ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bob Stein - Publisher
Bob Stein has long been in the vanguard: immersed in radical politics as a young man, he grew into one of the founding fathers of new media. He’s wondering what sorts of new rituals and traditions might emerge as society expands to include increasing numbers of people in their eighties and nineties.

Why you should listen

Until his early 30's, Bob Stein was a full-time radical activist. In 1981, he spent a year researching and writing a paper for Encyclopedia Britannica -- "EB and the Intellectual Tools of the Future" -- and he has been involved in electronic publishing ever since. In 1984 he founded The Criterion Collection, a critically acclaimed series of definitive films, which included the first supplementary sections and director commentaries and introduced the letterbox format. He also founded The Voyager Company, which in 1989 published one of the first commercial CD-ROMs, "The CD Companion to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony." In 1992 Voyager published the first electronic books, including Douglas Adams's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. In 2004 The MacArthur Foundation provided a generous grant with which Stein founded the Institute for the Future of the Book, a small think and do tank aimed at exploring and influencing the evolution of new forms of intellectual expression. In 2005, the Institute published the first "networked books," which an important milestone in the shift to social reading and writing as discourse moves from pages to screens. After waiting 25 years, since he saw the first public demo of VR, Stein is currently working on a platform to present music and art performance in a shared social space.

More profile about the speaker
Bob Stein | Speaker | TED.com
TED Residency

Bob Stein: A rite of passage for late life

Bob Stein: 暮年的仪式

Filmed:
1,199,843 views

在生命的早期,我们用仪式来标志每个阶段,像是生日、毕业典礼,但步入晚年后呢?在这个“思前想后”的冥想演讲中,Bob Stein提出了一个新的仪式:当你长大后,把自己的东西(及它们背后的故事)分享给大家,来反思自己过去的生活并打开通向未来的大门。
- Publisher
Bob Stein has long been in the vanguard: immersed in radical politics as a young man, he grew into one of the founding fathers of new media. He’s wondering what sorts of new rituals and traditions might emerge as society expands to include increasing numbers of people in their eighties and nineties. Full bio

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

00:12
I grew成长 up white白色, secular世俗 and middle中间 class
0
739
3755
我出生于五十年代美国的
一个传统的白人中产阶级家庭里。
00:16
in 1950s America美国.
1
4518
1672
00:19
That meant意味着 watching观看 fireworks烟花
on the Fourth第四 of July七月,
2
7080
2840
这意味着,七月四号(独立日)要看烟花,
00:22
trick-or-treating恶作剧或治疗 on Halloween万圣节
3
10863
1685
在万圣节不给糖就捣乱,
00:24
and putting presents礼物
under a tree at Christmas圣诞.
4
12572
2227
以及圣诞节时会把礼物放在树下。
00:27
But by the time
those traditions传统 got to me,
5
15338
2640
到了我生活的年代时,
这些传统变成了空洞的商业之事,
00:30
they were hollow空洞, commercial广告 enterprises企业,
6
18002
2201
00:32
which哪一个 just left me feeling感觉 empty.
7
20227
1892
让我感到空虚。
00:34
So from a relatively相对 young年轻 age年龄,
8
22990
1910
所以,从年轻的时候,
00:36
I found发现 myself looking to fill
an existential存在 hole,
9
24924
2829
我就开始寻找方法填补
这个存在了的空洞,
00:40
to connect with something
bigger than myself.
10
28407
2467
以期与更伟大的事物相连。
00:44
There hadn't有没有 been a bar酒吧 mitzvah成人礼
in my family家庭 in over a century世纪,
11
32261
3054
一个多世纪以来,
我家没有举办过一场(犹太)成人礼,
所以我想我应该试试看。
00:47
so I thought I'd take a shot射击 at that --
12
35339
1951
00:49
(Laughter笑声)
13
37314
1314
(笑声)
00:50
only to be devastated满目疮痍
when my one encounter遭遇 with the rabbi拉比,
14
38652
3407
但和拉比(犹太教教义者)的相遇
仍带来了毁灭性的打击,
00:54
a really tall, godlike上帝喜欢 figure数字
with flowing流动 white白色 hair头发,
15
42083
4747
他很高,像神灵一样,
有一头飘逸的白发,
相遇时他询问我的中间名是什么,
00:58
consisted of him asking me
for my middle中间 name名称
16
46854
2877
以填在表格上。
01:01
so we could fill out a form形成.
17
49755
1671
01:04
Yep是的, that was it.
18
52094
1320
是的,就是这样。
01:05
(Laughter笑声)
19
53438
1063
(笑声)
01:06
So I got the fountain喷泉 pen钢笔,
20
54525
1814
我拿起了那只笔,
01:08
but I didn't get the sense
of belonging属于 and confidence置信度
21
56363
2852
但并未获得我一直在寻找的
归属感和信心。
01:11
I was searching搜索 for.
22
59239
1161
01:13
Many许多 years年份 later后来,
23
61297
1691
多年后,
我无法容忍我的孩子将满13岁,
01:15
I couldn't不能 bear the thought
of my son儿子 turning车削 13
24
63012
2716
却没有举行任何仪式,
01:17
without some kind of rite仪式 of passage通道.
25
65752
2785
01:21
So I came来了 up with the idea理念
of a 13th birthday生日 trip,
26
69331
3484
所以我想出了这个主意——
十三岁生日之旅。
我提出带Murphy去
01:24
and I offered提供 to take Murphy墨菲
anywhere随地 in the world世界
27
72839
2508
这个世界上任何一个对他有意义的地方。
01:27
that had meaning含义 for him.
28
75371
1358
01:29
A budding芽接 young年轻 naturalist博物
who loved喜爱 turtles海龟,
29
77597
2699
作为一个崭露头角
喜欢乌龟的年轻博物学家,
他毫不犹豫地选择了加拉帕戈斯群岛,
01:32
he immediately立即 settled安定 on the Galapagos加拉帕戈斯.
30
80320
2116
01:35
And when my daughter女儿, Katie凯蒂, turned转身 13,
31
83313
2720
当我的女儿Katie满13岁时,
01:38
she and I spent花费 two weeks
at the bottom底部 of the Grand盛大 Canyon峡谷,
32
86057
3339
我们一起在大峡谷底部度过了两周。
正是在那儿,Katie第一次
意识到了自己的强大与勇敢,
01:41
where Katie凯蒂 learned学到了 for the first time
that she was powerful强大 and brave勇敢.
33
89420
4571
01:46
Since以来 then, my partner伙伴, Ashton阿什顿,
and lots of our friends朋友 and relatives亲戚们
34
94790
3803
在这之后,我的另一半Ashton
还有很多亲朋
都带着他们的小孩儿开启了
十三岁生日之旅。
01:50
have taken采取 their kids孩子
on 13th birthday生日 trips旅行,
35
98617
2968
01:53
with everyone大家 finding发现 it transformative变革
for both the child儿童 and the parent.
36
101609
4997
无论是大人还是小孩
每个人都能看到它带来的改变,
02:00
I wasn't brought up saying grace恩典.
37
108932
1866
我家并没有饭前祷告的传统,
02:03
But for the last 20 years年份,
38
111709
1603
但在过去的20年里,
02:05
we've我们已经 been holding保持 hands
before every一切 meal膳食.
39
113917
2356
每次用餐前我们都会牵住彼此的手。
02:09
It's a beautiful美丽 bit of shared共享 silence安静
40
117200
2094
那是寂静又美好的时刻,
02:11
that brings带来 us all together一起 in the moment时刻.
41
119318
2291
我们在那时紧密相依,
02:14
Ashton阿什顿 tells告诉 everyone大家
to "pass通过 the squeeze,"
42
122290
2931
Ashton告诉大家,
要紧握彼此,
02:17
while she assures保证 them it's not religious宗教.
43
125245
2390
但她保证这并不带有宗教性质。
(笑声)
02:19
(Laughter笑声)
44
127659
1464
02:22
So recently最近, when my family家庭 asked me
45
130441
2181
最近,当我的家人问我,
02:24
if I could please do something
with the more than 250 boxes盒子 of stuff东东
46
132646
5474
我是否能用我一生收集的
250多箱东西做点什么时,
02:30
that I've collected over a lifetime一生,
47
138144
2033
02:32
my ritual-making礼仪制作 impulse冲动 kicked in.
48
140819
2400
“举行仪式”的冲动再次涌上心头。
02:36
I started开始 wondering想知道 if I could go further进一步
than simple简单 death死亡 cleaning清洁的.
49
144567
3584
我开始想,除去死亡清理,
我还能再做些什么?
02:40
"Death死亡 cleaning清洁的" is the Swedish瑞典 term术语
for clearing空地 our your closets壁橱,
50
148987
3687
“死亡清理”是瑞典的习俗,
在你去世前
你会清理你的壁橱、地下室和阁楼,
02:44
your basement地下室 and your attic阁楼
before you die,
51
152698
3596
这样你的孩子以后就不用做这些了。
02:48
so your kids孩子 don't have to do it later后来.
52
156318
2129
02:50
(Laughter笑声)
53
158471
1927
(笑声)
02:52
I pictured合照 my children孩子
opening开盘 up box after box
54
160422
3403
我开始想象我的孩子们
打开一个又一个箱子,
猜想我为什么要留着这些物什。
02:55
and wondering想知道 why I'd kept不停
any of that stuff东东.
55
163849
3470
(笑声)
02:59
(Laughter笑声)
56
167343
1205
我能想象到当他们看着
03:00
And then I imagined想象 them looking
at a specific具体 picture图片
57
168572
3408
我和一位妙龄女子的合影时,
03:04
of me with a beautiful美丽 young年轻 woman女人,
58
172004
2491
满腹疑惑
“和我爸爸在一起的究竟是谁”。
03:06
and asking, "Who on earth地球
is that with Dad?"
59
174519
3033
(笑声)
03:09
(Laughter笑声)
60
177576
1396
03:10
And that was the aha moment时刻.
61
178996
2028
这就是“顿悟时刻”,
03:13
It wasn't the things I'd saved保存
that were important重要;
62
181524
3075
并非是我留下的东西很重要,
它背后的故事才是意义所在。
03:16
it was the stories故事 that went with them
that gave them meaning含义.
63
184623
3550
03:21
Could using运用 the objects对象
to tell the stories故事
64
189554
2962
是否可以通过讲述它们的故事,
开启一项新仪式,
03:24
be the seed种子 of a new ritual仪式,
65
192540
1673
03:26
a rite仪式 of passage通道 --
not for a 13-year-old-岁,
66
194840
3453
不再是给13岁准备的成人礼,
而是为了更年长的人们。
03:30
but for someone有人 much further进一步
down the road?
67
198317
2339
03:34
So I started开始 experimenting试验.
68
202468
1530
我开始尝试,
03:36
I got a few少数 dozen things out of the boxes盒子,
69
204683
2636
我从箱子里挑选了几十样东西,
将它们摆放在一个房间内,
03:39
I put them about in a room房间,
70
207343
1621
03:41
and I invited邀请 people to come in
71
209694
1867
邀请人们前来,
03:44
and ask me about anything
that they found发现 interesting有趣.
72
212173
2819
并询问他们感兴趣的事物。
03:48
The results结果 were terrific了不起.
73
216497
1388
结果非常棒,
03:50
A good story故事 became成为 a launching发射 pad
for a much deeper更深 discussion讨论,
74
218328
5050
一段好的故事会激发出
更深入的讨论,
让我的访客建立起
03:55
in which哪一个 my visitors游客 made制作
meaningful富有意义的 connections连接
75
223402
2432
和他们自身息息相关的联系,
03:57
to their own拥有 lives生活.
76
225858
1224
04:00
DerriusDerrius [Quarles夸尔斯] asked me
about a Leonard伦纳德 Peltier珀尔帖 T-shirtT恤衫
77
228949
3394
Derrius曾问过我
关于Leonard Peltier T恤的故事,
我在80年代经常穿它,
04:04
that I'd worn磨损的 a lot in the '80s,
78
232367
2034
04:06
that, sadly可悲的是, is still relevant相应 today今天.
79
234425
2999
令人感伤的是,
它与现在仍紧密相连。
04:09
Our conversation会话 moved移动 quickly很快,
80
237924
1789
我们的对话进展很快,
04:12
from a large number of political政治
prisoners囚犯 in American美国 jails监狱,
81
240697
3783
从美国监狱中关押的大量政治犯,
到Derrius想要了解
04:16
to DerriusDerrius wondering想知道 about the legacy遗产
82
244504
2212
60年代黑人解放运动的遗留问题,
04:18
of the Black黑色 Liberation解放
Movement运动 of the '60s,
83
246740
2930
04:21
and how his life might威力 be different不同
if he'd他会 come of age年龄 then,
84
249694
3454
以及如果他在那时就已成年,
而不是30年后,
他的人生将是什么样子,
04:25
instead代替 of 30-odd-奇 years年份 later后来.
85
253172
1920
04:28
At the end结束 of our conversation会话,
86
256141
1609
在谈话的最后,
04:30
DerriusDerrius asked me
if he could have the T-shirtT恤衫.
87
258465
2314
Derrius问我能否把T恤给他,
04:33
And giving it to him felt
just about perfect完善.
88
261388
2898
我想这可能是最完美的做法。
04:37
As these conversations对话
established既定 common共同 ground地面,
89
265510
3333
当这些对话建立起共同点,
04:40
especially特别 across横过 generations,
90
268867
1900
特别是跨世纪的共同点,
04:43
I realized实现 I was opening开盘 a space空间
91
271648
2262
我意识到我开拓了一片新天地。
04:45
for people to talk about things
that really mattered要紧 to them.
92
273934
2988
人们可以谈论他们真正关心的事情,
04:50
And I started开始 seeing眼看 myself
with a renewed更新 sense of purpose目的 --
93
278269
3482
我的人生也有了全新的使命感。
04:54
not as the old guy on the way out,
94
282419
1893
我不再是将要离世的老人,
04:56
but as someone有人 with a role角色 to play
95
284936
1714
而是有角色要扮演的人,
04:58
going forward前锋.
96
286674
1150
在向前迈进,
05:01
When I was growing生长 up,
97
289770
1454
在我小时候,
05:03
life ended结束 for most people in their 70s.
98
291248
2532
大多数人会在70岁逝世,
05:07
People are living活的 far longer now,
99
295535
1824
但是人们的寿命在延长,
05:10
and for the first time in human人的 history历史,
100
298064
2147
人类史上第一次发现,
05:12
it's common共同 for four generations
to be living活的 side by side.
101
300235
3764
四世同堂是一件
很平常的事情,
05:17
I'm 71,
102
305071
1183
我已经71岁了,
05:18
and with a bit of luck运气,
103
306897
1317
如果幸运的话,
05:20
I've got 20 or 30 more years年份 ahead of me.
104
308238
2401
我还可以活20年或30年,
05:24
Giving给予 away my stuff东东 now
105
312761
1666
现在就拿出我的收藏,
05:27
and sharing分享 it with friends朋友, family家庭,
and I hope希望 strangers陌生人, too,
106
315031
4450
把它们的故事讲述给我的朋友、家人
我甚而希望是陌生人,
05:32
seems似乎 like the perfect完善 way
to enter输入 this next下一个 stage阶段 of my life.
107
320067
3442
似乎是进入人生
新阶段的最好方式,
05:36
Turns out to be just
what I was looking for:
108
324704
2085
这正是我所找寻的:
05:39
a ritual仪式 that's less about dying垂死
109
327424
2435
一个与死亡无关的仪式,
敞开大门,
05:41
and more about opening开盘 the door
110
329883
1943
迎接未来,
05:43
to whatever随你 comes next下一个.
111
331850
1403
05:46
Thank you.
112
334145
1150
谢谢你们。
05:47
(Applause掌声)
113
335319
1090
(掌声)
05:48
Onward!
114
336433
1174
继续前行!
05:49
(Applause掌声)
115
337631
2194
(掌声)
Translated by Danyang Luo
Reviewed by Echo Sun

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bob Stein - Publisher
Bob Stein has long been in the vanguard: immersed in radical politics as a young man, he grew into one of the founding fathers of new media. He’s wondering what sorts of new rituals and traditions might emerge as society expands to include increasing numbers of people in their eighties and nineties.

Why you should listen

Until his early 30's, Bob Stein was a full-time radical activist. In 1981, he spent a year researching and writing a paper for Encyclopedia Britannica -- "EB and the Intellectual Tools of the Future" -- and he has been involved in electronic publishing ever since. In 1984 he founded The Criterion Collection, a critically acclaimed series of definitive films, which included the first supplementary sections and director commentaries and introduced the letterbox format. He also founded The Voyager Company, which in 1989 published one of the first commercial CD-ROMs, "The CD Companion to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony." In 1992 Voyager published the first electronic books, including Douglas Adams's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. In 2004 The MacArthur Foundation provided a generous grant with which Stein founded the Institute for the Future of the Book, a small think and do tank aimed at exploring and influencing the evolution of new forms of intellectual expression. In 2005, the Institute published the first "networked books," which an important milestone in the shift to social reading and writing as discourse moves from pages to screens. After waiting 25 years, since he saw the first public demo of VR, Stein is currently working on a platform to present music and art performance in a shared social space.

More profile about the speaker
Bob Stein | Speaker | TED.com