How do you know what's true? - Sheila Marie Orfano

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove.

一位武士陈尸于僻静的竹林中。

One by one, the crime’s only known witnesses recount their version

命案仅有的几位证人 逐一从各自的视角

of the events that transpired.

描述了事件经过。

But as they each tell their tale,

然而，当他们逐个叙述时，

it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different.

显然，每个人的证词 都能自圆其说，却又互相矛盾，

And each witness implicates themselves.

而且每位证人都承认自己涉案。

This is the premise of “In a Grove,” a short story published in the early 1920s

这就是日本作家芥川龙之介 早在 1920 年发表的

by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

短篇小说《竹林中》的引文。

Though many know this tale of warring perspectives by a different name:

不过，大多数人知道的可能是 这扑朔迷离故事的别名：

“Rashomon.”

《罗生门》。

In 1950, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa adapted two of Akutagawa’s stories

1950 年，日本导演黑泽明 将芥川的两篇小说

into one film.

改编成了一部电影。

This movie introduced the world to an enduring cultural metaphor

这部电影向世界介绍了 一个经久不衰的文化隐喻，

that has transformed our understanding of truth, justice and human memory.

这个隐喻转变了我们 对真相、正义和人类记忆的所知。

The Rashomon effect describes a situation

罗生门效应描述的情况是，

in which individuals give significantly different but equally conceivable accounts

个体对同一个事件

给出了截然不同 却又同样可信的描述。

of the same event.

Often used to highlight the unreliability of eyewitnesses,

罗生门效应常常被用来强调 目击证人的不可靠，

the Rashomon effect usually occurs under two specific conditions.

这种效应经常在两种特定条件下发生。

The first: there’s no evidence to verify what really happened.

其一：没有证据印证究竟发生了什么。

And the second: there’s pressure to achieve closure,

其二：有人施压想要了结事件，

often provided by an authority figure trying to identify the definitive truth.

这种压力通常来自 试图对真相得出定论的权威人物。

But the Rashomon effect undermines the very idea of a singular, objective truth.

但罗生门效应动摇了 存在单一、客观真相的想法。

In the source material,

在原始作品中，

Akutagawa and Kurosawa use the tools of their media

芥川和黑泽分别在小说与电影中，

to give each character’s testimony equal weight,

给每个角色的证词以同等权重，

transforming each witness into an unreliable narrator.

从而使得每位证人的证词都不可靠。

Without any hints on who’s sharing the most accurate account,

因为没有任何线索告诉我们 谁分享的事件经过最确切，

the audience can’t tell which character to trust.

观众也无法判断该信任哪个角色。

Instead, each testimony takes on a truthful quality,

相反，每段证词都具备真实性，

and the audience is left doubting their convictions

观众只能一边猜测 谁夺走了武士的性命，

as they guess who ended the samurai’s life.

一边怀疑自己的判断。

Some might find this frustrating because the plot subverts expectations

有些人可能会感到沮丧， 因为剧情颠覆了

of how mysteries usually end.

人们以往对悬疑小说结尾的期望。

But by refusing to provide a clear answer,

但正因为没有提供明确答案，

these two artists capture the messiness and complexity of truth and human memory.

这两位艺术大家捕捉到 真相与人类记忆的纷乱与复杂。

Neuroscientists have found that when we form a memory,

神经科学家发现， 当我们记忆形成时，

our interpretation of visual information is influenced

我们对眼前信息的解读

会受到过往经历和内在偏见的影响。

by our previous experiences and internal biases.

Some of these biases are unique to individuals,

有些偏见是个人独有的，

but others are more universal.

有些则更为普遍。

For example, egocentric bias can influence people

比如说，自我中心偏差

能让人潜意识地重塑记忆，

to subconsciously reshape their memories

in ways that cast a positive light on their actions.

让自己的行动显得更为积极。

Even if we were able to encode a memory accurately,

即使我们能准确地记住，

recalling it incorporates new information that changes the memory.

在回忆时也会加入新信息， 让记忆发生改变。

And when we later recall that event,

之后再回忆事件时，

we typically remember the embellished memory instead of the original experience.

我们通常会记住经过修饰的记忆， 而不是原始的经历。

These underlying psychological phenomena mean that the Rashomon effect

这些基本的心理现象

意味着罗生门效应 随时随地都能出现。

can pop up anywhere.

In biology, scientists starting from the same dataset

在生物学中，科学家们用同样的分析方法

and applying the same analytical methods, frequently publish different results.

研究同样的数据集， 却常常会发表不同的结果。

Anthropologists regularly grapple with the impact personal backgrounds can have

人类学家经常要面对

个人背景对专业认知产生的影响。

on an expert's perception.

In one famous case, two anthropologists visited the Mexican village of Tepoztlan.

一个有名的例子就是，两位人类学家 探访了墨西哥的迪坡斯特兰村镇。

The first researcher described life in the town as happy and contented,

第一位研究学者描述说， 镇里的生活幸福而满足；

while the second recorded residents as paranoid and disgruntled.

而第二位学者则记录的是， 居民既偏执又不满。

Experts aside, the Rashomon effect can also impact the general public,

抛开专家不谈，罗生门效应 也能影响普通公众，

particularly when it comes to the perception of complicated world events.

尤其是在对复杂的世界事件的看法上。

For example, following a 2015 security summit

例如，在 2015 年

美国和阿拉伯国家领袖的安全峰会后，

between the United States and leaders from the Arab States,

media reports about the summit varied enormously.

媒体对该峰会的报道大相径庭。

Some stated that it had gone smoothly, while others called it a complete failure.

有的声称峰会进行顺利， 而有的则大呼峰会彻底失败。

It's tempting to fixate on why we have competing perceptions,

虽然很容易纠结于 我们为什么会有互相矛盾的感受，

but perhaps the more important question the Rashomon effect raises is,

但也许罗生门效应 提出了一个更重要的问题：

what is truth anyway?

真相到底是什么呢？

Are there situations when an “objective truth” doesn’t exist?

是否有“客观真相”不存在的情况？

What can different versions of the same event tell us

同一事件的不同版本 是否能让我们了解

about the time, place and people involved?

时间、地点和涉及人物？

And how can we make group decisions if we’re all working

如果我们的信息、 背景和偏见各不相同，

with different information, backgrounds, and biases?

我们又该如何做出集体决策呢？

Like most questions, these don’t have a definitive answer.

与大多数问题一样， 这些并没有明确答案。

But the enduring importance of Akutagawa’s story

但芥川故事里的重要意义经久不衰，

suggests there may be value in embracing the ambiguity.

表明了接受不确定性 或许也有其价值。