Paul Sereno: What can fossils teach us?

譯者: Bo Liu 審譯者: Yakun Li

Sixty-five million years ago, a very important

6500萬年前，一場非常重要的

and catastrophic event

災難性的實踐

changed the course of life on land.

改變了陸上生命的歷程

And although we know that the land animals I'm going to talk about

下面我要講的陸上動物

are just the scum of the Earth on the land --

雖然只是地球陸上生物的敗類——

the little bits of land floating around -- but they are important to us

陸地也只是那麼一點四處浮動的地盤——但對我們來說，它們卻有著深遠意義

because they're sort of in our scale of experience from millimeters to meters.

因為它們極大地擴展了我們對於史前的經驗範圍

And these animals disappeared,

然而這些動物雖然消失了

and a separate life, mammals,

另一種生命形式，哺乳類動物

radiated out to take their place. And so, we know this

逐漸繁榮起來，並取代了他們的地位。 我們對這個變化

in extraordinary detail. And so this is a core

非常了解。 因此，這是問題就像是百慕大三角的中心一樣

from near Bermuda. We know that the tsunamis, the earthquakes,

是謎團的核心。我們知道像海嘯、地震

and the things that we've experienced

和我們整個人類歷史上

in the entire record of humankind history

所經歷的其他災難

can't really quite get around the kind of disaster

都比不上這場災難

that this represented for the Earth.

對於地球的影響

So even before that impact was known,

所以，即使是在彗星碰撞理論之前

even before scientists in general came to an agreement

甚至在科學界大體開始同意

over the theory of evolution,

進化論之前

scientists and natural historians of all kinds of stripes

科學家和各種自然歷史學家們

actually had divided Earth's life's history

已經把地球的歷史

into these two episodes:

分成兩個階段：

Mesozoic, the middle life, and the Cenozoic, the recent life.

中生代,，史前的中期，和新生代，史前的晚期

And as it turns out, it actually corresponds really nicely

結果後來事實證明了這樣的劃分

with geologic history.

和我們的地質歷史相當吻合

So we have a Mesozoic period,

中山代是各大地質板塊

an age of fragmentation,

分裂的時期

and a Cenozoic period, an age of reconnection --

而新生代則是各板塊重新拼合的時期

South America to North America, India to Asia.

像南美大陸和北美大陸、印度和亞洲的合併

And so my work, really, is trying to understand

所以，我的工作，實際上，就是試著去理解並比較

the character of that Mesozoic radiation

中生代生物繁榮的特性

compared to the Cenozoic radiation

和新生代時期生物繁榮的特性

to see what mysteries we can understand from dinosaurs and from other animals

來看這些恐龍和其他動物能幫助我們解釋哪些謎團

about what life on drifting continents

還有來看大陸漂移

really can tell us about evolution.

可以給我們帶來哪些對於生物進化的啟示

The work immediately begs the question,

但我們馬上就會碰上這個問題

"Why didn't they go into the waters?"

＂為什麼恐龍去水里生活呢？＂

I mean, certainly mammals did. This is one example.

比如，有些哺乳類動物就轉而去水里生活，比如這個傢伙

You can go outside -- see many other examples.

你可以到外面看看，有很多這樣的例子

Within five, 10 million years of the bolide impact

被火流星影響了五百到一千萬年

we had a whole variety of animals going into the water. Why didn't they do that?

我們有各種各樣的動物改為水中生活了，那為什麼恐龍不這麼做呢？

Why didn't they hang around in trees at good size,

為什麼恐龍不變成小點的體積，爬到樹上

and why didn't they burrow?

或是挖洞到地底下生活呢

Why didn't they do all these things, and if they didn't do all these things,

為什麼他們都不做這些事情呢？而且，如果他們不生活在這些地方

what kinds of animals were in those spaces?

有哪些動物生活在那裡呢？

And if there were no animals in those spaces, what does that tell us

如果沒有任何動物生活在水里地下，那麼

about, you know, how evolution works on land?

這對於陸上生物進化說明了什麼呢?

Really interesting questions. I think a lot of it has to do with body size.

這些是非常有趣的問題。我認為很多問題跟身體體積有關

In fact, I think that most of it has to do with body size --

事實上，大多數問題跟體積有關係

the size you are when you inherit

這裡的體積是指恐龍

a vacant ecospace

在某個自然災害之後得到的一片空蕩的生態環境中

from whatever natural disaster.

所具有的體型

Looking at dinosaur evolution

在研究恐龍進化史

and studying it, digging it up for many years,

並親自參與現場挖掘多年後

I end up looking at the mammal radiation,

我轉而研究哺乳動物繁榮

and it seems as though everything is quick time, just like technology,

結果我發現，似乎所有的事物都以極快的速度跟規模向前發展

advancing by an order of magnitude.

就像發展快速的科技一樣

Dinosaur evolution proceeded at a stately pace,

恐龍進化卻是以一個莊嚴緩慢的速度進行的

an order of magnitude slower on any way you want to measure it.

緩慢到你不想去測量

You want to measure it by diversity?

你是想要測量恐龍進化的多樣性嗎？

You want to measure it by

還是想要測量

the time it took to reach maximum body size?

恐龍進化到最大體型所需的時間?

Yes, they do have larger body size,

是的，他們具有較大的身形

but many of them are smaller,

但很多體型都偏小

but we're interested in the time it took them to achieve that.

然而我們感興趣的是這些恐龍花了多長時間才長的這麼大

Fifty million years to achieve this maximum body size.

五千萬年。

And that is 10 times longer than it took the mammals

哺乳動物只花了十分之一的時間

to achieve maximum body size

就進化到最大的體型

and invade all those habitats.

並且侵占了所有的棲息地

So there's lessons to learn,

所以我們要記取教訓

and there's lessons to learn from the exception,

這些教訓都來自一個特例

the exception that we know very well today from the discoveries we've made,

這個特例我們現在都很熟悉，因為我們跟許多其他學者

and many other scholars have made around the world.

在世界各地的發現

This slide was shown before. This is the famous Jurassic bird Archaeopteryx.

這張幻燈片先前也展示過，是著名的侏儸紀始祖鳥

We now know this transition is the one time

我們現在知道了從恐龍到始祖鳥的轉變

that dinosaurs actually went below

是唯一的一次恐龍進化過程中體型

that body size --

變小的轉變

we're going to see where they began in a minute --

我們馬上就會來看這個轉變是從哪裡開始的

and it is the one time that they rapidly

而且，這個時期始祖鳥迅速地

invaded all the habitats

侵占了所有之前我告訴你們

I just told you that dinosaurs weren't in.

恐龍沒有佔領的棲息地

They became marine. We now know them today

始祖鳥轉為海生。我們今天

from the ice caps.

從冰蓋裡發現了他們。

There's burrowing birds.

這些是穴居鳥

They inhabit the trees at all body sizes,

不管何種體型，他們都生活在樹上

and, of course, they inhabit the land.

當然，也生活在陸上

So we were the first to actually name a bird from the famous series

在後來的《科學》和《自然》雜誌中

that later exploded onto the pages of Science and Nature.

常常被刊登上的鳥就是我們首先命名的

We called this bird Sinornis. It's a little bit more advanced than Archaeopteryx,

我們叫他三塔中國鳥，比始祖鳥還要高等一些

and if you go to different layers, you find things

而如果你研究不同的層，你就會發現

that are less advanced than Archaeopteryx, and every grade in between,

比始祖低級的生物，以及發展層次上的每級階梯

so that if you find something today, we're usually splitting hairs --

所以今天如果你發現了新的化石，我們通常會劈開他們的毛髮——

or, more appropriately, feathers -- as to decide whether it's actually

或者說更恰當的說，羽毛——來決定其是否為

a non-avian or an avian.

鳥類

It is the greatest transition that we have, actually,

這事實上是陸地上，從一個棲息地到另一個棲息地，

on land from one habitat to another,

所發生的最重要的轉變

bar none,

無一例外

to understand how a bony,

來幫助我們理解這個大骨架

fairly heavy, kilogram or a couple-of-kilogram animal

羽毛厚重，幾公斤重的動物是

could make such a transition.

怎樣進行這個轉變的

It is really our greatest -- one of our greatest -- evolutionary sequences.

這是我們進化序列中，最重要的事件 ——最重要的事件之一。

Now, my work began at the beginning.

現在，我的工作是從頭開始研究這個轉變。

I thought if I'm going to understand dinosaur evolution,

我想如果我要去瞭解恐龍是怎樣進化的，

I'd have to go back to those beds

我就得回到那些遠古地層，

where they had picked up fragments, go back to a time and a place

因為古生物學家在那裡發現了恐龍的碎片，回到

where the earliest dinosaurs existed.

最早期恐龍生活的時空裡

I'd like to call for this little video clip

我想在這裡給大家放一小段影片，

to give you some idea of, sort of, what we face. Normally, we get asked a lot of questions:

讓大家對我們所面對的東西有一點瞭解。通常，大家會問很多問題，

"Well, how do you find fossils in areas that look like this?"

例如，「你們是怎樣在這樣的地區找到化石的？」

If we could roll that first video clip.

我們放一下第一段影片。

This is sort of a nice helicopter ride

這是個不錯的直升機之旅

through those early beds,

通過阿根廷的東北地區

and they're located in Northeastern Argentina.

的一些早期地層

And we're coming over a cliff, and at the top of that cliff,

我們正在飛過一個懸崖，在這個懸崖頂

dinosaurs had basically taken over.

恐龍已經完全佔據

At the bottom of the cliff, we find that they're rare as hens' teeth.

而在懸崖底部，恐龍的化石稀少的像母雞的牙齒一樣，幾乎不存在

That's where dinosaur origins is to be found: at the bottom of the cliff.

而懸崖底部卻正是發現恐龍進化源頭的地方

You go into an area like this, you get a geologic map,

去這樣的地區，你需要一張地質圖

you get a topographic map,

還有一張地形圖

and the best, most-inspired team you can bring to the area.

最好還可以帶來一隊極具靈感的團隊

And the rest is up to you. You've got to find fossils.

剩下的就靠你自己了。你得找到化石。

You've got to dig a hole that's usually quite a bit bigger than that

你得挖一個比這大不少的洞

to get it out; you've got to climb those cliffs

才能把化石挖出來；你得爬上這些懸崖

and find, really, everything that existed --

找到所有存在過的東西的證據——

not just the dinosaurs, but the entire story. If you're lucky,

不僅僅是恐龍，而是整個史前故事。如果你夠幸運

and you dig a place like that,

並且挖到了這樣的一個地方

you actually find the ash bed to dig it, and we did.

找到了凝灰岩來挖掘，我們就找到了

228 million years old, we found

我們發現了一具有2億2800萬年的

what really is the most primitive dinosaur:

最原始的恐龍骨架：

that's the Ur-dinosaur.

這就是爾龍

A three-and-a-half foot thing,

3英呎半高（1米左右），

beautiful skull, predator,

有著一個美麗頭骨的捕食者，

meat-eater, a two-legged animal.

也就是食肉恐龍，兩足行走

So, all the other dinosaurs that you know,

然而，你或你的孩子記憶當中的其它恐龍

or your kids know, at least, on four legs.

至少是有四條腿的。

This is sort of a look at the skull,

來看一下這個頭骨，

and it's an absolutely fantastic thing about five or six inches long.

5到6英吋長，非常漂亮。

It looks rather bird-like because it is.

它看起來像鳥的頭骨，事實上的確這樣。

It's bird-like and hollow.

很像鳥的頭骨，並且是空心的。

A predator. Maybe 25 pounds,

它是掠食者，大概有25磅，

or 10 kilograms.

也就是10公斤。

That's where dinosaurs began. That's where the radiation began.

這就是恐龍的起源，然後逐漸繁榮，分散到各個地方去。

That is 10 times larger

這比哺乳動物的繁榮，

than the mammal radiation, which was a four-legged radiation.

一個四足動物的繁榮，要大十倍

We are extremely dinosaur-like,

我們和恐龍是非常相像的，

and unusual in our two-legged approach to life.

並且我們在我們作為兩足動物的方式也很特別

Now, if you want to understand what happened

如果你想知道遠古大陸分裂後

then when the continents broke apart,

發生了什麼，

and dinosaurs found -- landlubbers, as they are --

還有當恐龍 ——雖然他們是旱鴨子——

found themselves adrift. There's some missing puzzle pieces.

漂流到世界各地。有一些關鍵證據是缺失的

Most of those missing puzzle pieces are southern continents,

而大都數這些證據在南半球的大陸上，

because it was those continents that are least explored.

因為那些地區鮮有被發掘探索。

If you want to add to this picture and try and sketch it globally,

如果你想為這個領域增添些什麼，為了使它更完美一點，

you really have to force yourself to go down

你就必須走遍

to the four corners of the Earth --

地球的各個角落--

Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia --

非洲、印度、南極洲、澳大利亞--

and start putting together some of these pieces.

並且試著拼湊起各種證據來找尋一個最終答案。

I've been to some of those continents, but Africa was,

我曾經到過其中的一些大陸，但是非洲

in the words of Steven Pinker, was a blank slate, largely.

用史蒂芬•品克的話來說，很大程度上是一塊空白板

But one with an immense chalkboard in the middle,

但這塊白板中間是一塊巨大的黑板，

with lots of little areas of dinosaur rock

那裡有很多埋藏恐龍化石的小片地區

if you could survive an expedition.

條件是你能在撐過這些探險

There's no roads into the Sahara. It's an enormous place.

沒有路通往沙哈拉沙漠，那是個無邊無際的地方。

To be able to excavate

如果要把

the 80 tons of dinosaurs that we have in the Sahara

80噸重的沙哈拉沙漠恐龍化石

and take them out, you really have to put together

搬出去，你就必須有一支能

an expedition team that can handle the conditions.

克服任何困難的探險隊伍。

Some of them are political. Many of them are physical.

這些困難當中，其中一些是政治原因，很多是身體上的，

Some of them -- the most important -- are mental.

再有一些，也是最重要的，是精神上的。

And you really have to be able to withstand conditions --

你要能承受各種各樣的惡劣條件--

you have to drive into the desert,

你必須驅車進入沙漠腹地，

you will see landscapes in many cases --

那裡你可以看到形態各異的沙漠景觀--

you can see from what we've discovered --

你可以見到我們所發現的各種化石--

that nobody else has ever seen.

一些沒有任何人發現過的化石

And the kinds of teams they bring in?

有人會問你們的隊伍是由哪些人組成的？

Well, they're

他們是由

composed of

一群

people who understand science as adventure with a purpose.

懂得科學精神的人組成，而這個精神就是有目的性的探險。

They're usually students who've never seen a desert.

隊伍成員通常是一群沒有去過沙漠的學生。

Some of them are more experienced.

其中一些學生相對經驗豐富些。

Your job as a leader -- this is definitely a team sport --

作為領隊--這可以說是一個團隊運動-

your job as a leader is to try to inspire them

你必須試圖激勵他們

to do more work than they've ever done in their life

在這樣的他們無法想像的嚴酷條件下

under conditions that they can't imagine.

做比他們過去做過的事情艱鉅得多的工作

So, 125 degrees is normal.

所以，125華氏度（52攝氏度）很正常。

The ground surface at 150 -- typical.

而地表通常可以達到150華氏（66攝氏度）。

So, you can't leave your normal metal tools out

因此，你最好不要把金屬工具放在太陽底下，

because you'll get a first-degree burn if you grab them sometimes.

否則如果不小心去抓它們，就會被燙到一級燒傷

So, you are finding yourself also in an amazing cultural milieu.

你也會發現自己正處於一個令人驚奇的文化環境之中，

You're really rubbing shoulders

你真的是在跟世界上

with the world's last great nomadic people.

僅存的真正的遊牧民族打交道。

These are the Tuareg nomads, and they're living their lives

他們是圖阿雷格遊牧民族，他們這樣的生活方式

much as they have for centuries.

已經保持了很多世紀了

Your job is to excavate things like this in the foreground,

你的工作就是把這些挖掘出來，

and make them enter the pages of history.

然後想辦法讓他們載入史冊

To do that, you've got to actually transport them

要做到這一點，你需要把這些從沙漠運到

thousands of miles out of the desert.

幾千英里之外的另一個地方。

We're talking about Ethiopia, but let's talk about Niger --

我們現在說的是埃塞俄比亞，但接下來要談的是-

or Niger, in our English language -- north of Nigeria --

尼日爾--尼日爾北部地區--

that's where this photograph was taken.

在那裡我們拍到了這張照片。

Basically you're talking about a country that,

當我們開始工作時，

when we started working there, did not have container traffic.

尼日爾基本上沒有集裝箱運輸車。

You transported the bones out yourself

你得自己把這些化石運到

to the coast of Africa,

非洲海岸，

onto a boat, if you wanted to get them out of the middle of the Sahara.

然後再搬上船，如果你想把這些東西運出撒哈拉

That's a 2,000 mile journey.

這是2000英里的路程。

So enormous excavations and a lot of work,

在大量的挖掘和其他工作之後，

and out of essentially a partial herd of dinosaurs

我們利用從那裡得到的恐龍化石，

that you saw buried there -- 20 tons of material --

幾乎就是一群恐龍中的一部分——大約有20噸——

we erect Jobaria,

組成了Jobaria龍

a sauropod dinosaur like we haven't seen on some other continents.

這是一種我們在其他大陸上沒有見到過的蜥腳類龍

It really is a little bit out of place temporally.

它看起來暫時有點與周圍環境不搭。

It looks nothing like what we would find

它和我們如今在北美岩層中

if we dug in contemporary beds in North America.

所找到的化石一點也不同

Here's the animal that was causing it trouble.

這是一頭給別的恐龍帶來麻煩的動物

And, you know, on and on --

還有，不斷擴展——

a whole menagerie. When you pick up something like this --

整個動物園都會有麻煩。當你發現這樣的東西時——

and some of you have had the chance to touch it --

你們其中一些人可能有機會摸到了這個——

this is a piece of history. You're touching something that's 110 million years old.

這是記載了歷史的東西。你摸到的東西距今已有1億1000萬年了。

This is a thumb claw. There it was, moments after it was discovered.

這是拇指爪，在這個恐龍化石發現後不久就發現了它。

It is an incredible view of life,

這樣看生命是多麼令人驚奇，

and it really began when we began to understand

並且當我們開始思考時間深度時

the depth of time.

驚奇才會源源不斷而來

It's only been with us for less than a century,

這樣看生命，只是不超過百年之前的事情

and in that time, that fourth dimension,

在那時，時間，這個第四維度

when radioactive dating came about, less than a century ago,

在不到一個世紀之前，放射性測年技術的被發明

and we could actually tell how old some of these things were,

使我們能測得這些化石的年齡，

is probably the most profound transformation,

這是可能是一項最為深遠的變革，

because it changes the way we look at ourselves

因為它劇烈的改變了我們看待

and the world dramatically.

自己和世界的方式

When you pick up a piece of history like that,

當你瞭解這些化石背後的歷史後，

I think it can transform

我想這會改變

kids that are possibly interested in science.

對科學有可能產生興趣學生的態度。

That's the animal that thumb claw came from: Suchomimus.

這是似鱷龍的拇指爪。

Here's some others.

這還有其他一些。

This is something we found in Morocco, an immense animal.

這是我們在摩納哥發現的龐然大物。

We prototyped by CAT-scanning the brain out of this animal.

我們用CAT掃描了它的腦，并製作了頭骨原型

It turns out to have a forebrain

它前腦的體積

one-fifteenth the size of a human.

只相當於人類的十五分之一。

This was the cover of Science, because they thought

這是《科學》雜誌的封面，

that humans were more intelligent than these animals,

因為有人認為人類比這些動物更聰明，

but we can see by some in our administration

但我們從一些例子中可以看出

that despite

儘管

the enormous advantage in brain volume

人類在腦容量上占上風，

some of the attitudes remain the same. Anyway,

但是我們和它們的一些態度相似。

smaller raptors.

總之，我們人類是小型掠食者。

All the stuff from Jurassic Park that you know of --

《侏羅紀公園》這部電影中你所知道的一切

all those small animals --

所有的那些小型動物

they all come from northern continents.

它們都生活在北方大陸

This is the first skeleton from a southern continent,

這是第一具來自南方大陸的骨架，

and guess what? You start preparing it.

你猜怎麼著？我們開始構建它。

It has no big claw on its hind foot. It doesn't look like a Velociraptor.

它的後脚沒有大爪子，看起來不像迅猛龍。

It's really a wholly separate radiation.

很明顯，它是一個新的恐龍繁榮中的分支

So what we're trying to piece together here is a story.

所以我們正盡力還原當初的情景，

It involves flying reptiles like this Pterosaur

包括會飛的恐龍，

that we reconstructed from Africa.

例如這隻我們在非洲重新復原的翼龍。

Crocodiles, of course,

當然還有鱷魚。

and that's a nasty one we haven't named yet.

我們還沒有給這條可怕的鱷魚取名字，

And huge things -- I mean, this is a

讓人驚歎的是

lower jaw just laying there in the desert

這條巨鱷的下顎骨

of this enormous crocodile.

就躺在沙漠之中。

The crocodile is technically called Sarcosuchus.

學術上稱之為帝王鱷。

That's an adult Orinoco crocodile in its jaws.

從額骨來看，這是一條成年的奧里諾科鱷魚。

We had to try and reconstruct this.

我們竭盡全力想把它復原，

We had to actually look at recent crocodiles

所以只有和現在的鱷魚作比較之後，

to understand how crocodiles scale.

才能知道鱷魚身體的比例是怎樣的。

Could I have the second little video clip?

接下來放第二個短片。

Now, this field is just -- and, of course, science in general -- is just -- adventure.

一般來說，這是一種科學，但更確切地說是探險。

We had to find and measure

我們得找出當今體型最大的鱷魚，

the largest crocodiles living today.

并測量它的一些數據。

Narrator: ... as long as their boat.

旁白：只要他們的船……

Man: Look at that set of choppers! Yeah, he's a big one.

第一個人：快看那排牙齒！它可真大。

Narrator: If they can just land it,

旁白：如果他們能把它拖上岸，

this croc will provide useful data,

這條鱷魚就能提供一些有用的數據

helping Paul in his quest to understand Sarcosuchus.

用來幫助保羅更好的復原帝王鱷。

Man: OK, hand me some more here. Man 2: OK.

第一個人：我需要更多的人手。第二個人：我來了。

Narrator: It falls to Paul to cover its eyes.

旁白：由保羅來蓋住它的眼睛。

Man: Watch out! Watch out! No, no, no, no. You're going to have to get on the back legs.

第一個人：小心！小心！不對！不對！你去把它的後腿按住。

Man: I got the back legs.

第一個人：我按住了。

Man 2: You have the back legs? No, you have the front legs, my friend.

第二個人：你真的按住了嗎？不，你壓的是前腿，我的老兄。

I've got it. I've got the back legs.

現在好了，肯定沒錯。

Somebody get the front legs.

快點來人，把前腿按住。

Paul Sereno: Let's get this tape measure on him. Put it right there.

保羅.賽雷諾：我們來量下它。放在那裡。

Wow.

哇。

Sixty-five. Wow.

65英寸（1.6米），不可思議！

That's a big skull.

它的頭可真大。

Narrator: Big, but less than half the size

旁白：大嗎？

of supercroc's skull.

大也不會超過帝王鱷頭骨的一半。

Man: Enormous. PS: You've got a ... 14-foot croc.

第一個人：真大。保羅.塞雷諾：有14英尺長（4.3米）。

Man: I knew it was big.

第一個人：我就知道它很大。

PS: Don't get off. You don't get off, but don't worry about me.

保羅.賽雷諾：按住！千萬要按住它！不用為我擔心。

Narrator: Paul has his data, so they decide

旁白：保羅得到了他要的數據，所以他們決定

to release the animal back into the river.

重新把它放到河裡。

PS: Don't get off! Don't get off! Don't get off!

保羅：使勁！使勁按住！呆在上面別動！

Narrator: Paul has never seen a fossil do that.

旁白：保羅從來沒有見過一具“化石”會這樣。

PS: Okay, when I say three, we move.

保羅：我數到三，咱們一起放開。

One, two, three!

一，二，三！

Whoa!

哇！

So -- there were --

所以……

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Well, you know, the -- the fossil record is truly amazing

你知道，化石記錄非常有意義，

because it really forces you to look at living animals in a new way.

因為它促使你用一種新的眼光瞭解現存的動物。

We proved with those measurements

我們用那些數據已經證明了

that crocodiles scaled isometrically.

所有的鱷魚身體比例都是一樣的

It depended on the shape of their skull, though,

然而，身體的比例是由頭骨決定的，

so we had to actually get those measurements

所以我們要用那些數據

to be sure that we had reconstructed and could prove to the scientific world

來衡量我們復原的骨架，然後才向科學界公佈

that supercroc in fact is a 40-foot crocodile, probably a male.

這條巨型鱷魚的具體情況，長40英尺（12米），很可能是條公鱷。

Anyway, you find other things, too.

無論如何，你還會找到其它的東西。

I'm going to lead an expedition to the Sahara

我將要帶領一支隊伍去沙哈拉沙漠

to dig up Africa's largest neolithic site.

挖掘非洲最大的新石器遺址。

We found this last year.

去年我們發現了這個，

Two hundred skeletons, tools, jewelry.

200具骨架，工具，珠寶。

This is a ceremonial disk.

這是一個儀式盤，

An amazing record of the colonization of the Sahara

是撒哈拉地區被殖民化的極好的記錄

5,000 years ago is been sitting out there

它在那裡呆了5000年，

waiting for us to go back. So, really exciting.

一直等著我們回去。所以，我們非常興奮。

And then work later is going to take us to Tibet.

接著由於工作原因，我們去了西藏。

Now, we normally think of Tibet as a highland.

現在，我們通常認為西藏是一片高地。

It's really an island continent.

然而它實際上是一塊島內大陸。

It was a precursor to India,

它是印度的先導，

a messenger from Gondwana --

是來自岡瓦納

a lost paradise of dinosaurs

恐龍失樂園——的信使，

isolated for millions of years.

與世隔絕了幾百萬年。

No one's found them. We know where they are,

過去一直沒人知道它們的下落。現在我們知道在哪裡，

and we're going to go and get them next year.

並且計劃明年去那兒。

They're only between 13 and 14,000 feet,

那裡的海拔有1萬3千到1萬4千英尺（3962~4267米），

but if you go in the warm part of the year, it's O.K.

但是如果春秋季節去那裡，沒什麼大問題。

Now, I tried to suture together a dinosaur evolutionary history

現在，我要把這些片段鏈接成一段恐龍的進化史。

so that we can try to understand

以此來更好地瞭解恐龍的

some basic patterns of evolution.

一些基本進化模式。

I've talked about a few of them. We really need to take that further.

我們已經談到了一些，但我們要做更深入的探討。

We need to delve into this mass of anatomy

我們需要研究這些

that we've been compiling

我們一直在復原的解剖結構

to understand where the changes are occurring and what this means.

來理解什麼時候發生了變化，這些變化又意味著什麽。

We can't predict, necessarily, what will happen in evolution,

我們不一定能預測進化的走向，

but we can learn some of the rules of the game,

但我們能瞭解一些進化的規則，

and that's really what we're trying to do.

這就是我們正在努力做的事情

With regard to the biogeographic question,

關於生物地理學這個問題，

the Earth is dividing.

地球還在分裂。

These are all landlubbing animals. There's a couple of choices.

這些都是在陸地上生活的動物。這裡存在很多選擇。

You get divided, and a continent's division

陸生動物被分開，每一個分開后的大陸板塊

corresponds to a fork in the evolutionary tree,

對應著進化樹的一個分叉，

or you're crafty, and you manage to escape

如果你夠厲害，成功地

from one to the other and erase that division,

從一個板塊跳到另一個板塊，也就是說你消除了這種隔離，

or you're living peacefully on each side,

要麼你在兩邊都生活的很好，

and on one side you just go extinct,

要麼你在一個板塊上滅絕了，

and you survive on the other side and create a difference.

要麼你在另外的板塊活下來，並且發生了一些變化。

And the fourth thing is that you actually did one or the other

第四種可能是，你的情況屬於

of those three things, but the paleontologist never found you.

這三者之一，但是古生物學家還沒發現你。

And you take those four instances

考慮了這四種可能，

and you realize you have a complex problem.

你發現這是一個複雜的問題。

And so, in addition to digging, I think we have some answers

因此，除了挖掘之外，我認為我們能從

from the dinosaur record. I think these dinosaurs migrated --

恐龍的記錄上得到一些答案。我覺得恐龍曾經有過遷徙

we call it dispersal -- around the globe, with the slightest land bridge.

我們稱之為在全球範圍內的分散，通過最狹窄的大陸鏈接地帶。

They did it within two or three degrees of the pole,

它們通過兩個或三個鏈接

to maintain similarity between continents.

來保持不同大陸之間物種的相似性。

But when they were divided, indeed they were divided,

但是有時候它們真正地被隔離了，

and we do see the continents

我們也確實看到不同的大陸

carving differences among dinosaurs.

在恐龍身上留下了不同的印記。

But there's one thing that's even more important, and I think that's extinction.

但是我覺得有一件事更加重要，那就是滅絕。

We have downgraded this factor.

我們忽略了這件事。

It carves up the history of life,

滅絕這個因數在生命歷史留下深刻的印記，

and gives us the differences that we see

而且造成了我們所看到的

in the dinosaur world towards the end,

在恐龍世界的差異性，一直持續到恐龍的消失，

right before the bolide impact.

持續到彗星撞擊地球之前。

The best way to test this is to actually create a model.

驗證這個理論的最好方法是建立模型。

So if we move back, this is a two-dimensional typical tree of life.

如果我們往會看，這是一顆二維生命樹。

I want to give you three dimensions.

我要向你們展示一顆三維的生命樹。

So you see the tree of life,

這是一顆生命樹，

but now I've added the dimension of area.

現在我將區域作為另一個維度加上去。

So the tree of life is normally divergence over time.

生命樹隨著時間的流逝形成分叉。

Now we have divergence over time, but we've created the third dimension of area.

在看到時間產生的分叉之後，我們有添加了第三個維度--區域。

This is a computer program

這是一個計算機程序，

which has three knobs.

它由三部份組成。

We can control those things that we're worried about:

我們控制我們所關心的參數：

extinction, sampling, dispersal --

滅絕，抽樣，分散--

going from one area to another.

從一個區域移動到另一個區域。

And ultimately we can control the branching

最終我們可以通過控制這些分支

to mimic what we think the continents were like,

來模擬這些大陸曾今的樣子，

and run it a thousand times, so we can estimate the parameters,

通過一千次的運行，我們可以估計這些參數，

to answer the question whether we are on the mark or not,

這樣我們就能知道我們的工作是否在正確的方向上進行，

at least to know the barriers of the problems. So that's a little bit about the science.

至少能知道問題的難點。這是關於科學的一點東西。

Today I'm going to spend the rest of my few minutes up here

今天我要利用剩下的時間

talking about the other stuff that I do in Chicago,

談談我在芝加哥做的事，

which is related to the fact that I never --

這關係到一個事實——

and actually, in talking to a lot of TEDsters,

並且通過跟很多TED參會者交談

there's a number of you out there -- I don't know that I'd get an answer

很多人就在座——我不知道我會得到答案的一個事實

honestly, if I asked you to raise your hand,

老實說，如果我讓你們舉手，

but there are a number of you out there that started your

會發現你們中很多人在

scientific, technical, entertainment career

科學、技術和娛樂等領域的最初嘗試

as failures, by society's standards, as failures by schools.

是一個失敗者，從社會的標準來看，還是從學校的標準來說。

I was one of those. I was failed by my school -- my school failed me.

我就是一個失敗的例子。我是一個學校裡的失敗者——我的學校讓我失敗

Who's pointing fingers?

我們要指責誰呢？

Several teachers nearly killed me.

一些老師幾乎要把我弄死了。

I found myself in art.

我發現我喜歡藝術。

I was a total failure in school, not really headed to graduate high school.

在學校，我是一個徹底的失敗者，沒打算要高中畢業

And I went on -- that's my first painting on canvas.

我繼續朝我的方向走--那是我的第一幅畫。

I read a dictionary. I got into college.

我讀了一本字典。我進了大學。

I became an artist. O.K., and started drawing.

我成為了畫家，開始畫畫。

It became abstract.

一切變得抽象。

I worked up a portfolio, and I was headed to New York.

我攢了一套作品，去了紐約。

Sometimes I would see bones when there was a body there.

有時看見一具身體，我就會研究它的骨骼。

Something was going on in the background. I headed to New York to a studio.

一些事情發生后，我去了紐約的一個工作室。

I took a side trip to the American Museum, and I never recovered.

我順便去了美國博物館，從來沒有回過神來。

But really it's the same discipline -- they're kindred disciplines.

但這真的是同樣的學科--它們是同源學科。

I mean, is there anything

我的意思是，所有的東西

that is not visualizing what can't be seen,

都能在某種程度上把我們肉眼看不見的東西展示出來，

in terms of discovering this dinosaur bone from a small piece of it

就恐龍挖掘而言，通過恐龍的一小部份的骨骼可以發現恐龍

that's out there, or seeing the distortion

觀察那些

that we try to see

我們希望看到的扭曲，

as evolutionary distortion in one animal to another?

這些事進化的扭曲，從一種動物到另一種動物。

This is a very extraordinarily visual.

這是非常奇特的視覺。

I give you a human face because you're experts at that.

我先給你們看人臉，因為人臉是最熟悉不過了。

It takes us years to understand how to do that with dinosaurs.

經過好幾年的研究，我們知道了如何把這運用到恐龍身上。

They're really kindred disciplines.

這其實是很相似的學科。

But what we're trying to create in Chicago

但我在芝加哥所做的

is a way to get,

是把

collect together, those students

這些學生聚集在一起，一些

who are least represented in our science and technology spheres.

在我們的科技領域裡很少的學生

We all know, and there's been several allusions to it,

我們都知道，也有談到

that we are failing in our ability to produce

我們的社會正在喪失生產出

enough scientists, engineers and technicians.

足夠的科學家，工程師和技術人員的能力。

We've known that for a long time. We've gone through the Sputnik phase,

我們知道這個事實已經很久了。我們經過了初期探索階段，

and now, as you see the increase

現在你可以看到

in the pace of what we're doing,

社會的發展越來越快。

it becomes even more prominent. Where are all these people going to come from?

這個問題變得更加顯著。我們的社會需要的人才將從哪裡來？

And a more general question for our society is,

一個更加普遍的問題是，

what's going to happen to all the rest that are left behind?

對於那些落後的孩子，

What about all the kids like me that were in school --

那些孩子就想岑經在學校讀書的我--

kids like some of you out there --

像在座一些人一樣--

that were in school and didn't get a chance and will never get a chance

在學校從來沒有機會

to participate in science and technology?

參加科學技術活動，他們該怎麼辦？

Those are the questions I ask. And we talk about Ethiopia, and it's very important.

這是我要問的問題。我要談談埃塞爾比亞，這非常重要。

Niger is equally important, and I'm trying desperately

尼日爾也同樣重要，我非常想

to do something in Niger.

在哪裡做一些事。

They have an AIDS problem. I asked --

他們有很嚴重的艾滋病問題。

the U.S. State Department asked the government recently,

最近美國國務院對當地政府提出一個問題，

What do you want to do? And they gave them two problems.

你們將怎麼做？他們給出了兩個問題。

Dinosaurs was one of them.

其中一個問題和恐龍有關。

Give us a museum of dinosaurs,

給我們一個恐龍博物館，

and we will attract tourists, which is our number two industry.

這樣我們就可以吸引更多遊客，旅遊是我們的第二大支柱產業。

And I hope to God the United States government, me, or TED,

我希望美國政府，我，或者是TED

or somebody helps us do that, because that would be an incredible thing for their country.

或者其他人能辦到這一點，因為這對他們的國家實在是太重要了。

But when we look back at our own country, we're looking back at our cities,

但是當我們把視線移回到我們的國家，我們審視我們的城市，

the cities where most of you come from -- certainly the city I come from --

這些你們來自的城市--我來自的城市

there's legions of kids out there

有大批的孩子在那兒

like these.

諸如此類的孩子。

And the question is -- and we started to address this question for centuries --

問題是--我們從幾個世紀前就開始著手解決這個問題--

as to how we get these kids involved in science.

如何讓這些孩子融入到科學中去。

We've started in Chicago

我們從芝加哥開始

an organization -- a non-profit organization --

創辦了一個非盈利性組織--

called Project Exploration.

叫做“探索工程”。

These are two kids from Project Exploration.

這是兩個來自“探索工程”的孩子。

We met them in their early stages in high school. They were --

我們在他們剛上高中的時候認識他們。

failing to poor students,

他們是差等生，

and they are now -- one at the University of Chicago, another in Illinois.

現在他們分別就讀于芝加哥大學和伊利諾伊大學。

We've got students at Harvard. We're six years old.

我們還有去哈佛的學生。我們的機構已經有6年的歷史。

And we created a track record.

我們創造了一個很好的記錄。

Because when you go out there as a scholar, and you try to find out longitudinal studies,

因為一旦你成為了一個學者，你會試圖去進行縱向研究，

track records like that, there essentially are very few, if none.

記錄發展之類的，這些記錄本身就很少。

So, we've created an incredible track record of 100 percent graduation,

我們創造了驚人的成績，百分之百的畢業率。

90 percent going to college, many first-generation,

百分之九十進入了大學，很多是第一代移民，

90 percent of those choosing science as a career.

其中的百分之九十選擇了科學研究作為職業目標

It's an impressive track record, and so we look back and we say,

這是令人印象深刻的成績，所以回過頭來看我們所說的，

well, we didn't really exactly work this out theoretically from the start,

我們不是從理論開始的，

but when we look back, there are theoretical movements in science education.

但我們回頭看，發現有理論支持我們的科學教育。

It's gone through science as an inquiry,

這個理論就是用探索來學習科學

which was a big advance,

這是很大的進步，

and Dewey back at Chicago --

教育家杜威回到芝加哥后，說--

you learn by doing.

你通過實踐來學習。

To -- you learn by envisioning yourself

你通過想像你

as a scientist,

成為科學家的樣子來學習，

and then you learn to envision yourself as a scientist.

然後你學會如何把自己想像成一位科學家。

The next step is to learn the capability

下一步是

to make yourself a scientist.

學習成為科學家的必備本領。

You have to have those steps. If you have --

你學習要有這些步驟。如果你有--

It's easy to get kids interested in science.

讓孩子們對科學產生興趣是很容易的

It's hard to get them to envision themselves as a scientist,

難的是讓他們把自己想像成科學家

which involves standing up in front of people like we're doing here at this symposium

這涉及到站在大家面前，就想我現在這樣，

and presenting something as a knowledgeable person,

以懂行的人的身份去展示一些東西，

and then seeing yourself in the role as a scientist

想像自己成為一個科學家

and giving yourself the tools to pursue that.

給予自己追求科學家這個夢想的能力

And so, that's what we're going to do. We're planning a permanent home in Chicago.

那就是我們要做的事。我們計劃在芝加哥建立一個永久的家。

We have lots of ideas, but I guarantee you this one thing --

我們有很多想法，但是我向你們保證一件事--

and I've talked to some people here at TED --

這點我也在TED跟一些人談到過--

it's not going to look like anything you've seen before.

我要說的是你們從來沒有見過的。

It's going to be part-school, part-museum hall,

我們要建立的是一個既像學校，又像博物館的場所，

part-conservatory, part-zoo,

它還像溫室和動物園，

and part of an answer to the problem

它將部份上解決

of how you interest kids in science.

如何讓孩子們對科學產生興趣的問題。

Thank you very much.

謝謝大家。