ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophie Scott - Neuroscientist, stand-up comic
While exploring the neuroscience of speech and vocal behavior, Sophie Scott stumbled upon a surprising second vocation: making audiences laugh as a stand-up comic.

Why you should listen

As deputy director of the University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Sophie Scott seeks out the neurological basis of communication, whether it’s speech or vocalized emotion.

As a pioneering researcher in the science of laughter, she’s made some unexpected discoveries -- including that rats are ticklish, and that the one tactic that’s almost guaranteed to get someone to laugh is to show them someone else laughing. But as an occasional stand-up comedian with UCL’s Bright Club, she shows that she’s no slouch at getting laughs herself.

More profile about the speaker
Sophie Scott | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Sophie Scott: Why we laugh

蘇菲‧史考特: 我們為什麼笑

Filmed:
3,932,346 views

你知道嗎?獨樂樂真的不如眾樂樂,你身邊如果有人在,笑的機率會比獨處時高 30 倍。認知神經學家蘇菲‧史考特在這場節奏快速、動感十足,當然,還很爆笑的演講中,與我們分享這個數據,以及其他有關笑聲的驚人事實。
- Neuroscientist, stand-up comic
While exploring the neuroscience of speech and vocal behavior, Sophie Scott stumbled upon a surprising second vocation: making audiences laugh as a stand-up comic. Full bio

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

00:12
Hi你好. I'm going to talk
to you today今天 about laughter笑聲,
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大家好,我們今天來談笑聲,
00:15
and I just want to start開始
by thinking思維 about the first time
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我想從回想我自己第一次
00:18
I can ever remember記得 noticing注意到 laughter笑聲.
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注意到笑聲開始說起。
00:20
This is when I was a little girl女孩.
I would've會一直 been about six.
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那時我還是一個小女孩,
大概六歲左右。
我正好看見我的父母
在做一件不太尋常的事,
00:23
And I came來了 across橫過 my parents父母
doing something unusual異常,
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他們當時正在笑。
00:27
where they were laughing.
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他們笑得非常非常開心。
00:28
They were laughing very, very hard.
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00:30
They were lying說謊 on the floor地板 laughing.
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他們笑倒在地板上。
00:32
They were screaming尖叫 with laughter笑聲.
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他們尖聲大笑。
00:34
I did not know what they were
laughing at, but I wanted in.
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我不知道他們在笑什麼,
但我想和他們一起笑。
00:38
I wanted to be part部分 of that,
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我想成為這個笑聲的一部分,
00:40
and I kind of satSAT around at the edge邊緣
going, "Hoo胡胡 hoo!" (Laughter笑聲)
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我就坐在他們旁邊,
叫著 「呵呵!」(笑聲)
00:43
Now, incidentally順便,
what they were laughing at
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順帶一提,
他們當時在笑的
00:47
was a song歌曲 which哪一個 people used to sing,
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是當時流行的一首歌,
00:49
which哪一個 was based基於 around
signs跡象 in toilets洗手間 on trains火車
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這首歌把火車廁所的
標示寫進詞裡,
00:53
telling告訴 you what you could
and could not do
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告訴你在火車廁所裡,
什麼可以做,
什麼不可以做。
00:56
in toilets洗手間 on trains火車.
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00:57
And the thing you have to remember記得
about the English英語 is, of course課程,
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有件事你們一定要記得,
當然就是我們英國人
的確有著無限複雜的幽默感。
01:00
we do have an immensely非常
sophisticated複雜的 sense of humor幽默.
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01:03
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:04
At the time, though雖然, I didn't
understand理解 anything of that.
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但是,我當時並不理解這些,
01:07
I just cared照顧 about the laughter笑聲,
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我只是很在意笑聲,
01:09
and actually其實, as a neuroscientist神經學家,
I've come to care關心 about it again.
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而且其實現在身為神經學家,
我開始重新關注這個問題。
01:12
And it is a really weird奇怪的 thing to do.
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笑真的是一件非常奇怪的事。
01:15
What I'm going to do now
is just play some examples例子
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我現在要放幾段
01:17
of real真實 human人的 beings眾生 laughing,
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真人在笑的例子,
01:19
and I want you think about the sound聲音
people make and how odd that can be,
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我想讓大家想想人類發出的聲音,
這些聲音可以多麼奇怪,
01:22
and in fact事實 how primitive原始
laughter笑聲 is as a sound聲音.
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以及,笑聲是一種多麼原始的聲音。
01:25
It's much more like an animal動物 call
than it is like speech言語.
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笑聲更像是動物的叫聲,
而不像說話。
01:28
So here we've我們已經 got some laughter笑聲 for you.
The first one is pretty漂亮 joyful快樂.
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現在來聽聽這幾段笑聲。
第一段還挺好笑。
01:31
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
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(音訊:笑聲)
01:47
Now this next下一個 guy, I need him to breathe呼吸.
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下一段的傢伙得去喘口氣。
01:50
There's a point in there
where I'm just, like,
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有一段到了一個地步,
01:52
you've got to get some air空氣 in there, mate伴侶,
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我說老兄你真的需要吸氣,
因爲他聽起來真像喘不過氣了。
01:54
because he just sounds聲音
like he's breathing呼吸 out.
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(音訊:笑聲)
01:56
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
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02:05
This hasn't有沒有 been edited編輯; this is him.
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這没有被編輯過,
就是他在笑。
02:08
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
(Laughter笑聲)
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(音訊:笑聲)
(笑聲)
02:14
And finally最後 we have --
this is a human人的 female laughing.
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最後,我們有一段女人的笑聲。
02:18
And laughter笑聲 can take us to some pretty漂亮
odd places地方 in terms條款 of making製造 noises噪音.
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從發出聲音的角度來看,
笑聲能讓我們聯想到奇怪的地方。
02:22
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
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(音訊:笑聲)
02:41
She actually其實 says, "Oh my God,
what is that?" in French法國.
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她其實在用法語說:
「我的天啊,這是什麼東西?」
02:44
We're all kind of with her.
I have no idea理念.
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應該是這樣吧?我也不知道。
02:48
Now, to understand理解 laughter笑聲,
you have to look at a part部分 of the body身體
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要理解笑聲,
你必須去觀察身體的某部分,
02:51
that psychologists心理學家 and neuroscientists神經學家
don't normally一般 spend much time looking at,
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心理學家和神經學家
通常不會花很多時間去觀察這部分,
就是胸腔,
02:55
which哪一個 is the ribcage肋骨,
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聽起來沒什麼了不起喔?
02:56
and it doesn't seem似乎 terribly可怕 exciting扣人心弦,
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但事實上你一直在使用你的胸腔。
02:58
but actually其實 you're all using運用
your ribcage肋骨 all the time.
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你無時無刻都在使用你的胸腔,
03:00
What you're all doing
at the moment時刻 with your ribcage肋骨,
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千萬不要停止使用它,
因為你在呼吸。
03:03
and don't stop doing it, is breathing呼吸.
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你使用肋間肌,
也就是在你肋骨之間的肌肉
03:05
So you use the intercostal肋間 muscles肌肉,
the muscles肌肉 between之間 your ribs肋骨,
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來擴張及收縮你的胸腔,
03:08
to bring帶來 air空氣 in and out of your lungs
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03:10
just by expanding擴大
and contracting承包 your ribcage肋骨,
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讓空氣進出你的肺,
如果我把一條帶子
繞在你的胸腔外部,
03:12
and if I was to put a strap背帶
around the outside of your chest胸部
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叫它呼吸帶吧,
然後看它的移動,
03:15
called a breath呼吸 belt, and just look
at that movement運動,
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你會看見緩和的正旋起伏律動,
那就是呼吸。
03:17
you see a rather gentle溫和 sinusoidal正弦
movement運動, so that's breathing呼吸.
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你們全都在做這件事。
不要停止。
03:21
You're all doing it. Don't stop.
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一旦你開始說話,
03:22
As soon不久 as you start開始 talking,
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你的呼吸會變得完全不同。
03:24
you start開始 using運用 your breathing呼吸
completely全然 differently不同.
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所以我現在做的就很像這樣。
03:26
So what I'm doing now is you see
something much more like this.
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在說話的時候,
你的胸腔進行細微的運動
03:29
In talking, you use very fine
movements運動 of the ribcage肋骨
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把空氣擠出去。
03:32
to squeeze the air空氣 out --
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03:33
and in fact事實, we're the only animals動物
that can do this.
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事實上,我們是唯一
可以這樣做的動物。
這也就是為什麼我們能說話。
03:36
It's why we can talk at all.
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說話及呼吸有個致命的敵人,
03:37
Now, both talking and breathing呼吸
has a mortal凡人 enemy敵人,
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03:40
and that enemy敵人 is laughter笑聲,
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那個敵人就是笑,
03:43
because what happens發生 when you laugh
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因為當你在笑的時候,
同樣的那群肌肉會開始規律地收縮,
03:45
is those same相同 muscles肌肉
start開始 to contract合同 very regularly經常,
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03:48
and you get this very marked
sort分類 of zig-zagging之字形,
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你就會得到這樣
非常顯著的鋸齒狀訊號,
03:51
and that's just squeezing擠壓
the air空氣 out of you.
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這只是把空氣擠出你的肺,
也是發出聲音的基本原理。
03:53
It literally按照字面 is that basic基本 a way
of making製造 a sound聲音.
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這套用到所有人身上
都有一樣的效果。
03:56
You could be stamping沖壓 on somebody,
it's having the same相同 effect影響.
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你只是把空氣擠出去,
03:59
You're just squeezing擠壓 air空氣 out,
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每一次的收縮「哈!」
都讓你發出聲音。
04:00
and each of those contractions宮縮 --
Ha! -- gives you a sound聲音.
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當這些收縮彼此相連的時候,
就有這些痙攣,
04:03
And as the contractions宮縮 run together一起,
you can get these spasms痙攣,
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所以你就會有(喘氣聲)
這樣的聲音。
04:06
and that's when you start開始 getting得到
these -- (Wheezing喘息) -- things happening事件.
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這個我超會。
(笑聲)
04:10
I'm brilliant輝煌 at this. (Laughter笑聲)
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04:13
Now, in terms條款 of the science科學 of laughter笑聲,
there isn't very much,
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要講笑的科學,
這並沒有太大的意義。
04:17
but it does turn out that pretty漂亮 much
everything we think we know
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但是這告訴我們
基本上我們對笑的認知
04:20
about laughter笑聲 is wrong錯誤.
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都是錯的。
04:23
So it's not at all unusual異常, for example,
to hear people to say
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所以舉個例子,
我們一點也不意外
有人說人類是唯一會笑的動物。
04:25
humans人類 are the only animals動物 that laugh.
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尼采就認為人類是唯一會笑的動物。
04:28
Nietzsche尼采 thought that humans人類
are the only animals動物 that laugh.
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事實上,很多哺乳類動物都會笑。
04:30
In fact事實, you find laughter笑聲
throughout始終 the mammals哺乳動物.
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靈長類的這種現象
已有很完整的觀察和紀錄,
04:33
It's been well-described充分描述的
and well-observed公觀察 in primates靈長類動物,
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但是你也能在老鼠身上看到,
04:35
but you also see it in rats大鼠,
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不管你在哪裡看到
04:37
and wherever哪裡 you find it --
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──人類、靈長類、老鼠──
04:38
humans人類, primates靈長類動物, rats大鼠 --
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都會發現這和搔癢
這類的事件有關係。
04:40
you find it associated相關
with things like tickling發癢.
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04:43
That's the same相同 for humans人類.
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人類也一樣。
04:46
You find it associated相關 with play,
and all mammals哺乳動物 play.
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你會發現這和玩樂有關,
所有的哺乳類都會玩樂。
04:51
And wherever哪裡 you find it,
it's associated相關 with interactions互動.
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不論你在哪裡看到,
這都和互動有關。
04:55
So Robert羅伯特 Provine普羅, who has doneDONE
a lot of work on this,
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羅伯特.普范對這做過很多研究,
04:58
has pointed out that you are 30 times
more likely容易 to laugh
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他指出當你跟別人在一起的時候,
05:02
if you are with somebody else其他
than if you're on your own擁有,
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你笑的機會
比你獨自一人的時候多 30 倍,
05:06
and where you find most laughter笑聲
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你聽到最多笑聲的地方,
05:08
is in social社會 interactions互動
like conversation會話.
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是在有社會互動的時候,像是對話。
05:10
So if you ask human人的 beings眾生,
"When do you laugh?"
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如果你問人類:
「你什麼時候會笑?」
05:13
they'll他們會 talk about comedy喜劇 and they'll他們會 talk
about humor幽默 and they'll他們會 talk about jokes笑話.
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他們會說到喜劇、
會說到幽默、會說到笑話。
當你觀察他們什麼時候笑,
他們是與朋友一同歡笑。
05:17
If you look at when they laugh,
they're laughing with their friends朋友.
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05:20
And when we laugh with people, we're
hardly幾乎不 ever actually其實 laughing at jokes笑話.
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當我們與人同樂的時候,
我們幾乎不是因為笑話而笑,
05:23
You are laughing to show顯示 people
that you understand理解 them,
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你用笑來表達你了解他們,
05:26
that you agree同意 with them, that you're
part部分 of the same相同 group as them.
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表示你同意他們,
表示你是團體的一份子。
你用笑來表示你喜歡他們。
05:29
You're laughing to show顯示
that you like them.
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甚至是愛他們。
05:31
You might威力 even love them.
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你在和他們說話的同時
也做出上述所有的事。
05:33
You're doing all that at the same相同 time
as talking to them,
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笑幫助你表達這樣的情緒。
05:35
and the laughter笑聲 is doing a lot
of that emotional情緒化 work for you.
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05:38
Something that Robert羅伯特 Provine普羅
has pointed out, as you can see here,
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羅伯特.普凡說過,
如同你在此所見,
我們在開頭聽到滑稽笑聲
跟著笑的原因,
05:41
and the reason原因 why we were laughing
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05:43
when we heard聽說 those
funny滑稽 laughs at the start開始,
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還有我在聽到我父母笑
而跟著笑的原因,
05:45
and why I was laughing
when I found發現 my parents父母 laughing,
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是因為這是一種極具
傳染性的行為。
05:48
is that it's an enormously巨大
behaviorally行為上 contagious傳染性的 effect影響.
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你會因別人笑而跟著笑,
05:51
You can catch抓住 laughter笑聲 from somebody else其他,
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如果你認識笑的那個人,
你跟著笑的機率更高。
05:53
and you are more likely容易 to catch抓住 laughter笑聲
off somebody else其他 if you know them.
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這依然受到社會脈絡的控制。
05:57
So it's still modulated調製
by this social社會 context上下文.
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你得把幽默感放一邊,
05:59
You have to put humor幽默 to one side
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然後去思考笑的社會意義,
06:00
and think about the social社會
meaning含義 of laughter笑聲
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因為那是笑的根本來源。
06:03
because that's where its origins起源 lie謊言.
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06:05
Now, something I've got very interested有興趣 in
is different不同 kinds of laughter笑聲,
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我對各種不同的笑很有興趣,
06:09
and we have some neurobiological神經生物學 evidence證據
about how human人的 beings眾生 vocalize發聲
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根據神經生物學
關於人類如何發聲的證據,
06:14
that suggests提示 there might威力 be
two kinds of laughs that we have.
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學者提出笑分成兩種。
06:18
So it seems似乎 possible可能 that the neurobiology神經生物學
for helpless無助, involuntary非自願 laughter笑聲,
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這意味著在神經生物學上,
不由自主、無法控制的笑,
06:23
like my parents父母 lying說謊 on the floor地板
screaming尖叫 about a silly愚蠢 song歌曲,
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就像我父母因為一首滑稽的歌
笑倒在地上尖叫,
06:26
might威力 have a different不同 basis基礎 to it
than some of that more polite有禮貌
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可能和你所見到的社交禮儀上的笑
有不同的根源,
06:29
social社會 laughter笑聲 that you encounter遭遇,
which哪一個 isn't horrible可怕 laughter笑聲,
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這種禮貌的笑並不可怕,
而是他們對你表現社交的一部分,
06:32
but it's behavior行為 somebody is doing
as part部分 of their communicative交際 act法案 to you,
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06:36
part部分 of their interaction相互作用 with you;
they are choosing選擇 to do this.
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是和你互動的一部分;
他們選擇這麼做。
06:40
In our evolution演化, we have developed發達
two different不同 ways方法 of vocalizing發聲.
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我們在演化過程中
發展出兩種發聲方式。
非自主的發聲屬於較古老系統,
06:43
Involuntary非自願 vocalizations發聲
are part部分 of an older舊的 system系統
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06:46
than the more voluntary自主性 vocalizations發聲
like the speech言語 I'm doing now.
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比自主性的發聲系統還老,
我現在演講就是自主性發聲。
我們可以想像
笑有兩個不同的根源。
06:49
So we might威力 imagine想像 that laughter笑聲
might威力 actually其實 have two different不同 roots.
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06:53
So I've been looking at this
in more detail詳情.
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於是我深入研究。
06:55
To do this, we've我們已經 had to make
recordings錄音 of people laughing,
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為了研究,
我們得錄製人們的笑聲,
06:58
and we've我們已經 had to do whatever隨你 it takes
to make people laugh,
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我們也必須想盡辦法讓人們笑,
07:01
and we got those same相同 people
to produce生產 more posed構成, social社會 laughter笑聲.
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我們也設法讓同一群人產生
更做作、社交式的笑。
07:04
So imagine想像 your friend朋友 told a joke玩笑,
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想像你朋友說了一個笑話,
07:05
and you're laughing because
you like your friend朋友,
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然後你笑了,
因為你喜歡你朋友,
並不是因為笑話本身好笑。
07:08
but not really because
the joke's開玩笑的 all that.
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07:10
So I'm going to play you
a couple一對 of those.
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我要放幾段給你們聽。
我希望你們告訴我
你們覺得這是真的在笑,
07:12
I want you to tell me if you think
this laughter笑聲 is real真實 laughter笑聲,
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還是做做樣子。
07:15
or if you think it's posed構成.
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這是自然發笑還是刻意的笑?
07:16
So is this involuntary非自願 laughter笑聲
or more voluntary自主性 laughter笑聲?
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07:19
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
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(音訊:笑聲)
07:24
What does that sound聲音 like to you?
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你們覺得聽起來如何?
07:26
Audience聽眾: Posed構成.
Sophie索菲 Scott斯科特: Posed構成? Posed構成.
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聽眾:做做樣子。
蘇菲.史考特:做做樣子?沒錯。
07:28
How about this one?
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那這個呢?
07:29
(Audio音頻: Laughing)
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(音訊:笑)
07:34
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:35
I'm the best最好.
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我最會笑了。
07:37
(Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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(笑聲)(掌聲)
07:39
Not really.
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開玩笑的。
07:41
No, that was helpless無助 laughter笑聲,
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那是無法控制的笑。
07:43
and in fact事實, to record記錄 that,
all they had to do was record記錄 me
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事實上要錄這段,他們只需要錄下
07:47
watching觀看 one of my friends朋友 listening to
something I knew知道 she wanted to laugh at,
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我看我的朋友
聽一段我知道她一定會笑的東西,
07:50
and I just started開始 doing this.
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我就笑成這樣了。
你會發現人們其實很能分辨
07:52
What you find is that people
are good at telling告訴 the difference區別
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真笑與假笑。
07:55
between之間 real真實 and posed構成 laughter笑聲.
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兩種笑對我們來說是不同的。
07:57
They seem似乎 to be different不同 things to us.
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有趣的是,你在大猩猩身上
也能觀察到類似現象。
07:59
Interestingly有趣的是, you see something
quite相當 similar類似 with chimpanzees黑猩猩.
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大猩猩在被搔癢時候
08:02
Chimpanzees黑猩猩 laugh differently不同
if they're being存在 tickled胳肢
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和在玩的時候,
笑的方式不一樣,
08:04
than if they're playing播放 with each other,
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在這裡我們也能看到類似情形,
08:06
and we might威力 be seeing眼看
something like that here,
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自然發笑、搔癢的笑,
和社交的笑是不同的。
08:08
involuntary非自願 laughter笑聲, tickling發癢 laughter笑聲,
being存在 different不同 from social社會 laughter笑聲.
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聽起來就很不一樣。
真正的笑持續較久,音調較高。
08:12
They're acoustically聲學 very different不同.
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08:14
The real真實 laughs are longer.
They're higher更高 in pitch瀝青.
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你用力笑的時候,
08:16
When you start開始 laughing hard,
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你會把空氣擠出你的肺,
08:18
you start開始 squeezing擠壓 air空氣 out
from your lungs
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這比你故意做的任何動作
產生的壓力都還要大。
08:20
under much higher更高 pressures壓力
than you could ever produce生產 voluntarily自行.
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例如,我絕對無法
用那麼高的音調來唱歌。
08:23
For example, I could never
pitch瀝青 my voice語音 that high to sing.
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你也會有類似這種收縮
和奇怪的哨聲,
08:26
Also, you start開始 to get these sort分類 of
contractions宮縮 and weird奇怪的 whistling吹口哨 sounds聲音,
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這些都意味著真的笑很容易,
08:30
all of which哪一個 mean that real真實 laughter笑聲
is extremely非常 easy簡單,
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08:32
or feels感覺 extremely非常 easy簡單 to spot.
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或讓人覺得很容易分辨。
08:34
In contrast對比, posed構成 laughter笑聲,
we might威力 think it sounds聲音 a bit fake.
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相反的,做作的笑,
我們可能認為這聽起來有點假。
08:39
Actually其實, it's not, it's actually其實
an important重要 social社會 cue球桿.
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其實並非如此。
這種笑真的是很重要的社交線索。
08:42
We use it a lot, we're choosing選擇
to laugh in a lot of situations情況,
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我們很常使用,
我們在許多場合中選擇笑,
08:45
and it seems似乎 to be its own擁有 thing.
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而且這種笑聲似乎很獨特。
08:47
So, for example, you find
nasality鼻音 in posed構成 laughter笑聲,
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舉個例子,
你在做作的笑中發現鼻音,
08:50
that kind of "ha ha ha ha ha" sound聲音
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那種像「哈哈哈哈」的音,
08:52
that you never get, you could not do,
if you were laughing involuntarily不由自主.
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你永遠無法在非自主性的笑中
聽到或發出這種聲音。
08:55
So they do seem似乎 to be genuinely真正的
these two different不同 sorts排序 of things.
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這兩種不同的東西似乎都很真實。
08:58
We took it into the scanner掃描器
to see how brains大腦 respond響應
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我們以掃描器看腦部
在我們聽到笑聲時的反應。
09:01
when you hear laughter笑聲.
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09:02
And when you do this,
this is a really boring無聊 experiment實驗.
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做這個實驗
真的是無聊到極點,
09:05
We just played發揮 people
real真實 and posed構成 laughs.
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我們就是播放人
真笑與假笑的聲音。
09:07
We didn't tell them
it was a study研究 on laughter笑聲.
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我們沒有告訴他們
這是對笑聲的研究。
我們同時還播放
其他的聲音讓他們分心,
09:09
We put other sounds聲音 in there
to distract轉移 them,
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他們要做的就是躺在那裡聽。
09:11
and all they're doing
is lying說謊 listening to sounds聲音.
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09:14
We don't tell them to do anything.
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我們不告訴他們要做什麼。
然而,你聽到真笑與假笑的時候,
09:15
Nonetheless儘管如此, when you hear real真實 laughter笑聲
and when you hear posed構成 laughter笑聲,
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09:19
the brains大腦 are responding響應
completely全然 differently不同,
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腦部的反應迥然不同,
09:21
significantly顯著 differently不同.
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顯著不同。
09:23
What you see in the regions地區 in blue藍色,
which哪一個 lies in auditory聽覺 cortex皮質,
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你們看到這塊藍色的區域,
位於聽覺皮質,
09:26
are the brain areas that respond響應
more to the real真實 laughs,
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是腦部對真笑
有較多反應的地方,
09:29
and what seems似乎 to be the case案件,
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情況似乎是這樣,
09:30
when you hear somebody
laughing involuntarily不由自主,
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當你聽到非自主的笑時,
09:33
you hear sounds聲音 you would never
hear in any other context上下文.
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你會聽到在其他情況下
都不會聽到的聲音。
09:35
It's very unambiguous明確的,
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這非常明確,
09:36
and it seems似乎 to be associated相關
with greater更大 auditory聽覺 processing處理
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這可能與要處理這些新聲音
需要更大的聽覺處理歷程有關。
09:39
of these novel小說 sounds聲音.
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09:41
In contrast對比, when you hear somebody
laughing in a posed構成 way,
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相反的,聽到做作的笑聲時,
09:45
what you see are these regions地區 in pink,
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你看到的是這塊粉紅色區域,
09:47
which哪一個 are occupying佔用 brain areas
associated相關 with mentalizing心理化,
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位於大腦與心智化有關的區域,
09:50
thinking思維 about what
somebody else其他 is thinking思維.
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思索著別人在想什麼。
09:52
And I think what that means手段 is,
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我想這意味著,
09:53
even if you're having your brain scanned掃描,
which哪一個 is completely全然 boring無聊
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即使你正在掃描大腦,
這是件極其無聊、
沒什麼樂趣的事,
09:56
and not very interesting有趣,
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當你聽到有人「呵呵呵呵」笑時,
09:58
when you hear somebody going,
"A ha ha ha ha ha,"
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10:00
you're trying to work out
why they're laughing.
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你仍然想搞懂他們為什麼笑。
10:02
Laughter笑聲 is always meaningful富有意義的.
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笑聲永遠都有意義。
10:04
You are always trying
to understand理解 it in context上下文,
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你總是想知道
背後的情境是什麼,
10:06
even if, as far as you are concerned關心,
at that point in time,
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即使在那個當下,
在你關心的範圍內,
那個笑與你一點關係都沒有,
10:09
it has not necessarily一定
anything to do with you,
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你還是很想知道
為什麼這些人在笑。
10:11
you still want to know
why those people are laughing.
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我們有機會看不同年齡層的人
10:14
Now, we've我們已經 had the opportunity機會 to look
at how people hear real真實 and posed構成 laughter笑聲
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如何聽真笑與假笑。
10:18
across橫過 the age年齡 range範圍.
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這是個網路實驗,
我們與皇家學會合作,
10:19
So this is an online線上 experiment實驗
we ran with the Royal王室的 Society社會,
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我們在實驗中只問大家兩個問題。
10:21
and here we just asked people
two questions問題.
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第一,他們聽到一些笑聲,
10:24
First of all, they heard聽說 some laughs,
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他們必須說出
這些笑聲有多真或多假?
10:25
and they had to say, how real真實
or posed構成 do these laughs sound聲音?
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真的笑聲以紅色顯示,
假笑則以藍色顯示。
10:28
The real真實 laughs are shown顯示 in red
and the posed構成 laughs are shown顯示 in blue藍色.
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你可以看見有一段快速開展期。
10:32
What you see is there is a rapid快速 onset發病.
220
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隨著年齡增長,
你辨識真笑的能力愈來愈好。
10:34
As you get older舊的, you get better
and better at spotting斑點 real真實 laughter笑聲.
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10:37
So six-year-olds六歲的孩子 are at chance機會,
they can't really hear the difference區別.
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所以六歲小孩幾乎聽不出差別。
10:40
By the time you are older舊的, you get better,
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到你長大一點,
你表現就好一點,
10:43
but interestingly有趣, you do not hit擊中
peak performance性能 in this dataset數據集
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但有意思的是,
這組資料集顯示
你要到 30 好幾 40 出頭
才會達到顛峰。
10:46
until直到 you are in your
late晚了 30s and early 40s.
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3531
10:50
You don't understand理解 laughter笑聲 fully充分
by the time you hit擊中 puberty青春期.
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青春期開始時
你對於笑聲不甚了解。
10:53
You don't understand理解 laughter笑聲 fully充分
by the time your brain has matured成熟
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青春期結束,你的大腦成熟後,
對於笑聲還是不甚了解。
10:56
at the end結束 of your teens青少年.
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你要花整段成年初期來學習笑聲。
10:58
You're learning學習 about laughter笑聲
throughout始終 your entire整個 early adult成人 life.
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11:01
If we turn the question around and now say
not, what does the laughter笑聲 sound聲音 like
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如果我們把問題反過來問,
我們不問這笑聲是真是假,
11:05
in terms條款 of being存在 real真實
or posed構成, but we say,
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但我們說,
這段笑聲讓你有多想笑,
11:07
how much does this laughter笑聲
make you want to laugh,
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11:10
how contagious傳染性的 is this laughter笑聲 to you,
we see a different不同 profile輪廓.
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這段笑聲對你多有傳染力,
我們會看到不同的圖。
11:13
And here, the younger更年輕 you are,
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這裡,你愈年輕,
11:14
the more you want to join加入 in
when you hear laughter笑聲.
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2434
就愈想在聽到笑聲時
加入笑的行列。
11:17
Remember記得 me laughing with my parents父母
when I had no idea理念 what was going on.
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記得我跟我父母一起大笑,
卻完全搞不清楚發生什麼事嗎?
11:20
You really can see this.
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你會發現測驗結果確實如此。
11:22
Now everybody每個人, young年輕 and old,
238
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1395
每一個人,無論年紀大小,
11:23
finds認定 the real真實 laughs more contagious傳染性的
than the posed構成 laughs,
239
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2845
都會發現真的笑
比假的笑更具傳染力,
11:26
but as you get older舊的, it all becomes
less contagious傳染性的 to you.
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但是隨著年齡增長,
笑聲對你愈來愈不具傳染力。
11:29
Now, either we're all just becoming變得
really grumpy性情乖戾的 as we get older舊的,
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4204
要不就是我們真的愈老愈難搞,
11:33
or it may可能 mean that as you
understand理解 laughter笑聲 better,
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要不就是
你愈來愈明白笑聲的含意,
11:36
and you are getting得到 better at doing that,
243
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2089
因為你對此愈來愈嫻熟,
11:38
you need more than just
hearing聽力 people laugh to want to laugh.
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你不僅再聽人笑就笑,
你還需要知道更多。
11:41
You need the social社會 stuff東東 there.
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你需要知道實際的社交情況。
11:43
So we've我們已經 got a very interesting有趣 behavior行為
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所以我們看到
非常有意思的行為現象,
11:45
about which哪一個 a lot of our
lay鋪設 assumptions假設 are incorrect不正確,
247
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與我們外行人的臆測不謀而合,
11:49
but I'm coming未來 to see that actually其實
there's even more to laughter笑聲
248
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但是我開始瞭解到其實笑聲
11:52
than it's an important重要 social社會 emotion情感
we should look at,
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不僅是我們應該研究的
重要社交情緒,
11:55
because it turns out
people are phenomenally驚人 nuanced細緻入微
250
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2919
因為事實證明大家
運用笑聲的方式
11:58
in terms條款 of how we use laughter笑聲.
251
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微妙得驚人。
12:00
There's a really lovely可愛
set of studies學習 coming未來 out
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有一組非常棒的研究資料
12:02
from Robert羅伯特 Levenson's列文森 lab實驗室 in California加州,
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由拉文森在加州的實驗室發表,
12:04
where he's doing
a longitudinal study研究 with couples情侶.
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他在實驗室裡對夫婦做長期追蹤。
12:07
He gets得到 married已婚 couples情侶,
men男人 and women婦女, into the lab實驗室,
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他把已婚夫婦帶進實驗室,
12:09
and he gives them
stressful壓力 conversations對話 to have
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並提出讓他們緊張的話題,
12:12
while he wires電線 them up to a polygraph測謊器
so he can see them becoming變得 stressed強調.
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同時將他們接上波動描寫器,
觀察他們變得多緊張。
12:15
So you've got the two of them in there,
and he'll地獄 say to the husband丈夫,
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所以兩個人坐在那裡,
然後他跟丈夫說:
12:18
"Tell me something that your wife妻子 does
that irritates刺激 you."
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「告訴我你太太做什麼
會惹你生氣。」
12:21
And what you see is immediately立即 --
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你立刻就會看到
12:23
just run that one through通過 your head
briefly簡要地, you and your partner夥伴 --
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──就在你腦海裡想像一下,
你和你的另一半──
你能想像到這個實驗一開始,
每個人都會有點緊張。
12:26
you can imagine想像 everybody每個人 gets得到 a bit
more stressed強調 as soon不久 as that starts啟動.
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12:30
You can see physically物理,
people become成為 more stressed強調.
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你能從生理現象
看到大家都變更緊張了。
12:33
What he finds認定 is that the couples情侶
who manage管理 that feeling感覺 of stress強調
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他發現到能以笑
帶過緊張情緒的夫婦,
12:39
with laughter笑聲,
positive emotions情緒 like laughter笑聲,
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正面的情緒如笑聲,
12:42
not only immediately立即 become成為 less stressed強調,
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不但立刻變得不那麼緊張,
12:46
they can see them
physically物理 feeling感覺 better,
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他們在生理上感覺更好,
12:48
they're dealing交易 with this
unpleasant不愉快 situation情況 better together一起,
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他們更能一同
面對這種不愉快的情況,
12:52
they are also the couples情侶 that report報告
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他們也是在婚姻關係中
12:53
high levels水平 of satisfaction滿意
in their relationship關係
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有高滿意度的夫婦,
12:56
and they stay together一起 for longer.
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所以他們的婚姻維持更久。
12:57
So in fact事實, when you look
at close relationships關係,
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所以事實上,
如果你去看親密關係,
13:00
laughter笑聲 is a phenomenally驚人 useful有用 index指數
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會發現笑聲是很有用的指標,
13:02
of how people are regulating調節
their emotions情緒 together一起.
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顯示人如何一起調整情緒。
13:04
We're not just emitting發光 it at each other
to show顯示 that we like each other,
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我們不但藉由互相抒發情緒
來顯示我們喜歡彼此,
13:08
we're making製造 ourselves我們自己
feel better together一起.
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我們還因此讓自己更自在。
13:10
Now, I don't think this is going
to be limited有限 to romantic浪漫 relationships關係.
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我想這並不限於浪漫的關係。
13:13
I think this is probably大概
going to be a characteristic特性
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這也應該是項特質,
13:16
of close emotional情緒化 relationships關係
such這樣 as you might威力 have with friends朋友,
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存在於情緒親密的關係中,
如你與朋友的關係,
13:19
which哪一個 explains說明 my next下一個 clip,
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這也解釋了我的下一段影片,
13:21
which哪一個 is of a YouTubeYouTube的 video視頻 of some
young年輕 men男人 in the former前任的 East Germany德國
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這段 YouTube 影片,
是一些前東德的年輕人
13:24
on making製造 a video視頻 to promote促進
their heavy metal金屬 band,
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在製作他們重金屬樂團的宣傳短片,
13:28
and it's extremely非常 macho大男子主義,
and the mood心情 is very serious嚴重,
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超男子氣概,氣氛超嚴肅,
13:31
and I want you to notice注意
what happens發生 in terms條款 of laughter笑聲
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我要你們注意一下在情況有異時,
13:34
when things go wrong錯誤
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笑聲的變化,
13:36
and how quickly很快 that happens發生,
and how that changes變化 the mood心情.
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注意一下這發生得多快,
又如何改變氣氛。
13:41
He's cold. He's about to get wet.
He's got swimming游泳的 trunks樹幹 on,
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他很冷。他快要下水了。
他穿著泳褲,
13:44
got a towel毛巾.
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有條毛巾。
13:48
Ice.
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冰。
13:50
What might威力 possibly或者 happen發生?
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到底發生了什麼?
13:54
Video視頻 starts啟動.
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影片開始。
13:57
Serious嚴重 mood心情.
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氣氛嚴肅。
14:06
And his friends朋友 are already已經 laughing.
They are already已經 laughing, hard.
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他的朋友已經開始笑了起來。
他們已經笑得很大聲了。
14:11
He's not laughing yet然而.
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他還沒開始笑。
14:14
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:16
He's starting開始 to go now.
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他要笑了。
14:25
And now they're all off.
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現在他們都笑翻了。
14:27
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:44
They're on the floor地板.
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他們笑倒在地上。
14:46
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:55
The thing I really like about that
is it's all very serious嚴重
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我最喜歡的部分,
是這原本非常嚴肅,
14:59
until直到 he jumps跳躍 onto the ice, and
as soon不久 as he doesn't go through通過 the ice,
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直到他跳進冰裡,
但是沒有真的掉進去,
15:02
but also there isn't blood血液
and bone everywhere到處,
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而且影片中沒有頭破血流,
15:05
his friends朋友 start開始 laughing.
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他的朋友就笑了起來。
15:06
And imagine想像 if that had played發揮 him out
with him standing常設 there going,
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想像一下,如果他皮開肉綻
站起來說:
15:09
"No seriously認真地, Heinrich海因里希,
I think this is broken破碎,"
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「說真的,亨利,
我想這裡斷了。」
我們就不會這麼喜歡看這個。
這可能會很緊張。
15:12
we wouldn't不會 enjoy請享用 watching觀看 that.
That would be stressful壓力.
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或是如果他明顯拖著斷腿
邊到處跑還邊笑,
15:15
Or if he was running賽跑 around
with a visibly明顯地 broken破碎 leg laughing,
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而且他的朋友說:
「亨利,我想我們現在得去趟醫院,」
15:18
and his friends朋友 are going, "Heinrich海因里希, I
think we need to go to the hospital醫院 now,"
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那就不會這麼好笑了。
事實上笑在這裡起了作用,
15:22
that also wouldn't不會 be funny滑稽.
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笑讓他避開痛苦、
尷尬、困難的情況,
15:23
The fact事實 that the laughter笑聲 works作品,
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15:25
it gets得到 him from a painful痛苦,
embarrassing尷尬, difficult situation情況,
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變成有趣的局面,
我們其實還挺喜歡的,
15:28
into a funny滑稽 situation情況, into what we're
actually其實 enjoying享受 there,
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我想這個用法真的很有意思,
15:31
and I think that's
a really interesting有趣 use,
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而且這其實還時時發生。
舉一個例子,
我還記得類似的情況
15:33
and it's actually其實 happening事件 all the time.
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15:35
For example, I can remember記得
something like this happening事件
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在我父親的葬禮上出現。
我們沒有穿著內褲在冰上跳來跳去。
15:37
at my father's父親的 funeral葬禮.
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15:39
We weren't jumping跳躍 around
on the ice in our underpants內褲.
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我們不是加拿大人。
15:41
We're not Canadian加拿大.
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(譯註:加拿大有新年冬泳傳統,
本大會現場在加拿大。)
15:44
(Laughter笑聲) (Applause掌聲)
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(笑聲)(掌聲)
15:46
These events事件 are always difficult, I had
a relative相對的 who was being存在 a bit difficult,
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這樣的場合總是難熬,
我有個親戚變得有點難伺候,
15:50
my mum沉默 was not in a good place地點,
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我媽媽的狀況也不好,
我還記得就在葬禮開始前,
我發現自己
15:52
and I can remember記得 finding發現 myself
just before the whole整個 thing started開始
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15:55
telling告訴 this story故事 about something
that happened發生 in a 1970s sitcom情景喜劇,
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在說 1970 年代
某個情境喜劇的劇情,
15:59
and I just thought at the time,
I don't know why I'm doing this,
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那時候我還在想,
我幹嘛在這時候做這個,
16:02
and what I realized實現 I was doing
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我意識到我在做的
16:04
was I was coming未來 up with
something from somewhere某處
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是我想以此神來之舉,
16:07
I could use to make her laugh
together一起 with me.
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讓她跟我一起笑一笑。
16:11
It was a very basic基本 reaction反應
to find some reason原因 we can do this.
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這是非常基本的反應,
16:14
We can laugh together一起.
We're going to get through通過 this.
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我們能一起笑,
我們能共度難關。
16:17
We're going to be okay.
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我們會沒事的。
16:19
And in fact事實, all of us
are doing this all the time.
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事實上,我們時時都在做這件事。
16:21
You do it so often經常,
you don't even notice注意 it.
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你很常做,你不曾注意而已。
每個人都低估了自己有多常笑,
16:23
Everybody每個人 underestimates低估
how often經常 they laugh,
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你跟大家一起笑的時候
其實是在做某件事,
16:26
and you're doing something,
when you laugh with people,
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16:29
that's actually其實 letting出租 you access訪問
a really ancient evolutionary發展的 system系統
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讓你進入非常古老的演化系統,
16:33
that mammals哺乳動物 have evolved進化
to make and maintain保持 social社會 bonds債券,
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哺乳動物以此進化
建立及維持社會連繫,
16:37
and clearly明確地 to regulate調節 emotions情緒,
to make ourselves我們自己 feel better.
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並明顯以此來調控情緒,
讓我們感覺更好。
16:41
It's not something specific具體 to humans人類 --
it's a really ancient behavior行為
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這並非人類特有,
這是非常古老的行為,
16:44
which哪一個 really helps幫助 us regulate調節 how we feel
and makes品牌 us feel better.
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能真正幫助我們調控我們的感覺,
並讓我們感覺更好。
16:48
In other words, when it comes to laughter笑聲,
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換句話說,說到笑,
16:51
you and me, baby寶寶, ain't nothing
but mammals哺乳動物. (Laughter笑聲)
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你和我寶貝,不過就是哺乳類罷了!
(另類樂團諷刺歌詞)
謝謝。(笑聲)
16:54
Thank you.
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16:56
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝。(掌聲)
Translated by Regina Chu
Reviewed by Marssi Draw

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophie Scott - Neuroscientist, stand-up comic
While exploring the neuroscience of speech and vocal behavior, Sophie Scott stumbled upon a surprising second vocation: making audiences laugh as a stand-up comic.

Why you should listen

As deputy director of the University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Sophie Scott seeks out the neurological basis of communication, whether it’s speech or vocalized emotion.

As a pioneering researcher in the science of laughter, she’s made some unexpected discoveries -- including that rats are ticklish, and that the one tactic that’s almost guaranteed to get someone to laugh is to show them someone else laughing. But as an occasional stand-up comedian with UCL’s Bright Club, she shows that she’s no slouch at getting laughs herself.

More profile about the speaker
Sophie Scott | Speaker | TED.com