How to spark your curiosity, scientifically | Nadya Mason

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Prevodilac: Filip Eskić Lektor: Ivana Korom

A friend called me a few weeks ago

Prijateljica me je pozvala pre nekoliko nedelja

with bad news.

sa lošim vestima.

She dropped her cell phone into the toilet.

Ispustila je svoj mobilni telefon u WC šolju.

Anyone here done that before?

Da li se to još nekome desilo ranije?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So it was a bad situation.

Dakle, bila je to loša situacija.

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

Znate, bez da ulazim u detalje kako se to tačno dogodilo

or how she got it out,

ili kako ga je izvadila,

let's just say it was a bad situation.

recimo da je to bila loša situacija.

And she panicked because, like for many of us,

A ona se uspaničila zato što, za većinu nas,

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

njen telefon je jedna od najkorišćenijih i najpotrebnijih alatki u njenom životu.

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

Ali, sa druge strane, nije imala pojma kako bi ga popravila,

because it's a completely mysterious black box.

zato što je to u potpunosti misteriozna crna kutija.

So think about it: what would you do?

Razmislite o tome: šta biste vi uradili?

What do you really understand about how your phone works?

Šta zapravo znate o tome kako telefon funkcioniše?

What are you willing to test or fix?

Šta ste voljni da proverite ili popravite?

For most people, the answer is, nothing.

Za većinu ljudi, odgovor je, ništa.

In fact, one survey found

Zapravo, jedna anketa je otkrila

that almost 80 percent of smartphone users in this country

da skoro 80 procenata korisnika pametnih telefona u ovoj državi

have never even replaced their phone batteries,

nikada nije ni zamenilo bateriju na svom telefonu,

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

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

Now, I'm an experimental physicist,

Ja sam eksperimentalni fizičar,

hence the toys.

iz tog razloga ove igračke.

I specialize in making new types of nanoscale electronic devices

Specijalizujem se u pravljenju nove vrste elektronskih uređaja nano veličine

to study their fundamental quantum mechanical properties.

radi proučavanja njihovih osnovnih kvantno mehaničkih osobina.

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

Ali čak ni ja ne bih znala odakle da krenem po pitanju provere elemenata

mog telefona ako bi se pokvario.

if it broke.

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

A telefoni su samo jedan primer od mnogih uređaja od kojih zavisimo

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

ali koje ne možemo testirati, rastaviti ili čak potpuno razumeti.

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 se bojimo da ih otvorimo i popravimo.

So here's the problem:

Dakle, evo problema:

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

postoji nedostatak veze između nas i tehnologije koje koristimo.

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

Potpuno smo otuđeni od uređaja od kojih najviše zavisimo,

which can make us feel helpless and empty.

što može učiniti da se osećamo bespomoćno i prazno.

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

Zapravo, onda i nije iznenađujuće da je jedno istraživanje otkrilo

that we are now more afraid of technology

da se sada više bojimo tehnologije

than we are of death.

nego smrti.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But I think that we can reconnect to our devices,

Ali mislim da se možemo ponovo povezati sa našim uređajima,

rehumanize them in a sense,

rehumanizovati ih na neki način,

by doing more hands-on experiments.

time što ćemo raditi više eksperimenata.

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

Zašto? Pa, zato što je eksperiment procedura za proveru hipoteze,

demonstrate a fact.

za demonstraciju činjenice.

It's the way that we use our senses,

To je način na koji koristimo naša čula,

our hands,

naše ruke,

to connect the world

da se povežemo sa svetom

and figure out how it works.

i otkrijemo kako funkcioniše.

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

I to je veza koja nam nedostaje.

So let me give you an example.

Dopustite da vam dam primer.

Here's an experiment that I did recently

Evo eksperimenta koji sam skoro radila

to think about how a touchscreen works.

da bih shvatila kako ekran na dodir radi.

It's just two metal plates,

To su samo dve metalne ploče,

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

i mogu jednu naelektrisati baterijom.

OK.

U redu.

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

Mogu izmeriti razliku naelektrisanja ovim voltmetrom ovde.

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

Sada - da se uverimo da radi.

So when I wave my hand near the plates,

Kada mahnem rukom blizu ploča,

you can see that the voltage changes

možete videti da se napon menja

just like the touchscreen responds to my hand.

kao što ekran na dodir odgovara na moju ruku.

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

Ali kakva je veza sa mojom rukom? Sada mi treba još eksperimenata.

So I can, say, take a piece of wood

Mogu, recimo, uzeti komad drveta

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

i dodirnuti jednu od ploča i videti da se ništa posebno ne dešava,

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

ali ako uzmem parče metala i dodirnem ploču,

then the voltage changes dramatically.

onda se napon dramatično menja.

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

Sada mogu uraditi još eksperimenata da bih videla koja je razlika

between the wood and the metal,

između drveta i metala,

and I should find out that the wood is not conducting

i trebalo bi da otkrijem da drvo ne provodi

but the metal is conducting like my hand.

ali metal provodi, kao i moja ruka.

And, you see, I build up my understanding.

I, vidite, gradim svoje razumevanje.

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

Sada mogu da vidim zašto ne mogu da koristim ekran sa rukavicama,

because gloves aren't conducting.

zato što rukavice ne provode.

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

Ali takođe sam skinula i nešto misterije koja se krije iza tehnologije

and built up my agency,

i izgradila svoju delatnost,

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

moj lični unos i interakciju sa osnovom mojih uređaja.

But experimenting is a step beyond just taking things apart.

Ali, eksperimentisanje je korak izvan rastavljanja stvari.

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

To je testiranje i primenjivanje kritičkog razmišljanja u praksi.

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

I nije zapravo bitno da li testiram kako funkcioniše ekran na dodir

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

ili da li merim koliko su provodni različiti materijali,

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

ili čak ako koristim ruke da vidim koliko je teško slomiti

different thicknesses of materials.

različite debljine materijala.

In all cases, I'm gaining control and understanding

U svim slučajevima, dobijam kontrolu i razumevanje

of the basis of the things that I use.

o osnovama stvari koje koristim.

And there's research behind this.

A iza ovoga stoji istraživanje.

For one, I'm using my hands,

Prvo, koristim svoje ruke,

which seem to promote well-being.

što izgleda promoviše dobro zdravlje.

I'm also engaging in hands-on learning,

Takođe se uključujem u praktično učenje,

which has been shown to improve understanding and retention,

za koje je pokazano da poboljšava razumevanje i zadržavanje znanja,

and even activate more parts of your brain.

i čak aktivira više delova mozga.

So hands-on thinking through experiments

Dakle, praktično razmišljanje kroz eksperimente

connects our understanding,

povezuje naše razumevanje,

even our sense of vitality,

čak i naš osećaj vitalnosti,

to the physical world and the things that we use.

sa fizičkim svetom i stvarima koje koristimo.

Looking things up on the internet

Traganje za stvarima na internetu

does not have the same effect.

nema isti efekat.

Now, for me this focus on experiments

Za mene je ovaj fokus na eksperimente

is also personal.

takođe ličan.

I didn't grow up doing experiments.

Nisam rasla radeći eksperimente.

I didn't know what a physicist did.

Nisam znala čime se fizičar bavi.

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

Sećam se da je moja sestra imala hemijski set koji sam uvek želela

but she never let me touch.

i koji mi nikada nije dala da dodirnem.

I felt mentally disconnected from the world

Osećala sam se umno isključeno od sveta

and didn't know why.

i nisam znala zašto.

In fact, when I was nine years old,

Zapravo, kada sam imala devet godina,

my grandmother called me a solipsist,

moja baka me je nazvala solipsistom,

which is something I had to look up.

što sam morala da saznam šta je.

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

To znači da mislite da ste vi jedino što postoji.

And at the time I was pretty offended,

U to vreme sam bila jako uvređena,

because whose grandmother calls them that?

jer koga njegova baka tako zove?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But I think that it was true.

Ali mislim da je to tačno.

And it wasn't until years later,

I tek godinama kasnije,

when I was in college and studying basic physics,

kada sam bila na koledžu i učila osnovnu fiziku,

that I had a revelation

imala sam otkrovenje

that the world,

da svet,

at least the physical world,

barem fizički svet,

could be tested and understood,

može biti testiran i shvaćen,

that I started to gain a completely different sense

da sam počela da dobijam potpuno drugačije shvatanje

of how the world worked

kako je svet funkcionisao

and what my place was in it.

i koje je moje mesto u njemu.

And then later, when I was able my own testing

I tek kasnije, kada sam mogla da vršim svoje testiranje

and understanding through research,

i razumevanje kroz istraživanje,

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

veliki deo moje veze sa svetom je bio završen.

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

Znam da nije svačija profesija eksperimentalni fizičar,

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

ali mislim da svako može da radi više praktičnih eksperimenata.

And actually I think we sort of --

I mislim da mi nekako -

I'll give you another example.

Daću vam još jedan primer.

I was recently working with some middle school students,

Nedavno sam radila sa nekim srednjoškolcima,

helping them learn about magnetism,

pomagala sam im da uče o magnetizmu,

and I gave them a Magna Doodle to take apart.

i dala sam im magnetnu tablu da je rastave.

Remember one of these things?

Sećate se ovih stvari?

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

Isprva, niko nije želeo da je dodirne.

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

Toliko dugo im je rečeno da ne lome stvari

that they're accustomed to just passive using.

da su se privikli na pasivno korišćenje.

But then I started asking them questions.

Tada sam počela da im postavljam pitanja.

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

Znate, kako to radi? Koji delovi su magnetski?

Can you make a hypothesis and test it?

Možete li izneti hipotezu i proveriti je?

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

Ali i dalje nisu želeli da je otvore.

They wanted to take it home with them, really.

Želeli su da je odnesu kući, zaista.

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

Sve dok je jedno dete nije preseklo i unutra pronašlo stvarno kul stvari.

And so this is something we can do here together.

I to je nešto što možemo ovde zajedno da uradimo.

They're pretty easy to take apart.

Veoma ih je lako rastaviti.

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

Vidite, magnet je unutra i jednostavno mogu ovo iseći.

Cut it open again, you can split it.

Iseći ću još jednom, prepoloviti.

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

U redu, kada uradim to - Ne znam da li možete da vidite ovo,

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

ali ima - tu je, ova tečna bela stvar ovde.

Now you can see it on my finger.

Sada je vidite na mom prstu.

And when I drag the pen on it,

I kada povlačim olovkom po njoj,

you can see that these filaments are attached to it.

možete videti da se ovi filamenti povezuju na nju.

So the kids saw this,

Deca su videla ovo,

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

i u ovom trenutku su mislili, ovo je stvarno kul.

They got excited.

Uzbudili su se.

They all started ripping them open and taking them apart

Svi su počeli da ih otvaraju i da vade stvari iz njih

and yelling out the things that they discovered,

i da viču šta su pronašli,

how these magnetic filaments connected to the magnetic pen

kako su se ovi magnetski filamenti povezali na magnetsku olovku

and that's how it wrote.

i da je tako pisala.

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

Ili,kako je ova tečna bela stvar držala stvari rasutim da bi se pisalo.

And as they were leaving the room,

Dok su napuštali sobu,

two of them turned to me and said,

dvoje njih se okrenulo i reklo mi,

"We loved that.

"Svidelo nam se to."

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

"Ona i ja ćemo ići kući ovog vikenda da radimo još eksperimenata."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Da, znam, roditelji se brinu oko toga,

but it's a good thing!

ali to je dobra stvar!

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

Eksperimentisanje je dobro i zapravo mislim da je izuzetno zahvalno,

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

i nadam se da je njima bilo veoma ispunjujuće.

Because, even a basic magnet

Zato što, čak i običan magnet

is something that we can experiment with at home.

je nešto sa čim možemo da eksperimentišemo kod kuće.

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

U isto vreme je i jednostavan i složen.

For example, you can ask yourself,

Na primer, možete se zapitati,

how can the same material both attract and repel?

kako isti materijal može u isto vreme privlačiti i odbijati?

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

Ako uzmem magnet, da li je korisno ako uspem da jednog od njih nateram

to rotate the other, for example?

da rotira drugog, na primer?

Or, you can take this dollar bill over here,

Ili, možete uzeti novčanicu ovde,

and I can take a set of magnets,

i mogu uzeti set magneta,

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

i možete videti da magnet podiže novčanicu.

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

Ovde je skriveno magnetno mastilo koje sprečava falsifikovanje.

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

Ili, ovde imam izmrvljene ovsene mekinje. U redu?

And that's also magnetic. Right?

To takođe ima magnetska svojstva. Zar ne?

That has iron in it.

One u sebi sadrže gvožđe.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And that can be good for you, right?

I to može biti dobro za vas, zar ne?

OK, here's something else.

U redu, evo nečeg drugog.

This thing over here is not magnetic.

Ovo ovde nema magnetska svojstva.

I can't lift it up with the magnet.

Ne mogu ga podići magnetom.

But now I'm going to make it cold.

Ali sada ću ga da ohladim.

The same thing in here, cold,

Isto i ovo, ohladim,

and when I make it cold,

i kada ga ohladim,

and put it on top of the magnet,

i stavim na vrh magneta,

so --

dakle -

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

It's amazing.

Neverovatno je.

That's not magnetic,

Nije magnet,

but somehow it's interacting with a magnet.

ali nekako reaguje sa magnetom.

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

Jasno je da će za razumevanje ovoga biti potrebno mnogo više eksperimenata.

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

Zapravo, ovo je nešto za šta sam većinu svoje karijere provela učeći.

It's called a superconductor.

To se zove superprovodnik.

Now, superconductors can be complex,

Superprovodnici mogu biti složeni,

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

ali čak i jednostavni eksperimenti nas mogu bolje povezati sa svetom.

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

Kada bih vam sada rekla da fleš memorija funkcioniše rotirajući male magnete,

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

možete to da zamislite. Videli ste to.

Or, if I say that MRI machines

Ili ako kažem da MRT mašine

use magnetism to rotate magnetic particles in your body,

koriste magnetizam da rotiraju magnetske čestice u vašem telu,

you've seen it done.

to ste već videli ranije.

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

Imali ste interakciju sa tehnologijom i shvatili osnove ovih uređaja.

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

Znam da je teško dodati više stvari u naše živote,

especially experiments.

pogotovo eksperimenata.

But I think that the challenge is worth it.

Ali mislim da je taj izazov vredan toga.

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

Razmislite o tome kako nešto radi, zatim ga rastavite i proverite.

Manipulate something and prove some physical principle to yourself.

Manipulišite nečim i sebi dokažite neke fizičke principe.

Put the human back in the technology.

Vratite ljude nazad u tehnologiju.

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

Bićete iznenađeni vezama koje napravite.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)