A theory of everything | Emily Levine

Translator: Stephan Sabinsky Reviewer: Jonas Tholstrup Christensen

I am going to talk about myself,

Jeg vil tale om mig selv,

which I rarely do, because I --

hvilket jeg ellers sjældent gør, fordi jeg, for det første,

well for one thing, I prefer to talk about things I know nothing about.

foretrækker at tale om ting, jeg ikke ved noget som helst om.

And secondly, I'm a recovering narcissist.

Og for det andet, fordi jeg er en narcissist i bedring.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I didn't know I was a narcissist actually.

Jeg vidste faktisk ikke, jeg var en narcissist.

I thought narcissism meant you loved yourself.

Jeg troede, narcissisme betød, at man elskede sig selv.

And then someone told me there is a flip side to it.

Men så var der en, der fortalte mig, at der var en bagside ved det.

So it's actually drearier than self-love;

Det er faktisk langt mere trist end selvkærlighed.

it's unrequited self-love.

Det er ugengældt selvkærlighed.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I don't feel I can afford a relapse.

Jeg synes ikke, jeg kan tillade mig selv et tilbagefald.

But I want to, though, explain

Men jeg vil, derimod, forklare

how I came to design my own particular brand of comedy

hvordan jeg nåede frem til min særlige form for komedie,

because I've been through so many different forms of it.

eftersom jeg har prøvet så mange forskellige variationer af den.

I started with improvisation,

Jeg begyndte med improvisation.

in a particular form of improvisation called theater games,

Den særlige improvisationsform der hedder teaterspil,

which had one rule,

der havde én regel -

which I always thought was a great rule for an ethic for a society.

som jeg altid har opfattet som en glimrende etisk retningslinje i et samfund.

And the rule was, you couldn't deny the other person's reality,

Og reglen var, at du ikke kunne fornægte den anden persons virkelighed,

you could only build on it.

kun bygge oven på den.

And of course we live in a society that's all about

Og selvfølgelig lever vi et samfund, der er besat af at

contradicting other peoples' reality.

modsige andre menneskers virkelighed.

It's all about contradiction,

Det hele drejer sig om modsigelse,

which I think is why I'm so sensitive to contradiction in general.

og jeg tror, det er derfor, jeg generelt er så sensibel over for modsigelser.

I see it everywhere.

Jeg ser det alle vegne.

Like polls. You know, it's always curious to me

Ligesom meningsmålinger. Ik? Jeg undrer mig altid over,

that in public opinion polls

at i meningsmålinger

the percentage of Americans who don't know the answer to any given question

er procentdelen af amerikanere, der ikke kender svaret på et givent spørgsmål,

is always two percent.

altid to procent.

75 percent of Americans

75 procent af alle amerikanere

think Alaska is part of Canada.

tror, at Alaska er en del af Canada.

But only two percent don't know the effect

Men kun to procent ved ikke, hvilken påvirkning

that the debacle in Argentina will have on the IMF's monetary policy --

sammenbruddet i Argentina vil få på IMF's pengepolitik -

(Laughter)

(Latter)

seems a contradiction.

- det forekommer at være en modsigelse.

Or this ad that I read in the New York Times:

Eller denne annonce, jeg læste i New York Times:

"Wearing a fine watch speaks loudly of your rank in society.

"Et fornemt armbåndsur signalerer noget om din plads i samfundet.

Buying it from us screams good taste."

Et ur købt hos os skriger af god smag."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Or this that I found in a magazine called California Lawyer,

Eller dette, som jeg fandt i et magasin med titlen California Lawyer,

in an article that is surely meant for the lawyers at Enron.

i en artikel, der uden tvivl må være tiltænkt advokaterne i Enron.

"Surviving the Slammer: Do's and Don'ts."

"At overleve kritikken. Hvad du bør gøre og ikke gøre."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

"Don't use big words."

"Brug ikke svære ord"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

"Learn the lingua franca."

"Lær lingua franca."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Yeah. "Lingua this, Frankie."

Ja, lingua dét, Frankie.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And I suppose it's a contradiction that I

Og jeg tror, det er en selvmodsigelse, at jeg

talk about science when I don't know math.

taler om videnskab, når jeg ikke ved noget om matematik.

You know, because -- and by the way to I was so grateful to Dean Kamen

Du ved, fordi - og forresten er jeg Dean Kamen så taknemmelig for

for pointing out that one of the reasons,

at påpege, at en af grundene til

that there are cultural reasons

at der er kulturelle årsager til,

that women and minorities don't enter the fields of science and technology --

at kvinder og minoriteter ikke betræder videnskabens og teknologiens områder -

because for instance, the reason I don't do math is,

fordi, for eksempel, grunden til at jeg ikke interesserer mig for matematik er,

I was taught to do math and read at the same time.

at jeg er opdraget til at lave matematik og læse, samtidigt.

So you're six years old, you're reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,

Så, du er altså seks år gammel, og du læser Snehvide og de syv dværge.

and it becomes rapidly obvious

Det bliver meget hurtigt klart for dig,

that there are only two kinds of men in the world:

at der kun er to slags mænd i verden,

dwarves and Prince Charmings.

dværge og prinser.

And the odds are seven to one against your finding the prince.

Og oddsene er syv til en imod, at du finder prinsen.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That's why little girls don't do math. It's too depressing.

Det er grunden til, at små piger nødigt laver matematik. Det er alt for deprimerende.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Of course, by talking about science

Og naturligvis, når vi nu taler om videnskab

I also may, as I did the other night,

så kan jeg, som jeg gjorde forleden aften,

incur the violent wrath of some scientists

påkalde mig en voldsom vrede fra visse videnskabsfolk,

who were very upset with me.

der var meget vrede på mig.

I used the word postmodern as if it were OK.

Jeg tror, det var fordi, jeg brugte ordet "postmoderne", som om det var helt OK.

And they got very upset.

Og de blev meget vrede.

One of them, to his credit, I think really just wanted to engage me

En af dem, skal det siges, ville virkelig gerne inddrage mig, tror jeg,

in a serious argument.

i en seriøs diskussion.

But I don't engage in serious arguments.

Men jeg involverer mig ikke i seriøse diskussioner.

I don't approve of them

Jeg synes ikke om dem,

because arguments, of course, are all about contradiction,

fordi diskussioner selvsagt handler om modsigelser.

and they're shaped by the values that I have questions with.

Og de formes efter disse værdier.

I have questions with the values of Newtonian science,

Jeg stiller spørgsmålstegn ved de værdier, der ligger i newtonsk videnskab.

like rationality. You're supposed to be rational in an argument.

På samme måde som med rationalitet; du forventes at være rationel i en diskussion.

Well rationality is constructed

Men rationalitet er konstrueret

by what Christie Hefner was talking about today,

af det, som Christie Hefner fortalte om i dag,

that mind-body split, you know?

splittelsen mellem krop og intellekt. Du ved ...

The head is good, body bad.

intellektet er godt, kroppen er dårlig.

Head is ego, body id.

Intellektet er ego, kroppen er id.

When we say "I," -- as when Rene Descartes said,

Når vi siger "jeg", som når Rene Descartes sagde:

"I think therefore I am," --

"Jeg tænker, derfor er jeg",

we mean the head.

så mener vi intellektet.

And as David Lee Roth sang in "Just a Gigolo,"

Som David Lee Roth sang i "Just a Gigolo":

"I ain't got no body."

"Jeg har ikke nogen krop."

That's how you get rationality.

Det er sådan, du bliver rationel.

And that's why so much of humor

Og det er grunden til, at så meget humor

is the body asserting itself against the head.

handler om en krop, der hævder sig over for intellektet.

That's why you have toilet humor and sexual humor.

Det er derfor, der findes latrinære og frække jokes.

That's why you have the Raspyni Brothers

Det er derfor, der er sådan noget som Raspyni-brødrene,

whacking Richard in the genital area.

der slår løs på Richards kønsorganer.

And we're laughing doubly then

Og vi ler dobbelt så meget

because he's the body, but it's also --

fordi, han er kroppen, men det handler også om -

Voice offstage: Richard.

Stemme uden for scenen: Richard.

Emily Levine: Richard. What did I say?

Emily Levine: Richard. Hvad sagde jeg?

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Richard. Yes but it's also the head,

Richard. Ja, men det er også intellektet

the head of the conference.

lederen af konferencen.

That's the other way that humor --

Det er den anden måde, som humor -

like Art Buchwald takes shots at the heads of state.

som når Art Buchwald gør grin med magthaverne.

It doesn't make quite as much money as body humor I'm sure --

Det giver sikkert ikke lige så mange penge som krops-humor, er jeg sikker på -

(Laughter)

(Latter)

but nevertheless, what makes us treasure you and adore you.

men det er ikke desto mindre det, der gør, at vi værdsætter og beundrer dem.

There's also a contradiction in rationality in this country though,

Der findes også en modsigelse i rationaliteten i dette land,

which is, as much as we revere the head,

der går ud på, at uanset hvor meget vi værdsætter intellektet,

we are very anti-intellectual.

så er vi meget anti-intellektuelle.

I know this because I read in the New York Times,

Jeg ved det, fordi jeg i the New York Times læste,

the Ayn Rand foundation took out a full-page ad

at Ayn Rand-fonden indrykkede en helsides-annonce

after September 11,

efter 11. september,

in which they said, "The problem is not Iraq or Iran,

hvor de skrev: "Problemet er ikke ikke Irak eller Iran,

the problem in this country, facing this country

problemet i dette land, som det står over for,

is the university professors and their spawn."

er universitetsprofessorerne og deres yngel."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So I went back and re-read "The Fountainhead."

Så jeg genlæste romanen "Kun den stærke er fri".

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I don't know how many of you have read it.

Jeg ved ikke, hvor mange af jer der har læst den.

And I'm not an expert on sadomasochism.

Og jeg er ikke en ekspert i sadomasochisme.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But let me just read you a couple of random passages from page 217.

Men jeg vil lige læse et par tilfældige passager fra side 217.

"The act of a master

"Herskerens gerninger"

taking painful contemptuous possession of her,

når han, smertefuldt og med foragt, tog hende i sin besiddelse

was the kind of rapture she wanted.

var det den form for henrykkelse, hun søgte.

When they lay together in bed it was,

Når de så lå sammen i sengen,

as it had to be, as the nature of the act demanded,

var alt, som det skulle være. Som gerningens karakter nu engang måtte afkræve.

an act of violence.

En voldshandling.

It was an act of clenched teeth and hatred. It was the unendurable.

Det var sammenbidte tænder og had. Det var uudholdeligt.

Not a caress, but a wave of pain.

Ikke et kærtegn, men en bølge af smerte.

The agony as an act of passion."

Smerten som en passioneret handling."

So you can imagine my surprise

Så I kan nok forestille jer min overraskelse,

on reading in The New Yorker

da jeg i The New Yorker læste,

that Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve,

at Alan Greenspan, formand for Den amerikanske centralbank,

claims Ayn Rand as his intellectual mentor.

betragter Ayn Rand som sin intellektuelle mentor.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

It's like finding out your nanny is a dominatrix.

Det er som at komme hjem og opdage, at din babysitter er en dominatrix.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Bad enough we had to see J. Edgar Hoover in a dress.

Det er slemt nok, at vi måtte se J. Edgar Hoover i kjole.

Now we have to picture Alan Greenspan

Nu må vi så se Alan Greenspan, for vores indre blik,

in a black leather corset, with a butt tattoo that says,

i et sort læderkorset, og med en tatovering på ballen med ordene

"Whip inflation now."

"Pisk inflationen nu!"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And Ayn Rand of course, Ayn Rand

Og Ayn Rand naturligvis, Ayn Rand

is famous for a philosophy called Objectivism,

er berømt for en filosofi, der hedder "objektivisme",

which reflects another value of Newtonian physics,

der afspejler et andet perspektiv af den newtonske fysiks værdier,

which is objectivity.

nemlig objektivitet.

Objectivity basically is constructed

Objektivitet er i bund og grund konstrueret

in that same S&M way.

på samme måde som SM.

It's the subject subjugating the object.

Subjektet underkaster sig objektet.

That's how you assert yourself.

På den måde hævder du dig selv.

You make yourself the active voice.

Du gør dig selv til den aktive stemme.

And the object is the passive no-voice.

Og objektet er den passive nej-stemme.

I was so fascinated by that Oxygen commercial.

Jeg blev så fascineret af den der Oxygen-reklame.

I don't know if you know this but --

Jeg ved ikke, om I er klar over det, men -

maybe it's different now, or maybe you were making a statement --

måske er det anderledes nu, eller måske var det bare et vink med en vognstang,

but in many hospital nurseries across the country,

men i mange barselsafsnit på sygehuse over hele landet,

until very recently anyway, according to a book by Jessica Benjamin,

indtil for nylig i hvert fald, ifølge en bog af Jessica Benjamin,

the signs over the little boys cribs read,

stod der på skiltene over drengebørnenes vugger:

"I'm a boy,"

"Jeg er en dreng".

and the signs over the little girls cribs read,

Og på skiltene over pigebørnenes vugger stod der:

"It's a girl." Yeah.

"Det er pige". Ja!

So the passivity was culturally

Så passiviteten blev, kulturelt set,

projected onto the little girls.

projiceret ind i de små piger.

And this still goes on as I think I told you last year.

Og sådan fortsætter det stadig, som jeg vist fortalte jer sidste år.

There's a poll that proves --

En meningsmåling viser -

there was a poll that was given by Time magazine,

en meningsmåling i Time magazine,

in which only men were asked, "Have you ever had sex

hvori kun mænd var blevet spurgt: "Har du nogen sinde haft sex

with a woman you actively disliked?"

med en kvinde, du virkelig afskyede?"

And well, yeah.

Og ja,

Well, 58 percent said yes,

Jo, 58 procent sagde ja,

which I think is overinflated though

som jeg dog tror er overdrevet,

because so many men if you just say,

fordi mange mænd, hvis du bare spørger,

"Have you ever had sex ... " "Yes!"

"Har du nogensinde haft sex ..." "Ja!"

They don't even wait for the rest of it.

De venter ikke engang på resten.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And of course two percent did not know whether they'd had --

Og selvfølgelig var der to procent, der ikke vidste, om de havde haft -

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That's the first callback,

Det var den den første joke ud ad fire,

of my attempted quadruple.

som jeg forsøger mig med i dag.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So this subject-object thing,

Så hele den her subjekt-objekt-ting,

is part of something I'm very interested in

indgår i noget, jeg er meget interesseret i

because this is why, frankly, I believe in political correctness.

fordi det, ærlig talt, er grunden til, at jeg tror på politisk korrekthed.

I do. I think it can go too far.

Det gør jeg. Jeg tror, det kan gå for vidt.

I think Ringling Brothers may have gone too far

Jeg tror, at Ringling Brothers måske gik for vidt

with an ad they took out in the New York Times Magazine.

med den reklame, de indrykkede i New York Times Magazine.

"We have a lifelong emotional and financial

"Vi har en livslang emotionel og økonomisk

commitment to our Asian Elephant partners."

forpligtelse over for vores asiatiske elefant-partnere."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Maybe too far. But you know --

Måske i overkanten. Men, du ved -

I don't think that

jeg synes ikke, at

a person of color making fun of white people

en person med mørk hudfarve, der gør grin med hvide mennesker,

is the same thing as a white person making fun of people of color.

er det samme, som hvis en hvid gør grin med mørke mennesker.

Or women making fun of men is the same as men making fun of women.

Eller kvinder, der gør grin med mænd, er det samme som mænd, der gør grin med ...

Or poor people making fun of rich people, the same as rich people.

Eller fattige der gør grin med rige folk, er det det samme som hvis rige ...

I think you can make fun of the have but not the have-nots,

Jeg synes godt, man kan lave sjov med dem, som har. Men ikke med dem, der ikke har,

which is why you don't see me making fun of

og det er grunden til, at jeg ikke laver grin med

Kenneth Lay and his charming wife.

Kenneth Lay og hans yndige kone.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

What's funny about being down to four houses?

Hvad sjovt er der i kun at have fire boliger tilbage?

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And I really learned this lesson

Og jeg lærte så sandelig lektien

during the sex scandals of the Clinton administration or,

under sex-skandalerne i Clintons embedsperiode.

Or as I call them, the good ol' days.

Eller, som jeg kalder dem: de gode gamle dage.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

When people I knew, you know, people who considered themselves liberal,

Når folk jeg kender, du ved, folk der så sig selv som liberale,

and everything else,

og meget andet,

were making fun of Jennifer Flowers and Paula Jones.

gjorde grin med Jennifer Flowers og Paula Jones.

Basically, they were making fun of them for being

Dybest set gjorde de grin med dem for at være

trailer trash or white trash.

"trailer trash" eller "white trash".

It seems, I suppose, a harmless prejudice

Det kunne måske nok virke som en harmløs fordom,

and that you're not really hurting anybody.

der ikke for alvor kan såre nogen.

Until you read, as I did, an ad in the Los Angeles Times.

Lige indtil man læser, som jeg gjorde, en reklame i the Los Angeles Times.

"For sale: White trash compactor."

"Til salg: "White trash-kompaktor".

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So this whole subject-object thing

Så den her subjekt-objekt-historie

has relevance to humor in this way.

spiller en rolle i forhold til humor.

I read a book by a woman named Amy Richlin,

Jeg læste en bog af en kvinde ved navn Amy Richlin,

who is the chair of the Classics department at USC.

som er leder af Institut for græske og romerske studier ved USC.

And the book is called "The Garden of Priapus."

Og bogen hedder "Priapus' have".

And she says that Roman humor

Og hun fortæller, at romersk humor

mirrors the construction of Roman society.

afspejler det romerske samfunds sociale struktur.

So that Roman society was very top/bottom,

Det romerske samfund var meget hierarkisk opbygget,

as ours is to some degree.

på samme måde som vores, til en vis udstrækning, er.

And so was humor.

Det samme gjaldt humor.

There always had to be the butt of a joke.

Der skulle altid være en, der kunne gøres grin med.

So it was always the satirist,

Det var altid satirikeren,

like Juvenal or Martial,

eksempelvis Juvenal eller Marschall,

represented the audience,

som repræsenterede publikum,

and he was going to make fun of the outsider,

og han skulle så gøre grin med outsideren,

the person who didn't share that subject status.

personen der ikke havde denne status af at være et subjekt.

And in stand-up of course,

Og i stand-up er det selvfølgelig meningen,

the stand-up comedian is supposed to dominate the audience.

at stand-up-komikeren dominerer publikummet.

A lot of heckling is the tension

En række afbrydelser eller tilråb fra publikum medvirker til den spænding,

of trying to make sure that the

der har til formål at sikre,

comedian is going to be able to dominate,

at komikeren ender med at dominere

and overcome the heckler.

- og få bugt med afbryderne.

And I got good at that when I was in stand up.

Og det blev jeg ret god til, da jeg var stand-up-komiker.

But I always hated it because they were

Men jeg hadede det, fordi de jo

dictating the terms of the interaction,

bestemte samspillets vilkår.

in the same way that engaging in a serious argument

På samme måde som det at involvere sig i en seriøs diskussion

determines the content, to some degree,

i nogen grad afgør, hvad man

of what you're talking about.

taler om.

And I was looking for a form

Og jeg søgte en form,

that didn't have that.

der ikke var sådan.

And so I wanted something that was more interactive.

Og jeg ønskede noget, der var mere "interaktivt".

I know that word is so debased now

Jeg ved godt, at det ord er blevet ret så devalueret,

by the use of it by Internet marketers.

af den digitale marketings brug af det.

I really miss the old telemarketers now, I'll tell you that.

Jeg savner virkelig telefonsælgerne nu, det siger jeg dig.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I do, because at least there you stood a chance. You know?

Det gør jeg. Fordi du i det mindste havde en chance. Ik?

I used to actually hang up on them.

Jeg plejede at lægge på.

But then I read in "Dear Abby" that that was rude.

Men så læste jeg i brevkassen "Kære Abby", at det var uhøfligt.

So the next time that one called

Så næste gang, der var en, der ringede,

I let him get halfway through his spiel and then I said,

lod jeg ham komme halvvejs igennem sin svada, og så sagde jeg:

"You sound sexy."

"Du lyder sexet".

(Laughter)

(Latter)

He hung up on me!

Han lagde på!

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But the interactivity allows the audience

Men interaktiviteten giver publikum mulighed for

to shape what you're going to do as much as

at forme, hvad du skal gøre, lige som

you shape their experience of the world.

du former deres oplevelse af verden.

And that's really what I'm looking for.

Og det er faktisk det, jeg søger.

And I was sort of, as I was starting to analyze

Og på en måde var jeg - da jeg begyndte at analysere,

what exactly it is that I do,

hvad det præcis er, jeg gør ...

I read a book called "Trickster Makes This World," by Lewis Hyde.

Jeg læste en bog med titlen "Trickster Makes This World" af Lewis Hyde.

And it was like being psychoanalyzed.

Og det føltes som om, jeg blev psykoanalyseret.

I mean he had laid it all out.

Jeg mener; han forklarede det hele.

And then coming to this conference,

Og da jeg så kom til konferencen her,

I realized that most everybody here

blev det klart for mig, at de fleste her

shared those same qualities

delte de samme kvaliteter,

because really what trickster is

fordi en drilleånd (trickster) faktisk er

is an agent of change.

en forandringsagent.

Trickster is a change agent.

En drilleånd er en forandringsagent.

And the qualities that I'm about to describe

Og de egenskaber, jeg her vil beskrive,

are the qualities that make it possible

er de kvaliteter, der gør det muligt

to make change happen.

for forandring at ske.

And one of these is boundary crossing.

Og en af disse kvaliteter er grænseoverskridelse.

I think this is what so, in fact, infuriated the scientists.

Jeg tror faktisk, det er grunden til, at videnskabsmændene blev så rasende på mig.

But I like to cross boundaries.

Men jeg kan lide at overskride grænser.

I like to, as I said, talk about things I know nothing about.

Jeg holder også af - som jeg fortalte - at tale om ting, jeg ikke ved noget som helst om.

(Phone Ringing)

(En telefon ringer)

I hope that's my agent,

Jeg håber, det er min agent,

because you aren't paying me anything.

I betaler mig jo ikke noget for det her.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And I think it's good to talk about things I know nothing about

Og jeg tror, det er udmærket at tale om emner, jeg ikke ved noget om,

because I bring a fresh viewpoint to it, you know?

for jeg bidrager med et nyt perspektiv, ik?

I'm able to see the contradiction

Jeg kan se modsigelser,

that you may not be able to see.

som I måske ikke kan se.

Like for instance a mime once --

Som en mimiker engang -

or a meme as he called himself.

eller en mem, som han kaldte sig.

He was a very selfish meme.

Han var en meget egoistisk mem.

And he said that I had to show more respect

Og han fortalte, at jeg skulle udvise mere respekt,

because it took up to 18 years

eftersom det tog op mod 18 år

to learn how to do mime properly.

at lære at mime rigtigt.

And I said, "Well, that's how you know only stupid people go into it."

Og jeg sagde: "Okay, så ved man da, at det kun er uintelligente mennesker, der begynder at mime.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

It only takes two years to learn how to talk.

Det tager kun to år at lære at tale.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

(Applause)

(Bifald)

And you know people, this is the problem with

Og, I ved, det er problemet med

quote, objectivity, unquote.

"objektivitet".

When you're only surrounded by people

Hvis du udelukkende er omgivet af mennesker,

who speak the same vocabulary as you,

der bruger samme vokabular som dig,

or share the same set of assumptions as you,

eller de samme antagelser som dig,

you start to think that that's reality.

vil du tro, at virkeligheden er sådan.

Like economists, you know, their definition of rational,

På samme måde som med økonomer, hvis definition af rationalitet siger,

that we all act out of our own economic self-interest.

at vi alle handler ud fra økonomiske egeninteresser.

Well, look at Michael Hawley,

Tag nu for eksempel Michael Hawley,

or look at Dean Kamen,

eller Dean Kamen,

or look at my grandmother.

eller min bedstemor.

My grandmother always acted in other people's interests,

Min bedstemor handlede altid i andres interesse,

whether they wanted her to or not.

hvad enten de ønskede det eller ej.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

If they had had an Olympics in martyrdom,

Hvis der havde været en olympisk disciplin i martyrier,

my grandmother would have lost on purpose.

ville min mormor havde tabt med vilje.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

"No, you take the prize.

"Nej, du skal have medaljen.

You're young. I'm old. Who's going to see it?

Du er ung. Jeg er gammel. Hvem skulle tage notits af mig alligevel?

Where am I going? I'm going to die soon."

Hvor er jeg på vej hen? Jeg skal snart dø."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So that's one -- this boundary crossing,

Så der er en ... denne grænseoverskridelse,

this go-between which --

denne mægling mellem -

Fritz Lanting, is that his name,

Fritz Lanting, var det ikke det, han hed,

actually said that he was a go-between.

har faktisk sagt, at han var en mægler.

That's an actual quality of the trickster.

Det er et karaktertræk ved drilleånden.

And another is, non-oppositional strategies.

Og et andet træk er brugen af ikke-opposititionelle strategier.

And this is instead of contradiction.

Og dette står i stedet for modsætningen.

Where you deny the other person's reality,

I stedet for at fornægte den andens virkelighed

you have paradox

har vi et paradoks,

where you allow more than one reality to coexist,

hvor man tillader mere end én virkelighed,

I think there's another philosophical construction.

jeg tror, det er en anden filosofisk konstruktion.

I'm not sure what it's called.

Jeg er ikke sikker på, hvad den kaldes.

But my example of it is a sign that I saw in a jewelry store.

Men et eksempel på det, var et skilt jeg så hos en juveler.

It said, "Ears pierced while you wait."

På det stod der: "Ører pierces, mens du venter"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

There the alternative just boggles the imagination.

Det sætter virkelig gang i fantasien at forestille sig et alternativ.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

"Oh no. Thanks though, I'll leave them here. Thanks very much.

"Ellers tak, jeg lægger dem bare her. Mange tak.

I have some errands to run. So I'll be back to pick them up

Jeg har et par ærinder. Så jeg kommer tilbage efter dem

around five, if that's OK with you.

ved femtiden, hvis det er ok med dig.

Huh? Huh? What? Can't hear you."

Hvad? Hvad? Hva'? Jeg kan ikke høre dig."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And another attribute of the trickster

Et andet karaktertræk ved drilleånden

is smart luck.

er evnen til at være heldig med vilje.

That accidents, that Louis Kahn, who talked about accidents,

Tag nu for eksempel tilfældigheder, som Louis Kahn, der fortalte om tilfældigheder,

this is another quality of the trickster.

det er et andet karaktertræk ved drilleånden.

The trickster has a mind that is prepared for the unprepared.

Drilleånden er mentalt forberedt på det "uforberedte".

That, and I will say this to the scientists,

Og det at - og jeg siger dette til videnskabsfolkene -

that the trickster has the ability to hold

det at drilleånden er i stand til at

his ideas lightly

bevare et åbent sind

so that he can let room in for new ideas

så han kan skabe rum for nye ideer

or to see the contradictions or the hidden problems

eller gennemskue modsigelserne eller de skjulte problemer,

with his ideas.

med sine ideer.

I had no joke for that.

Der hører ikke nogen joke med til denne pointe.

I just wanted to put the scientists in their place.

Jeg ville bare sætte videnskabsfolkene på plads.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But here's how I think I like to make change,

Men jeg vil gerne fortælle, hvordan jeg tror, jeg kunne tænke mig at lave forandringer,

and that is in making connections.

og det er ved at etablere forbindelser.

This is what I tend to see

Sådan plejer jeg at se på det

almost more than contradictions.

næsten mere end modsigelser.

Like the, what do you call those toes of the gecko?

Ligesom, hvad er det, de hedder, gekkoens tæer?

You know, the toes of the gecko,

Altså, du ved, gekkoens tæer,

curling and uncurling like the fingers of Michael Moschen.

der krummer sig ind og ud, ligesom Michael Moschens fingre.

I love connections.

Jeg elsker sammenhænge.

Like I'll read that one of the two attributes

Jeg læste, at den ene af de to egenskaber

of matter in the Newtonian universe --

ved materie i det newtonske univers -

there are two attributes of matter in the Newtonian universe --

materie har to egenskaber i et newtonsk univers -

one is space occupancy. Matter takes up space.

den ene er, at det optager plads. Materie kræver plads.

I guess the more you matter the more space you take up,

Jeg går ud fra, at desto vigtigere du er, jo mere plads optager du,

which explains the whole SUV phenomenon.

det er forklaringen på SUV-bilfænomenet.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And the other one though is impenetrability.

Og det andet er uigennemtrængelighed.

Well, in ancient Rome, impenetrability

Se, i det gamle Rom var uigennemtrængelighed

was the criterion of masculinity.

maskulinitetens kriterium.

Masculinity depended on you

Maskulinitet afhang af, at du

being the active penetrator.

var den aktive penetrator.

And then, in economics, there's an active producer

Og i økonomi er der en aktiv producent

and a passive consumer,

og en passiv forbruger,

which explains why business always has to

hvilket forklarer, hvorfor virksomheder altid må

penetrate new markets.

penetrere nye markeder.

Well yeah, I mean why we forced China

Ja, det vil sige, hvorfor vi tvang Kina

to open her markets.

til at åbne sine markeder.

And didn't that feel good?

Og var det ikke en god følelse?

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And now we're being penetrated.

Og nu vi bliver penetrerede.

You know the biotech companies are actually going inside us

Vidste I, at biotek-virksomheder rent faktisk går ind i os?

and planting their little flags on our genes.

De planter deres små flag på vores gener.

You know we're being penetrated.

Vi bliver penetrerede.

And I suspect, by someone who actively dislikes us.

Og det endda af nogen, der formentlig slet ikke bryder sig om os.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

That's the second of the quadruple.

Det var den anden af de fire jokes, jeg forsøger mig med i dag.

Yes of course you got that. Thank you very much.

Ja, naturligvis fik I fat i det. Mange tak.

I still have a way to go.

Jeg har stadig et stykke vej tilbage.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And what I hope to do, when I make these connections,

Og det, som jeg håber at skabe med disse sammenhænge,

is short circuit people's thinking.

er en kortslutning af folks tænkning.

You know, make you not follow your usual

Det vil sige, at folk ikke følger det sædvanlige

train of association,

associations-mønster,

but make you rewire.

men derimod skaber nye forbindelser og mønstre.

It literally -- when people say about the shock of recognition,

Ment bogstaveligt - når folk fortæller om en pludselig erkendelse,

it's literally re-cognition, rewiring how you think --

er det bogstaveligt talt gen-kendelse, at nytænke tænkningen -

I had a joke to go with this and I forgot it.

Jeg havde planlagt en joke her, men har glemt den.

I'm so sorry. I'm getting like

Det må I undskylde. Jeg er ved at blive som

the woman in that joke about --

kvinden i den joke om -

have you heard this joke about the woman driving with her mother?

kender I joken om kvinden, der er ude og køre med sin mor?

And the mother is elderly.

Og moren er en ældre dame.

And the mother goes right through a red light.

Og moren kører over for rødt lys.

And the daughter doesn't want to say anything.

Og datteren kan ikke lide at sige noget.

She doesn't want to be like, "You're too old to drive."

Hun vil nødigt signalere: "Du er for gammel til at køre bil".

And the mother goes through a second red light.

Og moren kører over for endnu et rødt lys.

And the daughter says, as tactfully as possible,

Og datteren siger, så taktfuldt hun kan:

"Mom, are you aware that you just went through two red lights?"

"Mor, er du klar over, at du lige har kørt over for rødt to gange?"

And the mother says, "Oh! Am I driving?"

Og moren siger: "Åh, er det mig, der kører?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And that's the shock of recognition

Og det er så den pludselige erkendelse

at the shock of recognition.

mens den finder sted.

That completes the quadruple.

Det fuldender min firdobbelte joke.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I just want to say two more things.

Jeg vil bare nævne to ting til.

One is, another characteristic of trickster

Det første er, at der er en anden egenskab ved drilleånden.

is that the trickster has to

Drilleånden må være i stand til

walk this fine line.

at fare med lempe.

He has to have poise.

Han skal være i balance.

And you know the biggest hurdle for me,

Og I skal vide, at min største hurdle,

in doing what I do,

når jeg gør det, jeg nu en gang gør her,

is constructing my performance

er at opbygge min optræden

so that it's prepared and unprepared.

så den er forberedt - og uforberedt.

Finding the balance between those things

At finde balancen mellem disse to punkter

is always dangerous

er altid farligt,

because you might tip off too much in the direction of unprepared.

fordi man kan ende med at være for uforberedt.

But being too prepared doesn't leave room

Men det at være for forberedt giver ikke plads

for the accidents to happen.

til de tilfældigheder, der måtte opstå.

I was thinking about what Moshe Safdie

Jeg tænkte på, hvad Moshe Safdie

said yesterday about beauty

fortalte om skønhed i går,

because in his book, Hyde says that

for Hyde skriver i sin bog,

sometimes trickster can tip over into beauty.

at drilleånder sommetider frembringer skønhed.

But to do that you have to

Men for at det kan lykkes, skal man

lose all the other qualities

tilsidesætte alle de andre egenskaber,

because once you're into beauty

fordi når man først beskæftiger sig med skønhed,

you're into a finished thing.

så er det en afsluttet ting.

You're into something that

Du beskæftiger dig med noget,

occupies space and inhabits time.

der optager både tid og sted.

It's an actual thing.

Det er en virkelig ting.

And it is always extraordinary to see a thing of beauty.

Og det er altid ekstraordinært at opleve skønhed.

But if you don't do that,

Men hvis du undlader at gøre det,

if you allow for the accident to keep on happening,

hvis du giver plads til tilfældighederne, til at de kan forekomme,

you have the possibility of getting on a wavelength.

får du chancen for at komme på bølgelængde.

I like to think of what I do as a probability wave.

Jeg betragter gerne mit arbejde som en slags sandsynlighedsbølge.

When you go into beauty the probability wave

Når man rammer skønheden, kollapser sandsynlighedsbølgen

collapses into one possibility.

til blot én mulighed.

And I like to explore all the possibilities

Og jeg vil gerne udforske alle mulighederne,

in the hope that you'll be on the wavelength of your audience.

i et forsøg på at være på bølgelængde med mit publikum.

And the one final quality I want to say about trickster is

Og den sidste af drilleåndens egenskaber, jeg vil fremhæve, er,

that he doesn't have a home.

at han ikke har et hjem.

He's always on the road.

Han er altid på farten.

I want to say to you Richard, in closing,

Og som afslutning vil jeg sige til dig, Richard,

that in TED you've created a home.

at du med TED har skabt et hjem.

And thank you for inviting me into it.

Og tak for at du inviterede mig indenfor.

Thank you very much.

Mange tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)