Can we create new senses for humans? | David Eagleman

譯者: Yamei Huang 審譯者: 杏儀 歐陽

We are built out of very small stuff,

我們由極小的物質所構成，

and we are embedded in a very large cosmos,

我們生活在一個巨大的宇宙中，

and the fact is that we are not very good at understanding reality

然後實際情況是， 我們並不是真正了解這個世界

at either of those scales,

無論是大型或微型的世界，

and that's because our brains

這是因為我們的大腦

haven't evolved to understand the world at that scale.

還沒有發達到理解 這個世界有多大。

Instead, we're trapped on this very thin slice of perception

相反的， 我們被局限在這個狹小的

right in the middle.

感知範圍中。

But it gets strange, because even at that slice of reality that we call home,

但是奇怪的是， 即使像我們撥電話回家這樣的事，

we're not seeing most of the action that's going on.

這其中大部分的動作 我們都沒有看清是怎麼一回事。

So take the colors of our world.

看看我們所處世界的色彩。

This is light waves, electromagnetic radiation that bounces off objects

它是由物體反射的光波，電磁波。

and it hits specialized receptors in the back of our eyes.

射線直接擊中位於我們眼球後部 的一個專門接收部位。

But we're not seeing all the waves out there.

但是我們看不到所有的波。

In fact, what we see

事實上，我們看到的

is less than a 10 trillionth of what's out there.

不到 10 兆分之一。

So you have radio waves and microwaves

所以，你們現在正被無數的 無線電波、微波、

and X-rays and gamma rays passing through your body right now

X 光、伽馬射線穿過身體

and you're completely unaware of it,

卻渾然不知。

because you don't come with the proper biological receptors

因為人類沒有適當的生物感覺器官

for picking it up.

來感知這些波。

There are thousands of cell phone conversations

此時，數以萬計的通話訊號

passing through you right now,

正從你身邊通過，

and you're utterly blind to it.

你完全看不見這些波。

Now, it's not that these things are inherently unseeable.

這並不是因為這些波本身不可見。

Snakes include some infrared in their reality,

蛇可以看到某些紅外線，

and honeybees include ultraviolet in their view of the world,

蜜蜂可以看到紫外線，

and of course we build machines in the dashboards of our cars

我們可以在汽車儀表板內安裝裝置，

to pick up on signals in the radio frequency range,

來接收無線電波的信號，

and we built machines in hospitals to pick up on the X-ray range.

醫院裡使用相關設備來接收 X 光。

But you can't sense any of those by yourself,

我們無法以五官去感受這些波，

at least not yet,

至少在目前階段無法做到，

because you don't come equipped with the proper sensors.

因為你的身體 沒有適當的裝備來接收它們。

Now, what this means is that our experience of reality

這意味著我們對於真實世界的感知力

is constrained by our biology,

受限於我們本身的生物構造，

and that goes against the common sense notion

這有違常理，

that our eyes and our ears and our fingertips

若我們的眼睛、耳朵、指尖

are just picking up the objective reality that's out there.

只能感知到我們周圍客觀存在的資訊。

Instead, our brains are sampling just a little bit of the world.

相反地，我們的大腦 只在這其中揀取了很小一部分。

Now, across the animal kingdom,

在整個動物王國，

different animals pick up on different parts of reality.

不同的動物會感知不一樣的實況。

So in the blind and deaf world of the tick,

在蝨子黑暗無聲的世界裡，

the important signals are temperature and butyric acid;

溫度和丁酸是重要信號；

in the world of the black ghost knifefish,

在黑魔鬼刀魚的世界裡，

its sensory world is lavishly colored by electrical fields;

電磁場 構建了 其色彩斑斕的感官世界；

and for the echolocating bat,

而對於靠迴聲定位的蝙蝠，

its reality is constructed out of air compression waves.

空氣壓縮波 構建了它們的世界。

That's the slice of their ecosystem that they can pick up on,

這就是牠們生態系統構造特點 讓他們獲取片斷的信息，

and we have a word for this in science.

在科學領域有一個詞

It's called the umwelt,

叫做「客觀世界」(umwelt），

which is the German word for the surrounding world.

這是一個德語詞彙， 意指周圍的環境。

Now, presumably, every animal assumes

或許，每一種動物都假設

that its umwelt is the entire objective reality out there,

牠的「周圍環境」 就是牠的整個客觀存在的世界，

because why would you ever stop to imagine

因為動物一般都不會無端端地想

that there's something beyond what we can sense.

在我們感知範圍外， 還有其他的東西存在。

Instead, what we all do is we accept reality

相反的，我們只接受

as it's presented to us.

實際環境呈現給我們的訊息。

Let's do a consciousness-raiser on this.

讓我們提高這方面的意識。

Imagine that you are a bloodhound dog.

想像你是一隻警犬。

Your whole world is about smelling.

你的整個世界是聞氣味。

You've got a long snout that has 200 million scent receptors in it,

你有一個長長的鼻腔， 裡面密布 2 億個嗅覺接收器。

and you have wet nostrils that attract and trap scent molecules,

你濕潤的鼻子 用以接收和捕捉氣味，

and your nostrils even have slits so you can take big nosefuls of air.

你的鼻孔甚至有縫隙 讓你可以大口吸氣。

Everything is about smell for you.

與你而言，一切東西都是氣味。

So one day, you stop in your tracks with a revelation.

某一天，你停下腳步，突然想到

You look at your human owner and you think,

你望著你的主人，在想：

"What is it like to have the pitiful, impoverished nose of a human?

人類擁有一個可憐又沒特點的鼻子 那會是個什麼情況啊？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

What is it like when you take a feeble little noseful of air?

如果你微弱地嗅著空氣， 會是怎麼樣？

How can you not know that there's a cat 100 yards away,

你怎能不知道 100 碼以外有隻貓，

or that your neighbor was on this very spot six hours ago?"

或 6 小時前你的鄰居在這呆過？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So because we're humans,

因為我們是人，

we've never experienced that world of smell,

從來沒有感知過這樣的嗅覺世界，

so we don't miss it,

所以我們也不覺得遺憾，

because we are firmly settled into our umwelt.

因為我們堅守地生活在自己的環境。

But the question is, do we have to be stuck there?

但問題是， 我們是否必須困在此環境中？

So as a neuroscientist, I'm interested in the way that technology

身為一個神經學家， 我對運用某種科技很感興趣，

might expand our umwelt,

可以用它來拓展我們的環境，

and how that's going to change the experience of being human.

以及如何改變人類的感知和經歷。

So we already know that we can marry our technology to our biology,

我們都知道生物學 和科技可以結合在一起，

because there are hundreds of thousands of people walking around

因為已經有成千上萬的人 透過人工耳

with artificial hearing and artificial vision.

人工視覺在生活。

So the way this works is, you take a microphone and you digitize the signal,

方法是， 拿著一個麥克風，把信號數位化，

and you put an electrode strip directly into the inner ear.

將一個電極帶植入內耳。

Or, with the retinal implant, you take a camera

在視網膜植入一個攝像頭

and you digitize the signal, and then you plug an electrode grid

把信號數位化，然後插入一個電極柵

directly into the optic nerve.

直接傳導進入視神經。

And as recently as 15 years ago,

就在 15 年前，

there were a lot of scientists who thought these technologies wouldn't work.

很多科學家認為這些技術不可行。

Why? It's because these technologies speak the language of Silicon Valley,

為什麼呢？因為這些高科技 只是矽谷的方法，

and it's not exactly the same dialect as our natural biological sense organs.

它們和生物學的各個器官不完全相同。

But the fact is that it works;

但事實上這是可行的；

the brain figures out how to use the signals just fine.

只要大腦知道 怎麼運用這些信號就可以了。

Now, how do we understand that?

但是我們怎麼讀懂它們的語言呢？

Well, here's the big secret:

這裡有個秘密：

Your brain is not hearing or seeing any of this.

大腦本身其實根本就 看不見也聽不懂任何東西。

Your brain is locked in a vault of silence and darkness inside your skull.

大腦如同被你的腦殼 封閉在一個無光無聲的世界。

All it ever sees are electrochemical signals

大腦所看到的是電化學訊號

that come in along different data cables,

這些訊號來自不同的資料傳輸源。

and this is all it has to work with, and nothing more.

這就是大腦要處理的東西，別無其它。

Now, amazingly,

令人驚訝的是，

the brain is really good at taking in these signals

大腦真的很善於獲取這些訊號，

and extracting patterns and assigning meaning,

萃取其模式， 以及它們所代表的含意。

so that it takes this inner cosmos and puts together a story

將內心世界的元素 組合在一起，

of this, your subjective world.

構建了你的主觀世界。

But here's the key point:

但是這個關鍵在於：

Your brain doesn't know, and it doesn't care,

你的大腦並不知道，也不在乎

where it gets the data from.

這些訊號從何而來。

Whatever information comes in, it just figures out what to do with it.

資訊進來了，大腦就做對應的處理，

And this is a very efficient kind of machine.

就如同一台高效運轉的機器。

It's essentially a general purpose computing device,

這本質上就是一台 一般用途為目標的計算設備，

and it just takes in everything

接收每一個訊息，

and figures out what it's going to do with it,

然後分析做出相對應的回應，

and that, I think, frees up Mother Nature

然後，釋放出自然的天性

to tinker around with different sorts of input channels.

修補來自不同的輸入通道。

So I call this the P.H. model of evolution,

我將之命名為「PH 演化模式」，

and I don't want to get too technical here,

我不想太著重於技術層面，

but P.H. stands for Potato Head,

PH 代表「馬鈴薯頭」 (Potato Head)，

and I use this name to emphasize that all these sensors

我採用這個名字是為了強調， 所有的感知受體

that we know and love, like our eyes and our ears and our fingertips,

像是我們所知所愛的 眼睛、耳朵、手指，

these are merely peripheral plug-and-play devices:

這些僅僅是周邊隨插即用的設備：

You stick them in, and you're good to go.

插上它們，即可使用。

The brain figures out what to do with the data that comes in.

大腦會根據進來的資訊 決定下一步做什麼。

And when you look across the animal kingdom,

當你綜覽動物的世界，

you find lots of peripheral devices.

你會看到許多這樣的周邊設備。

So snakes have heat pits with which to detect infrared,

蛇有感受熱能的小洞 用來探測紅外線

and the ghost knifefish has electroreceptors,

魔鬼刀魚有視網膜電圖，

and the star-nosed mole has this appendage

北美星鼻鼹鼠

with 22 fingers on it

擁有 22 個指頭

with which it feels around and constructs a 3D model of the world,

牠感受並建構三度空間立體世界，

and many birds have magnetite so they can orient

許多鳥類擁有磁感應 所以牠們能夠

to the magnetic field of the planet.

透過地球的磁場確定方向。

So what this means is that nature doesn't have to continually

這意味著 大自然不需持續

redesign the brain.

重新設計大腦。

Instead, with the principles of brain operation established,

相反地，大腦運作基本原理的建立，

all nature has to worry about is designing new peripherals.

大自然只需要設計新的周邊設備。

Okay. So what this means is this:

好。這意味著：

The lesson that surfaces

它所呈現的結果

is that there's nothing really special or fundamental

是關於我們所討論的生物學

about the biology that we come to the table with.

沒有牽涉到特別的東西或原理。

It's just what we have inherited

這只是我們

from a complex road of evolution.

從複雜的進化過程繼承來的。

But it's not what we have to stick with,

但這不是我們要去堅持的，

and our best proof of principle of this

最好的證明原理

comes from what's called sensory substitution.

來自所謂的感官替代。

And that refers to feeding information into the brain

透過獨特的感官通道，

via unusual sensory channels,

提供訊息給大腦，

and the brain just figures out what to do with it.

大腦就做相對應的處理。

Now, that might sound speculative,

或許聽起來頗具推測性，

but the first paper demonstrating this was published in the journal Nature in 1969.

但這是第一篇相關論證的文章， 發表於 1969 年的自然雜誌。

So a scientist named Paul Bach-y-Rita

一位叫做 保羅·巴赫·瑞塔的科學家

put blind people in a modified dental chair,

把盲人置於改裝過的牙科椅，

and he set up a video feed,

他裝設一台錄影設備，

and he put something in front of the camera,

在攝影機前放某個東西，

and then you would feel that

你可以感覺到那東西

poked into your back with a grid of solenoids.

從背後插入一個電磁開關電網。

So if you wiggle a coffee cup in front of the camera,

所以如果你在攝影機前擺動咖啡杯，

you're feeling that in your back,

你的背部可以感受到它，

and amazingly, blind people got pretty good

令人訝異的是， 盲人相當擅長於

at being able to determine what was in front of the camera

判定攝影機前的東西

just by feeling it in the small of their back.

只透過背部的一小部分 就感受它。

Now, there have been many modern incarnations of this.

現在，有許多這種現代化的概念。

The sonic glasses take a video feed right in front of you

聲波眼鏡在你眼前錄影

and turn that into a sonic landscape,

再將影像轉變為聲景，

so as things move around, and get closer and farther,

就像事物環繞， 走近，走遠，

it sounds like "Bzz, bzz, bzz."

聽起來就像「吱吱，吱吱，吱吱。」

It sounds like a cacophony,

聽起來刺耳，

but after several weeks, blind people start getting pretty good

但幾週之後， 盲人就很擅長

at understanding what's in front of them

依據他所聽到的

just based on what they're hearing.

來理解他面前的事物。

And it doesn't have to be through the ears:

而且不必透過耳朵：

this system uses an electrotactile grid on the forehead,

這個系統使用前額上的電網格，

so whatever's in front of the video feed, you're feeling it on your forehead.

不管前面拍攝到什麼影像， 你的前額可以感應到。

Why the forehead? Because you're not using it for much else.

為什麼用前額？ 因為你很少使用前額做其他事。

The most modern incarnation is called the brainport,

最為現代的儀器稱為 「腦端口」(brainport)，

and this is a little electrogrid that sits on your tongue,

這是一個小的電網格 安裝在舌頭上，

and the video feed gets turned into these little electrotactile signals,

將影像轉變成小的電觸覺訊號，

and blind people get so good at using this that they can throw a ball into a basket,

盲人很擅長使用這個設備 能將球投進籃子，

or they can navigate complex obstacle courses.

或是可以在複雜的 障礙賽跑訓練場行走。

They can come to see through their tongue.

他們透過舌頭看見東西。

Now, that sounds completely insane, right?

這聽起來相當瘋狂，對吧？

But remember, all vision ever is

但是記住，所有看見的東西

is electrochemical signals coursing around in your brain.

是流過大腦的電化學訊號。

Your brain doesn't know where the signals come from.

你的大腦不知道訊號來自何處。

It just figures out what to do with them.

大腦只做相對應的處理。

So my interest in my lab is sensory substitution for the deaf,

我在實驗室為聾人 做感官替代的研究，

and this is a project I've undertaken

這是我和一位研究生

with a graduate student in my lab, Scott Novich,

史考特.諾維奇所做的專案，

who is spearheading this for his thesis.

他的論文在這方面有領先的成果。

And here is what we wanted to do:

以下是我們想要做的：

we wanted to make it so that sound from the world gets converted

我們要讓來自外界的聲音 以某種方式進行轉變

in some way so that a deaf person can understand what is being said.

讓聾人可以聽懂他人說的話。

And we wanted to do this, given the power and ubiquity of portable computing,

為提供普遍性高的可擕式設備 我們想要這麼做，

we wanted to make sure that this would run on cell phones and tablets,

要確定這些功能可以在 手機和平板電腦上執行，

and also we wanted to make this a wearable,

我們也想把它做成 穿戴式電子裝置，

something that you could wear under your clothing.

一件可以穿在裡面的裝置。

So here's the concept.

就是這個概念。

So as I'm speaking, my sound is getting captured by the tablet,

如我所說的， 平板電腦接收到我的聲音，

and then it's getting mapped onto a vest that's covered in vibratory motors,

然後對映對到有振動馬達的背心，

just like the motors in your cell phone.

就如你手機的馬達。

So as I'm speaking,

當我講話時，

the sound is getting translated to a pattern of vibration on the vest.

聲音被轉換為背心上的震動模式

Now, this is not just conceptual:

這不只一種概念：

this tablet is transmitting Bluetooth, and I'm wearing the vest right now.

平板傳送藍牙訊號 而且我正穿著這件背心。

So as I'm speaking -- (Applause) --

當我講話時 -- （掌聲）--

the sound is getting translated into dynamic patterns of vibration.

聲音被轉變成震動的動能模式。

I'm feeling the sonic world around me.

我感覺到周圍的有聲世界。

So, we've been testing this with deaf people now,

我們正和聾人做這樣的測試，

and it turns out that after just a little bit of time,

結果在很短的時間之後，

people can start feeling, they can start understanding

聾人開始感覺，開始理解

the language of the vest.

背心的語言。

So this is Jonathan. He's 37 years old. He has a master's degree.

這是強納生，37 歲， 擁有碩士學位。

He was born profoundly deaf,

他天生全聾，

which means that there's a part of his umwelt that's unavailable to him.

那表示有一部分的環境他無法感受到，

So we had Jonathan train with the vest for four days, two hours a day,

所以我們讓強納生穿上背心 訓練 4 天，每天 2 小時。

and here he is on the fifth day.

這是第 5 天.

Scott Novich: You.

史考特·諾維奇：你。

David Eagleman: So Scott says a word, Jonathan feels it on the vest,

大衛.伊葛門：史考特說一個字， 強納生透過背心感受到了，

and he writes it on the board.

他把它寫在板子上。

SN: Where. Where.

史考特：那裡。那裡。

DE: Jonathan is able to translate this complicated pattern of vibrations

大衛：強納生能夠將 複雜的震動模式

into an understanding of what's being said.

翻譯成能理解的語言。

SN: Touch. Touch.

史考特：摸。摸。

DE: Now, he's not doing this --

大衛：他沒做這個 --

(Applause) --

(掌聲）--

Jonathan is not doing this consciously, because the patterns are too complicated,

強納生不是有意識去做這個， 因為模式太過複雜，

but his brain is starting to unlock the pattern that allows it to figure out

但他的大腦正在開啟這個模式

以理解這些資料的意義，

what the data mean,

and our expectation is that, after wearing this for about three months,

我的期望是， 穿上這件背心三個月之後，

he will have a direct perceptual experience of hearing

他能直接感受聽覺的經驗

in the same way that when a blind person passes a finger over braille,

與盲人點字相同的經驗，

the meaning comes directly off the page without any conscious intervention at all.

沒有任何意識干預下， 也可以馬上理解符號的意義。

Now, this technology has the potential to be a game-changer,

這項技術有改變遊戲規則的潛力，

because the only other solution for deafness is a cochlear implant,

因為幫助聾人的另一個唯一的方法是 植入人工電子耳，

and that requires an invasive surgery.

人工電子耳是一種侵入性手術。

And this can be built for 40 times cheaper than a cochlear implant,

而且我說的這項技術 比人工電子耳便宜 40 倍，

which opens up this technology globally, even for the poorest countries.

這技術打入全球市場， 最為貧窮國家的人民也可行。

Now, we've been very encouraged by our results with sensory substitution,

我們受到感官替代成果的鼓舞，

but what we've been thinking a lot about is sensory addition.

我們一直在思考許多 有關感官附加的技術。

How could we use a technology like this to add a completely new kind of sense,

我們如何使用這樣的技術 去增加一種全新的感受，

to expand the human umvelt?

去發展人類的環境？

For example, could we feed real-time data from the Internet

例如，我到們能否 從網路獲得即時資料

directly into somebody's brain,

再將資料提供給大腦？

and can they develop a direct perceptual experience?

他們能夠直接產生感知經驗嗎？

So here's an experiment we're doing in the lab.

這是我們實驗室正在做的一個實驗。

A subject is feeling a real-time streaming feed from the Net of data

一個受試者正在感受 網路的即時串流資料

for five seconds.

有 5 秒的時間。

Then, two buttons appear, and he has to make a choice.

然後，出現二個按鈕， 他必需做選擇。

He doesn't know what's going on.

他不知道發生什麼事。

He makes a choice, and he gets feedback after one second.

他做了選擇， 一秒之後，他得到反饋。

Now, here's the thing:

是這樣的：

The subject has no idea what all the patterns mean,

受試者不知道所有模式的意義，

but we're seeing if he gets better at figuring out which button to press.

我們要得知，他是否知道 要對按按鈕做較好的選擇。

He doesn't know that what we're feeding

他不知道我們輸入的是

is real-time data from the stock market,

股市的即時資料，

and he's making buy and sell decisions.

他做買入或賣出股票的決策。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And the feedback is telling him whether he did the right thing or not.

反饋會告訴他是否做對了。

And what we're seeing is, can we expand the human umvelt

我們看到的是， 我們能否拓展人類的環境

so that he comes to have, after several weeks,

以便他在幾週之後能夠

a direct perceptual experience of the economic movements of the planet.

有一個全球經濟活動的感知經驗。

So we'll report on that later to see how well this goes.

我們稍後會向各位報告 這個實驗的進展狀況。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Here's another thing we're doing:

以下是我們做的另一個實驗：

During the talks this morning, we've been automatically scraping Twitter

在今早的演講中， 我們一直自動蒐集推特

for the TED2015 hashtag,

TED2015 的索引標籤。

and we've been doing an automated sentiment analysis,

我們也在做自動情感分析，

which means, are people using positive words or negative words or neutral?

意即，人們正在用正面、 負面，還是中性的語詞？

And while this has been going on,

當在進行這個實驗時，

I have been feeling this,

我已感受到，

and so I am plugged in to the aggregate emotion

我已被連接到上千人

of thousands of people in real time,

所聚集的即時情感，

and that's a new kind of human experience, because now I can know

那是一種全新的人類經驗， 因為現在我知道

how everyone's doing and how much you're loving this.

每個人的情況如何， 以及你們是多麼喜歡這演講。

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑聲）（掌聲）

It's a bigger experience than a human can normally have.

這比人類一般正常的體驗還多。

We're also expanding the umvelt of pilots.

我們也在拓展飛行員的環境。

So in this case, the vest is streaming nine different measures

在這個例子中， 背心分流出 9 種不同

from this quadcopter,

來自直昇機的測量方式，

so pitch and yaw and roll and orientation and heading,

傾斜、偏航、翻滾、定位、前進，

and that improves this pilot's ability to fly it.

提高飛行員的駕駛能力。

It's essentially like he's extending his skin up there, far away.

這很像是把皮膚延伸到很遠的地方。

And that's just the beginning.

這只是個開端。

What we're envisioning is taking a modern cockpit full of gauges

我們想像的是 一台充滿儀表的現代化駕駛艙

and instead of trying to read the whole thing, you feel it.

不需要去讀取儀表板數據 而是直接去感受到它。

We live in a world of information now,

我們生活在一個資訊化的世界，

and there is a difference between accessing big data

存取大數據 和 感受數據

and experiencing it.

是不同的。

So I think there's really no end to the possibilities

所以我想 在拓展人類的眼界方面

on the horizon for human expansion.

有無限的可能性。

Just imagine an astronaut being able to feel

想想一個太空人能夠感受到

the overall health of the International Space Station,

整個國際太空站的生命力，

or, for that matter, having you feel the invisible states of your own health,

或是，你可以感受到 你覺察不出的自己的健康狀況，

like your blood sugar and the state of your microbiome,

像是你的血糖和微生物狀況

or having 360-degree vision or seeing in infrared or ultraviolet.

或是擁有 360 度視角 或能看見紅外線或紫外線。

So the key is this: As we move into the future,

所以關鍵點在於， 當我們踏入未來，

we're going to increasingly be able to choose our own peripheral devices.

我們漸漸地 能夠選擇我們的周圍設備。

We no longer have to wait for Mother Nature's sensory gifts

不需要再等待 大自然的時間表

on her timescales,

賦與我們感知的禮物，

but instead, like any good parent, she's given us the tools that we need

然而，就像是好父母一樣， 她已經給了我們所需的工具

to go out and define our own trajectory.

走出來定義我們自己的方向。

So the question now is,

問題是，

how do you want to go out and experience your universe?

你想如何走出來 感受你的世界？

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Chris Anderson: Can you feel it? DE: Yeah.

克里斯.安德森：你能感受到嗎？ 大衛.伊葛門：可以。

Actually, this was the first time I felt applause on the vest.

事實上，這是我第一次 透過背心感受掌聲。

It's nice. It's like a massage. (Laughter)

很棒，就像在按摩。（笑聲）

CA: Twitter's going crazy. Twitter's going mad.

克里斯.安德森： 推特網友太瘋狂了。

So that stock market experiment.

那個股票市場的實驗。

This could be the first experiment that secures its funding forevermore,

這個實驗 可能是資金募集的永久保證，

right, if successful?

對嗎，如果能成功的話？

DE: Well, that's right, I wouldn't have to write to NIH anymore.

大衛.伊葛門：對的，我不再 向國家衛生研究所寫申請表。

CA: Well look, just to be skeptical for a minute,

克里斯.安德森：我提出一些質疑，

I mean, this is amazing, but isn't most of the evidence so far

我的意思是，但到目前為止 是不是大部分的實驗證明

that sensory substitution works,

感官代替是可行的，

not necessarily that sensory addition works?

但感官附加卻不一定可行？

I mean, isn't it possible that the blind person can see through their tongue

我的意思是， 盲人可以透過舌頭看東西

because the visual cortex is still there, ready to process,

是不是因為視覺皮質層還在 那裡準備運作，

and that that is needed as part of it?

而那就是其中必要的一部分？

DE: That's a great question. We actually have no idea

大衛.伊葛門：好問題。 事實上我們也不知道

what the theoretical limits are of what kind of data the brain can take in.

大腦能接收何種資料 這個理論的局限是什麼。

The general story, though, is that it's extraordinarily flexible.

一般情況， 大腦非常靈活

So when a person goes blind, what we used to call their visual cortex

當一個人變成盲人之後， 用來傳達視覺皮質層訊息的任務

gets taken over by other things, by touch, by hearing, by vocabulary.

被觸覺、聽覺、字彙所取代。

So what that tells us is that the cortex is kind of a one-trick pony.

這告訴我們皮質層 像是一種單一功能的小東西。

It just runs certain kinds of computations on things.

它只能按照特定的計算方式運作。

And when we look around at things like braille, for example,

例如布拉耶點字

people are getting information through bumps on their fingers.

聾人透過手指取得訊息。

So I don't think we have any reason to think there's a theoretical limit

我不認為有任何理由 在我們所知的條件下

that we know the edge of.

存在任何理論上的限制。

CA: If this checks out, you're going to be deluged.

克里斯.安德森：如果這理論可行， 各類應用將蜂擁而至。

There are so many possible applications for this.

可以運用這技術的地方太多了。

Are you ready for this? What are you most excited about, the direction it might go?

你準備好了嗎？最讓你興奮的是什麼？ 有進展的方向嗎？

DE: I mean, I think there's a lot of applications here.

大衛.伊葛門：我想有許多應用

In terms of beyond sensory substitution, the things I started mentioning

除了我在開始時所提到的感知替代

about astronauts on the space station, they spend a lot of their time

關於太空站的太空人， 他們花很多時間

monitoring things, and they could instead just get what's going on,

監測訊息；有了這個技術， 他們能夠理解進展，

because what this is really good for is multidimensional data.

因為這有利於取得多面向的資料。

The key is this: Our visual systems are good at detecting blobs and edges,

關鍵是：我們的視覺系統擅長 偵測塊狀和邊緣，

but they're really bad at what our world has become,

但不擅長觀察 世界所呈現的樣子

which is screens with lots and lots of data.

一個呈現非常大量資料的世界。

We have to crawl that with our attentional systems.

用我們的注意力系統 匍匐前進。

So this is a way of just feeling the state of something,

這是感知事物的一個方式，

just like the way you know the state of your body as you're standing around.

就像當你站立時 你知道你身體的狀態一樣。

So I think heavy machinery, safety, feeling the state of a factory,

我認為重型機械，安全性

of your equipment, that's one place it'll go right away.

感覺工廠設備的狀態， 那即將實現。

CA: David Eagleman, that was one mind-blowing talk. Thank you very much.

克里斯.安德森：大衛.伊葛門， 這是一個令人振奮的演講。非常感謝。

DE: Thank you, Chris. (Applause)

大衛.伊葛門：謝謝你，克里斯 （掌聲）