Neil Harbisson: I listen to color

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Karen SONG 審譯者: Gina Wang

Well, I was born with a rare visual condition

我出生就帶了一種罕見的視覺障礙

called achromatopsia, which is total color blindness,

就是“全色盲”

so I've never seen color,

我從未見過顏色

and I don't know what color looks like,

我不知道顏色看起來是什麼樣子

because I come from a grayscale world.

因為我眼見的世界都是灰色

To me, the sky is always gray,

對我來說，天空總是灰色的

flowers are always gray,

鮮花總是灰色的

and television is still in black and white.

電視還停留在黑白時期

But, since the age of 21,

不過，從21歲開始

instead of seeing color, I can hear color.

雖還是無法看到顏色，我卻能聽到顏色

In 2003, I started a project

我從2003年開始了一個專案

with computer scientist Adam Montandon,

與電腦科學家Adam Montandon合作

and the result, with further collaborations

也因此更進一步

with Peter Kese from Slovenia

與斯洛維尼亞的Peter Kese

and Matias Lizana from Barcelona,

以及巴賽隆納的Matias Lizana合作

is this electronic eye.

完成了這個電子眼

It's a color sensor that detects

這是一個色彩感應器

the color frequency in front of me — (Frequency sounds) —

探測我面前的顏色頻率 （頻率音）

and sends this frequency to a chip installed

然後將這個頻率

at the back of my head, and I hear the color in front of me

傳送到頭後方安裝的晶片裡

through the bone, through bone conduction.

然後通過骨傳導聽見這個色彩的頻率

(Frequency sounds) So, for example, if I have, like —

（頻率音） 比如說，這個

This is the sound of purple. (Frequency sounds)

是紫色的聲音 （頻率音）

For example, this is the sound of grass. (Frequency sounds)

再比如，這是草的聲音 （頻率音）

This is red, like TED. (Frequency sounds)

這是紅色，像TED一樣（頻率音）

This is the sound of a dirty sock. (Laughter)

這是髒襪子的聲音（笑聲）

Which is like yellow, this one.

這個就像是黃色

So I've been hearing color all the time for eight years,

我在過去8年時間裡不斷地聽見色彩

since 2004, so I find it completely normal now

從2004年到現在，所以我已非常習慣

to hear color all the time.

無時無刻聽見各種色彩

At the start, though, I had to memorize the names you give

一開始，我必須去記住各種顏色的名稱

for each color, so I had to memorize the notes,

記住各種音高

but after some time, all this information

但一段時間之後，所有這些資訊

became a perception.

變成了一種感知

I didn't have to think about the notes.

我不必刻意去想這是什麼音高

And after some time, this perception became a feeling.

又過了一段時間，這種感知變成了一種感覺

I started to have favorite colors,

我有了自己最喜歡的顏色

and I started to dream in colors.

我開始做有顏色的夢

So, when I started to dream in color is when I felt

當我開始做有顏色的夢

that the software and my brain had united,

我感覺軟體和大腦已然合而為一

because in my dreams, it was my brain creating

因為在夢裡

electronic sounds. It wasn't the software,

電子音是由大腦，而不是軟體發出的

so that's when I started to feel like a cyborg.

那時我覺得自己是個半機械人

It's when I started to feel that the cybernetic device

我開始覺得神經機械裝置

was no longer a device.

並不僅僅是一個裝置

It had become a part of my body,

它已經成為我身體的一部分

an extension of my senses,

感官的延伸

and after some time, it even became a part

不久後，它甚至成為

of my official image.

我正式形象的一部分

This is my passport from 2004.

這是我2004年以後的護照

You're not allowed to appear on U.K. passports

英國護照上不允許出現電子設備

with electronic equipment, but I insisted

但我堅持跟官員說

to the passport office that what they were seeing

他們看到的

was actually a new part of my body,

是我身體的一個新的部分

an extension of my brain, and they finally accepted me

我大腦的延伸

to appear with the passport photo.

他們最終接受我用這種護照照片

So, life has changed dramatically since I hear color,

我的人生從能聽見色彩的那一刻發生了劇變

because color is almost everywhere,

色彩無處不在

so the biggest change for example is

最大的改變發生在

going to an art gallery, I can listen to a Picasso,

去美術館，聆聽畢卡索

for example. So it's like I'm going to a concert hall,

就像是去音樂廳

because I can listen to the paintings.

我可以聽到那些畫

And supermarkets, I find this is very shocking,

超市更是驚人

it's very, very attractive to walk along a supermarket.

逛超市變成一項超級吸引人的事

It's like going to a nightclub.

就像去夜店一樣

It's full of different melodies. (Laughter) Yeah.

各種旋律無所不包 （笑聲）沒錯

Especially the aisle with cleaning products.

特別是清潔用品區

It's just fabulous. (Laughter)

太讚了（笑聲）

Also, the way I dress has changed.

我的穿衣方式也發生了改變

Before, I used to dress in a way that it looked good.

從前，我穿好看的

Now I dress in a way that it sounds good. (Laughter)

現在，我穿好聽的（笑聲）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

So today I'm dressed in C major,

今天我穿的是C大調

so it's quite a happy chord. (Laughter)

是十分快樂的和弦（笑聲）

If I had to go to a funeral, though,

但如果我要去參加葬禮

I would dress in B minor, which would be

我就會穿上b小調

turquoise, purple and orange. (Laughter)

也就是藍綠色、紫色和橘色 （笑聲）

Also, food, the way I look at food has changed,

我看待食物的方式也發生了改變

because now I can display the food on a plate,

因為現在我餐盤上擺放的食物

so I can eat my favorite song. (Laughter)

可以讓我吃我最喜歡的歌曲（笑聲）

So depending on how I display it,

根據我擺放的方式

I can hear and I can compose music with food.

能夠聽見食物，用食物來作曲

So imagine a restaurant where we can have, like,

想像一下這樣一個餐館

Lady Gaga salads as starters. (Laughter) I mean,

前菜是Lady Gaga沙拉

this would get teenagers to eat their vegetables, probably.

也許這能讓青少年乖乖吃蔬菜

And also, some Rachmaninov piano concertos

還有，主菜是拉赫曼尼諾夫鋼琴協奏曲

as main dishes, and some Bjork or Madonna desserts,

甜點是碧玉或者瑪丹娜

that would be a very exciting restaurant

這餐聽一定很棒

where you can actually eat songs.

你能真的吃得到歌曲

Also, the way I perceive beauty has changed,

我看待美的方式也發生了改變

because when I look at someone, I hear their face,

因為我看某人的時候，我聽到對方臉的聲音

so someone might look very beautiful but sound terrible.

所以一些人也許看起來很美但聽起來很糟

(Laughter) And it might happen the opposite,

（笑聲）另一些人也許恰好相反

the other way around. So I really enjoy creating, like,

我很享受的一件事

sound portraits of people.

就是做出人們的聲音肖像

Instead of drawing someone's face, like drawing the shape,

我不去畫人臉的形狀

I point at them with the eye and I write down

而是用電子眼指向他們

the different notes I hear, and then I create sound portraits.

然後寫下聽到的音符，從而做出聲音肖像

Here's some faces.

這是某些知名的臉的聲音

(Musical chords)

（和弦）

Yeah, Nicole Kidman sounds good. (Laughter)

對啊，妮可基嫚很好聽（笑聲）

Some people, I would never relate, but they sound similar.

有些人看起來完全不像，但聽上去很相似

Prince Charles has some similarities with Nicole Kidman.

比如查爾斯王子和妮可基嫚就很像

They have similar sound of eyes.

他們眼睛的頻率音很像

So you relate people that you wouldn't relate,

於是你會把本無關聯的人聯繫起來

and you can actually also create concerts

你也能開場音樂會

by looking at the audience faces.

全憑看看觀眾的臉

So I connect the eye, and then I play the audience's faces.

我連上電子眼，然後播放觀眾臉的音樂

The good thing about this is,

這樣做的好處是

if the concert doesn't sound good, it's their fault.

如果音樂會很難聽，那全是觀眾的錯

It's not my fault, because — (Laughter)

與我無關，因為... （笑聲）

And so another thing that happens is that

我身上發生的另一個改變是

I started having this secondary effect

電子眼產生的副作用

that normal sounds started to become color.

平常的聲音開始有了色彩

I heard a telephone tone, and it felt green

我聽到電話鈴聲，它是綠色的

because it sounded just like the color green.

因為和綠色的頻率音聽起來一模一樣

The BBC beeps, they sound turquoise,

BBC嗶嗶聲是藍綠色的

and listening to Mozart became a yellow experience,

莫札特的音樂是黃色的

so I started to paint music and paint people's voices,

我畫出音樂，畫出人的嗓音

because people's voices have frequencies

因為人的嗓音也有不同頻率

that I relate to color.

就像色彩有不同頻率

And here's some music translated into color.

這些是音樂轉化成色彩

For example, Mozart, "Queen of the Night," looks like this.

比如說，莫札特魔笛的“夜之皇后”，看起來是這樣

(Music) Very yellow and very colorful,

（音樂）鮮豔的黃色、十分多彩

because there's many different frequencies.

因為有不同的頻率

(Music)

（音樂）

And this is a completely different song.

這是完全不同的一首歌

(Music) It's Justin Bieber's "Baby." (Laughter)

（音樂）小賈斯汀”Baby”（笑聲）

(Music)

（音樂）

It is very pink and very yellow.

非常的粉紅和黃色

So, also voices, I can transform speeches into color,

對於嗓音，我能把演講轉化成色彩

for example, these are two very well-known speeches.

這是兩個十分著名的演講

One of them is Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream,"

一個是馬丁‧路德‧金恩的“我有個夢”

and the other one is Hitler.

另一個是希特勒的演說

And I like to exhibit these paintings in the exhibition halls

我喜歡在陳列廳裡展示這兩幅畫

without labels, and then I ask people,

不放標籤 然後我會問人們

"Which one do you prefer?"

“你喜歡哪一個？”

And most people change their preference

大多數人會改變主意

when I tell them that the one on the left is Hitler

一旦我告訴他們左邊的是希特勒

and the one on the right is Martin Luther King.

右邊的才是馬丁‧路德‧金恩

So I got to a point when I was able to perceive 360 colors,

現在我已經能夠辨認360種顏色

just like human vision.

就像人類視覺

I was able to differentiate all the degrees of the color wheel.

我可以辨認出色相環上任何角度的顏色

But then, I just thought that

但我又想

this human vision wasn't good enough.

人類視覺還不夠好

There's many, many more colors around us

有很多顏色

that we cannot perceive,

我們是無法看到的

but that electronic eyes can perceive.

但這個電子眼可以感應到

So I decided to continue extending my color senses,

於是我決定繼續擴展我的色彩感覺

and I added infrared and I added ultraviolet

我把紅外線和紫外線

to the color-to-sound scale, so now I can hear colors

加入到這個色彩／聲音譜

that the human eye cannot perceive.

就能聽見那些人眼所無法看到的顏色

For example, perceiving infrared is good because you can

感知到紅外線的好處是

actually detect if there's movement detectors in a room.

你能知道房間裡有沒有運動探測儀器

I can hear if someone points at me with a remote control.

如果有人用遙控器指著我，我能聽見

And the good thing about perceiving ultraviolet is that

感知紫外線的好處是

you can hear if it's a good day or a bad day to sunbathe,

你可以用聽的來判斷今天是否適合日光浴

because ultraviolet is a dangerous color,

因為紫外線是一種危險的顏色

a color that can actually kill us, so I think we should all have this wish

它能致人死亡 我認為我們都該希望

to perceive things that we cannot perceive.

感知到無法感知的事物

That's why, two years ago,

因此，兩年前

I created the Cyborg Foundation,

我發起了半機械人基金會

which is a foundation that tries to help people

基金會幫助人們變成半機械人

become a cyborg, tries to encourage people

鼓勵人們

to extend their senses

拓展他們的感官

by using technology as part of the body.

讓科技變成身體的一部分

We should all think that knowledge comes from our senses,

知識來源於感知

so if we extend our senses,

如果我們能擴展感知

we will consequently extend our knowledge.

我們就能擴展我們的知識

I think life will be much more exciting

我認為生活會變得更刺激有趣

when we stop creating applications for mobile phones

當我們停止開發手機應用程式

and we start creating applications for our own body.

而開始開發人體應用程式

I think this will be a big, big change

我認為這在本世紀

that we will see during this century.

將會看到這巨大的改變

So I do encourage you all to think about which senses

我鼓勵你們都去想一想

you'd like to extend.

自己想要擴展那個感官

I would encourage you to become a cyborg.

我鼓勵你們成為半機械人

You won't be alone. Thank you. (Applause)

你不會是孤單的。謝謝。 (鼓掌)

(Applause)

（鼓掌）