TEDMED 2009
Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity
艾米•慕林斯：逆境带来机遇
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在同义词字典中，“残疾的”往往与“无用的”和“残缺不全的”划等号，但是赛跑运动员艾米.慕林斯却极具开创性地为这个词重新定义。艾米本人生下来就没有胫骨，而她却否定“残疾的”这一词与种种消极意义之间的联系，并向世人展示逆境对人类潜能的开发作用。
Aimee Mullins - Athlete and actor
A record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and advocate for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics. Full bio
A record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and advocate for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:17
I'd like to share with you a discovery that I made a few months ago
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我想把我几个月之前的一个大发现与大家分享一下
00:22
while writing an article for Italian Wired.
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我当时正在为一家意大利杂志"Wired"写一篇文章
00:25
I always keep my thesaurus handy whenever I'm writing anything,
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我在写作的时候总是把同义词词典放在手边
00:28
but I'd already finished editing the piece,
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我当时已经把文章编辑完了
00:31
and I realized that I had never once in my life
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才意识到我一生中还从来没有
00:34
looked up the word "disabled" to see what I'd find.
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在字典中查找“残疾的”的具体意思
00:38
Let me read you the entry.
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让我把这个词条念给大家听
00:41
"Disabled, adjective: crippled, helpless, useless, wrecked,
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“残疾的”，形容词，意为：“残废的，无助的，无用的，残破的
00:49
stalled, maimed, wounded, mangled, lame, mutilated,
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停滞的，被破坏的，受伤的，被损毁的，跛脚的，被肢解的
00:56
run-down, worn-out, weakened, impotent, castrated, paralyzed, handicapped,
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破损的，累坏了的，虚弱的，无力的，丧失力量的，瘫痪的，身体功能存在障碍的
01:06
senile, decrepit, laid-up, done-up, done-for, done-in
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衰老的，破旧的，被闲置的，精疲力尽的，没用的，疲劳的
01:12
cracked-up, counted-out;
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破烂的，不被考虑的”
01:16
see also hurt, useless and weak.
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另见：“受伤的，无用的，虚弱的”
01:20
Antonyms, healthy, strong, capable."
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反义词：“健康的，强壮的，有能力的”
01:26
I was reading this list out loud to a friend and at first was laughing,
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我当时把以上内容出声地读给我一个朋友听，一开始我笑了
01:30
it was so ludicrous,
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这太荒唐了
01:32
but I'd just gotten past "mangled," and my voice broke,
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当我念到“被损毁了”的时候，我哽咽了
01:37
and I had to stop and collect myself
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我不得不停下来
01:40
from the emotional shock and impact that the assault from these words unleashed.
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让自己被这些词汇打击与侮辱后恢复情绪
01:50
You know, of course, this is my raggedy old thesaurus
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是的，我的这本老同义词词典也很破旧了
01:53
so I'm thinking this must be an ancient print date, right?
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我想，这本词典也一定是很老的版本了
01:56
But, in fact, the print date was the early 1980s,
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但实际上，它的出版日期却是上世纪80年代
02:01
when I would have been starting primary school
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当时我应该刚上小学
02:03
and forming an understanding of myself outside the family unit
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在家庭之外的大环境下形成对自己的认知
02:07
and as related to the other kids and the world around me.
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并且与我身边的孩子们和世界建立联系
02:10
And, needless to say, thank God I wasn't using a thesaurus back then.
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谢天谢地，我当年没用过同义词词典
02:15
I mean, from this entry, it would seem that I was born into a world
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我的意思是，通过同义词词典上对“残疾的”这一词的解释
02:21
that perceived someone like me
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就能看出，我所生活的世界并不认可像我这样的残疾人
02:23
to have nothing positive whatsoever going for them,
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这个世界认为我们残疾人身上毫无积极向上的因素
02:28
when in fact, today I'm celebrated for the opportunities and adventures
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然而今天，我却在为我人生为我带来的一切历险与机会
02:34
my life has procured.
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庆幸不已
02:36
So, I immediately went to look up the 2009 online edition,
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所以，我立刻上网查“残疾的”这一词在2009年版本同义词词典中的解释
02:42
expecting to find a revision worth noting.
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我当时期待着看到一些重要的修订
02:46
Here's the updated version of this entry.
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下面我给大家读“残疾的”这一词新版本的解释
02:49
Unfortunately, it's not much better.
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很不幸，词条的解释没比当年强多少
02:52
I find the last two words under "Near Antonyms," particularly unsettling:
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这个词条中"接近反义词"中的两个词尤其让我很不好受
02:58
"whole" and "wholesome."
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它们是：“完整的，健全的”
03:02
So, it's not just about the words.
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实际上，这不仅仅是几个单词的事
03:05
It's what we believe about people when we name them with these words.
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当人们用那种消极的词汇形容残疾人的时候，实际上反映出来的是人们对残疾人的看法
03:09
It's about the values behind the words, and how we construct those values.
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值得注意的是描述残疾人的那些词汇的背后所体现的人们内心的价值观，以及这种价值观形成的过程
03:14
Our language affects our thinking and how we view the world
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我们的语言影响着我们的思维
03:18
and how we view other people.
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以及我们看待这个世界的方式、看待他人的方式
03:21
In fact, many ancient societies, including the Greeks and the Romans,
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实际上，包括古希腊、古罗马等许多古代社会
03:24
believed that to utter a curse verbally was so powerful,
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都相信言语诅咒的巨大威力
03:29
because to say the thing out loud brought it into existence.
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因为话一旦被说了出来，便是真实地存在了
03:35
So, what reality do we want to call into existence:
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那么，我们究竟想让什么样的事物存在呢
03:40
a person who is limited, or a person who's empowered?
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是一个没有能力的人，还是一个有能力的人呢
03:46
By casually doing something as simple as naming a person, a child,
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有时候，我们只是随便地给一个成人或孩子命名
03:52
we might be putting lids and casting shadows on their power.
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却有可能限制住了他们的发展，给他们蒙上阴影，让他们对自己的能力质疑
03:59
Wouldn't we want to open doors for them instead?
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难道我们不想为他们开启心灵之门么
04:03
One such person who opened doors for me was my childhood doctor
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我的生命中就有这样一个人，为我开启了心灵之门，他是在我小时候照顾我的一位医生
04:06
at the A.I. duPont Institute in Wilmington, Delaware.
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他在德拉华州威尔明顿的A.I. Dupont研究院工作
04:11
His name was Dr. Pizzutillo,
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他的名字叫Pizzutillo
04:14
an Italian American, whose name, apparently,
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是一位意大利裔美国人
04:16
was too difficult for most Americans to pronounce,
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很显然，他的名字很多美国人念出来都很困难
04:18
so he went by Dr. P.
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下面不妨就叫他P医生好了
04:20
And Dr. P always wore really colorful bow ties
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P医生总是打着色彩鲜艳的领结
04:24
and had the very perfect disposition to work with children.
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他为人的修养、气质使得他和孩子们相处得很好
04:30
I loved almost everything about my time spent at this hospital,
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除了身体训练课程之外
04:35
with the exception of my physical therapy sessions.
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我在他的医院里面度过的时光都是很快乐的
04:39
I had to do what seemed like innumerable repetitions of exercises
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我要用那种很粗的、五颜六色的、富有弹性的带子
04:43
with these thick, elastic bands -- different colors,
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一遍又一遍地做着体能训练
04:47
you know -- to help build up my leg muscles,
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锻炼腿部肌肉
04:51
and I hated these bands more than anything --
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我简直恨透那些带子了
04:53
I hated them, had names for them. I hated them.
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恨透了，我甚至还给它们都起了名字
04:56
And, you know, I was already bargaining, as a five year-old child,
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当时我还是个五岁的孩子，便和P医生讨价还价
05:00
with Dr. P to try to get out of doing these exercises,
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求他别再让我那些体能训练了
05:03
unsuccessfully, of course.
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当然，我没有得逞
05:05
And, one day, he came in to my session --
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然而有一天，P医生在我做体能训练的时候来看我了
05:10
exhaustive and unforgiving, these sessions --
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嗯，那些无情的、令人精疲力尽的体能训练
05:14
and he said to me, "Wow. Aimee, you are such a strong and powerful little girl,
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然后他对我说：“艾米，你真是个强壮的小姑娘啊
05:20
I think you're going to break one of those bands.
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我感觉有一天你能把这些带子弄断
05:23
When you do break it, I'm going to give you a hundred bucks."
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你弄断的时候，我就奖励你100美元“
05:26
Now, of course, this was a simple ploy on Dr. P's part
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很显然，这是P医生的一个小把戏罢了
05:30
to get me to do the exercises I didn't want to do
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他只不过是想让我做这些我根本不爱做的体能训练
05:33
before the prospect of being the richest five-year-old in the second floor ward,
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用“有一天变成所有二楼病房五岁病人中最富有的”来诱惑我
05:38
but what he effectively did for me was reshape an awful daily occurrence
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但是P医生确实成功做到了一件事情
05:46
into a new and promising experience for me.
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那便是将一个我所痛恨的日程转化为一个全新的、充满了前景的经历
05:50
And I have to wonder today to what extent his vision
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今天，我常常在思考，P医生当年的视野
05:54
and his declaration of me as a strong and powerful little girl
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以及他给我的“强壮的小姑娘”这一称谓
06:00
shaped my own view of myself
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对我自我认知的影响有多么大
06:02
as an inherently strong, powerful and athletic person well into the future.
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现如今，我已经能认识到我的内在是强壮有力的，我的未来一片光明
06:08
This is an example of how adults in positions of power
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P医生的这个例子就很好的说明了
06:11
can ignite the power of a child.
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一位拥有力量的成年人能够点燃一个孩子的潜能
06:15
But, in the previous instances of those thesaurus entries,
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但是，在更前面提到的那个同义词词典的例子中
06:19
our language isn't allowing us to evolve into the reality that we would all want,
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我们的语言并没能让我们把我们所希望看到的事物变成现实
06:26
the possibility of an individual to see themselves as capable.
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并没能让残疾人意识到他们自己实际上是有能力的
06:32
Our language hasn't caught up with the changes in our society,
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科技的发展带动社会的发展
06:37
many of which have been brought about by technology.
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而我们的语言并没有随着社会与时俱进
06:40
Certainly, from a medical standpoint,
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当然，从医学的角度来讲
06:42
my legs, laser surgery for vision impairment,
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我的假腿，修复我视力的激光手术
06:48
titanium knees and hip replacements for aging bodies
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人工钛金膝盖，为老年人提供的股骨头替换手术
06:51
that are allowing people to more fully engage with their abilities,
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种种这些技术都能使得人们更充分地运用他们的能力
06:54
and move beyond the limits that nature has imposed on them --
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并且超越自然环境施加给他们的种种限制
07:00
not to mention social networking platforms
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并且为我们这些残疾人搭建社交平台
07:03
allow people to self-identify, to claim their own descriptions of themselves,
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让我们这些人能自我认同
07:08
so they can go align with global groups of their own choosing.
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从而允许我们在全球范围内选择结交的对象
07:13
So, perhaps technology is revealing more clearly to us now
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所以说，科技正更清楚地向我们展示着
07:17
what has always been a truth:
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一个永恒的真理
07:20
that everyone has something rare and powerful to offer our society,
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那就是，我们每一个人都是非常强大的，都是能为社会做贡献的
07:28
and that the human ability to adapt is our greatest asset.
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以及适应环境的能力是人类最伟大的资本
07:33
The human ability to adapt, it's an interesting thing,
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谈起人类适应环境这一本领，我感觉很有意思
07:36
because people have continually wanted to talk to me about overcoming adversity,
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因为人们经常想让我就“克服逆境”这一话题讲一讲
07:42
and I'm going to make an admission:
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今天我想做一点声明
07:45
This phrase never sat right with me,
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“克服逆境”这一说对我来说根本不成立
07:47
and I always felt uneasy trying to answer people's questions about it,
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别人让我就这一话题说几句的时候，我很不自在
07:51
and I think I'm starting to figure out why.
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我开始思考为什么会这样
07:55
Implicit in this phrase of "overcoming adversity"
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“克服逆境”这个词有一个隐含的意思
07:59
is the idea that success, or happiness,
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那就是成功，或者快乐
08:03
is about emerging on the other side of a challenging experience
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都在一段艰难的经历的另一端
08:06
unscathed or unmarked by the experience,
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而这段经历本身却与成功和快乐无关
08:11
as if my successes in life have come about from an ability
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就好像是说，我这一生之所以能成功
08:15
to sidestep or circumnavigate the presumed pitfalls of a life with prosthetics,
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是因为我绕过了作为一个截肢人所要面临的一系列挑战
08:20
or what other people perceive as my disability.
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绕过在别人看来制约我的一些因素
08:23
But, in fact, we are changed. We are marked, of course, by a challenge,
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但实际上，这些挑战实实在在地改变了我们，在我们的人生旅程中烙下了印记
08:29
whether physically, emotionally or both.
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这种改变可能是身体上的，可能是精神上的，也可能两者兼具
08:32
And I'm going to suggest that this is a good thing.
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我想说的是，面临挑战不失为一件好事
08:35
Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around
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面对逆境，我们不应把它当成障碍绕过它
08:39
in order to resume living our life.
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从而继续我们的生活
08:42
It's part of our life.
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其实，逆境是我们生活的一部分
08:45
And I tend to think of it like my shadow.
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我把逆境想象成我自己的影子
08:48
Sometimes I see a lot of it, sometimes there's very little,
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有的时候它看起来很大，有的时候很小
08:51
but it's always with me.
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但是它始终在我身边
08:53
And, certainly, I'm not trying to diminish the impact, the weight, of a person's struggle.
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当然，我不是试图贬低人们与逆境作斗争的价值和意义
09:00
There is adversity and challenge in life,
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我们在一生中注定要经历逆境与挑战
09:03
and it's all very real and relative to every single person,
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我们每个人都是
09:06
but the question isn't whether or not you're going to meet adversity,
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但是我们所关注的问题并不是你是否要去面对逆境
09:10
but how you're going to meet it.
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而是如何去面对它
09:13
So, our responsibility is not simply shielding those we care for from adversity,
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所以，我们的责任不是简简单单地让我们关心的人生活在温床里
09:20
but preparing them to meet it well.
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而是让他们能够形成从容应对逆境的能力
09:23
And we do a disservice to our kids
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当我们让孩子们觉得自己没有适应环境的能力时
09:27
when we make them feel that they're not equipped to adapt.
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我们实际上伤害了他们
09:34
There's an important difference and distinction
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从医学的角度客观地判断我是否是一个残疾人
09:37
between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee
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从社会的角度主观地去考虑我是否是一个“残疾人”
09:42
and the subjective societal opinion of whether or not I'm disabled.
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此两者间有很大的差别
09:48
And, truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I've had to confront
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实际上，我自始至终所要面对的唯一的一个问题
09:53
is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.
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是这个世界对我的种种不公的看法和描述
09:59
In our desire to protect those we care about
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我们希望能够保护那些我们在意的人们
10:02
by giving them the cold, hard truth about their medical prognosis,
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我们把冷冰冰的医师诊断报告告诉他们
10:06
or, indeed, a prognosis on the expected quality of their life,
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或者有时候，为他们未来的生活状态做预测
10:10
we have to make sure that we don't put the first brick in a wall
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但是我们一定要注意我们的所做所为
10:14
that will actually disable someone.
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是否会摧毁这些人们
10:19
Perhaps the existing model of only looking at what is broken in you
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也许，人们习惯了只专注于自己的种种缺陷
10:24
and how do we fix it, serves to be more disabling to the individual
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并想着如何修复这些缺陷
10:28
than the pathology itself.
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这种思维定式对残疾人的伤害比残疾人本身的生理缺陷更严重
10:31
By not treating the wholeness of a person,
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我们不从一个整体的角度看待残疾人
10:36
by not acknowledging their potency,
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不去承认他们的能力
10:38
we are creating another ill on top of whatever natural struggle they might have.
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这对他们本身就很艰难的处境无疑是雪上加霜
10:45
We are effectively grading someone's worth to our community.
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我们能有效地对一个人对其所在社会的的价值进行评估
10:51
So we need to see through the pathology
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因此，我们的目光不应该局限在残疾人生理上的缺陷
10:54
and into the range of human capability.
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而是应该注意到他们作为人的价值
11:00
And, most importantly, there's a partnership
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另外，最重要的一点
11:04
between those perceived deficiencies
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残疾人的一些缺陷和人类的创造力之间
11:06
and our greatest creative ability.
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是存在着联系的
11:09
So it's not about devaluing, or negating, these more trying times
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所以，艰辛的奋斗岁月是不该被贬低、否定的
11:14
as something we want to avoid or sweep under the rug,
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这不是什么我们要避免或者掩盖的事
11:18
but instead to find those opportunities wrapped in the adversity.
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恰恰相反，我们应该在逆境中寻找机遇
11:24
So maybe the idea I want to put out there is
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其实，我想说明的道理就是
11:26
not so much overcoming adversity
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逆境，不是用来"克服"的
11:31
as it is opening ourselves up to it,
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我们应该坦然面对它
11:35
embracing it,
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拥抱它
11:38
grappling with it,
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与它摔打
11:40
to use a wrestling term,
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我刚才用了一个摔角的术语（摔打）
11:42
maybe even dancing with it.
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甚至，与它舞蹈
11:46
And, perhaps, if we see adversity as natural, consistent and useful,
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也许，如果我们能把逆境看成是自然的、不间断的、对人有用的东西
11:54
we're less burdened by the presence of it.
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它的存在对我们来说也不再是负担了
11:57
This year we celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin,
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今年我们庆祝了达尔文的200周年诞辰
12:00
and it was 150 years ago, when writing about evolution,
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当达尔文在150年前写物种进化论的时候
12:04
that Darwin illustrated, I think, a truth about the human character.
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他阐明了一个关于人类特征的真理
12:09
To paraphrase: It's not the strongest of the species that survives,
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他说的那句话大概意思就是，能生存下来的物种
12:13
nor is it the most intelligent that survives;
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往往不是最强壮的，也不是最聪明的
12:16
it is the one that is most adaptable to change.
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而是最能适应外部环境变化的
12:21
Conflict is the genesis of creation.
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矛盾冲突是创造之母
12:26
From Darwin's work, amongst others, we can recognize that
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达尔文等诸位大师的著作都揭示了这一点
12:29
the human ability to survive and flourish
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人类生存繁衍的能力
12:34
is driven by the struggle of the human spirit through conflict
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源自人类灵魂经历激烈斗争后的转变
12:39
into transformation.
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就是这样
12:41
So, again, transformation, adaptation, is our greatest human skill.
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我再重申一遍，人类最伟大的能力，是转变和适应
12:48
And, perhaps, until we're tested, we don't know what we're made of.
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也许，在我们接受考验之前，我们不知道自己会是什么样子
12:54
Maybe that's what adversity gives us:
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可能这就是逆境所能起到的作用
12:56
a sense of self, a sense of our own power.
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一种对自我以及个人能力的认识
13:00
So, we can give ourselves a gift.
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所以，我们可以给自己一份礼物
13:03
We can re-imagine adversity as something more than just tough times.
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我们可以把逆境想成一次改变的机遇
13:10
Maybe we can see it as change.
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而不是艰辛的岁月
13:13
Adversity is just change that we haven't adapted ourselves to yet.
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逆境是一种改变，而我们只不过还没来得及对其适应
13:19
I think the greatest adversity that we've created for ourselves
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我认为，我们给自己创造的最大的困境
13:22
is this idea of normalcy.
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是"正统"这一概念
13:24
Now, who's normal?
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好吧，究竟什么又是“正统”呢
13:27
There's no normal.
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“正统”并不存在
13:29
There's common, there's typical. There's no normal,
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我知道什么是“普通的”，什么是“典型的”，但我不知道什么是“正统的”
13:32
and would you want to meet that poor, beige person if they existed?
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如果真的有那种贫困的、面黄肌瘦的所谓的“正统人”，你会对他们感兴趣么
13:35
(Laughter)
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（笑）
13:37
I don't think so.
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我想不会吧
13:39
If we can change this paradigm from one of achieving normalcy
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如果我们不把精力投入到追求“正统”当中
13:44
to one of possibility -- or potency, to be even a little bit more dangerous --
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而是投入到发现各种各样的可能性，发掘各种各样的能力，冒险一下
13:49
we can release the power of so many more children,
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很多孩子的潜能都会被更好的激发
13:52
and invite them to engage their rare and valuable abilities with the community.
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他们将会充分运用他们独一无二的宝贵的能力，为他们的社区做贡献
14:00
Anthropologists tell us that the one thing
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人类学家告诉我们
14:03
we as humans have always required of our community members
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我们作为人类总是希望我们所在群体中的人们是有用的
14:06
is to be of use, to be able to contribute.
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是有能力做贡献的
14:10
There's evidence that Neanderthals, 60,000 years ago,
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六万年前的尼安德特社会就是一个很好的证据
14:14
carried their elderly and those with serious physical injury,
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尼安德特人抚养他们社会中的老弱病残
14:20
and perhaps it's because the life experience of survival of these people
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因为他们坚信
14:26
proved of value to the community.
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老人们丰富的人生阅历是对他们整个社会是很有价值的
14:28
They didn't view these people as broken and useless;
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老人们从来不会被视作无用的
14:33
they were seen as rare and valuable.
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相反，他们被视为非常珍贵的
14:36
A few years ago, I was in a food market in the town where I grew up
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几年前的一天，我正在故乡的菜市场
14:39
in that red zone in northeastern Pennsylvania,
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就是宾州东北部的那片红区
14:43
and I was standing over a bushel of tomatoes.
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我当时正站在一筐西红柿旁边
14:45
It was summertime: I had shorts on.
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因为正值夏天，我穿的是短裤
14:47
I hear this guy, his voice behind me say, "Well, if it isn't Aimee Mullins."
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在我的身后传来了一个男子的声音“唉？这不是艾米•慕林斯么”
14:52
And I turn around, and it's this older man. I have no idea who he is.
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我转过身来，发现是一位我不认识的老者
14:56
And I said, "I'm sorry, sir, have we met? I don't remember meeting you."
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然后我说，“先生不好意思，我们见过面么？我记不得你了”
15:02
He said, "Well, you wouldn't remember meeting me.
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他说，“嗯，你是不会记得咱们之间的那次见面的
15:04
I mean, when we met I was delivering you from your mother's womb."
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因为当时，我正把你从你母亲的子宫里接生出来“
15:07
(Laughter)
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（笑）
15:09
Oh, that guy.
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呵呵，我遇到的就是这么一个人
15:12
And, but of course, actually, it did click.
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当然，最后我想起来了
15:14
This man was Dr. Kean,
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这个人就是基恩大夫
15:17
a man that I had only known about through my mother's stories of that day,
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我只是通过母亲当年给我讲的故事才知道这么一个人
15:21
because, of course, typical fashion, I arrived late for my birthday by two weeks.
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我是一个晚产儿，晚产了两周
15:27
And so my mother's prenatal physician had gone on vacation,
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当时负责在我母亲临产期照顾她的医生度假去了
15:31
so the man who delivered me was a complete stranger to my parents.
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所以最后就由基恩大夫这个我父母之前都不认识的人给我接生了
15:36
And, because I was born without the fibula bones,
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我出生的时候就没有腓骨
15:39
and had feet turned in, and a few toes in this foot and a few toes in that,
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我的脚、脚趾都错位了
15:42
he had to be the bearer -- this stranger had to be the bearer of bad news.
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基恩大夫不得不传达两个坏消息
15:47
He said to me, "I had to give this prognosis to your parents
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他对我说,"我当年把诊断报告告诉了你父母
15:51
that you would never walk,
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我说，你将永远不会行走
15:53
and you would never have the kind of mobility that other kids have
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你也永远不会像其他孩子那样跑跑跳跳
15:57
or any kind of life of independence,
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你将永远无法独立的生活
15:59
and you've been making liar out of me ever since."
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可从那以后，你却通过你的努力把我变成了一个大骗子”
16:01
(Laughter)
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（笑）
16:03
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
16:09
The extraordinary thing is that he said he had saved
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基恩先生做了一件伟大的事情
16:13
newspaper clippings throughout my whole childhood,
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他从我童年开始就把报纸上所有关于我的报道都剪下来收集了
16:16
whether winning a second grade spelling bee,
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其中包括我二年级的时候在一次拼字比赛中获胜
16:18
marching with the Girl Scouts, you know, the Halloween parade,
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和女童子军在万圣节的时候参加游行
16:21
winning my college scholarship, or any of my sports victories,
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大学的时候获得奖学金，以及我种种在体育比赛中的成绩
16:26
and he was using it, and integrating it into teaching resident students,
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基恩大夫在用我的故事教育当地的学生们
16:32
med students from Hahnemann Medical School and Hershey Medical School.
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他用我的故事教育哈奈曼医学院和赫尔希医学院的学生
16:37
And he called this part of the course the X Factor,
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他把我的这些故事叫做他课程中的X因素
16:40
the potential of the human will.
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叫做人类意志所激发的无穷潜力
16:43
No prognosis can account for how powerful this could be
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没有任何医疗诊断能够解释这种意志的威力有多么巨大
16:47
as a determinant in the quality of someone's life.
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意志能影响一个人的生活质量
16:51
And Dr. Kean went on to tell me,
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基恩大夫继续对我说
16:54
he said, "In my experience, unless repeatedly told otherwise,
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“尽管有很多次别人都反驳我的观点，根据我的经历
17:02
and even if given a modicum of support,
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对于孩子们，即使给予他们的支持很少
17:06
if left to their own devices, a child will achieve."
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他们自己也能有所成就”
17:12
See, Dr. Kean made that shift in thinking.
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看吧，基恩大夫的想法改变了
17:16
He understood that there's a difference between the medical condition
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他认识到了医疗诊断的结果以及一个人处理这种结果的方式之间
17:19
and what someone might do with it.
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是存在差异的
17:22
And there's been a shift in my thinking over time,
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几年来，我的想法也有了一定的转变
17:25
in that, if you had asked me at 15 years old,
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比如，如果你在我15岁的时候问我
17:29
if I would have traded prosthetics for flesh-and-bone legs,
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愿不愿意用我现在的假肢换一双真腿
17:33
I wouldn't have hesitated for a second.
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我会毫不犹豫地答应
17:36
I aspired to that kind of normalcy back then.
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因为我渴望得到那种“正统”
17:42
But if you ask me today, I'm not so sure.
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但是如果你今天问我同样的问题，我就要三思了
17:45
And it's because of the experiences I've had with them,
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这是因为我使用假肢的这段经历
17:50
not in spite of the experiences I've had with them.
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对我的影响很大
17:56
And perhaps this shift in me has happened
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也许，我已经由内而外地脱胎换骨了
17:59
because I've been exposed to more people who have opened doors for me
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因为，在我所遇到的人里面
18:04
than those who have put lids and cast shadows on me.
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为我开启通向新世界的门的人远远多于给我心灵蒙上阴影的人
18:11
See, all you really need is one person
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看吧，你们所需要的就是这样一个人
18:13
to show you the epiphany of your own power, and you're off.
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他能向你展示你自己的力量
18:18
If you can hand somebody the key to their own power --
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人类的灵魂是包容的
18:23
the human spirit is so receptive -- if you can do that
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如果你能够给他人一把钥匙，让他自己用这把钥匙开启自己的力量
18:25
and open a door for someone at a crucial moment,
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并且在关键时刻，你能用这把钥匙为别人开启一扇门
18:28
you are educating them in the best sense.
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你就是在用最好的方式对他们进行教育
18:31
You're teaching them to open doors for themselves.
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因为你在教他们自己为自己开启通向新世界之门
18:36
In fact, the exact meaning of the word "educate"
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实际上，“教育”这个词的意义
18:42
comes from the root word "educe."
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来源于“唤出”这个词
18:44
It means "to bring forth what is within,
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“唤出”，即把深藏在里面的东西引出来
18:48
to bring out potential."
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发掘潜能
18:50
So again, which potential do we want to bring out?
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那么，我们究竟希望发掘出什么样的潜能呢
18:55
There was a case study done in 1960s Britain,
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这里有个上世纪60年代英国的案例
18:58
when they were moving from grammar schools to comprehensive schools.
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英国的孩子从小学升到初中这一过程
19:03
It's called the streaming trials. We call it "tracking" here in the States.
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在英国叫做“统考”，在美国我们管它叫“追踪考试”
19:06
It's separating students from A, B, C, D and so on.
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考试把学生们按照成绩从高到低分成A、B、C、D四等
19:11
And the "A students" get the tougher curriculum, the best teachers, etc.
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A等的学生学更难的课程，有更好的老师，等等
19:16
Well, they took, over a three-month period,
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这个实验为期三个月
19:18
D-level students, gave them A's,
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按照成绩应该被归为D等学生被告知他们是A等的学生
19:21
told them they were "A's," told them they were bright,
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他们被告知自己是非常聪明的
19:24
and at the end of this three-month period,
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三个月的实验结束的时候
19:26
they were performing at A-level.
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这群学生的表现已经相当于A等生了
19:29
And, of course, the heartbreaking, flip side of this study,
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当然，这个案例研究也有其令人心寒的另一面
19:32
is that they took the "A students" and told them they were "D's."
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那就是，那些本应该被归为A等的学生被告知他们是D等学生
19:37
And that's what happened at the end of that three-month period.
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三个月的实验结束的时候
19:40
Those who were still around in school, besides the people who had dropped out.
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他们中的很多人已经辍学了
19:46
A crucial part of this case study was that the teachers were duped too.
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这个实验的一个要点就是，参与实验的老师们也是不知情的
19:55
The teachers didn't know a switch had been made.
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老师们不知道学生被调包了
19:57
They were simply told, "These are the 'A-students,' these are the 'D-students.'"
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老师们只是被告知哪些是A等生，哪些是D等生
20:01
And that's how they went about teaching them and treating them.
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老师也随即"因材施教"了
20:07
So, I think that the only true disability is a crushed spirit,
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所以，我认为真正的“残疾”是一个被击败的灵魂
20:16
a spirit that's been crushed doesn't have hope,
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一个对未来没有希望的灵魂
20:21
it doesn't see beauty,
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一个无法感知美好的灵魂
20:23
it no longer has our natural, childlike curiosity
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一个丧失了孩子般天真的好奇心的灵魂
20:29
and our innate ability to imagine.
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一个丧失了人类与生俱来的想象力的灵魂
20:32
If instead, we can bolster a human spirit to keep hope,
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假如，我们能够让人类的灵魂始终保持希望
20:37
to see beauty in themselves and others,
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让这灵魂能看到自己以及他人的美
20:41
to be curious and imaginative,
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赋予这灵魂好奇心以及想象力
20:44
then we are truly using our power well.
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那么我们就算是在很好地运用自己的力量了
20:48
When a spirit has those qualities, we are able to create new realities
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只要一个灵魂仍然具备上述的那些品质，那么它就能创造无限可能
20:54
and new ways of being.
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以及新的生活方式
20:57
I'd like to leave you with a poem
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我想在最后送给大家一首诗
20:59
by a fourteenth-century Persian poet named Hafiz
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诗的作者是十四世纪的波斯诗人哈菲斯
21:03
that my friend, Jacques Dembois told me about,
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这首诗是我的一个朋友，雅克•邓波讲给我的
21:06
and the poem is called "The God Who Only Knows Four Words":
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诗的名字叫《一个只知道四个字的神》
21:11
"Every child has known God,
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"每个孩子都知道神的存在
21:15
not the God of names,
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不是有名字的神
21:17
not the God of don'ts,
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不是给你施加种种金规玉律的神
21:20
but the God who only knows four words and keeps repeating them,
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而是一个只会说四个字，并且一遍又一遍重复着它们的神
21:25
saying, 'Come dance with me.
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祂在说，与我共舞
21:32
Come, dance with me. Come, dance with me.'"
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与我共舞！”
21:35
Thank you.
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谢谢大家
21:37
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aimee Mullins - Athlete and actorA record-breaker at the Paralympic Games in 1996, Aimee Mullins has built a career as a model, actor and advocate for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics.
Why you should listen
Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run -- competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. At Georgetown, where she double-majored in history and diplomacy, she became the first double amputee to compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field.
After school, Mullins did some modeling -- including a legendary runway show for Alexander McQueen -- and then turned to acting, appearing as the Leopard Queen in Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle. In 2008 she was the official Ambassador for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.
She's a passionate advocate for a new kind of thinking about prosthetics, and recently mentioned to an interviewer that she's been looking closely at MIT's in-development powered robotic ankle, "which I fully plan on having."
Aimee Mullins | Speaker | TED.com