JP Rangaswami: Information is food

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: I-Hsiang Lin 審譯者: Yuguo Zhang

I love my food.

我喜歡我的食物。

And I love information.

我也喜歡資訊。

My children usually tell me

我的小孩總跟我說

that one of those passions is a little more apparent than the other.

我對其中一項的喜好明顯地大於另外一項。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But what I want to do in the next eight minutes or so

但是，接下來八分鐘我想要

is to take you through how those passions developed,

帶領大家體驗這些喜好是如何發展而成，

the point in my life when the two passions merged,

當這兩項喜好在我生命合而為一的時候，

the journey of learning that took place from that point.

以及之後的學習旅程。

And one idea I want to leave you with today

今天我要留給大家思考的是

is what would would happen differently in your life

如果你將資訊看待成食物

if you saw information the way you saw food?

你的人生會有什麼不同？

I was born in Calcutta --

我在印度加爾各達市出生 --

a family where my father and his father before him

生於一個父親與祖父

were journalists,

都是記者的家庭，

and they wrote magazines in the English language.

而且他們都在雜誌上發表英文文章。

That was the family business.

這是家族事業。

And as a result of that,

因為如此，

I grew up with books everywhere around the house.

我在家內充滿書的環境中長大。

And I mean books everywhere around the house.

我指的真的房子裡到處是書。

And that's actually a shop in Calcutta,

事實上這是加爾各達的一間商店，

but it's a place where we like our books.

但是個會讓人愛上書本的地方。

In fact, I've got 38,000 of them now

事實上我現在擁有三萬八千本書，

and no Kindle in sight.

沒有一本是Kindle(亞馬遜電子書閱讀器)。

But growing up as a child with the books around everywhere,

但是成長於四周充滿書，

with people to talk to about those books,

人們談論書的環境中，

this wasn't a sort of slightly learned thing.

這不太是件需要學習的事。

By the time I was 18, I had a deep passion for books.

當我18歲的時候，我熱愛書本。

It wasn't the only passion I had.

不過這並不是我唯一的喜好。

I was a South Indian

我來自印度南方，

brought up in Bengal.

在孟加拉長大。

And two of the things about Bengal:

孟加拉人的兩大特點就是：

they like their savory dishes

喜愛當地香辣美食

and they like their sweets.

還有甜點。

So by the time I grew up,

於是，長大後，

again, I had a well-established passion for food.

我也培養了對美食的熱愛。

Now I was growing up in the late '60s and early '70s,

我成長於1960末和1970初，

and there were a number of other passions I was also interested in,

我也還有很多其它的熱愛的事物，

but these two were the ones that differentiated me.

但這兩個喜好讓我與眾不同。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And then life was fine, dandy.

當時生命是如此美好，

Everything was okay,

一切都很順利，

until I got to about the age of 26,

直到我26歲那年，

and I went to a movie called "Short Circuit."

看了一部叫“霹靂五號"(SHORT CIRCUIT)的電影。

Oh, some of you have seen it.

哦，你們有些人有看過。

And apparently it's being remade right now

那部片現在正在重拍，

and it's going to be coming out next year.

預計明年會上映。

It's the story of this experimental robot

這是一部關於實驗性機器人

which got electrocuted and found a life.

被雷擊後找到生命的故事。

And as it ran, this thing was saying, "Give me input. Give me input."

當它奔跑時，不斷地說：「給我資料，給我資料。」

And I suddenly realized that for a robot

我突然意識到對機器人來說

both information as well as food

資訊跟食物

were the same thing.

毫無分別。

Energy came to it in some form or shape,

能量以某種形態或形狀進入它體內

data came to it in some form or shape.

資料也以各種形態或形狀進入它體內。

And I began to think,

我開始思考，

I wonder what it would be like

我好奇如果是我，

to start imagining myself

那會是什麼情況？

as if energy and information were the two things I had as input --

彷彿能量與資訊是我要吸收的兩樣東西 --

as if food and information were similar in some form or shape.

如同食物和資訊有類似的型態或者形狀。

I started doing some research then, and this was the 25-year journey,

我從那時起開始從事相關的研究，到現在已經二十五年了

and started finding out

我最早的發現是

that actually human beings as primates

身為靈長類的人類，

have far smaller stomachs

對照我們的體重，

than should be the size for our body weight

我們的胃其實非常的小，

and far larger brains.

腦卻很大。

And as I went to research that even further,

我對此做了深入的研究，

I got to a point where I discovered something

發現一種稱為

called the expensive tissue hypothesis.

高耗能組織假說(expensive tissue hypothesis)。

That actually for a given body mass of a primate

事實上靈長類身體質量

the metabolic rate was static.

的新成代謝是固定的。

What changed was the balance of the tissues available.

會變的是可用組織間的平衡。

And two of the most expensive tissues in our human body

而人類身體內最高耗能的兩個組織

are nervous tissue and digestive tissue.

就是神經組織及消化組織。

And what transpired was that people had put forward a hypothesis

接著人們作出了一個假設

that was apparently coming up with some fabulous results by about 1995.

而且在1995年時有了極佳結果。

It's a lady named Leslie Aiello.

有位Leslie Aiello 女士

And the paper then suggested that you traded one for the other.

在報告中提出人們將用一個器官交換另一個。

If you wanted your brain for a particular body mass to be large,

如果你想要個相對於特定身體質量較大的大腦，

you had to live with a smaller gut.

你就必須接受擁有較小的內臟。

That then set me off completely

這完全開了我的話匣子，

to say, Okay, these two are connected.

我可以說，好的，這兩者是相連的。

So I looked at the cultivation of information as if it were food

所以我將資訊培養視為食物，

and said, So we were hunter-gathers of information.

試想我們以前都是資訊的採獵者。

We moved from that to becoming farmers and cultivators of information.

接著我們變成農夫和資訊培養者。

Does that really explain what we're seeing

這是否真的可以解釋

with the intellectual property battles nowadays?

今日常見的智慧財產權爭奪戰？

Because those people who were hunter-gatherers in origin

因為這些原本的採獵者

wanted to be free and roam and pick up information as they wanted,

想要隨心所欲地自由採集資訊，

and those that were in the business of farming information

而原本從事生產資訊的人們

wanted to build fences around it,

想要在資訊周圍築藩籬，

create ownership and wealth and structure and settlement.

以宣稱所有權，製造財富，組織和法定財產。

So there was always going to be a tension within that.

於是緊張情勢總是存在其中。

And everything I saw in the cultivation

而我看到所有培養物中，

said there were huge fights amongst the foodies

存在美食家的爭鬥，

between the cultivators and the hunter-gatherers.

發自於培養者和採集者間。

And this is happening here.

相同的情況也在這裡發生。

When I moved to preparation, this same thing was true,

當我開始要準備的時候，面臨到一樣的狀況，

expect that there were two schools.

只是這次是兩間學校。

One group of people said you can distill your information,

其中一部分的人說你可以提煉你的資訊中的精華，

you can extract value, separate it and serve it up,

你可以萃取有價值的部分，將它分開好再上桌。

while another group turned around

而另一部分的人回過頭來

and said no, no you can ferment it.

說不可以，但你可以使它發酵。

You bring it all together and mash it up

你將全部聚集在一塊然後搗碎，

and the value emerges that way.

於是能顯示它的價值。

The same is again true with information.

這樣的準則套用到資訊也行得通。

But consumption was where it started getting really enjoyable.

但消費是真正有趣的開始，

Because what I began to see then

因為可以開始看到

was there were so many different ways people would consume this.

人們可以用很多不同的方式消費。

They'd buy it from the shop as raw ingredients.

可以從店裡購買生的食材。

Do you cook it? Do you have it served to you?

你烹飪嗎？還是都是吃別人煮的？

Do you go to a restaurant?

你去餐廳嗎？

The same is true every time as I started thinking about information.

每當我開始想到資訊時，也是一樣的狀況。

The analogies were getting crazy --

對比可是無止境的 --

that information had sell-by dates,

資訊也有保存期限，

that people had misused information that wasn't dated properly

人們誤用沒有妥善標示日期的資訊

and could really make an effect on the stock market,

可能會影響股票市場，

on corporate values, etc.

或者公司價值等。

And by this time I was hooked.

研究到這個時候，我非常著迷。

And this is about 23 years into this process.

而這已經是第23年了。

And I began to start thinking of myself

於是我開始想到我自己，

as we start having mash-ups of fact and fiction,

當我們開始混合現實和虛構，

docu-dramas, mockumentaries, whatever you call it.

劇情式紀錄片、偽紀錄片，不管你怎麼稱呼它。

Are we going to reach the stage

我們是否能達到

where information has a percentage for fact associated with it?

有一部分事實和資訊相連的境界？

We start labeling information for the fact percentage?

我們是否會開始在資訊上標示其中事實所佔的百分比？

Are we going to start looking at what happens

當資訊來源消失，就像遇到饑荒一樣，

when your information source is turned off, as a famine?

我們是否會開始觀察原因？

Which brings me to the final element of this.

這引導我們到最後的元素。

Clay Shirky once stated that there is no such animal as information overload,

Clay Shirky曾說過沒有動物會承載過多的資訊，

there is only filter failure.

有的只是篩檢失敗而已。

I put it to you that information,

我要展現的是，

if viewed from the point of food,

從食物的觀點來看資訊，

is never a production issue; you never speak of food overload.

這從來不是生產的問題；你不會說食物超載。

Fundamentally it's a consumption issue.

基本上這是消費的問題。

And we have to start thinking

於是我們必須開始思考

about how we create diets within ourselves, exercise within ourselves,

我們要如何安排個人的節食，運動計畫，

to have the faculties to be able to deal with information,

確保我們的身體機能能夠處理資訊，

to have the labeling to be able to do it responsibly.

能發揮職責有效地分類標籤。

In fact, when I saw "Supersize Me," I starting thinking of saying,

事實上，當我看電影「麥胖報告」時，

What would happen

我想到

if an individual had 31 days nonstop Fox News?

如果一個人連續31天不間斷地觀看福斯新聞會怎麼樣？

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Would there be time to be able to work with it?

是否有時間能夠跟上腳步？

So you start really understanding

於是你開始能真正了解

that you can have diseases, toxins, a need to balance your diet,

你感染疾病，毒素，平衡你的飲食的必需品，

and once you start looking, and from that point on,

一旦你開始正視這個問題，從那時候開始，

everything I have done in terms of the consumption of information,

我剛剛講到的資訊消費，

the production of information, the preparation of information,

資訊生產和資訊準備這些觀點，

I've looked at from the viewpoint of food.

已經從食物的觀點檢視過。

It has probably not helped my waistline any

這或許對縮小我的腰圍沒有任何助益，

because I like practicing on both sides.

因為我喜歡食物和資訊。

But I'd like to leave you with just that question:

但我想要讓你們思考這個問題：

If you began to think of all the information that you consume

如果你開始用你看待食物的方式

the way you think of food,

來思考你消化的資訊，

what would you do differently?

你的行為會有什麼不同？

Thank you very much for your time.

謝謝你們費時凝聽。

(Applause)

(掌聲)