TEDSalon Berlin 2014
Heather Barnett: What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime
希瑟.巴内特: 人类可以从半智能的黏菌群学到什么
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Readability: 5.7
1,179,448 views
受生物学设计和自我组织系统的启发，艺术家希瑟.巴内特与多头绒泡菌（一种生活在凉爽潮湿环境的真核微生物）共同创作。人们可以从半智能的黏菌身上学到什么？请看她的演讲并找到解答。
Heather Barnett - Artist
Heather Barnett creates art with slime mold -- a material used in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. Full bio
Heather Barnett creates art with slime mold -- a material used in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I'd like to introduce you to an organism:
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今天我想向大家介绍一种生物体：
00:15
a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.
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（slime mould）黏液霉菌，一种多头绒泡菌。
00:19
It's a mold with an identity
crisis, because it's not a mold,
crisis, because it's not a mold,
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是否把它命名为一种霉菌尚存争议，因为事实上它不是霉菌。
00:22
so let's get that straight to start with.
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在进入正题前我们需要知道这一点。
00:23
It is one of 700 known slime molds
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在已知的七百种黏液霉菌中，
00:26
belonging to the kingdom of the amoeba.
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它属于阿米巴变形虫的国度。
00:28
It is a single-celled organism, a cell,
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它是一种单细胞生物，许多个单一的细胞
00:31
that joins together with other cells
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相互连接到一起
00:33
to form a mass super-cell
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而组成一团超级细胞，
00:35
to maximize its resources.
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目的是要做到最大化地利用资源。
00:37
So within a slime mold you might find thousands
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所以在一个（slime mould）黏菌中你能看到几千个
00:40
or millions of nuclei,
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或者几百万个细胞核，
00:42
all sharing a cell wall,
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它们共享同一个细胞壁，
00:44
all operating as one entity.
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作为一个整体
00:47
In its natural habitat,
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在它的自然栖息地运作
00:48
you might find the slime mold foraging in woodlands,
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你会在森林里发现这些黏液霉菌，
00:51
eating rotting vegetation,
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它以腐烂的植被为食。
00:55
but you might equally find it
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不过黏菌也同样频繁出现在
00:56
in research laboratories,
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研究实验室，
00:58
classrooms, and even artists' studios.
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课堂，甚至是艺术家的工作室里。
01:02
I first came across the slime
mold about five years ago.
mold about five years ago.
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我与黏液霉菌的初次接触是在五年前。
01:05
A microbiologist friend of mine
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我的一个微生物学家朋友
01:07
gave me a petri dish with a little yellow blob in it
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给了我一个有着黄色小斑点的培养皿
01:10
and told me to go home and play with it.
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说让我带回家玩玩。
01:13
The only instructions I was given,
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我得到的唯一说明是
01:15
that it likes it dark and damp
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这个东西它喜欢阴暗潮湿，
01:17
and its favorite food is porridge oats.
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最喜欢的食物是燕麦片。
01:21
I'm an artist who's worked for many years
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我是一个艺术家，我做了不少年的
01:23
with biology, with scientific processes,
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将生物及科学的一些手法融入艺术
01:26
so living material is not uncommon for me.
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所以使用活的素材于我来说不算陌生。
01:29
I've worked with plants, bacteria,
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我用到过植物，细菌，
01:31
cuttlefish, fruit flies.
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墨鱼，以及果蝇。
01:32
So I was keen to get my new collaborator home
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所以我颇有些急迫想把这个新的小拍档带回家
01:35
to see what it could do.
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看看它能做啥。
01:36
So I took it home and I watched.
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然后我就把它带回了家开始观察。
01:40
I fed it a varied diet.
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我试着用各种东西来喂它。
01:42
I observed as it networked.
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我观察到，随着它的联网形成
01:44
It formed a connection between food sources.
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它在食物资源之间建立了某种联系。
01:47
I watched it leave a trail behind it,
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我看到它在经过处留下了痕迹，
01:49
indicating where it had been.
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那显示出它曾经到过的区域。
01:51
And I noticed that when it was
fed up with one petri dish,
fed up with one petri dish,
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我也注意到每当它厌倦了一个培养皿的时候，
01:54
it would escape and find a better home.
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它就会爬出去，去找个更好的家。
01:57
I captured my observations
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我通过延时摄影
01:59
through time-lapse photography.
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拍下了我所观察到的。
02:01
Slime mold grows at about one centimeter an hour,
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黏液霉菌的生长速度大概是每小时一厘米，
02:03
so it's not really ideal for live viewing
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所想要看实时变化可不容易，因为这个速度实在是有点慢，
02:06
unless there's some form of
really extreme meditation,
really extreme meditation,
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除非观察者能做到某种极度的静心入定。
02:09
but through the time lapse,
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不过凭借延时拍摄，
02:11
I could observe some really interesting behaviors.
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我能够观察到一些非常有趣的行为。
02:14
For instance, having fed on a nice pile of oats,
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比如，喂给它一小堆燕麦片，
02:18
the slime mold goes off to explore new territories
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黏液霉菌就迅速开始繁殖，
02:22
in different directions simultaneously.
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并同时往不同方向伸展以探索新领域。
02:25
When it meets itself,
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当它碰到自己另一部分的时候，
02:27
it knows it's already there,
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它知道同伴已经在那里，
02:29
it recognizes it's there,
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它能识别得到。
02:31
and instead retreats back
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于是停止那个方向的继续生长，而是掉头
02:33
and grows in other directions.
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从另一端生长。
02:36
I was quite impressed by this feat,
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黏液霉菌的这个本事很让我叹为观止。
02:39
at how what was essentially
just a bag of cellular slime
just a bag of cellular slime
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这不过是一袋黏液霉菌细胞，
02:42
could somehow map its territory,
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可它居然有本事开疆扩土，
02:45
know itself, and move with seeming intention.
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能够识别自我，而且似乎是带有目的性地在行动。
02:49
I found countless scientific studies,
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我发觉有无数的科学研究，
02:53
research papers, journal articles,
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研究论文啦，期刊文章啦，
02:55
all citing incredible work with this one organism,
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都提到用这种微生物所进行过的令人难以置信的研究，
02:59
and I'm going to share a few of those with you.
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这里我要分享一些给大家。
03:01
For example, a team in Hokkaido University in Japan
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比如，日本北海道大学（Hokkaido University）的一个团队
03:04
filled a maze with slime mold.
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用黏液霉菌填塞了一个迷宫。
03:06
It joined together and formed a mass cell.
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它们互相融合组成了一个细胞团。
03:08
They introduced food at two points,
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研究人员将食物放在两个点上，
03:10
oats of course,
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当然，食物依旧是燕麦片，
03:11
and it formed a connection
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黏液霉菌在两点食物之间
03:13
between the food.
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组建起了关联。
03:15
It retracted from empty areas and dead ends.
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当它遇到空区或是死角的时候会自动缩回。
03:17
There are four possible routes through this maze,
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这个迷宫有四个可行通道，
03:20
yet time and time again,
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而随着一次次的尝试，
03:22
the slime mold established the shortest
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最终黏液霉菌建立了最短
03:24
and the most efficient route.
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并且最有效率的一条路径。
03:27
Quite clever.
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真机灵。
03:28
The conclusion from their experiment
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由这个实验所得出的结论是
03:30
was that the slime mold had
a primitive form of intelligence.
a primitive form of intelligence.
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黏液霉菌有种初始形态的智能。
03:33
Another study exposed cold air at
regular intervals to the slime mold.
regular intervals to the slime mold.
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另一项研究是：按固定的间隔时间，定期将黏液霉菌暴露在冷空气里。
03:36
It didn't like it. It doesn't like it cold.
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结果它不喜欢。它怕冷。
03:39
It doesn't like it dry.
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它不喜欢被吹干。
03:40
They did this at repeat intervals,
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研究人员按照之前的间隔时间规律重复做了这个实验，
03:42
and each time, the slime mold
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每一次，黏液霉菌都会
03:44
slowed down its growth in response.
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减慢生长速度作为响应。
03:47
However, at the next interval,
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然而，在下一个间隔来到时，
03:49
the researchers didn't put the cold air on,
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研究人员没有开启冷风，
03:52
yet the slime mold slowed down in anticipation
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可黏液霉菌仍旧减慢了速度，似乎
03:55
of it happening.
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是预期此时冷风会来。
03:56
It somehow knew that it was about the time
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不知它怎样办到的，它知道时间到了，
03:59
for the cold air that it didn't like.
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它讨厌的冷空气会来到。
04:01
The conclusion from their experiment
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刚讲到的这个实验最后所得到得结论是：
04:02
was that the slime mold was able to learn.
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黏液霉菌具有学习能力。
04:06
A third experiment:
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第三个实验：
04:07
the slime mold was invited
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黏液霉菌被邀请
04:09
to explore a territory covered in oats.
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去探索一片被燕麦片覆盖的区域。
04:13
It fans out in a branching pattern.
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它以分枝结构扇形展开。
04:16
As it goes, each food node it finds,
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每当它在经过的地方发现食物点时，
04:18
it forms a network, a connection to,
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它就会建立一个网络,一个连接点，
04:21
and keeps foraging.
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然后继续觅食。
04:23
After 26 hours, it established
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经过26个小时，它建立起
04:25
quite a firm network
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一个比较稳定的网络架构
04:27
between the different oats.
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链接各处的燕麦片。
04:29
Now there's nothing remarkable in this
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这看起来没什么了不起的，
04:31
until you learn that the center oat that it started from
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但如果你知道作为中心起点的燕麦片
04:33
represents the city of Tokyo,
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其实是代表了东京市，
04:35
and the surrounding oats are
suburban railway stations.
suburban railway stations.
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而周围的这些燕麦片对应着东京市郊的火车站，你一定会觉得它了不起。
04:39
The slime mold had replicated
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因为黏液霉菌居然复制出了
04:42
the Tokyo transport network
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东京的交通网络。
04:44
— (Laughter) —
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（观众笑声）
04:46
a complex system developed over time
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建立一个复杂的系统需要长时间的努力，
04:49
by community dwellings, civil
engineering, urban planning.
engineering, urban planning.
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包括社区住宅，土木工程，城市规划。
04:53
What had taken us well over 100 years
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人类用超过100年才能完成的事情，
04:55
took the slime mold just over a day.
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黏液霉菌只不过花了一天多一点就完成了。
04:58
The conclusion from their experiment
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这项实验得到的结论是
05:00
was that the slime mold can form efficient networks
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黏液霉菌能够建立起高效路网，
05:02
and solve the traveling salesman problem.
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解决那些在路上的业务员们的苦恼问题。
05:05
It is a biological computer.
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它是部生物计算机。
05:07
As such, it has been mathematically modeled,
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如我们所看到的，由数学模型建立起来
05:10
algorithmically analyzed.
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进行的算法分析。
05:11
It's been sonified, replicated, simulated.
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人们对黏液霉菌的活动进行超声波观测，复制，和模拟。
05:14
World over, teams of researchers
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全世界的研究团队们
05:17
are decoding its biological principles
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都在试图解析它的生物学准则，
05:20
to understand its computational rules
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以理解它的计算运行规则
05:22
and applying that learning
to the fields of electronics,
to the fields of electronics,
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并将之运用到电子，
05:24
programming and robotics.
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编程和机器人领域中。
05:27
So the question is,
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所以问题是
05:29
how does this thing work?
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这个东西它是怎么工作的？
05:31
It doesn't have a central nervous system.
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黏液霉菌没有中枢神经系统，
05:33
It doesn't have a brain,
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没有大脑，
05:35
yet it can perform behaviors
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却能完成
05:36
that we associate with brain function.
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我们需要大脑功能的协助才能完成的行动
05:38
It can learn, it can remember,
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它能学习，能记忆，
05:40
it can solve problems, it can make decisions.
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可以解决问题，也可以做决策。
05:43
So where does that intelligence lie?
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它负责智能的部分藏在哪里呢？
05:46
So this is a microscopy, a video I shot,
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这是显微镜下我拍到的一组影像。。。
05:48
and it's about 100 times magnification,
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放大了约100倍，
05:51
sped up about 20 times,
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快进了约20倍。
05:54
and inside the slime mold,
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在黏液霉菌体内，
05:56
there is a rhythmic pulsing flow,
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存在有节奏的脉冲流，
05:59
a vein-like structure carrying
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一个脉管状结构把
06:01
cellular material, nutrients and chemical information
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细胞内含物，营养物质和化学信息
06:05
through the cell,
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传输到细胞各处，
06:07
streaming first in one direction
and then back in another.
and then back in another.
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先朝一个方向流动，然后再向相反方向回流。
06:10
And it is this continuous, synchronous oscillation
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而正是细胞内的这种连续，同步振荡
06:14
within the cell that allows it to form
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让它得以建立起
06:17
quite a complex understanding of its environment,
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对所处环境的一个相当复杂的认知理解，
06:20
but without any large-scale control center.
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而不依赖任何大规模的控制中心。
06:23
This is where its intelligence lies.
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这就是它的智能所在。
06:25
So it's not just academic researchers
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并不只有大学里的学术研究者们
06:29
in universities that are interested in this organism.
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对这个生物感兴趣。
06:31
A few years ago, I set up SliMoCo,
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几年前，我设立了一个 SlimoCo项目，
06:34
the Slime Mould Collective.
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---Slime Mould黏液霉菌团队。
06:37
It's an online, open, democratic network
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这是一个在线的，开放的，民主的网络，
06:40
for slime mold researchers and enthusiasts
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给黏液霉菌研究者和爱好者们用以
06:42
to share knowledge and experimentation
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分享
06:45
across disciplinary divides
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跨学科范畴
06:48
and across academic divides.
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和跨学术领域的知识和实验。
06:51
The Slime Mould Collective
membership is self-selecting.
membership is self-selecting.
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黏液霉菌团队的队员都是自行选择加入的。
06:55
People have found the collective
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来到团队的人们就像
06:58
as the slime mold finds the oats.
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找到燕麦片的黏液霉菌。
07:01
And it comprises of scientists
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它包括有科学家，
07:03
and computer scientists and researchers
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计算机科学家和研究人员，
07:04
but also artists like me,
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也有像我这样的艺术家，
07:07
architects, designers, writers, activists, you name it.
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建筑师，设计师，作家，社会活动家，什么样的人都有。
07:12
It's a very interesting, eclectic membership.
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我们的成员构成不拘一格，非常有趣。
07:16
Just a few examples:
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我举几个例子吧：
07:17
an artist who paints with fluorescent Physarum;
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有用染了荧光的绒泡菌属作画的艺术家，
07:20
a collaborative team
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有将生物学
07:22
who are combining biological and electronic design
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和电子设计
07:26
with 3D printing technologies in a workshop;
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与3D打印技术相结合的协作团队，
07:29
another artist who is using the slime mold
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还有位艺术家用黏液霉菌
07:31
as a way of engaging a community
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绘制社区地图，
07:33
to map their area.
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作为参与社区的一种方式。
07:36
Here, the slime mold is being used directly
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这里，黏液霉菌被直接用作
07:38
as a biological tool, but metaphorically
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一种生物学工具，但是也象征性地
07:41
as a symbol for ways of talking
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成为在
07:43
about social cohesion, communication
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社会凝聚力，沟通
07:47
and cooperation.
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和合作上的一种交流方式的标志。
07:49
Other public engagement activities,
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至于其他的公众参与活动---
07:51
I run lots of slime mold workshops,
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我办了很多黏液霉菌研讨会，
07:53
a creative way of engaging with the organism.
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用这种创新方式研究这种有机体。
07:56
So people are invited to come and learn
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人们受邀请来到研讨会，了解
07:58
about what amazing things it can do,
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它的神奇之能，
08:00
and they design their own petri dish experiment,
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他们设计自己的培养皿实验，
08:02
an environment for the slime mold to navigate
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安排一个新环境让黏液霉菌去探索
08:04
so they can test its properties.
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以测试它的各项属性。
08:06
Everybody takes home a new pet
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他们每个人都带了黏菌这个新宠物回家，
08:09
and is invited to post their results
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我们邀请他们将各自的实验结果
08:12
on the Slime Mould Collective.
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发布在黏菌团队的网页上。
08:14
And the collective has enabled me
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这样一个集体让我能够
08:15
to form collaborations
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和一大票有趣的人们一起
08:18
with a whole array of interesting people.
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协同工作。
08:20
I've been working with filmmakers
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我已经和一些电影工作者合作，
08:22
on a feature-length slime mold documentary,
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共同制作一个关于黏液霉菌的长篇纪录片，
08:25
and I stress feature-length,
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我要强调是长篇，
08:28
which is in the final stages of edit
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现在已经在后期制作过程，
08:30
and will be hitting your cinema screens very soon.
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应该很快就能在院线上映了。
08:33
(Laughter)
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（观众笑声）
08:34
It's also enabled me to conduct what I think is
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我想这也使得我能进行，
08:38
the world's first human slime mold experiment.
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大概是世界第一例人类模拟黏液霉菌的实验。
08:40
This is part of an exhibition in Rotterdam last year.
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这是去年鹿特丹展览的一部分，
08:43
We invited people to become
slime mold for half an hour.
slime mold for half an hour.
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我们邀请人们来扮演黏液霉菌大概半小时。
08:48
So we essentially tied people together
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我们就是需要把大家绑在一起，
08:51
so they were a giant cell,
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这样大家就变成了一个巨细胞。
08:54
and invited them to follow slime mold rules.
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我们也要求大家要遵守黏菌的生存法则，
08:57
You have to communicate through oscillations,
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只能用震荡来沟通，
09:00
no speaking.
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不准说话和交谈。
09:01
You have to operate as one entity, one mass cell,
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必须作为一个整体，作为一个细胞团来行动，
09:06
no egos,
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没有自我。
09:08
and the motivation for moving
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进行移动
09:10
and then exploring the environment
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并摸索周边环境情况的动机，
09:12
is in search of food.
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就是寻找食物。
09:14
So a chaotic shuffle ensued
as this bunch of strangers
as this bunch of strangers
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随之而来的是一片混乱，一群陌生人
09:18
tied together with yellow ropes
wearing "Being Slime Mold" t-shirts
wearing "Being Slime Mold" t-shirts
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穿着“黏液霉菌”的黄T恤，被黄绳子绑在一起，
09:22
wandered through the museum park.
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在博物馆的园子里游荡。
09:25
When they met trees, they had to reshape
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当他们碰到树的时候，就不得不改变队形，
09:28
their connections and reform as a mass cell
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象个团细胞一样
09:31
through not speaking.
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悄然无声的的完成变形。
09:35
This is a ludicrous experiment in many, many ways.
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这是一个非常好笑的实验，从各种方面看都是。
09:39
This isn't hypothesis-driven.
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它不是因假说驱动的。
09:41
We're not trying to prove, demonstrate anything.
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我们做这个实验不是为了要证明或是证实任何事情。
09:43
But what it did provide us was a way
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但是这个实验确实提供给我们了一种途径，
09:45
of engaging a broad section of the public
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去引发广泛的公众思考：
09:47
with ideas of intelligence, agency, autonomy,
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关于智能，关于机构，关于自治。
09:52
and provide a playful platform
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它也给我们提供了一个好玩的平台
09:54
for discussions about
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去进行
09:58
the things that ensued.
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后续的讨论。
10:00
One of the most exciting things
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关于这项实验，
10:03
about this experiment
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其中一个最令人激动的事情是
10:06
was the conversation that happened afterwards.
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实验结束之后所发生的讨论。
10:08
An entirely spontaneous symposium
happened in the park.
happened in the park.
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人们完全自发地在公园里开始了研讨。
10:12
People talked about the human psychology,
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大家谈到人类心理学，
10:14
of how difficult it was to let go
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发现大家很难
10:15
of their individual personalities and egos.
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放下各体的自我和个性。
10:19
Other people talked about bacterial communication.
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其他的一些人们谈到了细菌的沟通。
10:22
Each person brought in their own
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每个人对这次实验
10:24
individual interpretation,
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都有他们各自的个性解读。
10:27
and our conclusion from this experiment was that
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而我们由这次实验所得到的结论是，
10:28
the people of Rotterdam were highly cooperative,
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鹿特丹的人们具有高度的合作精神
10:32
especially when given beer.
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特别是当供应给他们啤酒的时候。
10:35
We didn't just give them oats.
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我们不止给了他们燕麦片，
10:37
We gave them beer as well.
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我们也提供了啤酒。
10:39
But they weren't as efficient as the slime mold,
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不过他们没能做到象黏液霉菌那样高效率。
10:41
and the slime mold, for me,
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黏液霉菌， 于我而言
10:43
is a fascinating subject matter.
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是种令人着迷的研究物质。
10:45
It's biologically fascinating,
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生物属性上它让人着迷，
10:47
it's computationally interesting,
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它的运算特性也让人感兴趣，
10:49
but it's also a symbol,
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但同时它也是一种标识，
10:51
a way of engaging with ideas of community,
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关乎社区意见，
10:54
collective behavior, cooperation.
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集体行为，和协同合作。
10:58
A lot of my work draws on the scientific research,
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我的很多作品都借鉴了科学研究，
11:00
so this pays homage to the maze experiment
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所以这个实验是在以另外一种方式
11:03
but in a different way.
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向之前谈到的迷宫实验的致敬。
11:05
And the slime mold is also my working material.
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黏液霉菌也是我的工作素材。
11:07
It's a coproducer of photographs, prints, animations,
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它是摄影，印刷品，动画片，
11:13
participatory events.
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及互动活动的合伙制作人。
11:14
Whilst the slime mold doesn't choose
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黏液霉菌并没有选择
11:16
to work with me, exactly,
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要和我合作，而确切地说，
11:18
it is a collaboration of sorts.
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这是某种合作。
11:21
I can predict certain behaviors
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我可以预测到某些行为，
11:23
by understanding how it operates,
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因为我理解了它是怎么操作的，
11:25
but I can't control it.
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但是我控制不了它。
11:27
The slime mold has the final say
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黏液霉菌在创作过程中
11:28
in the creative process.
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有最终的表达。
11:31
And after all, it has its own internal aesthetics.
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毕竟，它有自己的内在审美观。
11:34
These branching patterns that we see
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我们看到的分叉图案
11:36
we see across all forms, scales of nature,
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我们所看见的所有形态，天然的性状，
11:38
from river deltas to lightning strikes,
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从河三角洲到闪电弧，
11:41
from our own blood vessels to neural networks.
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从我们的血管网络到神经网络。
11:45
There's clearly significant rules at play
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这个简单而又复杂的生物
11:48
in this simple yet complex organism,
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有着非常清楚的规则可循。
11:50
and no matter what our disciplinary
perspective or our mode of inquiry,
perspective or our mode of inquiry,
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不管我们从什么学科角度出发或者是用什么方式研究
11:54
there's a great deal that we can learn
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我们都受教无穷，我们
11:56
from observing and engaging
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从观察和运用
11:57
with this beautiful, brainless blob.
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这些漂亮的，没脑子的斑点身上可以学到很多很多。
12:00
I give you Physarum polycephalum.
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这就是 （Physarum polycephalum）多头绒泡菌。
12:04
Thank you.
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谢谢大家！
12:05
(Applause)
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（观众掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Heather Barnett - ArtistHeather Barnett creates art with slime mold -- a material used in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design.
Why you should listen
Heather Barnett creates fascinating biodesigns with the semi-intelligent slime mold. While it has no brain nor central nervous system, the single celled organism, Physarum polycephalum, shows a primitive form of memory, problem-solving skills and the apparent ability to make decisions. It is used as a model organism in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. “It is also quite beautiful,” says Barnett, “and makes therefore for a great creative collaborator. Although ultimately I cannot control the final outcome, it is a rather independent organism.“
More profile about the speakerHeather Barnett | Speaker | TED.com