Can we create new senses for humans? | David Eagleman

翻译人员: Min WANG 校对人员: Huazhe Xie

We are built out of very small stuff,

我们由极其微小的物质构成，

and we are embedded in a very large cosmos,

又生存在无限大的宇宙当中，

and the fact is that we are not very good at understanding reality

然而实际上，无论从这两者中的 哪一个尺度我们都无法

at either of those scales,

很好地理解这个世界，

and that's because our brains

这是因为我们的大脑

haven't evolved to understand the world at that scale.

还没有进化到能从那样的尺度 感知世界的程度。

Instead, we're trapped on this very thin slice of perception

反之，我们的视角被局限在了 这两者中间，

right in the middle.

一块非常狭窄的范围内。

But it gets strange, because even at that slice of reality that we call home,

奇怪的是，即便我们对眼前的一切 再熟悉不过，

we're not seeing most of the action that's going on.

其中绝大部分信息仍然 对我们是不可见的。

So take the colors of our world.

看看现实中的色彩吧。

This is light waves, electromagnetic radiation that bounces off objects

它们都是从物体反射的 光波和电磁辐射，

and it hits specialized receptors in the back of our eyes.

由我们眼球后部特定的感受器接收。

But we're not seeing all the waves out there.

但是我们看不到全部的波。

In fact, what we see

事实上，我们能看到的波

is less than a 10 trillionth of what's out there.

还不到全部的十万亿分之一。

So you have radio waves and microwaves

如果无线电波、微波

and X-rays and gamma rays passing through your body right now

还有X射线和伽玛射线正穿过你的身体，

and you're completely unaware of it,

你是完全意识不到它们的存在的。

because you don't come with the proper biological receptors

因为人类没有进化出 可以感知这些波的

for picking it up.

生物感受器。

There are thousands of cell phone conversations

此时此刻，正有成千上万个手机信号，

passing through you right now,

在你身边穿梭。

and you're utterly blind to it.

然而你完全毫无察觉。

Now, it's not that these things are inherently unseeable.

这些波并不是本身就不可见的。

Snakes include some infrared in their reality,

蛇可以看到红外线，

and honeybees include ultraviolet in their view of the world,

蜜蜂可以看到紫外线，

and of course we build machines in the dashboards of our cars

我们也当然能在汽车的 仪表盘内设立装置

to pick up on signals in the radio frequency range,

来接收无线电信号收听广播，

and we built machines in hospitals to pick up on the X-ray range.

医院里也有专门的X射线设备。

But you can't sense any of those by yourself,

但是只凭人类自身的感官 是绝对感知不到这些波的，

at least not yet,

至少目前不能。

because you don't come equipped with the proper sensors.

因为你的身体天生就 没有配备这种传感器。

Now, what this means is that our experience of reality

这意味着我们对现实的感知能力

is constrained by our biology,

被我们的生物特性束缚着。

and that goes against the common sense notion

我们的眼睛、耳朵还有指尖

that our eyes and our ears and our fingertips

若能感知所有客观存在的现实，

are just picking up the objective reality that's out there.

就违背常识了。

Instead, our brains are sampling just a little bit of the world.

相反的，我们的大脑只对 现实世界的一小部分“浅尝辄止”。

Now, across the animal kingdom,

在整个动物王国，

different animals pick up on different parts of reality.

不同类的动物感知着不一样的现实。

So in the blind and deaf world of the tick,

对于又瞎又聋的壁虱来说，

the important signals are temperature and butyric acid;

温度和丁酸是重要的信息来源；

in the world of the black ghost knifefish,

黑魔鬼刀鱼的世界，

its sensory world is lavishly colored by electrical fields;

则被电场施以丰富的颜色；

and for the echolocating bat,

回声定位蝙蝠的世界，

its reality is constructed out of air compression waves.

则是由空气压缩波组成的。

That's the slice of their ecosystem that they can pick up on,

对于他们所熟悉的生态系统的组成，

and we have a word for this in science.

有一个专门的科学名词来定义，

It's called the umwelt,

名叫“环境”（umwelt），

which is the German word for the surrounding world.

这是一个德语词，意为我们周围的世界。

Now, presumably, every animal assumes

也许每一种动物都假设，

that its umwelt is the entire objective reality out there,

它的“环境”就是整个客观现实，

because why would you ever stop to imagine

因为很难想象，

在我们能感受到的对象之外 还有其他存在。

that there's something beyond what we can sense.

Instead, what we all do is we accept reality

事实上，我们只接受

as it's presented to us.

现实呈现给我们的信息。

Let's do a consciousness-raiser on this.

让我们一起来提高这方面的意识。

Imagine that you are a bloodhound dog.

设想你是一只侦查犬。

Your whole world is about smelling.

你的全部世界就是闻气味。

You've got a long snout that has 200 million scent receptors in it,

你的长鼻子拥有2亿个气味接受器，

and you have wet nostrils that attract and trap scent molecules,

你的湿鼻孔可以捕捉气味分子，

and your nostrils even have slits so you can take big nosefuls of air.

你的鼻孔甚至有狭缝， 这样你就可以大口的嗅空气。

Everything is about smell for you.

对你来说，一切东西都是气味。

So one day, you stop in your tracks with a revelation.

某天，你停在路上，若有所思，

You look at your human owner and you think,

你看着你的人类主人，并想到，

"What is it like to have the pitiful, impoverished nose of a human?

“拥有一只可怜的，几乎没什么用的 人类鼻子会是怎样的情景？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What is it like when you take a feeble little noseful of air?

只能微弱地嗅着空气， 会是怎样的感觉？

How can you not know that there's a cat 100 yards away,

你怎么能不知道100码之外有只猫，

or that your neighbor was on this very spot six hours ago?"

或者你的邻居6小时前也在这个地方？“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So because we're humans,

因为我们是人类，

we've never experienced that world of smell,

我们从未感知过那个嗅觉世界，

so we don't miss it,

所以我们不会怀念它，

because we are firmly settled into our umwelt.

因为我们坚定地生活在我们的”环境“中。

But the question is, do we have to be stuck there?

但问题是，我们必须困在这个"环境"中吗？

So as a neuroscientist, I'm interested in the way that technology

作为一个神经学家，我对通过技术手段

might expand our umwelt,

拓宽我们的"环境"，

and how that's going to change the experience of being human.

以及如何改变我们人类的体验， 非常感兴趣。

So we already know that we can marry our technology to our biology,

我们已经知道我们可以把 技术和生物学相结合，

because there are hundreds of thousands of people walking around

因为已经有成千上万的人

with artificial hearing and artificial vision.

通过人造助听助视生活。

So the way this works is, you take a microphone and you digitize the signal,

它们的工作原理就是， 拿一个话筒，将信号数字化，

and you put an electrode strip directly into the inner ear.

把电极条放入内耳。

Or, with the retinal implant, you take a camera

或者，通过视网膜植入，拿一个相机，

and you digitize the signal, and then you plug an electrode grid

将信号数字化，然后把电极网格

directly into the optic nerve.

直接插入视神经。

And as recently as 15 years ago,

仅仅在在15年前，

there were a lot of scientists who thought these technologies wouldn't work.

许多科学家都还认为这些技术不会成功。

Why? It's because these technologies speak the language of Silicon Valley,

为什么？因为这些技术带有硅谷的风格，

and it's not exactly the same dialect as our natural biological sense organs.

与自然生物感官的原理并不完全一样。

But the fact is that it works;

但事实是它成功了；

the brain figures out how to use the signals just fine.

大脑知道怎么恰到好处的 处理这些信号。

Now, how do we understand that?

那么我们怎么理解它呢？

Well, here's the big secret:

这是其中的秘密：

Your brain is not hearing or seeing any of this.

你的大脑并没有听或者看到任何东西。

Your brain is locked in a vault of silence and darkness inside your skull.

你的大脑被封闭在无声黑暗的脑壳中。

All it ever sees are electrochemical signals

它看到的一切都是电化学信号，

that come in along different data cables,

这些信号来自不同的数据连线，

and this is all it has to work with, and nothing more.

这就是大脑要处理的全部东西， 除此之外并无其他。

Now, amazingly,

不可思议的是，

the brain is really good at taking in these signals

大脑很擅长于接受这些信号，

and extracting patterns and assigning meaning,

提取模式，赋予含义，

so that it takes this inner cosmos and puts together a story

于是它形成了这种 内部环境来整合信息，

of this, your subjective world.

并组成了你的主观世界。

But here's the key point:

但关键在于：

Your brain doesn't know, and it doesn't care,

你的大脑不知道，而且它也不在乎，

where it gets the data from.

它是从哪里得到的信息。

Whatever information comes in, it just figures out what to do with it.

不管什么信息进入大脑， 它都会做相应的处理。

And this is a very efficient kind of machine.

这是个非常有效的机器。

It's essentially a general purpose computing device,

它本质上就是个普通的计算工具，

and it just takes in everything

它只是接受一切信息，

and figures out what it's going to do with it,

然后做相应的处理，

and that, I think, frees up Mother Nature

我认为那使得大自然母亲得以解放，

to tinker around with different sorts of input channels.

而不用修补不同的输入渠道。

So I call this the P.H. model of evolution,

我称之为“P.H. 进化模型“，

and I don't want to get too technical here,

这里我不想涉及太技术的层面，

but P.H. stands for Potato Head,

但是P.H. 代表薯头，

and I use this name to emphasize that all these sensors

我使用这个名称来强调所有

that we know and love, like our eyes and our ears and our fingertips,

我们知道的以及热爱的传感器， 像我们的眼睛，耳朵，以及指尖，

these are merely peripheral plug-and-play devices:

而这些仅仅是外围的 即插即用的设备：

You stick them in, and you're good to go.

插上它们，即可使用。

The brain figures out what to do with the data that comes in.

由大脑来处理所有输入的数据。

And when you look across the animal kingdom,

当你浏览动物王国，

you find lots of peripheral devices.

你会发现很多外围设备。

So snakes have heat pits with which to detect infrared,

比如蛇的面部拥有能 探测红外线的感热小坑，

and the ghost knifefish has electroreceptors,

魔鬼刀鱼有电接收器，

and the star-nosed mole has this appendage

星鼻鼹鼠拥有

with 22 fingers on it

带有22个指头的附器，

with which it feels around and constructs a 3D model of the world,

让它能感受周边环境并 构建出三维世界，

and many birds have magnetite so they can orient

许多鸟类拥有磁感应的本领， 所以它们能够

to the magnetic field of the planet.

通过地球的磁场确定方向。

So what this means is that nature doesn't have to continually

因此这意味着大自然不必继续

redesign the brain.

重新设计大脑。

Instead, with the principles of brain operation established,

相反，随着大脑工作原理的建立，

all nature has to worry about is designing new peripherals.

大自然只需要设计新的外围设备。

Okay. So what this means is this:

好的。那么这意味着：

The lesson that surfaces

有个显而易见的结论，

is that there's nothing really special or fundamental

就是关于我们讨论的生物学

about the biology that we come to the table with.

并没有涉及任何特殊或者基本的东西。

It's just what we have inherited

这一切仅仅是我们

from a complex road of evolution.

从复杂进化旅程中继承的。

But it's not what we have to stick with,

但是我们并非只能永远维持现状，

and our best proof of principle of this

我们最好的佐证原理

comes from what's called sensory substitution.

来自我们所谓的感官替代。

And that refers to feeding information into the brain

指通过特殊的感官渠道，

via unusual sensory channels,

给大脑提供信息，

and the brain just figures out what to do with it.

大脑就会自动做相应的处理。

Now, that might sound speculative,

这听上去很抽象，

but the first paper demonstrating this was published in the journal Nature in 1969.

但是第一篇阐述上述原理的文章 发表在1969年的《自然》杂志。

So a scientist named Paul Bach-y-Rita

一个叫做Paul Bach-y-Rita的科学家

put blind people in a modified dental chair,

把盲人置于一个改装过的 牙科手术椅上，

and he set up a video feed,

并搭建了一个录像装置，

and he put something in front of the camera,

他在摄像机前放某个东西，

and then you would feel that

并在你背部垫上一个螺线管的网格，

poked into your back with a grid of solenoids.

这样你就可以感受到那个东西。

So if you wiggle a coffee cup in front of the camera,

比如，如果你在相机前摆动一个咖啡杯，

you're feeling that in your back,

就会通过背部感受到它，

and amazingly, blind people got pretty good

而且令人惊讶的是，盲人很擅长于

at being able to determine what was in front of the camera

仅仅通过背部的一小块的感受

just by feeling it in the small of their back.

来确定相机前的东西。

Now, there have been many modern incarnations of this.

如今，已经有许多基于上述原理的 现代的实例。

The sonic glasses take a video feed right in front of you

声波眼镜在你面前录像，

and turn that into a sonic landscape,

并将录像变成声波地形，

so as things move around, and get closer and farther,

当物体靠近，远离，

it sounds like "Bzz, bzz, bzz."

听上去就像“嗞嗞嗞”的声音。

It sounds like a cacophony,

虽然听上去很刺耳，

but after several weeks, blind people start getting pretty good

但是几周之后， 盲人就开始很好地习惯

at understanding what's in front of them

通过听觉信号，

just based on what they're hearing.

来理解在他面前的事物。

And it doesn't have to be through the ears:

而且不必通过耳朵：

this system uses an electrotactile grid on the forehead,

这个系统使用前额的电触网格，

so whatever's in front of the video feed, you're feeling it on your forehead.

所以不管面前的录像是什么内容， 你都可以通过前额感应到。

Why the forehead? Because you're not using it for much else.

为什么用前额？ 因为它平时基本没什么用处。

The most modern incarnation is called the brainport,

最现代的例子是“brainport"视觉系统,

and this is a little electrogrid that sits on your tongue,

这是一个小的安置在舌头上的电网格，

and the video feed gets turned into these little electrotactile signals,

视频源转变成小的电触信号，

and blind people get so good at using this that they can throw a ball into a basket,

盲人很擅长使用这个装置， 他们甚至能投篮，

or they can navigate complex obstacle courses.

或者通过的复杂障碍流程。

They can come to see through their tongue.

他们通过舌头就可以看见东西。

Now, that sounds completely insane, right?

那听上去完全是荒谬的，对吧？

But remember, all vision ever is

但是记住，所有看见的东西都是

is electrochemical signals coursing around in your brain.

流过大脑的电化学信号。

Your brain doesn't know where the signals come from.

你的大脑不知道信号来自哪里。

It just figures out what to do with them.

它只负责做相应的处理。

So my interest in my lab is sensory substitution for the deaf,

所以我的实验室的研究方向是 为听障人士寻找感官替代，

and this is a project I've undertaken

这是我和我的一个研究生

with a graduate student in my lab, Scott Novich,

Scott Novich负责的一个项目，

who is spearheading this for his thesis.

这也是他毕业论文的主攻方向。

And here is what we wanted to do:

我们是这么计划的：

we wanted to make it so that sound from the world gets converted

我们想要让来自外界的声音转变成

in some way so that a deaf person can understand what is being said.

某种听障人士能够理解的信息。

And we wanted to do this, given the power and ubiquity of portable computing,

考虑到移动设备的强大和普遍性， 我们决定这么做，

we wanted to make sure that this would run on cell phones and tablets,

我们想要确定这项技术可以在 手机和平板电脑上运行，

and also we wanted to make this a wearable,

我们还想把它设计成可穿戴设备，

something that you could wear under your clothing.

可以穿戴在衣服里面。

So here's the concept.

给大家展示一下工作原理。

So as I'm speaking, my sound is getting captured by the tablet,

当我讲话时， 我的声音被平板电脑捕捉，

and then it's getting mapped onto a vest that's covered in vibratory motors,

然后映射到带有震动马达的背心，

just like the motors in your cell phone.

就像你手机里的驱动装置。

So as I'm speaking,

当我讲话时，

the sound is getting translated to a pattern of vibration on the vest.

声音会转变为背心上的一种震动模式。

Now, this is not just conceptual:

这已经不仅仅是概念了：

this tablet is transmitting Bluetooth, and I'm wearing the vest right now.

这个平板电脑正在发射蓝牙信号， 而且我正穿着这样的背心。

So as I'm speaking -- (Applause) --

所以当我讲话时--（掌声）--

the sound is getting translated into dynamic patterns of vibration.

声音就会被实时转变成 震动模式。

I'm feeling the sonic world around me.

我正在感受周围的声波世界。

So, we've been testing this with deaf people now,

现在我们正在听障人士身上进行测试，

and it turns out that after just a little bit of time,

结果表明，经过很短的时间，

people can start feeling, they can start understanding

人们就开始感觉到 他们能够开始理解

the language of the vest.

背心的语言了。

So this is Jonathan. He's 37 years old. He has a master's degree.

这是Jonathan。 他37岁，拥有硕士学位。

He was born profoundly deaf,

他生来就严重失聪，

which means that there's a part of his umwelt that's unavailable to him.

这意味着他无法感受一部分“环境”。

So we had Jonathan train with the vest for four days, two hours a day,

我们让Jonathan穿着 这个背心训练了4天，每天2小时，

and here he is on the fifth day.

这是第五天。

Scott Novich: You.

Scott Novich：“你”。

David Eagleman: So Scott says a word, Jonathan feels it on the vest,

David Eagleman：Scott说了一个单词， Jonathan通过背心感受到了，

并把这个词写在了白板上。

and he writes it on the board.

SN: Where. Where.

SN：“哪里”。“哪里”。

DE: Jonathan is able to translate this complicated pattern of vibrations

DE：Jonathan能够把这种复杂的震动模式，

into an understanding of what's being said.

翻译成他自己的理解。

SN: Touch. Touch.

SN：“触摸”。“触摸”。

DE: Now, he's not doing this --

DE：他并没有——

(Applause) --

（掌声）--

Jonathan is not doing this consciously, because the patterns are too complicated,

Jonathan并没有刻意地去猜， 因为这个模式太复杂，

but his brain is starting to unlock the pattern that allows it to figure out

但是他的大脑正在解锁这个模式， 试图来理解

what the data mean,

这些数据的意义，

and our expectation is that, after wearing this for about three months,

我们的期望是， 他能在穿这个背心约三个月后，

he will have a direct perceptual experience of hearing

有一个直接的听觉感受经验，

in the same way that when a blind person passes a finger over braille,

就像盲人用手指阅读盲文那样，

the meaning comes directly off the page without any conscious intervention at all.

文字的意义直接来自纸上， 不需要任何有意识的干预。

Now, this technology has the potential to be a game-changer,

这项技术拥有改变游戏规则的潜力，

because the only other solution for deafness is a cochlear implant,

因为唯一其他的帮助听障人士的方法 就是耳蜗植入，

and that requires an invasive surgery.

而那需要进行侵害性的手术。

And this can be built for 40 times cheaper than a cochlear implant,

而这项技术比耳蜗植入便宜40倍，

which opens up this technology globally, even for the poorest countries.

它打开了全球技术市场， 甚至包括贫困国家。

Now, we've been very encouraged by our results with sensory substitution,

现在我们受到了感官替代 实验结果的极大鼓舞，

but what we've been thinking a lot about is sensory addition.

但是我们一直在思考的是感官附加。

How could we use a technology like this to add a completely new kind of sense,

我们如何使用这样的技术来 增加一种全新的感官，

to expand the human umvelt?

来拓展人类的“环境”？

For example, could we feed real-time data from the Internet

例如，我们可以从网上得到实时数据，

directly into somebody's brain,

直接反馈给大脑，

and can they develop a direct perceptual experience?

这些信息可以产生直接的 感知体验吗？

So here's an experiment we're doing in the lab.

这是我们实验室正在做的一个实验。

A subject is feeling a real-time streaming feed from the Net of data

一名实验对象正在感受 数据网实时的信息流，

for five seconds.

这种信息流会持续5秒。

Then, two buttons appear, and he has to make a choice.

然后屏幕上会出现两个按钮， 他必须选择一个。

He doesn't know what's going on.

他并不知道发生了什么。

He makes a choice, and he gets feedback after one second.

他做出一个选择， 一秒后得到反馈。

Now, here's the thing:

是这样的：

实验对象并不知道所有模式的意义，

The subject has no idea what all the patterns mean,

but we're seeing if he gets better at figuring out which button to press.

但是我们想要看看， 他是否能搞清楚应该按哪个按钮。

He doesn't know that what we're feeding

他不知道我们提供的信息

is real-time data from the stock market,

是来自股市的实时数据，

and he's making buy and sell decisions.

他要做的是买入和卖出的决策。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And the feedback is telling him whether he did the right thing or not.

反馈会告诉他他的决定是否正确。

And what we're seeing is, can we expand the human umvelt

我们在观察的是， 我们是否能拓宽人类的“环境”，

so that he comes to have, after several weeks,

以便他在几周之后能有

a direct perceptual experience of the economic movements of the planet.

一个直接的关于全球经济活动的感知体验。

So we'll report on that later to see how well this goes.

我们稍后会报导这个实验的进展。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Here's another thing we're doing:

下面是我们做的另一个实验：

During the talks this morning, we've been automatically scraping Twitter

在今早的演讲中，我们一直在自动的刷取

for the TED2015 hashtag,

TED2015主题标签的推特，

and we've been doing an automated sentiment analysis,

一直在做自动的情绪分析，

which means, are people using positive words or negative words or neutral?

也就是：人们是用正面，负面还是中性的词 （来表达他们的感想）？

And while this has been going on,

实验进行过程中，

I have been feeling this,

我就能感受到，

and so I am plugged in to the aggregate emotion

这意味着我与数千人的实时情绪

of thousands of people in real time,

汇总信息进行了对接，

and that's a new kind of human experience, because now I can know

那是一种全新的人类体验， 因为我能知道

how everyone's doing and how much you're loving this.

每个人心情如何， 以及你们多么喜欢这个演讲。

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑声）（掌声）

It's a bigger experience than a human can normally have.

这比人类能够正常体验的 范围要大的多。

We're also expanding the umvelt of pilots.

我们也在拓宽飞行员的“环境”。

So in this case, the vest is streaming nine different measures

在这个实例中， 背心可以分流来自这个直升机的

from this quadcopter,

九种不同的测试方式，

so pitch and yaw and roll and orientation and heading,

倾斜，偏航，起伏，定向，前进，

and that improves this pilot's ability to fly it.

这提高了飞行员的飞行能力。

It's essentially like he's extending his skin up there, far away.

就好像把他的皮肤延伸到了 很远的地方。

And that's just the beginning.

而这仅仅是开头。

What we're envisioning is taking a modern cockpit full of gauges

我们预想的是驾驶一个 遍布仪表的现代驾驶舱，

and instead of trying to read the whole thing, you feel it.

不用去目测那些数据，而是直接感受它。

We live in a world of information now,

我们生活在一个信息化的世界，

and there is a difference between accessing big data

获得大数据和感受它

and experiencing it.

是截然不同的。

So I think there's really no end to the possibilities

所以我认为拓宽人类的感官

on the horizon for human expansion.

拥有无尽的可能。

Just imagine an astronaut being able to feel

设想一个宇航员可以感受

the overall health of the International Space Station,

整个国际空间站的健康状况，

or, for that matter, having you feel the invisible states of your own health,

或者，你可以直接感受 本不可见的健康状况，

like your blood sugar and the state of your microbiome,

如你的血糖，微生物状态，

or having 360-degree vision or seeing in infrared or ultraviolet.

或者拥有360度视角， 或者能看见红外或紫外线。

So the key is this: As we move into the future,

所以关键点是： 在我们步入未来的过程中，

we're going to increasingly be able to choose our own peripheral devices.

我们逐渐能够选择自己的外围设备。

We no longer have to wait for Mother Nature's sensory gifts

我们不必等待大自然母亲 按照她自己的时间尺度和节奏来

on her timescales,

赐予我们感官的礼物。

but instead, like any good parent, she's given us the tools that we need

相反，就像任何称职的家长， 她已经给了我们需要的工具，

to go out and define our own trajectory.

让我们能够走出来 定义自己的人生轨迹。

So the question now is,

所以现在的问题是，

how do you want to go out and experience your universe?

你想要如何走出来，感受你的宇宙？

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Chris Anderson: Can you feel it? DE: Yeah.

Chris Anderson：你能感受到吗？ DE：当然。

Actually, this was the first time I felt applause on the vest.

说实话，这是我第一次 通过背心感受掌声。

It's nice. It's like a massage. (Laughter)

太棒了。就像按摩。（笑声）

CA: Twitter's going crazy. Twitter's going mad.

CA：推特网友太疯狂了。

So that stock market experiment.

说一下那个股市的实验。

This could be the first experiment that secures its funding forevermore,

这可能是第一个能确保被 永久资助的实验，

right, if successful?

对吗，如果能成功的话？

DE: Well, that's right, I wouldn't have to write to NIH anymore.

DE：对的，我不必再向NIH （美国国家卫生研究院）申请经费了。

CA: Well look, just to be skeptical for a minute,

CA：我还是有些疑惑，

I mean, this is amazing, but isn't most of the evidence so far

这的确很棒， 不过目前大部分实验证据是不是都表明

that sensory substitution works,

虽然感官替代能起作用，

not necessarily that sensory addition works?

却不一定代表感官附加能起作用？

I mean, isn't it possible that the blind person can see through their tongue

我的意思是，盲人能通过舌头看东西， 是不是可能

because the visual cortex is still there, ready to process,

因为视皮质还在那里， 时刻准备处理信息，

and that that is needed as part of it?

而且那就是其中必要的一部分？

DE: That's a great question. We actually have no idea

DE：这问题很好。 实际上我们也不知道

what the theoretical limits are of what kind of data the brain can take in.

什么样的数据大脑才能吸收， 关于这个的理论局限是什么。

The general story, though, is that it's extraordinarily flexible.

然而，总体上可以认为大脑非常灵活。

So when a person goes blind, what we used to call their visual cortex

所以当一个人变盲之后， 唤醒视皮质的任务

gets taken over by other things, by touch, by hearing, by vocabulary.

会被其他东西接管， 如触觉，听觉，词汇。

So what that tells us is that the cortex is kind of a one-trick pony.

这告诉我们皮质就像 只会一种把戏的小马驹。

It just runs certain kinds of computations on things.

它只是按某几种特定的计算方式运行。

And when we look around at things like braille, for example,

例如，当我们看盲文的时候，

people are getting information through bumps on their fingers.

人们通过指尖下的凹凸获得信息。

So I don't think we have any reason to think there's a theoretical limit

因此，我不认为我们有任何理由 要相信我们的认知边缘

that we know the edge of.

存在一个理论上的限制。

CA: If this checks out, you're going to be deluged.

CA：如果这个技术实现了， 你肯定会一夜爆红。

There are so many possible applications for this.

这项技术有太多潜在的应用了。

Are you ready for this? What are you most excited about, the direction it might go?

你准备好了吗？最让你兴奋的是什么？ 是未来的方向吗？

DE: I mean, I think there's a lot of applications here.

DE：我认为这可以有许多应用。

除了我开始提到的感官替代，

In terms of beyond sensory substitution, the things I started mentioning

about astronauts on the space station, they spend a lot of their time

关于空间站的宇航员， 他们花了很多时间

monitoring things, and they could instead just get what's going on,

监测各种东西， 相反他们可以直接知道进展，

because what this is really good for is multidimensional data.

因为这有利于获得多维数据。

The key is this: Our visual systems are good at detecting blobs and edges,

关键点是：我们的视觉系统 善于探测障碍和边缘，

but they're really bad at what our world has become,

但是它们并不擅长观察我们目前的世界，

which is screens with lots and lots of data.

一个充满大量数据的屏幕的世界。

We have to crawl that with our attentional systems.

我们得用注意力系统匍匐前进。

So this is a way of just feeling the state of something,

这是感知事物状态的一种方法，

就像当你站立时你知道 自己身体状态的方法一样。

just like the way you know the state of your body as you're standing around.

So I think heavy machinery, safety, feeling the state of a factory,

所以我认为重型机械、安全机制， 了解一个工厂的状态，

of your equipment, that's one place it'll go right away.

了解你的设备的状态， 这就是这项技术即将要实现的。

CA: David Eagleman, that was one mind-blowing talk. Thank you very much.

CA：David Eagleman，这真是一个 激动人心的演讲。非常感谢。

DE: Thank you, Chris. (Applause)

DE：谢谢你，Chris。 （掌声）