Why you should love gross science | Anna Rothschild

Did you know that one of the first fertility drugs

譯者: Thomas Tam 審譯者: Helen Chang

你知道嗎？最早的生育藥物之一

was made from the pee of Catholic nuns,

是由天主教修女的小便所製成的，

and that even the Pope got involved?

甚至教皇也參與其中？

So, this is totally true.

這是事實。

Back in the 1950s, scientists knew that when women enter menopause,

回到 1950 年代， 科學家們知道當女性進入更年期時，

they start releasing high levels of fertility hormones in their urine.

她們釋放出高水平的 生育激素到尿液中。

But there was this doctor named Bruno Lunenfeld,

有位布魯諾‧盧恩費爾德醫生，

who wondered if he could actually isolate those hormones from the urine

想知道可否從尿液中萃取激素，

and use it to help women who are having trouble getting pregnant.

去幫助那些無法懷孕的婦女。

Obviously, the problem with this was that in order to test this idea,

顯然問題是，為了測試這個想法，

he needed a lot of pee from older women.

他需要很多老年婦女的尿尿。

And that is not an easy thing to find.

那是不容易找到的。

So he and his colleagues got special permission from the Pope

所以他與同事們 得到了教皇的特別許可，

to collect gallons and gallons of urine

收集數百名天主教 老修女的大量尿液，

from hundreds of older Catholic nuns.

And in doing so,

就這樣做，

he actually isolated hormones

他真的分隔出荷爾蒙，

that are still used to help women get pregnant today,

仍在今天被用來幫助女性懷孕，

though now, they can be synthesized in a lab,

雖然它們現在可以在實驗室中合成，

and gallons of pee aren't necessary.

和沒有必要再用大量的小便。

So why am I standing up here,

那我為什麼站在這裡呢？

telling this wonderfully intellectual audience about nun pee?

告訴你們這群很棒的知識分子 關於修女尿尿的事情？

Well, I'm a science journalist and multimedia producer,

好吧，我是一名科學記者 和多媒體製作人，

who has always been fascinated by gross stuff.

總是著迷於粗鄙的東西。

因此我開始每週製作 一段 YouTube 系列的影片，

So fascinated, in fact, that I started a weekly YouTube series

called "Gross Science,"

稱為「粗鄙的科學」。

all about the slimy, smelly, creepy underbelly

有關於黏稠、有臭味， 令人毛骨悚然的下腹部的

自然、醫學和技術。

of nature, medicine and technology.

Now, I think most of us would agree

我們大多數人會同意

that there's something a little gross about pee.

小便是有些粗鄙。

You know, it's something that we don't really like to talk about,

是我們不想談論的

and we keep the act of doing it very private.

私密行為。

But when Lunenfeld peered into the world of pee,

但當盧恩費爾德醫生凝視小便時，

he discovered something deeply helpful to humanity.

他發現了一些對人類 有深遠幫助的東西。

And after a year and a half of making my show,

在我製作 Youtube 影片 一年半之後，

I can tell you that very often when we explore the gross side of life,

我確定探索粗鄙的生活這方面時，

we find insights that we never would have thought we'd find,

會找到我們從未想過的見解，

and we even often reveal beauty that we didn't think was there.

甚至揭示我們從未想到的美。

I think it's important for us to talk about gross things for a few reasons.

基於某些原因，談論粗鄙的事情 對我們來說很重要。

So, first of all, talking about gross stuff

首先，談論粗鄙的東西

is a great tool for education,

是極佳的教育工具，

and it's an excellent way to preserve curiosity.

和保有好奇心的良好方法。

講解我的意思之前，

To explain what I mean,

why don't I tell you a little bit about what I was like as a child?

何不先告訴你們我幼時的模樣？

So, I was what you might call a gross kid.

我就是那種，可稱之為粗鄙的孩子。

In fact, my love of science itself

我對科學本身的熱愛，

began when my parents bought me a slime chemistry set

是由父母買了給我 一套粘液化學套裝時開始，

and was then only enhanced

然後到六年級上生物課時做的 大量實驗，增強了我的興趣。

by doing gross experiments in my sixth-grade biology class.

We did things like, we swabbed surfaces around our classroom

我們在教室周圍擦拭表面，

and cultured the bacteria we'd collected,

培養收集得來的細菌，

and we dissected owl pellets,

我們解剖貓頭鷹的顆粒，

which are these balls of material that are undigested that owls barf up,

那些都是貓頭鷹嘔吐出來 未消化的物質球，

and it's really kind of gross and awesome and cool.

是又棒又酷的。

Now, the fact that I was obsessed with gross stuff as a kid

小時候我一直沉迷於粗鄙的事實，

並不是那麼了不起。

is not so revolutionary.

You know, lots of kids are really into gross things,

你知道，很多孩子喜歡粗鄙的東西，

like playing in dirt or collecting beetles or eating their boogers.

就像喜歡玩泥土、收集甲蟲 或吃他們的鼻屎。

And why is that?

為什麼這樣呢？

I think really little kids are like little explorers.

小孩子就好像小探險家。

They just want to experience as much as they can

只想盡可能多多地體驗，

and don't have any idea about the relative acceptability

他們對觸摸瓢蟲或臭蟲 可被接受的程度是一無所知。

of touching a ladybug versus a stinkbug.

They just want to understand how everything works

他們只想了解一切如何運作，

and experience as much of life as they can.

儘可能多多體驗生活。

And that is pure curiosity.

這是純粹的好奇心。

But then adults step in,

但大人隨後的介入，

and we tell kids not to pick their noses and not to touch the slugs or toads

告訴孩子們不要挖鼻孔， 及觸摸鼻涕蟲或蟾蜍

or whatever else they find in the backyard,

還有在後院找到的任何東西，

because those things are gross.

那些東西很噁心。

And we do that in part to keep kids safe, right?

這樣做的部分原因 是為了孩子的安全，對嗎？

Like, maybe picking your nose spreads germs

就像摳鼻子會傳入細菌，

and maybe touching that toad will give you warts,

觸摸那蟾蜍會令你生疣，

但我不以為然，

even though I don't actually think that's true.

You should feel free to touch as many toads as you want.

你可以隨意觸摸很多的蟾蜍。

So at a certain point, when kids get a little bit older,

當孩子們變大一點，

there's this way that engaging with gross stuff

他們會與粗鄙的東西為伍，

isn't just about curiosity,

那不單是好奇心，

it's also about, sort of, finding out where the limits are,

是試圖找到他們可以觸碰的臨界點，

pushing the boundaries of what's OK.

So, lots of kids of a certain age will have burping competitions

所以，很多特定年齡的孩子 會參加打嗝比賽，

or competitions to see who can make the grossest face.

或者參加最噁心的臉競爭。

And they do that in part because it's a little bit transgressive, right?

他們這樣做是有點過火了，對嗎？

But there's another layer to why we define stuff as gross.

但是，我們界定事物為粗鄙， 還有另一個層次。

As humans, we've sort of extended the concept of disgust to morality.

人類有點將厭惡的概念擴展至道德。

So, the psychologist Paul Rozin would say

因此，心理學家保羅‧羅津會說，

that many of the things we categorize as gross

很多我們歸類為粗鄙的東西

are things that reminds us that we're just animals.

其實提醒我們只是動物。

These are things like bodily fluids and sex

像是體液和性，

and physical abnormalities and death.

和身體異常及死亡。

And the idea that we're just animals can be really unsettling,

而我們只是動物的想法 或許令我們很不安，

because it can be this reminder of our own mortality.

在在提醒我們必死的命運。

And that can leave many of us with this deep existential angst.

讓許多人帶著深深的存在焦慮。

Rozin would say that there's this way

羅津認為這種方式

in which disgust and the avoidance of gross things

就會令人厭惡和避免粗鄙的事情，

becomes not just a way to protect our bodies,

不僅是保護我們的身體，

it becomes a way to protect our souls.

也同時保護我們的靈魂。

I think at a certain point, kids really begin to internalize

在某個階段，孩子們開始內在化

this link between disgusting things and immorality.

噁心的事物與不道德之間的聯繫。

And while I don't have any concrete data to back up this next idea,

雖然沒有任何數據 支持我的下一個想法，

I think that for a lot of us, it happens around the time we hit puberty.

對於很多人來說， 事情發生在我們進入青春期的時候。

And you know -- yeah, I know.

你是知道的，我也知道。

So during puberty, our bodies are changing,

在青春期，我們的身體 正在發生變化，

and we're sweating more, and girls get their periods,

而且我們出汗更多， 女孩子們開始她們的月經，

and we're thinking about sex in this way that we never did before.

以之前未有的方式思考「性」。

And through the human capacity for abstraction,

通過人的抽象思考能力，

this shame can settle in.

可以解決恥辱感。

So we don't necessarily just think,

我們未必只是想：

"Oh, my goodness, something really gross is happening to my body!"

「哦，天哪，我身上 發生了噁心的事！」

We think, "Oh my God, maybe I'm gross.

我們想：「噢，天哪， 也許自己很粗鄙。

And maybe that means that there's something bad or wrong about me."

或許這意味著 我有些不好或不對勁。」

The thing is, that if you de facto associate gross stuff with immorality,

問題是，如果將事情與道德綑綁，

you lose a huge part of your curiosity,

就棄失了大部分的好奇心，

because there is so much out there in the world

因為世界上有很多有些粗鄙的事物。

that is a little bit gross.

Like, think about going for a walk in the woods.

比如，試想在樹林裡散步。

You could just pay attention to the birds and the trees and the flowers

你可以只關注鳥類、樹木和花朵，

and that would be fine,

那會很好，

but in my view, you'd be missing a bigger and more awesome picture

但我認為，你會錯過

在這星球上更大、 更精彩的生命畫面，

of life on this planet.

There are cycles of decay that are driving forest growth,

這裡有衰變週期 推動了森林的生長，

and there are networks of fungus beneath your feet

在腳下有真菌網，

that are connecting literally all of the plants around you.

連接你周圍所有的植物。

That's really amazing.

太神奇了。

So I feel like we should be talking about gross stuff early and often

所以我們應該於早期， 經常與年輕人討論粗鄙的東西，

with young people,

so they feel like they're actually allowed to claim this bigger picture

讓他們覺得他們實際上被允許

在地球上主張更大的生活畫面。

of life on our planet.

The good news is that for many of us, the fascination with gross stuff

好消息是，我們中的許多人 對粗鄙的東西仍很著迷，

doesn't exactly go away,

並沒有消失，

we just kind of pretend like it's not there.

只是假裝這些東西並不存在。

But truthfully, we all spend sort of a big part of our lives

但說實話，我們都在生活中 度過了大部分時間，

just trying not to be gross.

試圖盡量表現得不粗鄙。

When you really think about it,

仔細想，

we're sort of just like bags of fluids and some weird tissues

我們就像

一袋流體和奇怪的組織，

surrounded by a thin layer of skin.

周圍包著一層薄薄的皮膚。

And to a certain extent,

在某程度上，

multiple times a day, whether consciously or subconsciously,

每天多次，

無論有意識還是潛意識，

I need to remind myself not to fart publicly.

我得提醒自己不要在公共場合放屁。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You know, we're desperately trying to avoid being gross all the time,

我們總是拼命避免粗鄙的狀況，

so I think many of us take this kind of voyeuristic delight

但很多人傾向以偷窺般的喜悅

in learning about gross things.

去了解粗鄙的事情。

This is certainly true of kids;

對孩子們來說，確實如此；

the number of middle school teachers who show my videos

在科學課上展示我的影片的 中學教師的數量

in their science classes

is a testament to that.

就證明了這一點。

But I think it's totally true of adults, too.

對成年人來說，也是如此。

You know, I think we all love hearing about gross stories,

我們都喜歡聽到粗鄙的事情，

because it's a socially acceptable way to explore the gross side of ourselves.

因為這是一種社會可接受的方式

來探索自己粗鄙的那一面。

But there's this other reason

但還有另外一個原因，

that I think talking about gross stuff is so important.

談論粗鄙的東西是如此重要。

A while back, I made a video on tonsil stones -- sorry, everyone --

前一陣子，我為扁桃腺結石 做了一段影片——

對不起，大家 ——

which are these balls of mucus and bacteria and food

這些粘液、細菌和食物的球

that get lodged in your tonsils and they smell really terrible,

滯留在扁桃腺中，聞起來很糟糕，

sometimes you cough them up and it's like -- it's awful.

有時你會咳嗽，就像——糟糕極了。

And many, many people have experienced this.

許多人都經歷過這種情況。

But many of the people who have experienced this

雖然他們經歷過，

haven't really had a forum to talk about it.

卻沒公開討論的論壇。

And today, this video that I made is my most popular video.

到目前為止，我所製作的那支影片

是最受歡迎的一支。

It has millions of views.

有數百萬的觀眾。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And the comment section for that video became sort of like a self-help section,

並且該影片的意見部分， 觀眾在自問自答，

where people could talk about their tonsil stone experiences

他們談論自己關於 扁桃腺結石的體驗，

and, like, tips and tricks for getting rid of them.

並給出擺脫它們的提示和技巧。

And I think it became this great way for people to talk about something

而且意見平台成為人們談論

不能自在地公開談論議題的地方。

that they'd never felt comfortable taking about publicly.

And that is wonderful when it's about something as goofy as tonsil stones,

多美妙啊！

討論像扁桃腺結石那樣可笑的東西；

but it's a little sad when a video can have an effect like that

當普通如女性月經的影片播放後， 所產生的效果，令我有點兒傷心。

when it's about something as common as periods.

去年二月，我發布了一個 關於女性月經的影片，

Last February, I released a video on menstruation,

and to this day, I am still getting messages

直到今天，我仍然收到簡訊，

from people around the globe who are asking me about their periods.

來自世界各地的女性 問我關於她們的月經。

There are a lot of young people -- and some not-so-young people -- out there,

在意見平台有很多年輕的 和一些並不年輕的人，

who are worried that what's happening to their bodies

他們擔心自己身體有毛病，

is somehow not normal.

某程度上不正常。

And, of course, I always tell them that I am not a medical professional,

當然，我總是告訴他們 我不是專業醫學人士，

and that, if possible, they should talk to a doctor.

如果可能的話，他們應該去看醫生。

But the truth of the matter is that everyone should feel comfortable

任何人在與醫生談論自己的身體時 都不應該感到不自在。

talking to a doctor about their own bodies.

And that's why I think it's really important for us

因此我認為這個問題非常嚴重。

to start this dialogue about gross stuff from a pretty early age,

從小時候開始與粗鄙的東西對話，

so we can let our kids know

可以讓我們的孩子知道，

that it's alright to have agency over your own body

盡可安心地將自己的身體與健康 交給醫生處理。

and over your own health.

There's another reason that talking to your doctor

再者與醫生交談

about your health and gross stuff

關於健康和那些粗鄙的東西，

is really, really important.

是很重要的。

Doctors and the scientific community can only address issues

醫生和科學界所能解決的問題，

when they know there's something to address.

就是當他們知道 要解決什麼問題的時候。

So one of the really interesting things I learned

在製作那月經影片時， 我學到的一件非常有趣的事情，

while making the video on periods,

is that I was talking to this one scientist who told me

一位科學家告訴我，

there's actually still a lot we don't know about periods.

對於月經，我們仍有許多未知，

There's a lot of basic research that still hasn't been done.

還有很多基礎的研究尚未完成。

In part, that's just because there weren't a lot of scientists in the field

部分原因是在該領域的 女性科學家很少，

who were women, to ask questions about it.

就此提出的問題也相對少。

And it's also not a topic that women talk about publicly.

而這些也不是她們公開討論的話題。

So there's this gap in what we know,

所以引致我們有認知的差距，

just because no one was there to ask a question.

只因為女性沒在那裡問問題。

There's one final reason that I think talking about gross stuff is so important,

還有最後和最重要的原因，

應該要談論粗鄙的東西，

and that's because you just never know what you're going to find

因為你永遠不知道將會找到什麼，

when you peel back all those layers of disgustingness.

在你剝去所有 那些令人厭惡的外層後。

So, take the California brown sea hare.

舉加州的棕色海兔為例。

This is a sea slug that squirts this lovely, bright purple ink

牠們是一種海蛞蝓， 會噴出可愛的，紫色明亮的鼻涕水，

at any creature that tries to eat it.

噴向任何試圖吃牠們的生物。

But it also happens to be one of the kinkiest creatures

牠們也恰好是在動物界中 最古怪的生物之一。

in the animal kingdom.

So these guys are hermaphrodites,

牠們是雌雄同體，

which means they have both male and female genitalia.

有著男性和女性的生殖器官。

And when it's time to mate,

交配的時候，

up to 20 individuals will all get together in this kind of, like, conga line

最多 20 隻海兔類似 康加線地聚集在一起，

and they'll all mate together.

牠們會一起交配。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

A single sea hare will inseminate the partner in front of it

一隻海兔會給前面的伴侶精子

and receive sperm from the one behind,

並從後面的接受精子，

which is sort of like an awesome time-saver,

可以想成是很棒的省時方式吧。

when you think about it.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But if scientists had only seen this and they were like,

如果科學家只注意到這一點，像是：

"OK, we're just not going to touch that with a stick,"

「好吧，我們可不想用棍子觸摸，」

they would have missed the bigger thing about sea hares

就會錯過令海兔非常了不起的事情，

that makes them really remarkable.

It turns out that these sea hares have a small number of very large neurons,

事實上

牠們有少量非常大的神經元，

which makes them excellent to use in neuroscience research.

使牠們非常適合用於神經科學研究。

And, in fact, the scientist Eric Kandel used them in his research

事實上科學家埃里克‧坎德爾 在研究中利用了這些海兔

to understand how memories are stored.

來了解如何存儲記憶。

And you know what?

你知道嗎？

He won a Nobel Prize for his work.

他的研究成果獲得了諾貝爾獎。

So go out there and pick up beetles and play in dirt and ask questions.

所以去花園那裡拿起甲蟲 和玩弄泥土，並且提問；

And own your fascination with gross stuff and don't be ashamed of it,

擁抱對粗鄙的迷戀， 也不要為此感到羞恥，

because you never know what you're going to find.

因為你永遠不知道你會發現什麼。

And as I say at the end of all my videos,

正如我在所有影片結尾時所說的，

"Ew."

「噁心！」

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）