How to spark your curiosity, scientifically | Nadya Mason

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Prevoditelj: Neda Vrkic Recezent: Sanda L

A friend called me a few weeks ago

Prijateljica me nazvala prije nekoliko tjedana

with bad news.

s lošim vijestima.

She dropped her cell phone into the toilet.

Mobitel joj je pao u zahod.

Anyone here done that before?

Je li se nekome ovdje to već dogodilo?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So it was a bad situation.

Bila je to nezgodna situacija.

You know, without getting into the details of exactly how that happened

Znate, i bez da ulazim u detalje, kako se to točno dogodilo

or how she got it out,

ili kako ga je izvadila,

let's just say it was a bad situation.

recimo samo da je to bila nezgodna situacija.

And she panicked because, like for many of us,

I uspaničila se jer joj je, kao i mnogima od nas,

her phone is one of the most used and essential tools in her life.

njezin mobitel jedna od najviše korištenih i osnovnih alata u njezinom životu.

But, on the other hand, she had no idea how to fix it,

No, s druge strane, nije imala pojma kako ga popraviti,

because it's a completely mysterious black box.

jer je to potpuno zagonetna crna kutija.

So think about it: what would you do?

Zato razmislite: što biste vi učinili?

What do you really understand about how your phone works?

Što razumijete o tome kako vaši mobiteli rade?

What are you willing to test or fix?

Što ste voljni učiniti da to ispitate ili popravite?

For most people, the answer is, nothing.

Za većinu ljudi odgovor je - ništa.

In fact, one survey found

Zapravo, jedno je istraživanje otkrilo

that almost 80 percent of smartphone users in this country

da skoro 80 % korisnika pametnih telefona u ovoj državi

have never even replaced their phone batteries,

nikada nije ni zamijenilo bateriju u svojim mobitelima,

and 25 percent didn't even know this was possible.

a 25 % nije čak ni znalo da je to moguće.

Now, I'm an experimental physicist,

Sad, ja sam ekperimentalna fizičarka,

hence the toys.

otuda igračke.

I specialize in making new types of nanoscale electronic devices

Usavršavam se u izradi novih vrsta elektroničkih uređaja nano dimenzija

to study their fundamental quantum mechanical properties.

kako bih proučavala njihova temeljna kvantno-mehanička svojstva.

But even I wouldn't know where to start in terms of testing elements on my phone

No čak ni ja ne bih znala gdje započeti s ispitivanjem sastavnica na mom mobitelu

if it broke.

kada bi prestao raditi.

And phones are just one example of the many devices that we depend upon

A mobiteli su samo jedan primjer mnogih uređaja o kojima ovisimo,

but can't test, take apart, or even fully understand.

no koje ne možemo popraviti, rastaviti, niti potpuno razumjeti.

Cars, electronics, even toys are now so complicated and advanced

Automobili, elektronika, čak i igračke su sada toliko složeni i napredni

that we're scared to open and fix them.

da nas je strah otvoriti ih i popraviti.

So here's the problem:

Dakle, ovo je problem:

there's a disconnect between us and the technology that we use.

postoji rascjep između nas i tehnologije koju koristimo.

We're completely alienated from the devices that we most depend upon,

Potpuno smo otuđeni od uređaja o kojima ovisimo,

which can make us feel helpless and empty.

što nas može učiniti nemoćnima i praznima.

In fact, it's not surprising then that one study found

Zapravo, onda nije iznenađujuće da je jedno istraživanje otkrilo

that we are now more afraid of technology

kako se sada više bojimo tehnologije

than we are of death.

nego smrti.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But I think that we can reconnect to our devices,

No ja mislim da se ponovno možemo povezati s našim uređajima,

rehumanize them in a sense,

ponovno ih humanizirati u smislu

by doing more hands-on experiments.

da radimo više praktičnih eksperimenata.

Why? Well, because an experiment is a procedure to test a hypothesis,

Zašto? Pa zato što je eksperiment postupak testiranja hipoteze,

demonstrate a fact.

dokazivanja činjenice.

It's the way that we use our senses,

To je način na koji koristimo naš razum,

our hands,

naše ruke,

to connect the world

kako bismo se povezali sa svijetom

and figure out how it works.

i shvatili kako funkcionira.

And that's the connection that we're missing.

To je povezanost koja nam nedostaje.

So let me give you an example.

Dakle, da vam dam primjer.

Here's an experiment that I did recently

Evo eksperimenta kojeg sam nedavno radila

to think about how a touchscreen works.

kako bih razmislila kako ekran na dodir radi.

It's just two metal plates,

To su samo dvije metalne ploče

and I can put charge on one of the plates from a battery.

te mogu staviti naboj na jednu od ploča s baterije.

OK.

OK.

And I can measure the charge separation with this voltmeter here.

I mogu mjeriti razdvajanje naboja ovim voltmetrom.

Now -- let's make sure it's working.

Sad - pobrinimo se da radi.

So when I wave my hand near the plates,

Kada mahnem rukom blizu ploča,

you can see that the voltage changes

možete vidjeti da se napon mijenja

just like the touchscreen responds to my hand.

baš kao što ekran na dodir reagira na moju ruku.

But what is it about my hand? Now I need to do more experiments.

No što je to u vezi s mojom rukom? Sad moram učiniti još eksperimenata.

So I can, say, take a piece of wood

Mogu, recimo, uzeti komad drva

and touch one of the plates and see that not much happens,

i dodirnuti jednu od pločica i vidjeti da se ne događa mnogo toga,

but if I take a piece of metal and touch the plate,

no ako uzmem komad metala i dodirnem pločicu,

then the voltage changes dramatically.

tada se napon drastično mijenja.

So now I can do further experiments to see what the difference is

Pa, sada mogu izvesti još eksperimenata kako bih vidjela u čemu je razlika

između drva i metala

between the wood and the metal,

and I should find out that the wood is not conducting

i trebala bih saznati da drvo nije vodič

ali metal jest, poput moje ruke.

but the metal is conducting like my hand.

And, you see, I build up my understanding.

I, vidite, tako gradim svoje razumijevanje.

Like, now I can see why I can't use a touchscreen with gloves,

Recimo, sada vidim zašto ne mogu koristiti ekran na dodir rukavicama

because gloves aren't conducting.

a to je jer rukavice nisu provodljive.

But I've also broken down some of the mystery behind the technology

Ali sam također odgonetnula neke misterije koje stoje iza tehnologije

and built up my agency,

i izradila sam svoj način,

my personal input and interactions with the basis of my devices.

svoj osobni unos i interakcije s osnovama mojih uređaja.

But experimenting is a step beyond just taking things apart.

No eksperimentiranje je korak više od samog rastavljanja.

It's testing and doing hands-on critical thinking.

To je ispitivanje i aktivno kritičko razmišljanje.

And it doesn't really matter whether I'm testing how a touchscreen works

I zapravo nije važno ispitujem li kako ekran na dodir radi

or if I'm measuring how conducting different types of materials are,

ili ako mjerim vodljivost različitih vrsta materijala,

or even if I'm just using my hands to see how hard it is to break

ili čak ako samo koristim ruke da vidim koliko je teško razbiti

different thicknesses of materials.

materijale različitih debljina.

In all cases, I'm gaining control and understanding

U svim slučajevima, stječem kontrolu i razumijevanje

of the basis of the things that I use.

osnova stvari koje koristim.

And there's research behind this.

Iza ovoga je istraživanje.

For one, I'm using my hands,

Primjerice, koristim ruke

which seem to promote well-being.

koje, čini se, promiču dobrobit.

I'm also engaging in hands-on learning,

Također, učim iz praktičnog iskustva

which has been shown to improve understanding and retention,

koje dokazano pospješuje razumijevanje i pamćenje,

and even activate more parts of your brain.

i čak aktivira više dijelova vašeg mozga.

So hands-on thinking through experiments

Dakle praktično razmišljanje kroz eksperimente

connects our understanding,

povezuje naše razumijevanje,

even our sense of vitality,

čak i naš osjećaj vitalnosti,

to the physical world and the things that we use.

s fizičkim svijetom i stvarima koje koristimo.

Looking things up on the internet

Pretraživanje stvari po internetu

does not have the same effect.

nema isti učinak.

Now, for me this focus on experiments

Sad, moj fokus na eksperimente

is also personal.

je također osoban.

I didn't grow up doing experiments.

Nisam odrasla izvodeći pokuse,

I didn't know what a physicist did.

niti sam znala što rade fizičari.

I remember my sister had a chemistry set that I always wanted to use

Sjećam se da je moja sestra imala kemijski set

kojeg sam uvijek htjela koristiti, no nikada mi ga nije dala.

but she never let me touch.

I felt mentally disconnected from the world

Osjećala sam se psihički odvojenom od svijeta

and didn't know why.

i nisam znala zašto.

In fact, when I was nine years old,

Zapravo, kada sam imala 9 godina,

my grandmother called me a solipsist,

baka me zvala solipsistom,

which is something I had to look up.

što je nešto što sam morala istražiti.

It means that you think that yourself is all that exists.

To znači da misliš da si ti jedino što postoji.

And at the time I was pretty offended,

Tada sam se prilično uvrijedila,

because whose grandmother calls them that?

jer koga baka tako zove?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But I think that it was true.

No mislim da to i jest bila istina.

And it wasn't until years later,

I tek sam godinama kasnije,

when I was in college and studying basic physics,

kada sam studirala i učila osnovnu fiziku,

that I had a revelation

otkrila

that the world,

da svijet,

at least the physical world,

ili barem onaj fizički svijet,

could be tested and understood,

može biti ispitan i shvaćen,

that I started to gain a completely different sense

tako da sam počela potpuno drugačije shvaćati

of how the world worked

kako svijet funkcionira

and what my place was in it.

i koje je moje mjesto u njemu.

And then later, when I was able my own testing

I onda kasnije, kad sam mogla obavljati svoja vlastita ispitivanja

and understanding through research,

i razumijevanja kroz istraživanja,

a big part of my connection to the world was complete.

veliki je dio moje povezanosti sa svijetom bio potpun.

Now, I know that not everyone is an experimental physicist by profession,

Sad, znam da nisu svi eksperimentalni fizičari po struci,

but I think that everyone could be doing more hands-on experiments.

no mislim da bi svi mogli raditi više praktičnih eksperimenata.

And actually I think we sort of --

I zapravo mislim da mi --

I'll give you another example.

dat ću vam drugi primjer.

I was recently working with some middle school students,

Nedavno sam radila s učenicima srednje škole,

helping them learn about magnetism,

pomažući im učiti o magnetizmu

and I gave them a Magna Doodle to take apart.

i dala sam im da rastave magnetsku ploču za crtanje.

Remember one of these things?

Sjećate se jedne od ovih stvari?

So at first, none of them wanted to touch it.

Dakle, u početku ih nitko nije htio dirati.

They'd been told for so long not to break things

Toliko im se dugo govorilo da ne razbijaju stvari

that they're accustomed to just passive using.

da su navikli samo na pasivno korištenje.

But then I started asking them questions.

No onda sam im počela postavljati pitanja.

You know, how does it work? What parts are magnetic?

Znate, kako to radi? Koji su dijelovi magnetski?

Can you make a hypothesis and test it?

Možete li postaviti hipotezu i ispitati je?

But they still didn't want to break it open.

Ali je još uvijek nisu htjeli rastaviti.

They wanted to take it home with them, really.

Htjeli su je, u stvari, ponijeti sa sobom kući.

Until, one kid finally sliced it through and found really cool stuff inside.

Sve dok ju jedno dijete nije razrezalo i pronašlo unutra prilično super stvari.

And so this is something we can do here together.

I to je dakle ono što možemo učiniti ovdje zajedno.

They're pretty easy to take apart.

Prilično se lako rastavljaju.

See, there's a magnet inside, and I can just cut this open.

Vidite, postoji magnet unutra i mogu je samo presjeći.

Cut it open again, you can split it.

Izrežite je ponovno, možete je rastaviti.

OK, so when I do that -- I don't know if you can see this,

OK, kad to napravim -- ne znam možete li vidjeti ovo,

but there is sort of -- there it is, this oozy white stuff in here.

ali ima nekako -- tu je, ova mutna bijela stvar ovdje.

Now you can see it on my finger.

Sad je možete vidjeti na mom prstu.

And when I drag the pen on it,

I kad povučem olovku po njoj,

you can see that these filaments are attached to it.

možete vidjeti da su ovi filamenti vezani za nju.

So the kids saw this,

Dakle, djeca su vidjela ovo

and at this point they're like, this is really cool.

i u ovom trenutku bili su kao, ovo je stvarno super.

They got excited.

Postali su uzbuđeni.

They all started ripping them open and taking them apart

Svi su ih počeli otvarati i rastavljati

and yelling out the things that they discovered,

i uzvikavati stvari koje su otkrili,

how these magnetic filaments connected to the magnetic pen

kako su ti magnetski filamenti povezani s magnetskom olovkom

and that's how it wrote.

i da je tako pisalo.

Or, how the oozy white stuff kept things dispersed so it could write.

Ili kako je mutna bijela stvar držala stvari raspršene da bi mogla pisati.

And as they were leaving the room,

I kako su napuštali prostoriju,

two of them turned to me and said,

dvoje od njih se okrenulo prema meni i reklo,

"We loved that.

"Jako nam se to svidjelo.

Me and her are going home this weekend to do more experiments."

Ja i ona idemo kući ovaj vikend da napravimo više eksperimenata."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Yeah, I know, the parents in there are worried about it,

Da, znam, roditelji tamo su zabrinuti za to,

but it's a good thing!

ali to je dobra stvar!

Experimenting is good, and actually I found it extremely gratifying,

Eksperimentiranje je dobro i doista sam otkrila da je ekstremno zadovoljavajuće,

and I think hopefully it was very life-enriching for them.

i mislim, nadajmo se, da je to bilo dosta životno obogaćujuće za njih.

Because, even a basic magnet

Jer je čak i obični magnet

is something that we can experiment with at home.

nešto čime možemo eksperimentirati kod kuće.

They're both simple and complex at the same time.

I jednostavni su i složeni u isto vrijeme.

For example, you can ask yourself,

Na primjer, možete se upitati,

how can the same material both attract and repel?

kako isti materijal može i privlačiti i odbijati?

If I take a magnet, is it useful if I can get one of them

Ako uzmem magnet, je li korisno ako uspijem napraviti da jedan od njih

to rotate the other, for example?

okreće drugi, na primjer?

Or, you can take this dollar bill over here,

Ili, ako ovdje uzmete ovu novčanicu dolara

and I can take a set of magnets,

i mogu uzeti skup magneta

and you can see that the dollar bill gets lifted by the magnets.

i možete vidjeti kako se novčanica dolara podiže uz pomoć magneta.

There's magnetic ink hidden in here that prevents counterfeiting.

Unutra postoji skrivena magnetska tinta koja sprečava krivotvorenje.

Or, here I have some crushed-up bran cereal. OK?

Ili, ovdje imam zdrobljene žitarice. OK?

And that's also magnetic. Right?

I to je također magnetsko. Zar ne?

That has iron in it.

U sebi ima željeza.

(Smijeh)

(Laughter)

And that can be good for you, right?

I to može biti dobro za vas, zar ne?

OK, here's something else.

OK, ovdje je nešto drugo.

This thing over here is not magnetic.

Ova stvar ovdje nije magnetska.

I can't lift it up with the magnet.

Ne mogu je podići magnetom.

But now I'm going to make it cold.

Ali sad ću je ohladiti.

The same thing in here, cold,

Ista stvar je ovdje, ali hladna

and when I make it cold,

i kad je ohladim

and put it on top of the magnet,

i stavim na vrh magneta,

so --

dakle --

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

It's amazing.

Nevjerojatno je.

That's not magnetic,

To nije magnetsko,

but somehow it's interacting with a magnet.

ali nekako reagira s magnetom.

So clearly understanding this is going to take many more experiments.

Dakle, očigledno za razumijevanje ovoga bit će potrebno još više eksperimenata.

In fact, this is something that I've spent much of my career studying.

Zapravo, ovo je nešto što sam proučavala dobar dio svoje karijere.

To se zove supravodič.

It's called a superconductor.

Now, superconductors can be complex,

Sad, supravodiči mogu biti složeni,

but even simple experiments can connect us better to the world.

ali čak i najjednostavniji eksperimenti nas mogu bolje povezati sa svijetom.

So now if I tell you that flash memory works by rotating small magnets,

Dakle, sad kad vam kažem da brza memorija funkcionira okretanjem malih magneta,

then you can imagine it. You've seen it.

tada je možete zamisliti. Vidjeli ste to.

Or, if I say that MRI machines

Ili, ako kažem da MRI uređaji

use magnetism to rotate magnetic particles in your body,

koriste magnetizam da okreću magnetske čestice u vašem tijelu,

you've seen it done.

vidjeli ste kako se to radi.

You've interacted with the technology and understood the basis of these devices.

Bili ste u interakciji s tehnologijom i razumjeli osnove ovih uređaja.

Now, I know that it's hard to add more things to our lives,

Sad, znam da je teško dodati još stvari u naše živote,

especially experiments.

posebno eksperimente.

But I think that the challenge is worth it.

Ali mislim da je izazov vrijedan toga.

Think about how something works, then take it apart to test it.

Razmislite o tome kako nešto radi, tada rastavite i ispitajte to.

Manipulate something and prove some physical principle to yourself.

Manipulirajte nečime i dokažite sami sebi neki fizički zakon.

Put the human back in the technology.

Vratite ljudskost u tehnologiju.

You'll be surprised at the connections that you make.

Bit ćete iznenađeni s vezama koje ćete uspostaviti.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)