David Kwong: Two nerdy obsessions meet — and it's magic

翻译人员: Wendy Wu 校对人员: Bighead Ge

Puzzles

谜语，

and magic.

和魔术，

I work in what most people think

我的工作就在这两个大部分人认为

are two distinct fields,

明显不同的领域中，

but I believe they are the same.

但我相信它们是一样的。

I am both a magician and

我既是一个魔术师，

a New York Times crossword puzzle constructor,

也是纽约时报的谜语创作人，

which basically means I've taken

这基本上意味着我已经有了

the world's two nerdiest hobbies

世界上两个最书呆子的嗜好，

and combined them into one career.

还把它们结合成一个职业。

And I believe that magic and puzzles are the same

我相信魔术和谜语是一样的，

because they both key into one of

因为这两者都是钥匙，

the most important human drives:

通往人类最重要的内驱力之一：

the urge to solve.

想要解决的渴望。

Human beings are wired to solve,

人类对于解决问题是很兴奋的，

to make order out of chaos.

喜欢从混乱中创造秩序。

It's certainly true for me.

这对我是绝对成立的。

I've been solving my whole life.

我的一生都在解谜。

High school consisted of epic Scrabble matches in the cafeteria

高中时在自助餐厅玩庞杂的拼字游戏比赛，

and not really talking to girls,

没怎么和女孩们说话，

and then at about that time

也就大约在那个时候，

I started learning magic tricks

我开始学习魔术招式，

and definitely not talking to girls.

完全没有和女孩们聊天。

There's nothing like starting a conversation with,

没有什么对话会像这样开始的，

"Hey, did you know that 'prestidigitation' is worth

“嘿，你知道‘变戏法’在拼字游戏里

20 points in Scrabble?"

值20分吗？“

But back then, I noticed an intersection

再说回来，我注意到谜语和错觉

between puzzles and illusion.

之间有个交集。

When you do the crossword puzzle

当你解一个纵横字谜，

or when you watch a magic show,

或者观看一场魔术表演，

you become a solver,

你就成为解谜者了，

and your goal is to try to find the order in the chaos,

你的目标就是努力找到混乱中的秩序，

the chaos of, say, a black-and-white puzzle grid,

这些混乱，在黑白相间的谜语格子间，

a mixed-up bag of Scrabble tiles,

在拼字游戏碎片的混合包中，

or a shuffled pack of playing cards.

或者在一副洗好的扑克牌中。

And today, as a cruciverbalist —

今天，作为一个纵横字谜高手——

23 points —

23分——

and an illusion designer, I create that chaos.

和一个错觉设计师，我创造了混乱。

I test your ability to solve.

我会测试你解谜的能力。

Now, it turns out research tells us

现在，研究结果告诉我们，

that solving is as primal as eating and sleeping.

解决问题和吃饭睡觉一样重要。

From birth, we are wired to solve.

从出生开始，我们就喜欢解决问题。

In one UCLA study, newborns still in the hospital

在加利福利亚大学的一个研究中，给还在医院的新生儿

were shown patterns, patterns like this:

看像这样的图案：

circle, cross, circle, cross.

圆、叉、圆、叉。

And then the pattern was changed: triangle, square.

然后图案变了：三角形、正方形。

And by tracking an infant's gaze,

在这过程中，通过追踪婴儿的目光，

we know that newborns as young as a day old

我们发现才出生一天的新生儿

can notice and respond to disruptions in order.

可以注意和回应秩序的破环。

It's remarkable.

这真是值得注意的。

So from infancy through old age,

所以从幼年到老年，

the urge to solve unites us all,

解决问题的渴望把我们大家团结在一起，

and I even found this photo on Instagram

我甚至在Instagram上找到这张照片，

of pop star Katy Perry solving a crossword puzzle

流行歌手凯蒂·派瑞正在解一道纵横字谜，

with her morning coffee.

陪伴她的是早安咖啡。

Like.

赞。

(Laughter)

（笑）

Now, solving exists across all cultures.

解谜跨越了所有文化存在着。

The American invention is the crossword puzzle,

美国人发明了纵横字谜，

and this year we are celebrating

今年正是我们庆祝

the 100th anniversary of the crossword puzzle,

纵横字谜100周年的日子，

first published in The New York World.

它最早发表于纽约世界报。

But many other cultures have their signature puzzles as well.

但许多其他的文明也有他们独特的谜语。

China gives us tangrams,

中国有七巧板，

which would test solvers' abilities

它可以测试解题者

to form shapes from the jumbled pieces.

从打乱的碎片中拼出形状的能力。

Chaos. Order.

混乱，秩序。

Order.

秩序，

And order.

秩序，

That one's my favorite, let's hear it again.

这是我特别喜欢的，让我们再听一次。

Okay.

好的。

And how about this puzzle

再来说说发明于

invented in 18th-century England:

18世纪英国的谜语：

the jigsaw puzzle.

拼图。

Is this not making order out of chaos?

这不也是从混乱中发现秩序吗？

So as you can see,

如你所见，

we are always solving.

我们总是在解谜。

We are always trying to decode our world.

我们总在试图破译我们的世界。

It's an eternal quest.

这是永恒的追求。

It's just like the one Cervantes wrote about

这就像塞万提斯写下

in "Don Quixote,"

"堂吉诃德"这个词，

which by the way is the root of the word "quixotry,"

刚好是"不切实际的思想或性格"这个词的词根，

the highest-scoring Scrabble word of all time,

这个词也总是拼字游戏中分值最高的词，

365 points.

365分。

But anyway, "Don Quixote" is an important book.

但不管怎样，《堂吉诃德》是一本重要的书。

You guys have read "Don Quixote," yes?

你们都读过《堂吉诃德》，对吧？

I'm seeing some heads nod.

我看到有人点头了。

Come on guys, really?

来吧，伙计们，

Who's read "Don Quixote?" Let's do this. Raise your hands if you've read "Don Quixote."

谁读过《堂吉诃德》的？如果读过，请举起手。

There we go. Smart audience.

这就对了。聪明的观众。

Who's read "Don Quixote?" Get them up.

谁读过《堂吉诃德》？请举手。

Okay, good, because I need somebody smart here

好的，很好，因为我需要一些聪明人，

because now I'm going to demonstrate

我需要你们其中一个

with the help of one of you

来帮助我演示，看看

just how deeply rooted your urge to solve is,

对解谜的渴望在你心里扎根多深，

just how wired to solve all of you really are,

看看你们实际上对解谜都多么兴奋。

so I'm going to come into the audience

现在我要走到观众中，

and find somebody to help me.

找一个人来帮我。

Let's see.

让我们看看。

Everybody's looking away all of a sudden.

每个人都突然把脸转开了。

Can I? Would you? What is your name? Gwen.

我可以吗？你愿意吗？你的名字是？格温。

I'm not a mind reader, I can see your name tag.

我不是一个读心者，我只是能看见你的姓名牌。

Come with me, Gwen. Everyone give her a round of applause, make her feel welcome.

跟我来，格温。每个人都为她鼓掌吧，让她觉得受欢迎。

Gwen, after you.

格温，你先请。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Are you so excited?

你激动吗？

Did you know that your name is worth

你知道你的名字在拼字游戏里

eight points in Scrabble?

值8分吗？

Okay, stand right here, Gwen, right here.

好的，站在这儿，格温，就是这里。

Now, Gwen, before we begin,

现在，格温，在我们开始之前，

I'd like to point out a piece of the puzzle,

我想先亮出其中一片谜语，

which is here in this envelope,

就在这个信封里。

and I will not go near it. Okay?

而我不会靠近它。好吗？

And over here we have a drawing of some farm animals.

在这里，有一些农场动物的画，

You can see we have an owl, we have a horse,

你可以看到有一只猫头鹰，一只马，

a donkey, a rooster, an ox, and a sheep,

一只驴，一只公鸡，一只牛，和一只羊，

and then here, Gwen, we have

然后，格温，我们有

some fancy art store markers,

一些花俏的的艺术专用马克笔，

colors like, can you see that word right there?

像这样的彩色，你可以看见这里的字吗？

Gwen: Cobalt. David Kwong: Cobalt, yes. Cobalt.

格温：深蓝色。邝大卫：深蓝色，是的。深蓝色。

But we have a silver, a red, an emerald,

我们有一支银色的、一支红色的、一支翠绿色的、

and an amber marker,

和一支琥珀色的马克笔，

and Gwen, you are going to color this drawing

格温，你要给这些画上色，

just like you were five years old,

就像你五岁时做的那样，

one marker at a time.

一次用一只马克笔。

It's going to be a lot of fun.

这会很好玩。

But I'm going to go over here.

但我会经过这里。

I don't want to see what you're doing.

我不想看到你正在做的事。

Okay, so don't start yet.

好的，所以现在还不要开始，

Wait for me to get over here and close my eyes.

等我走过这里，闭上我的眼睛。

Now Gwen, are you ready?

格温，现在你准备好了吗？

Pick up just one marker, pick up just one marker,

只能拿起一支马克笔，只能拿起一支马克笔，

and why don't you color in the horse for me?

你能不能帮我给那只马上色呢？

Color in the horse — big, big, big scribbles,

给这只马上色——大笔大笔地涂，

broad strokes, don't worry about staying in the lines.

粗粗的笔画，不要担心是不是在框内。

All right. Great.

好的，很棒。

And why don't you take that marker and recap it

你可以给这支笔盖上笔帽，

and place it on the table for me.

帮我把它放在桌子上。

Okay, and pick up another marker out of the cup

好的，从杯子里拿另一支马克笔，

and take off the cap

拔下笔帽，

and color in the donkey for me, color in the donkey.

帮我给这只驴上色，给这只驴上色。

Big scribbles.

大笔地涂，

Okay, cool, and re-cap that marker

好的，很酷，盖上这支笔，

and place it on the table.

然后把它放在桌子上。

And pick up another marker for me

请拿起另一只马克笔，

and take off the cap. Isn't this fun?

把笔帽拔下。这有趣吗？

And color in the owl for me.

再帮我给这只猫头鹰上色。

Color in the owl.

给这只猫头鹰上色。

Okay, and recap that marker

好的，再用这支笔上色一次，

and pick up another marker out of the cup

拿起杯子里的另一支马克笔，

and color in the rooster for me, color in the rooster.

给这只公鸡上色，给这只公鸡上色。

Good, good, good, good, good.

好， 好，好，很好，很好。

Big, big, big strokes. Good, good.

大笔大笔地画，很好，很好。

Pick up another marker out of the cup

再从杯子里拿另一只笔，

and color in the ox for me. Color in the ox.

帮我给这只牛上色，给牛上色。

Okay, good.

好的，很好。

A lot of color on that, and recap, and place it on the table,

上面有各种颜色了，盖上笔帽，放到桌子上。

and pick up another marker out of the cup.

再从杯子里拿另一支马克笔。

Oh, I'm out? Okay, I'm going to turn around.

哦，我可以出现了吗？好的，我要再转回来。

Did I forget? Oh, I forgot my purple marker.

我忘了什么吗？哦，我忘了我的紫色马克笔。

This is still going to work, though.

但这还是一样可以玩下去，

I think this is still going to work, mostly.

我想它肯定还是可以玩下去的。

So Gwen, I'm going to hand you this envelope.

格温，我要把这个信封递给你。

Don't open it yet. Do not open it yet,

先不要打开，还不能打开。

but I am going to write down your choices

我要先写下你的选择，

so that everybody can see

这样每个人都能看见

the choices that you made.

你做的选择。

Okay, great. So we have a cobalt horse,

好的，很好。现在我们有一只深蓝色的马，

amber owl,

琥珀色的猫头鹰，

a silver ox,

银色的牛，

yes, okay, a red donkey,

是的，好，一只红色的驴，

and what was the emerald color? A rooster.

翠绿色的是什么？一只公鸡。

An emerald rooster. Okay.

一只翠绿色的公鸡，好的。

Now for the moment of truth, Gwen,

现在是真相大白的时刻，格温，

we're going to take a look in that envelope.

我们要看看信封里是什么。

Why don't you open it up and remove

你要不要打开它，

the one piece of paper from inside

从里面拿出一张纸，

and hand it to me,

把它递给我，

and we will see if it matches your choices.

我们会看到它是不是和你的选择一样。

Yes, I think it does.

是的，我想它是。

We have a cobalt horse, we have a red donkey,

我们有一只深蓝色的马，一只红色的驴，

we have an amber owl, we have an emerald rooster, a silver ox,

我们有一只琥珀色的猫头鹰，一只翠绿色的公鸡，一只银色的牛，

I forgot my purple marker so we have a blank sheep,

我忘了紫色马克笔，所以我们有一只空白的羊，

but that's a pretty amazing coincidence, don't you think?

但这实在是让人惊奇的巧合，你不觉得吗？

Gwen, well done. That's beautiful. (Applause)

格温，干得好，做得漂亮。（鼓掌）

I'll take that back from you.

我会从你这里拿回来。

So ladies and gentlemen, how is this possible?

现在，女士们先生们，这怎么可能呢？

How is this possible? Well, could it be

这怎么可能？嗯，会不会是因为

that Gwen's brain is so wired to solve

格温的大脑太渴望去解谜，

that she decoded hidden messages?

所以她破译了隐藏的信息？

Well this is the puzzle I present to you.

好吧，这是我送给大家的谜语。

Could there be order

在我创造的这些混乱里，

in the chaos that I created?

是不是存在一个秩序呢？

Let's take a closer look.

让我们靠近点看看。

Do you recall when I showed you these puzzle pieces?

你还记得当我向你们展示拼图碎片的时候吗？

What image did it ultimately become? A cobalt horse.

它最后形成了什么图案？一只深蓝色的马。

The plot thickens.

这张图颜色加深了。

And then we played a game of tangrams

接着我们玩了一个七巧板游戏，

with an emerald rooster.

是一只翠绿色的公鸡。

That one's my favorite.

这是我很喜欢的。

And then we had an experiment with a silver ox.

然后我们用银色的牛做了个实验，

And Katy Perry drinks her morning coffee

接着凯蒂·派瑞在琥珀色的猫头鹰杯里

out of an amber owl.

喝她的早安咖啡。

Thank you, Katy, for taking that photo for me.

谢谢凯蒂，把这张照片发给我。

Oh, and there's one more, there's one more.

哦，还有一个，还有一个。

I believe you colored a red donkey, Gwen.

格温，我记得你画了一只红色的驴。

Ladies and gentlemen, could you raise your hands

女士们先生们，如果你读过《堂吉诃德》，

for me if you've read "Don Quixote?"

能为我举起你的手吗？

Who's read "Don Quixote?" (Laughter)

谁读过《堂吉诃德》？（大笑）

But wait, but wait, wait, wait, wait, there's more.

但是，等一下，等一下，等一下，还有呢，

There's more.

还有呢，

Gwen, I was so confident

格温，我这么自信

that you were going to make these choices

你会做出这些选择，

that I made another prediction,

所以我还做了一个预言，

and I put it in an even more indelible place,

我把它放在一个更不可消除的地方，

and it's right here.

就在这里。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们先生们，

we have today's New York Times.

这是今天的纽约时报，

The date is March 18th, 2014.

日期是2014年3月18日，

Many of you in the first couple of rows

坐在前面几排的观众，

have it underneath your seats as well.

你们座位下面也有。

Really dig. We hid them under there.

需要掏一下，我们把它藏在下面了。

See if you can fish out the newspaper

如果你可以掏出报纸，

and open up to the arts section

就打开艺术板块看看，

and you will find the crossword puzzle,

你会发现一个纵横字谜，

and the crossword puzzle today

今天的纵横字谜

was written by yours truly.

是由我写的，

You can see my name above the grid.

你可以在格子上看到我的名字。

I'm going to give this to you, Gwen, to take a look.

我要把这个给你看看，格温，

And I will also put it up on the screen.

我也会在屏幕上投出来。

Now let's take a look

现在让我们看看

at another piece of the puzzle.

另一块谜语，

If you look at the first clue for 1-across,

如果你看到第一横的线索，

it starts with the letter C, for corrupt,

它是由字母C开始的，对应“corrupt”，

and just below that we have an O, for outfielder,

就在这下面是一个O，对应“outfielder”，

and if you keep reading the first letters of the clues down,

如果你继续把这些线索的第一个字母读下来，

you get cobalt horse,

你会得到cobalt horse（深蓝色的马），

amber owl, silver ox,

amber owl（琥珀色的猫头鹰），silver ox（银色的牛），

red donkey, and emerald rooster.

red donkey（红色的驴），和emerald rooster（翠绿色的公鸡）。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

That's pretty cool, right?

这实在很酷，对吧？

It's The New York Times.

这是纽约时报。

But wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait.

但是等等等等，

Oh, Gwen,

哦，格温，

do you recall how I forgot my purple marker,

你还记得我忘了我的紫色马克笔吗？

and you were unable to color the sheep?

所以你没办法给羊上色。

Well, if you keep reading

好的，如果你继续

starting with 25-down,

从25行往下开始读，

it says,

它说，

"Oh, by the way,

“哦，顺便说一下，

the sheep can be left blank."

羊可以留白。”

(Laughter) (Applause)

（大笑）（鼓掌）

But wait, wait, wait, there's one more thing,

但等等等等，还有一件事，

there's one more thing,

还有一件事，

there's one final piece of the puzzle.

还有最后一片谜语。

Gwen, I am so grateful for your choices

格温，我非常感谢你的选择，

because if we take a look

如果我们把这些词的

at the first letters of your combinations,

首字母组合起来看看，

we get "C-H-A-O-S" for chaos

我们得到“C-H-A-O-S”，对应“混乱”，

and "O-R-D-E-R" for order.

和“O-R-D-E-R”，对应“秩序”。

That's chaos and order.

就是混乱和秩序。

We've all made order out of chaos.

我们都在混乱中创造秩序。

So ladies and gentlemen, the next time

所以，女士们先生们，下次

you find yourself with a puzzle,

当你发现自己陷入一个谜题，

whether it's in your life or in your work,

不管是在你的生活中，还是在工作中，

or maybe it's at the Sunday morning

或者可能是一个周日的早晨，

breakfast table with The New York Times,

在早餐桌上看着纽约时报，

remember, you are all wired to solve.

记住，你的内心非常渴望解谜。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）