James Geary, metaphorically speaking

140,651 views ・ 2009-12-18

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翻译人员: An Li 校对人员: Chaoran Yu
00:15
Metaphor lives a secret life all around us.
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暗喻秘密地生活在我们中间。
00:19
We utter about six metaphors a minute.
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于我们的言谈中,每分钟大约会出现六个暗喻。
00:23
Metaphorical thinking is essential
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暗喻思维是一把钥匙,
00:25
to how we understand ourselves and others,
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它可以开启我们相互理解
00:28
how we communicate, learn, discover
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沟通、学习、发现
00:31
and invent.
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和创新的大门。
00:33
But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.
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首先,暗喻是一种思维方式。
00:38
Now, to assist me in explaining this,
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为了说明这一点,
00:41
I've enlisted the help of one of our greatest philosophers,
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我请教了一位当代最伟大的哲学家,
00:44
the reigning king of the metaphorians,
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当权的暗喻皇帝,
00:48
a man whose contributions to the field
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一位因其对暗喻学的巨大贡献
00:50
are so great that he himself
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而自身成了一位暗喻的
00:53
has become a metaphor.
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人物。
00:55
I am, of course, referring to none other
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当然,我指的不是别人,
00:59
than Elvis Presley.
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正是猫王埃尔维斯-普雷斯利。
01:01
(Laughter)
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(众笑)
01:02
Now, "All Shook Up" is a great love song.
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好,《神魂颠倒》(意即整个人都被动摇了)是一首经典情歌。
01:05
It's also a great example of how
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也是一个极好的暗喻范例,
01:07
whenever we deal with anything abstract --
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它诠释了当我们面临抽象事物时,
01:09
ideas, emotions, feelings, concepts, thoughts --
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无论是主意、情绪、感觉、概念亦或是思想,
01:13
we inevitably resort to metaphor.
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都不得不求助于暗喻。
01:15
In "All Shook Up," a touch is not a touch, but a chill.
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在《神魂颠倒》中,触摸不再是触摸,而是寒气。
01:20
Lips are not lips, but volcanoes.
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嘴唇不再是嘴唇,而是火山。
01:23
She is not she, but a buttercup.
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她不再是她,而是毛茛花(一种小黄花)。
01:26
And love is not love, but being all shook up.
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爱情也不再是爱情,而是变得神魂颠倒了。
01:31
In this, Elvis is following Aristotle's classic definition of metaphor
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在这里,埃尔维斯采用的完全是亚里士多德对暗喻的经典定义,
01:35
as the process of giving the thing
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亦即是把B事物的名称
01:38
a name that belongs to something else.
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赋予给A事物的过程。
01:41
This is the mathematics of metaphor.
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这就是暗喻的数学公式。
01:44
And fortunately it's very simple.
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幸好它很简单。
01:46
X equals Y.
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X等于Y。
01:48
(Laughter)
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(众笑)
01:51
This formula works wherever metaphor is present.
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这个公式适用于所有的暗喻。
01:54
Elvis uses it, but so does Shakespeare
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埃尔维斯用到它,莎士比亚也同样用到它。
01:57
in this famous line from "Romeo and Juliet:"
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于《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中有这样的名句—
01:59
Juliet is the sun.
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朱丽叶是太阳。
02:02
Now, here, Shakespeare gives the thing, Juliet,
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在这里莎士比亚赋予朱丽叶
02:06
a name that belongs to something else, the sun.
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一个属于其它事物的名称,太阳。
02:11
But whenever we give a thing a name that belongs to something else,
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但是当我们赋予A事物以B事物的名称时,
02:14
we give it a whole network of analogies too.
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我们也赋予它一整套的类比。
02:17
We mix and match what we know about the metaphor's source,
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我们把对喻体的认知,
02:20
in this case the sun,
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此处是太阳,
02:22
with what we know about its target, Juliet.
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与对本体的认知-- 朱丽叶联系在一起,
02:25
And metaphor gives us a much more vivid understanding of Juliet
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这样的暗喻可使我们更生动地理解朱丽叶,
02:28
than if Shakespeare had literally described what she looks like.
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强过莎士比亚忠实地描述她的相貌。
02:33
So, how do we make and understand metaphors?
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那我们如何运用和理解暗喻呢?
02:35
This might look familiar.
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大家对此并不陌生。
02:37
The first step is pattern recognition.
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第一步就是模式识别。
02:39
Look at this image. What do you see?
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请看这张图。你看到了什么?
02:42
Three wayward Pac-Men,
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其实只有三个在外沿的吃豆人(Pac Man),
02:44
and three pointy brackets are actually present.
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和三个尖角括号而已。
02:47
What we see, however,
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但我们实际看到的是
02:49
are two overlapping triangles.
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两个重叠的三角形。
02:51
Metaphor is not just the detection of patterns;
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暗喻不仅仅是模式辨识,
02:54
it is the creation of patterns.
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也是模式创造。
02:56
Second step, conceptual synesthesia.
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第二步,概念联觉。
02:59
Now, synesthesia is the experience of a stimulus in once sense organ
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联觉是指一种感官受到的刺激引起
03:04
in another sense organ as well,
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另一种感官的感受,
03:06
such as colored hearing.
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例如色彩听觉。
03:08
People with colored hearing
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有色彩听觉的人
03:10
actually see colors when they hear the sounds
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就会在听到词语的声音时
03:13
of words or letters.
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将会看到色彩。
03:15
We all have synesthetic abilities.
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我们都拥有联觉的能力。
03:17
This is the Bouba/Kiki test.
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这是Bouba/Kiki测试。
03:20
What you have to do is identify which of these shapes
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请你说出哪个形状叫Bouba,
03:22
is called Bouba, and which is called Kiki.
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哪个叫Kiki。
03:26
(Laughter)
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(众笑)
03:27
If you are like 98 percent of other people,
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如果你象其余百分之九十八的人一样,
03:29
you will identify the round, amoeboid shape as Bouba,
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你会把这个圆圆的,变形虫形状的叫做Bouba,
03:33
and the sharp, spiky one as Kiki.
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把尖尖的,刺猬状的叫做Kiki。
03:36
Can we do a quick show of hands?
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是这样的请举手?
03:38
Does that correspond?
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是不是象我说的那样?
03:40
Okay, I think 99.9 would about cover it.
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好,我想大概99.9%是那样。
03:44
Why do we do that?
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这是为什么?
03:46
Because we instinctively find, or create,
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因为我们本能地去找寻,或者创造
03:50
a pattern between the round shape
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一个模式,把圆的图形与
03:52
and the round sound of Bouba,
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Bouba这个圆的声音联系起来。
03:55
and the spiky shape and the spiky sound of Kiki.
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对尖的图形和尖的声音Kiki 也是如此。
04:00
And many of the metaphors we use everyday are synesthetic.
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我们日常生活中的暗喻多是联觉性的:
04:04
Silence is sweet.
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沉默是甜的(抑或沉默是金)。
04:06
Neckties are loud.
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领结是花骚的。
04:08
Sexually attractive people are hot.
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性感的人是火辣的。
04:11
Sexually unattractive people leave us cold.
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而不性感的人让我们觉得冷冰冰的。
04:14
Metaphor creates a kind of conceptual synesthesia,
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暗喻构筑了一个概念联觉的空间,
04:17
in which we understand one concept
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我们在其中用一种概念的情境
04:19
in the context of another.
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来理解另一种概念。
04:22
Third step is cognitive dissonance.
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第三步是认知失调。
04:24
This is the Stroop test.
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这是Stroop测试,
04:26
What you need to do here is identify
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请你尽快指出
04:28
as quickly as possible
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构成这些词的字母
04:30
the color of the ink in which these words are printed.
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在图片中实际的颜色。
04:33
You can take the test now.
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就从现在开始。
04:37
If you're like most people, you will experience
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如果你和大多数人一样,
04:39
a moment of cognitive dissonance
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颜色的名称
04:41
when the name of the color
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和图片中实际的颜色不符
04:44
is printed in a differently colored ink.
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会使你暂时地认知失调。
04:46
The test shows that we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words
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这个测试表明我们无法忽视这些词的字面意义,
04:49
even when the literal meaning gives the wrong answer.
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尽管字面意义上的答案是错误的。
04:52
Stroop tests have been done with metaphor as well.
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Stroop 测试也曾被用于暗喻上,
04:54
The participants had to identify, as quickly as possible,
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受试者需要尽快地辨识
04:58
the literally false sentences.
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那些字面上错误的句子,其中包括暗喻。
05:00
They took longer to reject metaphors as false
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他们要花更长的时间才能把包含暗喻的句子
05:03
than they did to reject literally false sentences.
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从中挑出来。
05:06
Why? Because we cannot ignore
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这是为什么?因为我们
05:09
the metaphorical meaning of words either.
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同样也不能忽视这些词暗喻的意义。
05:12
One of the sentences was, "Some jobs are jails."
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其中一句话是:“有些工作是监狱”
05:15
Now, unless you're a prison guard,
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当然,除非你是监狱看守,
05:18
the sentence "Some jobs are jails" is literally false.
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“有些工作是监狱”这句话字面上是错的。
05:21
Sadly, it's metaphorically true.
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不幸却在暗喻上是对的
05:24
And the metaphorical truth interferes with our ability
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而暗喻上的真实干扰了我们的辨识能力,
05:27
to identify it as literally false.
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以至于难于区分字面上的真假。
05:29
Metaphor matters because
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暗喻很重要,
05:31
it's around us every day, all the time.
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因它随时随地,无处不在。
05:34
Metaphor matters because it creates expectations.
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暗喻很重要,因它带来期待
05:37
Pay careful attention the next time you read the financial news.
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下次你看财经新闻可要注意,
05:41
Agent metaphors describe price movements
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拟人化的暗喻用来描述价格运动,
05:43
as the deliberate action of a living thing,
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就像是有人有意那么做。
05:45
as in, "The NASDAQ climbed higher."
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比如:“NASDAQ指数攀至新高”
05:49
Object metaphors describe price movements
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拟物化的暗喻用物体来描述
05:52
as non-living things,
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价格运动,
05:54
as in, "The Dow fell like a brick."
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比如:'道琼斯指数象砖头一样下跌。'
05:57
Researchers asked a group of people
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研究人员请一群人
05:59
to read a clutch of market commentaries,
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在读了一些股评之后
06:01
and then predict the next day's price trend.
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来预测第二天的股价走势。
06:04
Those exposed to agent metaphors
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那些读过拟人化暗喻的人
06:06
had higher expectations that price trends would continue.
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更多地期待股价走势会持续。
06:09
And they had those expectations because
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而他们这样期待是由于
06:11
agent metaphors imply the deliberate action
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拟人化的隐喻暗示了有人在刻意
06:14
of a living thing pursuing a goal.
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追逐一个目标。
06:17
If, for example, house prices
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如果房价总是
06:19
are routinely described as climbing and climbing,
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被说成是不断攀升,
06:22
higher and higher, people might naturally assume
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越走越高,人们自然会以为
06:24
that that rise is unstoppable.
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房价上升势不可挡。
06:26
They may feel confident, say,
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他们会感觉良好,
06:28
in taking out mortgages they really can't afford.
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以至于背负超过支付能力的按揭。
06:31
That's a hypothetical example of course.
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当然这只是个虚构的例子。
06:34
But this is how metaphor misleads.
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但是暗喻确实会这样误导人。
06:38
Metaphor also matters because it influences decisions
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暗喻很重要,因为它通过激活类比机制
06:41
by activating analogies.
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来影响决策。
06:44
A group of students was told that a small democratic country
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在一项研究中,一群学生被告知某个民主小国
06:46
had been invaded and had asked the U.S. for help.
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在遭到侵略后向美国寻求援助。
06:49
And they had to make a decision.
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学生们必须决定怎么办。
06:51
What should they do?
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他们该怎么做呢?
06:53
Intervene, appeal to the U.N., or do nothing?
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干预,向联合国申诉,还是袖手旁观?
06:56
They were each then given one of three
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这个假想的危机有三种不同的解释,
06:58
descriptions of this hypothetical crisis.
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他们每人听到其中的一种。
07:00
Each of which was designed to trigger
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每个解释意在引起
07:03
a different historical analogy:
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对不同历史事件的类比:
07:05
World War II, Vietnam,
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二战,越战,
07:07
and the third was historically neutral.
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或者一个中性的事件。
07:10
Those exposed to the World War II scenario
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听到二战类比的学生比其他学生
07:12
made more interventionist recommendations
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更多地建议美国干预
07:14
than the others.
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这场危机。
07:16
Just as we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words,
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正如我们不能忽视词语的字面意义,
07:19
we cannot ignore the analogies
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我们也无法忽视由暗喻
07:21
that are triggered by metaphor.
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促发的类比。
07:25
Metaphor matters because it opens the door to discovery.
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暗喻很重要,因为它开启了发现的大门。
07:28
Whenever we solve a problem, or make a discovery,
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每当我们要解决问题,或做新的探索时,
07:31
we compare what we know with what we don't know.
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我们就把已知和未知进行比较。
07:34
And the only way to find out about the latter
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而我们发现未知的唯一途径
07:36
is to investigate the ways it might be like the former.
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就是探讨未知和已知有何相似性。
07:40
Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play.
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爱因斯坦曾把他的科学方法描述为组合的游戏。
07:44
He famously used thought experiments,
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他在其有名的思想实验中,
07:46
which are essentially elaborate analogies,
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实质上就是复杂的类比中,
07:49
to come up with some of his greatest discoveries.
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成就了一些最伟大的科学发现。
07:52
By bringing together what we know
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当我们用类比把已知
07:54
and what we don't know through analogy,
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和未知联系在一起时,
07:56
metaphorical thinking strikes the spark
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暗喻的思维就会点燃
07:58
that ignites discovery.
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发现的火花。
08:02
Now metaphor is ubiquitous, yet it's hidden.
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暗喻虽然无处不在,却是隐藏身形。
08:06
But you just have to look at the words around you
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而你只要注意周围的用词
08:09
and you'll find it.
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就可以找到它。
08:11
Ralph Waldo Emerson described language
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诗人艾默生曾将语言
08:13
as "fossil poetry."
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描述为“化石般的诗”。
08:15
But before it was fossil poetry
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但是在它成为化石般的诗之前,
08:17
language was fossil metaphor.
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语言是化石般的暗喻。
08:20
And these fossils still breathe.
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而这些化石现在仍具有生气。
08:23
Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy:
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就拿在西方哲学中最有名的三个词来说:
08:28
"Cogito ergo sum."
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"Cogito ergo sum."
08:30
That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am."
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通常被翻译为“我思故我在。”
08:34
But there is a better translation.
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但是有一种更好的译法。
08:36
The Latin word "cogito"
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这里拉丁文"cogito"
08:38
is derived from the prefix "co," meaning "together,"
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是从前缀"co"而来,意思是"在一起"
08:41
and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake."
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而动词"agitare"是“摇动” 的意思
08:44
So, the original meaning of "cogito"
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所以"cogito"的原意是
08:47
is to shake together.
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一起摇动。
08:49
And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum"
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而"cogito ergo sum"的适切的翻译
08:52
is "I shake things up, therefore I am."
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是"我摇动事物, 故我在."
08:56
(Laughter)
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(众笑)
08:58
Metaphor shakes things up,
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暗喻摇动事物,
09:00
giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process.
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它带给我们从莎士比亚到科学发现的各样事情。
09:05
The mind is a plastic snow dome,
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我们的思想是一个圣诞节的雪花球,
09:08
the most beautiful, most interesting,
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它最美丽、最有趣,
09:10
and most itself, when, as Elvis put it,
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也最本色的时候,就是它被使劲摇动的时候,
09:13
it's all shook up.
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象埃尔维斯所说的一样。
09:15
And metaphor keeps the mind shaking,
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暗喻让我们的思想不住的摇动,
09:17
rattling and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building.
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叮当作响,滚动不已,尽管埃尔维斯早已离开。
09:20
Thank you very much.
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谢谢各位。
09:22
(Applause)
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(掌声)
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