The playful wonderland behind great inventions | Steven Johnson

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

(Music)

(Muzika)

Roughly 43,000 years ago,

Pre oko 43 000 godina,

a young cave bear died in the rolling hills

mladi pećinski medved je uginuo u strmim brdima

on the northwest border of modern day Slovenia.

na severozapadnoj granici današnje Slovenije.

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

Hiljadu godina kasnije, mamut je uginuo u južnoj Nemačkoj.

A few centuries after that, a griffon vulture also died

Nekoliko vekova potom, beloglavi sup je takođe uginuo

in the same vicinity.

u istoj oblasti.

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

A mi ne znamo gotovo bilo šta o tome kako su umrle ove životinje,

but these different creatures dispersed across both time and space

ali ova različita stvorenja raštrkana i u vremenu i prostoru

did share one remarkable fate.

dele neverovatnu sudbinu.

After their deaths, a bone from each of their skeletons

Nakon njihove smrti, kosti od njihovih skeleta

was crafted by human hands

su ljudske ruke izdeljale

into a flute.

u frulu.

Think about that for a second.

Razmislite o tome na tren.

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

Zamislite da ste pećinski čovek od pre 40 000 godina.

You've mastered fire.

Ovladali ste vatrom.

You've built simple tools for hunting.

Napravili ste jednostavna oruđa za lov.

You've learned how to craft garments from animal skins

Naučili ste kako da napravite odeću od životinjske kože

to keep yourself warm in the winter.

kako biste se grejali tokom zime.

What would you choose to invent next?

Šta biste odlučili da izumite sledeće?

It seems preposterous that you would invent the flute,

Čini se apsurdnim da biste izumeli frulu,

a tool that created useless vibrations in air molecules.

oruđe koje je stvaralo beskorisne vibracije u molekulima vazduha.

But that is exactly what our ancestors did.

Ali baš to su naši preci uradili.

Now this turns out to be surprisingly common

Sad, ispostavlja se da je ovo iznenađujuće uobičajeno

in the history of innovation.

u istoriji izuma.

Sometimes people invent things

Ponekad ljudi izume nešto

because they want to stay alive or feed their children

jer žele da prežive ili da hrane svoju decu

or conquer the village next door.

ili da osvoje susedno selo.

But just as often,

No jednako često,

new ideas come into the world

nove ideje nastaju

simply because they're fun.

prosto jer su zabavne.

And here's the really strange thing:

A evo šta je zaista čudno:

many of those playful but seemingly frivolous inventions

mnogi od ovih razigranih, ali naoko frivolnih izuma

ended up sparking momentous transformations

su na kraju podstakli značajne transformacije

in science, in politics and society.

u nauci, politici i društvu.

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

Uzmite nešto što je možda najvažniji izum savremnog doba:

programmable computers.

kompjuteri za programiranje.

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

Sad, uobičajena je priča da kompjuteri potiču od vojne tehnologije,

since many of the early computers were designed specifically

pošto su mnogi od ranih kompjutera bili naročito dizajnirani

to crack wartime codes or calculate rocket trajectories.

da dešifruju vojne šifre ili da računaju putanje raketa.

But in fact, the origins of the modern computer

Međutim, nastanak savremenog kompjutera

are much more playful,

je daleko razigraniji,

even musical,

čak muzikalniji,

than you might imagine.

nego što mislite.

The idea behind the flute,

Ideja za frulu,

of just pushing air through tubes to make a sound,

da prosto istiskujete vazduh kroz cevi kako biste stvorili zvuk,

was eventually modified to create the first organ

je kasnije modifikovana da bi nastale prve orgulje

more than 2,000 years ago.

pre vše od 2 000 godina.

Someone came up with the brilliant idea of triggering sounds

Nekome je pala na pamet briljantna ideja da stvara zvuk

by pressing small levers with our fingers,

pritiskajući male poluge našim prstima,

inventing the first musical keyboard.

stvarajući tako prvu muzičku klavijaturu.

Now, keyboards evolved from organs to clavichords to harpsichords

Sad, klavijature su se razvijale od orgulja preko klavikorda i cimbala

to the piano,

do klavira,

until the middle of the 19th century,

sve do sredine 19. veka,

when a bunch of inventors finally hit on the idea

kada je hrpi izumitelja konačno pala na pamet ideja

of using a keyboard to trigger not sounds but letters.

da koriste klavijaturu da bi stvarali, ne zvuk, već slova.

In fact, the very first typewriter

Zapravo, prva pisaća mašina

was originally called "the writing harpsichord."

je prvobitno nazivana "cimbalom za pisanje".

Flutes and music led to even more powerful breakthroughs.

Frule i muzika su doveli čak i do moćnijih revolucionarnih izuma.

About a thousand years ago,

Pre oko hiljadu godina,

at the height of the Islamic Renaissance,

na vrhuncu islamske renesanse,

three brothers in Baghdad designed a device

tri brata iz Bagdada su dizajnirala spravu

that was an automated organ.

automatske orgulje.

They called it "the instrument that plays itself."

Nazvali su je "instrument koji svira samog sebe".

Now, the instrument was basically a giant music box.

Sad, instrument je u suštini bio džinovska muzička kutija.

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

Orgulje su mogle da budu obučene da sviraju niz pesama koristeći uputstva

encoded by placing pins on a rotating cylinder.

šifrovana tako što su stavljali igle na rotirajući cilindar.

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

A ako biste poželeli da mašina svira drugu pesmu,

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

prosto biste stavili novi cilindar sa drugačijom šifrom.

This instrument was the first of its kind.

Ovo je bio prvi instrument te vrste.

It was programmable.

Bilo ga je moguće programirati.

Now, conceptually, this was a massive leap forward.

Konceptualno je ovo bio veliki skok napred.

The whole idea of hardware and software

Čitava ideja o hardveru i softveru

becomes thinkable for the first time with this invention.

postaje zamisliva, prvi put, zahvaljujući ovom izumu.

And that incredibly powerful concept

A taj neverovatno moćan koncept

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

nije za nas bio oruđe rata ili osvajanja,

or necessity at all.

pa čak ni nužde.

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

Potekao je od čudesnog užitka posmatranja mašine kako svira.

In fact, the idea of programmable machines

Zapravo, ideju o mašinama za programiranje

was exclusively kept alive by music for about 700 years.

je oko 700 godina isključivo muzika održavala u životu.

In the 1700s, music-making machines

Mašine koje prave muziku su 1700-ih

became the playthings of the Parisian elite.

postale igračke pariske elite.

Showmen used the same coded cylinders

Zabavljači su koristili identične šifrovane cilindre

to control the physical movements of what were called automata,

da bi kontrolisali fizičke pokrete takozvanih automata,

an early kind of robot.

ranijih verzija robota.

One of the most famous of those robots

Jedan od najpoznatijih ovih robota

was, you guessed it, an automated flute player

je bio, pogađate, automatizovani svirač frule

designed by a brilliant French inventor

kog je dizajnirao sjajni francuski izumitelj

named Jacques de Vaucanson.

po imenu Žak de Vokanso.

And as de Vaucanson was designing his robot musician,

I dok je De Vokanso dizajnirao svog robota muzičara,

he had another idea.

javila mu se druga ideja.

If you could program a machine to make pleasing sounds,

Ako možemo da programiramo mašinu da pravi ugodne zvuke,

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

zašto je ne programirati da tka divne šare boja i tkanina?

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

Umesto upotrebe igala na cilindru u predstavljanju muzičkih nota,

they would represent threads with different colors.

koristili bi ih za stvaranje niti različitih boja.

If you wanted a new pattern for your fabric,

Ako želite novu šaru za vašu tkaninu,

you just programmed a new cylinder.

prosto programirate novi cilindar.

This was the first programmable loom.

Ovo je bio prvi razboj na programiranje.

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

Cilindri su bili suviše skupi i njihova izrada je dugo trajala,

but a half century later,

ali nekoliko vekova kasnije,

another French inventor named Jacquard

drugi francuski izumitelj, po imenu Žakard,

hit upon the brilliant idea of using paper-punched cards

došao je na briljantnu ideju da koristi kartice od izbušenog papira

instead of metal cylinders.

umesto metalnih cilindara.

Paper turned out to be much cheaper and more flexible

Papir se ispostavio kao jeftiniji i fleksibilniji

as a way of programming the device.

kao sprava za programiranje.

That punch card system inspired Victorian inventor Charles Babbage

Ovaj sistem izbušenih karti je inspirisao viktorijanskog izumitelja Čarlsa Babidža

to create his analytical engine,

da napravi svoj analitički motor,

the first true programmable computer

prvi istinski kompjuter za programiranje

ever designed.

koji je ikad dizajniran.

And punch cards were used by computer programmers

A probušene kartice su koristili kompjuterski programeri

as late as the 1970s.

sve do 1970-ih.

So ask yourself this question:

Stoga se zapitajte sledeće:

what really made the modern computer possible?

šta je zaista omogućilo nastanak savremenih kompjutera?

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

Da, angažman vojske je važan deo priče,

but inventing a computer also required other building blocks:

ali je nastanak kompjutera takođe zahtevao drugu građu:

music boxes,

muzičke kutije,

toy robot flute players,

igračke robote svirače frule,

harpsichord keyboards,

cimbalove klavijature,

colorful patterns woven into fabric,

raznobojne šare istkane na platnu,

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

a to je samo mali deo priče.

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

Imamo dugu listu ideja i tehnologija koje su promenile svet

that came out of play:

a nastale su iz igre:

public museums, rubber,

javni muzeji, guma,

probability theory, the insurance business

teorija verovatnoće, posao sa osiguranjem

and many more.

i mnogi drugi.

Necessity isn't always the mother of invention.

Nužda nije uvek majka izuma.

The playful state of mind is fundamentally exploratory,

Razigrano stanje uma je suštinski istraživački naklonjeno,

seeking out new possibilities in the world around us.

traga za novim mogućnostima u svetu oko nas.

And that seeking is why so many experiences

A to traganje je razlog zašto su mnoga iskustva,

that started with simple delight and amusement

koja su počela prostim oduševljenjem i razonodom,

eventually led us to profound breakthroughs.

na kraju nas dovela do istinski revolucionarnih otkrića.

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

Smatram da ovo ima implikacije za to kako obrazujemo decu u školama

and how we encourage innovation in our workspaces,

i kako podstičemo inovacije na našem radnom mestu,

but thinking about play and delight this way

ali razmišljanje o igri i užitku na ovaj način

also helps us detect what's coming next.

takođe pomaže da otkrijemo šta sledi.

Think about it: if you were sitting there in 1750

Razmislite o tome: kad biste sedeli tamo 1750,

trying to figure out the big changes coming to society

pokušavajući da otkrijete nadolazeće velike promene u društvu

in the 19th, the 20th centuries,

u XIX i XX veku:

automated machines, computers,

automatizovane mašine, kompjutere,

artificial intelligence,

veštačku inteligenciju,

a programmable flute

frula na programiranje

entertaining the Parisian elite

koja zabavlja parisku elitu

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

bi bila jednako moćan trag kao bilo šta drugo iz tog vremena.

It seemed like an amusement at best,

Činilo se kao zabava, u najboljem slučaju,

not useful in any serious way,

beskorisno na bilo koji ozbiljan način,

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

ali se ispostavilo da je to bio početak tehnološke revolucije

that would change the world.

koja je promenila svet.

You'll find the future

Zateći ćete budućnost

wherever people are having the most fun.

gde god se ljudi najviše zabavljaju.