Poetry and Music That Reaches Across the Digital Void | Elle Cordova | TED

翻译人员: YANYUE ZHONG 校对人员: Bruce Wang

Hey, everybody, I'm Elle.

大家好，我是埃尔。

If I look familiar to you,

如果你们觉得我看上去很眼熟，

it's probably because at some point,

或许是因为在曾经的某一刻，

you scrolled across one of my many goofy videos about fonts

你们刷到了我关于字体、

or AI or the planets or whatever.

人工智能、行星或其他什么的搞笑视频。

One of the nerdy sundries I've put out there.

又或是我发布过的一些书呆子式的玩意。

I am a literature person by trade and by training,

我的本职工作和受到的训练是文学方面的，

but I love to nerd out about science,

但我也痴迷于科学，

and one of the questions that keeps me up at night is:

其中一个经常让我夜不能寐的问题是：

What happened before the Big Bang?

大爆炸之前发生了什么？

So I wrote a poem about it

于是我写了一首诗

with an assist from science communicator Hank Green,

并得到了科学传播者汉克·格林的帮助，

who was talking about that very topic.

他当时正在讨论这个话题。

And he sort of said in passing this line,

他不经意间说了这样一句话，

which really struck me as simple but powerful.

这句话让我印象深刻，简单而有力。

So I expanded it into this poem.

于是我把它扩展到这首诗里。

Here it is.

诗里写道：

Before the Big Bang

在大爆炸之前

there was no up

没有上下

there was no down

there was no side to side

没有左右

there was no light

没有光明

there was no dark

没有黑暗

nor shape of any kind

没有任何形状

there were no stars or planet Mars

没有星辰也没有火星

or protons to collide

没有质子相互碰撞

there was no up

没有上下

there was no down

there was no side to side

没有左右

and furthermore, to underscore this total lacking state

更重要的是，为了强调 这种完全的空缺状态

there was no here

没有此处

there was no there

没有彼处

because there was no space

因为没有空间

and in this endless void which can’t be thought of as a place

在这无尽的虚空中

它无法被称作一个地方

there was no time

没有时间

and so no passing minutes, hours, days

也没有分秒、小时、日夜

of all the paradoxes

所有那些

that belabor common sense

困扰常识的悖论

I think this one’s the greatest

我想，这是大爆炸之前

this time before events

最伟大的奇迹

because how did we get from nothing

我们如何从虚无中诞生

to infinitely dense

变得无尽深邃

from immeasurably small

从微不足道的渺小

to inconceivably immense?

到不可思议的浩瀚

but before we get unmoored from the question at the start

在我们偏离最初的问题之前

let's take a breath and marvel

不妨深呼吸，然后静静欣赏

at when math becomes an art

当数学变成了一种艺术的时刻

because we don't have to comprehend it

因为我们无需完全理解它

to know there was a time

便能感知曾有那么一刻

when there was no up

没有上下

there was no down

there was no side to side

没有左右

Thank you.

谢谢大家

(Applause)

（掌声）

Well, I just have one other thing I want to share with you before I go.

在离开前，我还有一件事和你们分享。

And I'm going to invite guitarist Toni Lindgren up here

我将邀请吉他手托尼·林德格伦上台

to join me for this.

和我一同演奏。

(Applause)

（掌声）

This is a song I wrote about social media, where I spend so much of my time,

这是一首我写的关于社交媒体的歌。

and I think where so many of us spend maybe too much of our time.

我想许多人和我一样，

都花费了大量时间在社交媒体上。

And I wrote this about kind of the endless scroll,

这首歌是关于那种源源不断的涌动，

and I think the conscious and unconscious desire that we all might have

以及我们每个人或许都有的

有意识或无意识的渴望。

to reach out to other human beings and make connections in the digital void,

想要与他人建立联系，

在数字化的虚空中寻找连结，

even as we're sitting alone on our devices, in our homes.

即便我们独自一人坐在家中，手握设备。

And I named the song "Carl Sagan" after the great astronomer and philosopher

我把这首歌命名为“卡尔·萨根”

以纪念这位伟大的天文学家和哲学家

who saw the connections between ourselves

他看到了我们和无数星辰间的联系

and the billions and billions of stars in the night sky

that are constantly sending out their light

那些在夜空中一直闪烁的星星

through the void to make contact.

它们不断地通过虚空发出光芒 试图和我们建立联系。

So this is "Carl Sagan."

这便是“卡尔·萨根”

(Guitar music)

（吉他音乐）

Hey, how are you?

嘿，你还好吗？

Are you scrolling alone inside your room?

一个人在房间里刷着屏幕吗？

Is your heart good?

你的心情还好吗？

Or did something go and break it?

还是说有什么让你的心破碎？

In the words of Carl Sagan,

用卡尔·萨根的话来说，

we're all just stars and bacon.

我们都是星辰和培根。

That's not quite what he said,

虽然他其实没这么说，

but it's true.

但这是真的。

Hey, you still here?

嘿，你还在那吗？

Are you like me on this app

你是不是和我一样在这个应用里

so you can be lost and numb

迷失而麻木

in a warm bath made of content,

泡在全是内容的温暖浴缸里

watching brilliant bits of nonsense

看着那些精彩而无意义的片段

because it feels like making contact.

因为这些让你产生连结感

Maybe that's just me.

或许这只是我一个人的感觉

How are you?

你还好吗？

And we are billions

我们是

and billions

数十亿的光线

of lights

reaching out through a satellite

通过卫星抵达彼此

just to know

只是为了感受那种感觉

that feeling

that even

即使当我们独单且冰冷的时候

when we’re cold and on our own,

we're not alone.

我们也并不孤独。

Not alone.

并不孤独。

We are billions

我们是

and billions

数十亿的光线

of lights

reaching out

通过卫星抵达彼此。

through a satellite

just to know

只是为了感受那种感觉，

that feeling

that even

即使当我们孤独且冰冷时，

when we're cold and on our own,

we're not alone.

我们也并不孤独。

Not alone.

并不孤独。

And hey, are you all right?

嘿，你还好吗？

Are you scrolling alone again tonight?

今晚又是一个人刷着屏幕吗？

You'll be fine.

你会没事的，

Even if your heart is breaking.

即便你的心在破碎。

You got me and Carl Sagan

你有我，还有卡尔·萨根

and his famous postulation.

和他著名的假设。

That if we’re all alone in space,

如果我们在宇宙中感到孤单，

it’d be an awful waste.

那将是多么可怕的浪费。

So I’m just signing in to say, how are you?

所以我来问问你，你还好吗？

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）