George Dyson: The birth of the computer

翻译人员: dahong zhang 校对人员: Alan Yan

Last year, I told you the story, in seven minutes, of Project Orion,

去年我花了7分钟时间讲了讲“猎户座计划”，

which was this very implausible technology

确实是异想天开的技术

that technically could have worked,

技术上讲应该可行的，

but it had this one-year political window where it could have happened.

不过只有一年的政治窗口期可以上马，

So it didn't happen. It was a dream that did not happen.

所以没有上马。成了个梦想。

This year I'm going to tell you the story of the birth of digital computing.

今年我要讲的是数字计算诞生的故事。

This was a perfect introduction.

这是一个完美的介绍。

And it's a story that did work. It did happen,

说的都是实实在在发生的事情，

and the machines are all around us.

就是我们周围的计算机。

And it was a technology that was inevitable.

这项技术是历史的必然。

If the people I'm going to tell you the story about,

如果我说的这些人没有搞成，别的人也早晚会搞成。

if they hadn't done it, somebody else would have.

如果我说的这些人没有搞成，别的人也早晚会搞成。

So, it was sort of the right idea at the right time.

就是正确的时间做的正确主意。

This is Barricelli's universe. This is the universe we live in now.

这是Barricelli的世界。这是我们现在居住的世界。

It's the universe in which these machines

在这个世界中这些计算机中在做各种各样的事，包括改变生物学。

are now doing all these things, including changing biology.

在这个世界中这些计算机中在各种各样的事，包括改变生物学。

I'm starting the story with the first atomic bomb at Trinity,

我得从曼哈顿计划的首次核试验Trinity讲起，

which was the Manhattan Project. It was a little bit like TED:

有点像TED：

it brought a whole lot of very smart people together.

那个工程也集中了一群聪明的人。

And three of the smartest people were

其中三位佼佼者是：

Stan Ulam, Richard Feynman and John von Neumann.

Stanislaw Ulam（斯坦尼斯.乌拉姆），Richard Feynman（理查费曼），John von Neumann（约翰·冯·诺伊曼）

And it was Von Neumann who said, after the bomb,

搞完核弹后冯·诺伊曼说

he was working on something much more important than bombs:

他要搞一些比原子弹更重要的东西：

he's thinking about computers.

他在构思计算机。

So, he wasn't only thinking about them; he built one. This is the machine he built.

他不仅构思，他还造了一台。这就是他造的那台。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He built this machine,

他造了这台机器，

and we had a beautiful demonstration of how this thing really works,

可以很好的演示这台带比特位的机器是如何运行的，

with these little bits. And it's an idea that goes way back.

这个想法可以追溯到1651年的托马斯·霍布斯（Thomas Hobbes），他首先阐述了这个想法。

The first person to really explain that

这个想法可以追溯到1651年的托马斯·霍布斯（Thomas Hobbes），他首先阐述了这个想法。

was Thomas Hobbes, who, in 1651,

这个想法可以追溯到1651年的托马斯·霍布斯（Thomas Hobbes），他首先阐述了这个想法。

explained how arithmetic and logic are the same thing,

他阐述了算术运算和逻辑是一回事，

and if you want to do artificial thinking and artificial logic,

如果想要进行人工思维和人工逻辑，

you can do it all with arithmetic.

你可以全部用算术运算搞定。

He said you needed addition and subtraction.

他认为只需要加法和减法运算就可以了。

Leibniz, who came a little bit later -- this is 1679 --

1679年，莱布尼茨更加推进了一步

showed that you didn't even need subtraction.

证明甚至可以不用减法运算。

You could do the whole thing with addition.

只用加法运算就可以搞定一切。

Here, we have all the binary arithmetic and logic

由此我们拥有了推进计算机革命所需的二进制算术和逻辑，

that drove the computer revolution.

由此我们拥有了推进计算机革命所需的二进制算术和逻辑，

And Leibniz was the first person to really talk about building such a machine.

莱布尼茨就是提出建造计算机器的第一人。

He talked about doing it with marbles,

他提出用弹子球和控制闸门来构造机器，相当于我们现在的移位寄存器，

having gates and what we now call shift registers,

他提出用弹子球和控制闸门来构造机器，相当于我们现在的移位寄存器，

where you shift the gates, drop the marbles down the tracks.

转动闸门，小球落到轨道上。

And that's what all these machines are doing,

这就是计算机运行的原理，

except, instead of doing it with marbles,

只不过当时用弹子球，

they're doing it with electrons.

现在用电子而已。

And then we jump to Von Neumann, 1945,

我们再回到1945年，冯·诺伊曼可以说是重新发明了一个一样的东西。

when he sort of reinvents the whole same thing.

我们再回到1945年，冯·诺伊曼可以说是重新发明了一个一样的东西。

And 1945, after the war, the electronics existed

1945年战后，电子工业已经

to actually try and build such a machine.

开始试图造这样的机器。

So June 1945 -- actually, the bomb hasn't even been dropped yet --

1945年6月。原子弹还没有投放前，

and Von Neumann is putting together all the theory to actually build this thing,

冯·诺伊曼已经整理了建造计算机的所有相关理论，

which also goes back to Turing,

这也可以追溯到图灵的理论，

who, before that, gave the idea that you could do all this

图灵在此之前已经提出了一个想法，

with a very brainless, little, finite state machine,

用一个简单的有限状态机，

just reading a tape in and reading a tape out.

通过读写纸带就可以做到。

The other sort of genesis of what Von Neumann did

冯·诺伊曼的另一个天才之处在于

was the difficulty of how you would predict the weather.

解决了如何预测天气的难题。

Lewis Richardson saw how you could do this with a cellular array of people,

Lewis Richardson预见到可以利用单元阵列，

giving them each a little chunk, and putting it together.

每个人绘制一小块，然后拼到一起。

Here, we have an electrical model illustrating a mind having a will,

我们用电子模型演示有意志的思维，

but capable of only two ideas.

不过只有两个状态。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And that's really the simplest computer.

这就是一个最简单的计算机。

It's basically why you need the qubit,

这就是为什么需要需要量子位了，

because it only has two ideas.

因为那只有两个状态。

And you put lots of those together,

如果把这么多东西组合起来，

you get the essentials of the modern computer:

就可以组成现代计算机的基本部件：

the arithmetic unit, the central control, the memory,

算术单元，中央控制单元，内存，

the recording medium, the input and the output.

存储介质，输入和输出设备。

But, there's one catch. This is the fatal -- you know,

不过有个缺点。这个很要命，

we saw it in starting these programs up.

计算机的起点是编码指令。

The instructions which govern this operation

指令控制着计算机的运行，必须绝对精确。

must be given in absolutely exhaustive detail.

指令控制着计算机的运行，必须绝对精确。

So, the programming has to be perfect, or it won't work.

程序必须完美，不然就会运行出错。

If you look at the origins of this,

如果你追根溯源，

the classic history sort of takes it all back to the ENIAC here.

一般的历史都可以追溯到ENIAC计算机。

But actually, the machine I'm going to tell you about,

不过我要讲的机器(IAS机或叫MANIC)，

the Institute for Advanced Study machine, which is way up there,

大规模研究机器的研究院，虽然都是在ENIAC的基础上创造的，

really should be down there. So, I'm trying to revise history,

但是他们才是当代计算机的鼻祖。我修正一下历史，

and give some of these guys more credit than they've had.

给这些家伙更多的荣誉。

Such a computer would open up universes,

这台电脑开创了一个领域

which are, at the present, outside the range of any instruments.

超出了当时所有设备的范围，

So it opens up a whole new world, and these people saw it.

它开启了一个崭新的世界，这些人预见到了。

The guy who was supposed to build this machine

有希望造这台机器的家伙，就站在照片中间，斯福罗金（Vladimir Zworykin“电视之父”）来自美国无线电公司（RCA）。

was the guy in the middle, Vladimir Zworykin, from RCA.

有希望造这台机器的家伙，就站在照片中间，斯福罗金（Vladimir Zworykin“电视之父”）来自美国无线电公司（RCA）。

RCA, in probably one of the lousiest business decisions

RCA，做了一个有史以来最遭的商业决策，不进入计算机领域。

of all time, decided not to go into computers.

RCA，做了一个有史以来最遭的商业决策，不进入计算机领域。

But the first meetings, November 1945, were at RCA's offices.

1945年11月，RCA的办公室里召开的会议。

RCA started this whole thing off, and said, you know,

RCA启动了计划，并预测电视而不是计算机会引领未来。

televisions are the future, not computers.

RCA启动了计划，并预测电视而不是计算机会引领未来。

The essentials were all there --

运行计算机所需的基本要件都在这里了。

all the things that make these machines run.

运行计算机所需的基本要件都在这里了。

Von Neumann, and a logician, and a mathematician from the army

冯·诺伊曼与一位逻辑学家和一位来自军队的数学家整合了这些。

put this together. Then, they needed a place to build it.

他们需要一个地方造这机器。

When RCA said no, that's when they decided to build it in Princeton,

被RCA拒绝后，他们决定在普林斯顿造。

where Freeman works at the Institute.

弗里曼（他老爸）就在这个研究院工作。

That's where I grew up as a kid.

我也是从小在那里长大的。

That's me, that's my sister Esther, who's talked to you before,

这是我和我姐姐Esther，她以前和你们聊过的，

so we both go back to the birth of this thing.

我们一起追溯计算机的诞生。

That's Freeman, a long time ago,

这是弗里曼，很早以前了，

and that was me.

这是我。

And this is Von Neumann and Morgenstern,

冯·诺伊曼和奥斯卡·摩根斯坦(Oskar Morgenstern)

who wrote the "Theory of Games."

他们撰写了“博弈论”。

All these forces came together there, in Princeton.

在普林斯顿，各种力量汇集到一起。

Oppenheimer, who had built the bomb.

奥本海默（Oppenheimer）主持原子弹设计的家伙。

The machine was actually used mainly for doing bomb calculations.

这机器当初主要用于核弹相关的计算。

And Julian Bigelow, who took

比奇洛（Julian Bigelow）这家伙搞明白应该用电子器件造这种机器。

Zworkykin's place as the engineer, to actually figure out, using electronics,

比奇洛（Julian Bigelow）这家伙搞明白应该用电子器件造这种机器。

how you would build this thing. The whole gang of people who came to work on this,

这就是造机器的那群人，

and women in front, who actually did most of the coding, were the first programmers.

前排的女士们编写了大部分的代码，她们是最早的程序员。

These were the prototype geeks, the nerds.

他们就是geeks，nerds的原型。

They didn't fit in at the Institute.

他们不适合呆在研究院里。

This is a letter from the director, concerned about --

这是一封来自主任的信，提到

"especially unfair on the matter of sugar."

“糖的问题特别不公平。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You can read the text.

你可以读读这封信。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is hackers getting in trouble for the first time.

这是黑客们第一次遇到麻烦。

(Laughter).

（笑声）

These were not theoretical physicists.

这些不是理论物理学家。

They were real soldering-gun type guys, and they actually built this thing.

他们是耍焊枪的家伙，他们实际造了计算机。

And we take it for granted now, that each of these machines

现在我们认为有几十亿晶体管每秒几十亿周期的计算机不出问题是想当然的。

has billions of transistors, doing billions of cycles per second without failing.

现在我们认为有几十亿晶体管每秒几十亿周期的计算机不出问题是想当然的。

They were using vacuum tubes, very narrow, sloppy techniques

那时，他们用的是真空管，非常粗糙的技术

to get actually binary behavior out of these radio vacuum tubes.

用无线电真空管完成二进制动作。

They actually used 6J6, the common radio tube,

他们用的是6J6，通用电子管，

because they found they were more reliable than the more expensive tubes.

因为他们发现这种管子比其他更贵的管子更可靠。

And what they did at the Institute was publish every step of the way.

他们在研究院里公布了开发的每一步。

Reports were issued, so that this machine was cloned

发布报告，这样机器就在世界上15个不同的地方被克隆。

at 15 other places around the world.

发布报告，这样机器就在世界上15个不同的地方被克隆。

And it really was. It was the original microprocessor.

实际上这就是微处理器的原型。

All the computers now are copies of that machine.

现在的所有计算机都是仿照这台机器。

The memory was in cathode ray tubes --

内存用的是阴极射线管(RCA公司负责设计内存)

a whole bunch of spots on the face of the tube --

阴极射线管表面的一簇点，

very, very sensitive to electromagnetic disturbances.

对电磁扰动非常敏感。

So, there's 40 of these tubes,

这是40个管子，

like a V-40 engine running the memory.

内存运行就像V-40发动机。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The input and the output was by teletype tape at first.

最早输入输出用的是电传打字带。

This is a wire drive, using bicycle wheels.

这是线驱动的，用的是自行车轮子。

This is the archetype of the hard disk that's in your machine now.

这就是你计算机里的硬盘的原型。

Then they switched to a magnetic drum.

后来改用磁鼓（magnetic drum）。

This is modifying IBM equipment,

这是改进中的IBM的设备，

which is the origins of the whole data-processing industry, later at IBM.

就是之后IBM数据处理行业的起源。

And this is the beginning of computer graphics.

这是计算机图形的起源。

The "Graph'g-Beam Turn On." This next slide,

图形光束打开（“Graph'g-Beam Turn On.”），下一个幻灯片，

that's the -- as far as I know -- the first digital bitmap display, 1954.

1954年，据我所知最早的数字位图。

So, Von Neumann was already off in a theoretical cloud,

冯·诺伊曼已经不搞那些理论了

doing abstract sorts of studies of how you could build

埋头于研究如何用不稳定的部件造出稳定的机器。

reliable machines out of unreliable components.

埋头于研究如何用不稳定的部件造出稳定的机器。

Those guys drinking all the tea with sugar in it

这些家伙喝着加糖的茶，在工作日志上记录下机器的运行状况，

were writing in their logbooks, trying to get this thing to work, with all

这些家伙喝着加糖的茶，在工作日志上记录下机器的运行状况，

these 2,600 vacuum tubes that failed half the time.

有2600个真空管的机器有一半时间是有故障的。

And that's what I've been doing, this last six months, is going through the logs.

这就是我上六个月所作的，察看这些日志。

"Running time: two minutes. Input, output: 90 minutes."

“运行时间：两分钟。输入输出：90分钟。”

This includes a large amount of human error.

这里包含了大量的人为错误。

So they are always trying to figure out, what's machine error? What's human error?

所以他们总是的分析，是机器还是人为的错误。

What's code, what's hardware?

代码的问题，还是硬件的问题。

That's an engineer gazing at tube number 36,

这是一个工程师盯着36号管子，

trying to figure out why the memory's not in focus.

想弄明白为什么内存没对焦。

He had to focus the memory -- seems OK.

他不得不亲自对焦。

So, he had to focus each tube just to get the memory up and running,

他不得不亲自对焦每一个内存阴极射线管来让机器可以运行。

let alone having, you know, software problems.

与此而来的，还有软件问题。

"No use, went home." (Laughter)

“不管用，回家。”（笑声）

"Impossible to follow the damn thing, where's a directory?"

“搞不定这该死的东西，电话簿在哪里？”

So, already, they're complaining about the manuals:

他们抱怨使用手册：

"before closing down in disgust ... "

“反感的关掉”

"The General Arithmetic: Operating Logs."

通用算法 -- 运行日志，

Burning lots of midnight oil.

开了很多夜车。

"MANIAC," which became the acronym for the machine,

MANIAC，成了这机器的缩写，

Mathematical and Numerical Integrator and Calculator, "lost its memory."

数学分析器数值积分器和计算机，“内存丢失。”

"MANIAC regained its memory, when the power went off." "Machine or human?"

“MANIAC断电后找回内存”，“机器还是人为原因？”

"Aha!" So, they figured out it's a code problem.

“哈！”他们找到问题了：是个代码问题：

"Found trouble in code, I hope."

“希望是代码有问题”

"Code error, machine not guilty."

“代码错误，机器无罪。”

"Damn it, I can be just as stubborn as this thing."

“该死，我受不了这固执的东西了。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"And the dawn came." So they ran all night.

“黎明来临了。”他们干了一夜。

Twenty-four hours a day, this thing was running, mainly running bomb calculations.

机器一天24小时不停运转，主要是核弹计算。

"Everything up to this point is wasted time." "What's the use? Good night."

“所有问题归结到这一点，浪费时间。” “有什么用？晚安。”

"Master control off. The hell with it. Way off." (Laughter)

“主控关闭？。怎么搞得。错的离谱。”（笑声）

"Something's wrong with the air conditioner --

“空调出故障了

smell of burning V-belts in the air."

空气中有烧焦皮带味。“

"A short -- do not turn the machine on."

“简短的，不要开机。”

"IBM machine putting a tar-like substance on the cards. The tar is from the roof."

“IBM机器在卡片上涂了焦油样的东西。焦油来自屋顶。”

So they really were working under tough conditions.

他们的工作条件确实很艰苦。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Here, "A mouse has climbed into the blower

这里，“一只老鼠爬到鼓风机里了

behind the regulator rack, set blower to vibrating. Result: no more mouse."

调节器支架后面，造成鼓风机震动。结论：再没老鼠了。“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Here lies mouse. Born: ?. Died: 4:50 a.m., May 1953."

“这里倒下了一只老鼠。出生年代不详，死亡时间：1953年5月早上4:50分。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There's an inside joke someone has penciled in:

有人在这里写下了一个内部玩笑：

"Here lies Marston Mouse."

“Marston老鼠倒在这里。”

If you're a mathematician, you get that,

你要是个数学家的话，你就会明白，

because Marston was a mathematician who

因为Marston就是个反对造计算机的数学家。

objected to the computer being there.

因为Marston就是个反对造计算机的数学家。

"Picked a lightning bug off the drum." "Running at two kilocycles."

“从磁鼓上拿掉一只萤火虫，以两千赫的速度运行。”

That's two thousand cycles per second --

每秒两千次循环

"yes, I'm chicken" -- so two kilocycles was slow speed.

“是的，我是胆小” 两千赫每秒是很慢的速度。

The high speed was 16 kilocycles.

最高速度可以到16千赫每秒。

I don't know if you remember a Mac that was 16 Megahertz,

也许您还记得，以前Mac机的主频是16兆赫兹。

that's slow speed.

确实太慢了。

"I have now duplicated both results.

“现在有了两个不同的运行结果。

How will I know which is right, assuming one result is correct?

我不知道哪一个是正确的？

This now is the third different output.

现在又有了第三个不同的结果。

I know when I'm licked."

我明白我被打败了。“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"We've duplicated errors before."

“我们以前出现过这样的错误。”

"Machine run, fine. Code isn't."

“机器正常，代码错误。”

"Only happens when the machine is running."

“只有机器运行时才发生。”

And sometimes things are okay.

有时还不错。

"Machine a thing of beauty, and a joy forever." "Perfect running."

“美好的机器是永恒的喜悦。（仿英国诗人济慈《Endymion》诗句）” “完美的运行。”

"Parting thought: when there's bigger and better errors, we'll have them."

“临别思考：当有更大更好的错误，我们会拥有他们。”

So, nobody was supposed to know they were actually designing bombs.

应该没人知道他们正在设计核弹。

They're designing hydrogen bombs. But someone in the logbook,

他们正在设计氢弹。不过某个人在日志本上：

late one night, finally drew a bomb.

某天晚上，画了一个炸弹。

So, that was the result. It was Mike,

这就是成果。第一颗氢弹Mike

the first thermonuclear bomb, in 1952.

1952年第一枚热核弹。

That was designed on that machine,

就是在高等研究院后的树林的这台机器上设计的，

in the woods behind the Institute.

就是在高等研究院后的的树林的这台机器上设计的，

So Von Neumann invited a whole gang of weirdos

冯·诺伊曼还从世界各地请了一批怪人研究各种问题。

from all over the world to work on all these problems.

冯·诺伊曼还从世界各地请了一批怪人研究各种问题。

Barricelli, he came to do what we now call, really, artificial life,

Barricelli就是来想搞明白，在这个人造的世界中研究人造生命的，

trying to see if, in this artificial universe --

Barricelli就是来想搞明白，在这个人造的世界是否可以产生人造生命的，

he was a viral-geneticist, way, way, way ahead of his time.

他是个病毒遗传学家 -- 他的研究远远超前于那个时代。

He's still ahead of some of the stuff that's being done now.

至今他的某些研究还是超前的。

Trying to start an artificial genetic system running in the computer.

他试图在计算机上启动一个人造遗传系统。

Began -- his universe started March 3, '53.

1953年3月3日他的世界启动了。

So it's almost exactly -- it's 50 years ago next Tuesday, I guess.

我想到下周二就整整50年了。

And he saw everything in terms of --

他直接读源代码

he could read the binary code straight off the machine.

他可以直接读机器的二进制代码。

He had a wonderful rapport.

他和机器相处融洽。

Other people couldn't get the machine running. It always worked for him.

别人不能让机器运行。他却可以搞定。

Even errors were duplicated.

实际上故障也是他弄出来的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Dr. Barricelli claims machine is wrong, code is right."

“Barricelli博士认为是机器问题，代码是正确的。”

So he designed this universe, and ran it.

所以他设计并运行了这个世界。

When the bomb people went home, he was allowed in there.

当搞核弹的人回家的时候，他可以进来用。

He would run that thing all night long, running these things,

他可以通宵运行这些东西。

if anybody remembers Stephen Wolfram,

可能有人记得Stephen Wolfram，

who reinvented this stuff.

他重发明了这些东西。

And he published it. It wasn't locked up and disappeared.

这一切都没有锁在柜子里被人遗忘，他把资料都发布了出来。

It was published in the literature.

这些都被发布在文献中。

"If it's that easy to create living organisms, why not create a few yourself?"

“如果制造生命组织很容易，为什么不造几个自己？”

So, he decided to give it a try,

他决定试一试，

to start this artificial biology going in the machines.

在机器里启动了人造生物学。

And he found all these, sort of --

他找到了这些，

it was like a naturalist coming in

就像个自然学家跑进这个微小的只有5000个字节的世界里研究，

and looking at this tiny, 5,000-byte universe,

就像个自然学家跑进这个微小的只有5000个字节的世界里研究，

and seeing all these things happening

以生物学的角度看待这里发生的一切。

that we see in the outside world, in biology.

以生物学的角度看待这里发生的一切。

This is some of the generations of his universe.

这是他的世界的某几代。

But they're just going to stay numbers;

不过他们仅仅停留在数字上，

they're not going to become organisms.

数字不可能成为有机体。

They have to have something.

他们必须有些东西。

You have a genotype and you have to have a phenotype.

你有一个基因型，你必须有一个表型。

They have to go out and do something. And he started doing that,

他们必须走出去，做些事。然后他开始干这个，

started giving these little numerical organisms things they could play with --

让这些小的数字生物体和其他机器下象棋，诸如此类的东西。

playing chess with other machines and so on.

让这些小的数字生物体和其他机器下象棋，诸如此类的东西。

And they did start to evolve.

然后它们开始进化。

And he went around the country after that.

之后他跑遍全国。

Every time there was a new, fast machine, he started using it,

每次找到更新更快的机器，他就运行它。

and saw exactly what's happening now.

看看现在到底发生了什么：

That the programs, instead of being turned off -- when you quit the program,

当你退出这些程序的时候，它们并不会停止，

you'd keep running

它们一直在运行

and, basically, all the sorts of things like Windows is doing,

有点类似于Windows

running as a multi-cellular organism on many machines,

在多台机器上运行多细胞生物体

he envisioned all that happening.

他设想了所有这些。

And he saw that evolution itself was an intelligent process.

他认为它的自身进化是一个智能过程。

It wasn't any sort of creator intelligence,

这些智能并不来自于创造者，

but the thing itself was a giant parallel computation

这东西本身是并行运算

that would have some intelligence.

会有自己的智能。

And he went out of his way to say

他特别指出

that he was not saying this was lifelike,

他认为这并不意味着类生命，

or a new kind of life.

或者一种新生命体，

It just was another version of the same thing happening.

只是同样发生的事的另一个版本。

And there's really no difference between what he was doing in the computer

他在计算机上做的工作和自然界数十亿年前完成的没有区别。

and what nature did billions of years ago.

他在计算机上做的工作和自然界数十亿年前完成的没有区别。

And could you do it again now?

你可以再做一遍吗？

So, when I went into these archives looking at this stuff, lo and behold,

有天当我走进档案馆翻弄这些资料的时候，

the archivist came up one day, saying,

管理员跑过来对我说

"I think we found another box that had been thrown out."

“我们找到了另一箱扔掉的东西。”

And it was his universe on punch cards.

这就是在打孔卡上他的世界。

So there it is, 50 years later, sitting there -- sort of suspended animation.

50年后，坐在这里。有点类似动画的暂停。

That's the instructions for running --

这是要运行的指令

this is actually the source code

这实际上是其中一个世界的源代码，

for one of those universes,

这实际上是其中一个世界的源代码，

with a note from the engineers

以及一个工程师的注释

saying they're having some problems.

写道它们有些问题。

"There must be something about this code that you haven't explained yet."

“这些代码的某些东西，你还解释不了。”

And I think that's really the truth. We still don't understand

我想这是事实。我们还是不了解

how these very simple instructions can lead to increasing complexity.

为什么这些简单的指令会导致复杂性大大增加。

What's the dividing line between

类生命和真实生命的区别在哪里呢？

when that is lifelike and when it really is alive?

类生命和真实生命的区别在哪里呢？

These cards, now, thanks to me showing up, are being saved.

由于我在场，这些卡片被保存了。

And the question is, should we run them or not?

问题是，我们应该运行它们吗？

You know, could we get them running?

我们还能运行它们吗？

Do you want to let it loose on the Internet?

你想把它释放到Internet上吗？

These machines would think they --

这些机器就会思考

these organisms, if they came back to life now --

如果它们现在复活，

whether they've died and gone to heaven, there's a universe.

无论它们是死去了还是去了天堂，那里总会有一个世界

My laptop is 10 thousand million times

我笔记本电脑中的世界比Barricelli退出项目时的电脑中的世界要大数十亿倍。

the size of the universe that they lived in when Barricelli quit the project.

我笔记本电脑中的世界比Barricelli退出项目时的电脑中的世界要大数十亿倍。

He was thinking far ahead, to

他的思考远远领先于这个时代，

how this would really grow into a new kind of life.

这将如何成长为一种新生命。

And that's what's happening!

这是现在正在发生的！

When Juan Enriquez told us about

璜·安利奎斯 (Juan Enriquez)告诉我们

these 12 trillion bits being transferred back and forth,

有12万亿比特位数据在来回传送，

of all this genomics data going to the proteomics lab,

以染色体数据的形式汇往蛋白质组学实验室，

that's what Barricelli imagined:

这就是Barricelli所设想的：

that this digital code in these machines

这些机器里的数字代码

is actually starting to code --

已经开始编码

it already is coding from nucleic acids.

从核酸开始。(这些代码已经开始绘制出生物的最基本单位--核酸)

We've been doing that since, you know, since we started PCR

我们已经在做了，因为我们启动了聚合酶链式反应 (PCR)

and synthesizing small strings of DNA.

合成小段的DNA。

And real soon, we're actually going to be synthesizing the proteins,

不久我们将开始合成蛋白质，

and, like Steve showed us, that just opens an entirely new world.

就像Steve展示给我们的，这仅仅是一个全新世界的开始。

It's a world that Von Neumann himself envisioned.

冯·诺依曼所预见到的世界。

This was published after he died: his sort of unfinished notes

这是他死后发表的：他没有完成的关于自繁殖机器的笔记。

on self-reproducing machines,

这是他死后发表的：他没有完成的关于自繁殖机器的笔记。

what it takes to get the machines sort of jump-started

它会让机器进一步开始自我繁殖。

to where they begin to reproduce.

它会让机器进一步开始自我繁殖。

It took really three people:

这依靠有三个人完成：

Barricelli had the concept of the code as a living thing;

Barricelli提出了代码像生命体的概念。

Von Neumann saw how you could build the machines --

冯·诺依曼领悟到了如何建造这样的机器。

that now, last count, four million

现在每24小时就有4百万个冯·诺依曼计算机生产出来。

of these Von Neumann machines is built every 24 hours;

现在每24小时就有4百万个冯·诺依曼计算机生产出来。

and Julian Bigelow, who died 10 days ago --

Julian Bigelow十天前去世了

this is John Markoff's obituary for him --

这是John Markoff发的讣告

he was the important missing link,

他就是重要的丢失的一环，

the engineer who came in

他就是那个知道如何把真空管焊在一起工作的工程师。

and knew how to put those vacuum tubes together and make it work.

他就是那个知道如何把真空管焊在一起工作的工程师。

And all our computers have, inside them,

我们现在的所有计算机里面

the copies of the architecture that he had to just design

的芯片实际上都是在复制他某天用铅笔在纸上设计的架构。

one day, sort of on pencil and paper.

的芯片实际上都是在复制他某天用铅笔在纸上设计的架构。

And we owe a tremendous credit to that.

我们欠他很多。

And he explained, in a very generous way,

他以一种慷慨的方式解释道，

the spirit that brought all these different people to

这种精神在40年代让不同的人们来到高等研究院参与到工程中来，

the Institute for Advanced Study in the '40s to do this project,

这种精神在40年代让不同的人们来到高等研究院参与到工程中来，

and make it freely available with no patents, no restrictions,

成果向世界公开，没有专利，没有限制，没有知识产权争端。

no intellectual property disputes to the rest of the world.

成果向世界公开，没有专利，没有限制，没有知识产权争端。

That's the last entry in the logbook

这是1958年7月机器关闭那一天最后一行日志。

when the machine was shut down, July 1958.

这是1958年7月机器关闭那一天最后一行日志。

And it's Julian Bigelow who was running it until midnight

Julian Bigelow最后运行到午夜，

when the machine was officially turned off.

最终机器被正式关闭。

And that's the end.

这就是结局。

Thank you very much.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）