ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Dennett - Philosopher, cognitive scientist
Dan Dennett thinks that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes.

Why you should listen

One of our most important living philosophers, Dan Dennett is best known for his provocative and controversial arguments that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes in the brain. He argues that the brain's computational circuitry fools us into thinking we know more than we do, and that what we call consciousness — isn't. His 2003 book "Freedom Evolves" explores how our brains evolved to give us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's "Breaking the Spell" examines belief through the lens of biology.

This mind-shifting perspective on the mind itself has distinguished Dennett's career as a philosopher and cognitive scientist. And while the philosophy community has never quite known what to make of Dennett (he defies easy categorization, and refuses to affiliate himself with accepted schools of thought), his computational approach to understanding the brain has made him, as Edge's John Brockman writes, “the philosopher of choice of the AI community.”

“It's tempting to say that Dennett has never met a robot he didn't like, and that what he likes most about them is that they are philosophical experiments,” Harry Blume wrote in the Atlantic Monthly in 1998. “To the question of whether machines can attain high-order intelligence, Dennett makes this provocative answer: ‘The best reason for believing that robots might some day become conscious is that we human beings are conscious, and we are a sort of robot ourselves.'"

In recent years, Dennett has become outspoken in his atheism, and his 2006 book Breaking the Spell calls for religion to be studied through the scientific lens of evolutionary biology. Dennett regards religion as a natural -- rather than supernatural -- phenomenon, and urges schools to break the taboo against empirical examination of religion. He argues that religion's influence over human behavior is precisely what makes gaining a rational understanding of it so necessary: “If we don't understand religion, we're going to miss our chance to improve the world in the 21st century.”

Dennett's landmark books include The Mind's I, co-edited with Douglas Hofstaedter, Consciousness Explained, and Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Read an excerpt from his 2013 book, Intuition Pumps, in the Guardian >>

More profile about the speaker
Dan Dennett | Speaker | TED.com
TED2003

Dan Dennett: The illusion of consciousness

Dan Dennett: 我们的意识

Filmed:
3,868,782 views

哲学家 Dan Dennett 有力地论述了其观点:我们不仅不了解自己的意识,而且一半时间都被大脑愚弄着。
- Philosopher, cognitive scientist
Dan Dennett thinks that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:26
So I'm going to speak说话 about a problem问题 that I have
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让我从我的一个问题开始,
00:29
and that's that I'm a philosopher哲学家.
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那就是,我是一个哲学家。
00:32
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:34
When I go to a party派对 and people ask me what do I do
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当我参加派对时,人们问我,我是干什么的。
00:37
and I say, "I'm a professor教授," their eyes眼睛 glaze over.
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我说,“我是个教授”,他们一下就失去了兴趣。
00:42
When I go to an academic学术的 cocktail鸡尾酒 party派对
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当我参加学术酒会时,
00:44
and there are all the professors教授 around, they ask me what field领域 I'm in
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在场的都是教授,他们问我是做什么领域的。
00:48
and I say, "philosophy哲学" -- their eyes眼睛 glaze over.
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我说,哲学——他们没了兴趣。
00:51
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:53
When I go to a philosopher's哲学家 party派对
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当我参加哲学派对时
00:56
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:59
and they ask me what I work on and I say, "consciousness意识,"
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他们问我在研究什么,我说,意识,
01:03
their eyes眼睛 don't glaze over -- their lips嘴唇 curl卷曲 into a snarl搞乱.
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他们就不仅仅是失去兴趣了——他们的嘴巴都拧成一团了。
01:08
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:09
And I get hootshoots of derision愚弄 and cackles咯咯 and growls咆哮
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我还引来了阵阵嘲笑以及嘀咕,
01:15
because they think, "That's impossible不可能! You can't explain说明 consciousness意识."
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因为他们觉得,“那是不可能的!你没法解释意识。”
01:20
The very chutzpah放肆 of somebody thinking思维
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这是太放肆大胆的想法
01:22
that you could explain说明 consciousness意识 is just out of the question.
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意识是不可能被解释的
01:26
My late晚了, lamented感叹 friend朋友 Bob短发 Nozick诺齐克, a fine philosopher哲学家,
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我已故的,令人惋惜的朋友 Bob Nozick,一位极好的哲学家
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in one of his books图书, "Philosophical哲学上 Explanations说明,"
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在他的著作 “哲学解释 (Philosophical Explanations)”中
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is commenting评论 on the ethos社会思潮 of philosophy哲学 --
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评论了哲学的精神——
01:39
the way philosophers哲学家 go about their business商业.
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也就是哲学家行事的方法。
01:41
And he says, you know, "Philosophers哲学家 love rational合理的 argument论据."
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他说,你知道,“哲学家热爱合理的论点。”
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And he says, "It seems似乎 as if the ideal理想 argument论据
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他还说,“看起来好像对于多数哲学家,理想的论证
01:47
for most philosophers哲学家 is you give your audience听众 the premises房地
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是向观众提出前提,
01:53
and then you give them the inferences推论 and the conclusion结论,
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然后给出推理和结论,
01:58
and if they don't accept接受 the conclusion结论, they die.
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如果听众不接受那个结论,他们就死了。
02:02
Their heads explode爆炸." The idea理念 is to have an argument论据
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他们脑子坏了。” 这种想法是要有一个论点
02:05
that is so powerful强大 that it knocks敲门 out your opponents对手.
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强到可以直接压倒对方。
02:09
But in fact事实 that doesn't change更改 people's人们 minds头脑 at all.
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但事实上这丝毫没有改变人们的想法。
02:12
It's very hard to change更改 people's人们 minds头脑
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人们的想法是非常难以改变的
02:13
about something like consciousness意识,
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特别是在类似意识这样的事情上,
02:15
and I finally最后 figured想通 out the reason原因 for that.
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后来我终于发现了原因所在。
02:20
The reason原因 for that is that everybody's每个人的 an expert专家 on consciousness意识.
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原因就是,每个人都是意识的专家。
02:24
We heard听说 the other day that everybody's每个人的 got a strong强大 opinion意见 about video视频 games游戏.
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我们经常能听到人们对于电子游戏都有鲜明的个人观点
02:28
They all have an idea理念 for a video视频 game游戏, even if they're not experts专家.
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每个人都有自己对电子游戏的看法,尽管他们不是专家。
02:31
But they don't consider考虑 themselves他们自己 experts专家 on video视频 games游戏;
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他们也没有把自己看做电子游戏专家,
02:34
they've他们已经 just got strong强大 opinions意见.
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他们只是有着强烈的看法。
02:35
I'm sure that people here who work on, say, climate气候 change更改
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我非常确定在座的各位中,从事,比如气候变化
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and global全球 warming变暖, or on the future未来 of the Internet互联网,
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和全球变暖的,或者因特网的前景的,
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encounter遭遇 people who have very strong强大 opinions意见
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就各自领域未来这一问题
02:47
about what's going to happen发生 next下一个.
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会遇到很多有鲜明观点的人。
02:50
But they probably大概 don't think of these opinions意见 as expertise专门知识.
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但是或许他们并没有把这些想法当作专业知识
02:54
They're just strongly非常 held保持 opinions意见.
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他们仅仅是有着鲜明的观点。
02:56
But with regard看待 to consciousness意识, people seem似乎 to think,
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但是说到意识,人们似乎觉得
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each of us seems似乎 to think, "I am an expert专家.
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我们每个人好像都觉得,“我是个专家。
03:03
Simply只是 by being存在 conscious意识, I know all about this."
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就因为我是有意识的,所以我对意识全知全解。”
03:06
And so, you tell them your theory理论 and they say,
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所以,当你告诉他们你的理论时,他们会说,
03:08
"No, no, that's not the way consciousness意识 is!
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“不对,不对,意识不是那样的!
03:09
No, you've got it all wrong错误."
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不对,你全搞错了。”
03:11
And they say this with an amazing惊人 confidence置信度.
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而且他们说的时候,还带着一种令人惊讶的自信。
03:15
And so what I'm going to try to do today今天
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而我今天想要做的
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is to shake your confidence置信度. Because I know the feeling感觉 --
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就是要动摇你们的信心。因为我很清楚这种感觉——
03:20
I can feel it myself.
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我自己就能感觉到。
03:22
I want to shake your confidence置信度 that you know your own拥有 innermost minds头脑 --
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我想要动摇你们对了解自身最深处想法的信心——
03:28
that you are, yourselves你自己, authoritative权威性 about your own拥有 consciousness意识.
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那种你主宰了自己意识的信心。
03:33
That's the order订购 of the day here.
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这就是今天的议程。
03:36
Now, this nice不错 picture图片 shows节目 a thought-balloon思想气球, a thought-bubble思想气泡.
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好了,这张图展示的是一个“思维泡泡”。
03:39
I think everybody每个人 understands理解 what that means手段.
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我想大家都知道这是什么意思。
03:41
That's supposed应该 to exhibit展示 the stream of consciousness意识.
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它展示了意识流。
03:44
This is my favorite喜爱 picture图片 of consciousness意识 that's ever been doneDONE.
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这是到目前,我最喜欢的展示意识的图片。
03:46
It's a Saul索尔 Steinberg斯坦伯格 of course课程 -- it was a New Yorker纽约客 cover.
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它是 Saul Steinberg 的作品——是《纽约客》的一幅封面图片。
03:49
And this fellow同伴 here is looking at the painting绘画 by Braque布拉克.
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这个人是在看 Braque 的画。
03:54
That reminds提醒 him of the word baroque巴洛克, barrack营房, bark, poodle狮子狗,
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让他想起了巴洛克 (baroque)、兵营(barrack)、树皮 (bark)、狮毛狗(poodle)
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Suzanne苏珊娜 R. -- he's off to the races比赛.
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Suzanne R. ——精彩正要开始。
04:00
There's a wonderful精彩 stream of consciousness意识 here
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这是个极好的意识流
04:04
and if you follow跟随 it along沿, you learn学习 a lot about this man.
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如果你一直跟下去,你可以了解这个男人很多事情
04:08
What I particularly尤其 like about this picture图片, too,
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我还特别喜欢这个图片里边
04:10
is that Steinberg斯坦伯格 has rendered呈现 the guy
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Steinberg 把整个人渲染成
04:12
in this sort分类 of pointillist点画 style样式.
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一种点彩画风格
04:15
Which哪一个 reminds提醒 us, as Rod竿 Brooks布鲁克斯 was saying yesterday昨天:
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这让我们想起,Rod Brooks 昨天所说的:
04:18
what we are, what each of us is -- what you are, what I am --
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我们是什么,我们每个人是什么——你是什么,我是什么——
04:22
is approximately 100 trillion little cellular细胞的 robots机器人.
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是将近一万亿亿的小细胞机器人。
04:28
That's what we're made制作 of.
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那就是我们的组成成分。
04:30
No other ingredients配料 at all. We're just made制作 of cells细胞, about 100 trillion of them.
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没有任何其他成分。我们就是细胞组成的,约一万亿亿个。
04:34
Not a single one of those cells细胞 is conscious意识;
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这些细胞中没有任何一个有意识,
04:36
not a single one of those cells细胞 knows知道 who you are, or cares管它.
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没有一个知道你是谁,或者在乎这个。
04:41
Somehow不知何故, we have to explain说明
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从某种意义上,我们需要解释
04:43
how when you put together一起 teams球队, armies军队, battalions
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我们如何把数队,数军,数营的
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of hundreds数以百计 of millions百万 of little robotic机器人 unconscious无意识 cells细胞 --
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成百百亿的无意识细胞机器——
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not so different不同 really from a bacterium细菌, each one of them --
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他们每个都与细菌没有多大区别——
04:55
the result结果 is this. I mean, just look at it.
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组合成了这个。我的意思是,就看一下。
04:59
The content内容 -- there's color颜色, there's ideas思路, there's memories回忆,
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这些内容——有颜色、有想法、有回忆,
05:03
there's history历史. And somehow不知何故 all that content内容 of consciousness意识
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有历史。从某种意义上,这些意识的内容
05:07
is accomplished完成 by the busy activity活动 of those hoards囤积居奇 of neurons神经元.
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是由那些聚集的神经元的繁忙活动完成的。
05:12
How is that possible可能? Many许多 people just think it isn't possible可能 at all.
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这怎么可能呢?很多人认为这一点可能性都没有。
05:16
They think, "No, there can't be any
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他们觉得,“不,不可能有
05:18
sort分类 of naturalistic自然 explanation说明 of consciousness意识."
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任何对意识的科学的解释。”
05:22
This is a lovely可爱 book by a friend朋友 of mine named命名 Lee背风处 Siegel西格尔,
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这是一本由我朋友 Lee Siegel 写的可爱的书,
05:25
who's谁是 a professor教授 of religion宗教, actually其实, at the University大学 of Hawaii夏威夷,
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他是夏威夷大学的宗教方向教授,
05:28
and he's an expert专家 magician魔术师, and an expert专家
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而且还是个魔术专家,是
05:30
on the street magic魔法 of India印度, which哪一个 is what this book is about,
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印度街头魔术的专家,也就是这本书的内容,
05:34
"Net of Magic魔法."
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“魔术的网。”
05:36
And there's a passage通道 in it which哪一个 I would love to share分享 with you.
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我要与你们分享里面的一篇文章。
05:39
It speaks说话 so eloquently雄辩地 to the problem问题.
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这些话在这个问题上说的真是太好了。
05:45
"'I'm“我 writing写作 a book on magic魔法,' I explain说明, and I'm asked, 'Real'真实 magic魔法?'
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“ ‘我在写一本关于魔术的书,’ 我解释道,然后我又被问道,‘真正的魔术?’
05:50
By 'real'真实 magic魔法,' people mean miracles奇迹,
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真正的魔术,人们指的是奇迹、
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thaumaturgicalthaumaturgical acts行为, and supernatural超自然 powers权力.
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魔法,以及超自然力量。
05:54
'No,' I answer回答. 'Conjuring“魔术 tricks技巧, not real真实 magic魔法.'
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‘不’,我回应道。‘变戏法而已,不是真正的魔术。’
05:58
'Real真实 magic魔法,' in other words, refers to the magic魔法 that is not real真实;
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真正的魔术,换句话来说,指的是那些并不真实可行的魔法,
06:02
while the magic魔法 that is real真实, that can actually其实 be doneDONE, is not real真实 magic魔法."
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而那些真实可行的魔术,又不是真正的魔法。”
06:07
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:11
Now, that's the way a lot of people feel about consciousness意识.
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好了,那就是很多人对意识的感觉。
06:15
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
06:16
Real真实 consciousness意识 is not a bag of tricks技巧.
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真正的意识不是魔术师的口袋
06:18
If you're going to explain说明 this as a bag of tricks技巧,
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如果你把它解释为魔术师的口袋,
06:20
then it's not real真实 consciousness意识, whatever随你 it is.
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那它就不是真正的意识,不管它是什么。
06:23
And, as Marvin马文 said, and as other people have said,
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可是,Marvin 和其他的人说,
06:29
"Consciousness意识 is a bag of tricks技巧."
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“意识是魔术师的口袋。”
06:32
This means手段 that a lot of people are just left completely全然 dissatisfied不满意
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这意味着很多人会感到不满
06:37
and incredulous怀疑的 when I attempt尝试 to explain说明 consciousness意识.
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和怀疑,在我尝试解释意识的时候。
06:40
So this is the problem问题. So I have to
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所以,这就是个问题。我需要做
06:43
do a little bit of the sort分类 of work
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一点点尝试
06:46
that a lot of you won't惯于 like,
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你们很多人不会喜欢它,
06:50
for the same相同 reason原因 that you don't like to see
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因为你们不愿意看到
06:52
a magic魔法 trick explained解释 to you.
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魔术被揭秘。
06:54
How many许多 of you here, if somebody -- some smart聪明 aleck自作聪明 --
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在座有多少人,在别人——一些自作聪明的人——
06:58
starts启动 telling告诉 you how a particular特定 magic魔法 trick is doneDONE,
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开始揭露魔术的秘密时,
07:01
you sort分类 of want to block your ears耳朵 and say, "No, no, I don't want to know!
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你们想要塞上耳朵然后说,“不,不,我不想知道!
07:04
Don't take the thrill颤抖 of it away. I'd rather be mystified迷惑.
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不要破坏它的刺激。我宁愿被蒙在鼓里。
07:07
Don't tell me the answer回答."
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不要告诉我答案。”
07:10
A lot of people feel that way about consciousness意识, I've discovered发现.
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我发现,很多人对待意识是这样的态度。
07:13
And I'm sorry if I impose强加 some clarity明晰, some understanding理解 on you.
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所以我对给你们做的分析和解释感到抱歉。
07:19
You'd better leave离开 now if you don't want to know some of these tricks技巧.
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如果你不想了解这些思维的秘密,最好现在就离开。
07:24
But I'm not going to explain说明 it all to you.
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不过我也不会向你们解释所有。
07:28
I'm going to do what philosophers哲学家 do.
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我会做哲学家所做的。
07:31
Here's这里的 how a philosopher哲学家 explains说明 the sawing-the-lady-in-half锯最淑女的一半 trick.
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哲学家如何解释将女士锯成两半的魔术呢。
07:37
You know the sawing-the-lady-in-half锯最淑女的一半 trick?
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你们知道将人锯成两半的魔术吧?
07:39
The philosopher哲学家 says, "I'm going to explain说明 to you how that's doneDONE.
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哲学家说,“我来解释那是怎么做到的。
07:43
You see, the magician魔术师 doesn't really saw the lady淑女 in half."
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你看,魔术师并没有真正把那位女士锯成两半。”
07:48
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:50
"He merely仅仅 makes品牌 you think that he does."
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“他仅仅是让你们以为他这样做了。”
07:54
And you say, "Yes, and how does he do that?"
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然后他说 “是啊,他怎么做到呢?”
07:55
He says, "Oh, that's not my department, I'm sorry."
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他说,“喔,那不是我的研究范围,不好意思。”
07:57
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
08:02
So now I'm going to illustrate说明 how philosophers哲学家 explain说明 consciousness意识.
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现在我将描述哲学家是如何解释意识的。
08:05
But I'm going to try to also show显示 you
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我也将向你们展示
08:08
that consciousness意识 isn't quite相当 as marvelous奇妙 --
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意识并不是那么神奇——
08:11
your own拥有 consciousness意识 isn't quite相当 as wonderful精彩 --
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你的意识并不像——
08:13
as you may可能 have thought it is.
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你所设想的那么神奇。
08:15
This is something, by the way, that Lee背风处 Siegel西格尔 talks会谈 about in his book.
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顺便说,这就是 Lee Siegal 在他的书中所谈到的事情。
08:19
He marvels奇迹 at how he'll地狱 do a magic魔法 show显示, and afterwards之后
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他的魔术表演非常神奇,所以
08:23
people will swear发誓 they saw him do X, Y, and Z. He never did those things.
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有些人发誓目睹他曾做过甲事、乙事还有丙事。但其实他从来没做过。
08:27
He didn't even try to do those things.
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他甚至都没有尝试过。
08:29
People's人们 memories回忆 inflate膨胀 what they think they saw.
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当人们认为看到了的时候,他们的记忆就会自以为是。
08:33
And the same相同 is true真正 of consciousness意识.
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意识也是这样。
08:36
Now, let's see if this will work. All right. Let's just watch this.
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现在,让我们看看这个。
08:43
Watch it carefully小心.
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仔细看。
08:56
I'm working加工 with a young年轻 computer-animator计算机动画 documentarian纪录片
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我在和一个年轻的计算机动画纪录片专家合作
08:59
named命名 Nick缺口 Deamer迪默, and this is a little demo演示 that he's doneDONE for me,
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他的名字叫 Nick Deamer。这是他帮我做的一个小演示,
09:04
part部分 of a larger project项目 some of you may可能 be interested有兴趣 in.
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是你们或许会感兴趣的大项目中的一小部分。
09:07
We're looking for a backer靠山.
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我们在寻求赞助。
09:10
It's a feature-length长篇 documentary记录 on consciousness意识.
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是一部关于意识的正片长度纪录片
09:14
OK, now, you all saw what changed, right?
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好,你们都看到了什么东西改变了,对吧?
09:20
How many许多 of you noticed注意到 that every一切 one of those squares广场 changed color颜色?
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有多少人注意到每一个方块都变了颜色?
09:25
Every一切 one. I'll just show显示 you by running赛跑 it again.
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每个都变了。我来重放一下。
09:34
Even when you know that they're all going to change更改 color颜色,
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即使你们都知道他们要变颜色了,
09:39
it's very hard to notice注意. You have to really concentrate集中
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那也很难被注意到。你需要完全地集中注意力
09:43
to pick up any of the changes变化 at all.
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以发现任何变化。
09:46
Now, this is an example -- one of many许多 --
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这是许多例子中的一个,
09:51
of a phenomenon现象 that's now being存在 studied研究 quite相当 a bit.
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关于我们已经有很多研究的一个现象。
09:53
It's one that I predicted预料到的 in the last page or two of my
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它是我在我书的最后几页预言过的
09:57
1991 book, "Consciousness意识 Explained解释,"
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我在1991年的书,“意识的解释,”
09:59
where I said if you did experiments实验 of this sort分类,
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我说如果你有过这种经历,
10:02
you'd find that people were unable无法 to pick up really large changes变化.
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你会发现人们不能发现真正的大改变。
10:05
If there's time at the end结束,
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如果最后还剩时间
10:07
I'll show显示 you the much more dramatic戏剧性 case案件.
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我会展示更多富有戏剧性的例子。
10:10
Now, how can it be that there are all those changes变化 going on,
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为什么到处都在发生这样的改变,
10:15
and that we're not aware知道的 of them?
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而我们却意识不到?
10:18
Well, earlier today今天, Jeff杰夫 Hawkins霍金斯 mentioned提到 the way your eye saccades扫视,
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今天早些时候,Jeff Hawkins 提到了眼睛是如何扫视的,
10:23
the way your eye moves移动 around three or four times a second第二.
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也就是眼睛一秒钟移动三到四次。
10:26
He didn't mention提到 the speed速度. Your eye is constantly经常 in motion运动,
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他没有提到速度。你的眼睛一直在运动,
10:29
moving移动 around, looking at eyes眼睛, noses鼻子, elbows肘部,
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四处运动,看着眼睛、鼻子、手肘,
10:32
looking at interesting有趣 things in the world世界.
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看着这世上有趣的东西。
10:34
And where your eye isn't looking,
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在你眼睛没有看到的地方,
10:36
you're remarkably异常 impoverished贫困 in your vision视力.
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你的视野特别贫乏。
10:39
That's because the foveal黄斑中心凹 part部分 of your eye,
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这是因为你眼睛的中央凹部分,
10:42
which哪一个 is the high-resolution高分辨率 part部分,
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也就是高分辨率的部分,
10:44
is only about the size尺寸 of your thumbnail缩略图 held保持 at arms武器 length长度.
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只有大拇指甲在一臂长处看起来那么大。
10:47
That's the detail详情 part部分.
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那就是有细节的部分。
10:49
It doesn't seem似乎 that way, does it?
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看起来好像不是这样对吧?
10:52
It doesn't seem似乎 that way, but that's the way it is.
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看起来不是这么回事,但它就是。
10:54
You're getting得到 in a lot less information信息 than you think.
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你接收到的信息远比你想象的少。
10:58
Here's这里的 a completely全然 different不同 effect影响. This is a painting绘画 by Bellotto贝洛托.
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这里有一个截然不同的效果。这是 Bellotto 的一幅油画。
11:04
It's in the museum博物馆 in North Carolina卡罗来纳州.
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它被藏于北卡罗来纳州博物馆。
11:06
Bellotto贝洛托 was a student学生 of Canaletto's卡纳莱托的.
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Bellotto 是 Canaletto 的学生。
11:09
And I love paintings绘画 like that --
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我喜欢那样的油画——
11:10
the painting绘画 is actually其实 about as big as it is right here.
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像这样大的油画。
11:14
And I love CanalettosCanalettos, because Canaletto卡纳莱托 has this fantastic奇妙 detail详情,
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我也喜欢 Canalettos,因为 Canaletto的作品对细节处理巧妙,
11:17
and you can get right up
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我们可以细细地观察
11:20
and see all the details细节 on the painting绘画.
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油画的细节。
11:23
And I started开始 across横过 the hall大厅 in North Carolina卡罗来纳州,
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我穿过北卡博物馆的那个大厅,
11:28
because I thought it was probably大概 a Canaletto卡纳莱托,
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因为我想可能是 Canaletto 的作品,
11:30
and would have all that in detail详情.
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所以会有那些细节。
11:32
And I noticed注意到 that on the bridge there, there's a lot of people --
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然后我注意到那边的桥,有非常多的人——
11:35
you can just barely仅仅 see them walking步行 across横过 the bridge.
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你似乎可以看到他们从桥上走过。
11:38
And I thought as I got closer接近
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我想着如果我走近一点
11:39
I would be able能够 to see all the detail详情 of most people,
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我就可以看到更多人物细节,
11:42
see their clothes衣服, and so forth向前.
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看到他们的衣服等等。
11:44
And as I got closer接近 and closer接近, I actually其实 screamed尖叫.
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实际上,当我越来越近的时候,我叫了出来。
11:48
I yelled大叫 out because when I got closer接近,
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我叫是因为当我靠近时,
11:50
I found发现 the detail详情 wasn't there at all.
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我发现那里其实没有细节。
11:54
There were just little artfully巧妙地 placed放置 blobs斑点 of paint涂料.
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那里只有巧妙放置的颜料粒。
11:58
And as I walked towards the picture图片,
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而当我走近那幅画时,
12:01
I was expecting期待 detail详情 that wasn't there.
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我在期待不存在的细节。
12:04
The artist艺术家 had very cleverly巧妙 suggested建议 people and clothes衣服
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艺术家很聪明地暗示了人物和服装
12:09
and wagons货车 and all sorts排序 of things,
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以及车马还有其他事物,
12:12
and my brain had taken采取 the suggestion建议.
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而我的大脑接受了这样的暗示。
12:15
You're familiar with a more recent最近 technology技术, which哪一个 is -- There,
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你们很熟悉一个更新的技术,就在——这个。
12:21
you can get a better view视图 of the blobs斑点.
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你们可以更好地看到颗粒。
12:23
See, when you get close
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看,当你移近时
12:25
they're really just blobs斑点 of paint涂料.
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他们就真的只是颜料粒。
12:30
You will have seen看到 something like this -- this is the reverse相反 effect影响.
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你应该看过像这样的东西——相反的效果。
12:44
I'll just give that to you one more time.
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我再来演示一次。
12:47
Now, what does your brain do when it takes the suggestion建议?
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好,那么当你的大脑接受暗示时他做了什么呢?
12:54
When an artful blobBLOB of paint涂料 or two, by an artist艺术家,
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当艺术家的一两滴颜料粒
12:59
suggests提示 a person -- say, one of
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暗示了一个人——比如,一个
13:05
Marvin马文 Minsky's明斯基 little society社会 of mind心神 --
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Marvin Minsky 的小社会心态——
13:07
do they send发送 little painters画家 out to fill in all the details细节 in your brain somewhere某处?
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难道他们把小画家送到你的脑子里来填充所有细节?
13:12
I don't think so. Not a chance机会. But then, how on Earth地球 is it doneDONE?
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我觉得不是。没有任何可能,不过那样的话,那这些又到底是怎么回事?
13:17
Well, remember记得 the philosopher's哲学家 explanation说明 of the lady淑女?
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还记得哲学家怎么解释那个被锯成两半的女士吗?
13:22
It's the same相同 thing.
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这是同一件事情。
13:25
The brain just makes品牌 you think that it's got the detail详情 there.
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大脑只是让你确信它得到了那处细节。
13:28
You think the detail's细节 there, but it isn't there.
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你想着细节在那里,但是他不在。
13:31
The brain isn't actually其实 putting the detail详情 in your head at all.
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大脑并没有把细节放入脑海中。
13:34
It's just making制造 you expect期望 the detail详情.
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它只是让你期待细节。
13:37
Let's just do this experiment实验 very quickly很快.
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让我们快速地过下这个试验。
13:40
Is the shape形状 on the left the same相同 as the shape形状 on the right, rotated旋转?
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左边的形状旋转后是不是与右边的完全相同?
13:45
Yes.
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是的。
13:47
How many许多 of you did it by rotating旋转 the one on the left
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多少人把左边的形状旋转了
13:49
in your mind's心灵的 eye, to see if it matched匹配 up with the one on the right?
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在想象中,来看它是否与右边那个一致?
13:52
How many许多 of you rotated旋转 the one on the right? OK.
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有多少人旋转的是右边那个?好的。
13:56
How do you know that's what you did?
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你怎么知道那就是你所作的?
13:58
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
14:01
There's in fact事实 been a very interesting有趣 debate辩论
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实际上这有个非常有趣的争论
14:03
raging愤怒 for over 20 years年份 in cognitive认知 science科学 --
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在认知科学领域持续了20年——
14:06
various各个 experiments实验 started开始 by Roger罗杰 Shepherd牧羊人,
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由 Roger Shepherd 开始的各种试验,
14:08
who measured测量 the angular velocity速度 of rotation回转 of mental心理 images图片.
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他测量了人的意识中图像的旋转角速度。
14:13
Yes, it's possible可能 to do that.
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是的,这是做得到的。
14:15
But the details细节 of the process处理 are still in significant重大 controversy争议.
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但是过程的细节还有着明显的争议。
14:22
And if you read that literature文学, one of the things
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如果你阅读相关的文献,有件事情
14:25
that you really have to come to terms条款 with is
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你一定要妥协的是
14:28
even when you're the subject学科 in the experiment实验, you don't know.
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即使你是实验对象,你也无从知道。
14:30
You don't know how you do it.
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你不知道你是怎么做到的。
14:32
You just know that you have certain某些 beliefs信仰.
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你只是知道你有特定的信念
14:35
And they come in a certain某些 order订购, at a certain某些 time.
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他们在特定的时间以特定的顺序出现。
14:38
And what explains说明 the fact事实 that that's what you think?
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那么,如何解释“那就是你所想的”这个事实呢?
14:40
Well, that's where you have to go backstage后台 and ask the magician魔术师.
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那,你就要到后台去问魔术师了。
14:44
This is a figure数字 that I love: Bradley布拉德利, Petrie皮特里, and Dumais杜迈斯.
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这是我喜欢的图示:Bradley, Petrie, 以及 Dumais。
14:48
You may可能 think that I've cheated被骗,
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你可能觉得我在骗你,
14:50
that I've put a little whiter-than-white白超白 boundary边界 there.
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通过放置一些不显眼的边界。
14:55
How many许多 of you see that sort分类 of boundary边界,
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多少人看到了那种边界,
14:57
with the Necker内克尔 cube立方体 floating漂浮的 in front面前 of the circles?
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通过把内克尔方块放在圆圈的前面?
15:00
Can you see it?
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你可以看到吗?
15:02
Well, you know, in effect影响, the boundary's边界的 really there, in a certain某些 sense.
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看起来,在特定情境下,是有边界的。
15:07
Your brain is actually其实 computing计算 that boundary边界,
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你的大脑计算出了那种边界,
15:10
the boundary边界 that goes right there.
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让边界出现在那里。
15:15
But now, notice注意 there are two ways方法 of seeing眼看 the cube立方体, right?
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现在,你注意到了有两种方法来看那个立方体,对吧?
15:17
It's a Necker内克尔 cube立方体.
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这是一个内科尔方块。
15:19
Everybody每个人 can see the two ways方法 of seeing眼看 the cube立方体? OK.
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大家都可以看出两种看方块的方法吧?好的
15:23
Can you see the four ways方法 of seeing眼看 the cube立方体?
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那你们能看出四种方法来吗?
15:27
Because there's another另一个 way of seeing眼看 it.
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由于有不同的方法来看它。
15:29
If you're seeing眼看 it as a cube立方体 floating漂浮的 in front面前 of some circles,
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如果你让方块浮在圆圈之上,
15:32
some black黑色 circles, there's another另一个 way of seeing眼看 it.
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那些黑色的圆圈,就有另一种看的方法。
15:35
As a cube立方体, on a black黑色 background背景,
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如果把方块当作放在黑色背景之上,
15:37
as seen看到 through通过 a piece of Swiss瑞士人 cheese起司.
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就像是从一块瑞士奶酪的洞里看过去。
15:39
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
15:42
Can you get it? How many许多 of you can't get it? That'll那会 help.
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你们能理解吗?多少人不能理解?这样应该有所帮助。
15:48
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
15:50
Now you can get it. These are two very different不同 phenomena现象.
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现在你们明白了。这里有两个很不一样的现象。
15:55
When you see the cube立方体 one way, behind背后 the screen屏幕,
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如果你把方块当作是放在屏幕之后的,
16:01
those boundaries边界 go away.
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边界就没了。
16:03
But there's still a sort分类 of filling填充 in, as we can tell if we look at this.
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不过仍然可以把它填充出来,如果你用这种方法去看。
16:08
We don't have any trouble麻烦 seeing眼看 the cube立方体, but where does the color颜色 change更改?
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我们可以毫无障碍的看到方块,但是颜色是在哪里改变的呢?
16:12
Does your brain have to send发送 little painters画家 in there?
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你的大脑在那儿放了小画家?
16:15
The purple-painters紫画家 and the green-painters绿色画家
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画紫色的画家和画绿色的画家
16:17
fight斗争 over who's谁是 going to paint涂料 that bit behind背后 the curtain窗帘? No.
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两者争着要在遮挡物之后涂色吗?不是。
16:20
Your brain just lets让我们 it go. The brain doesn't need to fill that in.
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你的大脑就由它去了。大脑不需要填充它。
16:29
When I first started开始 talking about
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当我第一次谈论到
16:32
the Bradley布拉德利, Petrie皮特里, Dumais杜迈斯 example that you just saw --
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你刚刚看到的 Bradley, Petrie, Dumais 的例子 ——
16:36
I'll go back to it, this one --
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让我退回到它,这个——
16:40
I said that there was no filling-in填写 behind背后 there.
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我说过在被挡住的地方是没有填充颜色的。
16:47
And I supposed应该 that that was just a flat平面 truth真相, always true真正.
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我以为这是一个公理,总是对的。
16:50
But Rob Van面包车 Lier利尔 has recently最近 shown显示 that it isn't.
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不过 Rob Van Lier 最近证明了它不是。
16:55
Now, if you think you see some pale苍白 yellow黄色 --
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现在,如果你觉得你看到了一些黄色——
17:00
I'll run this a few少数 more times.
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让我再做几次。
17:02
Look in the gray灰色 areas,
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看这些灰色区域,
17:06
and see if you seem似乎 to see something sort分类 of shadowy神出鬼没 moving移动 in there --
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你是不是好像看到有些阴影在移动——
17:11
yeah, it's amazing惊人. There's nothing there. It's no trick.
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是的!那很神奇。那里没有东西。没耍花招。
17:18
["Failure失败 to Detect检测 Changes变化 in Scenes场景" slide滑动]
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这是 Ron Rensink 的作品,在一定程度上
17:24
This is Ron罗恩 Rensink'sRensink的 work, which哪一个 was in some degree
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被书最后的暗示所激发。
17:26
inspired启发 by that suggestion建议 right at the end结束 of the book.
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让我暂停几秒。
17:30
Let me just pause暂停 this for a second第二 if I can.
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这是盲变化。
17:32
This is change-blindness变化盲.
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你会看到两幅图片,
17:34
What you're going to see is two pictures图片,
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一幅与另一幅有些许区别。
17:36
one of which哪一个 is slightly different不同 from the other.
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你看这里是红色屋顶而那里是灰色,
17:38
You see here the red roof屋顶 and the gray灰色 roof屋顶,
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他们之间有个遮罩,
17:41
and in between之间 them there will be a mask面具,
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这里只是一个空白屏幕,在大概¼秒。
17:43
which哪一个 is just a blank空白 screen屏幕, for about a quarter25美分硬币 of a second第二.
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所以你将看到第一幅图,然后是遮罩。
17:47
So you'll你会 see the first picture图片, then a mask面具,
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再然后是第二幅图,然后是遮罩。
17:49
then the second第二 picture图片, then a mask面具.
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然后这会重复,你作为实验对象的工作
17:51
And this will just continue继续, and your job工作 as the subject学科
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就是当你看到变化的时候按下按钮。
17:55
is to press the button按键 when you see the change更改.
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所以是,原始图片出现240毫秒。空白。
17:58
So, show显示 the original原版的 picture图片 for 240 milliseconds毫秒. Blank空白.
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下一幅图片出现240毫秒。空白。
18:06
Show显示 the next下一个 picture图片 for 240 milliseconds毫秒. Blank空白.
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这会一直持续,直到实验对象按下按钮,表示
18:12
And keep going, until直到 the subject学科 presses印刷机 the button按键, saying,
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“我看到变化了。”
18:16
"I see the change更改."
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好,现在我们就是实验对象。
18:18
So now we're going to be subjects主题 in the experiment实验.
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我们从简单的开始。一个例子。
18:21
We're going to start开始 easy简单. Some examples例子.
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没有问题。
18:30
No trouble麻烦 there.
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大家都可以看到吧?好的。
18:32
Can everybody每个人 see? All right.
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是的,Rensink 的实验对象仅仅花了
18:35
Indeed确实, Rensink'sRensink的 subjects主题 took only a little bit more
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一秒多一点点的时间来按下按钮。
18:39
than a second第二 to press the button按键.
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这个能看到吗?
18:46
Can you see that one?
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2.9 秒。
18:55
2.9 seconds.
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多少人仍然没有看到?
19:04
How many许多 don't see it still?
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那个谷仓的屋顶上有什么?
19:07
What's on the roof屋顶 of that barn谷仓?
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(笑声)
19:09
(Laughter笑声)
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简单吧。
19:20
It's easy简单.
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是桥还是船坞?
19:46
Is it a bridge or a dock码头?
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还有更多富有戏剧性的,然后我的演讲将结束。
19:52
There are a few少数 more really dramatic戏剧性 ones那些, and then I'll close.
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我想让你们看看几个很让人惊讶的。
19:56
I want you to see a few少数 that are particularly尤其 striking引人注目.
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这个很难看到因为它很大。
20:00
This one because it's so large and yet然而 it's pretty漂亮 hard to see.
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看到了吗?
20:07
Can you see it?
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听众:看到了。
20:10
Audience听众: Yes.
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看到那个朝前朝后的影子了吗?很大。
20:12
Dan Dennett丹尼特: See the shadows阴影 going back and forth向前? Pretty漂亮 big.
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平均时间是15秒半
20:23
So 15.5 seconds is the median中位数 time
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对于这个试验的对象。
20:27
for subjects主题 in his experiment实验 there.
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我爱这个。我将以这个结束,
20:29
I love this one. I'll end结束 with this one,
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就因为它是一件很明显很重要的东西。
20:32
just because it's such这样 an obvious明显 and important重要 thing.
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多少人还没看到?多少人还没看到?
20:37
How many许多 still don't see it? How many许多 still don't see it?
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那架波音的机翼上有几架引擎?
20:43
How many许多 engines引擎 on the wing翅膀 of that Boeing波音?
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(笑声)
20:46
(Laughter笑声)
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就在图片中间!
20:47
Right in the middle中间 of the picture图片!
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感谢你们的聆听。
20:53
Thanks谢谢 very much for your attention注意.
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我想告诉你们的是科学家,
20:54
What I wanted to show显示 you is that scientists科学家们,
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通过利用外部的、第三人称的方法,
20:59
using运用 their from-the-outside从外部, third-person第三人称 methods方法,
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可以告诉你关于内在意识的事情
21:03
can tell you things about your own拥有 consciousness意识
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那是你从未梦想的。
21:05
that you would never dream梦想 of,
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而且,实际上,你并没有主宰
21:07
and that, in fact事实, you're not the authority权威
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你自己的意识。
21:09
on your own拥有 consciousness意识 that you think you are.
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我们正取得很多进步
21:11
And we're really making制造 a lot of progress进展
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在研究思想的理论上。
21:13
on coming未来 up with a theory理论 of mind心神.
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Jeff Hawkins 在今早描述了他的尝试
21:16
Jeff杰夫 Hawkins霍金斯, this morning早上, was describing说明 his attempt尝试
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使一个优秀的、大的理论,进入神经科学。
21:22
to get theory理论, and a good, big theory理论, into the neuroscience神经科学.
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他是对的。这是个问题。
21:26
And he's right. This is a problem问题.
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哈佛医学院曾经——在一次谈话中——
21:31
Harvard哈佛 Medical School学校 once一旦 -- I was at a talk --
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实验室主导说,“在我们实验室,有一种说法。
21:33
director导向器 of the lab实验室 said, "In our lab实验室, we have a saying.
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如果你研究一个神经元,那就是神经科学。
21:37
If you work on one neuron神经元, that's neuroscience神经科学.
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如果研究两个神经元,那就是心理学。”
21:40
If you work on two neurons神经元, that's psychology心理学."
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(笑声)
21:43
(Laughter笑声)
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我们需要更多的理论,而且他们能够自上而下而来。
21:47
We have to have more theory理论, and it can come as much from the top最佳 down.
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非常感谢。
21:50
Thank you very much.
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(掌声)
21:52
(Applause掌声)
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Translated by Chengyin Liu
Reviewed by Bojian Sun

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Dennett - Philosopher, cognitive scientist
Dan Dennett thinks that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes.

Why you should listen

One of our most important living philosophers, Dan Dennett is best known for his provocative and controversial arguments that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes in the brain. He argues that the brain's computational circuitry fools us into thinking we know more than we do, and that what we call consciousness — isn't. His 2003 book "Freedom Evolves" explores how our brains evolved to give us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's "Breaking the Spell" examines belief through the lens of biology.

This mind-shifting perspective on the mind itself has distinguished Dennett's career as a philosopher and cognitive scientist. And while the philosophy community has never quite known what to make of Dennett (he defies easy categorization, and refuses to affiliate himself with accepted schools of thought), his computational approach to understanding the brain has made him, as Edge's John Brockman writes, “the philosopher of choice of the AI community.”

“It's tempting to say that Dennett has never met a robot he didn't like, and that what he likes most about them is that they are philosophical experiments,” Harry Blume wrote in the Atlantic Monthly in 1998. “To the question of whether machines can attain high-order intelligence, Dennett makes this provocative answer: ‘The best reason for believing that robots might some day become conscious is that we human beings are conscious, and we are a sort of robot ourselves.'"

In recent years, Dennett has become outspoken in his atheism, and his 2006 book Breaking the Spell calls for religion to be studied through the scientific lens of evolutionary biology. Dennett regards religion as a natural -- rather than supernatural -- phenomenon, and urges schools to break the taboo against empirical examination of religion. He argues that religion's influence over human behavior is precisely what makes gaining a rational understanding of it so necessary: “If we don't understand religion, we're going to miss our chance to improve the world in the 21st century.”

Dennett's landmark books include The Mind's I, co-edited with Douglas Hofstaedter, Consciousness Explained, and Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Read an excerpt from his 2013 book, Intuition Pumps, in the Guardian >>

More profile about the speaker
Dan Dennett | Speaker | TED.com