David Kwong: Two nerdy obsessions meet — and it's magic

Translator: Penny Martínez Reviewer: Mario Cal

Crebacabezas

e maxia.

Traballo no que a maioría da xente pensa que son dous campos distintos,

Puzzles

pero eu creo que son o mesmo.

and magic.

I work in what most people think

Son mago e creador de crucigramas do New York Times.

are two distinct fields,

but I believe they are the same.

O que significa que collín as dúas afeccións máis raras do mundo

I am both a magician and

e as xuntei nunha soa carreira.

a New York Times crossword puzzle constructor,

E creo que a maxia e os crebacabezas son o mesmo,

which basically means I've taken

the world's two nerdiest hobbies

porque ambos son clave nun dos impulsos humanos máis importantes:

and combined them into one career.

o desexo de resolver cousas.

And I believe that magic and puzzles are the same

Os seres humanos están feitos para resolver, para poñer orde no caos.

because they both key into one of

the most important human drives:

the urge to solve.

Para mín é moi certo,

pois levo resolvendo cousas toda a miña vida.

Human beings are wired to solve,

No instituto desfrutaba de xogos épicos de Scrabble na cafetería

to make order out of chaos.

en lugar de falar coas rapazas.

It's certainly true for me.

I've been solving my whole life.

E entón por aquela época comecei a aprender trucos de maxia,

High school consisted of epic Scrabble matches in the cafeteria

e definitivamente a non falar coas rapazas.

and not really talking to girls,

Non hai nada como comezar unha conversa con:

and then at about that time

“Oe, sabías que ‘prestidixitación’ vale 20 puntos no Scrabble?“.

I started learning magic tricks

and definitely not talking to girls.

There's nothing like starting a conversation with,

Pero daquela, notei unha intersección entre os crebacabezas e a ilusión.

"Hey, did you know that 'prestidigitation' is worth

20 points in Scrabble?"

Cando fan un encrucillado ou ven un espectáculo de maxia,

But back then, I noticed an intersection

vólvense solucionadores, e a súa meta é tentar poñer orde no caos,

between puzzles and illusion.

When you do the crossword puzzle

or when you watch a magic show,

o caos dunha cuadrícula de crebacabezas en branco e negro,

you become a solver,

unha bolsa de fichas de Scrabble mesturadas ao chou

and your goal is to try to find the order in the chaos,

ou un paquete de cartas baralladas.

the chaos of, say, a black-and-white puzzle grid,

E hoxe, como cruciverbalista, 23 puntos, e deseñador de ilusións,

a mixed-up bag of Scrabble tiles,

or a shuffled pack of playing cards.

eu creo ese caos.

And today, as a cruciverbalist —

Probo a súa capacidade de resolución.

23 points —

Pero resulta que a investigación nos di

and an illusion designer, I create that chaos.

que resolver é tan primordial como comer ou durmir.

I test your ability to solve.

Desde o nacemento, estamos feitos para resolver.

Now, it turns out research tells us

that solving is as primal as eating and sleeping.

Nun estudo da UCLA, aos recentemente nados que aínda estaban no hospital,

From birth, we are wired to solve.

mostráronlles patróns como este: círculo, cruz, círculo e cruz.

In one UCLA study, newborns still in the hospital

E logo cambiaron o patrón: triángulo e cadrado.

were shown patterns, patterns like this:

E ao ver a mirada dun bebé, sabemos que os neonatos de tan só un día de idade

circle, cross, circle, cross.

And then the pattern was changed: triangle, square.

xa poden notar e responder aos cambios na orde.

And by tracking an infant's gaze,

Algo moi destacable.

Así que dende a infancia ata a vellez, o afán de resolver únenos a todos,

we know that newborns as young as a day old

can notice and respond to disruptions in order.

e ata atopei esta foto en Instagram da estrela do pop Katy Perry,

It's remarkable.

So from infancy through old age,

resolvendo un encrucillado co seu café da mañá.

the urge to solve unites us all,

Góstame.

and I even found this photo on Instagram

of pop star Katy Perry solving a crossword puzzle

(Risas)

with her morning coffee.

Pero aínda que todas as culturas queren resolver cousas,

Like.

(Laughter)

o encrucillado é un invento estadounidense,

e este ano celebramos o centenario

Now, solving exists across all cultures.

do primeiro publicado no The New York World.

The American invention is the crossword puzzle,

Pero moitas outras culturas teñen tamén os seus crebacabezas.

and this year we are celebrating

the 100th anniversary of the crossword puzzle,

China ofrécenos tangrams,

que probarían as habilidades da xente de crear formas a partir de pezas confusas

first published in The New York World.

But many other cultures have their signature puzzles as well.

Caos. Orde.

China gives us tangrams,

which would test solvers' abilities

Orde e máis orde.

to form shapes from the jumbled pieces.

(Sonido dun galo)

Chaos. Order.

Esa é a miña favorita, volvámola escoitar.

Vale.

Order.

And order.

E que hai deste crebacabezas inventado na Inglaterra do século XVIII:

That one's my favorite, let's hear it again.

o crebacabezas.

Non é isto poñer orde no caos?

Okay.

And how about this puzzle

invented in 18th-century England:

Así que como ven, sempre estamos resolvendo.

the jigsaw puzzle.

Sempre estamos tentando decodificar o noso mundo.

Is this not making order out of chaos?

É unha busca eterna.

So as you can see,

É como o que escribiu Cervantes en “Don Quixote”,

we are always solving.

We are always trying to decode our world.

que por certo é a raíz de “quixotada”,

a palabra de Scrabble con maior puntuación de todos os tempos, 365 puntos.

It's an eternal quest.

It's just like the one Cervantes wrote about

Pero en fin, “Don Quixote” é un libro importante.

in "Don Quixote,"

which by the way is the root of the word "quixotry,"

Vostedes xa leron “Don Quixote”, non si?

the highest-scoring Scrabble word of all time,

Vexo varias cabezas asentindo.

365 points.

Veña rapaces, de verdade?

But anyway, "Don Quixote" is an important book.

Fagamos algo: que levante a man quen leu “Don Quixote”.

Aló imos. Un bo público.

You guys have read "Don Quixote," yes?

Erguede a man se lestes “Don Quixote”.

I'm seeing some heads nod.

Come on guys, really?

Moi ben, porque preciso a alguén intelixente aquí, porque agora vou mostrar

Who's read "Don Quixote?" Let's do this. Raise your hands if you've read "Don Quixote."

There we go. Smart audience.

coa axuda dun de vostedes, o profundamente arraigado que está o desexo de resolver,

Who's read "Don Quixote?" Get them up.

Okay, good, because I need somebody smart here

because now I'm going to demonstrate

así que vou ir onde o público e atopar a alguén que me axude.

with the help of one of you

just how deeply rooted your urge to solve is,

Vexamos.

just how wired to solve all of you really are,

De súpeto todo o mundo mira cara outro lado.

so I'm going to come into the audience

and find somebody to help me.

Podo? Ti faríalo? Como te chamas? Gwen.

Let's see.

Everybody's looking away all of a sudden.

Non leo a mente, vexo o teu nome na etiqueta.

Ven comigo, Gwen. E deanlle todos un aplauso, para que se sinta benvida.

Can I? Would you? What is your name? Gwen.

Gwen, despois de ti.

I'm not a mind reader, I can see your name tag.

(Aplausos)

Come with me, Gwen. Everyone give her a round of applause, make her feel welcome.

Estás moi emocionada?

Sabías que o teu nome vale oito puntos no Scrabble?

Gwen, after you.

(Applause)

Vale, fica aquí, Gwen, aquí mesmo.

Are you so excited?

Agora, Gwen, antes de comezar,

Did you know that your name is worth

eight points in Scrabble?

gustaríame sinalar unha peza do crebacabezas, que está neste sobre,

Okay, stand right here, Gwen, right here.

ao que non me vou achegar. De acordo?

Now, Gwen, before we begin,

E por aquí temos un debuxo duns animais de granxa.

Temos un moucho, un cabalo, un burro, un galo, un boi e unha ovella,

I'd like to point out a piece of the puzzle,

which is here in this envelope,

e logo aquí, temos uns elegantes rotuladores, con cores como...

and I will not go near it. Okay?

And over here we have a drawing of some farm animals.

podes ver esa palabra de aí?

You can see we have an owl, we have a horse,

a donkey, a rooster, an ox, and a sheep,

Gwen: Cobalto. David Kwong: Cobalto, si.

and then here, Gwen, we have

Pero temos un rotulador prata, un vermello, un esmeralda e un ámbar,

some fancy art store markers,

colors like, can you see that word right there?

e Gwen, vas colorear este debuxo igual que cando tiñas cinco anos,

Gwen: Cobalt. David Kwong: Cobalt, yes. Cobalt.

But we have a silver, a red, an emerald,

cun rotulador de cada vez.

Vai ser moi divertido.

Pero eu vou andar por alí, porque non quero ver o que estás facendo.

and an amber marker,

and Gwen, you are going to color this drawing

Non comeces aínda.

just like you were five years old,

Agarda a que chegue alí e peche os ollos.

one marker at a time.

It's going to be a lot of fun.

Gwen, estás lista?

Colle só un rotulador, e que tal se pintas o cabalo por min?

But I'm going to go over here.

I don't want to see what you're doing.

Okay, so don't start yet.

Wait for me to get over here and close my eyes.

Pinta o cabalo, con garabatos e trazos moi grandes, e non te preocupes polas liñas.

Now Gwen, are you ready?

Pick up just one marker, pick up just one marker,

and why don't you color in the horse for me?

Xenial.

Color in the horse — big, big, big scribbles,

E colle ese rotulador, tápao e pono enriba da mesa por min.

Vale, e colle outro rotulador do bote,

broad strokes, don't worry about staying in the lines.

All right. Great.

ábreo e colorea o burro para min, con garabatos grandes.

And why don't you take that marker and recap it

and place it on the table for me.

Okay, and pick up another marker out of the cup

Está ben, guay, volve tapar o rotulador e pono na mesa.

and take off the cap

and color in the donkey for me, color in the donkey.

Colle outro rotulador por min e quítalle a tapa. Non é divertido?

Big scribbles.

Okay, cool, and re-cap that marker

E colorea a curuxa para min.

and place it on the table.

And pick up another marker for me

Vale, pecha ese rotulador e colle outro do bote e colorea o galo por min.

and take off the cap. Isn't this fun?

And color in the owl for me.

Color in the owl.

Okay, and recap that marker

Así, con trazos moi grandes, moi ben.

Colle outro rotulador do bote e colorea por min o boi.

and pick up another marker out of the cup

and color in the rooster for me, color in the rooster.

Good, good, good, good, good.

Vale, moi ben.

Big, big, big strokes. Good, good.

Ponlle moita cor, e péchao, pono na mesa e colle outro rotulador do bote.

Pick up another marker out of the cup

and color in the ox for me. Color in the ox.

E agora vou dar a volta.

Okay, good.

A lot of color on that, and recap, and place it on the table,

Esquecín algo? Ah, esquecín o meu rotulador morado.

and pick up another marker out of the cup.

Aínda así isto vai funcionar, máis ou menos, penso.

Oh, I'm out? Okay, I'm going to turn around.

Did I forget? Oh, I forgot my purple marker.

Agora, Gwen, vouche entregar este sobre.

Non o abras aínda, aínda non, pero vou anotar as túas eleccións

This is still going to work, though.

I think this is still going to work, mostly.

So Gwen, I'm going to hand you this envelope.

para que todo o mundo poida ver as opcións que escolliches.

Don't open it yet. Do not open it yet,

Xenial. Entón, temos un cabalo de cobalto,

but I am going to write down your choices

so that everybody can see

the choices that you made.

Okay, great. So we have a cobalt horse,

unha curuxa ámbar,

un boi prateado,

amber owl,

si, vale, un burro vermello,

a silver ox,

e cal era o de cor esmeralda? Un galo.

Un galo esmeralda. Está ben.

yes, okay, a red donkey,

E chegou o momento da verdade, Gwen, imos botarlle unha ollada a ese sobre.

and what was the emerald color? A rooster.

Por que non o abres e quitas o único papel do interior e mo entregas,

An emerald rooster. Okay.

Now for the moment of truth, Gwen,

e veremos se coincide coas túas eleccións.

we're going to take a look in that envelope.

Why don't you open it up and remove

Si, creo que coincide.

the one piece of paper from inside

Un cabalo cobalto, un burro vermello, un moucho ámbar,

and hand it to me,

and we will see if it matches your choices.

un galo esmeralda, un boi de prata,

e ao non ter o morado, hai unha ovella branca,

Yes, I think it does.

é unha coincidencia moi sorprendente, non cren?

We have a cobalt horse, we have a red donkey,

Gwen, ben feito. Foi precioso. (Aplausos)

we have an amber owl, we have an emerald rooster, a silver ox,

I forgot my purple marker so we have a blank sheep,

Voume quedar con isto.

but that's a pretty amazing coincidence, don't you think?

Entón, señoras e señores, como é posible isto?

Gwen, well done. That's beautiful. (Applause)

Pode ser que o cerebro de Gwen estea feito para resolver cousas,

I'll take that back from you.

So ladies and gentlemen, how is this possible?

e descodifique mensaxes ocultas?

How is this possible? Well, could it be

Pois ese é o crebacabezas que lles presento.

that Gwen's brain is so wired to solve

Podería haber orde no caos que creei?

that she decoded hidden messages?

Vexámolo máis de preto.

Well this is the puzzle I present to you.

Lembran cando lles ensinei as pezas do crebacabezas?

Could there be order

in the chaos that I created?

En que imaxe se converteu finalmente? Nun cabalo de cobalto.

Let's take a closer look.

Do you recall when I showed you these puzzle pieces?

A trama complícase.

E despois fixemos un xogo de tangrams cun galo esmeralda.

What image did it ultimately become? A cobalt horse.

(Son de galo)

The plot thickens.

Ese é o meu favorito.

And then we played a game of tangrams

Despois fixemos un experimento cun boi de prata.

with an emerald rooster.

That one's my favorite.

E Katy Perry bebe o seu café matutino nun moucho ámbar.

And then we had an experiment with a silver ox.

Grazas, Katy, por facer a foto para min.

And Katy Perry drinks her morning coffee

Ah!, e aínda hai un máis.

Creo que pintaches un burro vermello, Gwen.

out of an amber owl.

Señoras e señores, poderían levantar a man se leron “Don Quixote?”

Thank you, Katy, for taking that photo for me.

Oh, and there's one more, there's one more.

Quen leu “Don Quixote?” (Risas)

I believe you colored a red donkey, Gwen.

Pero agarden, que aínda hai máis.

Ladies and gentlemen, could you raise your hands

Un pouco máis.

for me if you've read "Don Quixote?"

Gwen, eu estaba tan seguro de que ías tomar esas opcións

Who's read "Don Quixote?" (Laughter)

que fixen outra predición,

But wait, but wait, wait, wait, wait, there's more.

There's more.

e púxena nun sitio aínda máis indeleble, que está aquí mesmo.

Gwen, I was so confident

that you were going to make these choices

that I made another prediction,

Señoras e señores,

aquí temos o New York Times de hoxe, con data do 18 de marzo de 2014.

and I put it in an even more indelible place,

and it's right here.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A maioría dos que están nas primeiras filas tamén o teñen debaixo dos asentos.

we have today's New York Times.

Puxémolo aí debaixo.

The date is March 18th, 2014.

Miren se poden pescalo e abrir pola sección de artes

Many of you in the first couple of rows

have it underneath your seats as well.

e atoparán o encrucillado,

Really dig. We hid them under there.

que en realidade, hoxe, foi escrito por quen lles fala.

See if you can fish out the newspaper

and open up to the arts section

O meu nome está enriba da grella.

and you will find the crossword puzzle,

Vouche dar isto, Gwen, para que o mires.

and the crossword puzzle today

E tamén o poñerei na pantalla.

was written by yours truly.

You can see my name above the grid.

E agora ímoslle botar un ollo a outra peza do crebacabezas.

I'm going to give this to you, Gwen, to take a look.

And I will also put it up on the screen.

Se miran a pista para o 1 horizontal, comeza coa letra C, de corrupto,

Now let's take a look

at another piece of the puzzle.

e xusto debaixo temos unha O, de outfielder [exterior no béisbol],

If you look at the first clue for 1-across,

e se seguen lendo as primeiras letras das pistas cara abaixo,

it starts with the letter C, for corrupt,

obteñen cabalo de cobalto, curuxa ámbar, boi de prata,

and just below that we have an O, for outfielder,

burro vermello e galo esmeralda.

and if you keep reading the first letters of the clues down,

you get cobalt horse,

(Aplausos)

amber owl, silver ox,

Está moi ben, non?

red donkey, and emerald rooster.

É The New York Times.

(Applause)

Pero agarden.

That's pretty cool, right?

Oh, Gwen, lembras que esquecera o meu rotulador morado

e que non puideches colorear a ovella?

It's The New York Times.

But wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait.

Pois se segues lendo do 25 cara abaixo,

Oh, Gwen,

do you recall how I forgot my purple marker,

di: “Oh, por certo, a ovella pódese deixar en branco”.

and you were unable to color the sheep?

Well, if you keep reading

starting with 25-down,

(Risas e aplausos)

it says,

"Oh, by the way,

the sheep can be left blank."

Pero agarden, aínda ahi unha cousa máis.

A peza final do crebacabezas.

(Laughter) (Applause)

Gwen, estouche moi agradecido polo que escolliches,

But wait, wait, wait, there's one more thing,

there's one more thing,

porque se lles botamos unha ollada ás primeiras letras das túas combinacións,

there's one final piece of the puzzle.

Gwen, I am so grateful for your choices

obteremos “C-H-A-O-S” para o caos e “O-R-D-E-R” para a orde.

because if we take a look

at the first letters of your combinations,

Iso é caos e orde.

Entón todos puxemos orde no caos.

we get "C-H-A-O-S" for chaos

Así que, señoras e señores, a próxima vez que atopen un crebacabezas,

and "O-R-D-E-R" for order.

xa sexa na súa vida ou no seu traballo,

That's chaos and order.

We've all made order out of chaos.

ou quizais na mesa do almorzo do domingo pola mañá co The New York Times,

So ladies and gentlemen, the next time

you find yourself with a puzzle,

lembren que están feitos para resolvelos.

whether it's in your life or in your work,

Grazas.

or maybe it's at the Sunday morning

breakfast table with The New York Times,

(Aplausos)

remember, you are all wired to solve.

Thank you.

(Applause)