TEDxBrussels
John Bohannon: Dance vs. powerpoint, a modest proposal
John Bohannon：舞蹈還是 PowerPoint ── 一個謙卑的提案
Filmed:
Readability: 4.4
548,132 views
用舞者而不用 PowerPoint。這是科普作家 John Bohannon 的「謙卑提案」。在這個引人入勝的演講中，Black Label Movement 的舞者幫忙他談這個提案。（攝於 TEDxBrussels ）
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:19
(Music)
0
3161
21956
（音樂）
00:41
Good afternoon.
1
25117
2295
午安。
00:43
As you're all aware, we face difficult economic times.
2
27412
4461
你們都知道，我們面對著艱難的經濟時代。
00:47
I come to you with a modest proposal
3
31873
2452
我來這裡提出一個謙卑的建議
00:50
for easing the financial burden.
4
34325
2532
來減輕財政負擔。
00:52
This idea came to me while talking to
5
36857
1533
這個想法是在我和一位麻省理工學院
00:54
a physicist friend of mine at MIT.
6
38390
2972
的物理學家朋友聊天時產生的。
00:57
He was struggling to explain something to me:
7
41362
2689
他正在竭力向我解釋
00:59
a beautiful experiment that uses lasers to cool down matter.
8
44051
4576
一個美麗的實驗：利用鐳射冷卻物質。
01:04
Now he confused me from the very start,
9
48627
1907
他從一開始就把我弄糊塗了，
01:06
because light doesn't cool things down.
10
50534
2354
因為光不會降溫。
01:08
It makes it hotter. It's happening right now.
11
52888
3449
光會加熱。像是現在。
01:12
The reason that you can see me standing here is because
12
56337
2543
你可以看到我站在這裡的原因
是因為
是因為
01:14
this room is filled with more than 100 quintillion photons,
13
58880
3772
這個房間裡充滿了超過一萬兆顆光子，
01:18
and they're moving randomly through the space, near the speed of light.
14
62652
3535
它們在空間中以接近光速隨機移動。
01:22
All of them are different colors,
15
66187
1516
它們是不同顏色的，
01:23
they're rippling with different frequencies,
16
67703
1940
他們有不同的頻率，
01:25
and they're bouncing off every surface, including me,
17
69643
2875
且他們在各個表面間反彈，包括我在內，
01:28
and some of those are flying directly into your eyes,
18
72518
2410
其中一些會直接進入你的眼睛，
01:30
and that's why your brain is forming an image of me standing here.
19
74928
3200
這就是為什麼你的大腦
形成我站在這裡的圖像。
形成我站在這裡的圖像。
01:34
Now a laser is different.
20
78128
1655
鐳射是不一樣的。
01:35
It also uses photons, but they're all synchronized,
21
79783
4003
它也使用光子，但它們是同步的，
01:39
and if you focus them into a beam,
22
83786
2707
且如果你把它們集中成一束，
01:42
what you have is an incredibly useful tool.
23
86493
2395
你就有個非常有用的工具。
01:44
The control of a laser is so precise
24
88888
2136
鐳射可以非常精確地被控制，
01:46
that you can perform surgery inside of an eye,
25
91024
2674
讓你可以執行眼內手術，
01:49
you can use it to store massive amounts of data,
26
93698
2645
你可以使用它來存儲大量的資料，
01:52
and you can use it for this beautiful experiment
27
96343
2330
你也可以使用它做這個
01:54
that my friend was struggling to explain.
28
98673
2473
我的朋友正在竭力解釋的美麗實驗。
01:57
First you trap atoms in a special bottle.
29
101146
3255
首先你將原子捕捉在特別的瓶子當中。
02:00
It uses electromagnetic fields to isolate the atoms
30
104401
2960
它使用電磁場來孤立原子
02:03
from the noise of the environment.
31
107361
2186
及環境中的雜訊。
02:05
And the atoms themselves are quite violent,
32
109547
2483
原子本身是相當暴力的，
02:07
but if you fire lasers that are precisely tuned to the right frequency,
33
112030
4044
但如果你非常精確地
調整到合適的頻率，
調整到合適的頻率，
02:11
an atom will briefly absorb those photons
34
116074
2628
原子會暫時吸收這些光子
02:14
and tend to slow down.
35
118702
1883
而且往往會慢下來。
02:16
Little by little it gets colder
36
120585
3312
慢慢地它會變冷
02:19
until eventually it approaches absolute zero.
37
123897
4513
直到最終接近絕對零度。
02:24
Now if you use the right kind of atoms and you get them cold enough,
38
128410
3176
現在，如果你使用合適的原子且讓它們夠冷，
02:27
something truly bizarre happens.
39
131586
3777
非常奇怪的事情會發生。
02:31
It's no longer a solid, a liquid or a gas.
40
135363
2822
它不再是固體、 液體或氣體。
02:34
It enters a new state of matter called a superfluid.
41
138185
3940
它進入一個叫作超流體的新狀態。
02:38
The atoms lose their individual identity,
42
142125
2287
原子失去了他們原來的特質，
02:40
and the rules from the quantum world take over,
43
144412
2827
接著量子世界的規則接管它們，
02:43
and that's what gives superfluids such spooky properties.
44
147239
4095
這是賦予超流體怪異特質的原因。
02:47
For example, if you shine light through a superfluid,
45
151334
3452
例如，如果你將光線通過超流體，
02:50
it is able to slow photons down
46
154786
3025
它可以減緩光子速度
02:53
to 60 kilometers per hour.
47
157811
3159
到每小時 60 公里。
03:03
Another spooky property is that it flows
48
167585
3053
另一個怪異的特質是它
03:06
with absolutely no viscosity or friction,
49
170638
2636
以一種完全沒有粘度及摩擦的方式流動，
03:09
so if you were to take the lid off that bottle,
50
173274
2264
所以，如果你把瓶子的蓋子拿走，
03:11
it won't stay inside.
51
175538
2095
它不會留在裡面。
03:13
A thin film will creep up the inside wall,
52
177633
2777
一層薄膜會爬上牆內側，
03:16
flow over the top and right out the outside.
53
180410
4224
流到上面並流到外面。
03:20
Now of course, the moment that it does hit the outside environment,
54
184634
2957
現在很顯然的，當它到外部環境的時候，
03:23
and its temperature rises by even a fraction of a degree,
55
187591
3716
它的溫度僅僅上升一點點，
03:27
it immediately turns back into normal matter.
56
191307
2123
它馬上變回正常的物質。
03:29
Superfluids are one of the most fragile things we've ever discovered.
57
193430
3566
超流體是我們迄今發現最脆弱的東西之一。
03:32
And this is the great pleasure of science:
58
196996
2361
這是科學的極大樂趣：
03:35
the defeat of our intuition through experimentation.
59
199357
4215
我們透過實驗發現我們的直覺是不成立的。
03:39
But the experiment is not the end of the story,
60
203572
1689
但實驗不是這故事的結尾，
03:41
because you still have to transmit that knowledge to other people.
61
205261
3526
因為你仍然要將知識傳給其它人。
03:44
I have a Ph.D in molecular biology.
62
208787
2376
我有個分子生物學的博士學位。
03:47
I still barely understand what most scientists are talking about.
63
211163
3533
我仍只能勉強明白大多數科學家正在談論的東西。
03:50
So as my friend was trying to explain that experiment,
64
214696
2950
所以，當我的朋友試著解釋這個實驗時，
03:53
it seemed like the more he said,
65
217646
2946
感覺起來像他說得越多，
03:56
the less I understood.
66
220592
2973
我懂得越少。
03:59
Because if you're trying to give someone the big picture
67
223565
2371
因為如果你想給某人
一個複雜概念的大架構，
一個複雜概念的大架構，
04:01
of a complex idea, to really capture its essence,
68
225936
4079
要真正捕捉其本質，
04:05
the fewer words you use, the better.
69
230015
3583
那麼用越少字越好。
04:09
In fact, the ideal may be to use no words at all.
70
233598
3319
事實上，最理想的是根本不用字。
04:12
I remember thinking, my friend could have explained
71
236917
1557
我記得當時在想，我的朋友能夠
04:14
that entire experiment with a dance.
72
238474
3132
用舞蹈解釋整個實驗。
04:17
Of course, there never seem to be any dancers around when you need them.
73
241606
4368
當然，當你需要舞者的時候身邊總是沒有舞者。
04:21
Now, the idea is not as crazy as it sounds.
74
245974
1889
這個想法沒有聽起來這麼瘋狂。
04:23
I started a contest four years ago called Dance Your Ph.D.
75
247863
3502
我四年前開始一個叫作「舞出你的博士」的比賽。
04:27
Instead of explaining their research with words,
76
251365
2615
科學家用舞蹈而不是文字，
04:29
scientists have to explain it with dance.
77
253980
2900
來解釋它的研究。
04:32
Now surprisingly, it seems to work.
78
256880
2369
意想不到的是，似乎是辦得到的。
04:35
Dance really can make science easier to understand.
79
259249
3272
舞蹈真的可以讓科學更容易理解。
04:38
But don't take my word for it.
80
262521
1796
但不要直接相信我的話。
04:40
Go on the Internet and search for "Dance Your Ph.D."
81
264317
2887
到網路上搜索「舞出你的博士」。
04:43
There are hundreds of dancing scientists waiting for you.
82
267204
3258
有數以百計的舞蹈科學家們在等著你。
04:46
The most surprising thing that I've learned while running this contest
83
270462
2083
我在辦這個比賽時最令我驚訝的是
04:48
is that some scientists are now working directly with dancers on their research.
84
272545
5289
有些科學家現在正直接與舞者們作研究。
04:53
For example, at the University of Minnesota,
85
277834
1880
例如，在明尼蘇達大學
04:55
there's a biomedical engineer named David Odde,
86
279714
2505
有位叫 David Odde 的生物醫學工程師，
04:58
and he works with dancers to study how cells move.
87
282219
3158
和舞者合作研究細胞的移動方式。
05:01
They do it by changing their shape.
88
285377
2409
他們透過改變形狀來這麼做。
05:03
When a chemical signal washes up on one side,
89
287786
2819
當一個化學信號從一側出現，
05:06
it triggers the cell to expand its shape on that side,
90
290605
3125
它會在那一側引發一系列的形狀改變，
05:09
because the cell is constantly touching and tugging at the environment.
91
293730
3281
因為細胞是不斷與環境互動的。
05:12
So that allows cells to ooze along in the right directions.
92
297011
3971
這使細胞可以沿著正確的方向滲出。
05:16
But what seems so slow and graceful from the outside
93
300982
3938
但從外面看來如此緩慢和優雅的事情，
05:20
is really more like chaos inside,
94
304920
2429
在裡面可是非常混沌的，
05:23
because cells control their shape with a skeleton of rigid protein fibers,
95
307349
4403
因為細胞用硬質蛋白纖維骨架來維持其形狀，
05:27
and those fibers are constantly falling apart.
96
311752
2845
且這些纖維組織不斷地解散。
05:30
But just as quickly as they explode,
97
314597
2569
但正當它們炸開的時候，
05:33
more proteins attach to the ends and grow them longer,
98
317166
2417
更多蛋白質連接到尾端並將其增長，
05:35
so it's constantly changing
99
319583
2183
所以它不斷地在變化
05:37
just to remain exactly the same.
100
321766
2998
才能維持原狀。
05:40
Now, David builds mathematical models of this and then he tests those in the lab,
101
324764
3170
David 建立數學模型，然後在實驗室測試，
05:43
but before he does that, he works with dancers
102
327934
2775
但在他測試之前，他與舞者們合作
05:46
to figure out what kinds of models to build in the first place.
103
330709
3701
來建造這些模型。
05:50
It's basically efficient brainstorming,
104
334410
3093
基本上這是有效的集思廣益，
05:53
and when I visited David to learn about his research,
105
337503
2255
且當我訪問 David 來了解他的研究時，
05:55
he used dancers to explain it to me
106
339758
3344
他用舞蹈來給我解釋
05:59
rather than the usual method: PowerPoint.
107
343102
4542
而不是用常用的方法：PowerPoint。
06:03
And this brings me to my modest proposal.
108
347644
2353
這就回到我謙卑的建議。
06:05
I think that bad PowerPoint presentations
109
349997
2869
我認為不好的 PowerPoint 演講
06:08
are a serious threat to the global economy.
110
352866
2672
是對全球經濟的嚴重威脅。
06:11
(Laughter) (Applause)
111
355538
7929
（笑聲）（掌聲）
06:19
Now it does depend on how you measure it, of course,
112
363467
4879
當然這要看你如何衡量它，
06:24
but one estimate has put the drain at 250 million dollars per day.
113
368346
4769
但一項估計每天損失約 2 億 5000 萬美金。
06:29
Now that assumes half-hour presentations
114
373115
2181
那是假定半小時的演講，
06:31
for an average audience of four people
115
375296
2057
觀眾約四人，
06:33
with salaries of 35,000 dollars,
116
377353
2319
每人薪水 35,000 美元，
06:35
and it conservatively assumes that
117
379672
1960
且它保守估計
06:37
about a quarter of the presentations are a complete waste of time,
118
381632
3932
約有四分之一的演講是完全浪費時間的，
06:41
and given that there are some apparently
119
385564
2579
有鑒於一天大約有
06:44
30 million PowerPoint presentations created every day,
120
388143
3272
3 千萬個 PowerPoint 演講產生，
06:47
that would indeed add up to an annual waste
121
391415
2888
這樣會累積成每年
06:50
of 100 billion dollars.
122
394303
3096
一千億美金的損失。
06:53
Of course, that's just the time we're losing
123
397399
2368
當然，這只是我們聽演講
06:55
sitting through presentations.
124
399767
2223
所浪費的時間。
06:57
There are other costs, because PowerPoint is a tool,
125
401990
4316
還有其他費用，因為 PowerPoint 是一個工具，
07:02
and like any tool, it can and will be abused.
126
406306
3330
就像任何其它工具，它可以被濫用。
07:05
To borrow a concept from my country's CIA,
127
409636
2490
借用我國中央情報局的概念，
07:08
it helps you to soften up your audience.
128
412126
3115
它可以幫你讓聽眾放鬆。
07:11
It distracts them with pretty pictures, irrelevant data.
129
415241
4248
它用漂亮的圖片和無關的資料來分散注意力，
07:15
It allows you to create the illusion of competence,
130
419489
3740
它創造一個完整的幻象、
07:19
the illusion of simplicity,
131
423229
2760
一個簡易的假像，
07:21
and most destructively, the illusion of understanding.
132
425989
4727
更糟的是建造一個認知的錯覺。
07:26
So now my country is 15 trillion dollars in debt.
133
430716
4244
所以現在我的國家有 15 兆美元的債務。
07:30
Our leaders are working tirelessly to try and find ways to save money.
134
434960
4985
我們的領導人努力地尋找省錢的方法。
07:35
One idea is to drastically reduce public support for the arts.
135
439945
4469
其中一個是大量減少藝術的支援。
07:40
For example, our National Endowment for the Arts,
136
444414
2208
例如，國家藝術基金會有
07:42
with its $150 million budget,
137
446622
2577
一億五千萬元的預算，
07:45
slashing that program would immediately reduce the national debt
138
449199
3012
砍掉這個預算可以馬上減少國家債務
07:48
by about one one-thousandth of a percent.
139
452211
3361
的千分之一個百分比。
07:51
One certainly can't argue with those numbers.
140
455572
1740
這當然是個不爭的事實。
07:53
However, once we eliminate public funding for the arts,
141
457312
5282
然而，一旦我們移除藝術發展的公共資金，
07:58
there will be some drawbacks.
142
462594
2672
會有一些缺點。
08:01
The artists on the street will swell the ranks of the unemployed.
143
465266
4396
街上的藝術家會大幅增加失業人口。
08:05
Many will turn to drug abuse and prostitution,
144
469662
2407
大部份會轉去吸毒和賣淫，
08:07
and that will inevitably lower property values in urban neighborhoods.
145
472069
3119
無法避免地，土地價值將降低。
08:11
All of this could wipe out the savings we're hoping to make in the first place.
146
475188
4907
這一切可能花去我們原本想要的儲蓄金。
08:15
I shall now, therefore, humbly propose my own thoughts,
147
480095
3241
所以我現在要謙卑地提出我的想法，
08:19
which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.
148
483336
3782
希望不會有任何反對。
08:23
Once we eliminate public funding for the artists,
149
487118
1893
當我們移除藝術家的公共資金時，
08:24
let's put them back to work
150
489011
1587
我們讓他們重新投入工作，
08:26
by using them instead of PowerPoint.
151
490598
3021
就是使用他們而不用 PowerPoint。
08:29
As a test case, I propose we start with American dancers.
152
493619
3483
作為測試案例，我提議我們從用美國的舞者開始。
08:33
After all, they are the most perishable of their kind,
153
497102
2153
畢竟，他們是同類中最容易凋零的，
08:35
prone to injury and very slow to heal
154
499255
2159
容易受傷且
由於我們的衛生保健制度
由於我們的衛生保健制度
08:37
due to our health care system.
155
501414
2817
傷勢癒合緩慢。
08:40
Rather than dancing our Ph.Ds,
156
504231
3143
不只是跳我們的博士研究，
08:43
we should use dance to explain all of our complex problems.
157
507374
3614
我們應該用舞蹈來解釋所有我們複雜的問題。
08:46
Imagine our politicians using dance
158
510988
2860
想像一下我們的政治家用舞蹈
08:49
to explain why we must invade a foreign country
159
513848
3778
來解釋為什麼我們必須侵入外國
08:53
or bail out an investment bank.
160
517626
2872
或紓困一家投資銀行。
08:56
It's sure to help.
161
520498
1962
這一定有幫助的。
08:58
Of course someday, in the deep future,
162
522460
3752
當然很久後的某一天，
09:02
a technology of persuasion
163
526212
2381
一種比 PowerPoint 更強大地說服技術
09:04
even more powerful than PowerPoint may be invented,
164
528593
3429
可能會被發明，
09:07
rendering dancers unnecessary as tools of rhetoric.
165
532022
3544
讓舞者不再被需要用作為演講工具。
09:11
However, I trust that by that day,
166
535566
2576
不過，我相信當那天到來時，
09:14
we shall have passed this present financial calamity.
167
538142
3315
我們應該已經過了現在的金融風暴。
09:17
Perhaps by then we will be able to afford the luxury
168
541457
3366
或許那時後我們能夠奢侈地
09:20
of just sitting in an audience
169
544823
3120
只坐在觀眾席、
09:23
with no other purpose
170
547943
1840
沒有其他目的地
09:25
than to witness the human form in motion.
171
549783
4566
欣賞人體運動。
09:30
(Music)
172
554349
70825
（音樂）
10:41
(Applause)
173
625189
29015
（掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
John Bohannon - Science writerJohn Bohannon is a scientist and writer who runs the annual Dance Your Ph.D. contest.
Why you should listen
John Bohannon is a biologist and journalist. After embedding in southern Afghanistan in 2010, he engineered the first voluntary release of civilian casualty data by the US-led military coalition. He studies the evolution of fame using data provided by Google, and writes for Science and WIRED. His research on the blurring line between the cuisine of man and pet caused Stephen Colbert to eat cat food on television.
Using an alter ego known as the Gonzo Scientist, he runs the "Dance Your Ph.D." contest. It's an international competition for scientists to explain their research with interpretive dance.
John Bohannon | Speaker | TED.com
Black Label Movement - Dance troupe
Black Label Movement is an explosively physical Minneapolis dance company.
Why you should listen
Black Label Movement is a Twin Cities-based dance theater dedicated to creating wildly physical, naturally virtuosic, intellectually and emotionally engaging art. Led by Carl Flink, this collective of dance artists seeks to push the mind, body, and heart to the edge of what is possible and beyond.
A one-time company member and soloist with the New York City-based Limón Dance Company, Flink is known for choreography with intense athleticism, daring risk taking and humanistic themes that address diverse social, scientific, political and working class subjects in addition to more abstract dance approaches. He is also the endowed Nadine Jette Sween Professor of Dance and Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Beyond the dance world, he graduated from Stanford Law School in 2001 and worked as a staff attorney with Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. protecting the legal rights of low-income family farmers and promoting sustainable agriculture until 2004.
Credits for the TEDxBrussels performance:
BLM Movers: Jessica Ehlert, Brian Godbout, Stephanie Laager, Edward Oroyan, Nelle Hens, Camille Prieux, Mariel Blaise, Gapson Nenaks, David Zagari & Marcio Canabarro
Music: Greg Brosofske (and you can download the music)
Black Label Movement | Speaker | TED.com