A Mysterious Design That Appears Across Millennia | Terry Moore | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Sue Lu

This is Roger Penrose.

这位是罗杰·彭罗斯 （Roger Penrose），

Certainly one of the great scientists of our time,

当代最杰出的科学家之一，

winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics

2020 年诺贝尔物理学奖得主，

for his work reconciling black holes

因证明黑洞遵循 爱因斯坦广义相对论获奖。

with Einstein's general theory of relativity.

But back in the 1970s,

但回到 20 世纪 70 年代，

Roger Penrose made a contribution to the world of mathematics

罗杰·彭罗斯也为数学界 做出了一个贡献，

and that part of mathematics known as tiling.

所在数学领域被称为“铺砌”。

You know, tiling, the process of putting tiles together

所谓“铺砌”，就是铺上瓷砖，

so that they form a particular pattern.

形成某种图案。

The thing that was remarkable

罗杰·彭罗斯想出的图案 之所以非比寻常，

about the pattern that Roger Penrose developed

is that by using only two shapes,

是因为仅仅使用两种图形，

he constructed a pattern that could be expanded infinitely in any direction

就能组成一个向任意方向无限延展，

without ever repeating.

却不会重复的图案。

Much like the number pi has a decimal that isn’t random,

很像 π 有个不是随机的小数一样，

but it will go on forever without repeating.

可以在不重复的情况下无限延续。

In mathematics, this is a property known as aperiodicity

在数学中，该属性被称为“非周期性”，

and the notion of an aperiodic tile set using only two tiles was such a sensation,

仅由两种瓷砖组成的 非周期性瓷砖组合轰动一时，

it was given the name Penrose tiling.

以至于被命名为“彭罗斯铺砌”。

Here's Roger Penrose,

如图是罗杰·彭罗斯，

now Sir Roger Penrose,

现在该称他为罗杰·彭罗斯爵士，

standing on a field of Penrose tiles.

站在由彭罗斯瓷砖铺成的地面上。

Then in 2007, this man, Peter Lu,

2007 年，彼得·陆（Peter Lu），

who was then a graduate student in physics at Princeton,

当时是普林斯顿大学物理学研究生，

while on vacation with his cousin in Uzbekistan,

与亲戚在乌兹别克斯坦度假时，

discovered this pattern on a 14th century madrassa.

在一所 14 世纪的伊斯兰学校中 发现了这个图案。

And after some analysis,

经过一些分析后，

concluded that this was, in fact, Penrose tiling

发现这其实是早于彭罗斯 500 年的彭罗斯铺砌。

500 years before Penrose.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

That information took the scientific world by storm

这条信息震惊了科学界，

and prompted headlines everywhere,

相关头条层出不穷，

including “Discover” magazine,

包括《发现》（Discover）杂志，

which proclaimed this the 59th most important scientific discovery

称其为 2007 年度 第 59 项最重要科学发现。

of the year 2007.

So now we've heard about this amazing pattern

我们从数学、物理、艺术、考古的角度

from the point of view of mathematics

and from physics and now art and archeology.

了解了这个惊艳的图案，

So that leads us to the question

这就引出了一个问题：

what was there about this pattern

这个图案有什么特别之处，

that this ancient culture found so important

让这个古文明都认为它重要到

that they put it on their most important building?

要被放在最重要的建筑物上面呢？

So for that,

就此，

we look to the world of anthropology and ask the question,

我们研究了人类学界，问出了这个问题：

What was the worldview of the culture that made this?

创造出这些的文化拥有什么世界观呢？

And this is what we learn.

以下是我们的收获。

This pattern is life.

这个图案代表着人生。

And as you can see, life's complicated.

我们都知道，人生是复杂的。

It's complicated.

它是复杂的。

But not only is life complicated,

但人生不仅仅是复杂的，

life is also aperiodic in the sense that every event, every happening,

它还是非周期性的，每一个事件、

every decision will make the future unfold differently,

每一个决定都会改变未来的走向，

often in ways that are impossible to predict.

而通常我们都无法预测。

Yet, in spite of the complexity

但是，虽然复杂，

and in spite of a future that's impossible to predict,

虽然前途未卜，

there remains an underlying unity that holds everything together

潜在的统一性仍将凝聚一切、孕育一切。

and gives rise to everything.

Let's see how that works in a design

我们来看看这是怎么运用在设计上的，

much like the one Peter Lu found in Uzbekistan.

那个在乌兹别克斯坦发现的设计。

This is that design.

这就是那个设计。

Now, it turns out this is actually based on this set of Penrose tiles,

它其实是基于这组彭罗斯砌块，

which are reducible to these shapes.

最终可以简化为这些图形。

And in order to draw these shapes,

要画出这些图形，

the medieval craftsmen who did this

中世纪的匠人会借助这些辅助线。

would have done them by using these construction lines.

And I add here

我在这里添加了辅助线，

that the construction lines don't appear in the final work.

但它们不会出现在最终成品中。

But if we add them back, we have this.

但若在成品中还原辅助线，就会是这样。

And now if we weave them together, we will have this.

若把它们交织在一起，就会得到这个。

And now if we hide the tiles

如果我们隐去瓷砖，

and just look at the construction lines,

只看辅助线，

we see this.

就会看到这个。

Clearly there's an underlying structure and unity

显然有一个潜在的结构和统一性，

to things that seem to be complex and aperiodic.

藏在看似复杂、 非周期性的事物之下。

This notion of a hidden underlying unity was common throughout the ancient world,

这种隐藏的潜在统一性的概念 在古代世界屡见不鲜，

and one sees it in Egypt,

埃及出现过，

in Greece,

希腊出现过，

in Australia,

澳大利亚出现过，

in Mesoamerica,

中美洲出现过，

in North America,

北美出现过，

in Europe

欧洲出现过，

and in the Middle East.

中东也出现过。

Now in the modern West, we might call this underlying unity “God,”

在当代西方，我们会将 这一隐含的统一称为“上帝”，

but throughout the ages,

但长久以来，

other terms have been used to describe the same thing.

它也有过其它名称。

This is what Plato called “first cause.”

柏拉图称之为“第一因”。

In the medieval period,

中世纪，

philosopher Spinoza called this the “singular substance.”

哲学家斯宾诺莎（Spinoza） 称之为“单一物质”。

In the 20th century,

20 世纪，

a number of terms were coined to describe this,

出现了很多描述它的词语，

one of my favorites being from philosopher Alfred North Whitehead,

我最喜欢的一个来自哲学家

阿弗烈·诺夫·怀特海 （Alfred North Whitehead），

who called this the “undifferentiated aesthetic continuum.”

他称之为“同质美学连续体”。

Doesn't that have a 20th century sound to it?

听起来是不是很 20 世纪？

But for me, a lover of science that I am,

但对我这位科学爱好者来说，

I will take the term coined by the great 20th century physicist David Bohm,

我会选取 20 世纪的伟大物理学家

戴维·玻姆（David Bohm）创造的术语，

who called this the “implicate order.”

称之为“隐序”。

So what's the takeaway here?

那么今天的要点是什么呢？

Very simply, this.

很简单。

When we see these wonderful designs

当看到与我们相距千里、相距千年的文化

created by cultures that are separated from our own

by thousands of miles or thousands of years,

创造出的精美设计时，

we can know these aren't decorations.

我们就知道它们并非只是装饰，

These are statements about the fundamental values that culture had,

它们呈现了那个文明的基本价值、

what they found important, how they saw themselves,

珍视之物、自我映射、

眼里的世界和身处其中的自己。

the world and themselves in the world.

It has been said that architecture is a book written in stone.

有人说，建筑物是用石头撰写的书。

So when we see these amazing designs, we can know they're not decorations.

当看到这些美丽的设计时， 我们就知道它们并不是装饰，

They're a statement.

它们是一种声明，

They're a message.

传递一个信息。

Look, listen.

看一看，听一听，

You can hear their voices.

你能听到他们的声音。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）