Charles Limb: Your brain on improv

Traducător: Alex Marasescu Corector: Ariana Bleau Lugo

Sunt un chirurg care studiaza creativitatea

So I am a surgeon who studies creativity,

and I have never had a patient tell me,

dar n-am avut niciodata un pacient care sa-mi spuna

"I really want you to be creative during surgery,"

"Doresc sa fii creativ in timpul operatiei."

and so I guess there's a little bit of irony to it.

Cred ca-i o doza de ironie in asta.

I will say though that, after having done surgery a lot,

Dupa multe operatii, as putea spune

it's similar to playing a musical instrument.

ca se aseamana cu cantatul la un instrument.

And for me, this deep and enduring fascination with sound

Iar pentru mine, aceasta fascinatie profunda si de durata pentru sunet

is what led me to both be a surgeon

este cea ce m-a condus la a deveni chirurg

and to study the science of sound, particularly music.

dar si la studiul stiintei sunetului, in special muzica.

Asa ca voi incerca sa va vorbesc in urmatoarele minute

I'm going to talk over the next few minutes

despre cariera mea

about my career

in terms of how I'm able to study music

si cum incerc de fapt sa studiez muzica

and try to grapple with all these questions

si sa ma lupt cu aceste intrebari

of how the brain is able to be creative.

despre cum e capabil creierul sa fie creativ.

I've done most of this work at Johns Hopkins University,

Majoritatea acestui studiu l-am facut la universitatea Johns Hopkins.

and at the National Institute of Health where I was previously.

si la Institutul National de Sanatate unde am lucrat inainte.

Voi prezenta cateva experimente stiintifice

I'll go over some science experiments and cover three musical experiments.

si voi incerca sa expun trei experimente muzicale.

Voi incepe prin a rula un video.

I will start off by playing a video for you.

E un clip cu Keith Jarret, un bine cunoscut improvizator de muzica jazz,

This video is of Keith Jarrett, who's a well-known jazz improviser

probabil cel mai bine cunoscut exemplu iconic

and probably the most well-known, iconic example

al cuiva care duce improvizatia la un nivel superior.

of someone who takes improvisation to a higher level.

El va improviza concerte intregi

And he'll improvise entire concerts off the top of his head,

din mintea lui

and he'll never play it exactly the same way again,

si niciodata nu le va interpreta in acelasi fel.

Pentru o forma de creativitate intensa

so as a form of intense creativity,

cred ca acesta e un exemplu excelent.

I think this is a great example.

And so why don't we go and click the video.

Sa pornim clipul.

(Music)

(Muzica)

(Music ends)

E remarcabil, minunat ce se petrece acolo.

It's really a remarkable thing that happens there.

Dintotdeauna -- doar ca ascultator, ca fan --

I've always as a listener, as a fan,

ascult si sunt efectiv uimit.

I listen to that, and I'm astounded.

I think -- how can this possibly be?

Ma intreb: cum poate fi posibil?

How can the brain generate that much information,

Cum poate creierul sa genereze spontan

atat de multa informatie, atat de multa muzica?

that much music, spontaneously?

And so I set out with this concept, scientifically,

Asadar am pornit de la acest concept stiintific:

that artistic creativity, it's magical, but it's not magic,

creativitatea artistica e magica dar nu magie,

adica e un produs al creierului.

meaning that it's a product of the brain.

Nu exista multi oameni in coma care sa creeze arta.

There's not too many brain-dead people creating art.

Deci cu aceasta notiune a creativitatii artistice

With this notion that artistic creativity is in fact a neurologic product,

fiind de fapt un produs neurologic,

I took this thesis that we could study it

am pornit la studiul acestei teze

just like we study any other complex neurologic process,

exact la fel cum studiem orice alt proces neurologic complex.

and there are subquestions that I put there.

Cred ca mi-am pus niste intrebari mai nuantate.

Is it possible to study creativity scientifically?

Chiar e posibila studierea stiintifica a creativitatii?

And I think that's a good question.

Cred ca asta-i o intrebare buna.

And I'll tell you that most scientific studies of music,

Cele mai multe studii stiintifice despre muzica

they're very dense,

sunt foarte complicate.

and when you go through them,

In aceste studii, e greu sa recunosti muzica din ele.

it's very hard to recognize the music in it.

In fact, they seem to be unmusical entirely

De fapt, par in intregime non-muzicale

and to miss the point of the music.

fiind greu sa discerni ce-i determinat strict de muzica.

This brings the second question:

Astfel, apare a doua intrebare:

Why should scientists study creativity?

De ce ar trebui oamenii de stiinta sa studieze creativitatea?

Maybe we're not the right people to do it.

Poate nu suntem oamenii potriviti sa facem asta.

(Laughter)

Posibil,

Well it may be, but I will say that, from a scientific perspective,

dar voi spune ca, dintr-o perspectiva stiintifica --

we talked a lot about innovation today,

am vorbit azi foarte mult despre inovatie --

the science of innovation,

stiinta inovatiei.

how much we understand about how the brain is able to innovate

Studiul despre cum poate creierul sa inventeze

se afla doar la inceput.

is in its infancy,

and truly, we know very little about how we are able to be creative.

Intr-adevar stim foarte putin despre cum putem fi creativi.

I think that we're going to see,

Cred ca vom vedea

over the next 10, 20, 30 years,

in urmatorii 10, 20, 30 de ani

a real science of creativity that's burgeoning

o adevarata stiinta a creativitatii care va inmuguri si va inflori.

and is going to flourish,

Because we now have new methods that can enable us

Pentru ca avem acum metode noi care ne permit

sa luam un astfel de proces complex,

to take this process like complex jazz improvisation,

ca improvizatia muzicii de jazz, si sa o studiem riguros .

and study it rigorously.

Deci se ajunge la creier.

So it gets down to the brain.

Toti avem acest creier remarcabil,

All of us have this remarkable brain,

care-i insa foarte putin inteles.

which is poorly understood, to say the least.

I think that neuroscientists have more questions than answers,

Cred ca neurologii

au mai multe intrebari decat raspunsuri.

and I'm not going to give you answers today,

Si nici eu nu voi da multe raspunsuri astazi,

just ask a lot of questions.

ci doar voi pune multe intrebari.

And that's what I do in my lab.

In esenta, asta-i ce fac eu in laborator.

I ask questions about what is the brain doing to enable us to do this.

Pun intrebari despre ce face creierul sa ne permita creativitatea.

Asta-i metoda de baza pe care o folosesc. Se numeste RMN functional.

This is the main method that I use. This is functional MRI.

Daca ati fost intr-un scaner RMN, e foarte asemanator,

If you've been in an MRI scanner, it's very much the same,

but this one is outfitted in a special way to not just take pictures of your brain,

dar acesta este echipat intr-un mod special

nu doar pentru a fotografia creierul,

but to also take pictures of active areas of the brain.

ci, totodata, zone active din creier.

The way that's done is by the following:

Se procedeaza in felul urmator.

There's something called BOLD imaging,

Exista ceva numit inregistrare BOLD,

which is Blood Oxygen Level Dependent imaging.

adica inregistrarea nivelului de oxigen din sange.

Cand te afli intr-un aparat fRMN,

When you're in an fMRI scanner, you're in a big magnet

te afli in interiorul unui magnet imens

that's aligning your molecules in certain areas.

care iti aliniaza moleculele in anumite zone.

When an area of the brain is active, meaning a neural area is active,

Cand o zona a creierului e activa, adica o zona neurala e activa,

aceasta primeste un flux de sange.

it gets blood flow shunted to that area.

That blood flow causes an increase in local blood to that area

Fluxul de sange suplimentar cauzeaza o intensificare

a volumului de sange din acea zona

with a deoxyhemoglobin change in concentration.

cu o schimbare a concentratiei de 2-oxihemoglobina.

Deoxyhemoglobin can be detected by MRI,

2-oxihemoglobina poate fi detectata de RMN,

in timp ce oxihemoglobina nu poate.

whereas oxyhemoglobin can't.

So through this method of inference --

Prin aceasta metoda de deductie --

and we're measuring blood flow, not neural activity --

masuram circulatia sangelui, nu activitatea neurala --

spunem ca o zona a creierului care primeste mai mult sange

we say that an area of the brain that's getting more blood

a fost activa in timpul acelui proces.

was active during a particular task, and that's the crux of how fMRI works.

Si asta-i esenta functionarii fRMN-ului.

E folosita din anii '90

And it's been used since the '90s to study really complex processes.

pentru a studia procese complexe.

I'm going to review a study that I did, which was jazz in an fMRI scanner.

Acum voi expune un studiu pe care l-am facut

constand in interpretarea de muzica Jazz intr-un scaner fRMN.

It was done with a colleague, Alan Braun, at the NIH.

Am facut acest studiu impreuna cu colegul meu, Alan Braun, la institutul NIH.

This is a short video of how we did this project.

Asta e un scurt clip ilustrand cum am facut acest proiect.

(Video) Charles Limb: This is a plastic MIDI piano keyboard

(Video) Charles Limb: Asta e o claviatura de plastic MIDI

pe care o folosim pentru experimentele de jazz.

that we use for the jazz experiments.

And it's a 35-key keyboard

E o claviatura cu 35 de clape

designed to fit both inside the scanner,

conceputa sa se potriveasca in scanerul RMN,

neafectata magnetic,

be magnetically safe,

have minimal interference that would contribute to any artifact,

cu interferente minime

care sa nu modifice rezultatul

and have this cushion so that it can rest on the players' legs

si aceasta perinita pentru a fi sprijinita pe picioarele interpretului

while they're lying down in the scanner, playing on their back.

in timp ce sta pe spate si interpreteaza in interiorul RMN-ului.

It works like this -- this doesn't actually produce any sound.

Functioneaza astfel -- asta nu produce nici un sunet.

It sends out what's called a MIDI signal --

Transmite ce se numeste un semnal MIDI --

adica interfata digitala de instrument muzical --

or a Musical Instrument Digital Interface --

prin aceste cabluri in cutie si apoi in calculator,

through these wires into the box and then the computer,

which then trigger high-quality piano samples like this.

producand apoi sunete de pian de inalta calitate.

(Music)

(Muzica)

(Muzica)

(Music)

(Music ends)

OK, so it works.

CL: Bun, deci functioneaza.

And so through this piano keyboard,

Si cu aceasta claviatura de pian,

we have the means to take a musical process and study it.

avem acum mijloacele pentru a studia un proces muzical.

Deci ce faci acum cu aceasta claviatura faina?

So what do you do now that you have this cool piano keyboard?

You can't just say, "It's great we have a keyboard."

Nu poti doar sa spui: "Ce tare ca avem aceasta claviatura."

Trebuie sa concepem un experiment stiintific.

We have to come up with a scientific experiment.

Deci experimentul consta in urmatoarele:

The experiment really rests on the following:

What happens in the brain during something that's memorized and over-learned,

Ce se petrece in creier in timpul redarii a ceva memorat, stiut pe dinafara,

and what happens in the brain during something

si ce se intampla in creier atunci cand ceva

e generat sau improvizat spontan

that is spontaneously generated, or improvised,

producand reactii motrice similare,

in a way that's matched motorically

privind prin prisma functiilor sensoriale motrice?

and in terms of lower-level sensory motor features?

Asadar, am aici ceea ce numim paradigme.

I have here what we call the paradigms.

There's a scale paradigm, which is playing a scale up and down, memorized,

Un exemplu de gama memorata, canta gama in sus si-n jos.

Apoi improvizarea pe gama --

then there's improvising on a scale,

quarter notes, metronome, right hand --

patrimile de nota, metronomul, mana dreapta --

scientifically very safe,

stiintific e foarte corect,

but musically really boring.

dar muzical e foarte plictisitor.

Then there's the bottom one, which is called the jazz paradigm.

Si apoi, cea de jos, numita "paradigma jazz".

Deci am adus cantareti profesionisti de jazz la NIH

So we brought professional jazz players to the NIH,

pe care i-am pus sa memoreze aceasta piesa muzicala din stanga-jos,

and we had them memorize this piece of music on the lower-left,

-- chiar ce am interpretat eu --

which is what you heard me playing --

si apoi i-am pus sa improvizeze in aceiasi gama.

and we had them improvise to the same chord changes.

Daca apasati pe simbolul de sunet din dreapta-jos,

And if you can hit that lower-right sound icon,

asta e un exemplu de inregistrare din scaner.

that's an example of what was recorded in the scanner.

(Muzica)

(Music)

(Music ends)

In fine, nu-i cel mai natural mediu

In the end, it's not the most natural environment,

dar pot canta la instrument realmente.

but they're able to play real music.

Am ascultat acel solo de 200 ori

And I've listened to that solo 200 times,

si inca imi place.

and I still like it.

And the musicians were comfortable in the end.

Muzicienii s-au simtit in largul lor pana la urma.

Am masurat prima data numarul notelor.

We first measured the number of notes.

Were they playing more notes when they were improvising?

Cantau doar mai multe note cand improvizau?

Nu era asta.

That was not what was going on.

Ne-am uitat apoi la activitatea cerebrala.

And then we looked at the brain activity.

Voi incerca sa rezum.

I will try to condense this for you.

Astea sunt reprezentari de contrast care arata diferenta

These are contrast maps that are showing subtractions between what changes

intre ceea ce se schimba cand improvizezi

when you're improvising vs. when you're doing something memorized.

comparativ cu interpretarea memorata.

In red is an area that's active in the prefrontal cortex,

In rosu e zona activa din cortexul prefrontal,

lobul frontal.

the frontal lobe of the brain,

and in blue is this area that was deactivated.

Iar in albastru e zona inactiva.

Am observat ca aceasta zona numita

So we had this focal area called the medial prefrontal cortex

cortex prefrontal s-a activat intens.

that went way up in activity.

Iar aceasta suprafata mare numita cortex prefrontal lateral

We had this broad patch of area called the lateral prefrontal cortex

a inregistrat o mare scadere in activitate; voi rezuma aici.

that went way down in activity,

I'll summarize that for you.

Astea sunt zone multifunctionale ale creierului.

These are multifunctional areas of the brain,

Nu sunt "zonele jazz" ale creierului.

these are not the jazz areas of the brain.

Ele fac o multime de lucruri

They do a whole host of things

legate de relfexie,

that have to do with self-reflection,

introspection, working memory etc.

introspectie, memorie activa, etc.

De fapt, constiinta e situata in lobul frontal.

Really, consciousness is seated in the frontal lobe.

But we have this combination

Dar aveam aceasta combinatie

of an area that's thought to be involved in self-monitoring, turning off,

a unei suprafete ce-i implicata in controlul de sine, focalizandu-se spre interior,

si aceasta suprafata despre care se crede a fi autobiografica,

and this area that's thought to be autobiographical,

sau exprexiva, focalizandu-se spre exterior.

or self-expressive, turning on.

Si credem, cel putin preliminar --

We think, at least in this preliminary --

E doar un singur studiu. Probabil e gresit.

it's one study; it's probably wrong, but it's one study --

Dar e un studiu.

(Laughter)

Credem, cel putin ca ipoteza rezonabila

we think that at least a reasonable hypothesis

ca pentru a fi creativ

is that, to be creative,

you should have this weird dissociation in your frontal lobe.

trebuie sa ai aceasta disociere ciudata in lobul frontal.

O zona se deschide, o zona mare se inchide,

One area turns on, and a big area shuts off,

asa ca nu esti inhibat, esti dispus sa faci greseli,

so that you're not inhibited, you're willing to make mistakes,

ca sa nu blochezi mereu

so that you're not constantly shutting down

toate aceste noi impulsuri generate.

all of these new generative impulses.

Now a lot of people know that music is not always a solo activity --

Stim ca muzica nu e intotdeauna o activitate solo --

cateodata e creata comunicand.

sometimes it's done communicatively.

Asa ca urmatoarea intrebare a fost:

The next question was:

What happens when musicians are trading back and forth,

Ce se intampla cand muzicienii canta simultan,

something called "trading fours,"

ceva numit "trading fours" [alterneaza tot la 4 masuri],

which is something they do normally in a jazz experiment.

ceva normal intr-un experiment jazz.

Astea sunt 12 masuri dintr-un blues.

So this is a 12-bar blues,

and I've broken it down into four-bar groups,

Le-am despartit in grupe de 4 masuri,

so you would know how you would trade.

ca sa intelegeti cum se face schimbul.

We brought a musician into the scanner, same way,

Am adus un muzician in scanerul RMN -- la fel --

l-am pus sa memoreze aceasta melodie,

had them memorize this melody

then had another musician out in the control room

apoi in camera de control am avut un alt muzician

comunicand muzical interactiv.

trading back and forth interactively.

So this is a musician, Mike Pope,

Acesta e muzicianul Mike Pope,

one of the world's best bassists and a fantastic piano player.

unul din cei mai buni basisti din lume si un pianist fantastic.

(Music)

Acum el interpreteaza o piesa

He's now playing the piece that we just saw

pe care tocmai am vazut-o

a little better than I wrote it.

dar mai bine decat mine.

(Video) CL: Mike, come on in.

(Clip) CL: Intra, Mike.

Mike Pope: May the force be with you.

Asistenta: Nimic in buzunare, Mike?

Nurse: Nothing in your pockets, Mike?

Mike Pope: Nu. Nimic in buzunare. >>Asistenta: OK.

MP: No. Nothing's in my pockets.

CL: You have to have the right attitude to agree to do it.

CL: Trebuie sa ai atitudine pozitiva sa fi de acord cu asta.

(Rasete)

(Laughter)

It's kind of fun, actually.

E chiar distractiv de fapt.

(Music)

Deci acum cantam interactiv.

Now we're playing back and forth.

El e inauntru. Ii vedeti picioarele.

He's in there. You can see his legs up there.

(Music)

And then I'm in the control room here, playing back and forth.

Iar eu aici in camera de control, cantand simultan.

(Music)

(Muzica)

(Music ends)

(Video) Mike Pope: This is a pretty good representation

(Clip) Mike Pope: Asta-i o reprezentare chiar buna

of what it's like.

a ceea ce se intampla in realitate.

And it's good that it's not too quick.

Si e bine ca nu-i prea in graba.

The fact that we do it over and over again

Faptul ca facem odata si inca odata

ma lasa sa ma acomodez cu imprejurimile.

lets you acclimate to your surroundings.

Cel mai complicat pentru mine a fost aspectul chinestezic

So the hardest thing for me was the kinesthetic thing,

looking at my hands through two mirrors,

de a ma uita la maini

prin 2 oglinzi,

laying on my back,

intins pe spate

and not able to move at all except for my hand.

si neputandu-ma misca deloc, exceptand mainile.

That was challenging.

Asta a fost o incercare.

But again --

Dar cu siguranta,

au fost momente,

there were moments, for sure --

sincer,

(Laughter)

there were moments of real, honest-to-God musical interplay, for sure.

momente reale de interactiune muzicala, cu siguranta.

CL: OK, acum voi lua cateva momente.

CL: At this point, I'll take a few moments.

Asadar ceea ce vedeti aici --

So what you're seeing here --

and I'm doing a cardinal sin in science,

Si cu asta fac un pacat principial in stiinta,

aratandu-va date prelimarii.

which is to show you preliminary data.

This is one subject's data.

Acestea sunt datele unui subiect.

This is, in fact, Mike Pope's data.

Acestea sunt, de fapt, datele lui Mike Pope.

So what am I showing you here?

Asadar ce va arat aici?

When he was trading fours with me, improvising vs. memorized,

Cand el canta interactiv cu mine, improvizand, nu din memorie,

suprafata ce tine de vorbire s-a aprins, suprafata Broca,

his language areas lit up, his Broca's area,

in the inferior frontal gyrus on the left.

care e girusul frontal inferior din stanga.

He had it also homologous on the right.

De fapt s-a aprins si omologul acestuia din dreapta.

This is an area thought to be involved in expressive communication.

Asta e suprafata presupusa a fi implicata in comunicarea expresiva.

Aceasta intreaga notiune ca muzica e un limbaj,

This whole notion that music is a language --

poate are o baza neurologica de fapt,

maybe there's a neurologic basis to it after all,

and we can see it when two musicians are having a musical conversation.

si o vedem atunci cand doi muzicieni comunica muzical.

So we've done this on eight subjects now,

Am facut acest studiu pe 8 indivizi pana acum,

and we're getting all the data together,

si abia organizam toate datele.

hopefully we'll have something to say about it meaningfully.

Deci speram ca vom concluziona ceva semnificativ.

Considerand acum legatura improvizatie-limbaj, ce urmeaza?

Now when I think about improvisation and the language, what's next?

Muzica rap, bineinteles, rap --

Rap, of course, rap -- freestyle.

free-style [stilul-liber].

I've always been fascinated by freestyle.

Am fost intotdeauna fascinat de free-style.

Asa ca haideti sa rulam aceasta inregistrare.

And let's play this video.

(Video) Mos Def: Brown skin I be, standing five-ten I be

(Clip) Mos Def: ♫ Am pielea neagra, sunt inalt de 1.80 ♫

♫ Facandu-mi de cap cand sunt in preajma ta ♫

Rockin' it when I be, in your vicinity

Whole-style synergy, recognize symmetry

♫ Sinergie plina de stil, recunoaste simetria ♫

♫ Incearca, raneste-ma, dizolva-ma chimic ♫

Go and try to injure me, broke 'em down chemically

Ain't the number 10 MC, talk about how been I be

♫ Nu sunt al 10-lea M.C, vorbind despre ce am fost ♫

♫ Stilat ca un Kennedy, cum e 10 dupa 3 ♫

Styled it like Kennedy, late like a 10 to three

When I say when I be, girls say bend that key cut

♫ Cand spun unde-oi fi, fetele zic indoaie cheile ♫

CL: So there's a lot of analogy

CL: Asadar observam o intreaga analogie

between what takes place in freestyle rap and jazz.

intre ce se petrece in rap si in jazz.

There are a lot of correlates between the two forms of music,

Sunt chiar multe corelari intre cele 2 tipuri de muzica

desi apartin in doua epoci diferite.

I think, in different time periods, in lot of ways,

In multe feluri, rap-ul deserveste aceleasi functii sociale

rap serves the same social function that jazz used to serve.

pe care muzica jazz le servea.

Deci cum studiezi stiintific muzica rap?

So how do you study rap scientifically?

Colegii mei ma cam cred nebun.

And my colleagues think I'm crazy, but I think it's very viable.

dar eu cred ca-i foarte viabil.

This is what you do:

Deci asta-i ce faci: aduci un artist de free-style

You have a freestyle artist come and memorize a rap

il pui sa memoreze o melodie rap pe care o scrii tu pentru ei,

that you write for them,

pe care n-au mai auzit-o niciodata,

that they've never heard before, and then you have them freestyle.

iar apoi îi pui sa cante free-style.

So I told my lab members that I would rap for TED,

Asadar le-am spus colegilor de laborator ca voi canta rap pentru TED,

iar ei au spus, "Nu, nu vei face asta."

and they said, "No, you won't."

Iar apoi m-am gandit --

And then I thought --

(Laughter)

(Aplauze)

(Applause)

Uite cum sta treaba.

But here's the thing.

With this big screen, you can all rap with me. OK?

Cu acest ecran imens, puteti toti canta rap cu mine. Bine?

So what we had them do

Asa ca le-am cerut

was memorize this lower-left sound icon, please.

sa memoreze de la acest buton de sunet din stanga jos.

Asta-i partea controlata. Asta au memorat.

This is the control condition. This is what they memorized.

Calculator: ♫ Memorie, ridica volumul. ♫

Computer: Memory, thump.

CL: ♫ Ridica volumul repetat ♫

CL: Thump of the beat in a known repeat

Rhythm and rhyme, they make me complete

♫ Ritmul si rima, ma completeaza ♫

The climb is sublime when I'm on the mic

♫ Ascensiunea-i sublima cand sunt la microfon ♫

Spittin' rhymes that hit you like a lightning strike

♫ Aruncand rime care te lovesc ca un fulger ♫

Computer: Search.

♫ Caut adevarul in aceasta misiune eterna ♫

CL: I search for the truth in this eternal quest

♫ Pasiunea mea nu-i moda, uite cum sunt imbracat ♫

My passion's not fashion, you can see how I'm dressed

♫ Cuvinte psihopate, in capul meu apar ♫

Psychopathic words in my head appear

Whisper these lyrics only I can hear

♫ Soptesc aceste versuri ca doar eu sa aud ♫

Computer: Art.

CL: The art of discovering and that which is hovering

♫ Arta in descoperire si in plutire ♫

♫ In mintea celor neinhibati ♫

Inside the mind of those unconfined

All of these words keep pouring out like rain

♫ Si toate cuvintele astea tot curg ca ploaia♫

I need a mad scientist to check my brain

♫ Am nevoie de un medic nebun sa-mi verifice creierul ♫

Computer: Stop.

(Aplauze)

(Applause)

Va garantez, asta nu se va mai intampla niciodata.

I guarantee you that will never happen again.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

So now, what's great about these free-stylers,

Ce-i grozav la acesti free-style-eri,

they will get cued different words.

e ca prind din zbor cuvinte cheie.

They don't know what's coming,

Ei nu stiu ce urmeaza, dar vor auzi ceva spontan

but they'll hear something off the cuff.

Da-i drumul, apasa pe butonul de sunet.

Go hit that right sound icon,

Vor auzi aceste cuvine cheie: "like", "not" si "head".

there will be cued three square words: like, not and head.

El nu stie ce urmeaza.

He doesn't know what's coming. Computer: Like.

Free-style-er: ♫ Sunt intr-un fel de zbor ♫

Freestyler: I'm like some kind of

♫ pe bolta cereasca, in spatiu stelar ♫

extraterrestrial, celestial scene

Back in the days, I used to sit in pyramids and meditate

♫ Mai de mult, stateam in piramide si meditam ♫

With two microphones -- Computer: Head

♫ Cu 2 microfoane plutind peste cap ♫

hovering over my head

♫ De-oi mai putea asculta, scuipand sunete ♫

See if I could still listen,

spittin' off the sound

See what you grinning

♫ Vad ca te strambi ♫

I teach the children in the back of the classroom

♫ Predau elevilor in spatele clasei ♫

About the message of apocalyptical

♫ Mesajul apocaliptic ♫

Computer: Not.

Not really though, 'cause I've got to keep it simple

♫ Nu prea complicat, caci tre sa fie simplu ♫

instrumental

♫ instrumental ♫

Detrimental playing Super Mario

♫ Joc periculos cu Super Mario ♫

boxes [unclear] hip hop

♫ cu tobe si hip-hop ♫

Computer: Stop.

CL: It's an incredible thing that's taking place.

CL: Din nou, are loc un fenomen incredibil.

Neurologic, el face ceva absolut remarcabil.

It's doing something neurologically remarkable.

Daca va place sau nu muzica este irelevant.

Whether or not you like the music is irrelevant.

Dar creativ vorbind, e un lucru fenomenal.

Creatively speaking, it's just a phenomenal thing.

Iata o scurta inregistrare despre cum adaptam asta in RMN .

This is a short video of how we do this in a scanner.

(Rasete)

[fMRI of Hip-Hop Rap]

(Laughter)

(Clip) CL: Suntem aici cu Emmanuel.

(Video) CL: We're here with Emmanuel.

Apropo, asta a fost inregistrat in scaner.

CL: That was recorded in the scanner, by the way.

(Clip) CL: Acela-i Emmanuel in scanerul RMN.

(Video) CL: That's Emmanuel in the scanner.

Tocmai a memorat o rima pentru noi.

He's just memorized a rhyme for us.

[Control Condition Memorized Verses]

♫ In fruntea masurilor fara repetare ♫

Emmanuel: Top of the beat with no repeat

Rhythm and rhyme make me complete

♫ Ritmul si rima ma completeaza ♫

Climb is sublime when I'm on the mic

♫ Ascensiunea e usoara cand sunt la microfon "

Spittin' rhymes that'll hit you like a lightning strike

♫ Scuipand rime ce lovesc ca un fulger ♫

♫ Caut un adevar in aceasta misiune ♫

Computer: Search.

I search for the truth in this eternal quest

♫ Trec peste moda, vezi cum sunt imbracat ♫

I'm passing on fashion; you can see how I'm dressed

CL: Bun. Voi opri aici. Deci, ce vedem la creierul sau?

CL: I'm going to stop that there; so what do we see in his brain?

Pai, astea sunt de fapt creierele a 4 rap-eri.

This is four rappers' brains.

And we do see language areas lighting up,

Iar ce vedem sunt zonele de limbaj ce se aprind.

but then, eyes closed --

dar apoi -- cu ochii inchisi --

when you are freestyling vs. memorizing,

cand se canta liber nu din memorie

you've got major visual areas lighting up.

se aprind zone majore ce tin de vedere.

You've got major cerebellar activity, which is involved in motor coordination.

Activitate cerebrala majora implicata in coordonarea motorie.

Activitatea cerebrala se intensifica daca faceti o treaba similara,

You have heightened brain activity when you're doing a comparable task,

cand un procas e creativ iar cealalt e memorat.

when that one task is creative and the other task is memorized.

It's very preliminary, but I think it's kind of cool.

E studiu preliminar, dar cred ca e chiar fain.

Deci doar pentru a trage concluzii, avem de raspuns la multe intrebari.

To conclude, we've got a lot of questions to ask,

and like I said, we'll ask questions here, not answer them.

Si cum am spus, vom pune intrebari, nu vom da raspunsuri.

But we want to get at the root of what is creative genius neurologically,

Dar, neurologic, vrem sa ajungem la radacinile geniului creativ.

Si cred, cu aceste metode, ne apropiem.

and I think, with these methods, we're getting close.

And I think, hopefully in the next 10, 20 years,

Sper cu toata nadejdea ca in urmatorii 10, 20 de ani

vom vedea cu adevarat, studii semnificative

you'll see real, meaningful studies

ce vor arata ca stiinta trebuie sa prinda din urma arta,

that say science has to catch up to art,

and maybe we're starting now to get there.

si poate acum pornim la drum sa ajungem acolo.

Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.

Deci va multumesc pentru timpul acordat. Cu recunostinta.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)