished, chunky challenges that face humanity
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巨大的 未竟的 确确实实的挑战在呼唤我们
07:14
that call out to us, and in my experience that's certainly the case.
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以我的经验来说 正是如此。
07:19
There is one unfinished challenge
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在我成年后的大多数岁月里
07:20
that's been calling out to me for most of my adult life.
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一个未竟的挑战一直在召唤我
07:24
Many of you will know the story.
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你们当中有很多人会知道这个故事
07:25
This is a photo of Captain Scott and his team.
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这是斯考特队长和他的团队的一张照片
07:28
Scott set out just over a hundred years ago to try
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斯考特在100多年前出发
07:30
to become the first person to reach the South Pole.
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试图成为第一位到达南极的人类
07:33
No one knew what was there. It was utterly unmapped
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人们对那里一无所知 从未有人他上过那片土地
07:35
at the time. We knew more about the surface of the moon
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我们对南极洲了解甚少
07:37
than we did about the heart of Antarctica.
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甚至不如我们对月球表面的了解。
07:39
Scott, as many of you will know, was beaten to it
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如你们所知 斯考特失败了
07:42
by Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team,
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败给了利用狗拉雪橇的罗尔德·亚孟森和他的挪威团队
07:45
who used dogs and dogsleds. Scott's team were on foot,
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斯考特和队员们靠双脚徒步前进
07:47
all five of them wearing harnesses and dragging around sledges,
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他们五个人背着吊带拖着雪橇徒步前进
07:49
and they arrived at the pole to find the Norwegian flag already there,
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而当他们到达南极时 却发现挪威旗帜早已捷足先登
07:54
I'd imagine pretty bitter and demoralized.
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我能够想象那是多么痛苦 令人沮丧
07:57
All five of them turned and started walking back to the coast
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五名队员一起掉头 向海岸前行
07:59
and all five died on that return journey.
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五个人都死在了回程的路上
08:03
There is a sort of misconception nowadays that
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今天人们有一种误解
08:05
it's all been done in the fields of exploration and adventure.
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认为探险已经没有什么新奇的
08:09
When I talk about Antarctica, people often say,
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当我谈起南极洲的时候 人们经常会说
08:10
"Hasn't, you know, that's interesting,
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“你知道么 真是有意思啊
08:11
hasn't that Blue Peter presenter just done it on a bike?"
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《兰彼得》的（英国儿童节目）主持人不是刚骑车去过南极洲么”
08:15
Or, "That's nice. You know, my grandmother's going
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又或是 “真棒啊 你知道我祖母打算
08:18
on a cruise to Antarctica next year. You know.
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明年乘游轮去南极洲 你说
08:21
Is there a chance you'll see her there?"
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你们有可能在那儿碰面么？”
08:24
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
08:25
But Scott's journey remains unfinished.
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但是斯考特的旅程并未完成
08:29
No one has ever walked from the very coast of Antarctica
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还没有人成功地徒步往返
08:31
to the South Pole and back again.
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南极洲最边际的海岸线和南极之间
08:33
It is, arguably, the most audacious endeavor
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可以说 这是探险的黄金年代 - 爱德华时代
08:36
of that Edwardian golden age of exploration,
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最大胆的一次尝试
08:38
and it seemed to me high time, given everything
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在我看来 正是时候 想想看这个世纪
08:41
we have figured out in the century since
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我们上个世界解决那些问题 从坏血病到太阳能板
08:43
from scurvy to solar panels, that it was high time
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因此如果有人想尝试完成某项任务
08:46
someone had a go at finishing the job.
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这正是最好的时候。
08:48
So that's precisely what I'm setting out to do.
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所以 这正是我准备做的事情。
08:51
This time next year, in October, I'm leading a team of three.
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明年这个时候 10月份 我将带领一个三人团队
08:53
It will take us about four months to make this return journey.
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我们将要花费4个月左右走完往返的路程
08:56
That's the scale. The red line is obviously halfway to the pole.
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这个比例尺 很显然这条红线表明往返南极的半程。
08:59
We have to turn around and come back again.
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我们必须折返 踏上返程
09:01
I'm well aware of the irony of telling you that we will be
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告诉大家我们将会发博客、发推特
09:03
blogging and tweeting. You'll be able to live
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我知道这很讽刺 你们将能够
09:06
vicariously and virtually through this journey
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以一种从未采用过的 间接但确实的方式
09:08
in a way that no one has ever before.
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感受整段旅行
09:11
And it'll also be a four-month chance for me to finally
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同样对于我来说 在这四个月旅程中我将有机会
09:14
come up with a pithy answer to the question, "Why?"
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找到答案 很好地回答“为什么”这个问题
09:17
And our lives today are safer and more comfortable
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比起从前 我们今天的生活更加安全舒适
09:22
than they have ever been. There certainly isn't much call
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当然也就不需要很多的探险者
09:25
for explorers nowadays. My career advisor at school
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读书时我的职业顾问
09:29
never mentioned it as an option.
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从未说过探险者会是一个职业选择
09:31
If I wanted to know, for example,
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比如说 如果我想知道
09:34
how many stars were in the Milky Way,
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银河系有多少颗星星
09:36
how old those giant heads on Easter Island were,
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复活岛上的巨石像存在了多少年
09:39
most of you could find that out right now
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你们很多人甚至不用起立
09:41
without even standing up.
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就能马上找到答案
09:44
And yet, if I've learned anything in nearly 12 years now
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而且 要说在这12年中在寒冷地带拖曳重物
09:47
of dragging heavy things around cold places,
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我学到了什么
09:50
it is that true, real inspiration and growth
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那么毫无疑问 那便是
09:54
only comes from adversity and from challenge,
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来自困难 来自挑战
09:58
from stepping away from what's comfortable and familiar
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来之远离熟知的一切 迈向未知的领域
10:01
and stepping out into the unknown.
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所带来的鼓舞和成长
10:03
In life, we all have tempests to ride and poles to walk to,
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生活中 我们都必须经历风暴 迈向极点
10:07
and I think metaphorically speaking, at least,
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我想 打个比方说吧
10:09
we could all benefit from getting outside the house
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只要我们能够鼓起勇气
10:12
a little more often, if only we could summon up the courage.
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多出去看看世界 那么我们就都能获益
10:15
I certainly would implore you to open the door just a little bit
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我真得希望大家能够多踏出家门一点
10:19
and take a look at what's outside.
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看看外面的世界
10:22
Thank you very much.
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非常感谢
10:23
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ben Saunders - Polar explorerIn 2004, Ben Saunders became the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole. In 2013, he set out on another record-breaking expedition, this time to retrace Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole on foot.
Why you should listen
Although most of the planet's surface was mapped long ago, there's still a place for explorers in the modern world. And Ben Saunders' stories of arctic exploration -- as impressive for their technical ingenuity as their derring-do -- are decidedly modern. In 2004, at age 26, he skied solo to the North Pole, updating his blog each day of the trip. Humble and self-effacing, Saunders is an explorer of limits, whether it's how far a human can be pushed physically and psychologically, or how technology works hundreds of miles from civilization. His message is one of inspiration, empowerment and boundless potential.
He urges audiences to consider carefully how to spend the “tiny amount of time we each have on this planet.” Saunders is also a powerful advocate for the natural world. He's seen first-hand the effects of climate change, and his expeditions are raising awareness for sustainable solutions.
Being the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole did not satiate Saunders' urge to explore and push the boundaries. In 2008, he attempted to break the speed record for a solo walk to the North Pole; however, his journey was ended abruptly both then and again in 2010 due to equipment failure. From October 2013 to February 2014, he led a two-man team to retrace Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated 1,800-mile expedition to the South Pole on foot. He calls this journey the hardest 105 days of his life.
Ben Saunders | Speaker | TED.com