Heather Barnett: What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime

譯者: Fred Lee 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

I'd like to introduce you to an organism:

我想向您介紹一個有機體：

a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.

粘菌，多頭絨泡菌。

It's a mold with an identity crisis, because it's not a mold,

這是一個有身份危機的霉菌， 因為牠不是一個霉菌，

so let's get that straight to start with.

讓我們直接開始說明。

It is one of 700 known slime molds

牠是屬於700個已知的

belonging to the kingdom of the amoeba.

阿米巴界的粘菌之一。

It is a single-celled organism, a cell,

牠是一種單細胞生物，一個細胞，

that joins together with other cells

與其他細胞連接在一起，

to form a mass super-cell

以形成一個在超小區而大規模的細胞，

to maximize its resources.

能最大限度地發揮其資源。

So within a slime mold you might find thousands

所以粘菌內你可能會發現成千上萬

or millions of nuclei,

或數百萬的核，

all sharing a cell wall,

全部共用一個細胞壁，

all operating as one entity.

為一體操作的實體。

In its natural habitat,

在其自然棲息地，

you might find the slime mold foraging in woodlands,

你可能會發現粘菌在林地覓食，

eating rotting vegetation,

吃腐爛的植被，

but you might equally find it

但你可能會同樣發現牠在

in research laboratories,

研究實驗室、

classrooms, and even artists' studios.

教室，甚至是藝術家的工作室。

I first came across the slime mold about five years ago.

我第一次碰到粘菌是大約五年前。

A microbiologist friend of mine

我的一位微生物學家朋友

gave me a petri dish with a little yellow blob in it

給我一個裡面 有一點黃色斑點的培養皿，

and told me to go home and play with it.

叫我回家玩玩。

The only instructions I was given,

我得到的唯一指令是，

that it likes it dark and damp

牠喜歡陰暗潮濕，

and its favorite food is porridge oats.

其最喜歡的食物是燕麥粥。

I'm an artist who's worked for many years

我是藝術家，多年來

with biology, with scientific processes,

與生物學、科學流程周旋，

so living material is not uncommon for me.

所以有生命的物質對我是尋常不過。

I've worked with plants, bacteria,

我的工作曾經涉及植物、細菌、

cuttlefish, fruit flies.

墨魚、果蠅。

So I was keen to get my new collaborator home

所以我非常熱切地 帶我的新合作者回家，

to see what it could do.

看看牠能做什麼。

So I took it home and I watched.

所以我把牠帶回家，把牠看著。

I fed it a varied diet.

我餵牠很多樣化的食物。

I observed as it networked.

我觀察牠發展其網路，

It formed a connection between food sources.

形成食物源之間的連結。

I watched it leave a trail behind it,

我看著牠背後留下的痕跡，

indicating where it had been.

顯示牠的足跡。

And I noticed that when it was fed up with one petri dish,

而且我注意到， 當牠受夠身在一個培養皿中，

it would escape and find a better home.

牠會逃跑，找一個更美好的家園。

I captured my observations

我用縮時攝影

through time-lapse photography.

拍攝記錄我的觀察。

Slime mold grows at about one centimeter an hour,

粘菌在一個小時左右生長一厘米，

so it's not really ideal for live viewing

所以現場觀看不是十分理想，

unless there's some form of really extreme meditation,

除非你有某種非常極端的冥想，

but through the time lapse,

透過縮時攝影，

I could observe some really interesting behaviors.

我可以觀察到一些很有趣的行為。

For instance, having fed on a nice pile of oats,

例如，如果牠剛吃了一堆不錯的燕麥，

the slime mold goes off to explore new territories

粘菌會同時以不同方向

in different directions simultaneously.

探索新的領域。

When it meets itself,

當牠遇到自己，

it knows it's already there,

牠知道自己已經存在那裡，

it recognizes it's there,

承認自己的存在，

and instead retreats back

牠不會撤退回來，

and grows in other directions.

而是會向其他方向生長。

I was quite impressed by this feat,

我是相當受這一壯舉感動，

at how what was essentially just a bag of cellular slime

怎麼本質上只是一袋子細胞粘菌

could somehow map its territory,

能以某種方式映射其境，

know itself, and move with seeming intention.

了解本身，並有意圖地移動。

I found countless scientific studies,

我發現無數的科學研究、

research papers, journal articles,

研究論文、期刊文章，

all citing incredible work with this one organism,

通通都引用了跟這有機體 相關的不可思議研究，

and I'm going to share a few of those with you.

我將會與你們分享一些。

For example, a team in Hokkaido University in Japan

例如，日本北海道大學的一個團隊

filled a maze with slime mold.

在迷宮裡填補了粘菌。

It joined together and formed a mass cell.

牠連接在一起，形成一個巨大細胞。

They introduced food at two points,

他們在兩個時間點上餵養，

oats of course,

當然是燕麥，

and it formed a connection

牠形成了

between the food.

食物之間的連接。

It retracted from empty areas and dead ends.

牠從空區和死角縮回。

There are four possible routes through this maze,

通過這個迷宮有四條可行的路徑，

yet time and time again,

但一次又一次，

the slime mold established the shortest

黏菌搜索了最短

and the most efficient route.

和最有效的途徑。

Quite clever.

相當聰明。

The conclusion from their experiment

從他們的實驗得出的結論是，

was that the slime mold had a primitive form of intelligence.

粘菌有智能的原始形式。

Another study exposed cold air at regular intervals to the slime mold.

另一項研究是定期給粘菌放冷空氣。

It didn't like it. It doesn't like it cold.

牠不喜歡它。牠不喜歡寒冷。

It doesn't like it dry.

牠不喜歡乾燥。

They did this at repeat intervals,

他們重複間隔這樣做，

and each time, the slime mold

每一次粘菌反應地

slowed down its growth in response.

放慢增長。

However, at the next interval,

然而，在下一段時間裡，

the researchers didn't put the cold air on,

研究人員並沒有放冷空氣，

yet the slime mold slowed down in anticipation

但粘菌在因為預期會有冷空氣

of it happening.

而放緩成長。

It somehow knew that it was about the time

牠在某種程度上知道這段時間

for the cold air that it didn't like.

會有牠不喜歡的寒冷空氣。

The conclusion from their experiment

從他們的實驗得出的結論是，

was that the slime mold was able to learn.

粘菌能夠學習。

A third experiment:

第三個實驗：

the slime mold was invited

粘菌被邀請去

to explore a territory covered in oats.

探索覆蓋燕麥的領域。

It fans out in a branching pattern.

燕麥是分枝形狀的格局。

As it goes, each food node it finds,

從那裡，牠每發現有食物的節點，

it forms a network, a connection to,

牠形成了一個網絡，一個連接，

and keeps foraging.

並保持覓食。

After 26 hours, it established

26 小時後，牠在不同的

quite a firm network

燕麥之間建立了

between the different oats.

相當堅定的網絡。

Now there's nothing remarkable in this

這，沒有什麼了不起的，

until you learn that the center oat that it started from

直到你發現， 一開始在中心的燕麥，

represents the city of Tokyo,

代表東京，

and the surrounding oats are suburban railway stations.

和周圍的燕麥是地鐵站。

The slime mold had replicated

該粘菌已複製了

the Tokyo transport network

東京的交通網絡。

— (Laughter) —

（笑聲）

a complex system developed over time

這是個複雜的、隨時間推移的系統，

by community dwellings, civil engineering, urban planning.

由社區住宅、土木工程， 和城市規劃發展出來的。

What had taken us well over 100 years

我們花了超過100年做的，

took the slime mold just over a day.

粘菌僅僅用了一天。

The conclusion from their experiment

從他們的實驗得出的結論是，

was that the slime mold can form efficient networks

粘菌能夠形成有效的網絡

and solve the traveling salesman problem.

解決旅行推銷員問題。

It is a biological computer.

牠是一種生物計算機。

As such, it has been mathematically modeled,

因此，牠已在數學上建立了模式，

algorithmically analyzed.

算法進行分析。

It's been sonified, replicated, simulated.

牠已經超聲波化、複製、模擬。

World over, teams of researchers

世界各地的研究人員

are decoding its biological principles

正進行解碼牠的生物學原理，

to understand its computational rules

了解其運算規則，

and applying that learning to the fields of electronics,

並運用學習在電子、

programming and robotics.

程式編寫和機器人等領域。

So the question is,

問題是，

how does this thing work?

牠是如何運作？

It doesn't have a central nervous system.

牠沒有中樞神經系統。

It doesn't have a brain,

牠沒有大腦，

yet it can perform behaviors

但牠可以執行

that we associate with brain function.

我們聯想到的腦功能。

It can learn, it can remember,

牠可以學習，牠有記憶，

it can solve problems, it can make decisions.

牠能夠解決問題，牠可以做決策。

So where does that intelligence lie?

那麼，牠的智慧何在？

So this is a microscopy, a video I shot,

這是一個顯微鏡，我拍的一段影片，

and it's about 100 times magnification,

大約是 100 倍的放大倍率，

sped up about 20 times,

加快 20 倍左右，

and inside the slime mold,

粘菌裡面，

there is a rhythmic pulsing flow,

有一個節奏性的脈動流，

a vein-like structure carrying

通過細胞，攜帶著

cellular material, nutrients and chemical information

細胞物質、營養物質和化學訊息

through the cell,

的脈狀結構，

streaming first in one direction and then back in another.

首先在一個方向流， 然後再在另一個方向。

And it is this continuous, synchronous oscillation

就是這種在細胞內連續的、

同步的波動，

within the cell that allows it to form

允許牠對其相當複雜的環境有所理解，

quite a complex understanding of its environment,

but without any large-scale control center.

儘管牠並沒有任何大型的控制中心。

This is where its intelligence lies.

這就是牠智能的所在。

So it's not just academic researchers

所以，不只是大學的學術研究人員

in universities that are interested in this organism.

對這個有機體感興趣。

A few years ago, I set up SliMoCo,

幾年前，我成立了 SliMoCo，

the Slime Mould Collective.

粘菌合作社。

It's an online, open, democratic network

這是一個在網上、開放、

民主的網路，給予粘菌研究人員

for slime mold researchers and enthusiasts

和愛好者分享知識和研究的地方，

to share knowledge and experimentation

across disciplinary divides

跨學科

and across academic divides.

和學術領域。

The Slime Mould Collective membership is self-selecting.

合作社的成員是自我選拔。

People have found the collective

人們發現合作社

as the slime mold finds the oats.

就如粘菌發現燕麥。

And it comprises of scientists

成員包括科學家、

and computer scientists and researchers

電腦科學家和研究員，

but also artists like me,

亦有像我一樣的藝術家研究員，

architects, designers, writers, activists, you name it.

建築師、設計師、作家、 社會活動家，包羅萬象。

It's a very interesting, eclectic membership.

這一群成員非常有趣，不拘一格。

Just a few examples:

僅僅是幾個例子：

an artist who paints with fluorescent Physarum;

有一位用熒光絨泡菌油漆的藝術家、

a collaborative team

一個結合生物和

who are combining biological and electronic design

電子設計

with 3D printing technologies in a workshop;

與 3D 列印技術的團隊，

another artist who is using the slime mold

還有另一位藝術家使用粘菌，

as a way of engaging a community

請社區團員繪製

to map their area.

其區域的地圖。

Here, the slime mold is being used directly

在這裡，粘菌被直接

as a biological tool, but metaphorically

用作生物工具，但比喻為

as a symbol for ways of talking

在談論社會凝聚力，

about social cohesion, communication

溝通及合作

and cooperation.

方式的象徵。

Other public engagement activities,

還有其他公眾參與活動，

I run lots of slime mold workshops,

我辦了很多粘菌工作室，

a creative way of engaging with the organism.

用創造性的方式跟粘菌互動。

So people are invited to come and learn

所以人們受邀來了解

about what amazing things it can do,

粘菌可以做什麼驚人的事情，

and they design their own petri dish experiment,

而且他們可以設計 自己的培養皿實驗環境，

an environment for the slime mold to navigate

為粘菌進行導航，

so they can test its properties.

使他們能夠測試其性能。

Everybody takes home a new pet

每個人都像帶一隻新寵物回家，

and is invited to post their results

並應邀在合作社上發表他們

on the Slime Mould Collective.

對粘菌發現的結果。

And the collective has enabled me

合作社使我

to form collaborations

能夠與大批

with a whole array of interesting people.

有趣的人合作。

I've been working with filmmakers

我正在與製片人

on a feature-length slime mold documentary,

安排粘菌的長篇紀錄片，

and I stress feature-length,

我要強調是長篇，

which is in the final stages of edit

正在編輯的最後階段，

and will be hitting your cinema screens very soon.

很快就會在你附近的影院放映。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's also enabled me to conduct what I think is

牠也讓我進行我認為是

the world's first human slime mold experiment.

世界上第一個人類粘菌實驗。

This is part of an exhibition in Rotterdam last year.

這是在鹿特丹去年展覽的一部分。

We invited people to become slime mold for half an hour.

我們邀請人們扮演粘菌半小時。

So we essentially tied people together

基本上，我們就把人捆綁在一起

so they were a giant cell,

形成一個巨細胞，

and invited them to follow slime mold rules.

並邀請他們要按照粘菌規則做。

You have to communicate through oscillations,

必須要通過振盪來溝通，

no speaking.

不能說話，

You have to operate as one entity, one mass cell,

要作為一體、巨大細胞來行動，

no egos,

沒有自我，

and the motivation for moving

移動的動機便是

and then exploring the environment

要探索環境

is in search of food.

尋找食物。

So a chaotic shuffle ensued as this bunch of strangers

因此，一堆混亂的人群 隨之而來，

tied together with yellow ropes wearing "Being Slime Mold" t-shirts

這群被黃色繩索綁在一起的陌生人 穿寫著「我是粘菌」黃色的 T 恤，

wandered through the museum park.

在博物館的公園漫步。

When they met trees, they had to reshape

當他們遇到樹木，

還得以巨大細胞的方式 重塑他們的連接和重組，

their connections and reform as a mass cell

through not speaking.

且不能說話。

This is a ludicrous experiment in many, many ways.

這是一個非常滑稽的實驗。

This isn't hypothesis-driven.

這不是為了證實假設。

We're not trying to prove, demonstrate anything.

我們不是想證明，表明什麼。

But what it did provide us was a way

但它確實為我們提供了

of engaging a broad section of the public

一個能讓公眾參與的方法，

with ideas of intelligence, agency, autonomy,

充滿聰明想法、媒介、自主性，

and provide a playful platform

並俏皮地提供了

for discussions about

有關隨後進行

the things that ensued.

討論的平台。

One of the most exciting things

這實驗中

about this experiment

最令人興奮的事情

was the conversation that happened afterwards.

是之後的談話。

An entirely spontaneous symposium happened in the park.

完全自發的座談 會發生在公園裡。

People talked about the human psychology,

人們津津樂道地談人的心理，

of how difficult it was to let go

是多麼困難地放棄本身

of their individual personalities and egos.

和自我。

Other people talked about bacterial communication.

其他人談論細菌的傳播。

Each person brought in their own

每個人有

individual interpretation,

自己的解釋，

and our conclusion from this experiment was that

從這個實驗我們的結論是，

the people of Rotterdam were highly cooperative,

鹿特丹的人很合群，

especially when given beer.

尤其是喝了啤酒之後。

We didn't just give them oats.

我們不只是給他們燕麥。

We gave them beer as well.

我們也給他們啤酒。

But they weren't as efficient as the slime mold,

但他們不是像粘菌一樣有效。

and the slime mold, for me,

粘菌，對我來說，

is a fascinating subject matter.

是一個引人入勝的題材。

It's biologically fascinating,

牠是迷人的生物，

it's computationally interesting,

牠的計算有趣，

but it's also a symbol,

但牠也是一個象徵，

a way of engaging with ideas of community,

是種集合社區想法、

collective behavior, cooperation.

集體行為和合作的一種方式。

A lot of my work draws on the scientific research,

我的許多作品中借鑒了科研，

so this pays homage to the maze experiment

所以這個是對迷宮實驗的致敬，

but in a different way.

只是以不同的方式。

And the slime mold is also my working material.

粘菌也是我的工作物質。

It's a coproducer of photographs, prints, animations,

牠是照片的、版畫的、動畫的，

participatory events.

參與事件的共同製作者。

Whilst the slime mold doesn't choose

雖然在粘菌不曾

to work with me, exactly,

選擇與我合作，確切地說，

it is a collaboration of sorts.

但這也是一種合作的角色。

I can predict certain behaviors

我可以預測某些行為，

by understanding how it operates,

透過理解牠的運作方式，

but I can't control it.

但我無法控制牠。

The slime mold has the final say

粘菌在創作過程中

in the creative process.

有最後決定權。

And after all, it has its own internal aesthetics.

畢竟，牠有自己的美感標準。

These branching patterns that we see

我們看到的這些分支模式，

we see across all forms, scales of nature,

可以看到各種大自然的形式，

from river deltas to lightning strikes,

從河流三角洲至雷擊，

from our own blood vessels to neural networks.

從我們自己的血管，至神經網路。

There's clearly significant rules at play

在這個簡單而又複雜的有機體，

in this simple yet complex organism,

顯然有很明確的規則，

and no matter what our disciplinary perspective or our mode of inquiry,

而不管我們的學科角度， 還是我們的查詢方式，

there's a great deal that we can learn

我們可以學到很多東西，

from observing and engaging

透過觀察

with this beautiful, brainless blob.

與跟這美麗卻無腦的物質互動。

I give you Physarum polycephalum.

這就是多頭絨泡菌。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)