How technology has changed what it's like to be deaf | Rebecca Knill

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

翻译人员: Yizhuo He 校对人员: Wanting Zhong

My name is Rebecca, and I'm a cyborg.

我的名字是丽贝卡， 我是个赛博格（改造人）。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Specifically, I have 32 computer chips inside my head,

确切地说，在我的脑袋里 有 32 个电脑芯片，

which rebuild my sense of hearing.

用来重建我的听觉。

This is called a cochlear implant.

这被称作人工耳蜗。

You remember the Borg from Star Trek,

你们都记得《星际迷航》中的 博格人（半活体半机械的生化人）吧，

those aliens who conquered and absorbed everything in sight?

那些外星人征服 并同化了一切生灵。

Well, that's me.

嗯，那就是我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The good news is I come for your technology

好消息是，我想要的 是你们的科技

and not for your human life-forms.

而不是你们的生命形态。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Actually, I've never seen an episode of Star Trek.

事实上，我一集 《星际迷航》都没看过。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But there's a reason for that:

这是有原因的：

television wasn't closed-captioned when I was a kid.

当我还小的时候， 电视上还没有字幕。

I grew up profoundly deaf.

我从小就严重失聪了。

I went to regular schools, and I had to lip-read.

我去普通的学校上学， 但是得观唇辨意。

I didn't meet another deaf person until I was 20.

直到我 20 岁时 才遇到另一个耳聋的人。

Electronics were mostly audio back then.

当时的电子设备几乎 还都是以声音为主的。

My alarm clock was my sister Barbara,

我的闹钟是我的姐姐芭芭拉，

who would set her alarm and then throw something at me to wake up.

她会设好她的闹钟， 然后朝我扔东西把我弄醒。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My hearing aids were industrial-strength, sledgehammer volume,

我的助听装置是工业标准的， 音量震耳欲聋，

but they helped me more than they helped most people.

但是它们对我的帮助 比对其他人的帮助更大。

With them, I could hear music and the sound of my own voice.

有了它们，我能听到 音乐和自己的声音。

I've always liked the idea that technology can help make the world more human.

我一直喜欢“科技可以让世界 变得更人性化”这个想法。

I used to watch the stereo flash color when the music shifted,

我以前会看着立体声音响 在音乐变化时闪烁颜色，

and I knew it was just a matter of time before my watch could show me sound, too.

我知道我的手表迟早也能 通过类似的方式“发出声音”。

Did you know that hearing occurs in the brain?

你们知道听觉产生于大脑吗？

In your ear is a small organ called the cochlea,

在你们的耳朵里有个 很小的器官，叫做耳蜗，

and the cochlea is lined with thousands of receptors called hair cells.

耳蜗内排列着几千个 感受器，被称为毛细胞。

When sound enters your ear,

当声音进入你的耳朵时，

those hair cells, they send electric signals to your brain,

这些毛细胞就会把 电信号传送到你的大脑，

and your brain then interprets that as sound.

然后大脑会将这些 电信号转译成声音。

Hair-cell damage is really common:

毛细胞损坏很常见：

过量的噪音，正常衰老， 疾病都会导致毛细胞损坏。

noise exposure, ordinary aging, illness.

My hair cells were damaged before I was even born.

我的毛细胞甚至 在我出生前就损坏了。

My mother was exposed to German measles when she was pregnant with me.

我母亲怀我的时候得了风疹。

About five percent of the world has significant hearing loss.

全世界大约有 5% 的人 都有严重的听力丧失问题。

By 2050, that's expected to double to over 900 million people,

到了 2050 年，这个人数 将翻倍至超过 9 亿人，

or one in 10.

即十分之一的几率。

For seniors, it's already one out of three.

对于老年人来说，听觉受损 的几率已经是三分之一。

With a cochlear implant,

有了人工耳蜗，

computer chips do the job for the damaged hair cells.

电脑芯片就会代替 受损的耳毛细胞。

Imagine a box of 16 crayons,

想象有 16 支彩色蜡笔，

and those 16 crayons, in combination,

这 16 支蜡笔组合起来，

have to make all of the colors in the universe.

要负责生成宇宙中所有的颜色。

Same with the cochlear implant.

人工耳蜗的原理与之类似。

I have 16 electrodes in each of my cochleas.

在我的每个耳蜗中 都有 16 个电极。

Those 16 electrodes, in combination, send signals to my brain,

这 16 个电极组合起来， 向我的大脑传输信号，

representing all of the sounds in the universe.

模拟出宇宙中所有种类的声响。

I have electronics inside and outside of my head

我的大脑内外都有电子设备

to make that happen,

以实现这一点，

including a small processor, magnets inside my skull

其中包括一个小型处理器， 即安装在颅骨内的一组磁铁，

and a rechargeable power source.

和一个可充电的电源。

Radio waves transmit sound through the magnets.

无线电波通过这些磁铁传送声音。

The number one question that I get about the cochlear implant

当人们听说人工耳蜗 会用到磁铁的时候，

when people hear about the magnets

问我最多的一个问题就是：

is whether my head sticks to the refrigerator.

我的头会不会被吸到冰箱上去。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

No, it does not.

不，并不会。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you, thank you.

谢谢，谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I know this, because I tried.

我知道，因为我试过。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Hearing people assume that the Deaf

听力正常的人 往往以为耳聋的人

live in a perpetual state of wanting to hear,

处于一种永无止境的 对听觉的渴求，

because they can't imagine any other way.

因为他们也想不到 除此之外还能怎样了。

But I've never once wished to be hearing.

但我从没有过 哪怕一次希望能听见。

I just wanted to be part of a community like me.

我只想处于一个 与我情况类似的社群中。

I wanted everyone else to be deaf.

我希望大家都听不见。

I think that sense of belonging is what ultimately connects our stories,

我认为归属感才能最终 连接起大家的故事，

and mine felt incomplete.

而我没有这种归属感。

When cochlear implants first got going,

人造耳蜗最开始投入使用

back in the '80s,

是在 80 年代，

the operation was Frankenstein-monster scary.

手术过程就像弗兰肯斯坦 （科学怪人）造怪物一样恐怖。

By 2001, the procedure had evolved considerably,

到了 2001 年，手术过程 得到了很大的改进，

but it still wiped out any natural hearing that you had.

但它还是会抹去 你原有的全部听觉。

The success rate then for speech comprehension was low,

那时人造耳蜗对于 理解语言的成功率还很低，

maybe 50 percent.

大概只有 50%。

So if it didn't work, you couldn't go back.

所以如果它不成功的话， 你也无法回到以前的状态了。

At that time, implants were also controversial in the Deaf culture.

在那时，在听障人群的圈子里， 耳蜗植入还是颇有争议的。

Basically, it was considered the equivalent

因为人们认为植入耳蜗

of changing the color of your skin.

无异于改变你皮肤的颜色。

I held off for a while,

我犹豫了一段时间，

but my hearing was going downhill fast,

但后来我听力下降的速度太快，

and hearing aids were no longer helping.

我的助听装置已经帮不了我了。

So in 2003, I made the tough decision to have the cochlear implant.

所以在 2003 年，我做出了 一个艰难的决定，去植入人造耳蜗。

I just needed to stop that soul-sucking cycle of loss,

不管手术是否会成功，

我只想结束这种 令人心力交瘁的缺失感，

regardless of whether the operation worked,

and I really didn't think that it would.

我也真的没想到它会成功。

I saw it as one last box to check off

我把它看作是

我变得彻底失聪前 要做的最后一件事；

before I made the transition to being completely deaf,

which a part of me wanted.

我的某一部分其实 渴望自己完全失聪。

Complete silence is very addictive.

绝对的寂静会让人上瘾。

Maybe you've spent time in a sensory deprivation tank,

如果你曾体验过感官剥夺箱， 【注：在隔光隔音箱子的盐水中漂浮】

and you know what I mean.

你就知道我指的是什么了。

Silence has mind-expanding capabilities.

寂静具有开拓人心智的能力。

In silence, I see sound.

在寂静中，我能看见声音。

When I watch a music video without sound,

当我观看一段 没有声音的音乐录像带时，

I can hear music.

我能听见音乐声。

In the absence of sound,

在没有声音时，

my brain fills in the gaps based on the movement I see.

我的大脑会根据我所看到的 律动为我填补那段空白。

My mind is no longer competing with the distraction of sound.

我的大脑没有了声音的干扰，

It's freed up to think more creatively.

具有了更自由的想象空间。

There are advantages to having bionic body parts as well.

人体仿生装置也有它们的优点。

It's undeniably convenient to be able to hear,

不可否认的， 听觉能为我带来方便，

and I can turn it off any time I want.

而且我可以随时关掉它们。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I'm hearing when I need to be, and the rest of the time, I'm not.

我仅在需要的时候开启听力， 其他时候则保持关闭。

Bionic hearing doesn't age,

仿生听觉不会随年龄增加而退化，

although external parts sometimes need replacement.

尽管某些外部配件 有时需要被更换。

It would be so cool

要是我能像一个真的 赛博格（改造人）一样

to just automatically regenerate a damaged part like a real cyborg,

自动再生损坏的部件， 那估计会很酷吧，

but I get mine FedExed from Advanced Bionics.

可我的部件是由高级仿生公司 用联邦快递寄过来的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Oh, I get updates

对了，那些部件的更新

downloaded into my head.

是直接下载到我的脑子里的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's not quite AirDrop -- but close.

虽然不完全是蓝牙传输， 但也差不多了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

With the cochlear implant,

有了人工耳蜗，

I can stream music from my iPod into my head without earbuds.

我不需要戴耳机就能 用 iPod 在脑子里播放音乐。

Recently, I went to a friend's long, tedious concert ...

最近，我去听了一位朋友 冗长而又乏味的音乐会……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and unknown to anyone else,

没有人知道，

I listened to the Beatles for three hours instead.

我其实在那儿听了 三小时甲壳虫乐队的歌。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Technology has come so far so fast.

科技以极快的速度发展到了今天。

The biggest obstacle I face as a deaf person

作为一个耳聋的人， 我所遇到的最大障碍

is no longer a physical barrier.

已经不是物理层面的了。

It's the way that people respond to my deafness,

而是他人对我耳聋的态度，

the outdated way people respond to my deafness --

人们对我耳聋的那种 一成不变的过时态度——

pity, patronization, even anger --

怜悯，屈尊，甚至是愤怒——

because that just cancels out the human connection

这些态度直接抵消了科技进步

所带来的人与人之间的连接。

that technology achieves.

I once had a travel roommate who had a complete temper tantrum,

我曾经有个旅友， 有一次她大发脾气，

because I didn't hear her knocking on the door

因为当她的钥匙开不了门时，

when her key didn't work.

我没听见她敲门的声音。

If I hadn't been there, no problem, she could get another key,

如果我不在场就没什么大不了的， 她会再领一把新的钥匙，

but when she saw that I was there, her anger boiled over.

但当她看见我就在屋里时， 她突然变得怒火中烧。

It was no longer about a key.

那已经不是一把钥匙的问题了。

It was about deafness not being a good enough reason

她觉得我耳聋并不是 造成她不方便的

for her inconvenience.

充足理由。

Or the commercial about the deaf man

有一则关于失聪者的电视广告，

whose neighborhood surprised him with sign language messages

广告里街上的人们 都以手语和他交流，

from people on the street.

这使他感到惊讶与感动。

Everyone who sent me the video told me they cried,

每个发我那段视频的人 都说把他们看哭了，

so I asked them,

于是我问他们，

"Well, what if he wasn't deaf?

“那么，要是他没有听觉障碍呢？

What if his first language was Spanish,

要是他的第一语言是西班牙语，

and everyone learned Spanish instead?

大家都去学西班牙语， 而不是手语和他交流呢？

Would you have cried?"

你还会哭吗？”

And they all said no.

他们说不会。

They weren't crying because of the communication barrier,

让他们落泪的并不是沟通障碍，

they were crying because the man was deaf.

而是那个人听不见的这个事实。

But I see it differently.

但我看问题的角度和他们不同，

What if the Borg showed up in that video,

如果博格人出现在了那段视频中，

and the Borg said, "Deafness is irrelevant."

说“耳聋是无关紧要的”。

Because that's what they say, right?

他们总说这种话，对吧？

每件事对他们来说 都是“无关紧要的”。

Everything's "irrelevant."

And then the Borg assimilated the deaf guy --

然后博格人就把那个 耳聋的年轻人同化了——

not out of pity, not out of anger,

并不是出于怜悯或愤怒，

but because he had a biological distinctiveness

只是因为他有博格人想要的

that the Borg wanted,

生物特性，

including unique language capabilities.

包括独特的语言能力。

I would much rather see that commercial.

我更宁愿看到那种广告出现。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Why does thinking about ability make people so uncomfortable?

为什么一提到残障， 人们就会感到这么不自在？

You might know a play, later a movie,

你也许听说过这部戏剧， 后来被改编成了电影，

called "Children of a Lesser God,"

叫作《失宠于上帝的孩子们》，

by Mark Medoff.

编剧是马克·麦多福（Mark Medoff）。

That play, that title,

这部戏剧和标题

actually comes from a poem by Alfred Tennyson,

其实出自丁尼生（Tennyson）的一首诗，

and I interpret both the play and title

我对它们的解读是，

to say that humans who are perceived as defective

那些被视为有缺陷的人

were made by a lesser God

是由次等神创造出来的，

and live an inferior existence,

他们的存在低人一等，

while those made by the real God are a superior class,

而那些由真正的神所创造出的 人类则是更优越的存在，

because God doesn't make mistakes.

因为神是不会犯错的。

In World War II,

在二战时期，

an estimated 275,000 people with disabilities

大约有 27.5 万身体有残疾的人

were murdered in special death camps,

被带到死亡集中营中处死了，

because they didn't fit Hitler's vision of a superior race.

因为他们不符合希特勒 对于“优秀民族”的构想。

Hitler said that he was inspired by the United States,

希特勒说他其实是 受到了美国人的启发，

which had enacted involuntary sterilization laws for "the unfit"

美国在 20 世纪初通过了 针对与优生学不符人群的

in the early 1900s.

非自愿绝育法，

That practice continued in more than 30 states until the '70s,

在超过 30 个州实行， 并持续到了 70 年代，

with the last law finally repealed in 2003.

直到 2003 年才被完全废除。

So the world is not that far removed from Tennyson's poem.

所以这个世界离丁尼生的诗歌 所描述的也没有那么远。

That tendency to make assumptions about people based on ability

那种根据能力 来对人做出假设的倾向

comes out in sentences like

会让人说出诸如

"You're so special," "I couldn't live like that"

“你可真特别”， “我要是这样可活不下去”，

or "Thank God that's not me."

或是“感谢上帝，这种事 没发生在我身上”这样的话。

Changing how people think is like getting them to break a habit.

改变人们思考的方式 就像是让他们戒除某种习惯一样。

Before the implant, I had stopped using the voice telephone

在耳蜗植入前， 我已停止使用语音电话，

and switched to email,

转而使用电子邮件，

but people kept leaving me voice mail.

但人们还是继续 给我留电话留言。

They were upset that I was unreachable by phone

他们会因我不接电话， 不回他们信息

and not returning messages.

而生气。

I continued to tell them my situation.

我不断地向他们解释我的情况。

It took them months to adapt.

他们还是花了数月才适应。

Fast-forward 10 years,

往前快进十年，

and you know who else hated voice mail?

你们知道还有谁 也痛恨语音信箱吗？

Millennials.

千禧一代。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And you know what they did?

你知道他们怎么做吗？

They normalized texting for communication instead.

他们把短信变成了 普遍的沟通手段。

Now, when it comes to ignoring voice mail,

所以现在谁要是不回语音信箱，

it no longer matters whether you're deaf or just self-absorbed.

那他既可能是因为耳聋， 也可能是因为他只顾自己。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Millennials changed how people think about messaging.

千禧一代改变了人们 对讯息传递的看法。

They reset the default.

他们重置了默认值。

Can I just tell you how much I love texting?

你们知道我有多爱发短信吗？

Oh, and group texts.

还有群发。

I have six siblings --

我有六个兄弟姐妹——

they're all hearing,

他们都听得见，

but I don't think any less of them.

但我从不会因此看不起他们。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And we all text.

而我们都发短信交流。

Do you know how thrilling it is

你知道有这种

to have a visual means of communication that everyone else actually uses?

大家都用来沟通的视觉方法 有多令我感到激动吗？

So I am on a mission now.

所以我现在正执行一项使命。

As a consumer of technology,

作为一名科技的使用者，

I want visual options whenever there's audio.

只要一件产品有声音选项， 我就会要求它也具备视觉选项。

It doesn't matter whether I'm deaf

这种视觉选项的出现 究竟是为了照顾耳聋者，

or don't want to wake the baby.

还是因为父母不想 吵醒婴儿并不重要。

Both are equally valid.

这两类人希望有这种选项 都是很合理的。

Smart designers

聪明的设计师

include multiple ways to access technology,

会制造多种方式 让使用者能接触到科技，

but segregating that access under "accessibility" --

而把这种接触科技的方式 分到“无障碍功能”底下——

that's just hiding it from mainstream users.

其实是把它们藏到 主流用户看不见的地方。

In order to change how people think,

为了改变人们的思考方式，

we need to be more than accessible,

我们不止需要“无障碍功能”，

we need to be connected.

我们更需要彼此之间的连接。

Apple did this recently.

苹果公司最近做到了这些。

On my iPhone, it automatically displays a visual transcript

在我的苹果手机上， 它会在语音按钮旁边

of my voice mail,

自动显示

right next to the audio button.

我语音信箱的文字版本。

I couldn't turn it off even if I wanted to.

就算我想关掉它也做不到。

You know what else?

你知道还有什么别的吗？

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime no longer say

Netflix, Hulu（视频网站）, Amazon Prime （亚马逊金牌服务）

都不再显示 “为听障人士提供的字幕”。

"Closed-captioned for the hearing impaired."

They say "subtitles," "on" or "off,"

而是“字幕”，“开启”或“关闭”，

with a list of languages underneath, including English.

下面还有多种语言选项， 包括英语。

Technology has come so far.

科技已经发展至此了。

Our mindset just needs to catch up.

我们的思维模式 只需要跟上它的节奏。

"Resistance is futile."

“抵抗是无效的”。 （博格人口头禅）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You have been assimilated.

你们已经被同化了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）