The playful wonderland behind great inventions | Steven Johnson

Prevoditelj: Marijana Mijat Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

(Music)

(Glazba)

Roughly 43,000 years ago,

Prije otprilike 43,000 godina,

a young cave bear died in the rolling hills

mladi špiljski medvjed poginuo je u brdima

on the northwest border of modern day Slovenia.

na sjeverozapadnoj granici današnje Slovenije.

A thousand years later, a mammoth died in southern Germany.

Tisuću godina kasnije, mamut je uginuo u južnoj Njemačkoj

A few centuries after that, a griffon vulture also died

Nakon par stoljeća, i bjeloglavi sup je uginuo

in the same vicinity.

na istom području.

And we know almost nothing about how these animals met their deaths,

A mi ništa ne znamo o tome kako su te životinje dočekale smrt,

but these different creatures dispersed across both time and space

ali sva ta različita stvorenja iz raznih vremena i prostora

did share one remarkable fate.

dijele jednu te istu, iznimnu sudbinu.

After their deaths, a bone from each of their skeletons

Nakon njihove smrti, jednu kost njihovih kostura

was crafted by human hands

ljudske ruke su pretvorile

into a flute.

u sviralu.

Think about that for a second.

Razmislite o tome na trenutak.

Imagine you're a caveman, 40,000 years ago.

Zamislite da ste pračovjek, prije 40,000 godina

You've mastered fire.

Naučili ste se služiti vatrom.

You've built simple tools for hunting.

Izradili ste jednostavna lovačka oruđa.

You've learned how to craft garments from animal skins

Naučili ste kako napraviti odjeću od životinjskih koža

to keep yourself warm in the winter.

da bi vam bilo toplo zimi.

What would you choose to invent next?

Što biste sljedeće htjeli izumiti?

It seems preposterous that you would invent the flute,

Čini se nečuvenim da biste napravili sviralu,

a tool that created useless vibrations in air molecules.

oruđe koje stvara beskorisne vibracije u molekulama zraka.

But that is exactly what our ancestors did.

Ali to je upravo ono što su naši preci učinili.

Now this turns out to be surprisingly common

Zapravo, ispada da je to začuđujuće uobičajena pojava

in the history of innovation.

u povijesti izuma.

Sometimes people invent things

Ponekad ljudi izmisle stvari

because they want to stay alive or feed their children

potrebne za opstanak ili za prehranjivanje svoje djece

or conquer the village next door.

ili za osvajanje susjednog sela.

But just as often,

Ali jednako često,

new ideas come into the world

nove ideje se rađaju

simply because they're fun.

jednostavno zato što su zabavne.

And here's the really strange thing:

Posebno je zanimljiva jedna stvar:

many of those playful but seemingly frivolous inventions

mnogi od tih zabavnih, ali naizgled bespotrebnih izuma

ended up sparking momentous transformations

na kraju su pokrenuli trenutačnu promjenu

in science, in politics and society.

u znanosti, politici i društvu.

Take what may be the most important invention of modern times:

Uzmimo za primjer jedan od najvažnijih izuma modernih vremena:

programmable computers.

Računala koja se mogu programirati.

Now, the standard story is that computers descend from military technology,

Uobičajena priča kaže da su računala proizvod vojne tehnologije,

since many of the early computers were designed specifically

budući da su mnoga rana računala bila osmišljena posebno

to crack wartime codes or calculate rocket trajectories.

za razbijanje ratnih šifri ili za izračunavanje putanja projektila.

But in fact, the origins of the modern computer

Ali zapravo, porijeklo modernih računala

are much more playful,

je puno više vezano uz igru,

even musical,

pa čak i uz glazbu,

than you might imagine.

nego što bismo pomislili.

The idea behind the flute,

Smisao svirale,

of just pushing air through tubes to make a sound,

ispuhivanje zraka u cijev da bismo dobili zvuk,

was eventually modified to create the first organ

s vremenom se promijenio da bi se proizvele prve orgulje

more than 2,000 years ago.

prije više od 2000 godina.

Someone came up with the brilliant idea of triggering sounds

Netko se dosjetio sjajne ideje proizvodnje zvukova

by pressing small levers with our fingers,

pritiskanjem malih tipki našim prstima,

inventing the first musical keyboard.

i tako je izmišljena prva glazbena tipkovnica.

Now, keyboards evolved from organs to clavichords to harpsichords

Zatim je tipkovnica prerasla s orgulja na klavikord, pa čembalo

to the piano,

i zatim na piano,

until the middle of the 19th century,

do sredine 19. stoljeća,

when a bunch of inventors finally hit on the idea

kad je grupa izumitelja konačno došla na ideju

of using a keyboard to trigger not sounds but letters.

upotrebe tipkovnice ne za proizvodnju zvuka, nego za slova.

In fact, the very first typewriter

U biti, prvi pisaći stroj

was originally called "the writing harpsichord."

se originalno zvao "pisaći čembalo".

Flutes and music led to even more powerful breakthroughs.

Svirale i glazba dovele su do još značajnijeg otkrića.

About a thousand years ago,

Prije tisuću godina,

at the height of the Islamic Renaissance,

na vrhuncu islamske renesanse,

three brothers in Baghdad designed a device

trojica braće u Bagdadu izradila su napravu

that was an automated organ.

koja je predstavljala automatske orgulje.

They called it "the instrument that plays itself."

Nazvali su ga "instrument koji sam svira."

Now, the instrument was basically a giant music box.

Taj je instrument zapravo bio ogromna muzička kutija,

The organ could be trained to play various songs by using instructions

Takve orgulje su mogle odsvirati razne pjesme putem korištenja naredbi

encoded by placing pins on a rotating cylinder.

zabilježenih postavljanjem iglica na rotirajuće valjke.

And if you wanted the machine to play a different song,

Ako biste htjeli da stroj odsvira drugu pjesmu,

you just swapped a new cylinder in with a different code on it.

jednostavno biste uzeli drugi valjak, s drugačijim podacima.

This instrument was the first of its kind.

Bio je to prvi stroj svoje vrste.

It was programmable.

Stroj koji se mogao programirati.

Now, conceptually, this was a massive leap forward.

Idejno, to je bio ogroman skok unaprijed.

The whole idea of hardware and software

Čitava ideja hardvera i softvera

becomes thinkable for the first time with this invention.

ovim je izumom po prvi put postala zamisliva.

And that incredibly powerful concept

Taj nevjerojatno moćan koncept

didn't come to us as an instrument of war or of conquest,

nije se pojavio kao oruđe rata ili osvajanja,

or necessity at all.

ili bilo kakve potrebe.

It came from the strange delight of watching a machine play music.

Proizašao je iz čudnog oduševljenja zbog gledanja kako mašina svira glazbu.

In fact, the idea of programmable machines

Zapravo, ta ideja o mašinama koje se mogu programirati

was exclusively kept alive by music for about 700 years.

preživjela je samo zahvaljujući glazbi punih 700 godina.

In the 1700s, music-making machines

U 1700-tima, mašine koje sviraju

became the playthings of the Parisian elite.

postale su igračke pariške elite.

Showmen used the same coded cylinders

Zabavljači su koristili iste kodirane valjke

to control the physical movements of what were called automata,

kako bi kontrolirali pokrete onog što su nazivali automatama,

an early kind of robot.

rane verzije robota.

One of the most famous of those robots

Jedan od najslavnijih takvih robota

was, you guessed it, an automated flute player

bio je, pogađate, automatizirani svirač flaute,

designed by a brilliant French inventor

odličnog francuskog izumitelja

named Jacques de Vaucanson.

Jacquesa de Vaucansona.

And as de Vaucanson was designing his robot musician,

Dok je Vaucanson smišljao svog robota svirača,

he had another idea.

pala mu je na pamet druga ideja.

If you could program a machine to make pleasing sounds,

Ako možeš programirati mašinu da izvodi ugodne zvukove,

why not program it to weave delightful patterns of color out of cloth?

zašto je ne programirati da tka prekrasne uzorke boja na platnu?

Instead of using the pins of the cylinder to represent musical notes,

Umjesto da iglice na valjcima predstavljaju glazbene note,

they would represent threads with different colors.

predstavljale su niti različitih boja

If you wanted a new pattern for your fabric,

Ako ste htjeli novi uzorak za svoju tkaninu,

you just programmed a new cylinder.

samo ste programirali novi valjak.

This was the first programmable loom.

To je bio prvi tkalački stan na programiranje.

Now, the cylinders were too expensive and time-consuming to make,

Nažalost, valjci su bili preskupi i preteški za izradu,

but a half century later,

ali pola stoljeća kasnije,

another French inventor named Jacquard

drugi francuski izumitelj Jacquard

hit upon the brilliant idea of using paper-punched cards

dosjetio se izvrsne ideje korištenja bušenih papirnatih kartica

instead of metal cylinders.

umjesto metalnih valjaka.

Paper turned out to be much cheaper and more flexible

Pokazalo se da je papir puno jeftiniji i jednostavniji

as a way of programming the device.

način programiranja uređaja.

That punch card system inspired Victorian inventor Charles Babbage

Bušene kartice nadahnule su viktorijanskog izumitelja Charlesa Babbagea

to create his analytical engine,

za izradu njegove analitičke mašine,

the first true programmable computer

prvog pravog računala koje se moglo programirati

ever designed.

u povijesti.

And punch cards were used by computer programmers

Računalni programeri su koristili bušene kartice

as late as the 1970s.

sve to 1970-ih.

So ask yourself this question:

I sad se zapitajte sljedeće:

what really made the modern computer possible?

Što je bilo to što je omogućilo pojavu modernih računala?

Yes, the military involvement is an important part of the story,

Da, vojska i njene potrebe su bitan dio cijele priče,

but inventing a computer also required other building blocks:

ali u nastanak računala ugrađene su još neke cigle:

music boxes,

muzičke kutije,

toy robot flute players,

robot-igračka koji svira flautu,

harpsichord keyboards,

klavijatura čembala,

colorful patterns woven into fabric,

živopisni tkani uzorci,

and that's just a small part of the story.

a sve to je još uvijek samo mali do priče.

There's a long list of world-changing ideas and technologies

Postoji dugačak popis ideja i tehnologija koje mijenjaju svijet,

that came out of play:

a koje su proizašle iz igre:

public museums, rubber,

javni muzeji, guma,

probability theory, the insurance business

teorija vjerojatnosti, osiguranja

and many more.

i još mnogo toga.

Necessity isn't always the mother of invention.

Potreba nije uvijek izvor nekog izuma.

The playful state of mind is fundamentally exploratory,

Zaigrano stanje uma je u svojoj osnovi istraživačko,

seeking out new possibilities in the world around us.

jer traži nove mogućnosti u svijetu oko sebe.

And that seeking is why so many experiences

I ta potraga je razlog zbog čega brojna iskustva

that started with simple delight and amusement

koja su počela kao oduševljenje i zabava

eventually led us to profound breakthroughs.

na kraju dovode do temeljnih otkrića.

Now, I think this has implications for how we teach kids in school

Mislm da je sve ovo bitno za naš način podučavanja djece u školama

and how we encourage innovation in our workspaces,

i poticanja inovacija na radnim mjestima,

but thinking about play and delight this way

ali shvaćanje ovog značenja igre i oduševljenja

also helps us detect what's coming next.

također nam pomaže da se pripremimo za ono što slijedi.

Think about it: if you were sitting there in 1750

Zamislite ovo: da ste sjedili ovdje 1750.

trying to figure out the big changes coming to society

i pokušavali zamisliti velike promjene koje će zahvatiti društvo

in the 19th, the 20th centuries,

u 19. i 20. stoljeću,

automated machines, computers,

razne uređaje, računala,

artificial intelligence,

umjetnu inteligenciju,

a programmable flute

ona flauta koja se može isprogramirati

entertaining the Parisian elite

i zabavljati parišku elitu

would have been as powerful a clue as anything else at the time.

bila bi jednako bitna smjernica kao i bilo koja druga iz tog vremena.

It seemed like an amusement at best,

Činila se kao zabavna stvar u najboljem slučaju,

not useful in any serious way,

i ništa ozbiljno niti korisno,

but it turned out to be the beginning of a tech revolution

ali se ispostavilo da je to početak tehnološke revolucije

that would change the world.

koja je promijenila svjet.

You'll find the future

Otkrit ćete budućnost

ondje gdje se ljudi nabolje zabavljaju.

wherever people are having the most fun.