Isaac Lidsky: What reality are you creating for yourself? | TED

譯者: Crystal Yip 審譯者: Ya Tang

When Dorothy was a little girl,

當桃樂絲仍是小女孩時，

she was fascinated by her goldfish.

她對她的金魚著迷。

Her father explained to her that fish swim by quickly wagging their tails

她爸爸向她解釋，魚靠擺動尾巴

to propel themselves through the water.

來推動自己在水中前進。

Without hesitation, little Dorothy responded,

毫不猶豫地，小桃樂絲回應，

"Yes, Daddy, and fish swim backwards by wagging their heads."

「是的，爸爸， 魚靠搖頭來向後游泳。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

In her mind, it was a fact as true as any other.

在她腦海中，這是個不爭的事實。

Fish swim backwards by wagging their heads.

魚靠搖頭來向後游泳。

She believed it.

她相信這件事。

Our lives are full of fish swimming backwards.

我們的生活充滿向後游泳的魚。

We make assumptions and faulty leaps of logic.

我們作出假設和非邏輯的快速結論。

We harbor bias.

我們懷有偏見。

We know that we are right, and they are wrong.

我們認為我們對，而他們錯。

We fear the worst.

我們害怕最壞的情況。

We strive for unattainable perfection.

我們力求不可達到的完美。

We tell ourselves what we can and cannot do.

我們告訴自己可以和不可以做的事。

In our minds, fish swim by in reverse frantically wagging their heads

在我們腦海裡，

魚瘋狂地搖著頭向後游，

and we don't even notice them.

而我們甚至不曾察覺。

I'm going to tell you five facts about myself.

我將告訴你五件關於我的事。

One fact is not true.

有一件是假的。

One: I graduated from Harvard at 19 with an honors degree in mathematics.

第一：我 19 歲於哈佛畢業， 以優異成績獲得數學學位。

Two: I currently run a construction company in Orlando.

第二：我現在在奧蘭多 經營一間建築公司。

Three: I starred on a television sitcom.

第三：我曾在 電視的情景喜劇中演出。

Four: I lost my sight to a rare genetic eye disease.

第四：我因為患有 罕見遺傳性眼疾而失去視覺。

Five: I served as a law clerk to two US Supreme Court justices.

第五：我曾是兩位 美國最高法院大法官的法律助理。

Which fact is not true?

哪一件是假的？

Actually, they're all true.

其實，都是真的。

Yeah. They're all true.

對。都是真的。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

At this point, most people really only care about the television show.

在這一刻，大部分人 其實只在乎那電視節目。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I know this from experience.

這是經驗告訴我的。

OK, so the show was NBC's "Saved by the Bell: The New Class."

那節目是 NBC 的 「救命下課鈴之新班級」。

And I played Weasel Wyzell,

我出演 Weasel Wyzell 的角色，

who was the sort of dorky, nerdy character on the show,

有點學究、書呆子的性格，

which made it a very major acting challenge

對於 13 歲的我來說，

這是很大的演出挑戰。

for me as a 13-year-old boy.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, did you struggle with number four, my blindness?

那你是否很難相信 第四件事，我的失明？

Why is that?

為什麼這樣？

We make assumptions about so-called disabilities.

我們有一些關於所謂殘疾的假設。

As a blind man, I confront others' incorrect assumptions

身為盲人，我每天面對別人

about my abilities every day.

對於我能力的錯誤假設。

My point today is not about my blindness, however.

但是我今天想說的 不是關於我看不到甚麼，

It's about my vision.

而是我看到甚麼。

Going blind taught me to live my life eyes wide open.

失明教會我睜開雙眼去生活。

It taught me to spot those backwards-swimming fish

它教會我找出我們在腦海裡創造的，

that our minds create.

那些向後游的魚。

Going blind cast them into focus.

失明將它們置於我的關注焦點中。

What does it feel like to see?

看見是怎樣的感覺？

It's immediate and passive.

它是即時而且被動的。

You open your eyes and there's the world.

你張開眼睛，世界就在眼前。

Seeing is believing. Sight is truth.

看見即是相信。所見即是真相。

Right?

對嗎？

Well, that's what I thought.

嗯，這是我當時的想法。

Then, from age 12 to 25, my retinas progressively deteriorated.

然後，由 12 至 25 歲， 我的視網膜逐漸衰退。

My sight became an increasingly bizarre

我看到的影像變得好像 逐漸變得奇怪的

carnival funhouse hall of mirrors and illusions.

嘉年華遊樂場 鏡面幻象屋中所見的景象。

The salesperson I was relieved to spot in a store

我在商店裡看到的售貨員

was really a mannequin.

實際上是一個人體模型。

Reaching down to wash my hands,

往下伸手要洗手時，

I suddenly saw it was a urinal I was touching, not a sink,

我突然「看到」我碰到的是便池， 而不是洗手盆，

when my fingers felt its true shape.

因為我的手指碰觸 感覺到它真正的形狀。

A friend described the photograph in my hand,

朋友要描述我手中的相片，

and only then I could see the image depicted.

因為只有那樣 我才能「看到」那張相片。

Objects appeared, morphed and disappeared in my reality.

事物出現、變形又消失 在我的真實世界裡。

It was difficult and exhausting to see.

看見成了困難和耗費心神的事。

I pieced together fragmented, transitory images,

我拼砌破碎的、轉瞬即逝的影像，

consciously analyzed the clues,

有意識地分析線索，

searched for some logic in my crumbling kaleidoscope,

在我逐漸破碎的萬花筒中 尋找一些合理組合，

until I saw nothing at all.

直至我什麼也看不見。

I learned that what we see

我認識到我們看到的

is not universal truth.

並不是普遍的真相。

It is not objective reality.

它不是客觀的事實。

What we see is a unique, personal, virtual reality

我們看到的是獨有的、 個人的虛擬現實。

that is masterfully constructed by our brain.

這由我們的腦精妙地 控制並構建出來的。

Let me explain with a bit of amateur neuroscience.

讓我用業餘的神經科學知識 來稍作解釋。

Your visual cortex takes up about 30 percent of your brain.

你的視覺皮層 佔你大腦總皮層的 30％。

That's compared to approximately eight percent for touch

而觸覺占 8％，

and two to three percent for hearing.

聽覺占 2-3％。

Every second, your eyes can send your visual cortex

每一秒，你的眼睛 能傳送給你的視覺皮層

as many as two billion pieces of information.

高達二百億份訊息。

The rest of your body can send your brain only an additional billion.

你其他身體部分合起來 只能傳達額外的一百億份訊息。

So sight is one third of your brain by volume

所以視覺佔你大腦體積的三分之一，

and can claim about two thirds of your brain's processing resources.

但卻佔用你大腦 處理訊息容量的三分之二。

It's no surprise then

因此視覺幻象看起來如此可信， 也就不足為奇了。

that the illusion of sight is so compelling.

But make no mistake about it: sight is an illusion.

但不要誤判它：視覺影像只是幻象。

Here's where it gets interesting.

這是事情變得有趣的地方。

To create the experience of sight,

為創造視覺經驗，

your brain references your conceptual understanding of the world,

你的大腦建基於你對世界的認知、

other knowledge, your memories, opinions, emotions, mental attention.

其他知識儲備、你的記憶、 意見、情感、心理關注。

All of these things and far more are linked in your brain to your sight.

以上所有及其他多項信息， 在腦中與你的所見相關聯。

These linkages work both ways, and usually occur subconsciously.

這些連結雙向影響， 並通常在潛意識上發生。

So for example,

舉例來說，

what you see impacts how you feel,

你的所見影響著你的感受，

and the way you feel can literally change what you see.

而你的感受又能 確實地改變你的所見。

Numerous studies demonstrate this.

大量研究證實這件事。

If you are asked to estimate

例如，如果有人請你估計，

the walking speed of a man in a video, for example,

影片中男人的步速，

your answer will be different if you're told to think about cheetahs or turtles.

當請你想著豹或烏龜時， 你的答案會有所不同。

A hill appears steeper if you've just exercised,

如果你剛做完運動， 小山丘看來較陡峭；

and a landmark appears farther away

而一個地標在你背著沉重行囊時，

if you're wearing a heavy backpack.

看起來更遠。

We have arrived at a fundamental contradiction.

我們在此踫到一種基本矛盾。

What you see is a complex mental construction of your own making,

你的所見其實是 你自己的複雜心理建設，

but you experience it passively

而你被動地把它當作

as a direct representation of the world around you.

你周遭世界的直接呈獻。

You create your own reality, and you believe it.

你創造你自己的真實， 並且你相信它。

I believed mine until it broke apart.

我曽相信我的，直至它支離破碎。

The deterioration of my eyes shattered the illusion.

我眼睛的衰退粉碎了這假象。

You see, sight is just one way

你看，視覺只是其中一種

we shape our reality.

讓我們塑造真實的方式。

We create our own realities in many other ways.

我們有很多其它方式 來創造自己的真實。

Let's take fear as just one example.

讓我們以恐懼作為例子。

Your fears distort your reality.

你的種種恐懼扭曲你的真實。

Under the warped logic of fear, anything is better than the uncertain.

在恐懼扭曲的邏輯下， 任何事情都比未知更好。

Fear fills the void at all costs,

恐嚇不惜任何代價來填補空白，

passing off what you dread for what you know,

用你非常擔心的事假冒你知道的事，

offering up the worst in place of the ambiguous,

把不明確的事當作是最壞的情況，

substituting assumption for reason.

以假設取代原因。

Psychologists have a great term for it: awfulizing.

心理學家就此有個 很好的詞語：「可怕化。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Right?

不是嗎？

Fear replaces the unknown with the awful.

恐懼以糟糕的事代替未知。

Now, fear is self-realizing.

恐懼將所恐懼的事變成現實。

When you face the greatest need

當你非常需要

to look outside yourself and think critically,

反省自身和批判思考時，

fear beats a retreat deep inside your mind,

恐懼控制你深藏在腦海的懦弱， 讓你打退堂鼓，

shrinking and distorting your view,

縮窄並扭曲你的視野，

drowning your capacity for critical thought

用破壞性情緒的洪流，

with a flood of disruptive emotions.

淹沒你判斷思考的能力。

When you face a compelling opportunity to take action,

當你面對一個非常吸引人的機會，

fear lulls you into inaction,

恐懼使你軟弱得無法行動，

enticing you to passively watch its prophecies fulfill themselves.

引誘你被動地看著 你所恐懼的事成為現實。

When I was diagnosed with my blinding disease,

當我被診斷出將會因病失明，

I knew blindness would ruin my life.

我確信失明將會破壞我的人生。

Blindness was a death sentence for my independence.

失明曾判了我的自主獨立死刑。

It was the end of achievement for me.

我曾認為這是成就的終點。

Blindness meant I would live an unremarkable life,

失明曾意味著我會活得平凡無聊，

small and sad,

卑微而悲傷，

and likely alone.

並可能獨自一人。

I knew it.

我知道。

This was a fiction born of my fears, but I believed it.

這是我的恐懼創造的假象， 但我曾相信它。

It was a lie, but it was my reality,

它是假的，但它卻曾是我的真實，

just like those backwards-swimming fish in little Dorothy's mind.

正如小桃樂絲腦海中 反方向游泳的魚。

If I had not confronted the reality of my fear,

若我沒有正視我的恐懼，

I would have lived it.

我就會讓恐懼成真。

I am certain of that.

我知道定會如此。

So how do you live your life eyes wide open?

所以你如何張開眼睛 正視你的人生？

It is a learned discipline.

這是習得的自制力。

It can be taught. It can be practiced.

它能被教授。它能被練習。

I will summarize very briefly.

我將非常簡單地總結。

Hold yourself accountable

對自己負責任，

for every moment, every thought,

對於每一刻、每一個念頭、

every detail.

每一佪細節。

See beyond your fears.

超越你的恐懼。

Recognize your assumptions.

識別你的假設。

Harness your internal strength.

利用你內在的力量。

Silence your internal critic.

壓制你內心的批判。

Correct your misconceptions about luck and about success.

改正你對於運氣和成功的誤解。

Accept your strengths and your weaknesses, and understand the difference.

接受你的能力和弱點， 並理解它們的分別。

Open your hearts

坦誠面對

to your bountiful blessings.

你所受的滿滿恩賜。

Your fears, your critics,

你的恐懼、你的批判、

your heroes, your villains --

你的英雄、你的壞人──

they are your excuses,

他們通通是你的藉口、

rationalizations, shortcuts,

文飾、捷徑、

justifications, your surrender.

辯解、屈服。

They are fictions you perceive as reality.

它們是你誤以為真的假象。

Choose to see through them.

選擇看穿它們。

Choose to let them go.

選擇放手讓它們離去。

You are the creator of your reality.

你是真實的創造者。

With that empowerment comes complete responsibility.

有了這自主權， 隨之而來的是絕對的責任。

I chose to step out of fear's tunnel into terrain uncharted and undefined.

我選擇了踏出恐懼的隧道， 走進陌生而未被定義的地方。

I chose to build there a blessed life.

我選擇在那裡創造幸福人生。

Far from alone,

我不是獨自一人，

I share my beautiful life with Dorothy,

我分享美麗人生，與桃樂絲、

my beautiful wife,

與我美麗的太太，

with our triplets, whom we call the Tripskys,

與我們的三胞胎， 我們稱他們為「三茨基」，

and with the latest addition to the family,

還有我們家的最新成員，

sweet baby Clementine.

可愛的嬰兒克萊門汀。

What do you fear?

你害怕什麼？

What lies do you tell yourself?

你欺騙自己什麼？

How do you embellish your truth and write your own fictions?

你怎樣修飾你的真實， 寫出你自己的故事？

What reality are you creating for yourself?

你為自己創造了怎樣的真實？

In your career and personal life, in your relationships,

在你的事業和個人生活中， 在你各種關係中，

and in your heart and soul,

在你的內心和靈魂中，

your backwards-swimming fish do you great harm.

那些向後游泳的魚嚴重傷害你。

They exact a toll in missed opportunities and unrealized potential,

它們使你錯過機會， 讓你無從發揮潛能，

and they engender insecurity and distrust

而且它們在你尋求 成就和人脈的地方，

where you seek fulfillment and connection.

製造不安和猜疑。

I urge you to search them out.

我敦促你把它們找出來。

Helen Keller said that the only thing worse than being blind

海倫·凱勒說過 唯一比失明更壞的事，

is having sight but no vision.

是眼睛能看，但內心失明。

For me, going blind was a profound blessing,

對我來說，失明是很大的祝福。

because blindness gave me vision.

因為失明讓我的內心能看見。

I hope you can see what I see.

我希望你能看到我所看到的。

Thank you.

謝謝你們。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Bruno Giussani: Isaac, before you leave the stage, just a question.

布魯諾·朱薩尼： 艾薩克，離開前，問你個問題。

This is an audience of entrepreneurs, of doers, of innovators.

這裡的觀眾包括企業家、 實幹家和創新者。

You are a CEO of a company down in Florida,

你是一間位於佛羅里達的 公司的行政總裁，

and many are probably wondering,

很多人大概會想知道，

how is it to be a blind CEO?

身為失明的行政總裁是怎樣的？

What kind of specific challenges do you have, and how do you overcome them?

你有什麼特別的挑戰， 而你如何克服它們？

Isaac Lidsky: Well, the biggest challenge became a blessing.

艾薩克·利茨基： 嗯，最大的挑戰已變成一種祝福。

I don't get visual feedback from people.

我看不到別人的反應。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

BG: What's that noise there? IL: Yeah.

布：聽到那些聲音了嗎？ 艾：對。

So, for example, in my leadership team meetings,

所以，舉例來說， 在我領導的團隊的會議上，

I don't see facial expressions or gestures.

我看不到臉部表情或手勢。

I've learned to solicit a lot more verbal feedback.

我學會徵求更多言語上的回饋。

I basically force people to tell me what they think.

我基本上強逼別人 告訴我他們的想法。

And in this respect,

在這方面，

it's become, like I said, a real blessing for me personally and for my company,

它變成，正如我所說， 我個人和公司的一項福祉，

because we communicate at a far deeper level,

因為我們作更深層次的溝通。

we avoid ambiguities,

我們避免含糊不清，

and most important, my team knows that what they think truly matters.

最重要的是，我的團隊知道 他們的想法非常重要。

BG: Isaac, thank you for coming to TED. IL: Thank you, Bruno.

布：艾薩克，謝謝你來到 TED。 艾：謝謝你，布魯諾。

(Applause)

（掌聲）