On being wrong | Kathryn Schulz

Translator: Bibek Bhusal Reviewer: Kshitij Prasai

So it's 1995,

सन् १९९५ तिर हो,

I'm in college,

म कलेज पढ्थे,

and a friend and I go on a road trip

म र मेरी एउटी साथी घुम्न निस्कियौँ

from Providence, Rhode Island

प्रोभिडेन्स, रोड आइल्यान्ड बाट

to Portland, Oregon.

पोर्टल्यान्ड, ओरेगनसम्म।

And you know, we're young and unemployed,

अनि छ नि, हामी ठिटै थियौँ र बेरोजगार पनि

so we do the whole thing on back roads

त्यही भएर हामी पछाडि पछाडिको बाटो मात्र गयौँ

through state parks

राष्ट्रिय निकुन्ज

and national forests --

र जङ्गल भएर--

basically the longest route we can possibly take.

खासमा सबभन्दा लामो बाटो जानुथियो।

And somewhere in the middle of South Dakota,

अनि साउथ डकोटाको बिचतिर कतै ,

I turn to my friend

म उ तिर फर्के

and I ask her a question

र एउटा प्रश्न सोधेँ

that's been bothering me

जसले मलाइ पिरोलिरहेको थियो

for 2,000 miles.

२००० माइलसम्म।

"What's up with the Chinese character I keep seeing by the side of the road?"

र मैले यस्तै,"के भने यो सबै चिह्न हामीले देखिराछौ नि सबैमा चाइनिज अक्षर छ"

My friend looks at me totally blankly.

उसले फर्केर एकछिन मलाई हेरी,

There's actually a gentleman in the front row

अगाडिको लहरमा एक जना सज्जन हुनुहुन्छ

who's doing a perfect imitation of her look.

जसले उसको हेराइको दुरुस्तै नक्कल पार्नुभो।

(Laughter)

हाँसो

And I'm like, "You know,

र मैले यस्तै,

all the signs we keep seeing

"के भने यो सबै चिह्न हामीले देखिराछौ नि

with the Chinese character on them."

सबैमा चाइनिज अक्षर छ"

She just stares at me for a few moments,

उसले फर्केर एकछिन मलाई हेरी,

and then she cracks up,

अनी मुर्च्छा परेर हाँसी,

because she figures out what I'm talking about.

किन्भने उसले भर्खर बुझेकी थिइ मैले के बारे कुरा गर्दै छु।

And what I'm talking about is this.

मैले कुरा गरेको चिज चाँही यो हो।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

Right, the famous Chinese character for picnic area.

ल हेर्नुस्, पिक्निक एरियाको लागि चाइनिज अक्षर।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

I've spent the last five years of my life

मेरो जीवनका गएका ५ बर्ष बिते

thinking about situations

सोचेर परिस्थिति बारे

exactly like this --

जुन ठ्याक्कै यस्तै हुन्छन--

why we sometimes misunderstand

किन हामी कहिलेकाँही हाम्रै वरिपरिका सङ्केतहरु बुझ्न सक्दैनौ,

the signs around us,

सङ्केतहरु बुझ्न सक्दैनौ,

and how we behave when that happens,

अनी त्यस्तो बेलामा कसो गर्छौ

and what all of this can tell us about human nature.

र यो सबले मानव प्रब्रितिका बारे के बताउँछ त?

In other words, as you heard Chris say,

अर्को शब्दमा, क्रिस भन्छ कि,

I've spent the last five years

मैले बितेका पाँच बर्ष

thinking about being wrong.

गलत हुने बारेमै सोचेर बसेँ।

This might strike you as a strange career move,

तपाईंहरुलाई यो कस्तो जागिर हो'रछ भन्ने लाग्ला

but it actually has one great advantage:

तर यसको पनि एउटा फाईदा छ:

no job competition.

जागिर पाउन प्रतिस्पर्धा गर्नै परेन।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो )

In fact, most of us do everything we can

वास्तवमा, हामी सबैजसो सक्नेजती गर्न पछी पर्दैनौ,

to avoid thinking about being wrong,

गलत भएको नसोचियोस भनेर

or at least to avoid thinking about the possibility

अझ कम्तिमा त्यस्तो त सोच्दै सोच्दैनौँ

that we ourselves are wrong.

जहाँ आँफै गलत देखियोस।

We get it in the abstract.

हामीमा यो जरैदेखी छ

We all know everybody in this room makes mistakes.

जबकी हामी भन्न सक्छौ यो कोठामा भएका सबै गल्ती गर्न सक्छन।

The human species, in general, is fallible -- okay fine.

मानव जातिनै, समग्रमा,गल्तीरहित छैन, ठीक छ?

But when it comes down to me, right now,

तर यही कुरा जब म माथि आइपुग्छ,

to all the beliefs I hold,

मेरा विश्वास माथि,

here in the present tense,

अहिलेनै तत्काल,

suddenly all of this abstract appreciation of fallibility

क्षणभरमा "गल्ती सबैबाट हुन्छ" भन्ने आदर्श

goes out the window --

झ्यालबाट कुलेलम ठोक्छ--

and I can't actually think of anything I'm wrong about.

अनी म केही पनि सोच्न सक्दिन जहाँ म गलत हुन्छु।

And the thing is, the present tense is where we live.

र कुरा के भने हामी जिउने नै वर्तमानमा हो।

We go to meetings in the present tense;

हामी वर्तमानमा नै बैठकमा जान्छौँ

we go on family vacations in the present tense;

छुट्टी मनाउछौँ वर्तमानमा,

we go to the polls and vote in the present tense.

हामी चुनावमा गएर भोट हाल्छौँ वर्तमानमा ।

So effectively, we all kind of wind up traveling through life,

खासमा, हाम्रो जीवनयात्रा यसरी टुङ्गिन्छ कि,

trapped in this little bubble

एउटा सानो पानीफोकाजस्तोमा फँसेर

of feeling very right about everything.

जहाँ हरकुरा सही हो जस्तो लाग्छ।

I think this is a problem.

मेरो विचारमा यही नै समस्या हो।

I think it's a problem for each of us as individuals,

मलाई लाग्छ, यो हामी हरेक व्यक्तीको समस्या हो,

in our personal and professional lives,

व्यक्तिगत र व्यवसायिक दुवैतिर,

and I think it's a problem for all of us collectively as a culture.

र यो सबैको सामुहिक समस्या हो जो सन्स्क्रिती जस्तो बन्दैछ।

So what I want to do today

त्यसैले आज म के गर्न चाहन्छु भने,

is, first of all, talk about why we get stuck

सबैभन्दा पहिले, केही कुरा गर्छु किन यो आँफै

inside this feeling of being right.

ठीक भन्ने भावना भित्रैबाट बिकास हुन्छ त ।

And second, why it's such a problem.

अनी दोस्रो कुरा यो कसरी समस्या हो।

And finally, I want to convince you

अन्त्यमा म विश्वास दिलाउन चाहन्छु,

that it is possible

यो भ्रमबाट उम्किन सकिन्छ,

to step outside of that feeling

उम्किन सकिन्छ,

and that if you can do so,

र यदी तपाईं यसमा सफल हुनुभयो भने

it is the single greatest

यो एउटा ठुलो

moral, intellectual and creative leap you can make.

नैतीक, बौद्धिक र रचनात्मक छलाङ हुनेछ जीवनकै।

So why do we get stuck

त हामी किन यो

in this feeling of being right?

आफु ठीक भन्ने भ्रममा परीरहन्छौँ?

One reason, actually, has to do with a feeling of being wrong.

एउटा कारण त गलत भइयो कि भन्नेसँग सम्बन्धित छ

So let me ask you guys something --

ल म तपाईंहरुलाई सोध्छु है त --

or actually, let me ask you guys something, because you're right here:

ल ल म सोध्दै छु किनकी तपाईंहरु यहाँ हुनुहुन्छ:

How does it feel -- emotionally --

कस्तो अनुभव हुन्छ भित्रैदेखी भन्न्नुस् है

how does it feel to be wrong?

आफु गलत भएको पाउँदा ?

Dreadful. Thumbs down.

खत्तम, मरेकै जुनी, थम्ब्स डाउन

Embarrassing. Okay, wonderful, great.

लाजमर्दो। ल, राम्रो, अती राम्रो।

Dreadful, thumbs down, embarrassing --

खत्तम, लाजमर्दो थम्ब्सडाउन--

thank you, these are great answers,

धन्यबाद उत्क्रिष्ठ जवाफको लागि।

but they're answers to a different question.

तर यिनिहरु त अर्कै प्रश्नका उत्तर हुन नि।

You guys are answering the question:

तपाईंहरुले दिएको जवाफ त यस्तो प्रश्नको हो:

How does it feel to realize you're wrong?

आफु गलत भएको थाहा पाउँदा कस्तो महसुस हुन्छ?

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

Realizing you're wrong can feel like all of that and a lot of other things, right?

आफु गलत भएको थाहा पाउँदा त्यस्तै वा त्यो भन्दा पनि अझै नराम्रो लाग्छ नि है।

I mean it can be devastating, it can be revelatory,

मलाई त लाग्छ यो विध्वंसक पनि हुन सक्छ या लुकेका कुराहरु बाहिर ल्याउने,

it can actually be quite funny,

यो रमाइलो पनि हुन सक्छ,

like my stupid Chinese character mistake.

जस्तै मेरो चाइनिज अक्षरको बुझाई।

But just being wrong

तर गलत हुँदैमा

doesn't feel like anything.

केही भईहाल्ने होइन

I'll give you an analogy.

म तपाईंलाई तुलना गरेर देखाउँछु।

Do you remember that Loony Tunes cartoon

तपाईंहरु लुनी टुन(Loony tune) भन्ने कार्टून सम्झिनुहुन्छ नि

where there's this pathetic coyote

त्यहाँ एउटा दयालाग्दो कायोटी(ब्वाँसो जस्तो जनावर)हुन्छ

who's always chasing and never catching a roadrunner?

जसले रोडरनर चरा खेदिरहन्छ तर भेट्दैन।

In pretty much every episode of this cartoon,

यो कार्टूनको हरेकजसो भागमा,

there's a moment where the coyote is chasing the roadrunner

जब कायोटीले रोडरनर चरा लखेटिरहन्छ एउटा यस्तो बेला आउँछ

and the roadrunner runs off a cliff,

चरा भिरमा दौडिन्छ

which is fine -- he's a bird, he can fly.

यो त ठिकै छ,चरा हो उड्छ।

But the thing is, the coyote runs off the cliff right after him.

तर कुरा के भने कायोटी पनि पछी लागेर भिरमा दौडिन जान्छ।

And what's funny --

रमाइलो कुरा --

at least if you're six years old --

हामी छ वर्षको बच्चा हुँदा--

is that the coyote's totally fine too.

कायोटिले जे गर्‍यो ठिकै गर्‍यो।

He just keeps running --

उ दौडिरह्यो

right up until the moment that he looks down

तर जब उसले यसो हेर्छ त आफु त हावामा।

and realizes that he's in mid-air.

बल्ल थाहा हुन्छ की आफु त हावामा

That's when he falls.

अनी त उ खस्छ।

When we're wrong about something --

हामी पनि जब कुनै कुरामा भ्रमित हुन्छौँ--

not when we realize it, but before that --

वास्तविकताथाहा हुनु भन्दा पहिला --

we're like that coyote

हाम्रो हाल पनि कायोटीको जस्तै हो

after he's gone off the cliff and before he looks down.

जुन भिरबाट खसिसकेको हुन्छ तर तल हेरेको हुँदैन।

You know, we're already wrong,

हामी पहिले नै गलत(भ्रमित) भईसकेका हुन्छौँ,

we're already in trouble,

समस्या परीसक्छ

but we feel like we're on solid ground.

तैपनी आफुलाई त आफ्नो आधार मजबुत नै छ जस्तो लाग्छ।

So I should actually correct something I said a moment ago.

त्यसैले मैले केही छिन अघी गरेको कुरा सच्याउन चाहन्छु।

It does feel like something to be wrong;

आफु गलत(भ्रमित) भएको खासमा

it feels like being right.

एकदम सही भएजस्तो पो लाग्दोरैछ।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

So this is one reason, a structural reason,

त्यसैले यो एउटा कारण हो, संरचनात्मक कारण

why we get stuck inside this feeling of rightness.

किन हामी भित्रैदेखी यस्तो सच्चाइ बोक्छौ भन्ने।

I call this error blindness.

मैले यसलाई गल्तीद्रिष्टीदोष(error blindness) भन्छु.

Most of the time,

धेरैजसो समय

we don't have any kind of internal cue

हामीमा यस्तो आन्तरिक क्षमताको कमी हुन्छ

to let us know that we're wrong about something,

जसले हामी कुनै कुराबारे भ्रमित छौ भनोस

until it's too late.

जब धेरै ढिलो भईसकेको हुँदैन।

But there's a second reason that we get stuck inside this feeling as well --

एउटा अर्को कारण पनि छ जसले गर्दा यस्तो सोचाइ हुन्छ--

and this one is cultural.

जुन साँस्कृतिक हो.

Think back for a moment to elementary school.

प्राथमिक स्कुलको कुरा सोचौँ

You're sitting there in class,

तपाईं क्लासमा बसिरहनुभएको छ

and your teacher is handing back quiz papers,

अनी शिक्षकले प्रश्नोत्तर कपी फिर्ता गर्दै हुनुहुन्छ

and one of them looks like this.

कसैको चाँही यस्तो रहेछ रे।

This is not mine, by the way.

मेरो होइन है यो।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

So there you are in grade school,

र तपाईं ग्र्याजुएट स्कुलमा(क्याम्पस)मा हुँदा,

and you know exactly what to think

तपाईंलाई थाहा हुन्छ यो कस्तो बच्चाको कपी हो भनेर।

about the kid who got this paper.

बच्चाको कपी हो भनेर।

It's the dumb kid, the troublemaker,

यो पक्कै मुर्ख स्वाँठ हुनुपर्छ, दु:खमात्र दिने,

the one who never does his homework.

जुन होमवोर्क गर्दैन।

So by the time you are nine years old,

अनी तपाईं ९ बर्षको हुँदा,

you've already learned, first of all,

तपाईंलाई थाहा भईसक्छ पहिलो--

that people who get stuff wrong

जो कामकुरा राम्ररी सक्दैनन

are lazy, irresponsible dimwits --

तिनिहरु अल्छी,गैरजिम्मेवार वा मन्दबुद्धी हुन

and second of all,

र दोस्रो,

that the way to succeed in life

जीवनमा सफल हुनको लागि

is to never make any mistakes.

कहिले गल्ती गर्नु हुँदैन।

We learn these really bad lessons really well.

हामीले यि नमिठा पाठ्हरु मज्जाले सिक्छौँ ।

And a lot of us --

अनी हामीमध्ये धेरै--

and I suspect, especially a lot of us in this room --

अनुमान गरौँ, विशेषत यहाँ भएका धेरै--

deal with them by just becoming

यि कुरालाई व्यवहारमा लान्छौँ

perfect little A students,

एउटा पुरा पहिलो वर्गको(A-grade) विध्यार्थी भएर

perfectionists, over-achievers.

निपुण र उच्चकोटिको।

Right,

हो?

Mr. CFO, astrophysicist, ultra-marathoner?

श्री अर्थ प्रशासक, अन्तरिक्षविज्ञ, द्रुतम्यारथनधावक आदी।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

You're all CFO, astrophysicists, ultra-marathoners, it turns out.

तपाईंहरु सबै अर्थ प्रशासक, अन्तरिक्षविज्ञ द्रुतम्यारथनधावक बन्नुहुन्छ, यो त देखिहालिन्छ नि हैन त।

Okay, so fine.

ल ठीक छ ।

Except that then we freak out

त्यो जेसुकै भए पनि रिसउठ्दो के हुन्छ भने

at the possibility that we've gotten something wrong.

कतै हामी गलत वा भ्रमित भईरहेको त छैनौँ भन्ने सम्भावना।

Because according to this,

यो कुराको अनुसार

getting something wrong

त कतै गलत देखिनुमा

means there's something wrong with us.

हामीमा नै केही गडबड छ भन्छ

So we just insist that we're right,

त्यसैले त हामी आफु सही भएकोमा जोडमात्र दिन्छौँ,

because it makes us feel smart and responsible

जसले आफुलाई तिक्ष्ण र समझदार

and virtuous and safe.

अनी नैतीक र सुरक्षित देखाओस।

So let me tell you a story.

अब म एउटा कथा सुनाउँछु.

A couple of years ago,

२-३ बर्ष जती पहिले

a woman comes into Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for a surgery.

एउटी महिला बेथ इजरायल डिकोनेस मेडिकल सेन्टरमा सर्जरी गराउन आइन।

Beth Israel's in Boston.

बेथ इज्रायल बोस्टोनमा पर्छ।

It's the teaching hospital for Harvard --

यो हावर्डको शिक्षण अस्पताल हो--

one of the best hospitals in the country.

देशको एउटा राम्रो अस्पताल।

So this woman comes in and she's taken into the operating room.

अँ, उनी आइन अनी उनलाई अपरेसन कोठामा लगियो।

She's anesthetized, the surgeon does his thing --

बेहोस पारीयो अनी डाक्टरले आफ्नो काम गरे--

stitches her back up, sends her out to the recovery room.

पुन घाऊ बन्द गरेर आराम गर्न पठाइयो।

Everything seems to have gone fine.

अहिलेसम्म सबै ठिकै जस्तै थियो।

And she wakes up, and she looks down at herself,

तर जब उनी बिउँझेर यसो हेर्छिन त

and she says, "Why is the wrong side of my body in bandages?"

"लौ किन यो गलत भागमा पट्टी बाँधेको?" उनी कराइन।

Well the wrong side of her body is in bandages

उनको गलत अंगको सर्जरी भएको थियो।

because the surgeon has performed a major operation

डाक्टरले त ठुलो अपरेसन

on her left leg instead of her right one.

देब्रे गोडामा गरेछन जबकी समस्या दाहिनेमा थियो।

When the vice president for health care quality at Beth Israel

बेथ इजरायलका स्वास्थ्यसेवा गुणस्तरका उपप्रमुखले

spoke about this incident,

यो घटनालाई व्यक्त गर्दा केही

he said something very interesting.

रोचक बनाएर भने।

He said, "For whatever reason,

उनले भने' जे कारणले भएपनी,

the surgeon simply felt

डाक्टरलाई लाग्यो कि,

that he was on the correct side of the patient."

उनी बिरामीको सही साइडमा छन।"

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

The point of this story

यो कथाको मुख्य सार

is that trusting too much in the feeling

के भने बढी विश्वास त्यस्तो सोचाइमा

of being on the correct side of anything

जुनले आफु सही भन्छ

can be very dangerous.

घातक पनि हुन सक्छ।

This internal sense of rightness

यस्तो सच्चाइको जुन भित्री अनुभव

that we all experience so often

हामीले धेरैजसो गर्छौँ,

is not a reliable guide

जो भरपर्दो पथप्रदर्शक बन्ने कमै

to what is actually going on in the external world.

सम्भावना हुन्छ बाहिरी दुनिँयाको।

And when we act like it is,

जब हामी यस्तै गर्दै जान्छौ,

and we stop entertaining the possibility that we could be wrong,

आफु गलत हुनसक्ने सम्भावना पनि बिर्सिदिन्छौँ,

well that's when we end up doing things

अनि यस्ता काम गर्छौँ

like dumping 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,

जस्तै २०० मिलिअन ग्यालन तेल मेक्सिको खाडीमा पोख्ने

or torpedoing the global economy.

अथवा विश्व अर्थतन्त्र ध्वस्त पार्ने।

So this is a huge practical problem.

त्यसैले त यो ठुलो व्यवहारिक समस्या हो।

But it's also a huge social problem.

तर यो ठुलो सामाजिक समस्या पनि हो।

Think for a moment about what it means to feel right.

एक छिन सोचौँ त सही हुनु भनेको के हो।

It means that you think that your beliefs

यो भनेको जे तपाईँ विश्वास गर्नुहुन्छ

just perfectly reflect reality.

त्यो नै पुर्ण सच्चाइ हो।

And when you feel that way,

अनि जहिले तपाईँ त्यसरी सोच्नुहुन्छ,

you've got a problem to solve,

तपाईँमाथि समस्या आइलाग्छ,

which is, how are you going to explain

के भने, तपाईँले ती सबैलाइ के भन्ने

all of those people who disagree with you?

जो तपाईँले भन्ने कुरामा सहमत छैनन्।

It turns out, most of us explain those people the same way,

यस्तो देखिन्छ कि, हामीमध्ये धेरै त्यही एउटै तरिकाले भन्न खोज्छौँ,

by resorting to a series of unfortunate assumptions.

श्रीङ्खलाका श्रीङ्खला तिनै बासी,अभागी मान्यताहरु पेलेर।

The first thing we usually do when someone disagrees with us

कसैले हाम्रो कुरा नपत्याए पहिले हामी के गर्छौँ भने,

is we just assume they're ignorant.

हामी तिनीहरुलाइ बेमतलबी ठान्छौँ।

They don't have access to the same information that we do,

तिनिहरुसँग त्यो सुचना पहुँच छैन जो हामीसँग छ,

and when we generously share that information with them,

हामीले उनिहरुलाई त्यो सुचना दया गरेर दिन्छौ,

they're going to see the light and come on over to our team.

अब त उनिहरु पनि ज्ञानले प्रदिप्त भइहाले अनी हाम्रै टिम।

When that doesn't work,

जब काम यसरी पनि बन्दैन

when it turns out those people have all the same facts that we do

तिनीहरुसँग ती सबै तथ्य छन जुन हामीसँग छन्

and they still disagree with us,

र पनि हामीसँग असहमत हुन्छन,

then we move on to a second assumption,

अब हाम्रो दोस्रो मान्यता आउँछ,

which is that they're idiots.

तिनिहरु मुर्ख छन।

(Laughter)

(हाँसो)

They have all the right pieces of the puzzle,

तिनिहरु पहेली(पजल)का सबै टुक्रा छन,

and they are too moronic to put them together correctly.

त्यैपनी तिनिहरु यती मुर्ख छनकी मिलाएर राख्न पनि सक्दैनन।

And when that doesn't work,

यो तरिकाले पनि काम नगरेपछी,

when it turns out that people who disagree with us

हामीसँग असहमतहरुसँग यस्ता निस्किन्छन कि

have all the same facts we do

तिनिहरु हामीले जानेजती सबै तथ्यसँग परीचित छन,

and are actually pretty smart,

अनी वास्तवमै चलाख छन,

then we move on to a third assumption:

अब तेस्रो मान्यताको पालो:

they know the truth,

तिनिहरु सत्य जान्दछन्,

and they are deliberately distorting it

र तिनिहरुले जानिजानि यसलाइ बङ्गयाइरहेछन

for their own malevolent purposes.

किनकि यसले तिनिहरुको तुच्छ स्वार्थ पुरा हुन्छ।

So this is a catastrophe.

यो नै दु्र्घटना हो।

This attachment to our own rightness

यो आफ्नो सच्चाइ प्रतिको लगावले

keeps us from preventing mistakes

हामीलाइ गल्ती गर्नबाट बचाउँछ

when we absolutely need to

जब हामीलाइ आवश्यक हुन्छ

and causes us to treat each other terribly.

र एकापसमा नराम्रो ल्याइदिन्छ।

But to me, what's most baffling

तर मेरोलागि, सबभन्दा अनौठो

and most tragic about this

र दुखलाग्दो कुरा यो बारे के भने

is that it misses the whole point of being human.

यसरी त मान्छे हुनुको जुन सार छ नि त्यो नै हराउँछ।

It's like we want to imagine

यो यस्तो सोचाइ हो कि

that our minds are just these perfectly translucent windows

हाम्रो मस्तिष्क पुरा पारदर्शी झ्याल जस्तो हो

and we just gaze out of them

अनि हामी त्यसबाट हेर्छौँ

and describe the world as it unfolds.

र भन्छौ संसार त यस्तो छ।

And we want everybody else to gaze out of the same window

हामी चाहन्छौ सबैजना त्यही एउटै झ्यालबाट हेरुन्

and see the exact same thing.

अनि ठ्याक्कै त्यस्तै देखुन् ।

That is not true,

यो ठिक होइन,

and if it were, life would be incredibly boring.

र यदि यस्तै भइहाले, जिन्दगी अति दिक्कलाग्दो हुन्छ।

The miracle of your mind

मस्तिष्कको शक्त्ति यो होइन कि

isn't that you can see the world as it is.

तपाईँ संसार यो जस्तो छ त्यस्तै देख्ने।

It's that you can see the world as it isn't.

यो त तपाईँले यस्तो संसार देख्नु हो जुन छैन।

We can remember the past,

हामी विगत सम्झिन सक्छौँ,

and we can think about the future,

र भविष्य सोच्न पनि,

and we can imagine what it's like

अनि यस्तो पनि सोच्न सक्छौ आफु

to be some other person in some other place.

कुनै अर्कै ठाउँमा अर्कै मानिस भएको।

And we all do this a little differently,

हामी सबै यस्तो गर्छौँ अलिअलि फरक होला,

which is why we can all look up at the same night sky

किनभने हामी सबैले राति एउटै आकाश देख्छौँ,

and see this

यो देख्छौँ,

and also this

त्यो देख्छौँ,

and also this.

अरु के के देख्छौँ।

And yeah, it is also why we get things wrong.

अनि, यस्तरी नै हामी गलत पनि हुन्छौँ।

1,200 years before Descartes said his famous thing

१२०० वर्ष पहिले डेस्कार्टसले एउटा प्रख्यात कुरा भने

about "I think therefore I am,"

"मैले सोच्छु र त म छु।"

this guy, St. Augustine, sat down

यी व्यक्ति, सन्त अगस्तिन, बसे

and wrote "Fallor ergo sum" --

र लेखे "फेलर इर्गो सम (Fallor ergo sum) --

"I err therefore I am."

"म गल्ति गर्छु र म भएको छु।"

Augustine understood

अगस्तिनले बुझे

that our capacity to screw up,

हाम्रो यो गडबड गर्ने क्षमता,

it's not some kind of embarrassing defect

कुनै डराउनुपर्ने रोग या दोष होइन

in the human system,

मानविय प्रणालीको,

something we can eradicate or overcome.

यसलाइ त हामीले हटाउन या जित्न सक्छौँ।

It's totally fundamental to who we are.

यो त हामी आफु मान्छे हुनुको आधारभुत कुरा हो।

Because, unlike God,

किनभने, भगवान जस्तो,

we don't really know what's going on out there.

हामीलाइ कुनबेला के हुन्छ भन्ने थाहा हुदैँन।

And unlike all of the other animals,

अनि फेरि अरु जनावर जस्तो नभइ,

we are obsessed with trying to figure it out.

हामी त यस्तै कुरा थाहा पाउन लागिपर्छौँ।

To me, this obsession

मेरो लागि, यो नशा

is the source and root

नै स्रोत र मुल हो जस्तो लाग्छ

of all of our productivity and creativity.

हाम्रो उत्पादकत्व र रचनात्मक खुबिको।

Last year, for various reasons,

गत वर्ष, विभिन्न कारणले गर्दा

I found myself listening to a lot of episodes

मैले धेरै भागहरु सुन्न पुगेँ

of the Public Radio show This American Life.

"यो अमेरिकी जिवन (This Americal Life)" भन्ने रेडियो कार्यक्रमको।

And so I'm listening and I'm listening,

मेैले सुन्दै जाँदा,सुन्दै जाँदा,

and at some point, I start feeling

एउटा विन्दुमा पुगेपछि, मलाई के लाग्यो भने

like all the stories are about being wrong.

सबैजसो कथाहरु त गलत वा भ्रमित हुने बारे नै थिए।

And my first thought was,

अनि मैले पहिले के सोचेँ भने,

"I've lost it.

म गएँ, हराएँ।

I've become the crazy wrongness lady.

म सनकी गलत गलत भन्ने भएँ।

I just imagined it everywhere,"

मैले जता पनि यहि देख्न थाले।

which has happened.

र जुन भयो।

But a couple of months later,

केही महिना पछि

I actually had a chance to interview Ira Glass, who's the host of the show.

मलाइ इरा ग्लासको अन्तरवार्ता लिने मौका मिल्यो, जसले त्यो कार्यक्रम चलाउँथे।

And I mentioned this to him,

मैले यो कुरा उनलाइ राखेँ,

and he was like, "No actually, that's true.

अनि उनले भने, " कुरा यस्तो होइन।

In fact," he says,

वास्तवमा के भने

"as a staff, we joke

हामी स्टाफले के मजाक गर्थ्यौ भने

that every single episode of our show

हाम्रो कार्यक्रमको हरेक भागमा

has the same crypto-theme.

एउटैजस्तो मुख्य कुरा हुन्छ।

And the crypto-theme is:

त्यो के भने:

'I thought this one thing was going to happen

'मैले यस्तो होला भनेर सोचेको थिएँ

and something else happened instead.'

तर अर्कै पो भइदियो।'

And the thing is," says Ira Glass, "we need this.

र कुरा के भने," इरा ग्लासले भने," तर चाहेको त पहिलेकै हो।

We need these moments

हामी ती क्षणहरु चाहन्छौँ

of surprise and reversal and wrongness

जुन आश्चर्य र पुनरावृत्ति र गलती

to make these stories work."

र यस्तै कुराहरुले कथा बन्छन।"

And for the rest of us, audience members,

रह्यो बाँकी कुरा,दर्शकहरु,

as listeners, as readers,

श्रोताहरु, पाठकहरु,

we eat this stuff up.

समग्रमा हामी सबैले यस्ता कथा मज्जाले पचाइदिन्छौँ।

We love things like plot twists

हामीलाई कथावस्तुमा नयाँनयाँ मोड भएको मन पर्छ

and red herrings and surprise endings.

अनि रेड हेरिङ(महत्वपुर्ण कुराबाट ध्यान मोड्ने साहित्यिक कला) र चमत्कारिक अन्त्य।

When it comes to our stories,

अब हाम्रो कथामा आइपुग्दा,

we love being wrong.

हामी गल्ती भए पनि हुन्छ।

But, you know, our stories are like this

तर, के छ भने, हाम्रा कथा पनि यस्तै हुन्छन

because our lives are like this.

किनभने हामी त्यसरी नै जिउँछौँ।

We think this one thing is going to happen

हामीले एकथरी कुरा होला भनेर सोच्यो

and something else happens instead.

अर्कैअर्कै भइदिन्छ।

George Bush thought he was going to invade Iraq,

जर्ज बुसले सोच्थे होला इराकमा आक्रमण गरेपछि

find a bunch of weapons of mass destruction,

आम विध्वंशक हतियारहरु भेटिन्छन,

liberate the people and bring democracy to the Middle East.

जनता मुक्त हुनेछन र मध्यपुर्वमा प्रजातन्त्र आउनेछ।

And something else happened instead.

कुरा भइदियो अर्कै।

And Hosni Mubarak

अनि होस्नी मुबारकले

thought he was going to be the dictator of Egypt for the rest of his life,

पनि सोच्थे होला बाचुँन्जेल इजिप्टको शासन आफ्नै कब्जामा हु्न्छ,

until he got too old or too sick

बिरामी भए वा अति बुढो भएदेखि

and could pass the reigns of power onto his son.

छोराहरुलाई सत्तामा लैजाउँला।

And something else happened instead.

फेरि कुरा भइदियो अर्कै।

And maybe you thought

कहिलेकँही तपाईँ पनि सोच्नुहुन्छ होला

you were going to grow up and marry your high school sweetheart

युवा भएपछि हाइस्कुलकै मायालुसँग बिहे गरेर

and move back to your hometown and raise a bunch of kids together.

आफ्नै सहरमा फर्केर केटाकेटी हुर्काउँछु भनेर।

And something else happened instead.

र हुन्छ अरु नै केहि।

And I have to tell you

अनि मैले भन्नु पर्ने हुन्छ

that I thought I was writing an incredibly nerdy book

मेरो यस्तो सोचाइ थियो कि एउटा अति दिक्कलाग्दो किताब लेख्ने

about a subject everybody hates

त्यो पनि कसैलाइ मन नपर्ने विषयमा

for an audience that would never materialize.

यस्ता व्यक्त्तिको लागि जसलाइ भेट्नै मुस्किल छ।

And something else happened instead.

यहाँ पनि भइदियो अर्कै।

(Laughter)

हाँसो

I mean, this is life.

मेरो मतलब, यो मेरो जिन्दगि।

For good and for ill,

असल र खराब दुबैको लागि,

we generate these incredible stories

हामीले यस्तै ठुला कथा बनाइदिन्छौँ

about the world around us,

हाम्रै वरिपरिको संसारकै बारेमा,

and then the world turns around and astonishes us.

अनि के हुन्छ त भन्दा संसार उल्टो गइदिन्छ सबैलाई अचम्म पारेर।

No offense, but this entire conference

नराम्रो नमान्नुहोला, यो पुरै सभा

is an unbelievable monument

एउटा स्मारक जस्तो हुनेछ

to our capacity to get stuff wrong.

जसले हाम्रो गल्ती गर्ने खुबी सम्झाउँछ।

We just spent an entire week

हामी हप्तौँ बिताउछौँ

talking about innovations and advancements

कुरा गरेर आविष्कारहरु, प्रगति

and improvements,

र सुधारहरुबारे,

but you know why we need all of those innovations

तर तपाईँलाई थाहा छ हामीलाई यी सबै आविष्कारहरु

and advancements and improvements?

विकास र सुधारहरु किन चाहियो त?

Because half the stuff

किनभन्दा आधाभन्दा

that's the most mind-boggling and world-altering --

बढिजसो यस्ता सनसनिपुर्ण र संसार हल्लाउने--

TED 1998 --

TED १९९८--

eh.

ल

(Laughter)

हाँसो

Didn't really work out that way, did it?

कुराहरुले ठ्याक्क भनेजसरी काम गर्दैनन्।

(Laughter)

हाँसो

Where's my jet pack, Chris?

मेरो जेटप्याक कहाँ छ, क्रिस?

(Laughter)

हाँसो

(Applause)

ताली

So here we are again.

र हामी फेरि यहाँ छौँ।

And that's how it goes.

र यसरी नै चल्दैजान्छ।

We come up with another idea.

हामी नयाँनयाँ सोच लिएर आउँछौ।

We tell another story.

हामी अर्को कथा भन्छौँ।

We hold another conference.

अर्को सम्मेलन गर्छौँ।

The theme of this one,

अनि यसको मुल कुरा यो हुन्छ,

as you guys have now heard seven million times,

तपाईहरुले ७०लाख पटक सुनिसक्नु भाको छ,

is the rediscovery of wonder.

आश्चर्यहरु फेरि फेरि भेटिइरहन्छन।

And to me,

अनि मेरो लागि

if you really want to rediscover wonder,

यदि तपाईँहरु पनि यसरी नै आश्चर्य खोजि गर्न चाहनुहुन्छ भने,

you need to step outside

तपाईँ बाहिर निस्कनुपर्ने हुन्छ

of that tiny, terrified space of rightness

त्यो सानो, डरलाग्दो आफनो सत्यताको घेरोबाट

and look around at each other

र हेर्नुपर्छ वरिपरि एकआपसमा

and look out at the vastness

र हेर्नुपर्छ त्यो बृहतता

and complexity and mystery

जटिलता र तिलस्मिपन

of the universe

ब्रह्मान्डको

and be able to say,

अनि भन्न सक्नुपर्छ,

"Wow, I don't know.

"ओहो, मलाई पनि नआउन सक्छ।

Maybe I'm wrong."

म पनि गलत हुन सक्छु।"

Thank you.

धन्यवाद।

(Applause)

ताली

Thank you guys.

धन्यवाद तपाईँहरुलाई।

(Applause)

ताली