Ariel Garten: Know thyself, with a brain scanner

譯者: Chueh-chen Wang 審譯者: Stephanie Zhou

The maxim, "Know thyself" has been around since the ancient Greeks.

「認識自己」這句箴言

自古希臘時代就存在

有人認為這句箴言出自於柏拉圖

Some attribute this golden world knowledge to Plato, others to Pythagoras.

其他人覺得它出自畢達哥拉斯

But the truth is it doesn't really matter which sage said it first,

但事實上，哪一位先知最早說這句話根本不重要

because it's still sage advice, even today.

因為這句話到現在都還是個睿智的建言

「認識自己」

"Know thyself."

It's pithy almost to the point of being meaningless,

真是精簡

精簡到近乎沒有意義

but it rings familiar and true, doesn't it?

但它又是那麼讓人熟悉又真實，不是嗎？

「認識自己」

"Know thyself."

我對這句永恆格言的解讀是

I understand this timeless dictum as a statement about the problems,

它闡述著我們對意識的疑惑

or more exactly, the confusions, of consciousness.

或者更精確地說，困惑

I've always been fascinated with knowing the self.

我一直以來都被「認識自己」所強烈吸引

這樣的迷戀引導我去沉浸在藝術中

This fascination led me to submerge myself in art,

去研究神經科學

study neuroscience, and later, to become a psychotherapist.

而且後來成為一位精神治療醫師

今時今日，我集結所有的熱情

Today I combine all my passions as the CEO of InteraXon,

去做好InteraXon的執行長

a thought-controlled computing company.

（InteraXon是）一家發展由思想所操控的電腦的公司

我的目標，簡單來講

My goal, quite simply, is to help people become more in tune with themselves.

就是幫助他人變得

跟自己本身更協調

I take it from this little dictum, "Know thyself."

我的靈感就是來自於這句格言

「認識自己」

If you think about it,

你想想看

this imperative is kind of the defining characteristic of our species, isn't it?

這個祈使句正是我們人類物種的關鍵特質

不是嗎？

我的意思是，它代表著「自我意識」

I mean, it's self-awareness

that separates Homo sapiens from earlier instances of our mankind.

它將現代人種跟

過去的人類型態區隔開來

Today we're often too busy

當代的我們經常太忙於

查看我們的iPhone以及iPod

tending to our iPhones and iPods to really stop and get to know ourselves.

無法停下來好好了解自己

在如潮水般湧來的文字訊息

Under the deluge of minute-to-minute text conversations,

e-mails, relentless exchange of media channels

電子郵件、媒體頻道不停地播送

and passwords and apps and reminders and Tweets and tags,

以及密碼、小程式以及提醒訊息以及推特訊息以及標籤

we lose sight of what all this fuss is supposed to be about in the first place:

我們忽略了這些忙碌與混亂的根源

我們自己

Ourselves.

大部分的時間裡，我們都被那些向全世界展現自我的管道

Much of the time we're transfixed

給釘住了

by all of the ways we can reflect ourselves out into the world.

And we can barely find the time to reflect deeply back in on our own selves.

而我們幾乎找不到任何時間來

向內心深處反省自我

We've cluttered ourselves up with all this.

我們給自己招來這些雜亂

而且我們感覺我們必須

And we feel like we have to get far, far away to a secluded retreat,

退隱到無人之處，才能擺脫這一切

leaving it all behind.

然後當我們去一個遙遠的地方時

So we go far away to the top of a mountain,

到一個山頂

assuming that perching ourselves on a piece

我們以為只要佇立在一個孤獨之處

is bound to give us the respite we need to sort the clutter, the chaotic everyday,

就能夠提供我們需要的歇息

來整理雜亂，每天的混亂

並且重新找回自我

and find ourselves again.

但是，在那讓我們找回心靈平靜

But on that mountain where we gain that beautiful peace of mind,

的山上

我們真的得到了什麼？

what are we really achieving?

It's really only a successful escape.

我們只是成功地逃避了現實

想想我們用的字眼「退隱」

Think of the term we use, "Retreat."

這個字眼是當軍隊打敗仗時使用

This is the term that armies use when they've lost a battle.

它的意思是「我們必須離開這裡」

It means we've got to get out of here.

這就是我們對這個世界上壓力的感覺嗎？

Is this how we feel about the pressures of our world,

所以為了要探索自我

that in order to get inside ourselves,

你就必須逃離現實嗎？

you have to run for the hills?

And the problem with escaping your day-to-day life

況且，從你每日生活中逃離的問題是

你最終還是必須要回來

is that you have to come home, eventually.

因此，你想想看

So when you think about it,

我們就像是觀光客

we're almost like a tourist visiting ourselves over there.

去那邊參觀自己

And eventually, that vacation's got to come to an end.

然爾最後旅遊以回家告終

So my question to you is,

所以，我給你們的問題是：

can we find ways to know ourselves without the escape?

我們能不能不靠「逃避」

也能找到「認識自我」的方法？

我們能不能重新定義

Can we redefine our relationship with the technologized world

我們跟這個科技化世界之間的關係

來獲得我們所探索的

in order to have the heightened sense of self-awareness that we seek?

更高的自我意識？

Can we live here and now in our wired web

我們能不能住在這個互連的網絡裡

但同時也遵循那些古老的教誨

and still follow those ancient instructions, "Know thyself?"

「認識自己」？

我認為答案是「可以」

I say the answer is yes.

And I'm here today to share a new way

我今天在這裡要分享一個新方法

我們正嘗試以科技來實現建構這個方法

that we're working with technology to this end,

讓我們對自己的內心深處

to get familiar with our inner self like never before --

比以前都更加了解

humanizing technology and furthering that age-old quest of ours

將科技「人性化」

然後去繼續人類千古的探索

來更了解自己

to more fully know the self.

It's called thought-controlled computing.

這項技術稱之為「由思想操控的電腦運算」

你可能已經注意到了

You may or may not have noticed

that I'm wearing a tiny electrode on my forehead.

我額頭上有一個微小的電極

This is actually a brainwave sensor

這其實是一個腦波感應器

that's reading the electrical activity of my brain

當我在這裡演講時

它就在讀取我大腦的電波活動

as I give this talk.

These brainwaves are being analyzed and we can see them as a graph.

這些腦波就正在被分析，而我們可以透過一個圖表來看

讓我秀一下它長什麼樣

Let me show you what it looks like.

那條藍線，就是我的腦波

That blue line there is my brainwave.

It's the direct signal being recorded from my head, rendered in real time.

那是我從我頭上直接記錄下來的訊號

同步處理

The green and red bars show that same signal displayed by frequency,

綠色和紅色的線呈現那個相同訊號的頻率

這邊是低頻率

with lower frequencies here

那邊是高頻率

and higher frequencies up here.

在我說話的同時，你也在觀察我的大腦內部

You're actually looking inside my head as I speak.

These graphs are compelling, they're undulating,

這些圖表很驚人的，是起伏變化的

but from a human's perspective, they're actually not very useful.

但從一個人類的觀點來看

它其實沒有太大用處

這也是為什麼我們花很多時間

That's why we've spent a lot of time

去思考如何讓這些資料對使用者

thinking about how to make this data meaningful to the people who use it.

變得有意義

For instance,

譬如，假如我能夠用這些資料

what if I could use this data to find out how relaxed I am at any moment?

去了解在任何時刻我的心情有多放鬆？

或者，假如我們可以用那些資訊

Or what if I can take that information

然後把它們用有機形狀在螢幕上呈現？

and put it into an organic shape up on the screen?

右邊這裡的形狀

The shape on the right over here

has become an indicator of what's going on in my head.

成為我大腦狀態的指標

我越放輕鬆

The more relaxed I am,

越多的能量會掉落

the more the energy's going to fall through it.

我也可能想知道

I may also be interested in knowing how focused I am,

我專注的程度

so I can put my level of attention into the circuit board on the other side.

那麼我就可以將專注的程度呈現在電路板的另一側

我的大腦越專注

And the more focused my brain is,

the more the circuit board is going to surge with energy.

電路板會越有能量

Ordinarily, I would have no way of knowing how focused or relaxed I was

一般來說，我無法以任何具體的方式

知道我有多放輕鬆

in any tangible way.

As we know, our feelings about how we're feeling

正如我們所知，我們對於「自己感覺」的感覺

是出了名得不可靠

are notoriously unreliable.

We've all had stress creep up on us without even noticing it

我們在不知不覺中就壓力大了起來

until we lost it on someone who didn't deserve it,

直到我們把壓力宣洩在無辜的人身上

然後我們才意識到，我們應該要及早

and then we realize that we probably should have checked in with ourselves

自我察覺

a little earlier.

這種新的自我意識

This new awareness opens up vast possibilities

為改善我們生活的科技應用

for applications that help improve our lives and ourselves.

提供眾多新的機遇

我們正試著研發一種技術，可以捕捉這些頻率

We're trying to create technology that uses the insights

來讓我們工作更有效率，讓休息更加怡人

to make our work more efficient, our breaks more relaxing

and our connections deeper and more fulfilling than ever.

而且我們之間的連結會比以前更深刻、更有意義

I'm going to share some of these visions with you in a bit,

我要跟你們分享這些願景的一部分

but first I want to take a look at how we got here.

但首先，我要回顧我們如何走到今天

By the way, feel free to check in on my head at any time.

順帶一提，你可以隨時都看一下我大腦的活動

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

My team at InteraXon and I

我以及InteraXon團隊

have been developing thought-controlled application for almost a decade now.

已經花了大約十年在發展「透過思想操控」的應用方式

在發展的最初階段裡

In the first phase of development,

we were really enthused by all the things we could control with our mind.

我們對於可以透過大腦操控的所有事物感到興奮

就只透過思考，我們就可以讓東西開啟

We were making things activate, light up and work just by thinking.

點亮，並且運作

We were transcending the space between the mind and the device.

我們跨越大腦與裝置

之間的空間

我們成功做出各式各樣可以用大腦操控

We brought to life a vast array of prototypes and products

的原型樣本以及成品

that you could control with your mind,

像是透過思考操控的家電用品

like thought-controlled home appliances

或者軌道賽車遊戲，或者電玩遊戲

or slot-car games or video games or a levitating chair.

或者讓椅子騰空飛起來

我們創造出能發揮人類想像力的

We created technology and applications that engaged people's imaginations,

科技與應用產品

那真的很令人興奮

and it was really exciting.

And then we were asked to do something really big for the Olympics.

之後，我們受託製作一個非常大的東西

給奧運會

我們受託來製作一個巨型裝置

We were invited to create a massive installation

在2010年的溫哥華冬季奧運

at the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics,

位於溫哥華

were used in Vancouver,

got to control the lighting on the CN Tower,

只靠思考

就能夠從國家的另一頭

the Canadian Parliament buildings and Niagara Falls

點亮西恩塔（C.N. Tower）

from all the way across the country using their minds.

加拿大國會大樓以及尼加拉瓜大瀑布

Over 17 days at the Olympics, 7,000 visitors from all over the world

在奧運的17天裡，7000位來自世界各地的訪客

actually got to individually control the light

每一位都實際用他們的大腦，從國家的另一頭

from the CN Tower, parliament and Niagara in real time

從3000公里遠的地方

同步控制西恩塔、國會大樓

with their minds from across the country, 3,000 km away.

以及尼加拉瓜大瀑布的燈光

So controlling stuff with your mind is pretty cool.

用大腦來操作東西

是蠻酷的

但我們總是對多層次的人類互動更感興趣

But we're always interested in multitiered levels of human interaction.

因此，我們開始研究如何在一個比「控制」更複雜的框架中

And so we began looking into inventing thought-controlled applications

去發明

in a more complex frame than just control.

運用思想操作的應用產品

And that was responsiveness.

而那就是「回應能力」

我們發現我們有一個

We realized that we had a system

that allowed technology to know something about you.

讓科技了解你的系統

它還可以跟你建立關係

And it could join into the relationship with you.

We created the responsive room

我們創造了一間「互動房間」

where the lights, music and blinds adjusted to your state.

裡面的燈光、音樂以及窗簾都依照你的狀態做調整

它們會依循著你心智狀態的小幅變化

They followed these little shifts in your mental activity.

所以，當你在辛苦了一整天之後

So as you settled into relaxation at the end of a hard day,

坐在沙發上或辨公室裡，放輕鬆

on the couch in our office,

音樂會跟著變得柔和微醺

the music would mellow with you.

When you read, the desk lamp would get brighter.

當你閱讀時，桌燈會變亮

你打瞌睡時，系統會知道

If you nod off, the system would know, dimming to darkness as you do.

同時把燈光調暗

We then realized that if technology could know something about you

我們發現，假如科技知道關於你的事情

然後用之於幫助你

and use it to help you,

there's an even more valuable application than that.

那會有更具有價值的應用層面

That you could know something about yourself.

你會更了解你自己

我們就能夠知道那些幾乎隱藏著

We could know sides of ourselves that were all but invisible

的不同面向

and come to see things that were previously hidden.

並且看到之前被隱藏著的事物

讓我用一個例子來解釋我的話

Let me show you an example of what I'm talking about here.

這是一個我為iPad

Here's an application that I created for the iPad.

創造的一個應用程式

So the goal of the original game Zen Bound is to wrap a rope around a wooden form.

Zen Bound最初遊戲的目標是

把一條繩子纏繞在一塊木頭上

那麼你就用一個頭戴式感應器

So you use it with your headset.

頭套會以無線方式跟iPad或智能手機連線

The headset connects wirelessly to an iPad or a smartphone.

你戴上那個頭套後

In that headset, you have fabric sensors on your forehead and above the ear.

在你的額頭和耳朵上方都有組織感應器

In the original Zen Bound game,

在原來的Zen Bound遊戲中

you play it by scrolling your fingers over the pad.

你玩的方式是用手指滑過iPad

In the game that we created, of course,

在我們創造的遊戲裡，當然

you control the wooden form that's on the screen there with your mind.

你用大腦控制螢幕上

的這塊木頭

當你專注在那塊木頭時

As you focus on the wooden form,

它會旋轉

it rotates.

The more you focus, the faster the rotation.

你越專注，旋轉越快

這是真的

This is for real.

This is not a fake.

無半點虛假

What's really interesting to me though

但是對我而言，最有趣的是

is at the end of the game, you get stats and feedback about how you did.

在遊戲結束時，你會看到你表現如何

的統計數據和回饋意見

You have graphs and charts that tell you how your brain was doing --

你會看到圖型和表格

說明你的大腦表現如何

not just how much rope you used or what your high score is,

不是你用了多長的繩子或分數多高

but what was going on inside of your mind.

而且你大腦裡面

經歷了什麼變化

這是很有價值的反饋訊息

And this is valuable feedback

that we can use to understand what's going on inside of ourselves.

可以用於了解我們內心

的運作方式

我喜歡稱之為

I like to call this "intra-active."

「向內互動」

通常我們想到科技

Normally, we think about technology as interactive.

就想到「向外互動」

這項科技是

This technology is intra-active.

「向內互動」

It understands what's inside of you

它了解你的大腦內部

並且在你和你的科技之間

and builds a sort of responsive relationship

between you and your technology

建構一套回應關係

so that you can use this information to move you forward.

讓你能夠用這些資訊

去幫你進步

讓你可以用這些資訊

So you can use this information to understand you in a responsive loop.

在一個回應的循環機制裡，了解你自己

在InteraXon

At InteraXon --

intra-active technology is one of our really defining mandates.

「向內互動」科技

是我們最具特色的項目

It's how we understand the world inside and reflect it outside

它幫助我們了解內在世界

並且在外在世界表現出來

into this tight loop.

通過緊密的迴圈

For example, thought-controlled computing

舉例而言，由思想操控的電腦運算

可以教導過動兒

can teach children with ADD how to improve their focus.

如何強化他們的專注力

With ADD, children have a low proportion of beta waves for focus states

因為「注意力缺陷障礙」，這些小孩專注狀態的貝他波的比例比較小

而且有比較高比例的夕它狀態

and a high proportion of theta states.

因此，你可以創造獎勵專注的大腦狀態的應用程式

So you can create applications that reward focused brain states.

你就能想像小孩用他們的腦波來玩電玩遊戲

So you can imagine kids playing video games with their brain waves

同時間改善他們的「注意力缺乏障礙」

and improving their ADD symptoms as they do it.

這可以跟「利他能」（一種治療過動兒的藥物）一樣有效

This can be as effective as Ritalin.

Perhaps even more importantly,

但更重要的是

thought-controlled computing can give children with ADD

由思想操控的電腦運算技術可以提供過動兒

洞察他們自己變動不斷的心智狀態

insights into their own fluctuating mental states,

讓他們更了解自己

so they can better understand themselves and their learning needs.

以及他們在學習上的需要

The way these children will be able to use their new awareness to improve themselves

這些讓孩童靠自覺來改善自己的方法

will upend many of the damaging and widespread social stigmas

將會終結許多普遍、具傷害性的社會歧視

that people who are diagnosed as different are challenged with.

終結那些人被診斷為異於常人的患者

所受到的挑戰

我們可以窥视大腦內部

We can peer inside our heads

and interact with what was once locked away from us,

解开過去未知的领域

那些神祕与我们分离的事物

what once mystified and separated us.

Brainwave technology can understand us, anticipate our emotions

腦波技術能获知我們及我們的情緒

and find the best solutions for our needs.

並且為我們的需求找到最好的解決之道

Imagine this collected awareness of the individual

想像將一個人所有的知覺蒐集起來

computed and reflected across an entire lifespan.

透過電腦處理，呈现一个人的人生

Imagine the insights that you can gain from this kind of second sight.

想像你能夠從這種「第二視覺」

獲得的洞悉

It would be like plugging into your own personal Google.

那會像是探索你個人的Google

談到Google

On the subject of Google,

today you can search and tag images

今天你可以做搜尋，並且依照你

based on the thoughts and feelings you had while you watched them.

看照片時的想法及心情去標記照片

You can tag pictures of baby animals as happy,

你可以將小動物的照片標記為「開心」

或者任何小動物對你的意義

or whatever baby animals are to you,

and then you can search that database, navigating with your feelings,

然後你就可以搜尋那個資料庫

透過你的心情去瀏覽

rather than the keywords that just hint at them.

而非暗示他們的關鍵字

Or you could tag Facebook photos

或者你可以用

跟那些回憶相關的情緒

with the emotions that you had associated with those memories

去標註臉書上的照片

and then instantly prioritize the streams that catch your attention,

然後即刻將引起你注意的

照片集做排序

就像這樣子

just like this.

Humanizing technology is about taking what's already natural

人性化的科技

就是利用人類與科技互動經驗中最自然的部份

about the human-tech experience

and building technology seamlessly in tandem with it.

然後創造出可以與之無縫地運作的科技

As it aligns with our human behaviors,

當那種科技跟人類行為做結合時

它可以讓我們更加理解我們的行為

it can allow us to make better sense of what we do

和其中的緣由，這是最重要的

and, more importantly, why.

將小細節集聚起來

Creating a big picture out of all the important little details

構建出一個反映我們自身

that make up who we are.

的大架構

靠著人性化的科技

With humanized technology we can monitor the quality of your sleep cycles.

我們可以監控你睡眠循環的品質

當我們的生產力開始下滑時

When our productivity starts to slacken, we can go back to that data

我們可以回顧那些資料

and see how we can make more effective balance between work and play.

看看我們如何在工作與玩樂之間

找到一個更有效率的平衡點

你知道什麼東西造成你疲憊嗎？

Do you know what causes fatigue in you or what brings out your energetic self,

或者什麼東西讓你精神百倍？

什麼東西讓你憂鬱消沈

what triggers cause you to be depressed

or what fun things are going to bring you out of that funk?

或者什麼有趣事情能夠把你從消沉中解救出來？

想像假如你能夠獲得這些資料

Imagine if you had access to data

that allowed you to rank on a scale of overall happiness

讓你在整體幸福量表上排出

which people in your life made you the happiest,

在你生命中，誰讓你最快樂

什麼活動讓你心生喜悅

or what activities brought you joy.

Would you make more time for those people? Would you prioritize?

你會騰出更多時間給那些人嗎？你會怎麼排列主次？

Would you get a divorce?

你會離婚嗎？

(Laughter)

What thought-controlled computing can allow you to do

由思想操控的電腦運算技術能夠讓你

建構你生命的多彩、多層次圖案

is build colorful layered pictures of our lives.

有了這個，我們就可以洞悉我們心智活動的內幕

And with this, we can get the skinny on our psychological happenings

並且逐步建構一個我們行為的故事

and build a story of our behaviors over time.

我們能夠開始看到那些

We can begin to see the underlying narratives that propel us forward

驅使我們前進的潛在動力

and tell us about what's going on.

並且知道發生什麼事

這樣一來

And from this, we can learn how to change the plot, the outcome

我們可以學習如何改變我們人生故事的

劇情、結果

and the character of our personal stories.

以及角色

兩千年前

Two millennia ago, those Greeks had some powerful insights.

那些希臘人提出很銳利的洞見

他們知道當你開始遵循他們的格言

They knew that a fundamental piece falls into place

當你慢慢了解你自己後

when you start to live out their little phrase,

when you come into contact with yourself.

你就完成了人生重要的一環

They understood the power of human narrative

他們知道人類敘述的力量

以及我們對於人類不斷變化、

and the value that we place on humans as changing, evolving and growing.

進化以及成長的重要性

But they understood something more fundamental --

但他們也知道更基本的事情

有新發現時的愉悅

the sheer joy in discovery,

從這個世界以及做自己

the delight and fascination that we get from the world

and being ourselves in it;

獲得的開心及陶醉

我們由看到、感覺到、知道我們的生命

the richness that we get from seeing, feeling and knowing the lives that we are.

所獲得的豐足

我的母親是一位藝術家

My mom's an artist,

and as a child, I'd often see her bring things to life with the stroke of a brush.

在我童年裡，我經常看到她用畫筆為東西注入生命

前一刻還是一整片白色，充滿可能性

One moment, it was all white space, pure possibility.

在她多彩多姿的想法及呈現之下

The next, it was alive with her colorful ideas and expressions.

一切就鮮活起來了

As I sat easel-side, watching her transform canvas after canvas,

當我坐在畫架旁邊

看著她塗抹一張又一張的油畫布

我懂得你可以創造你自己的世界

I learned that you could create your own world.

我學到我們的內在世界

I learned that our own inner worlds --

我們的想法、情緒及想像

our ideas, emotions and imaginations --

其實並非局限於我們的大腦及身體

were, in fact, not bound by our brains and bodies.

If you could think it, if you could discover it,

如果你可以思考，如果你可以發現它

你就能夠創造它

you could bring it to life.

對我而言，由思想操控的電腦運算技術

To me, thought-controlled computing

就跟一支畫筆一樣簡單又有力

is as simple and powerful as a paintbrush --

是另一個可以開啟並活化

one more tool to unlock and enliven the hidden worlds within us.

我們內在世界的工具

我期待有一天

I look forward to the day that I can sit beside you, easel-side,

我能夠坐在你身邊，在畫架旁邊

看著我們用我們的新工具箱

watching the world that we can create with our new toolboxes

所創造出來的世界

以及那些關於我們自己

and the discoveries that we can make about ourselves.

的新發現

謝謝

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌聲）