Optical illusions show how we see | Beau Lotto

譯者: Cherry Huang 審譯者: Grace Tung

I want to start with a game. Okay?

我想要從一個遊戲開始

And to win this game,

要贏這個遊戲

all you have to do is see the reality that's in front of you

你所要做的就是認定你眼前所見的

as it really is, all right?

就是真的 好嗎

So we have two panels here, of colored dots.

這兒有兩片板子

上面有彩色圓點

And one of those dots is the same in the two panels.

兩片板子中其中一個圓點

是一樣的

And you have to tell me which one.

你們得告訴我是哪一個

Now, I narrowed it down

現在　將範圍縮小到

to the gray one, the green one, and, say, the orange one.

灰色　綠色　和橘色的好了

So by a show of hands, we'll start with the easiest one.

用舉手表示 我們從最容易的那個的開始

Show of hands: how many people think it's the gray one?

舉起你的手 有多少人認為是灰色的?

Really? Okay.

真的嗎？　好的

How many people think it's the green one?

有多少人認為是綠色的?

And how many people think it's the orange one?

多少人認為橘色才對?

Pretty even split.

分配滿平均的嘛

Let's find out what the reality is.

讓我們來讓真相大白

Here is the orange one.

先看看橘色的

(Laughter)

(眾笑)

Here is the green one.

還有綠色的

And here is the gray one.

再看看灰色的

(Laughter)

(眾人大笑)

So for all of you who saw that, you're complete realists.

可以看破秘密的人　你們是徹底的現實主義者

All right?

(Laughter)

(眾人大笑)

So this is pretty amazing, isn't it?

這很令人吃驚不是嗎

Because nearly every living system

因為幾乎所有生命系統

has evolved the ability to detect light in one way or another.

都已經發展出可以設法感應光的能力

So for us, seeing color

所以對我們而言 看見顏色應該是大腦最簡單的工作

is one of the simplest things the brain does.

And yet, even at this most fundamental level,

然而即使是這最基本的事情

context is everything.

背景才是最重要的

What I'm going to talk about is not that context is everything,

今天我想要談論的不是「背景最重要」這件事

but why context is everything.

而是「為什麼背景最重要」

Because it's answering that question

因為這不僅回答了我們

that tells us not only why we see what we do,

為何我們做了什麼就看到什麼

but who we are as individuals,

還有以個體的角度

and who we are as a society.

以及在社會群體中我們的角色為何

But first, we have to ask another question,

但首先 我們需要問另一個問題

which is, "What is color for?"

"顏色的功能是什麼?"

And instead of telling you, I'll just show you.

與其用講的不如秀給你看

What you see here is a jungle scene,

現在我們看到的是叢林

and you see the surfaces according to the amount of light

你所看到的這外觀是根據

that those surfaces reflect.

從物體表面反射的光的多寡

Now, can any of you see the predator that's about to jump out at you?

現在 有任何人看見一隻就要朝你跳出來的掠食動物嗎?

And if you haven't seen it yet, you're dead, right?

如果還沒看見大概死定了 對吧

(眾人笑)

(Laughter)

Can anyone see it? Anyone? No?

有人可以看見嗎? 有人嗎? 沒有?

Now let's see the surfaces

現在讓我們根據表面反射光的性質來看看

according to the quality of light that they reflect.

And now you see it.

現在看到了吧

So, color enables us to see

所以 顏色讓我們可以看見

the similarities and differences between surfaces,

外觀上的相似與相異

according to the full spectrum of light that they reflect.

根據他們反射的所有光譜

But what you've just done

但你們剛做到的　在很多方面　不可能以數學方法解釋

is in many respects mathematically impossible.

Why?

為什麼 ? 因為就像Barkley告訴我們的

Because, as Berkeley tells us,

we have no direct access to our physical world,

我們沒有直接進入真實世界的方法

other than through our senses.

除了透過我們的感受

And the light that falls onto our eyes

而進入我們眼睛的光

is determined by multiple things in the world,

是由外在世界許多東西決定的

not only the color of objects,

不只是物體的顏色

but also the color of their illumination,

還有照明的顏色

and the color of the space between us and those objects.

以及我們與物體間環境的色彩

You vary any one of those parameters,

只要你改變其中一項

and you'll change the color of the light that falls onto your eye.

將會改變進入你眼睛的光的顏色

This is a huge problem,

這是一個很重要的問題　因為這代表

because it means that the same image

相同的影像可能來自

could have an infinite number of possible real-world sources.

無限多個像源

Let me show you what I mean.

讓我秀給你看我在說什麼　想像一下這是你眼睛的底部

Imagine that this is the back of your eye, okay?

這裡的兩個來自外在世界的投影

And these are two projections from the world.

They're identical in every single way.

他們是完全相同的

Identical in shape, size, spectral content.

包括形狀 大小 光譜

They are the same, as far as your eye is concerned.

如你所見 他們一模一樣

And yet they come from completely different sources.

然而他們來自完全不同的來源

The one on the right comes from a yellow surface,

右邊的這一個

來自黃色的表面

in shadow, oriented facing the left,

在陰影裡　面向左邊

viewed through a pinkish medium.

從粉紅色物質看過去得到的

The one on the left comes from an orange surface,

左邊這個則是從橘色表面

under direct light, facing to the right,

在直接光照下　面向右邊

viewed through sort of a bluish medium.

從藍色物質看過去得到的

Completely different meanings,

意義完全不同

giving rise to the exact same retinal information.

卻造成了完全相同的視網膜訊息

And yet it's only the retinal information that we get.

而這還只是我們接收到的視網膜訊息

而這還只是我們接收到的視網膜訊息

So how on Earth do we even see?

在地球上我們甚至如何運用視覺?

So if you remember anything in this next 18 minutes,

如果你記得接下來這十八分鐘的任何事

remember this:

只要記得：那都是進入你眼睛的光

that the light that falls onto your eye,

sensory information, is meaningless,

感覺到的訊息是沒有意義的

because it could mean literally anything.

因為那可以是任何東西

And what's true for sensory information is true for information generally.

大致上來說感覺到的訊息的本質就跟一般的訊息一樣

There's no inherent meaning in information.

本身並沒有任何意義

It's what we do with that information that matters.

所謂的訊息就是這樣

So, how do we see? Well, we see by learning to see.

所以我們如何能看? 其實　我們能看是學來的

The brain evolved the mechanisms for finding patterns,

大腦發展了辨識圖樣的機制

finding relationships in information,

在訊息裡頭的找出關聯性

and associating those relationships with a behavioral meaning,

並賦予這些前因後果

行為上的意義

a significance, by interacting with the world.

藉由與外在世界互動所得的意義

We're very aware of this

我們對於

in the form of more cognitive attributes, like language.

較多認知特質的形式相當敏銳　像是語言

I'm going to give you some letter strings,

我將會給你們一些字串　並且希望你們為我念出來

and I want you to read them out for me, if you can.

如果你可以的話

Audience: "Can you read this?"

觀眾：『你可以讀這個嗎？』

"You are not reading this."

『你不能讀這個』

"What are you reading?"

『你正在讀什麼？』

Beau Lotto: "What are you reading?" Half the letters are missing, right?

包拉托：『你正在讀什麼？』裡有一半的字母不見了對吧？

There's no a priori reason

沒有什麼道理H一定要在

why an "H" has to go between that "W" and "A."

W和A中間

But you put one there. Why?

但是你這麼做了　為什麼？

Because in the statistics of your past experience,

因為根據你過去經驗的統計

it would have been useful to do so.

以前這樣做都很有用　所以你就再次這麼做了

So you do so again.

And yet you don't put a letter after that first "T."

然而你不會放個字母在第一個T後面

Why? Because it wouldn't have been useful in the past.

為什麼？　因為過去這麼做並沒有用

So you don't do it again.

所以你不會再次這樣做

So, let me show you how quickly our brains can redefine normality,

讓我告訴你我們的大腦可以多快重新定義常態

even at the simplest thing the brain does, which is color.

甚至是大腦所處理最簡單的事情　也就是色彩

So if I could have the lights down up here.

如果我把燈關掉

I want you to first notice that those two desert scenes are physically the same.

我想要你們先注意那兩個沙漠景像實際上是一樣的

其中一張只是另一張的翻轉

One is simply the flipping of the other.

Now I want you to look at that dot

現在請你們看著

between the green and the red.

在綠與紅之間的圓點　好嗎

And I want you to stare at that dot. Don't look anywhere else.

而且你門要盯著這個圓點不要看其它地方

We're going to look at it for about 30 seconds,

我們將會看著它約三十秒

它就是這場十八分鐘的演講裡最迷人的東西

which is a bit of a killer in an 18-minute talk.

(Laughter)

(眾笑)

但我其實是想要你去學

But I really want you to learn.

And I'll tell you -- don't look anywhere else --

而且我將告訴你－－不要看其他地方

I'll tell you what's happening in your head.

我將告訴你在你的腦袋裡發生了什麼事

Your brain is learning,

你的大腦正在學　學習視野的右邊

and it's learning that the right side of its visual field

是在紅色照明下

is under red illumination;

the left side of its visual field is under green illumination.

視野左邊則是綠色照明下

That's what it's learning. Okay?

這就是大腦正在學的

Now, when I tell you, I want you to look at the dot between the two desert scenes.

現在　當我告訴我想要你看著沙漠景像中間的圓點

So why don't you do that now?

所以你們何不現在做？

(Laughter)

(眾人笑)

Can I have the lights up again?

可以把燈打開嗎?

I take it from your response they don't look the same anymore, right?

我從你們的反應知道他們看起來不再一樣了對吧？

(Applause)

(鼓掌)

Why? Because your brain is seeing that same information

這是為什麼呢? 因為你們的大腦正以相同的訊息在看東西

as if the right one is still under red light,

就像右邊那個仍在紅光下

and the left one is still under green light.

左邊仍在綠光下

這就是你新的常態

That's your new normal.

Okay? So, what does this mean for context?

所以這對背景有何意義?

It means I can take two identical squares,

它代表我可以把這兩個相同的正方形

put them in light and dark surrounds,

放到亮的跟暗的環境中

and the one on the dark surround looks lighter than on the light surround.

現在在被黑暗包圍的那個看起來比被光包圍的還要亮

有意義的並非周圍亮暗

What's significant is not simply the light and dark surrounds that matter.

It's what those light and dark surrounds meant for your behavior in the past.

而是周圍亮暗這件事對你過去的行為意味著什麼

So I'll show you what I mean.

接下來我將展示我的意思是什麼

Here we have that exact same illusion.

這一樣是錯覺

We have two identical tiles on the left,

左邊有兩個相同的磁磚

one in a dark surround, one in a light surround.

一個在暗背景中　一個在亮背景中

And the same thing over on the right.

右邊也是同樣的情形

Now, I'll reveal those two scenes,

現在　我將檢視這兩幅景象

but I'm not going to change anything within those boxes,

但不改變這兩幅圖中任何事物

除了他們的意義

except their meaning.

And see what happens to your perception.

並且看看你們的感知發生了什麼事

Notice that on the left

注意左邊的這幅

the two tiles look nearly completely opposite:

兩個磁磚看起來幾乎完全相反

one very white and one very dark, right?

一個很亮一個很暗

是吧　相反地　右邊這幅

Whereas on the right, the two tiles look nearly the same.

兩個磁磚看起來幾乎一樣

And yet there is still one on a dark surround,

但也是一個在暗背景中　一個在亮背景中

and one on a light surround.

Why?

為什麼？　因為如果磁磚在那樣的陰影裡

Because if the tile in that shadow were in fact in shadow,

是真的在陰影內

and reflecting the same amount of light to your eye

而且反射了和陰影外那個磁磚

as the one outside the shadow,

一樣多的光到你的眼睛

it would have to be more reflective -- just the laws of physics.

那它勢必要更能反射光線才行　這是物理定律

So you see it that way.

所以你看見一暗一亮的視覺效果

Whereas on the right, the information is consistent

相反地　右邊那幅訊息是一致的

with those two tiles being under the same light.

兩個磁磚都是在相同的光照之下

If they're under the same light reflecting the same amount of light to your eye,

如果是在相同的照明下　它們反射到你眼睛的光

是一樣多的

then they must be equally reflective.

那他們的反射能力是一樣的

So you see it that way.

所以你覺得他們一樣亮

Which means we can bring all this information together

這意味著我們可以把所有的訊息結合在一起

to create some incredibly strong illusions.

創造出一些難以置信的強烈錯覺

This is one I made a few years ago.

這是我在多年前做的一張圖

And you'll notice you see a dark brown tile at the top,

你們將會發現你們看到了一個褐色磁磚在上邊

and a bright orange tile at the side.

還有一個亮橘色磁磚在旁邊

That is your perceptual reality.

這是你的感知的事實　但科學事實是

The physical reality is that those two tiles are the same.

這兩個磁磚是一樣的

Here you see four gray tiles on your left,

這兒你則看到四個灰色磁磚在你的左邊

seven gray tiles on the right.

七的灰色磁磚在右邊

I'm not going to change those tiles at all,

我不會改變這些磁磚一丁點兒

but I'm going to reveal the rest of the scene.

但我將揭開其餘的畫面

And see what happens to your perception.

看看你的感知會有什麼變化

The four blue tiles on the left are gray.

右邊四個藍色的磁磚是灰色的

The seven yellow tiles on the right are also gray.

左邊七個黃色的瓷磚也是灰色的

They are the same. Okay?

它們是一樣的

Don't believe me? Let's watch it again.

不相信我嗎？　再看一次

What's true for color is also true for complex perceptions of motion.

顏色的真相,就像複雜的情緒感知的結果

So, here we have --

這兒我們有

let's turn this around -- a diamond.

讓我們把這個翻過來　一個鑽石

And what I'm going to do is, I'm going to hold it here,

接下來我要做的是把它放在這兒

and I'm going to spin it.

然後旋轉它

And for all of you, you'll see it probably spinning this direction.

你們大家大概都會看到它往這個方向轉

Now I want you to keep looking at it.

現在我要你們繼續看著它

Move your eyes around, blink, maybe close one eye.

轉轉你的眼睛　眨一眨　或者閉上一隻眼

And suddenly it will flip, and start spinning the opposite direction.

突然間它就這麼反轉了　往相反方向旋轉

Yes? Raise your hand if you got that. Yes?

有沒有？　如果你看到就舉手　有吧？

Keep blinking.

繼續眨眨眼　每眨一次他就切換一次　對吧

Every time you blink, it will switch.

So I can ask you, which direction is it rotating?

所以我問你　哪個方向是它旋轉的方向？

How do you know?

你怎麼知道？

Your brain doesn't know, because both are equally likely.

你的大腦不知道　因為兩種可能性相等

So depending on where it looks,

根據它從那兒看 它會在

it flips between the two possibilities.

兩種可能性之間反轉

Are we the only ones that see illusions?

我們是唯一看見錯覺的嗎？

The answer to this question is no.

這個問題的答案是否

Even the beautiful bumblebee,

即使是漂亮的大黃蜂

with its mere one million brain cells,

有著僅僅一百萬個腦細胞

which is 250 times fewer cells than you have in one retina,

比你一個視網膜的細胞的兩百五十分之一還少

sees illusions, does the most complicated things

一樣看到錯覺　處理最複雜的事

that even our most sophisticated computers can't do.

而且是我們最精密的電腦都無法辦到的

So in my lab we work on bumblebees,

在我的實驗室　我們當然也研究了大黃蜂

because we can completely control their experience,

因為我們可以完全控制牠們的實驗

and see how it alters the architecture of their brain.

並且看那如何改變他們的大腦結構

我們做的這個叫做蜜蜂矩陣

We do this in what we call the Bee Matrix.

Here you have the hive.

這兒有個蜂巢　你可以看到蜂后

You can see the queen bee, the large bee in the middle.

那隻巨大的黃蜂就在中間那兒　那些卵全都是她的女兒們

Those are her daughters, the eggs.

他們在蜂房與活動場所之間

They go back and forth between this hive and the arena, via this tube.

藉由這個管子來回走動

You'll see one of the bees come out here.

你將看到其中一隻蜜蜂從這兒出來

You see how she has a little number on her?

你可以看出她如何得到她的編號

There's another one coming out, she also has a number on her.

呀　又有一隻跑出來了　她變成了另一號

Now, they're not born that way, right?

牠們不是生來就有編號的　對吧?

We pull them out, put them in the fridge, and they fall asleep.

我們把牠們拿出來　將牠們放進冰箱　讓他們睡著

Then you can superglue little numbers on them.

然後你可以替牠們黏上小數字

(眾笑)

(Laughter)

And now, in this experiment they get a reward if they go to the blue flowers.

在這個實驗牠們若去藍色的花那兒將會被獎勵

They land on the flower,

牠們停在花上 將舌頭伸進去

stick their tongue in there, called a proboscis, and drink sugar water.

那稱為口器　然後他們吸食糖水

She's drinking a glass of water that's about that big to you and I,

現在她喝了一杯對你我來說大概這麼多的水

will do that about three times, then fly.

大概喝了三倍之後　就會飛走

And sometimes they learn not to go to the blue,

有的時候他們學到不要飛到藍色的花

but to go where the other bees go.

而是到其他黃蜂去的地方

So they copy each other.

所以他們可以吸取彼此的經驗　可以數到五　也可以辨識長相

They can count to five. They can recognize faces.

And here she comes down the ladder.

這時她

And she'll come into the hive, find an empty honey pot,

她將會進到蜂巢　找個空的蜂蜜槽

and throw up, and that's honey.

開始嘔吐　那就是蜂蜜

(Laughter)

(眾笑)

Now remember, she's supposed to be going to the blue flowers,

現在請記得　(笑)

她預期要去藍花那兒

but what are these bees doing in the upper right corner?

但其他的黃蜂正在右上邊的角落做什麼呢?

It looks like they're going to green flowers.

看起來牠們正在往綠花那兒去

Now, are they getting it wrong?

牠們弄錯了嗎?

And the answer to the question is no. Those are actually blue flowers.

當然不是　這些實際上是藍色的花

But those are blue flowers under green light.

只是這些藍色的花是在綠色照明下

So they're using the relationships between the colors to solve the puzzle,

所以他們正跟我們一樣　利用顏色的關係

which is exactly what we do.

解開謎團

So, illusions are often used,

所以　錯覺常常被利用

especially in art, in the words of a more contemporary artist,

特別是在藝術　應該說是較為當代的藝術家

"to demonstrate the fragility of our senses."

拿來『展示我們知覺的脆弱』

Okay, this is complete rubbish.

這是一派胡言

The senses aren't fragile. And if they were, we wouldn't be here.

知覺不是脆弱的　如果是　我們不會在這兒

另一方面　顏色告訴我們有些事物是完全不同的

Instead, color tells us something completely different,

that the brain didn't actually evolve to see the world the way it is.

就是大腦並非真的進化來看出世界真正的樣子

We can't.

我們不能　取而代之的是　大腦是進化來理解世界的

Instead, the brain evolved to see the world

the way it was useful to see in the past.

在過去這對「看」是很有用的

And how we see is by continually redefining normality.

我們能看是藉由不停地定義常態

So, how can we take this incredible capacity of plasticity of the brain

所以我們如何能利用這個

大腦不可思議的可塑性

and get people to experience their world differently?

並且使人們以不同方式體驗他們的世界?

Well, one of the ways we do it in my lab and studio

在我們的實驗室及工作室所用的其中一種方法

is we translate the light into sound,

是將光轉成聲音

and we enable people to hear their visual world.

讓人們可以聽見他們所見的世界

And they can navigate the world using their ears.

他們可以用耳朵遨遊世界

Here's David on the right, and he's holding a camera.

右邊這是大衛　他正拿著照相機

On the left is what his camera sees.

左邊是他的攝影機所見的

And you'll see there's a faint line going across that image.

你可以看見這兒有條線　一條跨過影像的淡線

That line is broken up into 32 squares.

這條線分離為三十二個正方形

In each square, we calculate the average color.

每個方形我們計算它的平均顏色

And then we just simply translate that into sound.

我們只是簡單地將它轉成聲訊

And now he's going to turn around,

現在他正要

轉過身　閉上眼睛

close his eyes,

and find a plate on the ground with his eyes closed.

並閉上眼睛找一塊在地上的板子

(Continuous sound)

(Sound changes momentarily)

(Sound changes momentarily)

(Sound changes momentarily)

(Sound changes momentarily)

(Sound changes momentarily)

Beau Lotto: He finds it. Amazing, right?

他找到了　神奇吧?

So not only can we create a prosthetic for the visually impaired,

所以我們不僅能為視覺創傷製做義眼

but we can also investigate

也能研究人類如何

how people literally make sense of the world.

如實地感覺世界

But we can also do something else.

但我們還可做更多事　我們可以

We can also make music with color.

So, working with kids,

和孩子們一起

they created images,

他們創作影像

thinking about what might the images you see

想像你可能看到什麼影像

sound like if we could listen to them.

聽起來就像我們可以了解他們

And then we translated these images.

然後我們開始轉譯這些影像

And this is one of those images.

這是其中一幅影像

And this is a six-year-old child composing a piece of music

也是一位六歲孩子以三十二件樂器組成的樂團

for a 32-piece orchestra.

所創作的音樂作品

And this is what it sounds like.

這就是它聽起來的樣子

(Electronic representation of orchestral music)

So, a six-year-old child. Okay?

一個六歲的小孩子喔

Now, what does all this mean?

這所有種種表示什麼?

What this suggests is that no one is an outside observer of nature, okay?

它暗示沒有人是自然界中

置身事外的觀察者

We're not defined by our central properties,

我們並非由自身的特性所定義

by the bits that make us up.

也不是是組成我們的點滴

We're defined by our environment and our interaction with that environment,

我們是被我們的環境以及我們和環境之間的交互作用所定義

by our ecology.

也就是我們的生態

And that ecology is necessarily relative, historical and empirical.

而這生態必然是相對的

並基於歷史及經驗的

我想要以此做結

So, what I'd like to finish with is this over here.

Because what I've been trying to do is really celebrate uncertainty.

因為過去我所嘗試去做的實際上正是頌揚不確定性

Because I think only through uncertainty is there potential for understanding.

因為我認為只有透過不確定性才有了解的潛力

So, if some of you are still feeling a bit too certain,

所以如果你們其中某些人仍有點兒覺得萬事必然

I'd like to do this one.

我想要做件事

So, if we have the lights down.

我們關掉燈

And what we have here --

這兒看到的是

Can everyone see 25 purple surfaces on your left,

大家都看到二十五個紫色面了嗎?

在你的左邊

and 25, call it yellowish, surfaces on your right?

以及二十五個所謂的淡黃面在你右邊

So now, what I want to do,

接下來　我想要做的是

I'm going to put the middle nine surfaces here

我要使中間九個

under yellow illumination,

在黃色照明下

by simply putting a filter behind them.

只要在它們後面放上簡單的濾片就行了

好了　現在你可以看到那使光改變了

Now you can see that changes the light that's coming through there, right?

光從這兒過來　對吧

Because now the light is going through a yellowish filter

因為現在光線通過了淡黃色的濾片

然後用紫色的濾片

and then a purplish filter.

I'm going to do the opposite on the left here.

接下來我要反過來

I'm going to put the middle nine under a purplish light.

把中間這九個放在紫光下

Now, some of you will have noticed that the consequence

現在　你們其中有些人將察覺到接下來一連串發生的

is that the light coming through those middle nine on the right,

右邊的中間九個所透過的光

or your left, is exactly the same as the light

或左邊的

和右邊中間九個所透過的光

coming through the middle nine on your right.

是完全相同的

Agreed? Yes?

同意吧?

Okay. So they are physically the same.

很好　所以它們實際上一樣

Let's pull the covers off.

讓我們推開罩子

Now remember --

請記得

you know that the middle nine are exactly the same.

你知道中間九個是完全一樣的

Do they look the same?

但它們看起來一樣嗎?　不

No.

The question is, "Is that an illusion?"

問題來了　「那真的是錯覺嗎?」

And I'll leave you with that.

我把這問題給你們

So, thank you very much.

謝謝大家

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(鼓掌)