ABOUT THE SPEAKER
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.

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."

More profile about the speaker
Aimee Mullins | Speaker | TED.com
TEDMED 2009

Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity

艾美 慕林:不幸的機會

Filmed:
2,460,224 views

同義詞字典把「殘障」(disabled)和「無用」、「殘缺不全」連結在一起,但是突破記錄的跑者,艾美慕林要站出來重新定義這個詞。不顧這些連結,她知道她的逆境(生下來就沒有小腿骨),事實上打開了人體潛能之門。
- 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

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

00:17
I'd like to share分享 with you a discovery發現 that I made製作 a few少數 months個月 ago
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我想和大家分享我幾個月前的發現
00:22
while writing寫作 an article文章 for Italian意大利 Wired有線.
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那時候我在幫義大利的「Wired」雜誌寫文章
00:25
I always keep my thesaurus詞庫 handy便利 whenever每當 I'm writing寫作 anything,
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我寫作的時候總是有「同義詞字典」在手邊
00:28
but I'd already已經 finished editing編輯 the piece,
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我已經完成編輯文章
00:31
and I realized實現 that I had never once一旦 in my life
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我發現我一生中
00:34
looked看著 up the word "disabled" to see what I'd find.
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從沒真正查過「殘障」這個詞
00:38
Let me read you the entry條目.
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讓我為您朗讀這個條目
00:41
"Disabled, adjective形容詞: crippled, helpless無助, useless無用, wrecked失事,
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殘障,形容詞:跛腿、無助、無用、壞掉
00:49
stalled停滯, maimed致殘, wounded負傷, mangled錯位, lame, mutilated肢解,
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動彈不得、傷殘、有傷、嚴重損壞、瘸跛、殘缺不全
00:56
run-down撞倒, worn-out累死了, weakened減弱, impotent無能, castrated閹割, paralyzed, handicapped殘廢,
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缺乏、筋疲力盡、虛弱、無力、喪失力量、癱瘓、有生理缺陷
01:06
senile衰老, decrepit衰老, laid-up閒置, done-up做向上, done-for為完成, done-in完成式
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衰老、破舊、閒置無用、筋疲力竭、沒用、疲累
01:12
cracked-up破獲向上, counted-out計算出;
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破爛、被擊敗
01:16
see also hurt傷害, useless無用 and weak.
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另可參見:受傷、無用、虛弱
01:20
Antonyms反義詞, healthy健康, strong強大, capable."
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反義詞:健康、強壯、有能力
01:26
I was reading this list名單 out loud to a friend朋友 and at first was laughing,
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那時候我大聲讀給朋友聽,一開始我笑了
01:30
it was so ludicrous滑稽的,
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這很荒唐
01:32
but I'd just gotten得到 past過去 "mangled錯位," and my voice語音 broke打破,
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但我在唸過「嚴重損壞」的時候,我哽咽了
01:37
and I had to stop and collect蒐集 myself
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我必須要停下來,然後鎮定自己
01:40
from the emotional情緒化 shock休克 and impact碰撞 that the assault突擊 from these words unleashed如虎添翼.
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從這些詞帶來的情緒上的衝擊和侮辱鎮定自己
01:50
You know, of course課程, this is my raggedy襤褸的 old thesaurus詞庫
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當然,這是我舊版的同義詞字典
01:53
so I'm thinking思維 this must必須 be an ancient print打印 date日期, right?
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我想,他的印成年份應該很古老,對吧
01:56
But, in fact事實, the print打印 date日期 was the early 1980s,
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但事實上他成書於1980年代早期
02:01
when I would have been starting開始 primary school學校
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那時候我已經上小學了
02:03
and forming成型 an understanding理解 of myself outside the family家庭 unit單元
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開始產生異於家庭的自我認識
02:07
and as related有關 to the other kids孩子 and the world世界 around me.
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也就是其他小孩還有整個世界怎樣看我
02:10
And, needless不必要 to say, thank God I wasn't using運用 a thesaurus詞庫 back then.
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不用說,感謝老天,我當時沒有用同義詞字典
02:15
I mean, from this entry條目, it would seem似乎 that I was born天生 into a world世界
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我是說,從這條目來看,我好像是生在一個
02:21
that perceived感知 someone有人 like me
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對我這樣子的人
02:23
to have nothing positive whatsoever任何 going for them,
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沒有任何正向想法的世界
02:28
when in fact事實, today今天 I'm celebrated著名 for the opportunities機會 and adventures冒險
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甚至在今天,大家慶祝我已經度過的
02:34
my life has procured採購.
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機運和挑戰的時候
02:36
So, I immediately立即 went to look up the 2009 online線上 edition,
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我立刻查了2009年線上版字典
02:42
expecting期待 to find a revision調整 worth價值 noting注意.
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希望能找到值得提出來的修改內容
02:46
Here's這裡的 the updated更新 version of this entry條目.
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以下是這個條目更新版的內容
02:49
Unfortunately不幸, it's not much better.
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但很不幸,並沒有比較好
02:52
I find the last two words under "Near Antonyms反義詞," particularly尤其 unsettling惴惴:
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我覺得在「可能相反詞」條目下最後兩個字最惱人
02:58
"whole整個" and "wholesome健康."
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完整的、健全的
03:02
So, it's not just about the words.
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所以,重點不是這些字
03:05
It's what we believe about people when we name名稱 them with these words.
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是我們在稱呼這些人時候的心理概念
03:09
It's about the values behind背後 the words, and how we construct構造 those values.
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是這些字背後的價值,還有我們如何建構這樣的價值
03:14
Our language語言 affects影響 our thinking思維 and how we view視圖 the world世界
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我們的語言影響我們的思考、對外在世界的想法
03:18
and how we view視圖 other people.
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還有我們怎樣看待別人
03:21
In fact事實, many許多 ancient societies社會, including包含 the Greeks希臘人 and the Romans羅馬書,
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事實上,在很多古老文化中,如希臘、羅馬
03:24
believed相信 that to utter說出 a curse詛咒 verbally口頭 was so powerful強大,
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人們相信朗誦咒語會產生很大的力量
03:29
because to say the thing out loud brought it into existence存在.
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因為大聲把話說出來,就會讓它存在
03:35
So, what reality現實 do we want to call into existence存在:
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所以,我們想大聲朗讀,讓哪種事實存在
03:40
a person who is limited有限, or a person who's誰是 empowered授權?
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一個受限制的人,還是一個有能力的人?
03:46
By casually胡亂 doing something as simple簡單 as naming命名 a person, a child兒童,
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就這樣簡單的事情,如何去稱呼一個人、小孩
03:52
we might威力 be putting lids and casting鑄件 shadows陰影 on their power功率.
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我們可能就在他們的能力上設了限、萌生陰影
03:59
Wouldn't豈不 we want to open打開 doors for them instead代替?
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我們不想要為他們開扇門嗎?
04:03
One such這樣 person who opened打開 doors for me was my childhood童年 doctor醫生
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有個人幫我開了心裡的門,他是我小時候的醫生
04:06
at the A.I. duPont杜邦 Institute研究所 in Wilmington威爾明頓, Delaware特拉華.
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在德拉瓦洲,威名頓市的杜旁醫療中心
04:11
His name名稱 was Dr博士. PizzutilloPizzutillo,
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他的名字是 皮祖提洛 醫生
04:14
an Italian意大利 American美國, whose誰的 name名稱, apparently顯然地,
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義大利裔美國人,他的名字
04:16
was too difficult for most Americans美國人 to pronounce發音,
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對一般美國人來說太難唸
04:18
so he went by Dr博士. P.
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所以他讓人叫他 皮醫生
04:20
And Dr博士. P always wore穿著 really colorful華美 bow ties聯繫
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皮醫生都戴很花的領結
04:24
and had the very perfect完善 disposition性格 to work with children孩子.
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而且他個性很適合和小孩相處
04:30
I loved喜愛 almost幾乎 everything about my time spent花費 at this hospital醫院,
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我愛每次在那間醫院度過的時光
04:35
with the exception例外 of my physical物理 therapy治療 sessions會議.
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除了物理治療的療程以外
04:39
I had to do what seemed似乎 like innumerable無數 repetitions重複 of exercises演習
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我必須重複看似無止盡的運動
04:43
with these thick, elastic bands -- different不同 colors顏色,
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用很多很厚、各種顏色的伸縮帶
04:47
you know -- to help build建立 up my leg muscles肌肉,
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為了讓我的腿部肌肉成長
04:51
and I hated these bands more than anything --
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我討厭死那些伸縮帶
04:53
I hated them, had names for them. I hated them.
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我討厭他們,甚至對著罵髒話,恨死了
04:56
And, you know, I was already已經 bargaining議價, as a five year-old child兒童,
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然後,像普通的五歲小孩一樣,我開始討價還價
05:00
with Dr博士. P to try to get out of doing these exercises演習,
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請皮醫生別再讓我做物理治療
05:03
unsuccessfully不成功, of course課程.
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當然,沒有成功
05:05
And, one day, he came來了 in to my session會議 --
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有一天他來看我的治療過程
05:10
exhaustive詳細 and unforgiving無情, these sessions會議 --
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這些累人又不放過我的療程
05:14
and he said to me, "Wow. Aimee艾梅, you are such這樣 a strong強大 and powerful強大 little girl女孩,
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他對我說:「哇!艾美,你好強壯,好有力氣」
05:20
I think you're going to break打破 one of those bands.
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「我想你應該會把伸縮帶扯斷」
05:23
When you do break打破 it, I'm going to give you a hundred bucks雄鹿."
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「你扯斷的時候,我會給你一百塊」
05:26
Now, of course課程, this was a simple簡單 ploy策略 on Dr博士. P's普的 part部分
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現在,當然那是皮醫生的計謀
05:30
to get me to do the exercises演習 I didn't want to do
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讓我做我不想做的運動
05:33
before the prospect展望 of being存在 the richest首富 five-year-old五十歲 in the second第二 floor地板 ward病房,
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讓我有機會變成二樓病房最有錢的五歲女孩
05:38
but what he effectively有效 did for me was reshape重塑 an awful可怕 daily日常 occurrence發生
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但他真正做的是,將我每天都要面對的糟糕事情
05:46
into a new and promising有希望 experience經驗 for me.
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變成一個全新而且充滿希望的經驗
05:50
And I have to wonder奇蹟 today今天 to what extent程度 his vision視力
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我今天想,到底他的遠見
05:54
and his declaration宣言 of me as a strong強大 and powerful強大 little girl女孩
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他告訴我的,我是小小女大力士的這些話
06:00
shaped成形 my own擁有 view視圖 of myself
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影響我對自己的看法有多深
06:02
as an inherently本質 strong強大, powerful強大 and athletic競技 person well into the future未來.
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說我強壯、有力氣、會運動的這些話湧進我的未來
06:08
This is an example of how adults成年人 in positions位置 of power功率
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這就是個有正向力量的成年人
06:11
can ignite點燃 the power功率 of a child兒童.
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如何引發小孩力量的例子
06:15
But, in the previous以前 instances實例 of those thesaurus詞庫 entries,
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但是,看過先前舉過那些同義詞字典中的條目
06:19
our language語言 isn't allowing允許 us to evolve發展 into the reality現實 that we would all want,
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我們的語言,讓我們無法變成自己心理真正想要的模樣
06:26
the possibility可能性 of an individual個人 to see themselves他們自己 as capable.
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不允許一個人認為自己擁有能力
06:32
Our language語言 hasn't有沒有 caught抓住 up with the changes變化 in our society社會,
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我們的語言還沒趕上我們社會的變動
06:37
many許多 of which哪一個 have been brought about by technology技術.
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許多科技帶來的變動
06:40
Certainly當然, from a medical standpoint立場,
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當然,從醫學的角度
06:42
my legs, laser激光 surgery手術 for vision視力 impairment減值,
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我的雙腳、修復視力受損的雷射手術
06:48
titanium knees膝蓋 and hip臀部 replacements替代品 for aging老化 bodies身體
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鈦製的人工膝蓋,還有老人家的人工髖關節
06:51
that are allowing允許 people to more fully充分 engage從事 with their abilities能力,
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這些都讓人能完全發揮他們的能力
06:54
and move移動 beyond the limits範圍 that nature性質 has imposed徵收 on them --
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突破大自然在他們身上所設的限制
07:00
not to mention提到 social社會 networking聯網 platforms平台
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更別說是社交網路平台
07:03
allow允許 people to self-identify自我認同, to claim要求 their own擁有 descriptions說明 of themselves他們自己,
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讓人們可以自我定義、替自己下注解
07:08
so they can go align對齊 with global全球 groups of their own擁有 choosing選擇.
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這樣他們就能和自己選擇的朋友齊步並驅
07:13
So, perhaps也許 technology技術 is revealing揭示 more clearly明確地 to us now
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所以,也許科技讓我們更清楚的了解
07:17
what has always been a truth真相:
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那些從來就是對的事情
07:20
that everyone大家 has something rare罕見 and powerful強大 to offer提供 our society社會,
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每個人都能提供我們的社會一些獨特或有力的事情
07:28
and that the human人的 ability能力 to adapt適應 is our greatest最大 asset財富.
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以及人類的適應能力是我們對重要的資產
07:33
The human人的 ability能力 to adapt適應, it's an interesting有趣 thing,
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人類的適應能力是一件有趣的事
07:36
because people have continually不斷 wanted to talk to me about overcoming克服 adversity逆境,
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很多人都問我如何戰勝先天的不幸
07:42
and I'm going to make an admission入場:
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我坦白說
07:45
This phrase短語 never satSAT right with me,
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「不幸」一直不適用在我身上
07:47
and I always felt uneasy不安 trying to answer回答 people's人們 questions問題 about it,
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一直必需回答這些問題也讓我很不舒服
07:51
and I think I'm starting開始 to figure數字 out why.
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我想我已經開始知道為什麼了
07:55
Implicit含蓄 in this phrase短語 of "overcoming克服 adversity逆境"
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「戰勝不幸」裡面隱含的是
07:59
is the idea理念 that success成功, or happiness幸福,
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成功、幸福的這種概念
08:03
is about emerging新興 on the other side of a challenging具有挑戰性的 experience經驗
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是困難經驗的反面
08:06
unscathed毫髮無損 or unmarked無人盯防 by the experience經驗,
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不會因為經驗本身而改變
08:11
as if my successes成功 in life have come about from an ability能力
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好像在說,我的成功是因為我有辦法
08:15
to sidestep迴避 or circumnavigate環航 the presumed假定 pitfalls陷阱 of a life with prosthetics假肢,
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避開一輩子使用義肢的困難
08:20
or what other people perceive感知 as my disability失能.
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躲過大家視我為殘障的眼光
08:23
But, in fact事實, we are changed. We are marked, of course課程, by a challenge挑戰,
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但事實上,我們改變了,我們因為困難改變了
08:29
whether是否 physically物理, emotionally感情上 or both.
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不論是身體上、情緒上或是兩者都有
08:32
And I'm going to suggest建議 that this is a good thing.
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我認為改變是一件好事
08:35
Adversity逆境 isn't an obstacle障礙 that we need to get around
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不幸,不是個我們必須繞過
08:39
in order訂購 to resume恢復 living活的 our life.
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才能繼續生活的阻礙
08:42
It's part部分 of our life.
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它是我們生活的一部分
08:45
And I tend趨向 to think of it like my shadow陰影.
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我喜歡把它比喻成我的影子
08:48
Sometimes有時 I see a lot of it, sometimes有時 there's very little,
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有時候很長,有時候很短
08:51
but it's always with me.
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但是影子永遠存在
08:53
And, certainly當然, I'm not trying to diminish減少 the impact碰撞, the weight重量, of a person's人的 struggle鬥爭.
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我不會想辦法去減少一個人的困難所帶來的衝擊和重量
09:00
There is adversity逆境 and challenge挑戰 in life,
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生命中總是有不幸和困難
09:03
and it's all very real真實 and relative相對的 to every一切 single person,
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與每個人都相關而且真實的
09:06
but the question isn't whether是否 or not you're going to meet遇到 adversity逆境,
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但問題不是,「要不要」面對你的不幸
09:10
but how you're going to meet遇到 it.
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而是「怎樣」面對
09:13
So, our responsibility責任 is not simply只是 shielding屏蔽 those we care關心 for from adversity逆境,
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所以我們的義務不只是保護我們關心的人不要遭遇不幸
09:20
but preparing準備 them to meet遇到 it well.
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而是要讓他們準備好,能夠好好面對不幸
09:23
And we do a disservice幫倒忙 to our kids孩子
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我們幫了自己的小孩一個倒忙
09:27
when we make them feel that they're not equipped裝備 to adapt適應.
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讓他們覺得自己沒有能力適應
09:34
There's an important重要 difference區別 and distinction分別
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在覺得自己是否為殘障的主觀社會想法
09:37
between之間 the objective目的 medical fact事實 of my being存在 an amputee截肢
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與自己是否為截肢病患的客觀醫療事實之間
09:42
and the subjective主觀 societal社會的 opinion意見 of whether是否 or not I'm disabled.
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存在著很大區別和歧異
09:48
And, truthfully如實, the only real真實 and consistent一貫 disability失能 I've had to confront面對
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事實上,我唯一必須要面對的限制
09:53
is the world世界 ever thinking思維 that I could be described描述 by those definitions定義.
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是這世界一直認為我應該被那些字歸類
09:59
In our desire慾望 to protect保護 those we care關心 about
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我們想要保護自己所關心的人
10:02
by giving them the cold, hard truth真相 about their medical prognosis預測,
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給他們診斷結果的冰冷事實
10:06
or, indeed確實, a prognosis預測 on the expected預期 quality質量 of their life,
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或者,告知診斷結果會如何影響他們一輩子時
10:10
we have to make sure that we don't put the first brick in a wall
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我們必須確保自己不是鋪下建牆的第一塊磚
10:14
that will actually其實 disable禁用 someone有人.
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那樣我們會真的讓一個人殘廢
10:19
Perhaps也許 the existing現有 model模型 of only looking at what is broken破碎 in you
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我們只看見殘缺的部分,還有要怎樣去修復
10:24
and how do we fix固定 it, serves供應 to be more disabling禁用 to the individual個人
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這樣的模式只會讓人更加殘廢
10:28
than the pathology病理 itself本身.
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遠大於本身的病理條件
10:31
By not treating治療 the wholeness整體性 of a person,
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因為不把一個人當成「整體」看待
10:36
by not acknowledging承認 their potency效力,
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因為不承認他們的潛力
10:38
we are creating創建 another另一個 ill生病 on top最佳 of whatever隨你 natural自然 struggle鬥爭 they might威力 have.
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我們就讓他們天生不足的部分更不足
10:45
We are effectively有效 grading等級 someone's誰家 worth價值 to our community社區.
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我們為了效率的評斷一個人對社會的價值
10:51
So we need to see through通過 the pathology病理
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所以我們直接看他們有沒有病症
10:54
and into the range範圍 of human人的 capability能力.
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直接看他們有什麼能力
11:00
And, most importantly重要的, there's a partnership合夥
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最重要的,還有一種聯合關係
11:04
between之間 those perceived感知 deficiencies不足之處
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那是感受到的殘缺
11:06
and our greatest最大 creative創作的 ability能力.
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和我們最佳創造能力的關係
11:09
So it's not about devaluing貶值, or negating否定, these more trying times
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所以這不是在貶低或是否定
11:14
as something we want to avoid避免 or sweep under the rug地毯,
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或我們避免或刻意掩蓋
11:18
but instead代替 to find those opportunities機會 wrapped包裹 in the adversity逆境.
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這其實是在尋找那包覆在不幸外衣下的機會
11:24
So maybe the idea理念 I want to put out there is
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所以我想要講的是
11:26
not so much overcoming克服 adversity逆境
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並沒有很多不幸需要克服
11:31
as it is opening開盤 ourselves我們自己 up to it,
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只要我們對不幸敞開心胸
11:35
embracing擁抱 it,
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欣然接納
11:38
grappling擒拿 with it,
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和它搏鬥
11:40
to use a wrestling摔角 term術語,
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用個摔角術語
11:42
maybe even dancing跳舞 with it.
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也許甚至「與它共舞」
11:46
And, perhaps也許, if we see adversity逆境 as natural自然, consistent一貫 and useful有用,
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也許如果我們認為「不幸」是自然的、連貫的、有用的
11:54
we're less burdened背負 by the presence存在 of it.
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我們就不會那麼受其煩擾
11:57
This year we celebrate慶祝 the 200th birthday生日 of Charles查爾斯 Darwin達爾文,
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我們今年慶祝達爾文兩百歲冥誕
12:00
and it was 150 years年份 ago, when writing寫作 about evolution演化,
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一百五十年前,當他在準備寫演化論的時候
12:04
that Darwin達爾文 illustrated插圖, I think, a truth真相 about the human人的 character字符.
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我想,達爾文說了關於人類天性的實話
12:09
To paraphrase意譯: It's not the strongest最強 of the species種類 that survives生存,
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就是說,並不是最強的物種能存活下來
12:13
nor也不 is it the most intelligent智能 that survives生存;
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也不是最聰明的
12:16
it is the one that is most adaptable適應性強 to change更改.
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而是最能適應變化的物種
12:21
Conflict衝突 is the genesis創世紀 of creation創建.
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「衝突」是「創新」的開端
12:26
From Darwin's達爾文 work, amongst其中包括 others其他, we can recognize認識 that
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百家爭鳴中,我們可以從達爾文的理論中得到
12:29
the human人的 ability能力 to survive生存 and flourish繁榮
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人類生存和興旺的能力
12:34
is driven驅動 by the struggle鬥爭 of the human人的 spirit精神 through通過 conflict衝突
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是源於人類奮鬥的精神
12:39
into transformation轉型.
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把衝突轉化
12:41
So, again, transformation轉型, adaptation適應, is our greatest最大 human人的 skill技能.
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再一次,「轉化」、「適應」是我們人類最厲害的技能
12:48
And, perhaps也許, until直到 we're tested測試, we don't know what we're made製作 of.
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也許,沒有考驗,我們就不知道自己是什麼做的
12:54
Maybe that's what adversity逆境 gives us:
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也許那就是「不幸」帶給我們的
12:56
a sense of self, a sense of our own擁有 power功率.
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自我的感知,自己力量的感知
13:00
So, we can give ourselves我們自己 a gift禮品.
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所以我們可以給自己一個禮物
13:03
We can re-imagine重新想像 adversity逆境 as something more than just tough強硬 times.
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我們可以重新想想,不幸其實不只是很困難的情況
13:10
Maybe we can see it as change更改.
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也許我們可以把它視為改變
13:13
Adversity逆境 is just change更改 that we haven't沒有 adapted適應 ourselves我們自己 to yet然而.
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「不幸」只是我們還沒有適應自己的改變而已
13:19
I think the greatest最大 adversity逆境 that we've我們已經 created創建 for ourselves我們自己
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我想,我們為自己設下最大的不幸是
13:22
is this idea理念 of normalcy正常.
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「正常」的想法
13:24
Now, who's誰是 normal正常?
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現在,誰是正常的?
13:27
There's no normal正常.
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本來就沒有「正常」
13:29
There's common共同, there's typical典型. There's no normal正常,
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只有「常見」、「典型」,沒有「正常」
13:32
and would you want to meet遇到 that poor較差的, beige米色 person if they existed存在?
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如果有那個可憐、完全沒有特色的人,你會想見他嗎?
13:35
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
13:37
I don't think so.
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我想應該不會吧!
13:39
If we can change更改 this paradigm範例 from one of achieving實現 normalcy正常
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如果「成為正常」這樣的規範可以改變
13:44
to one of possibility可能性 -- or potency效力, to be even a little bit more dangerous危險 --
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變成「有可能」、「有潛力」,或甚至有一點危險
13:49
we can release發布 the power功率 of so many許多 more children孩子,
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我們可以讓孩子們展現他們的力量
13:52
and invite邀請 them to engage從事 their rare罕見 and valuable有價值 abilities能力 with the community社區.
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引領他們在人群中發揮自身稀少而珍貴的能力
14:00
Anthropologists人類學家 tell us that the one thing
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人類學家告訴我們
14:03
we as humans人類 have always required需要 of our community社區 members會員
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我們人類一直要求自己族群中的人
14:06
is to be of use, to be able能夠 to contribute有助於.
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要有用、要能貢獻
14:10
There's evidence證據 that Neanderthals尼安德特人, 60,000 years年份 ago,
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六萬年前的尼安德塔人就是證據
14:14
carried攜帶的 their elderly老年 and those with serious嚴重 physical物理 injury,
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他們會扶持年長者還有嚴重傷患
14:20
and perhaps也許 it's because the life experience經驗 of survival生存 of these people
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也許是因為這些活著的人的生活經驗
14:26
proved證實 of value to the community社區.
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對整個群體有價值
14:28
They didn't view視圖 these people as broken破碎 and useless無用;
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他們不會把這些人視為衰弱無用
14:33
they were seen看到 as rare罕見 and valuable有價值.
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這些人稀少而且珍貴
14:36
A few少數 years年份 ago, I was in a food餐飲 market市場 in the town where I grew成長 up
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幾年前,我在小時候家裡附近的市場逛
14:39
in that red zone in northeastern東北方 Pennsylvania賓夕法尼亞,
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那在賓洲東北邊那塊紅色區域
14:43
and I was standing常設 over a bushel蒲式耳 of tomatoes番茄.
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我站在一堆蕃茄前
14:45
It was summertime夏令: I had shorts短褲 on.
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是夏天,我穿著短袖
14:47
I hear this guy, his voice語音 behind背後 me say, "Well, if it isn't Aimee艾梅 Mullins穆林斯."
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我聽到一個人在我背後說:「唉唷,這可不是艾美慕林嗎?」
14:52
And I turn around, and it's this older舊的 man. I have no idea理念 who he is.
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我轉身,是一個老人,我不知道他是誰
14:56
And I said, "I'm sorry, sir先生, have we met會見? I don't remember記得 meeting會議 you."
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我說:「不好意思,我們見過面嗎?我不記得見過你」
15:02
He said, "Well, you wouldn't不會 remember記得 meeting會議 me.
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他說:「恩,你不會記得見過我」
15:04
I mean, when we met會見 I was delivering交付 you from your mother's母親 womb子宮."
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「我是說,我們見面的時候,我正把妳從妳媽的子宮接生出來」
15:07
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
15:09
Oh, that guy.
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阿!那個人!
15:12
And, but of course課程, actually其實, it did click點擊.
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而且當然,我想到了
15:14
This man was Dr博士. Kean基恩,
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這個人是金醫師
15:17
a man that I had only known已知 about through通過 my mother's母親 stories故事 of that day,
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我只從我媽那裡聽過這個人
15:21
because, of course課程, typical典型 fashion時尚, I arrived到達 late晚了 for my birthday生日 by two weeks.
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因為,當然像很多人一樣,我比預產期晚兩週才出生
15:27
And so my mother's母親 prenatal產前 physician醫師 had gone走了 on vacation假期,
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我媽的婦產科醫生已經度假去了
15:31
so the man who delivered交付 me was a complete完成 stranger陌生人 to my parents父母.
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所以我爸媽完全不認識這個替我接生的人
15:36
And, because I was born天生 without the fibula腓骨 bones骨頭,
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然後,因為我一出生就沒有前小腿骨
15:39
and had feet turned轉身 in, and a few少數 toes腳趾 in this foot腳丫子 and a few少數 toes腳趾 in that,
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還有往內凹的腳,一些腳趾在這裡,一些在那裡
15:42
he had to be the bearer來人 -- this stranger陌生人 had to be the bearer來人 of bad news新聞.
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這個陌生人必須是告訴我們壞消息的人
15:47
He said to me, "I had to give this prognosis預測 to your parents父母
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他跟我說:「我必須告訴你父母醫療評估」
15:51
that you would never walk步行,
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「就是你永遠不能走路」
15:53
and you would never have the kind of mobility流動性 that other kids孩子 have
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「你也不可能像其他小朋友一樣靈活」
15:57
or any kind of life of independence獨立,
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「或有獨立的人生」
15:59
and you've been making製造 liar說謊者 out of me ever since以來."
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「結果從那時候開始,你一直讓我當個大騙子」
16:01
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑)
16:03
(Applause掌聲)
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(鼓掌)
16:09
The extraordinary非凡 thing is that he said he had saved保存
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最特別的事情是他說
16:13
newspaper報紙 clippings剪報 throughout始終 my whole整個 childhood童年,
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他一直保留著我整個童年的剪報
16:16
whether是否 winning勝利 a second第二 grade年級 spelling拼字 bee蜜蜂,
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不管是二年級時候贏的拼字比賽
16:18
marching行軍 with the Girl女孩 Scouts童子軍, you know, the Halloween萬聖節 parade遊行,
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和女童軍一起行軍、萬聖節遊行
16:21
winning勝利 my college學院 scholarship獎學金, or any of my sports體育 victories勝利,
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得到大學獎學金、或是其他的運動勝利
16:26
and he was using運用 it, and integrating整合 it into teaching教學 resident居民 students學生們,
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他用這些簡報,整合起來教導住院醫學生
16:32
medMED students學生們 from Hahnemann哈內曼 Medical School學校 and Hershey赫爾希 Medical School學校.
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哈尼曼醫學院和賀許醫學院的醫學生
16:37
And he called this part部分 of the course課程 the X Factor因子,
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他稱課程的這個部分為「X因素」
16:40
the potential潛在 of the human人的 will.
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人類意念的潛力
16:43
No prognosis預測 can account帳戶 for how powerful強大 this could be
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沒有醫療評估能為這強大的力量負責
16:47
as a determinant行列式 in the quality質量 of someone's誰家 life.
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沒辦法成為判斷一個人生活品質的決定因素
16:51
And Dr博士. Kean基恩 went on to tell me,
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金醫師繼續告訴我
16:54
he said, "In my experience經驗, unless除非 repeatedly反复 told otherwise除此以外,
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他說:「除非另有相反說法,我的經驗告訴我」
17:02
and even if given特定 a modicum點點 of support支持,
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「即使只有極少的支持」
17:06
if left to their own擁有 devices設備, a child兒童 will achieve實現."
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「不要給小孩任何干預,他們自己就會成功」
17:12
See, Dr博士. Kean基恩 made製作 that shift轉移 in thinking思維.
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你看,金醫師的想法改變了
17:16
He understood了解 that there's a difference區別 between之間 the medical condition條件
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他瞭解在醫療狀況和一個人之後的作為
17:19
and what someone有人 might威力 do with it.
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兩者之間有差別
17:22
And there's been a shift轉移 in my thinking思維 over time,
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我的想法也隨著時間改變
17:25
in that, if you had asked me at 15 years年份 old,
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如果我十五歲,你問我
17:29
if I would have traded交易 prosthetics假肢 for flesh-and-bone肉和骨頭 legs,
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我願不願意把義肢換成真實血肉的腳
17:33
I wouldn't不會 have hesitated猶豫 for a second第二.
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我一秒都不會猶豫
17:36
I aspired渴望 to that kind of normalcy正常 back then.
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以前我很渴望這種「正常」
17:42
But if you ask me today今天, I'm not so sure.
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如果你現在問我,我不會這麼肯定
17:45
And it's because of the experiences經驗 I've had with them,
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是因為我有過的這些義肢經驗
17:50
not in spite儘管 of the experiences經驗 I've had with them.
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而不是不要這些經驗
17:56
And perhaps也許 this shift轉移 in me has happened發生
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也許我的這些改變早就存在了
17:59
because I've been exposed裸露 to more people who have opened打開 doors for me
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因為我遇過很多為我開門的人
18:04
than those who have put lids and cast shadows陰影 on me.
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而不是那些替我設限,或是把我罩在陰影裡的人
18:11
See, all you really need is one person
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你看,你所需要的只是一個人
18:13
to show顯示 you the epiphany頓悟 of your own擁有 power功率, and you're off.
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來帶你領略自己的可能,就好了
18:18
If you can hand somebody the key to their own擁有 power功率 --
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如果你可以把開啟自己能力的鑰匙交給他人
18:23
the human人的 spirit精神 is so receptive接受 -- if you can do that
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人們很容易感受這種人類精神
18:25
and open打開 a door for someone有人 at a crucial關鍵 moment時刻,
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幫一個人在關鍵時刻開一扇門
18:28
you are educating教育 them in the best最好 sense.
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你就是用最高的智慧在教育他們
18:31
You're teaching教學 them to open打開 doors for themselves他們自己.
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你教他們幫自己開門
18:36
In fact事實, the exact精確 meaning含義 of the word "educate教育"
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事實上,「教育(education)」這個詞的意思
18:42
comes from the root word "educe喚起."
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來自字根「引出(educe)」
18:44
It means手段 "to bring帶來 forth向前 what is within,
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意思是把本身有的帶出來
18:48
to bring帶來 out potential潛在."
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帶出潛力
18:50
So again, which哪一個 potential潛在 do we want to bring帶來 out?
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我們想要帶出什麼樣的潛力?
18:55
There was a case案件 study研究 doneDONE in 1960s Britain英國,
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英國1960年代有一個
18:58
when they were moving移動 from grammar語法 schools學校 to comprehensive全面 schools學校.
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關於學童從小學進到中學的個案研究
19:03
It's called the streaming trials試驗. We call it "tracking追踪" here in the States狀態.
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他們稱串流試驗,在美國叫做追蹤試驗
19:06
It's separating分離 students學生們 from A, B, C, D and so on.
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研究把學生分成A、B、C、D等等組別
19:11
And the "A students學生們" get the tougher強硬 curriculum課程, the best最好 teachers教師, etc等等.
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A級學生有比較重的課、最好的老師等等
19:16
Well, they took, over a three-month三個月 period,
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這樣上課超過三個月
19:18
D-leveld級 students學生們, gave them A's,
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D級的學生,給他們A
19:21
told them they were "A's," told them they were bright,
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告訴他們是A級的學生、很聰明
19:24
and at the end結束 of this three-month三個月 period,
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三個月研究期結束後
19:26
they were performing執行 at A-level一個等級.
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他們就表現出A級的水準
19:29
And, of course課程, the heartbreaking令人心碎, flip翻動 side of this study研究,
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當然令人痛心的是這個研究的另一面
19:32
is that they took the "A students學生們" and told them they were "D'sD的."
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就是告訴A級學生他們是D級
19:37
And that's what happened發生 at the end結束 of that three-month三個月 period.
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而研究期結束時他們也表現成D級
19:40
Those who were still around in school學校, besides除了 the people who had dropped下降 out.
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這是不算後來輟學的,只算那些還在學的學生
19:46
A crucial關鍵 part部分 of this case案件 study研究 was that the teachers教師 were duped受騙 too.
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這研究很重要的一部份是,老師也蒙在鼓裡
19:55
The teachers教師 didn't know a switch開關 had been made製作.
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老師不知道分組結果被掉包
19:57
They were simply只是 told, "These are the 'A-students“A-學生,' these are the 'D-students“d-學生.'"
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他們只是被告知這些是A學生,那些是D學生
20:01
And that's how they went about teaching教學 them and treating治療 them.
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然後他們就這樣教學生、對待學生
20:07
So, I think that the only true真正 disability失能 is a crushed spirit精神,
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所以我認為真正的殘障是被摧毀的心靈
20:16
a spirit精神 that's been crushed doesn't have hope希望,
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一個被摧毀而沒有希望的心靈
20:21
it doesn't see beauty美女,
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看不見美
20:23
it no longer has our natural自然, childlike孩子似的 curiosity好奇心
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再也沒有我們自然率真的好奇心
20:29
and our innate先天 ability能力 to imagine想像.
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和我們與生俱來的想像力
20:32
If instead代替, we can bolster加強 a human人的 spirit精神 to keep hope希望,
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反之,如果我們能夠支持有希望的心靈
20:37
to see beauty美女 in themselves他們自己 and others其他,
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來看見自己和他人的美好
20:41
to be curious好奇 and imaginative想像的,
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能好奇、能想像
20:44
then we are truly using運用 our power功率 well.
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那就是真的有好好使用自己的能力
20:48
When a spirit精神 has those qualities氣質, we are able能夠 to create創建 new realities現實
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當心靈有那些特質,我們就能夠建立新的現實價值
20:54
and new ways方法 of being存在.
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和新的生命方式
20:57
I'd like to leave離開 you with a poem
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我想要送各位一首詩
20:59
by a fourteenth-century十四世紀 Persian波斯語 poet詩人 named命名 Hafiz哈菲茲
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一位十四世紀的波斯詩人海菲茲所作的詩
21:03
that my friend朋友, Jacques雅克· DemboisDembois told me about,
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這是我朋友賈克丹波告訴我的
21:06
and the poem is called "The God Who Only Knows知道 Four Words":
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一首叫做「那個只懂四個字的神」的詩
21:11
"Every一切 child兒童 has known已知 God,
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每個小孩都認識神
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注意事項,
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不是叫你「不要」的神
21:20
but the God who only knows知道 four words and keeps保持 repeating重複 them,
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而是那個只懂四個字的神,一直反覆吟頌的神
21:25
saying, 'Come'來 dance舞蹈 with me.
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祂說:「與我共舞!」
21:32
Come, dance舞蹈 with me. Come, dance舞蹈 with me.'"
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與我共舞!
21:35
Thank you.
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謝謝
21:37
(Applause掌聲)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Tzu-Pei Tsai
Reviewed by Adrienne Lin

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
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.

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."

More profile about the speaker
Aimee Mullins | Speaker | TED.com