ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Eagleman - Neuroscientist
David Eagleman decodes the mysteries of the tangled web of neurons and electricity that make our minds tick -- and also make us human.

Why you should listen

As the creator of stacks of compelling research, books and now the 6-part PBS series The Brain, grey matter expert David Eagleman is our most visible evangelist for neuroscience. He has helmed ground-breaking studies on time perception, brain plasticity and neurolaw. His latest research explores technology that bypasses sensory impairment -- such as a smartphone-controlled vest that translates sound into patterns of vibration for the deaf.

Eagleman is also the author of Sum, an internationally bestselling short story collection speculating on life, death and what it means to be human. Translated into 28 languages, Sum has been turned into two separate operas at the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Opera House in London.

More profile about the speaker
David Eagleman | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

David Eagleman: Can we create new senses for humans?

David Eagleman: 我们能为人类创造新感官吗?

Filmed:
2,933,070 views

作为人类,我们所能感知的信息范围不足全部光波长范围的十万亿分之一。神经学家David Eagleman说:”我们对现实的感知能力被我们的生物特性所限制。“他想要改变这一现状。他对人类大脑运行方式做了研究,发明了新的交互接口——比如传感背心——来接收环绕在我们周围世界的原本不可见的信息。
- Neuroscientist
David Eagleman decodes the mysteries of the tangled web of neurons and electricity that make our minds tick -- and also make us human. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
We are built内置 out of very small stuff东东,
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我们由极其微小的物质构成,
00:17
and we are embedded嵌入式 in
a very large cosmos宇宙,
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又生存在无限大的宇宙当中,
00:20
and the fact事实 is that we are not
very good at understanding理解 reality现实
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然而实际上,无论从这两者中的
哪一个尺度我们都无法
00:24
at either of those scales,
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很好地理解这个世界,
00:26
and that's because our brains大脑
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这是因为我们的大脑
00:27
haven't没有 evolved进化 to understand理解
the world世界 at that scale规模.
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还没有进化到能从那样的尺度
感知世界的程度。
00:32
Instead代替, we're trapped被困 on this
very thin slice of perception知觉
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反之,我们的视角被局限在了
这两者中间,
00:36
right in the middle中间.
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一块非常狭窄的范围内。
00:38
But it gets得到 strange奇怪, because even at
that slice of reality现实 that we call home,
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奇怪的是,即便我们对眼前的一切
再熟悉不过,
其中绝大部分信息仍然
对我们是不可见的。
00:43
we're not seeing眼看 most
of the action行动 that's going on.
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00:46
So take the colors颜色 of our world世界.
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看看现实中的色彩吧。
00:49
This is light waves波浪, electromagnetic电磁
radiation辐射 that bounces反弹 off objects对象
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它们都是从物体反射的
光波和电磁辐射,
00:54
and it hits点击 specialized专门 receptors受体
in the back of our eyes眼睛.
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由我们眼球后部特定的感受器接收。
00:57
But we're not seeing眼看
all the waves波浪 out there.
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但是我们看不到全部的波。
01:01
In fact事实, what we see
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事实上,我们能看到的波
01:03
is less than a 10 trillionth万亿
of what's out there.
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还不到全部的十万亿分之一。
01:07
So you have radio无线电 waves波浪 and microwaves微波炉
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如果无线电波、微波
01:10
and X-raysX射线 and gamma伽马 rays阳光
passing通过 through通过 your body身体 right now
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还有X射线和伽玛射线正穿过你的身体,
01:13
and you're completely全然 unaware不知道 of it,
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你是完全意识不到它们的存在的。
01:16
because you don't come with
the proper正确 biological生物 receptors受体
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因为人类没有进化出
可以感知这些波的
01:19
for picking选择 it up.
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生物感受器。
01:21
There are thousands数千
of cell细胞 phone电话 conversations对话
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此时此刻,正有成千上万个手机信号,
01:24
passing通过 through通过 you right now,
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在你身边穿梭。
01:25
and you're utterly完全 blind to it.
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然而你完全毫无察觉。
01:28
Now, it's not that these things
are inherently本质 unseeable无形.
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这些波并不是本身就不可见的。
01:31
Snakes include包括 some infrared红外线
in their reality现实,
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蛇可以看到红外线,
01:36
and honeybees蜜蜂 include包括 ultraviolet紫外线
in their view视图 of the world世界,
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蜜蜂可以看到紫外线,
01:40
and of course课程 we build建立 machines
in the dashboards仪表板 of our cars汽车
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我们也当然能在汽车的
仪表盘内设立装置
01:43
to pick up on signals信号
in the radio无线电 frequency频率 range范围,
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来接收无线电信号收听广播,
01:46
and we built内置 machines in hospitals医院
to pick up on the X-rayX-射线 range范围.
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医院里也有专门的X射线设备。
01:50
But you can't sense
any of those by yourself你自己,
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但是只凭人类自身的感官
是绝对感知不到这些波的,
01:53
at least最小 not yet然而,
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至少目前不能。
01:55
because you don't come equipped装备
with the proper正确 sensors传感器.
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因为你的身体天生就
没有配备这种传感器。
01:59
Now, what this means手段 is that
our experience经验 of reality现实
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这意味着我们对现实的感知能力
02:03
is constrained受限 by our biology生物学,
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被我们的生物特性束缚着。
02:07
and that goes against反对
the common共同 sense notion概念
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我们的眼睛、耳朵还有指尖
02:09
that our eyes眼睛 and our ears耳朵
and our fingertips指尖
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若能感知所有客观存在的现实,
02:12
are just picking选择 up
the objective目的 reality现实 that's out there.
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就违背常识了。
02:16
Instead代替, our brains大脑 are sampling采样
just a little bit of the world世界.
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相反的,我们的大脑只对
现实世界的一小部分“浅尝辄止”。
02:22
Now, across横过 the animal动物 kingdom王国,
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在整个动物王国,
02:24
different不同 animals动物 pick up
on different不同 parts部分 of reality现实.
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不同类的动物感知着不一样的现实。
02:27
So in the blind
and deaf world世界 of the tick,
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对于又瞎又聋的壁虱来说,
02:30
the important重要 signals信号
are temperature温度 and butyric丁酸 acid;
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温度和丁酸是重要的信息来源;
02:34
in the world世界 of the black黑色 ghost knifefish西刀鱼,
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黑魔鬼刀鱼的世界,
02:37
its sensory感觉的 world世界 is lavishly华丽 colored有色
by electrical电动 fields领域;
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则被电场施以丰富的颜色;
02:42
and for the echolocatingecholocating bat蝙蝠,
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回声定位蝙蝠的世界,
02:45
its reality现实 is constructed
out of air空气 compression压缩 waves波浪.
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则是由空气压缩波组成的。
02:49
That's the slice of their ecosystem生态系统
that they can pick up on,
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对于他们所熟悉的生态系统的组成,
02:53
and we have a word for this in science科学.
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有一个专门的科学名词来定义,
名叫“环境”(umwelt),
02:55
It's called the umweltUMWELT,
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02:56
which哪一个 is the German德语 word
for the surrounding周围 world世界.
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这是一个德语词,意为我们周围的世界。
03:00
Now, presumably想必, every一切 animal动物 assumes假设
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也许每一种动物都假设,
03:03
that its umweltUMWELT is the entire整个
objective目的 reality现实 out there,
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它的“环境”就是整个客观现实,
03:07
because why would you ever stop to imagine想像
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因为很难想象,
在我们能感受到的对象之外
还有其他存在。
03:10
that there's something beyond
what we can sense.
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03:13
Instead代替, what we all do
is we accept接受 reality现实
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事实上,我们只接受
03:16
as it's presented呈现 to us.
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现实呈现给我们的信息。
03:19
Let's do a consciousness-raiser意识序幕 on this.
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让我们一起来提高这方面的意识。
03:21
Imagine想像 that you are a bloodhound警犬 dog.
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设想你是一只侦查犬。
03:24
Your whole整个 world世界 is about smelling.
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你的全部世界就是闻气味。
03:27
You've got a long snout that has
200 million百万 scent香味 receptors受体 in it,
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你的长鼻子拥有2亿个气味接受器,
03:31
and you have wet湿 nostrils鼻孔
that attract吸引 and trap陷阱 scent香味 molecules分子,
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你的湿鼻孔可以捕捉气味分子,
03:36
and your nostrils鼻孔 even have slits狭缝
so you can take big nosefulsnosefuls of air空气.
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你的鼻孔甚至有狭缝,
这样你就可以大口的嗅空气。
03:40
Everything is about smell for you.
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对你来说,一切东西都是气味。
03:43
So one day, you stop in your tracks轨道
with a revelation启示.
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某天,你停在路上,若有所思,
03:47
You look at your human人的 owner所有者
and you think,
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你看着你的人类主人,并想到,
03:50
"What is it like to have the pitiful可怜,
impoverished贫困 nose鼻子 of a human人的?
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“拥有一只可怜的,几乎没什么用的
人类鼻子会是怎样的情景?”
03:55
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:57
What is it like when you take
a feeble微弱 little nosefulnoseful of air空气?
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只能微弱地嗅着空气,
会是怎样的感觉?
04:00
How can you not know that there's
a cat 100 yards away,
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你怎么能不知道100码之外有只猫,
04:04
or that your neighbor邻居 was on
this very spot six hours小时 ago?"
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或者你的邻居6小时前也在这个地方?“
04:07
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:10
So because we're humans人类,
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因为我们是人类,
04:12
we've我们已经 never experienced有经验的
that world世界 of smell,
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我们从未感知过那个嗅觉世界,
04:15
so we don't miss小姐 it,
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所以我们不会怀念它,
04:18
because we are firmly牢牢 settled安定
into our umweltUMWELT.
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因为我们坚定地生活在我们的”环境“中。
04:22
But the question is,
do we have to be stuck卡住 there?
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但问题是,我们必须困在这个"环境"中吗?
04:26
So as a neuroscientist神经学家, I'm interested有兴趣
in the way that technology技术
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作为一个神经学家,我对通过技术手段
04:30
might威力 expand扩大 our umweltUMWELT,
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拓宽我们的"环境",
04:33
and how that's going to change更改
the experience经验 of being存在 human人的.
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以及如何改变我们人类的体验,
非常感兴趣。
04:38
So we already已经 know that we can marry结婚
our technology技术 to our biology生物学,
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我们已经知道我们可以把
技术和生物学相结合,
04:41
because there are hundreds数以百计 of thousands数千
of people walking步行 around
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因为已经有成千上万的人
04:45
with artificial人造 hearing听力
and artificial人造 vision视力.
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通过人造助听助视生活。
04:49
So the way this works作品 is, you take
a microphone麦克风 and you digitize数字化 the signal信号,
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它们的工作原理就是,
拿一个话筒,将信号数字化,
04:53
and you put an electrode电极 strip跳闸
directly into the inner ear.
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把电极条放入内耳。
04:57
Or, with the retinal视网膜 implant注入,
you take a camera相机
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或者,通过视网膜植入,拿一个相机,
04:59
and you digitize数字化 the signal信号,
and then you plug插头 an electrode电极 grid
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将信号数字化,然后把电极网格
05:02
directly into the optic视神经 nerve神经.
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直接插入视神经。
05:05
And as recently最近 as 15 years年份 ago,
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仅仅在在15年前,
05:09
there were a lot of scientists科学家们 who thought
these technologies技术 wouldn't不会 work.
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许多科学家都还认为这些技术不会成功。
05:13
Why? It's because these technologies技术
speak说话 the language语言 of Silicon Valley,
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为什么?因为这些技术带有硅谷的风格,
05:18
and it's not exactly究竟 the same相同 dialect方言
as our natural自然 biological生物 sense organs器官.
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与自然生物感官的原理并不完全一样。
05:24
But the fact事实 is that it works作品;
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但事实是它成功了;
05:26
the brain figures人物 out
how to use the signals信号 just fine.
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大脑知道怎么恰到好处的
处理这些信号。
05:31
Now, how do we understand理解 that?
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那么我们怎么理解它呢?
05:33
Well, here's这里的 the big secret秘密:
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这是其中的秘密:
05:35
Your brain is not hearing听力
or seeing眼看 any of this.
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你的大脑并没有听或者看到任何东西。
05:40
Your brain is locked锁定 in a vault拱顶 of silence安静
and darkness黑暗 inside your skull头骨.
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你的大脑被封闭在无声黑暗的脑壳中。
05:47
All it ever sees看到 are
electrochemical电化学 signals信号
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它看到的一切都是电化学信号,
05:50
that come in along沿 different不同 data数据 cables电缆,
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这些信号来自不同的数据连线,
05:53
and this is all it has to work with,
and nothing more.
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这就是大脑要处理的全部东西,
除此之外并无其他。
05:58
Now, amazingly令人惊讶,
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不可思议的是,
大脑很擅长于接受这些信号,
06:00
the brain is really good
at taking服用 in these signals信号
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06:03
and extracting提取 patterns模式
and assigning分配 meaning含义,
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提取模式,赋予含义,
06:07
so that it takes this inner cosmos宇宙
and puts看跌期权 together一起 a story故事
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于是它形成了这种
内部环境来整合信息,
06:11
of this, your subjective主观 world世界.
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并组成了你的主观世界。
06:16
But here's这里的 the key point:
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但关键在于:
06:18
Your brain doesn't know,
and it doesn't care关心,
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你的大脑不知道,而且它也不在乎,
06:21
where it gets得到 the data数据 from.
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它是从哪里得到的信息。
06:24
Whatever随你 information信息 comes in,
it just figures人物 out what to do with it.
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不管什么信息进入大脑,
它都会做相应的处理。
06:29
And this is a very efficient高效
kind of machine.
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这是个非常有效的机器。
06:31
It's essentially实质上 a general一般 purpose目的
computing计算 device设备,
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它本质上就是个普通的计算工具,
06:36
and it just takes in everything
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它只是接受一切信息,
06:38
and figures人物 out
what it's going to do with it,
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然后做相应的处理,
06:41
and that, I think, frees的FreeS up Mother母亲 Nature性质
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我认为那使得大自然母亲得以解放,
06:44
to tinker修补匠 around with different不同
sorts排序 of input输入 channels渠道.
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而不用修补不同的输入渠道。
06:49
So I call this the P.H.
model模型 of evolution演化,
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我称之为“P.H. 进化模型“,
06:52
and I don't want to get
too technical技术 here,
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这里我不想涉及太技术的层面,
06:54
but P.H. stands站立 for Potato土豆 Head,
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但是P.H. 代表薯头,
06:57
and I use this name名称 to emphasize注重
that all these sensors传感器
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我使用这个名称来强调所有
07:01
that we know and love, like our eyes眼睛
and our ears耳朵 and our fingertips指尖,
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我们知道的以及热爱的传感器,
像我们的眼睛,耳朵,以及指尖,
07:04
these are merely仅仅 peripheral外围设备
plug-and-play即插即用 devices设备:
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而这些仅仅是外围的
即插即用的设备:
07:08
You stick them in, and you're good to go.
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插上它们,即可使用。
07:12
The brain figures人物 out what to do
with the data数据 that comes in.
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由大脑来处理所有输入的数据。
07:18
And when you look across横过
the animal动物 kingdom王国,
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当你浏览动物王国,
07:20
you find lots of peripheral外围设备 devices设备.
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你会发现很多外围设备。
07:23
So snakes have heat pits
with which哪一个 to detect检测 infrared红外线,
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比如蛇的面部拥有能
探测红外线的感热小坑,
07:27
and the ghost knifefish西刀鱼 has
electroreceptors电感受器,
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魔鬼刀鱼有电接收器,
07:30
and the star-nosed星鼻 mole has this appendage附加物
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星鼻鼹鼠拥有
07:33
with 22 fingers手指 on it
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带有22个指头的附器,
07:35
with which哪一个 it feels感觉 around and constructs结构体
a 3D model模型 of the world世界,
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让它能感受周边环境并
构建出三维世界,
07:39
and many许多 birds鸟类 have magnetite磁铁矿
so they can orient东方
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许多鸟类拥有磁感应的本领,
所以它们能够
07:43
to the magnetic磁性 field领域 of the planet行星.
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通过地球的磁场确定方向。
07:45
So what this means手段 is that
nature性质 doesn't have to continually不断
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因此这意味着大自然不必继续
07:49
redesign重新设计 the brain.
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重新设计大脑。
07:52
Instead代替, with the principles原则
of brain operation手术 established既定,
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相反,随着大脑工作原理的建立,
07:56
all nature性质 has to worry担心 about
is designing设计 new peripherals外设.
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大自然只需要设计新的外围设备。
08:01
Okay. So what this means手段 is this:
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好的。那么这意味着:
08:04
The lesson that surfaces
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有个显而易见的结论,
08:06
is that there's nothing
really special特别 or fundamental基本的
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就是关于我们讨论的生物学
08:09
about the biology生物学 that we
come to the table with.
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并没有涉及任何特殊或者基本的东西。
08:12
It's just what we have inherited遗传
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这一切仅仅是我们
08:14
from a complex复杂 road of evolution演化.
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从复杂进化旅程中继承的。
08:18
But it's not what we have to stick with,
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但是我们并非只能永远维持现状,
08:21
and our best最好 proof证明 of principle原理 of this
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我们最好的佐证原理
08:23
comes from what's called
sensory感觉的 substitution代换.
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来自我们所谓的感官替代。
08:26
And that refers to feeding馈送
information信息 into the brain
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指通过特殊的感官渠道,
08:29
via通过 unusual异常 sensory感觉的 channels渠道,
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给大脑提供信息,
08:32
and the brain just figures人物 out
what to do with it.
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大脑就会自动做相应的处理。
08:35
Now, that might威力 sound声音 speculative投机,
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这听上去很抽象,
08:37
but the first paper demonstrating示范 this was
published发表 in the journal日志 Nature性质 in 1969.
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但是第一篇阐述上述原理的文章
发表在1969年的《自然》杂志。
08:43
So a scientist科学家 named命名 Paul保罗 Bach-y-Rita巴赫-Y-丽塔
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一个叫做Paul Bach-y-Rita的科学家
08:46
put blind people
in a modified改性 dental牙齿 chair椅子,
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把盲人置于一个改装过的
牙科手术椅上,
08:49
and he set up a video视频 feed饲料,
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并搭建了一个录像装置,
08:51
and he put something
in front面前 of the camera相机,
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他在摄像机前放某个东西,
08:54
and then you would feel that
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并在你背部垫上一个螺线管的网格,
08:56
poked into your back
with a grid of solenoids螺线管.
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这样你就可以感受到那个东西。
08:59
So if you wiggle摆动 a coffee咖啡 cup杯子
in front面前 of the camera相机,
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比如,如果你在相机前摆动一个咖啡杯,
09:02
you're feeling感觉 that in your back,
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就会通过背部感受到它,
09:04
and amazingly令人惊讶, blind people
got pretty漂亮 good
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而且令人惊讶的是,盲人很擅长于
09:07
at being存在 able能够 to determine确定
what was in front面前 of the camera相机
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仅仅通过背部的一小块的感受
09:11
just by feeling感觉 it
in the small of their back.
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来确定相机前的东西。
09:14
Now, there have been many许多
modern现代 incarnations变身 of this.
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如今,已经有许多基于上述原理的
现代的实例。
09:18
The sonic glasses眼镜 take a video视频 feed饲料
right in front面前 of you
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声波眼镜在你面前录像,
09:21
and turn that into a sonic landscape景观,
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并将录像变成声波地形,
09:24
so as things move移动 around,
and get closer接近 and farther更远,
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当物体靠近,远离,
听上去就像“嗞嗞嗞”的声音。
09:26
it sounds声音 like "BzzBZZ, bzzBZZ, bzzBZZ."
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09:29
It sounds声音 like a cacophony杂音,
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虽然听上去很刺耳,
09:31
but after several一些 weeks, blind people
start开始 getting得到 pretty漂亮 good
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但是几周之后,
盲人就开始很好地习惯
09:34
at understanding理解 what's in front面前 of them
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通过听觉信号,
09:37
just based基于 on what they're hearing听力.
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来理解在他面前的事物。
09:39
And it doesn't have to be
through通过 the ears耳朵:
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而且不必通过耳朵:
这个系统使用前额的电触网格,
09:41
this system系统 uses使用 an electrotactile电触觉 grid
on the forehead前额,
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09:45
so whatever's任何的 in front面前 of the video视频 feed饲料,
you're feeling感觉 it on your forehead前额.
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所以不管面前的录像是什么内容,
你都可以通过前额感应到。
09:49
Why the forehead前额? Because you're not
using运用 it for much else其他.
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为什么用前额?
因为它平时基本没什么用处。
09:51
The most modern现代 incarnation化身
is called the brainportbrainport,
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最现代的例子是“brainport"视觉系统,
09:56
and this is a little electrogridelectrogrid
that sits坐镇 on your tongue,
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这是一个小的安置在舌头上的电网格,
09:59
and the video视频 feed饲料 gets得到 turned转身 into
these little electrotactile电触觉 signals信号,
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视频源转变成小的电触信号,
10:03
and blind people get so good at using运用 this
that they can throw a ball into a basket,
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盲人很擅长使用这个装置,
他们甚至能投篮,
10:10
or they can navigate导航
complex复杂 obstacle障碍 courses培训班.
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或者通过的复杂障碍流程。
10:15
They can come to see through通过 their tongue.
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他们通过舌头就可以看见东西。
10:19
Now, that sounds声音 completely全然 insane, right?
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那听上去完全是荒谬的,对吧?
10:21
But remember记得, all vision视力 ever is
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但是记住,所有看见的东西都是
10:24
is electrochemical电化学 signals信号
coursing窃喜 around in your brain.
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流过大脑的电化学信号。
10:28
Your brain doesn't know
where the signals信号 come from.
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你的大脑不知道信号来自哪里。
10:31
It just figures人物 out what to do with them.
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它只负责做相应的处理。
10:34
So my interest利益 in my lab实验室
is sensory感觉的 substitution代换 for the deaf,
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所以我的实验室的研究方向是
为听障人士寻找感官替代,
10:40
and this is a project项目 I've undertaken开展
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这是我和我的一个研究生
10:43
with a graduate毕业 student学生
in my lab实验室, Scott斯科特 Novich诺维奇,
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Scott Novich负责的一个项目,
10:46
who is spearheading逍遥丸 this for his thesis论文.
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这也是他毕业论文的主攻方向。
10:48
And here is what we wanted to do:
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我们是这么计划的:
10:50
we wanted to make it so that
sound声音 from the world世界 gets得到 converted转换
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我们想要让来自外界的声音转变成
10:54
in some way so that a deaf person
can understand理解 what is being存在 said.
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某种听障人士能够理解的信息。
10:59
And we wanted to do this, given特定 the power功率
and ubiquity无处不在 of portable手提 computing计算,
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考虑到移动设备的强大和普遍性,
我们决定这么做,
11:03
we wanted to make sure that this
would run on cell细胞 phones手机 and tablets平板电脑,
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我们想要确定这项技术可以在
手机和平板电脑上运行,
我们还想把它设计成可穿戴设备,
11:08
and also we wanted
to make this a wearable穿戴式,
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11:11
something that you could wear穿
under your clothing服装.
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可以穿戴在衣服里面。
11:14
So here's这里的 the concept概念.
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给大家展示一下工作原理。
11:17
So as I'm speaking请讲, my sound声音
is getting得到 captured捕获 by the tablet片剂,
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当我讲话时,
我的声音被平板电脑捕捉,
11:22
and then it's getting得到 mapped映射 onto a vest背心
that's covered覆盖 in vibratory振动 motors马达,
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然后映射到带有震动马达的背心,
11:28
just like the motors马达 in your cell细胞 phone电话.
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就像你手机里的驱动装置。
11:31
So as I'm speaking请讲,
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当我讲话时,
11:33
the sound声音 is getting得到 translated翻译
to a pattern模式 of vibration振动 on the vest背心.
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声音会转变为背心上的一种震动模式。
11:40
Now, this is not just conceptual概念上的:
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这已经不仅仅是概念了:
11:41
this tablet片剂 is transmitting发射 Bluetooth蓝牙,
and I'm wearing穿着 the vest背心 right now.
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这个平板电脑正在发射蓝牙信号,
而且我正穿着这样的背心。
11:47
So as I'm speaking请讲 -- (Applause掌声) --
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所以当我讲话时--(掌声)--
11:50
the sound声音 is getting得到 translated翻译
into dynamic动态 patterns模式 of vibration振动.
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声音就会被实时转变成
震动模式。
11:55
I'm feeling感觉 the sonic world世界 around me.
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我正在感受周围的声波世界。
12:01
So, we've我们已经 been testing测试 this
with deaf people now,
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现在我们正在听障人士身上进行测试,
12:05
and it turns out that after
just a little bit of time,
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结果表明,经过很短的时间,
12:08
people can start开始 feeling感觉,
they can start开始 understanding理解
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人们就开始感觉到
他们能够开始理解
12:12
the language语言 of the vest背心.
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背心的语言了。
12:14
So this is Jonathan乔纳森. He's 37 years年份 old.
He has a master's硕士 degree.
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这是Jonathan。
他37岁,拥有硕士学位。
12:19
He was born天生 profoundly深深 deaf,
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他生来就严重失聪,
12:22
which哪一个 means手段 that there's a part部分
of his umweltUMWELT that's unavailable不可用 to him.
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这意味着他无法感受一部分“环境”。
12:26
So we had Jonathan乔纳森 train培养 with the vest背心
for four days, two hours小时 a day,
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我们让Jonathan穿着
这个背心训练了4天,每天2小时,
12:30
and here he is on the fifth第五 day.
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这是第五天。
12:33
Scott斯科特 Novich诺维奇: You.
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Scott Novich:“你”。
12:36
David大卫 EaglemanEagleman: So Scott斯科特 says a word,
Jonathan乔纳森 feels感觉 it on the vest背心,
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David Eagleman:Scott说了一个单词,
Jonathan通过背心感受到了,
并把这个词写在了白板上。
12:39
and he writes it on the board.
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12:42
SNSN: Where. Where.
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SN:“哪里”。“哪里”。
12:46
DEDE: Jonathan乔纳森 is able能够 to translate翻译
this complicated复杂 pattern模式 of vibrations振动
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DE:Jonathan能够把这种复杂的震动模式,
12:49
into an understanding理解
of what's being存在 said.
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翻译成他自己的理解。
SN:“触摸”。“触摸”。
12:52
SNSN: Touch触摸. Touch触摸.
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12:56
DEDE: Now, he's not doing this --
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DE:他并没有——
13:00
(Applause掌声) --
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(掌声)--
13:07
Jonathan乔纳森 is not doing this consciously自觉,
because the patterns模式 are too complicated复杂,
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Jonathan并没有刻意地去猜,
因为这个模式太复杂,
13:12
but his brain is starting开始 to unlock开锁
the pattern模式 that allows允许 it to figure数字 out
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但是他的大脑正在解锁这个模式,
试图来理解
13:17
what the data数据 mean,
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这些数据的意义,
13:19
and our expectation期望 is that,
after wearing穿着 this for about three months个月,
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我们的期望是,
他能在穿这个背心约三个月后,
13:23
he will have a direct直接
perceptual知觉的 experience经验 of hearing听力
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有一个直接的听觉感受经验,
13:28
in the same相同 way that when a blind person
passes通行证 a finger手指 over braille点字,
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就像盲人用手指阅读盲文那样,
13:32
the meaning含义 comes directly off the page
without any conscious意识 intervention介入 at all.
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文字的意义直接来自纸上,
不需要任何有意识的干预。
13:38
Now, this technology技术 has the potential潜在
to be a game-changer改变游戏规则,
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这项技术拥有改变游戏规则的潜力,
13:42
because the only other solution
for deafness is a cochlear人工耳蜗 implant注入,
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因为唯一其他的帮助听障人士的方法
就是耳蜗植入,
13:46
and that requires要求 an invasive侵入的 surgery手术.
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而那需要进行侵害性的手术。
13:49
And this can be built内置 for 40 times cheaper便宜
than a cochlear人工耳蜗 implant注入,
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而这项技术比耳蜗植入便宜40倍,
13:54
which哪一个 opens打开 up this technology技术 globally全球,
even for the poorest最穷 countries国家.
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它打开了全球技术市场,
甚至包括贫困国家。
14:00
Now, we've我们已经 been very encouraged鼓励
by our results结果 with sensory感觉的 substitution代换,
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现在我们受到了感官替代
实验结果的极大鼓舞,
14:05
but what we've我们已经 been thinking思维 a lot about
is sensory感觉的 addition加成.
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但是我们一直在思考的是感官附加。
14:09
How could we use a technology技术 like this
to add a completely全然 new kind of sense,
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我们如何使用这样的技术来
增加一种全新的感官,
14:14
to expand扩大 the human人的 umveltumvelt?
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来拓展人类的“环境”?
14:17
For example, could we feed饲料
real-time即时的 data数据 from the Internet互联网
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例如,我们可以从网上得到实时数据,
14:22
directly into somebody's某人的 brain,
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直接反馈给大脑,
14:24
and can they develop发展 a direct直接
perceptual知觉的 experience经验?
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这些信息可以产生直接的
感知体验吗?
14:27
So here's这里的 an experiment实验
we're doing in the lab实验室.
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这是我们实验室正在做的一个实验。
一名实验对象正在感受
数据网实时的信息流,
14:30
A subject学科 is feeling感觉 a real-time即时的
streaming feed饲料 from the Net of data数据
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14:34
for five seconds.
247
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这种信息流会持续5秒。
14:36
Then, two buttons纽扣 appear出现,
and he has to make a choice选择.
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然后屏幕上会出现两个按钮,
他必须选择一个。
14:39
He doesn't know what's going on.
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他并不知道发生了什么。
14:41
He makes品牌 a choice选择,
and he gets得到 feedback反馈 after one second第二.
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他做出一个选择,
一秒后得到反馈。
14:43
Now, here's这里的 the thing:
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是这样的:
实验对象并不知道所有模式的意义,
14:45
The subject学科 has no idea理念
what all the patterns模式 mean,
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14:47
but we're seeing眼看 if he gets得到 better
at figuring盘算 out which哪一个 button按键 to press.
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但是我们想要看看,
他是否能搞清楚应该按哪个按钮。
14:51
He doesn't know that what we're feeding馈送
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他不知道我们提供的信息
14:53
is real-time即时的 data数据 from the stock股票 market市场,
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是来自股市的实时数据,
14:56
and he's making制造 buy购买 and sell decisions决定.
256
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2507
他要做的是买入和卖出的决策。
14:59
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
15:01
And the feedback反馈 is telling告诉 him
whether是否 he did the right thing or not.
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反馈会告诉他他的决定是否正确。
15:04
And what we're seeing眼看 is,
can we expand扩大 the human人的 umveltumvelt
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我们在观察的是,
我们是否能拓宽人类的“环境”,
15:07
so that he comes to have,
after several一些 weeks,
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2995
以便他在几周之后能有
15:10
a direct直接 perceptual知觉的 experience经验
of the economic经济 movements运动 of the planet行星.
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一个直接的关于全球经济活动的感知体验。
15:16
So we'll report报告 on that later后来
to see how well this goes.
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我们稍后会报导这个实验的进展。
15:20
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
15:22
Here's这里的 another另一个 thing we're doing:
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下面是我们做的另一个实验:
15:24
During the talks会谈 this morning早上,
we've我们已经 been automatically自动 scraping Twitter推特
265
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在今早的演讲中,我们一直在自动的刷取
15:29
for the TEDTED2015 hashtag井号,
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2438
TED2015主题标签的推特,
15:31
and we've我们已经 been doing
an automated自动化 sentiment情绪 analysis分析,
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一直在做自动的情绪分析,
15:34
which哪一个 means手段, are people using运用 positive
words or negative words or neutral中性?
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也就是:人们是用正面,负面还是中性的词
(来表达他们的感想)?
15:39
And while this has been going on,
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实验进行过程中,
15:41
I have been feeling感觉 this,
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我就能感受到,
15:44
and so I am plugged in
to the aggregate骨料 emotion情感
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这意味着我与数千人的实时情绪
15:48
of thousands数千 of people in real真实 time,
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汇总信息进行了对接,
15:52
and that's a new kind of human人的 experience经验,
because now I can know
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那是一种全新的人类体验,
因为我能知道
15:56
how everyone's大家的 doing
and how much you're loving爱心 this.
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每个人心情如何,
以及你们多么喜欢这个演讲。
16:00
(Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声)
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(笑声)(掌声)
16:06
It's a bigger experience经验
than a human人的 can normally一般 have.
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这比人类能够正常体验的
范围要大的多。
16:11
We're also expanding扩大 the umveltumvelt of pilots飞行员.
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我们也在拓宽飞行员的“环境”。
16:14
So in this case案件, the vest背心 is streaming
nine different不同 measures措施
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在这个实例中,
背心可以分流来自这个直升机的
16:18
from this quadcopter四轴飞行器,
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九种不同的测试方式,
16:20
so pitch沥青 and yaw偏航 and roll
and orientation方向 and heading标题,
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倾斜,偏航,起伏,定向,前进,
16:23
and that improves提高
this pilot's飞行员 ability能力 to fly it.
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这提高了飞行员的飞行能力。
16:27
It's essentially实质上 like he's extending扩展
his skin皮肤 up there, far away.
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就好像把他的皮肤延伸到了
很远的地方。
16:32
And that's just the beginning开始.
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而这仅仅是开头。
16:34
What we're envisioning构想 is taking服用
a modern现代 cockpit座舱 full充分 of gauges
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我们预想的是驾驶一个
遍布仪表的现代驾驶舱,
16:40
and instead代替 of trying
to read the whole整个 thing, you feel it.
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不用去目测那些数据,而是直接感受它。
16:44
We live生活 in a world世界 of information信息 now,
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我们生活在一个信息化的世界,
16:47
and there is a difference区别
between之间 accessing访问 big data数据
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获得大数据和感受它
16:51
and experiencing经历 it.
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是截然不同的。
16:54
So I think there's really no end结束
to the possibilities可能性
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所以我认为拓宽人类的感官
16:58
on the horizon地平线 for human人的 expansion扩张.
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拥有无尽的可能。
17:00
Just imagine想像 an astronaut宇航员
being存在 able能够 to feel
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设想一个宇航员可以感受
17:05
the overall总体 health健康
of the International国际 Space空间 Station,
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整个国际空间站的健康状况,
17:08
or, for that matter, having you feel
the invisible无形 states状态 of your own拥有 health健康,
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或者,你可以直接感受
本不可见的健康状况,
17:13
like your blood血液 sugar
and the state of your microbiome微生物,
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如你的血糖,微生物状态,
17:17
or having 360-degree-度 vision视力
or seeing眼看 in infrared红外线 or ultraviolet紫外线.
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或者拥有360度视角,
或者能看见红外或紫外线。
17:23
So the key is this:
As we move移动 into the future未来,
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所以关键点是:
在我们步入未来的过程中,
17:26
we're going to increasingly日益 be able能够
to choose选择 our own拥有 peripheral外围设备 devices设备.
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1034616
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我们逐渐能够选择自己的外围设备。
17:31
We no longer have to wait
for Mother母亲 Nature's自然的 sensory感觉的 gifts礼品
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我们不必等待大自然母亲
按照她自己的时间尺度和节奏来
17:35
on her timescales时间表,
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赐予我们感官的礼物。
17:37
but instead代替, like any good parent,
she's given特定 us the tools工具 that we need
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相反,就像任何称职的家长,
她已经给了我们需要的工具,
17:41
to go out and define确定 our own拥有 trajectory弹道.
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1049499
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让我们能够走出来
定义自己的人生轨迹。
17:45
So the question now is,
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所以现在的问题是,
17:47
how do you want to go out
and experience经验 your universe宇宙?
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你想要如何走出来,感受你的宇宙?
17:52
Thank you.
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1060598
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谢谢。
17:54
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
18:11
Chris克里斯 Anderson安德森: Can you feel it?
DEDE: Yeah.
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Chris Anderson:你能感受到吗?
DE:当然。
18:13
Actually其实, this was the first time
I felt applause掌声 on the vest背心.
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说实话,这是我第一次
通过背心感受掌声。
18:16
It's nice不错. It's like a massage按摩. (Laughter笑声)
308
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太棒了。就像按摩。(笑声)
18:19
CACA: Twitter'sTwitter的 going crazy.
Twitter'sTwitter的 going mad.
309
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CA:推特网友太疯狂了。
18:22
So that stock股票 market市场 experiment实验.
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说一下那个股市的实验。
18:25
This could be the first experiment实验
that secures作保 its funding资金 forevermore永远,
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这可能是第一个能确保被
永久资助的实验,
18:29
right, if successful成功?
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1995
对吗,如果能成功的话?
18:31
DEDE: Well, that's right, I wouldn't不会
have to write to NIHNIH anymore.
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1099563
3152
DE:对的,我不必再向NIH
(美国国家卫生研究院)申请经费了。
18:34
CACA: Well look, just to be
skeptical怀疑的 for a minute分钟,
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CA:我还是有些疑惑,
18:37
I mean, this is amazing惊人,
but isn't most of the evidence证据 so far
315
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这的确很棒,
不过目前大部分实验证据是不是都表明
18:40
that sensory感觉的 substitution代换 works作品,
316
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2347
虽然感官替代能起作用,
18:43
not necessarily一定
that sensory感觉的 addition加成 works作品?
317
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却不一定代表感官附加能起作用?
18:45
I mean, isn't it possible可能 that the
blind person can see through通过 their tongue
318
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3637
我的意思是,盲人能通过舌头看东西,
是不是可能
18:48
because the visual视觉 cortex皮质 is still there,
ready准备 to process处理,
319
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5178
因为视皮质还在那里,
时刻准备处理信息,
18:53
and that that is needed需要 as part部分 of it?
320
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1819
而且那就是其中必要的一部分?
18:55
DEDE: That's a great question.
We actually其实 have no idea理念
321
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DE:这问题很好。
实际上我们也不知道
什么样的数据大脑才能吸收,
关于这个的理论局限是什么。
18:58
what the theoretical理论 limits范围 are of what
kind of data数据 the brain can take in.
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3896
19:02
The general一般 story故事, though虽然,
is that it's extraordinarily异常 flexible灵活.
323
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3048
然而,总体上可以认为大脑非常灵活。
所以当一个人变盲之后,
唤醒视皮质的任务
19:05
So when a person goes blind,
what we used to call their visual视觉 cortex皮质
324
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3805
19:09
gets得到 taken采取 over by other things,
by touch触摸, by hearing听力, by vocabulary词汇.
325
1137207
5058
会被其他东西接管,
如触觉,听觉,词汇。
19:14
So what that tells告诉 us is that
the cortex皮质 is kind of a one-trick一招一式 pony小马.
326
1142265
4062
这告诉我们皮质就像
只会一种把戏的小马驹。
19:18
It just runs运行 certain某些 kinds
of computations计算 on things.
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2648
它只是按某几种特定的计算方式运行。
19:20
And when we look around
at things like braille点字, for example,
328
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3101
例如,当我们看盲文的时候,
19:24
people are getting得到 information信息
through通过 bumps颠簸 on their fingers手指.
329
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3089
人们通过指尖下的凹凸获得信息。
19:27
So I don't thing we have any reason原因
to think there's a theoretical理论 limit限制
330
1155165
3655
因此,我不认为我们有任何理由
要相信我们的认知边缘
19:30
that we know the edge边缘 of.
331
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1514
存在一个理论上的限制。
19:33
CACA: If this checks检查 out,
you're going to be deluged淹没.
332
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3264
CA:如果这个技术实现了,
你肯定会一夜爆红。
19:36
There are so many许多
possible可能 applications应用 for this.
333
1164508
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这项技术有太多潜在的应用了。
19:39
Are you ready准备 for this? What are you most
excited兴奋 about, the direction方向 it might威力 go?
334
1167759
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你准备好了吗?最让你兴奋的是什么?
是未来的方向吗?
19:43
DEDE: I mean, I think there's
a lot of applications应用 here.
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DE:我认为这可以有许多应用。
除了我开始提到的感官替代,
19:46
In terms条款 of beyond sensory感觉的 substitution代换,
the things I started开始 mentioning
336
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3448
19:49
about astronauts宇航员 on the space空间 station,
they spend a lot of their time
337
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关于空间站的宇航员,
他们花了很多时间
19:54
monitoring监控 things, and they could instead代替
just get what's going on,
338
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监测各种东西,
相反他们可以直接知道进展,
19:57
because what this is really good for
is multidimensional多维 data数据.
339
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因为这有利于获得多维数据。
20:00
The key is this: Our visual视觉 systems系统
are good at detecting检测 blobs斑点 and edges边缘,
340
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4783
关键点是:我们的视觉系统
善于探测障碍和边缘,
20:05
but they're really bad
at what our world世界 has become成为,
341
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但是它们并不擅长观察我们目前的世界,
20:07
which哪一个 is screens屏幕
with lots and lots of data数据.
342
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一个充满大量数据的屏幕的世界。
20:10
We have to crawl爬行 that
with our attentional注意力 systems系统.
343
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我们得用注意力系统匍匐前进。
20:12
So this is a way of just
feeling感觉 the state of something,
344
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这是感知事物状态的一种方法,
就像当你站立时你知道
自己身体状态的方法一样。
20:15
just like the way you know the state
of your body身体 as you're standing常设 around.
345
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所以我认为重型机械、安全机制,
了解一个工厂的状态,
20:18
So I think heavy machinery机械, safety安全,
feeling感觉 the state of a factory,
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20:22
of your equipment设备, that's one place地点
it'll它会 go right away.
347
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了解你的设备的状态,
这就是这项技术即将要实现的。
20:25
CACA: David大卫 EaglemanEagleman, that was one
mind-blowing令人兴奋 talk. Thank you very much.
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CA:David Eagleman,这真是一个
激动人心的演讲。非常感谢。
20:28
DEDE: Thank you, Chris克里斯.
(Applause掌声)
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DE:谢谢你,Chris。
(掌声)
Translated by Min Wang
Reviewed by Bill Xie

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Eagleman - Neuroscientist
David Eagleman decodes the mysteries of the tangled web of neurons and electricity that make our minds tick -- and also make us human.

Why you should listen

As the creator of stacks of compelling research, books and now the 6-part PBS series The Brain, grey matter expert David Eagleman is our most visible evangelist for neuroscience. He has helmed ground-breaking studies on time perception, brain plasticity and neurolaw. His latest research explores technology that bypasses sensory impairment -- such as a smartphone-controlled vest that translates sound into patterns of vibration for the deaf.

Eagleman is also the author of Sum, an internationally bestselling short story collection speculating on life, death and what it means to be human. Translated into 28 languages, Sum has been turned into two separate operas at the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Opera House in London.

More profile about the speaker
David Eagleman | Speaker | TED.com

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