Beau Lotto + Amy O'Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Kanari Liu 校对人员: Yuguo Zhang

Beau Lotto: So, this game is very simple.

Beau Lotto:好的，这个游戏非常简单。

All you have to do is read what you see. Right?

你们只要把看到的念出来就好了，好吗？

So, I'm going to count to you, so we don't all do it together.

好，我接着会倒数，这样我们就可以一起念出来了

Okay, one, two, three.Audience: Can you read this?

好，一，二，三！观众：你能读出这个吗？

BL: Amazing. What about this one? One, two, three.Audience: You are not reading this.

BL：厉害。那这个呢？一，二，三！ 观众：你不在读这个。

BL: All right. One, two, three. (Laughter)

BL：好吧。一，二，三！（笑声）

If you were Portuguese, right? How about this one? One, two, three.

如果你是个葡萄牙人。对吧？那这个呢？ 一，二，三！

Audience: What are you reading?

观众：你们在读什么？

BL: What are you reading? There are no words there.

BL：你们在读什么？那儿根本没字。

I said, read what you're seeing. Right?

我刚说的是，把你们看到的念出来。对吗？

It literally says, "Wat ar ou rea in?" (Laughter) Right?

它明明写着，“尔门土卖十ム”（笑声）对吗？

That's what you should have said. Right? Why is this?

那才是你们本该念出来的。对吧？为什么会这样？

It's because perception is grounded in our experience.

这是因为感知基于我们的经验。

Right? The brain takes meaningless information

是吧？大脑从不具意义的信息中提取出意义

and makes meaning out of it, which means we never see

也就是说我们从不去看

what's there, we never see information,

那里到底是什么，我们从不看信息。

we only ever see what was useful to see in the past.

我们只看到过去曾见过的有用信息。

All right? Which means, when it comes to perception,

懂了吗？也就是说，说到感知这回事儿……

we're all like this frog.

我们跟这只青蛙是一样儿一样儿的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Right? It's getting information. It's generating behavior

对吧？它在汲取信息。它在产生行为。

that's useful. (Laughter)

这就管用。（笑声）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Video) Man: Ow! Ow! (Laughter) (Applause)

（视频）男：嗷！嗷！（笑声）（掌声）

BL: And sometimes, when things don't go our way,

BL：而且有时，当事情不按我们想的那样发展，

we get a little bit annoyed, right?

我们就会不爽，对吗？

But we're talking about perception here, right?

但是我们现在讨论的是感知，对吗？

And perception underpins everything we think, we know,

并且感知决定了我们的所学所想

we believe, our hopes, our dreams, the clothes we wear,

决定了我们的信仰，我们的希望，我们的梦想和我们穿的衣裳

falling in love, everything begins with perception.

坠入爱河，一切都由感知开始。

Now if perception is grounded in our history, it means

如果感知基于我们的历史，那就是说

we're only ever responding according to what we've done before.

我们只是在对自己之前的所作所为做出反应

But actually, it's a tremendous problem,

但是实际上，这是个天大的问题，

because how can we ever see differently?

因为怎样我们才能换种方法去看待问题呢？

Now, I want to tell you a story about seeing differently,

现在，我想和你们讲个有关换种方法去看的故事，

and all new perceptions begin in the same way.

所有的新感知都以同样的方式开始。

They begin with a question.

他们由一个提问开始。

The problem with questions is they create uncertainty.

提问的问题在于，他们会产生不确定。

Now, uncertainty is a very bad thing. It's evolutionarily

不确定可是个坏东西。它是个会变的坏东西。

a bad thing. If you're not sure that's a predator, it's too late.

你要是吃不准那是不是肉食动物，那就晚了。

Okay? (Laughter)

懂了吗？（笑声）

Even seasickness is a consequence of uncertainty.

甚至晕船也是不确定的结果。

Right? If you go down below on a boat, your inner ears

对吗？如果你在船上往下走，

are you telling you you're moving. Your eyes, because

你的内耳会告诉你你在移动。你的眼睛，

it's moving in register with the boat, say I'm standing still.

因为会随着船一起移动，会说我其实站着没动

Your brain cannot deal with the uncertainty of that information, and it gets ill.

你的大脑不知如何处理那些信息中的不确定，于是变得难过

The question "why?" is one of the most dangerous things you can do,

问题“为什么？”是你所能做的最危险的事之一，

because it takes you into uncertainty.

因为它会给你带来不确定。

And yet, the irony is, the only way we can ever

然而讽刺的是，我们能够创新的唯一方法，

do anything new is to step into that space.

就是踏入那片不确定。

So how can we ever do anything new? Well fortunately,

所以我们如何才能创新呢？幸运的是，

evolution has given us an answer, right?

进化已经给了我们一个答案，对吗？

And it enables us to address even the most difficult

它使我们能够去解决问题，即使是最难的。

of questions. The best questions are the ones that create the most uncertainty.

最好的问题往往拥有着最多的不确定。

They're the ones that question the things we think to be true already. Right?

比如让我们对于曾经深信的真相产生质疑。对吗？

It's easy to ask questions about how did life begin,

问一个如“生命是如何开始的”问题这很简单，

or what extends beyond the universe, but to question what you think to be true already

或者说”宇宙的外面有什么？“但是去质疑你曾深信的事

is really stepping into that space.

则会真正踏入那片不确定。

So what is evolution's answer to the problem of uncertainty?

所以进化给出不确定性的答案是什么呢？

It's play.

那就是玩乐。

Now play is not simply a process. Experts in play will tell you

玩不仅仅是一个简单的过程。玩乐的专家会告诉你

that actually it's a way of being.

这其实是一种存在的方式。

Play is one of the only human endeavors where uncertainty

玩乐其实是赞颂不确定性的一种人类活动。

is actually celebrated. Uncertainty is what makes play fun.

不确定性让玩乐变得好玩起来。

Right? It's adaptable to change. Right? It opens possibility,

对吗？它会随着变化而改变。对吗？它开启了各种可能。

and it's cooperative. It's actually how we do our social bonding,

它是合作的。实际上我们的社会也是如此连结的。

and it's intrinsically motivated. What that means

同时它是动机是内在的，也就是说

is that we play to play. Play is its own reward.

我们是为了玩而玩。它自己本身便是一种奖赏。

Now if you look at these five ways of being,

现在要是你再看看这五种存在方式，

these are the exact same ways of being you need

你会发现他们和你成为一名出色科学家

in order to be a good scientist.

所需的特质是一样的。

Science is not defined by the method section of a paper.

科学并没有一纸定义。

It's actually a way of being, which is here, and this is true

它实际上是一种存在方式，它就在这里，

for anything that is creative.

也在所有好玩的东西身上。

So if you add rules to play, you have a game.

所以如果你给玩乐加上规则，你就得到了游戏。

That's actually what an experiment is.

而实验其实就是这样的东西。

So armed with these two ideas,

那么具备了这两条概念，

that science is a way of being and experiments are play,

即，科学是一种存在方式而实验是一种玩乐。

we asked, can anyone become a scientist?

我们问，是不是任何人都能成为一名科学家呢？

And who better to ask than 25 eight- to 10-year-old children?

这个问题，去问25名8至10岁的儿童是最好不过了吧？

Because they're experts in play. So I took my bee arena

因为他们是玩乐的专家。所以我带着我的蜜蜂舞台

down to a small school in Devon, and the aim of this

去了Devon的一所小学校，而这件事的目的

was to not just get the kids to see science differently,

不只是为了让孩子们用一种不同的方法来看待科学

but, through the process of science, to see themselves differently. Right?

更是通过这个过程，用不同的方法审视他们自己。对吗？

The first step was to ask a question.

第一步，是提出一个问题。

Now, I should say that we didn't get funding for this study

说实话这个研究我们没拿到任何资金支持

because the scientists said small children couldn't make

因为科学家们说这些小鬼头无法对科学做出有用的贡献，

a useful contribution to science, and the teachers said kids couldn't do it.

老师们也说小孩子做不到。

So we did it anyway. Right? Of course.

不过不管怎样我们还是做了。对吗？肯定的。

So, here are some of the questions. I put them in small print

好，这里是一些提出的提问。我把他们的字体缩小了

so you wouldn't bother reading it. Point is that five of the questions that the kids came up with

所以你们不用费神去读。关键在于孩子们提出的问题中

were actually the basis of science publication the last five to 15 years. Right?

有五个问题事实上是过去5~15年间科学发表的基础。对吗？

So they were asking questions that were significant

所以他们在问的问题对于专业的科学家来说

to expert scientists.

其实至关重要。

Now here, I want to share the stage with someone quite special. Right?

现在，我想与一位有些特别的人共享这舞台。可以吗？

She was one of the young people who was involved in this study,

她是参与了那项研究的年轻人之一，

and she's now one of the youngest published scientists

而且目前她是世界上有过刊物发表的最年轻科学家之一。

in the world. Right? She will now, once she comes onto stage,

现在，一旦她登上了舞台，

will be the youngest person to ever speak at TED. Right?

她就会成为TED最年轻的演讲者了，对吗？

Now, science and asking questions is about courage.

科学和提问，是关于勇气的事。

Now she is the personification of courage, because she's

现在，她将成为勇气的化身，因为

going to stand up here and talk to you all.

她将站在这，向你们娓娓道来。

So Amy, would you please come up? (Applause)

Amy,可以请你上来吗？（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

So Amy's going to help me tell the story of what we call

接下来Amy将同我一起为大家讲述这个名为

the Blackawton Bees Project, and first she's going to tell you

”Blackawton蜜蜂计划“的故事，首先她将告诉大家

the question that they came up with. So go ahead, Amy.

他们所想出的问题。接着交给你了，Amy。

Amy O'Toole: Thank you, Beau. We thought

Amy O'Toole:谢谢您，Beau。

that it was easy to see the link between humans and apes

我们曾以为看出人类和猿类的关联是件很简单的事。

in the way that we think, because we look alike.

我们的思维方式是，因为我们看起来很相像。

But we wondered if there's a possible link

但是我们也好奇过有没有可能我们其实

with other animals. It'd be amazing if humans and bees

与其他动物也有关联。”人类与蜜蜂有相似点“

thought similar, since they seem so different from us.

这个想法是不是有些惊人，因为他们看起来与我们如此不同。

So we asked if humans and bees might solve

于是我们问，会不会人类与蜜蜂

complex problems in the same way.

会用相同的方式来解决一个复杂的问题呢？

Really, we wanted to know if bees can also adapt

说真的，我们很想知道蜜蜂是否能够

themselves to new situations using previously learned rules

用过去习得的经验来改变自己，以适应新环境

and conditions. So what if bees can think like us?

所以如果蜜蜂能像我们一样思考呢？

Well, it'd be amazing, since we're talking about an insect

好吧，这的确挺惊人的，因为我们在讲的是

with only one million brain cells.

一个只有一百万脑细胞的昆虫。

But it actually makes a lot of sense they should,

不过事实上他们应该拥有这样的能力，并极具意义

because bees, like us, can recognize a good flower

因为蜜蜂，无论在一天中的什么时候，无论光线，无论天气，

regardless of the time of day, the light, the weather,

又或从任意一个角度接触花朵，

or from any angle they approach it from. (Applause)

都能像我们一样能够辨别一朵花的好坏。（掌声）

BL: So the next step was to design an experiment,

BL：所以接下来一步就是设计一个实验，

which is a game. So the kids went off and they designed

也就是一个游戏。所以孩子们跑去设计了

this experiment, and so -- well, game -- and so,

这个实验，也就是——这个游戏，所以，

Amy, can you tell us what the game was,

Amy,你能跟我们讲讲那个游戏吗？

and the puzzle that you set the bees?

还有你们给蜜蜂设置了怎样的难题？

AO: The puzzle we came up with was an if-then rule.

AO：我们想出的难题是个”如果-则“规则。

We asked the bees to learn not just to go to a certain color,

我们要求蜜蜂学会不仅仅是飞向某种特定颜色，

but to a certain color flower only

而是飞向形成了特定图案的

when it's in a certain pattern.

特定颜色的花朵。

They were only rewarded if they went to the yellow flowers

只有当黄色花朵被蓝色花朵包围，

if the yellow flowers were surrounded by the blue,

又或者蓝色花朵被黄色花朵包围时，

or if the blue flowers were surrounded by the yellow.

他们飞向黄色花朵才能获得奖赏。

Now there's a number of different rules the bees can learn

现在蜜蜂可以学来解决问题的规律有好几条。

to solve this puzzle. The interesting question is, which?

有趣的问题是，哪一条？

What was really exciting about this project was we,

这个实验最激动人心的地方在于，我们，

and Beau, had no idea whether it would work.

还有Beau,根本不知道这实验会不会奏效。

It was completely new, and no one had done it before,

这是个全新的实验，过去从没人做过，

including adults. (Laughter)

包括大人们。（笑声）

BL: Including the teachers, and that was really hard for the teachers.

BL：也包括老师们，对于老师们来说那真是太难了。

It's easy for a scientist to go in and not have a clue what he's doing,

对于科学家来说一般进入实验室后就毫无头绪，

because that's what we do in the lab, but for a teacher

因为我们在实验室就是这么干的，但是对于老师来说

not to know what's going to happen at the end of the day --

到一天结束不知将要发生什么——

so much of the credit goes to Dave Strudwick, who was

于是我们把任务交给了Dave Strudwick，

the collaborator on this project. Okay?

也就是这个计划的合作者。

So I'm not going to go through the whole details of the study

好接着我将讲述关于这个研究更多的细节

because actually you can read about it, but the next step

因为实际上你可以读到它，但是下一步

is observation. So here are some of the students

是观察。这里是一些学生们

doing the observations. They're recording the data

观察时的视频。他们正在记录

of where the bees fly.

蜜蜂往哪飞的数据。

(Video) Dave Strudwick: So what we're going to do —Student: 5C.

（视频）Dave Strudwick: 所以我们要做的是—— 学生：5C

Dave Strudwick: Is she still going up here?Student: Yeah.

Dave Strudwick: 她还在往上飞吗？ 学生：是啊。

Dave Strudwick: So you keep track of each.Student: Henry, can you help me here?

Dave Strudwick: 那你们记录每一只的路线。 学生：Henry，你能给我帮下手吗？

BL: "Can you help me, Henry?" What good scientist says that, right?

BL:”你能给我帮下手吗，Henry?"牛逼的科学家就是这么说的，对吗？

Student: There's two up there.

学生：那儿有两只。

And three in here.

这儿有三只。

BL: Right? So we've got our observations. We've got our data.

BL：看到了？所以我们得到了我们的观察结果。我们得到了我们的数据。

They do the simple mathematics, averaging, etc., etc.

他们做了简单的数学运算，平均，等等。

And now we want to share. That's the next step.

然后我们想和大家分享结果。这就是下一步。

So we're going to write this up and try to submit this

于是我们要把这些写下来并且投稿发表。

for publication. Right? So we have to write it up.

对吗？所以我们把它写了下来。

So we go, of course, to the pub. All right? (Laughter)

所以我们去了，当然啦，去了夜店。（笑声）

The one on the left is mine, okay? (Laughter)

左边的那个杯子是我喝的，看到了？（笑声）

Now, I tell them, a paper has four different sections:

现在，我告诉他们，一份报告由四部分组成：

an introduction, a methods, a results, a discussion.

引言，方法，结论，讨论。

The introduction says, what's the question and why?

引言就是，问题是什么以及为什么？

Methods, what did you do? Results, what was the observation?

方法就是，你们做了什么？结论就是，观察结果是什么？

And the discussion is, who cares? Right?

讨论就是，谁关心它？对吗？

That's a science paper, basically. (Laughter)

基本上，这就是一份科学报告。（笑声）

So the kids give me the words, right? I put it into a narrative,

所以孩子们给了这些文字，我把他们改成了叙述文，

which means that this paper is written in kidspeak.

也就是说这份报告是用孩子的口吻写的。

It's not written by me. It's written by Amy

它不是我写的。是由Amy

and the other students in the class. As a consequence,

和班上的其他学生们一起写的。结果，

this science paper begins, "Once upon a time ... " (Laughter)

这份科学报告的开头是，“从前……”（笑声）

The results section, it says: "Training phase, the puzzle ... duh duh duuuuuhhh." Right? (Laughter)

结论部分写着“训练阶段，难题……介样介样介样。”对吗？（笑声）

And the methods, it says, "Then we put the bees

至于方法，是这么写的，“然后我们把蜜蜂

into the fridge (and made bee pie)," smiley face. Right? (Laughter)

丢进了冰箱（还做了蜜蜂派），“笑脸。（笑声）

This is a science paper. We're going to try to get it published.

这是一份科学报告。我们要想方设法让它被发表。

So here's the title page. We have a number of authors there.

这是封面。我们有好多位作者。

All the ones in bold are eight to 10 years old.

基本上每位的年龄都介于八至十岁之间。

The first author is Blackawton Primary School, because

第一位作者是Blackawton小学，因为

if it were ever referenced, it would be "Blackawton et al,"

如果它被参考了，将会变成”Blackawton等人“

and not one individual. So we submit it to a public access journal,

而不是某一个个人。然后我们将它投给了一份公众期刊，

and it says this. It said many things, but it said this.

它说了这个。它说了一大堆，不过最重要的是这个，

"I'm afraid the paper fails our initial quality control checks in several different ways." (Laughter)

”我恐怕这份报告在好多方面都无法通过我们的初期质量审查。“（笑声）

In other words, it starts off "once upon a time,"

换句话说，它以”从前“开头

the figures are in crayon, etc. (Laughter)

图是用蜡笔画的，等等。（笑声）

So we said, we'll get it reviewed. So I sent it to Dale Purves,

于是我们说，我们会拿来再修改一下的。于是我把它寄给了Dale Purves,

who is at the National Academy of Science, one of the leading neuroscientists in the world,

他是国家科学院的一名世界领先的神经科学家，

and he says, "This is the most original science paper I have ever read" — (Laughter) —

他说，”这是我所看过的最原汁原味的科学报告了“（笑声）

"and it certainly deserves wide exposure."

”它值得被更多人看到。“

Larry Maloney, expert in vision, says, "The paper is magnificent.

视觉专家Larry Maloney,说”这份报告真是出色过人。

The work would be publishable if done by adults."

它若是由成人写的话就能被发表了。”

So what did we do? We send it back to the editor.

于是我们做了什么呢？我们又把它寄回给了编辑。

They say no.

他们还是不给发表。

So we asked Larry and Natalie Hempel to write

于是我们请Larry和Natialie Hempel

a commentary situating the findings for scientists, right,

为科学家的发现写一些情境评估

putting in the references, and we submit it to Biology Letters.

放在参考里，然后我们把这份报告投给了《生物学通讯》，

And there, it was reviewed by five independent referees,

它被五位独立评论员审核了，

and it was published. Okay? (Applause)

然后被发表了。（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

It took four months to do the science,

这个科学实验只做了四个月，

two years to get it published. (Laughter)

但要让它发表却花了两年。（笑声）

Typical science, actually, right? So this makes Amy and

真是典型的科学，是不是？所以这也让Amy

her friends the youngest published scientists in the world.

和她的朋友们成了世界上最年轻的已发表科学家。

What was the feedback like?

那么反响如何呢？

Well, it was published two days before Christmas,

那是在圣诞前两天发表的，

downloaded 30,000 times in the first day, right?

第一天的下载量就超过三万次，

It was the Editors' Choice in Science, which is a top science magazine.

它成了科研头牌杂志《科学》的编辑之选。

It's forever freely accessible by Biology Letters.

《生物学通讯》开放了它的永久免费共享。

It's the only paper that will ever be freely accessible by this journal.

它是这份杂志唯一一份允许免费共享的报告。

Last year, it was the second-most downloaded paper

去年，它成了《生物学通讯》上下载量第二的报告，

by Biology Letters, and the feedback from not just scientists

而且不仅仅是科学家们给予了反馈，

and teachers but the public as well.

老师和大众也给予了反馈。

And I'll just read one.

我来给你们念一个。

"I have read 'Blackawton Bees' recently. I don't have

“我最近读了《Blackawton蜜蜂》。

words to explain exactly how I am feeling right now.

我不知道用什么词句来形容我现在的心情。

What you guys have done is real, true and amazing.

你们所做的，实在，真实而又惊人。

Curiosity, interest, innocence and zeal are the most basic

好奇心，兴趣，纯真以及热情

and most important things to do science.

是科学所需最基本也是最重要的品质。

Who else can have these qualities more than children?

谁能比儿童拥有更多这些品质呢？

Please congratulate your children's team from my side."

请代我恭喜你们的孩子们。”

So I'd like to conclude with a physical metaphor.

我想通过一个物理隐喻来总结今天的演讲。

Can I do it on you? (Laughter)

我能在您身上做这个实验吗？（笑声）

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, come on. Yeah yeah. Okay.

哦对，就是你，来吧。很好。

Now, science is about taking risks, so this is an incredible risk, right? (Laughter)

科学就是冒险，这也是项不可思议的冒险，对吗？（笑声）

For me, not for him. Right? Because we've only done this once before. (Laughter)

对我来说，不是对他。是不是？因为这个实验我们之前只做过一次。（笑声）

And you like technology, right?

你喜欢科技，是吗？

Shimon Schocken: Right, but I like myself.

Shimon Schocken：是的，但是我更喜欢我自己。

BL: This is the epitome of technology. Right. Okay.

BL：这是个科技的缩影。好了。

Now ... (Laughter)

现在……（笑声）

Okay. (Laughter)

好了。（笑声）

Now, we're going to do a little demonstration, right?

我们现在做一些简单的说明，好吗？

You have to close your eyes, and you have to point

你得闭上你的眼睛，然后指出

where you hear me clapping. All right?

我拍手的位置。好吗？

(Clapping)

（拍手）

(Clapping)

（拍手）

Okay, how about if everyone over there shouts. One, two, three?

好的，那么如果那儿的大家一起喊呢。一二三？

Audience: (Shouts)

观众：（大喊）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Shouts) (Laughter)

（大喊）（笑声）

Brilliant. Now, open your eyes. We'll do it one more time.

太棒了。现在请睁开你的眼睛。我们再来做一次。

Everyone over there shout. (Shouts)

那边的观众喊一个。（大喊）

Where's the sound coming from? (Laughter) (Applause)

声音是从哪来的？（笑声）（掌声）

Thank you very much. (Applause)

非常感谢。（掌声）

What's the point? The point is what science does for us.

所以重点是什么？重点在于，科学为我们做了什么。

Right? We normally walk through life responding,

对吗?我们只是机械地对于生活做出反应，

but if we ever want to do anything different, we have to

但当我们真的想做什么与众不同的事，

step into uncertainty. When he opened his eyes,

我们便需踏入那片未知。当他睁开双眼后，

he was able to see the world in a new way.

他便能以一种全新的方式来看世界。

That's what science offers us. It offers the possibility

而这才是科学给我们带来的。它给我们带来了

to step on uncertainty through the process of play, right?

通过游玩来探索未知的机会，对不对？

Now, true science education I think should be about

我认为真正的科学教育，应该是

giving people a voice and enabling to express that voice,

人皆可言，并且让大家有能力去尽其言，

so I've asked Amy to be the last voice in this short story.

因此这个短故事最后的发言权，我决定交给Amy。

So, Amy?

那么，Amy?

AO: This project was really exciting for me,

AO：这个计划对我来说真的是太刺激了。

because it brought the process of discovery to life,

因为它让探索发现的过程走进了我们的日常生活，

and it showed me that anyone, and I mean anyone,

并且他告诉了我任何人，我是说随便哪个人，

has the potential to discover something new,

都有潜力去探索发现新事物，

and that a small question can lead into a big discovery.

一个小小的问题就可能带出一个巨大的发现。

Changing the way a person thinks about something

改变一个人对于某事的想法

can be easy or hard. It all depends on the way the person

可能很容易，也可能很难。

feels about change.

这取决于那个人对于改变怎么看。

But changing the way I thought about science was

但是改变我对于科学的看法

surprisingly easy. Once we played the games

倒是惊人的简单。我们只是玩了一次游戏

and then started to think about the puzzle,

然后想了一下如何设置难题，

I then realized that science isn't just a boring subject,

于是我意识到了，科学不是一个无聊的学科，

and that anyone can discover something new.

它能让每个人去探索发现新事物。

You just need an opportunity. My opportunity came

你只需要一个机会。而我的机会则是来自于

in the form of Beau, and the Blackawton Bee Project.

Beau和Blackawton蜜蜂计划。

Thank you.BL: Thank you very much. (Applause)

谢谢大家。BL：非常感谢。（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）