Gavin Pretor-Pinney: Cloudy with a chance of joy

翻译人员: xuan wang 校对人员: Ellen Tung

Clouds.

云彩。

Have you ever noticed how much people moan about them?

大家有没有注意到人们对云彩有多少抱怨吗？

They get a bad rap.

他们有个坏名声。

If you think about it, the English language

想想看，英语

has written into it negative associations towards the clouds.

总是把消极的事物与云连系起来。

Someone who's down or depressed,

如果有人意志消沉，

they're under a cloud.

他们被“乌云”笼罩着。

And when there's bad news in store,

如果有了坏消息，

there's a cloud on the horizon.

就是地平线上出现了乌云。（习语，麻烦当前）

I saw an article the other day.

有天我看了篇文章。

It was about problems with computer processing

它是关于在互联网上的

over the Internet.

计算机处理问题的。

"A cloud over the cloud," was the headline.

标题是：“笼罩在云计算上的乌云。”

It seems like they're everyone's default

好像云彩是每个人默认的用来表达

doom-and-gloom metaphor.

厄运和阴郁的比喻。

But I think they're beautiful, don't you?

但是我觉得它们很美，你们不觉得吗？

It's just that their beauty is missed

只是因为它们无所不在，

because they're so omnipresent,

它们的美被忽视了。

so, I don't know, commonplace,

所以，我不知道，可能是太普通了，

that people don't notice them.

人们都不注意它们。

They don't notice the beauty, but they don't even notice the clouds

人们不注意这种美，他们甚至不注意云彩

unless they get in the way of the sun.

除非他们挡住了太阳。

And so people think of clouds as

因此人们把云彩当作那些

things that get in the way.

碍事的东西。

They think of them as the annoying, frustrating obstructions,

他们把云彩看作讨厌的、让人抓狂的障碍物，

and then they rush off and do some blue-sky thinking.

然后人们行色匆匆的绘制各自的蓝图去了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But most people, when you stop to ask them,

但大多数人，如果你拦住问他们，

will admit to harboring a strange sort of fondness for clouds.

会承认他们对云彩有一种奇怪的情愫。

It's like a nostalgic fondness,

像是某种怀旧的喜爱之情，

and they make them think of their youth.

云彩让他们回想到自己年少的时候。

Who here can't remember thinking, well,

在坐的有谁记不起来

looking and finding shapes in the clouds

看着云彩在中间寻找不同的形状的

when they were kids?

少年时期？

You know, when you were masters of daydreaming?

当大家都还是做白日梦大师的时候？

Aristophanes, the ancient Greek playwright,

阿里斯托芬， 古希腊的剧作家，

he described the clouds as the patron godesses

他在2500年前把云彩形容为

of idle fellows

同僚们的

two and a half thousand years ago,

守护女神，

你明白他是什么意思。

and you can see what he means.

可惜现在，我们成年人无法

It's just that these days, us adults seem reluctant

to allow ourselves the indulgence

再让自己纵情于

of just allowing our imaginations

让自己的想象力

to drift along in the breeze, and I think that's a pity.

随波逐流，我觉得这真是一个遗憾。

I think we should perhaps do a bit more of it.

我认为我们也许应该多做一些这样的事情。

I think we should be a bit more willing, perhaps,

我觉得我们应该要更愿意

to look at the beautiful sight of the sunlight bursting out

欣赏美丽的阳光从云彩后面穿透过来，

from behind the clouds and go, "Wait a minute,

然后说，“等等，这多像

that's two cats dancing the salsa!"

两只猫在跳骚莎舞啊！“

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑声）（掌声）

Or seeing the big, white, puffy one up there

或者是把购物中心上的那个

over the shopping center looks like

白白胖胖的云彩看作是

the Abominable Snowman going to rob a bank.

一个正要去抢劫银行的雪人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

They're like nature's version of those inkblot images,

它们就像是大自然版的墨迹图片，

you know, that shrinks used to show their patients

你知道，那些在60年代用来为心理学家的病人做

测试的图片，

in the '60s,

and I think if you consider the shapes you see in the clouds,

我觉得如果你在云彩中寻找不同的图案的话，

you'll save money on psychoanalysis bills.

你会省下一大笔心理咨询费。

Let's say you're in love. All right?

比如说你现在正在热恋中， 好吧？

And you look up and what do you see?

然后你抬头看，你会看到什么？

Right? Or maybe the opposite.

对吧？或者也许正相反。

You've just been dumped by your partner,

你刚被交往对象给甩了，

and everywhere you look, it's kissing couples.

你所看之处都是在接吻的情侣们。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Perhaps you're having a moment of existential angst.

或者你正在焦虑中。

You know, you're thinking about your own mortality.

你知道，你在思考自己的死亡。

And there, on the horizon, it's the Grim Reaper.

然后在地平线的那边，出现了死神。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Or maybe you see a topless sunbather.

或者也许你看到了一个无上装正在晒日光浴的人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What would that mean?

那是什么意思？

What would that mean? I have no idea.

这意味着什么？我不知道。

But one thing I do know is this:

但是我知道一件事就是：

The bad press that clouds get is totally unfair.

云彩得到这些坏名声是非常不公平的。

I think we should stand up for them,

我认为我们应该为它们正身，

which is why, a few years ago,

这就是为什么几年前，

我发起了云彩鉴赏协会。

I started the Cloud Appreciation Society.

Tens of thousands of members now

现在已经有成千上万的会员了。

in almost 100 countries around the world.

他们遍布于全世界大概100个国家。

And all these photographs that I'm showing,

所有这些我在展示的图片，

they were sent in by members.

都是会员们拍摄的。

And the society exists to remind people of this:

协会的宗旨就是提醒人们：

Clouds are not something to moan about.

云彩不是用来发牢骚的。

Far from it. They are, in fact,

正好相反，它们实际上代表着

the most diverse, evocative, poetic aspect of nature.

大自然最变化无穷、富于感染力和诗意的一面。

I think, if you live with your head in the clouds

我认为，如果你让自己时不时的沉浸在云彩中，

every now and then, it helps you keep your feet on the ground.

它会帮助你让你的生活脚踏实地。

And I want to show you why, with the help of

我要借助一些我最喜欢的云彩

some of my favorite types of clouds.

来帮助我解释为什么。

Let's start with this one. It's the cirrus cloud,

让我们先看看这个。这是卷云，

named after the Latin for a lock of hair.

用拉丁人的一缕头发来命名的。

It's composed entirely of ice crystals

它完全是由从上面的对流层

cascading from the upper reaches of the troposphere,

级联下来的冰晶组成，

and as these ice crystals fall,

当这些冰晶下落的时候，

they pass through different layers with different winds

它们穿过带有不同的风力的各个大气层

然后它们或加速或减速，

and they speed up and slow down,

giving the cloud these brush-stroked appearances,

让这片云有了画笔刷过的图案，

these brush-stroke forms known as fall streaks.

这些图案形式被称作“雨幡”。

And these winds up there can be very, very fierce.

而这上面的风力可以非常、非常的强。

They can be 200 miles an hour, 300 miles an hour.

它们可以达到每小时200或者300英哩。

These clouds are bombing along,

这些云彩也跟着前进，

but from all the way down here,

但是从我们这里看过去，

they appear to be moving gracefully, slowly,

它们的运动看上去平和、缓慢，

like most clouds.

就像大多数云一样。

And so to tune into the clouds is to slow down,

所以和云彩同步就意味着慢下来、

to calm down.

沉静下来。

It's like a bit of everyday meditation.

这有点像是每日的冥想一样。

Those are common clouds.

这些是很普通的云。

What about rarer ones, like the lenticularis,

那些比较罕见的云呢？比如说荚状云，

the UFO-shaped lenticularis cloud?

形似外星飞船的荚状云？

These clouds form in the region of mountains.

这些云在山区形成。

When the wind passes, rises to pass over the mountain,

当风经过上升来翻过大山，

it can take on a wave-like path in the lee of the peak,

它会在山峰的背风处形成一个浪头式的路径，

with these clouds hovering at the crest

这些云彩徘徊在这些无形的风波

of these invisible standing waves of air,

的最顶端，

these flying saucer-like forms,

这些飞碟状的形态，

and some of the early black-and-white UFO photos

而早期的一些黑白外星飞船照片

are in fact lenticularis clouds. It's true.

就是荚状云。 真的。

A little rarer are the fallstreak holes. All right?

有点更罕见的是云洞（雨雪幡洞）， 好吧？

This is when a layer is made up of very, very cold

这是当某个云层由非常寒冷的水滴组成，

water droplets, and in one region they start to freeze,

在某个局部地区水滴开始结冰，

and this freezing sets off a chain reaction which spreads outwards

然后形成一种向外扩散的

with the ice crystals cascading and falling down below,

伴随着冰晶向下坠落的链式反应，

giving the appearance of jellyfish tendrils down below.

使之呈现一种水母的须状表象。

Rarer still, the Kelvin–Helmholtz cloud.

更稀奇的还是，开尔文 - 亥姆霍兹云。

Not a very snappy name. Needs a rebrand.

并不是个非常响亮的名字。需要换一个。

This looks like a series of breaking waves,

它就像是一排浪花，

and it's caused by shearing winds -- the wind

这是由剪断阻隔风力 －

above the cloud layer and below the cloud layer

在云层上方和下方的风速

有很大的不同，而在中间层，

differ significantly, and in the middle, in between,

you get this undulating of the air,

就出现了这中波浪起伏的气层，

and if the difference in those speeds is just right,

如果上下的风速正合适的话，

波浪的顶端就会卷曲过来

the tops of the undulations curl over

形成这种美丽的排浪式的漩涡。

in these beautiful breaking wave-like vortices.

All right. Those are rarer clouds than the cirrus,

好了，这些是比较少见的云彩，

但是它们其实不是那个罕见。

but they're not that rare.

If you look up, and you pay attention to the sky,

如果你抬头看，注视天空，

you'll see them sooner or later,

你总有机会看到它们，

maybe not quite as dramatic as these, but you'll see them.

也许不会像这些这么戏剧化，但是你会看到它们。

And you'll see them around where you live.

并且你也会在自己居住的附近看到它们。

Clouds are the most egalitarian

云彩是自然界里

of nature's displays, because we all have a good,

分布最平均的，因为我们都可以

fantastic view of the sky.

很好的看到天空。

And these clouds, these rarer clouds,

而这些云，这些少见的云，

remind us that the exotic can be found in the everyday.

会提醒我们新奇的事物在日常生活中随处可见。

Nothing is more nourishing, more stimulating

没有什么比让一个活跃、好奇的头脑

to an active, inquiring mind than being surprised,

获得惊喜更滋养、更受益匪浅的了。

being amazed. It's why we're all here at TED, right?

这也是我们为什么来TED的原因，不是吗？

But you don't need to rush off

但是你不用行色匆匆的

away from the familiar, across the world

远离熟悉的环境，周游世界

to be surprised.

来获得惊喜。

You just need to step outside,

你只需要走出去，

pay attention to what's so commonplace, so everyday,

注意每天生活中那些如此普通，

so mundane that everybody else misses it.

平凡到每个人都忽略的事物。

One cloud that people rarely miss is this one:

最稀疏平常的云彩是这个：

the cumulonimbus storm cloud.

积雨云的风暴云.

It's what's produces thunder and lightning and hail.

它负责制造雷、电和冰雹。

These clouds spread out at the top in this enormous

这些云在顶端像一块巨大的铁砧一样

anvil fashion stretching 10 miles up into the atmosphere.

摊开来并绵延10英里向上进入大气层。

They are an expression of the majestic architecture

它们是我们的大气层宏大建筑的

of our atmosphere.

一种表达。

But from down below, they are the embodiment

但是从下面我们的角度看，它们象征着

of the powerful, elemental force and power

一种推动着大气层的强大的、

that drives our atmosphere.

势如破竹的力量。

To be there is to be connected in the driving rain

此时我们与风雨和冰雹连系起来，

and the hail, to feel connected to our atmosphere.

让我们感觉与我们的大气层连系起来。

It's to be reminded that we are creatures

这提醒着我们是生活在

that inhabit this ocean of air.

这空气之海中的生灵。

We don't live beneath the sky. We live within it.

我们不是在天空下生活着。我们被它环绕着。

And that connection, that visceral connection to our atmosphere

而这种连系，这种内外相连的感觉

feels to me like an antidote.

对我来说是一种宽慰和解放。

It's an antidote to the growing tendency we have

这是一种对日趋增长的认为

to feel that we can really ever experience life

盯着电脑屏幕就可以体驗人生

by watching it on a computer screen, you know,

的想法的解放，你知道，

when we're in a wi-fi zone.

当你有无线网可用的时候。

But the one cloud that best expresses

但是一个最好的证明

why cloudspotting is more valuable today than ever

为什么赏云在今天比以往更宝贵的云彩

is this one, the cumulus cloud.

就是这个，积云。

Right? It forms on a sunny day.

不是吗？我们在一个晴天就能看到它。

If you close your eyes and think of a cloud,

如果你闭上眼睛想象一朵云彩，

it's probably one of these that comes to mind.

很有可能你会想到这样一朵云彩。

All those cloud shapes at the beginning,

所有那些最先看到的云彩形状，

those were cumulus clouds.

它们都是积云。

The sharp, crisp outlines of this formation

它锐利、清晰的轮廓

make it the best one for finding shapes in.

让它最合适从中找到各种形状。

And it reminds us

而这也提醒我们

of the aimless nature of cloudspotting,

赏云的无目的性。

what an aimless activity it is.

这是一个多么没有目标的活动啊。

You're not going to change the world

你不会凭着

by lying on your back and gazing up at the sky, are you?

舒服地躺下盯着天空而改变世界， 会吗？

It's pointless. It's a pointless activity,

多么没有意义。这是一个没有意义的活动，

which is precisely why it's so important.

这也是为什么赏云这么重要的原因。

The digital world conspires to make us feel

数位世界让我们感觉

eternally busy, perpetually busy.

不停的、永远忙碌着。

You know, when you're not dealing with

当你不再处理过去那种

the traditional pressures of earning a living

生活压力、赚钱买必需的食物、

and putting food on the table, raising a family,

养家糊口、

writing thank you letters,

写感谢信，

you have to now contend with

你现在得面对

answering a mountain of unanswered emails,

回答无数的未回邮件、

updating a Facebook page,

更新脸书页面和

feeding your Twitter feed.

发布推特信息。

And cloudspotting legitimizes doing nothing.

而赏云则崇尚无所事事。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And sometimes we need —

有的时候我们需要 －－

(Applause)

（掌声）

Sometimes we need excuses to do nothing.

有时我们需要借口来无所事事。

We need to be reminded by these

我们需要用这些

patron goddesses of idle fellows

悠闲的同僚们的守护女神

that slowing down

提醒自己慢下来

and being in the present, not thinking about

并体会当下的那个时刻，不要思考

what you've got to do and what you should have done,

你还需要做什么和你本应该完成什么，

but just being here, letting your imagination

但就在此时此地，让你的想象力

lift from the everyday concerns down here

从日常关注中脱离出来

and just being in the present, it's good for you,

只关注现在， 这对你有好处，

and it's good for the way you feel.

对你的感性有好处。

It's good for your ideas. It's good for your creativity.

它对你的想法和创造力也有好处。

It's good for your soul.

对你的灵魂也有益。

So keep looking up,

保持抬头看，

marvel at the ephemeral beauty,

惊叹于那短暂的美丽吧，

and always remember to live life with your head in the clouds.

永远记住带着赏云的思想生活。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢

(Applause)

（掌声）