Luca Turin: The science of scent

89,089 views ・ 2008-11-10

TED


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譯者: Ching-Yi Wu 審譯者: Wang-Ju Tsai
00:12
The fragrance that you will smell, you will never be able to smell this way again.
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你待會兒聞到的香氣,絕不會有機會以這種方式聞第二次
00:16
It’s a fragrance called Beyond Paradise,
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這香水名為「霓采天堂」
00:19
which you can find in any store in the nation.
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在國內的店裡找不到
00:22
Except here it’s been split up in parts by Estée Lauder
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除非你去跟雅詩蘭黛要一點來
00:26
and by the perfumer who did it, Calice Becker,
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或是跟香水師Calice Becker要
00:29
and I'm most grateful to them for this.
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我很感激他們分我一些
00:30
And it’s been split up in successive bits and a chord.
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香氣可拆開成接連散發並組合如和弦的各種氣味
00:34
So what you’re smelling now is the top note.
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而妳現在所聞到的就是首調
00:36
And then will come what they call the heart, the lush heart note.
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緊接著的引人入勝氣味被稱為中調
00:40
I will show it to you.
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等會我將讓各位聞聞
00:43
The Eden top note is named after the Eden Project in the U.K.
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「霓采天堂」的首調「伊甸」是以英國的伊甸園計畫命名的
00:46
The lush heart note, Melaleuca bark note -- which does not contain any Melaleuca bark,
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中調則是白千層樹皮──然而香水裡其實沒有這個成份
00:51
because it’s totally forbidden.
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因為它被禁用
00:54
And after that, the complete fragrance.
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最後,則是完整的香氣
00:57
Now what you are smelling is a combination of --
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現在你所聞到的組合是──
01:00
I asked how many molecules there were in there, and nobody would tell me.
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我曾問,香水中有什麼分子。沒有人想告訴我
01:04
So I put it through a G.C., a Gas Chromatograph that I have in my office,
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所以我把香水以我辦公室裡的氣相層析儀分析
01:09
and it’s about 400.
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發現裡頭大概有400種分子
01:12
So what you’re smelling is several hundred molecules
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也就是說,你正在聞數百個
01:15
floating through the air, hitting your nose.
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漂浮在空氣中、撞擊鼻腔的分子
01:18
And do not get the impression that this is very subjective.
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如果這個事實還不夠令人印象深刻的話
01:22
You are all smelling pretty much the same thing, OK?
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你們所聞到的香氣成份其實相當接近啊
01:26
Smell has this reputation of being somewhat different for each person.
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嗅覺向以每個人都有不同的感受聞名
01:30
It’s not really true.
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這並不完全正確
01:31
And perfumery shows you that can’t be true,
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只需要一瓶香水就能證明這一點
01:33
because if it were like that it wouldn’t be an art, OK?
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因為如果真是這樣,香水就不會是個藝術,你明白嗎?
01:39
Now, while the smell wafts over you, let me tell you the history of an idea.
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當陣陣香氣襲向各位時,我想談談一個點子的歷史
01:43
Everything that you’re smelling in here
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你在這裡所聞到的每種香氣
01:47
is made up of atoms that come from what I call
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都是由一群位在,被我稱為
01:49
the Upper East Side of the periodic table -- a nice, safe neighborhood.
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週期表上東城──一個安全美好的區域──的分子組成
01:52
(Laughter)
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(笑)
01:56
You really don’t want to leave it if you want to have a career in perfumery.
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如果你想在香水業立足,你絕對不會想離開這區
01:59
Some people have tried in the 1920s
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有些人在1920年代曾經試著
02:01
to add things from the bad parts, and it didn’t really work.
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在香水裡加入週期表其他區塊的分子,但是沒有成功
02:05
These are the five atoms from which just about everything
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上東城裡的五個分子幾乎就能組成
02:07
that you’re going to smell in real life, from coffee to fragrance, are made of.
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你生活裡從咖啡跟香水等所有的氣味,
02:13
The top note that you smelled at the very beginning,
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而你剛剛一開始所聞到的前調
02:15
the cut-grass green, what we call in perfumery -- they’re weird terms --
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在我們香水業被稱做清新草原味──很怪的叫法
02:19
and this would be called a green note,
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而之所以這麼稱呼綠葉調
02:21
because it smells of something green, like cut grass.
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是因為它聞來就像綠色植物,如草原的氣息
02:23
This is cis-3-hexene-1-ol. And I had to learn chemistry on the fly
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這是順式-3-己烯醇。我過去三年
02:30
in the last three years. A very expensive high school chemistry education.
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得抽空學習化學。非常昂貴的高中化學教育
02:36
This has six carbon atoms, so "hexa," hexene-1-ol.
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順式-3-己烯醇有六個碳分子,所以"hexanol"以hexa-為字首
02:40
It has one double bond, it has an alcohol on the end,
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分子裡有一個雙鍵,分子末端有乙醇
02:44
so it’s "ol," and that’s why they call it cis-3-hexene-1-ol.
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所以"hexanol"以-ol為字尾。這是順式-3-己烯醇的命名由來。
02:47
Once you figure this out, you can really impress people at parties.
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一旦你懂得分子命名原則,你就能在派對上唬人
02:50
This smells of cut grass. Now, this is the skeleton of the molecule.
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順式-3-己烯醇聞來就像草原。這是分子的碳鏈
02:54
If you dress it up with atoms, hydrogen atoms --
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你可以用電腦在碳鏈上加氫原子
02:57
that’s what it looks like when you have it on your computer --
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這時順式-3-己烯醇看起來像這樣
02:59
but actually it’s sort of more like this, in the sense that the atoms have a certain
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但因為每個元素都有個不能侵入的圓形區域─
03:03
sphere that you cannot penetrate. They repel.
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它們互斥─所以順式-3-己烯醇實際上長這樣
03:06
OK, now. Why does this thing smell of cut grass, OK?
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好,現在問題來了:為什麼這分子聞起來是草原味,
03:12
Why doesn’t it smell of potatoes or violets? Well, there are really two theories.
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而不是馬鈴薯,或是紫羅蘭?有兩個理論:
03:18
But the first theory is: it must be the shape.
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第一個理論是關於分子的形狀。
03:22
And that’s a perfectly reasonable theory in the sense that
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這是個完美的理論,因為在生物界
03:24
almost everything else in biology works by shape.
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幾乎所有的功能都由分子形狀決定
03:26
Enzymes that chew things up, antibodies, it’s all, you know,
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如分解分子的酵素、抗體,一切取決於蛋白質
03:30
the fit between a protein and whatever it is grabbing, in this case a smell.
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跟其他分子間的緊密結合。而嗅覺也是
03:36
And I will try and explain to you what’s wrong with this notion.
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我等一下會試著解釋這個理論哪裡不對
03:39
And the other theory is that we smell molecular vibrations.
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另一個理論則是說嗅覺是我們聞到分子的震動
03:42
Now, this is a totally insane idea.
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這個想法完全沒有道理
03:44
And when I first came across it in the early '90s, I thought my predecessor,
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而我在90年代早期第一次聽到這個想法時
03:48
Malcolm Dyson and Bob Wright, had really taken leave of their senses,
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覺得Dyson跟Wright這些先驅者的直覺失準
03:51
and I’ll explain to you why this was the case.
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我等一下會告訴你們為什麼
03:54
However, I came to realize gradually that they may be right --
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然而,我漸漸明白,他們也許是對的
03:57
and I have to convince all my colleagues that this is so, but I’m working on it.
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我得說服我的同行接受這個理論,而我仍在努力
04:00
Here’s how shape works in normal receptors.
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這是分子跟其受器間作用機制的形狀說圖解
04:06
You have a molecule coming in, it gets into the protein, which is schematic here,
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一個分子進入一個蛋白質,當兩者的形狀吻合
04:11
and it causes this thing to switch, to turn, to move in some way
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分子會跟蛋白質的一部分結合
04:16
by binding in certain parts.
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造成這個複合體的變型、扭轉或移動
04:20
And the attraction, the forces, between the molecule and the protein
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而分子跟蛋白質之間的吸引力造成這樣的運動模式
04:22
cause the motion. This is a shape-based idea.
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就是這個以分子形狀為基礎的理論
04:27
Now, what’s wrong with shape is summarized in this slide.
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而這個分子形狀理論的問題摘要在這投影片上
04:31
The way --I expect everybody to memorize these compounds.
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希望大家還記得這些物質
04:36
This is one page of work from a chemist’s workbook, OK?
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這是一位在香水公司工作的化學家
04:41
Working for a fragrance company.
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其實驗筆記的一頁
04:43
He’s making 45 molecules, and he’s looking for a sandalwood,
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因為檀香味的龐大商機
04:46
something that smells of sandalwood.
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他得找出檀香味,或是類似檀香的味道
04:47
Because there’s a lot of money in sandalwoods.
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所以他製造了45個分子
04:49
And of these 45 molecules, only 4629 actually smells of sandalwood.
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而這45個分子中,只有4629分子聞起來是檀香
04:56
And he puts an exclamation mark, OK? This is an awful lot of work.
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他加註驚嘆號,對吧?這是非常繁重的工作
04:59
This actually is roughly, in man-years of work, 200,000 dollars roughly,
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以一個人一年工時計,如果你給他無利潤的低薪
05:04
if you keep them on the low salaries with no benefits.
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其收入約為20萬美金
05:08
So this is a profoundly inefficient process.
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所以這是個非常沒有效率的工作
05:10
And my definition of a theory is, it’s not just something
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而我對理論的定義,不僅只是
05:13
that you teach people; it’s labor saving.
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被傳授的知識,更得幫助節省勞力
05:15
A theory is something that enables you to do less work.
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一個理論得讓人們事半功倍
05:18
I love the idea of doing less work. So let me explain to you why -- a very simple fact
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我喜歡省力的主意。請讓我解釋
05:24
that tells you why this shape theory really does not work very well.
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形狀理論之所以無用的單純現實
05:29
This is cis-3-hexene-1-ol. It smells of cut grass.
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這是順式-3-己烯醇,聞起來像草原
05:34
This is cis-3-hexene-1-thiol, and this smells of rotten eggs, OK?
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這是順式-3-己硫醇,聞起來像腐敗的蛋
05:41
Now, you will have noticed that vodka never smells of rotten eggs.
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你也知道伏特加聞起來絕對不像腐敗的蛋
05:46
If it does, you put the glass down, you go to a different bar.
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如果是,你會放下酒杯,改去另一間酒吧
05:50
This is -- in other words, we never get the O-H --
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換句話說,我們不會對弄錯醇類
05:55
we never mistake it for an S-H, OK?
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不會搞混醇類跟硫化物
05:58
Like, at no concentration, even pure, you know,
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這跟濃度無關,即使讓你聞純酒精
06:01
if you smelt pure ethanol, it doesn’t smell of rotten eggs.
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也不會聞到壞蛋的臭味
06:04
Conversely, there is no concentration at which the sulfur compound will smell like vodka.
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反之,再純的硫化物也不會聞起來像伏特加
06:11
It’s very hard to explain this by molecular recognition.
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我們很難用蛋白質辨識分子形狀的不同來解釋這個現象
06:15
Now, I showed this to a physicist friend of mine who has a profound distaste
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而我如此向我那對生物學完全沒興趣的
06:17
for biology, and he says, "That’s easy! The things are a different color!"
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物理學家朋友說明,他說:「這容易,兩種不同顏色的東西!」
06:21
(Laughter)
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(笑)
06:26
We have to go a little beyond that. Now let me explain why vibrational theory has
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更進一步,現在讓我來解釋為什麼振動理論
06:31
some sort of interest in it. These molecules, as you saw in the beginning,
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有趣。這些分子,如你一開始所見
06:35
the building blocks had springs connecting them to each other.
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組成分子的原子間有如彈簧般的連結
06:37
In fact, molecules are able to vibrate at a set of frequencies
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不同的分子的震動包含不同頻率
06:40
which are very specific for each molecule and for the bonds connecting them.
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頻率組成視分子,或是組成分子的原子間的連結而定
06:44
So this is the sound of the O-H stretch, translated into the audible range.
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這是將O-H鍵的振動頻率轉換成人類聽力範圍的聲音
06:53
S-H, quite a different frequency.
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而S-H鍵振動頻率則相當不同
06:55
Now, this is kind of interesting, because it tells you
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這個現象最有趣的部分
06:59
that you should be looking for a particular fact, which is this:
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在提醒我認清這個特定事實,也就是
07:02
nothing in the world smells like rotten eggs except S-H, OK?
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這個世界上除了腐爛的蛋,沒有別的東西聞起來像硫氫化物了
07:06
Now, Fact B: nothing in the world has that frequency except S-H.
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再者:這個世界上除了有硫氫化物,沒有別的分子能以這樣的頻率振動
07:13
If you look on this, imagine a piano keyboard.
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你也可以這麼看:想像一個鋼琴鍵盤
07:15
The S-H stretch is in the middle of a part of the keyboard
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代表S-H鍵的振動頻率的琴鍵位在鍵盤某處的中間
07:19
that has been, so to speak, damaged,
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這個琴鍵壞掉了
07:21
and there are no neighboring notes, nothing is close to it.
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周圍及其他的琴鍵沒有一個能發出接近它的音頻
07:24
You have a unique smell, a unique vibration.
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而氣味也有這樣的獨特性,獨特的震動
07:26
So I went searching when I started in this game
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為了自我說服
07:28
to convince myself that there was any degree of plausibility
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這整個瘋狂的理論是可信的
07:31
to this whole crazy story.
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我開始這個尋找氣味分子的遊戲
07:33
I went searching for a type of molecule, any molecule,
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我想找到某個類型的分子,或任何分子
07:36
that would have that vibration and that -- the obvious prediction
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其振動頻率跟硫氫化物一樣
07:41
was that it should absolutely smell of sulfur.
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若理論正確,顯然這分子聞起來像硫磺
07:43
If it didn’t, the whole idea was toast, and I might as well move on to other things.
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如果不是這樣,這整個理論是個餿主意,我會轉而研究其他主題
07:49
Now, after searching high and low for several months,
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在經過幾個月有高潮有低潮的研究
07:53
I discovered that there was a type of molecule called a Borane
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我發現有種叫做硼烷的分子
07:58
which has exactly the same vibration.
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跟硫氫化物有一模一樣的振動頻率
08:00
Now the good news is, Boranes you can get hold of.
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好消息是,我們能拿到一些硼烷
08:03
The bad news is they’re rocket fuels.
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而壞消息是,硼烷是火藥的燃料
08:06
Most of them explode spontaneously in contact with air,
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一但跟空氣接觸,大部分的硼烷會自動爆炸
08:09
and when you call up the companies, they only give you minimum ten tons, OK?
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若你打電話給硼烷公司訂購,他們至少得賣你十噸好嗎?
08:13
(Laughter)
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(笑)
08:16
So this was not what they call a laboratory-scale experiment,
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這並不是所謂的實驗室規模的實驗
08:19
and they wouldn’t have liked it at my college.
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而我的學校高層並不欣賞這樣的研究
08:21
However, I managed to get a hold of a Borane eventually, and here is the beast.
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然而,我到底還是拿到一些硼烷了,就是這個怪獸
08:29
And it really does have the same -- if you calculate,
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經過計算跟測量
08:31
if you measure the vibrational frequencies, they are the same as S-H.
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硼烷的振動頻率的確硫氫化物相同
08:35
Now, does it smell of sulfur? Well, if you go back in the literature,
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現在問題來了,硼烷的味道跟硫氫化物一樣嗎?
08:40
there’s a man who knew more about Boranes than anyone
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Alfred Stock,有史以來最懂硼烷的人
08:43
alive then or since, Alfred Stock, he synthesized all of them.
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當他還在世時,他合成了所有硼烷化合物
08:48
And in an enormous 40-page paper in German he says, at one point --
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在一篇長達40頁,以德文寫就的大論文裡,他提到一點──
08:54
my wife is German and she translated it for me --
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我的妻子是德國人,是她幫我翻譯原文的
08:57
and at one point he says, "ganz widerlich Geruch,"
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Alfred Stock這麼說:"ganz widerlich Geruch"
08:59
an "absolutely repulsive smell," which is good. Reminiscent of hydrogen sulfide.
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意即:「非常難聞的味道」。很好,這讓我想起了硫化氫。
09:05
So this fact that Boranes smell of sulfur
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這就是說,早在1910年,就已知硼烷的味道
09:08
had been known since 1910, and utterly forgotten until 1997, 1998.
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跟硫化氫相同,之後直至1997, 98年都一直被人遺忘
09:15
Now, the slight fly in the ointment is this: that
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而有點美中不足的是:
09:19
if we smell molecular vibrations, we must have a spectroscope in our nose.
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如果我們的嗅覺是在辨別分子振動,我們的鼻子中必定有個光譜儀
09:24
Now, this is a spectroscope, OK, on my laboratory bench.
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這就是光譜儀,好吧,其實是我實驗桌上的光譜儀
09:29
And it’s fair to say that if you look up somebody’s nose,
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公道的說,當你看著一個人的鼻子時
09:31
you’re unlikely to see anything resembling this.
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你不太可能覺得鼻子跟這個東西有任何相似之處
09:34
And this is the main objection to the theory.
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這是這理論最主要的反證
09:36
OK, great, we smell vibrations. How? All right?
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好吧,我們聞得出分子的振動。然而,這是怎麼辦到的?
09:41
Now when people ask this kind of question, they neglect something,
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當人們問這個問題時,他們忽略了一件事
09:43
which is that physicists are really clever, unlike biologists.
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那就是:物理學家的確很聰明,不像生物學家
09:47
(Laughter)
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(笑)
09:50
This is a joke. I’m a biologist, OK?
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這是個笑話,我到底還是個生物學家
09:52
So it’s a joke against myself.
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這笑話是對我的反諷
09:53
Bob Jacklovich and John Lamb at Ford Motor Company,
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當福特汽車還投資大量金錢
09:56
in the days when Ford Motor was spending vast amounts of money
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在基礎研究上時,公司職員
09:58
on fundamental research, discovered a way
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Bob Jacklovich跟John Lamb找到了
10:02
to build a spectroscope that was intrinsically nano-scale.
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製作內建奈米級光譜儀的方法
10:06
In other words, no mirrors, no lasers, no prisms, no nonsense,
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換句話說,這個小儀器不需要鏡子、
10:09
just a tiny device, and he built this device. And this device uses electron tunneling.
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雷射、稜鏡等沒有必要的東西,而是利用電子隧穿的原理
10:14
Now, I could do the dance of electron tunneling,
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我是可以跳個電子隧穿舞
10:17
but I’ve done a video instead, which is much more interesting. Here’s how it works.
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不過,我還是製作一段更有趣的影片,來告訴你們這是怎麼辦到的
10:22
Electrons are fuzzy creatures, and they can jump across gaps,
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電子是非常活躍的物質,他們能夠跳越
10:26
but only at equal energy. If the energy differs, they can’t jump.
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兩個能量相同的能隙。當能隙能量不同時,則無法跨越
10:31
Unlike us, they won’t fall off the cliff.
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跟我們不同,電子不會從由能量差構成的懸崖摔下
10:33
OK. Now. If something absorbs the energy, the electron can travel.
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如果有某個物質吸收能量,電子就能夠游移
10:40
So here you have a system, you have something --
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而這個系統──
10:43
and there’s plenty of that stuff in biology --
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生物體中有很多這樣的系統──
10:44
some substance giving an electron, and the electron tries to jump,
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某些物質提供電子,這些電子試著穿越能隙
10:49
and only when a molecule comes along that has the right vibration
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只有具正確振動頻率的某分子存在時
10:53
does the reaction happen, OK?
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反應才會發生
10:55
This is the basis for the device that these two guys at Ford built.
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這是福特的兩位職員發明的奈米光譜儀的原理
10:59
And every single part of this mechanism is actually plausible in biology.
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這個機器的每一個部份在生物學上都行得通
11:06
In other words, I’ve taken off-the-shelf components,
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也就是說,我曾經拆開過這個儀器
11:07
and I’ve made a spectroscope.
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自己做過光譜儀
11:09
What’s nice about this idea, if you have a philosophical bent of mind,
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如果你天生就是個好學之士,你會明白
11:13
is that then it tells you that the nose,
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這個點子最棒之處,在於揭示所有的感官
11:15
the ear and the eye are all vibrational senses.
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包括嗅覺聽覺跟視覺都是在感覺分子的振動
11:18
Of course, it doesn’t matter, because it could also be that they’re not.
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當然,這不重要,因為也有可能不是這樣
11:22
But it has a certain --
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但是,這理論在某種程度上──
11:23
(Laughter)
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(笑)
11:25
-- it has a certain ring to it which is attractive to people
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在某種程度上對讀了很多19世紀時的
11:29
who read too much 19th-century German literature.
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德國文獻的人們是有吸引力的
11:33
And then a magnificent thing happened:
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當年,巨大的轉折出現:
11:34
I left academia and joined the real world of business,
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我離開學術圈,進入產業界的現實世界
11:40
and a company was created around my ideas
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根據我的想法成立一個公司
11:43
to make new molecules using my method,
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並利用我的技術合成新分子
11:46
along the lines of, let’s put someone else’s money where your mouth is.
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也就是讓別人來投資我的信念
11:50
And one of the first things that happened was
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一開始
11:54
we started going around to fragrance companies
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我們去拜訪香水公司
11:56
asking for what they needed, because, of course,
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問他們需要什麼。當然,這是因為
12:00
if you could calculate smell, you don’t need chemists.
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如果你能量化味道,就不需要化學家
12:02
You need a computer, a Mac will do it, if you know how to program the thing right,
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只要一部蘋果電腦,跟寫出正確的程式
12:06
OK? So you can try a thousand molecules,
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就能計算一千個分子
12:10
you can try ten thousand molecules in a weekend,
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一個周末你就能處理一萬個分子
12:13
and then you only tell the chemists to make the right one.
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再讓化學家去合成味道正確的分子
12:16
And so that’s a direct path to making new odorants.
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這是合成新味道的直接途徑
12:20
And one of the first things that happened was
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剛開始
12:21
we went to see some perfumers in France --
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我們去拜訪法國的香水師─
12:23
and here’s where I do my Charles Fleischer impression --
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這時我模仿Charles Fleischer的演出─
12:25
and one of them says, "You cannot make a coumarin."
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他們之中有一個人說:「你才做不來香豆素的味道。」
12:29
He says to me, "I bet you cannot make a coumarin."
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「我賭你做不來。」
12:32
Now, coumarin is a very common thing, a material,
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香豆素是非常常見的香水原料
12:36
in fragrance which is derived from a bean that comes from South America.
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這個味道是從南美洲的一種豆子提煉出來的
12:39
And it is the classic synthetic aroma chemical, OK?
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但也是個典型的人工合成香味
12:43
It’s the molecule that has made men’s fragrances
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這個分子讓男性香水的味道
12:47
smell the way they do since 1881, to be exact.
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從1881年以來就沒有變過
12:50
And the problem is it’s a carcinogen.
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但問題是,香豆素致癌
12:53
So nobody likes particularly to -- you know, aftershave with carcinogens.
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而沒有人會希望他不過是刮個鬍子就會接觸致癌物
12:59
(Laughter)
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(笑)
13:01
There are some reckless people, but it’s not worth it, OK?
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總是有不在乎的人,但還是不值得嘛!
13:04
So they asked us to make a new coumarin. And so we started doing calculations.
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所以他們希望我們合成新的香豆素。我們也做了計算
13:09
And the first thing you do is you calculate the vibrational spectrum
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首先,得計算香豆素的振動頻率譜
13:12
of coumarin, and you smooth it out,
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並整理結果來讓我們
13:13
so that you have a nice picture of what the sort of chord, so to speak, of coumarin is.
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對香豆素是個怎樣的香調有比較好的認識
13:19
And then you start cranking the computer to find other molecules,
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接著,是利用電腦分析類似香豆素的分子
13:25
related or unrelated, that have the same vibrations.
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不相干的分子也可以,來找跟香豆素振動方式相同的分子
13:28
And we actually, in this case, I’m sorry to say,
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而我們的確,就這個案例,我不得不這麼說
13:32
it happened -- it was serendipitous.
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這方法行得通──我們運氣不錯
13:34
Because I got a phone call from our chief chemist
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當時我們的首席化學家打電話給我
13:37
and he said, look, I’ve just found this such a beautiful reaction,
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說他剛剛發現一個很美妙的化學反應
13:42
that even if this compound doesn’t smell of coumarin,
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所以就算反應產物聞起來不像香豆素
13:43
I want to do it, it’s just such a nifty,
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他還是想研究這個有效率的、只要一個步驟的反應──
13:46
one step -- I mean, chemists have weird minds --
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化學家都有個怪腦袋
13:49
one step, 90 percent yield, you know, and you get this lovely
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反正只要一步,我們就能得到這個可愛的結晶物
13:53
crystalline compound. Let us try it.
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產率達90%。讓我們試試看吧
13:55
And I said, first of all, let me do the calculation on that compound, bottom right,
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我說:首先,我們來對這個物質進行些計算
13:59
which is related to coumarin, but has an extra pentagon inserted into the molecule.
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它的部分結構近似香豆素,但多了一個五碳環
14:05
Calculate the vibrations, the purple spectrum is that new fellow,
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這是結果,紫色表示這個新物質的振動頻率譜
14:10
the white one is the old one.
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而白色的就是香豆素
14:11
And the prediction is it should smell of coumarin.
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預測顯示,新物質聞起來應該像香豆素
14:15
They made it ... and it smelled exactly like coumarin.
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新物質作出來以後,味道正是香豆素的味道
14:23
And this is our new baby, called tonkene.
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這是我們的新寶物,香豆烯
14:28
You see, when you’re a scientist, you’re always selling ideas.
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你看,當你是個科學家時,你總是在賣你的想法
14:30
And people are very resistant to ideas, and rightly so.
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然而人們抗拒新點子,問題也正是:
14:34
Why should new ideas be accepted?
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為什麼我們得接受新點子?
14:36
But when you put a little 10-gram vial on the table in front of perfumers
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但當你在香水師的桌前放上少少的10克
14:42
and it smells like coumarin, and it isn’t coumarin,
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"聞起來像香豆素,卻不是香豆素"的物質
14:44
and you’ve found it in three weeks,
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而你只花三個星期找到它
14:46
this focuses everybody’s mind wonderfully.
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這讓每個人都覺得棒極了
14:49
(Laughter)
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(笑)
14:50
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
14:56
And people often ask me, is your theory accepted?
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人們常問:你的理論被接受了嗎?
15:00
And I said, well, by whom? I mean most, you know -- there’s three attitudes:
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我說:被誰接受呢?聽到這理論的人大致有三種反應:
15:05
You’re right, and I don’t know why, which is the most rational one at this point.
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雖然我不明白,但你是對的,這是目前最合理的推測
15:09
You’re right, and I don’t care how you do it, in a sense;
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你大概是對的,而我也不在乎你是怎麼辦到的
15:13
you bring me the molecules, you know.
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反正你都把新分子給我了
15:14
And: You’re completely wrong, and I’m sure you’re completely wrong.
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還有:你錯了,我很確定你一定是錯的
15:17
OK? Now, we’re dealing with people who only want results,
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也就是說,我們得面對只在乎結果的人
15:20
and this is the commercial world.
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而這是個資本主義世界
15:22
And they tell us that even if we do it by astrology, they’re happy.
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他們說,就算我們是靠著占星學知識達成任務,他們還是滿意的
15:27
But we’re not actually doing it by astrology.
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但我們的確不是靠著占星學知識達成任務
15:30
But for the last three years, I’ve had what I consider to be
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在最近三年,我做著一份我認為是
15:32
the best job in the entire universe, which is to put my hobby --
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全宇宙最棒的工作:這讓我能將我的嗜好
15:37
which is, you know, fragrance and all the magnificent things --
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也就是香氛跟所有美好的事物
15:39
plus a little bit of biophysics, a small amount of self-taught chemistry
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跟一些些生理學,一些些自學來的化學結合起來
15:44
at the service of something that actually works.
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做出一些實際有用的貢獻
15:46
Thank you very much.
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非常謝謝大家
15:47
(Applause)
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(掌聲)

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