ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Niels Diffrient - Designer
Design legend Niels Diffrient is the creator of the Freedom Chair, a radical rethink of the way we sit today. Throughout his career, he's been a pioneer of ergonomic design -- studying the human body (in all its shapes and sizes) and how to make it comfortable.

Why you should listen

Niels Diffrient is a pioneer of ergonomic design -- taking the radical approach of examining the human body as it interacts with furniture, and asking, Is there a better way to sit? His three-volume reference work, Humanscale, explores the relationship of spine to chair and other "human engineering" data necessary for highly specialized workplaces such as a cockpit or a truck cab, as well as aiding in the search for the perfectly comfortable place to sit down.

In the 1990s, Diffrient turned his attention to the office task chair. Working with the company Humanscale, he drew up the Freedom chair, a self-adjusting chair that mixed advanced materials (such as a gel seat pad) with good old-fashioned sketchbook design. The Freedom chair was part of a late-'90s revolution in design that turned expensive ergonomic office chairs into dot-com covetables. In 2004, Diffrient and Humanscale released the lighter and lower-priced Liberty task chair.

More profile about the speaker
Niels Diffrient | Speaker | TED.com
TED2002

Niels Diffrient: Rethinking the way we sit down

尼尔斯.迪夫里恩特 重新思考我们坐的方式

Filmed:
613,712 views

设计界的传奇人物尼尔斯.迪夫里恩特谈论他工业设计的一生(还有他成为一名设计师而不是一名喷气式飞机飞行员的原因)。他从一个基础的数据集:人体开始,详述了他重新思考办公椅的整个探索过程。
- Designer
Design legend Niels Diffrient is the creator of the Freedom Chair, a radical rethink of the way we sit today. Throughout his career, he's been a pioneer of ergonomic design -- studying the human body (in all its shapes and sizes) and how to make it comfortable. Full bio

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

00:12
When I was five years年份 old
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当我五岁的时候
00:16
I fell下跌 in love with airplanes飞机.
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我爱上了飞机
00:19
Now I'm talking about the '30s.
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现在我要谈谈三十年代。
00:22
In the '30s an airplane飞机 had two wings翅膀
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在三十年代,飞机有两个翅膀
00:26
and a round回合 motor发动机,
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和一个圆形发动机
00:29
and was always flown飞行
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并且总是由
00:31
by a guy who looked看着 like Cary卡里 Grant格兰特.
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一名酷似加里.格兰特的家伙驾驶着飞行。
00:35
He had high leather皮革 boots靴子,
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他穿着高筒的皮靴,
00:38
jodhpurs马裤, an old leather皮革 jacket夹克,
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马裤,一件旧皮衣,
00:41
a wonderful精彩 helmet头盔
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一个令人惊叹的头盔
00:44
and those marvelous奇妙 goggles风镜 --
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和一副非凡的护目镜--
00:46
and, inevitably必将, a white白色 scarf围巾,
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还有一条不可或缺的白围巾
00:50
to flow in the wind.
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飘荡在风中。
00:54
He'd他会 always walk步行 up to his airplane飞机
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他总是踱着悠闲的步子
00:57
in a kind of saunter溜达,
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走向他的飞机
01:00
devil-may-care谁在乎 saunter溜达,
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满不在乎的漫步着,
01:03
flick拂去 the cigarette香烟 away,
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把香烟弹向一边,
01:06
grab the girl女孩 waiting等候 here, give her a kiss.
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抓住等在那儿的女孩儿,给她深深的一吻。
01:09
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:10
And then mount安装 his airplane飞机,
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然后登上他的飞机,
01:12
maybe for the last time.
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也许是最后一次。
01:14
Of course课程 I always wondered想知道 what would happen发生
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当然,我总是好奇如果他先吻了飞机
01:16
if he'd他会 kissed the airplane飞机 first.
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会发生什么。
01:19
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
01:27
But this was real真实 romance浪漫 to me.
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但这对我来说非常浪漫。
01:30
Everything about flying飞行 in those years年份,
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在那些年里,关于飞行的一切,
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which哪一个 was -- you have to stop and think for a moment时刻 --
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--我不得不停下来,怀念一下那个时刻--
01:37
was probably大概 the most advanced高级
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也许是那时
01:40
technological技术性 thing going on at the time.
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最先进的技术。
01:43
So as a youngster青少年,
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所以作为一个年轻人
01:46
I tried试着 to get close to this
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我试图通过画飞机
01:48
by drawing画画 airplanes飞机,
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来接近它,
01:50
constantly经常 drawing画画 airplanes飞机.
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不断的画。
01:53
It's the way I got
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这就是我所得到的
01:55
a part部分 of this romance浪漫.
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浪漫的一部分。
01:57
And of course课程, in a way, when I say romance浪漫,
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当然在某种程度上,当我说浪漫的时候,
02:00
I mean in part部分
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我的意思是
02:02
the aesthetics美学 of that whole整个 situation情况.
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全局中的美学部分。
02:06
I think the word is the holistic整体 experience经验
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我认为这个词是
02:10
revolving旋转 around a product产品.
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围绕着一个产品的整体感受。
02:13
The product产品 was that airplane飞机.
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这个产品就是飞机。
02:16
But it built内置 a romance浪漫.
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但它本身就富含浪漫色彩。
02:19
Even the parts部分 of the airplane飞机
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甚至是飞机部件
02:22
had French法国 names.
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都有法语名。
02:24
Ze fuselage机身, ze empanageempanage, ze nessalnessal.
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机身,机尾,
02:29
You know, from a romance浪漫 language语言.
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你知道,这是一门浪漫的语言。
02:33
So that it was something that just got into your spirit精神.
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所以它就是恰恰能进入灵魂的事物。
02:36
It did mine.
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它进入了我的灵魂。
02:38
And I decided决定 I had to get closer接近 than
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接着,我决定我要比仅仅画想象中的飞机
02:40
just drawing画画 fantasy幻想 airplanes飞机.
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更进一步。
02:43
I wanted to build建立 airplanes飞机.
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我想制造飞机。
02:46
So I built内置 model模型 airplanes飞机.
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所以我开始做飞机模型。
02:49
And I found发现 that in doing the model模型 airplanes飞机
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然后我发现做飞机模型
02:55
the appearance出现 drawings图纸 were not enough足够.
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只画外观是不够的。
02:58
You couldn't不能 transfer转让 those
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无法把它们变成
03:00
to the model模型 itself本身.
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模型。
03:03
If you wanted it to fly
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如果想让它能够飞行
03:05
you had to learn学习 the discipline学科
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你必须学习飞行的
03:08
of flying飞行.
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准则。
03:10
You had to learn学习 about aeronautics航空学.
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你必须学习航空学。
03:12
You had to learn学习 what made制作 an airplane飞机
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你必须学习是什么使得飞机
03:15
stay in the air空气.
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能够在空中飞行。
03:17
And of course课程, as a model模型 in those years年份, you couldn't不能 control控制 it.
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当然,在那个年代,你无法去控制一个模型。
03:20
So it had to be self-righting自动复原,
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所以它必须能自我调整,
03:23
and stay up without crashing轰然.
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并且保持飞行不坠机。
03:28
So I had to give up
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因此,我不得不放弃
03:30
the approach途径 of drawing画画
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绘制
03:32
the fantasy幻想 shapes形状
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幻想中的形状
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and convert兑换 it to technical技术 drawings图纸 --
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转而绘制技术图纸。
03:38
the shape形状 of the wing翅膀, the shape形状 of the fuselage机身 and so on --
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机翅的形状,机身的形状,等等等等。
03:41
and build建立 an airplane飞机 over these drawings图纸
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并在这些
03:45
that I knew知道 followed其次 some of the principles原则
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遵循了一定飞行原则的图纸基础上
03:47
of flying飞行.
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制作一架飞机模型。
03:49
And in so doing, I could produce生产
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在做了这些之后,我就能够做出
03:52
a model模型 that would fly, stay in the air空气.
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一个能够在空中飞行的飞机模型。
03:55
And it had, once一旦 it was in the air空气,
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一旦它在空中飞行,它就拥有了
03:58
some of this romance浪漫 that I was in love with.
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部分我所钟爱的这种浪漫。
04:02
Well the act法案 of drawing画画 airplanes飞机
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嗯,绘制飞机的行为
04:05
led me to,
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引导着我
04:07
when I had the opportunity机会 to choose选择
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当我有机会在
04:09
a course课程 in school学校,
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学校选择一门课程时,
04:11
led me to sign标志 up for aeronautical航空 engineering工程.
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引导着我选择了航空工程。
04:15
And when I was sitting坐在 in classes --
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当我坐在课堂里时,
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in which哪一个 no one asked me to draw an airplane飞机 --
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让我惊讶的是,
04:22
to my surprise.
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没人叫我绘制一架飞机。
04:25
I had to learn学习 mathematics数学 and mechanics机械学
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我不得不学习数学和力学
04:27
and all this sort分类 of thing.
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还有所有这类的课程。
04:29
I'd wile诡计 away my time drawing画画 airplanes飞机
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我在课堂上画飞机
04:31
in the class.
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来消磨时间.
04:33
One day a young年轻 man looked看着 over my shoulder,
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一天,一名年轻人从我肩膀上看了看,
04:36
he said, "You draw very well.
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他说,“你画的真不错”。
04:38
You should be in the art艺术 department."
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“你应该去艺术系”。
04:41
And I said, "Why?"
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我说,“为什么?”
04:43
And he said, "Well for one thing, there are more girls女孩 there."
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他说道,“嗯,一个原因,那儿有更多的女孩儿”。
04:46
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:50
So my romance浪漫 was temporarily暂时 shifted.
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因此我的浪漫暂时转移了。
04:53
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:54
And I went into art艺术
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我进入了艺术系
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because they appreciated赞赏 drawing画画.
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因为他们欣赏绘画。
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Studied研究 painting绘画; didn't do very well at that.
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学习绘画。在那儿做的不是很好。
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Went through通过 design设计,
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学习了设计,
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some architecture建筑.
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一些建筑设计。
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Eventually终于 hired雇用 myself out as a designer设计师.
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终于,我成了一名设计师。
05:09
And for the following以下 25 years年份,
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而后的25年,
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living活的 in Italy意大利,
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我生活在意大利,
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living活的 in America美国,
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生活在美国,
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I doled施舍 out a piece of this romance浪漫
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我向任何愿意为之付钱的人
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to anybody任何人 who'd谁愿意 pay工资 for it --
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分发一份这种浪漫。
05:23
this sense, this aesthetic审美 feeling感觉,
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这种感觉,这种美学的感知,
05:27
for the experience经验 revolving旋转 around
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由一个良好设计的物体
05:30
a designed设计 object目的.
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而引发的体验。
05:33
And it exists存在.
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是存在的.
05:35
Any of you who rode骑着车 the automobiles汽车 --
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你们中的任何人在路上开着汽车
05:38
was it yesterday昨天? --
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也许就在昨天
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at the track跟踪, you know the romance浪漫
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你了解这种围绕着
05:43
revolving旋转 around those high performance性能 cars汽车.
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这些高性能的汽车的浪漫。
05:49
Well in 25 years年份
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嗯,在25年里
05:52
I was mostly大多 putting out
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我主要把这种浪漫
05:54
pieces of this romance浪漫
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分发出去
05:56
and not getting得到 a lot back in
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而没有从其中收获多少
05:58
because design设计 on call
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因为这种设计
06:00
doesn't always connect you with a circumstance环境
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并不总是能将你和某种环境联系起来,
06:04
in which哪一个 you can produce生产 things of this nature性质.
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并使得你能在其中生产出它本质的东西。
06:07
So after 25 years年份 I began开始 to feel
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因此,25年后我开始感觉到
06:09
as though虽然 I was running赛跑 dry.
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我的才思枯竭了。
06:12
And I quit放弃.
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然后我退出了。
06:14
And I started开始 up a very small operation手术 --
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接着,我开始了一项很小的行动--
06:17
went from 40 people
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从40人(的团队)
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to one,
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到我一个人
06:21
in an effort功夫 to rediscover重新发现 my innocence无辜.
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努力去重新发现我的纯真。
06:25
I wanted to get back
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我想回到
06:27
where the romance浪漫 was.
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浪漫存在的地方。
06:30
And I couldn't不能 choose选择 airplanes飞机
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我不能选择飞机
06:32
because they had gotten得到 sort分类 of unromantic平淡
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因为在这一点上,他们有某种
06:35
at that point,
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非浪漫的东西。
06:37
even though虽然 I'd doneDONE a lot of airplane飞机 work,
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即使我做了很多与
06:39
on the interiors内饰.
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飞机内饰相关的工作。
06:41
So I chose选择 furniture家具.
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所以我选择了家具。
06:44
And I chose选择 chairs椅子 specifically特别
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接着我又特意选择了椅子
06:47
because I knew知道 something about them.
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因为我对它们有些了解。
06:49
I'd designed设计 a lot of chairs椅子, over the years年份
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历年来,我设计了很多椅子
06:52
for tractors拖拉机 and trucks卡车
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为拖拉机和卡车
06:55
and submarines潜艇 --
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以及潜艇。
06:58
all kinds of things.
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设计了各种类型的椅子。
07:00
But not office办公室 chairs椅子.
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但不包括办公椅。
07:02
So I started开始 doing that.
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因此,我开始设计办公椅。
07:04
And I found发现 that there were ways方法
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我发现许多方法都能
07:07
to duplicate重复 the same相同 approach途径
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达到同样的目的,
07:10
that I used to use on the airplane飞机.
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正如我曾经用在飞机上的。
07:13
Only this time,
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只是这次
07:15
instead代替 of the product产品 being存在 shaped成形 by the wind,
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不是由风来决定产品的形状,
07:18
it was shaped成形 by the human人的 body身体.
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而是由人体来决定。
07:22
So the discipline学科 was --
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所以准则就是,
07:24
as in the airplane飞机 you learn学习 a lot about
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在飞机里学会了许多关于
07:26
how to deal合同 with the air空气,
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如何对付空气,
07:29
for a chair椅子
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为了一把椅子
07:31
you have to learn学习 a lot about how to deal合同
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你不得不学习如何
07:33
with the body身体,
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对待人体。
07:35
and what the body身体 needs需求, wants,
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人体需要什么,
07:37
indicates指示 it needs需求.
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欲望说明了它的需要。
07:40
And that's the way, ultimately最终
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这就是方法,
07:42
after some upsUPS and downs起伏,
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最终经过一些波折和起伏,
07:46
I ended结束 up designing设计 the chair椅子 I'm going to show显示 you.
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我完成了我将要呈现给你们的椅子的设计。
07:49
I should say one more thing. When I was doing those
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我还要再说一件事,当我做那些
07:53
model模型 airplanes飞机,
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飞机模型时,
07:55
I did everything.
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我做了一切。
07:57
I conceived设想 the kind of airplane飞机.
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我构思了飞机的类型。
08:00
I basically基本上 engineered工程 it.
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基本上是我设计了它。
08:03
I built内置 it.
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我制造了它。
08:05
And I flew it.
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然后我让它飞了起来。
08:07
And that's the way I work now.
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这就是我现在工作的方式。
08:14
When I started开始 this chair椅子
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当我开始做这把椅子时
08:16
it was not a preconceived先入为主 notion概念.
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没有一个先入为主的概念。
08:19
Design设计 nowadays如今, if you mean it,
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现在的设计,如果你认真的话,
08:22
you don't start开始 with styling造型 sketches素描.
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你不会从造型草图开始.
08:26
I started开始 with a lot of loose疏松 ideas思路,
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我是从许多松散的想法开始。
08:29
roughly大致 eight or nine years年份 ago.
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大致八年或九年之前。
08:32
And the loose疏松 ideas思路 had something
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这些松散的想法开始成型,
08:35
to do with what I knew知道 happened发生 with
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我知道在办公室里的人身上
08:37
people in the office办公室,
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都会发生什么事。
08:39
at the work place地点 -- people who worked工作,
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在办公场所, 在那儿工作的人们
08:41
and used task任务 seating休息,
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使用电脑椅,
08:44
a great many许多 of them sitting坐在 in front面前 of a computer电脑
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很多人整天都
08:47
all day long.
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坐在电脑前面。
08:49
And I felt,
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我觉得,
08:51
the one thing they don't need,
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他们不需要的东西,
08:53
is a chair椅子 that interferes干涉
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就是一把干扰他们工作
08:55
with their main主要 reason原因 for sitting坐在 there.
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的椅子。
08:58
So I took the approach途径
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因此,我要做一把这样的椅子:
09:01
that the chair椅子 should do as much for them
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这把椅子应该尽可能的
09:04
as humanly从人的角度 possible可能
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人性化
09:06
or as mechanistically机械地 possible可能
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或者尽可能的机械化
09:10
so that they didn't have to fuss小题大作 with it.
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以使得他们不会为它所困扰。
09:12
So my idea理念 was that,
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这样,我的想法就是:
09:14
instead代替 of sitting坐在 down and reaching到达
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不是让人坐下然后能够着
09:16
for a lot of controls控制,
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许多控制机关,
09:18
that you would sit on the chair椅子,
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而是让人能做在椅子中时,
09:20
and it would automatically自动 balance平衡 your weight重量
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它能够自动的平衡你的体重,
09:23
against反对 the force required需要
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对抗使人倾斜
09:26
to recline横卧.
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的力。
09:28
Now that may可能 not mean a lot to some of you.
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现在这也许你们中有些些人并不理解。
09:31
But you know most good chairs椅子 do recline横卧
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但是你知道许多好的椅子会倾斜
09:34
because it's beneficial有利 to open打开 up this joint联合
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因为这有助于伸展你的
09:37
between之间 your legs and your upper body身体
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腿和上身之间的关节,
09:39
for better breathing呼吸
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以便能更好的呼吸
09:41
and better flow.
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和更好的血液循环。
09:43
So that if you sit down
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如果你坐在
09:46
on my chair椅子,
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我的椅子上,
09:48
whether是否 you're five feet tall
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不管你是五英尺
09:50
or six foot脚丫子 six,
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还是六英尺高,
09:52
it always deals交易 with your weight重量
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它会根据你的体重
09:56
and transfers转让 the amount of force required需要
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得出倾斜需要的力
10:00
to recline横卧
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的大小
10:02
in a way that you don't have to look
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这样你就不需要去
10:05
for something to adjust调整.
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找些东西来进行调节了。
10:07
I'll tell you right up front面前,
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我先告诉你们,
10:09
this is a trade贸易 off.
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这是种妥协。
10:11
There are drawbacks缺点 to this.
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这种方式有些缺点。
10:14
One is: you can't
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一是,你不能
10:16
accommodate容纳 everybody每个人.
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适应每一个人。
10:18
There are some very light people,
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有些体重很轻的人.
10:21
some extremely非常 heavy people,
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也有些极重的人.
10:23
maybe people with a lot of bulk up top最佳.
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也许有些人上半身庞大。
10:26
They begin开始 to fall秋季 off the end结束 of your chart图表.
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他们坐着会向下滑落。
10:29
But the compromise妥协, I felt,
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但是这种妥协,我感觉,
10:31
was in my favor偏爱
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是有益的,
10:33
because most people don't adjust调整 their chairs椅子.
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因为多数人并不去调节他们的椅子。
10:36
They will sit in them forever永远.
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他们就一直那么坐着。
10:38
I had somebody on the bus总线 out to the racetrack跑马场
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我在去赛车场的公交车上碰到过一个人,
10:41
tell me about his sister妹妹 calling调用 him.
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他告诉我他的姐姐告诉过他。
10:43
He said she had one of the new, better chairs椅子.
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他说,她有了一个新的更好的椅子。
10:46
She said, "Oh I love it."
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她说,“哦,我喜欢这把椅子。”
10:48
She said, "But it's too high."
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她说,“但是它太高了。”
10:50
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
10:53
So he said, "Well I'll come over and look at it."
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所以,他说道,“嗯,我去你那儿看看你的那把椅子。”
10:56
He came来了 over and looked看着 at it.
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他来了,看了那把椅子。
10:58
He reached到达 down. He pulled a lever杠杆. And the chair椅子 sank沉没 down.
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他俯下身。拉了拉操作杆。然后这把椅子就降下去了。
11:02
She said, "Oh it's wonderful精彩. How did you do that?"
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她说道,“哦,这太好了。你是怎么做的?”
11:04
And he showed显示 her the lever杠杆.
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他把操作杆指给她看。
11:06
Well, that's typical典型
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是的,这是典型的
11:08
of a lot of us working加工 in chairs椅子.
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我们工作中用的椅子。
11:10
And why should you
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然而为什么你要通过
11:12
get a 20-page-页 manual手册
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看一本20页的手册来
11:14
about how to run a chair椅子?
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学习如何使用一把椅子。
11:16
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
11:18
I had one for a wristwatch手表 once一旦. 20 pages网页.
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我曾有块手表。20页的手册。
11:22
Anyway无论如何, I felt that it was important重要
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不管怎么说,我觉得这很重要
11:24
that you didn't have to make an adjustment调整
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当你想要进行这类活动时,不需要去
11:27
in order订购 to get this kind of action行动.
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调节就能做到。
11:30
The other thing I felt was that armrests扶手
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另一件事,我觉得扶手
11:32
had never really been properly正确 approached接近
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从来都没被适当的使用过。
11:37
from the standpoint立场 of how much
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从扶手能给在你的工作生活
11:40
of an aid援助 they could be
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中给予你多少帮助的
11:42
to your work life.
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角度来说。
11:44
But I felt it was too much to ask
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但我觉得让人把
11:47
to have to adjust调整 each individual个人 armrest扶手
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每个独立的扶手调节至
11:49
in order订购 to get it where you wanted.
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想要的位置有点要求过多了。
11:52
So I spent花费 a long time.
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因此我花了很长时间。
11:54
I said I worked工作 eight or nine years年份 on it.
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我是说,我在这上工作了八九年。
11:57
And each of these things went along沿
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这些事情都在
11:59
sort分类 of in parallel平行
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并行的进行着。
12:01
but incrementally增量 were a problem问题 of their own拥有.
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但同时也增加了一些问题。
12:04
I worked工作 a long time on figuring盘算 out
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我工作了很长时间才明白
12:06
how to move移动 the arms武器 over a much greater更大 arc --
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如何把扶手椅移动成一个很大的角度,
12:11
that is up and down --
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这样上下移动,
12:13
and make them a lot easier更轻松,
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让它们更容易移动
12:16
so that you didn't have to use a button按键.
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所以不需要去按一个按钮。
12:19
And so after many许多 trials试验, many许多 failures故障,
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经过了许多实验和失败,
12:21
we came来了 up with a very simple简单 arrangement安排
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我们提出了一个非常简单的改装,
12:24
in which哪一个 we could just move移动
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我们仅仅是移动了
12:26
one arm or the other.
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一条胳膊。
12:28
And they go up easily容易.
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它们就很容易的升起来了。
12:30
And stop where you want.
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然后把它们停在你想要的位置。
12:33
You can put them down, essentially实质上 out of the way.
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你能把它们放下来,实际上。
12:36
No arms武器 at all.
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根本不需要动手。
12:38
Or you can pull them up where you want them.
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或者你能在需要的时候把它们升起来。
12:41
And this was another另一个 thing that I felt,
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这是我所感觉到的另一件事。
12:43
while not nearly几乎 as romantic浪漫
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虽然不像
12:46
as Cary卡里 Grant格兰特,
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加里·格兰特那样浪漫,
12:48
nevertheless虽然 begins开始 to
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然而已经开始
12:51
grab a little bit of aesthetic审美
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抓住点儿美感了,
12:54
operation手术, aesthetic审美 performance性能
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操作的美感上的表现,
12:57
into a product产品.
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在这个产品里。
12:59
The next下一个 area that was of interest利益 to me
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另一个我感兴趣的领域,
13:02
was the fact事实 that reclining斜倚
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是这样一个事实,
13:05
was a very important重要 factor因子.
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倾斜是个非常重要的因素。
13:07
And the more you can recline横卧,
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并且,你能够倾斜的越多,
13:09
in a way, the better it is.
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在某种程度上,就越舒服。
13:12
The more the angle角度 between之间 here and here opens打开 up --
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这儿跟这儿之间的角度变得越大,
13:15
and nowadays如今, with a screen屏幕 in front面前 of you,
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在你面前成为一个平面,
13:18
you don't want to have your eye drop下降 too far in the recline横卧,
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你不会想在倾斜时让你的眼睛降得太厉害了。
13:21
so we keep it at more or less the same相同 level水平 --
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所以我们让它或多或少的保持同一水平。
13:25
but you transfer转让 weight重量
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但这样你就可以把体重从
13:28
off your tailbonestailbones.
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尾椎骨转移走了。
13:30
Would everybody每个人 put their hand under their bottom底部
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每个人都能伸手从后面
13:33
and feel their tailbone尾骨?
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够着自己的尾椎骨么?
13:35
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
13:37
You feel that bone under there?
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你感觉到那块骨头在那下面?
13:39
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
13:40
Just your own拥有.
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只有你自己。
13:42
(Laughter笑声)
300
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(笑声)
13:48
There's two of them, one on either side.
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一共有两块,一边一块。
13:53
All the weight重量 of your upper torso躯干 --
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当你坐下的时候,你上半身的所有重量,
13:55
your arms武器, your head --
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手臂,头部,
13:57
goes right down through通过 your back,
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通过的你后背,
14:00
your spine脊柱, into those bones骨头 when you sit.
305
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脊柱,直到那些骨头。
14:04
And that's a lot of load加载.
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这是一个很大的负荷。
14:06
Just relieving缓解 your arms武器 with armrests扶手
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仅仅是用扶手来舒缓你的手臂,
14:08
takes 20 percent百分 of that load加载 off.
308
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就能减少百分之二十的负荷。
14:11
Now that, if your spine脊柱 is not held保持 in a good position位置,
309
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而且,如果你的不在脊椎合适的位置上,
14:16
will help bend弯曲 your spine脊柱 the wrong错误 way, and so on.
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这将会使你的脊椎以错误的方式弯曲,等等。
14:21
So to unload卸下
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所以为了卸下
14:23
that great weight重量 --
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这巨大的重量,
14:27
if that indeed确实 exists存在 --
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如果真的存在的话,
14:29
you can recline横卧.
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你可以斜倚着。
14:32
When you recline横卧 you take away a lot of that load加载
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当你斜靠着的时候,你能从底部释放掉许多负荷,
14:35
off your bottom底部 end结束, and transfer转让 it to your back.
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并把它们转移到你的背上。
14:38
At the same相同 time, as I say, you open打开 up this joint联合.
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与此同时,正如我所说,你舒展了这个关节。
14:41
And breathability透气 is good.
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并且透气性很好。
14:44
But to do that, if you have any
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但是为了做到这一点,需要
14:48
amount of recline横卧,
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一定的倾斜,
14:52
it gets得到 to the point where you need a headrest头靠
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这使得在某一点需要一个靠头之物
14:55
because nearly几乎 always,
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因为
14:59
automatically自动 hold保持 your head
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在一个垂直的位置自动地
15:01
in a vertical垂直 position位置, see?
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支撑你的头部,明白么?
15:03
As I recline横卧, my head says more or less vertical垂直.
325
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当我倾斜的时候,我的头部能表示出垂直度的多少。
15:08
Well if you're reclined a great deal合同,
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并且,如果你倾斜的比较厉害,
15:10
you have to use muscle肌肉 force
327
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就需要用肌肉的力量
15:12
to hold保持 your head there.
328
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来支撑头部
15:14
So that's where a headrest头靠 comes in.
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这就是为什么在这儿需要个靠头之物了。
15:16
Now headrest头靠 is a challenge挑战
330
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现在,这个靠头之物是个挑战
15:18
because you want it to adjust调整
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因为你想能对它进行
15:21
enough足够 so that it'll它会 fit适合,
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充分的调整,以适应
15:25
you know, a tall guy and a short girl女孩.
333
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一个高个的家伙或是一位小巧的女孩。
15:28
So here we are.
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那么,让我们来看看。
15:30
I've got five inches英寸 of adjustment调整 here
335
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4000
我在这儿留了五英寸的调节空间,
15:34
in order订购 to get the headrest头靠 in the right place地点.
336
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3000
以便于能为头靠找个合适的位置。
15:37
But then I knew知道 from experience经验
337
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但是当我从经验中得知,
15:39
and looking around in offices办事处
338
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并对办公室中
15:42
where there were chairs椅子 with headrests头枕
339
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有头靠的办公椅进行了调查后发现
15:45
that nobody没有人 would ever bother
340
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2000
没人愿意把手
15:47
to reach达到 back and turn a knob把手
341
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伸到背后去拧一个把手
15:50
and adjust调整 the headrest头靠 to put it in position位置.
342
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2000
来调节头靠的位置。
15:52
And you need it in a different不同 position位置
343
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2000
而且当你从坐直变为倾斜时,
15:54
when you're upright直立, then when you're reclined.
344
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需要把它换个位置。
15:56
So I knew知道 that had to be solved解决了, and had to be automatic自动.
345
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4000
所以我意识到这个问题必须解决,而且必须是自动化的。
16:00
So if you watch this chair椅子
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如果你看看这把椅子,
16:02
as I recline横卧, the headrest头靠 comes up
347
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3000
当我倾斜时,头靠会升起来
16:05
to meet遇到 my neck颈部.
348
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2000
迎合我的脖子。
16:07
Ideally理想的情况下 you want to put the head support支持
349
955000
4000
理想情况下,你希望头靠在
16:11
in the cranial area, right there.
350
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颅骨的区域,就在这儿。
16:15
So that part部分 of it took a long time
351
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为解决这个问题
16:20
to work out.
352
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花了不少时间。
16:22
And there is a variety品种 of other things: the shape形状 of the cushions靠垫,
353
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3000
还有许多其他的部分,椅垫的形状。
16:25
the gel凝胶 we put.
354
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3000
我们放入了凝胶,
16:28
We stole偷了 the idea理念 from bicycle自行车 seats,
355
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3000
这是我们从自行车座学来的一个主意,
16:31
and put gel凝胶 in the cushions靠垫
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把凝胶放入椅垫和
16:33
and in the armrests扶手
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扶手中
16:35
to absorb吸收 point load加载 --
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来吸收点负荷--
16:39
distributes分配 the loading装载 so you don't get hard spots斑点.
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这分散了负荷,所以你不会感觉到硬点。
16:42
You cant斜面 hit击中 your elbow弯头
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你能用肘来
16:44
on bottom底部.
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按按钮。
16:46
And I did want to demonstrate演示
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我想为你们演示一下
16:49
the fact事实 that the chair椅子 can accommodate容纳 people.
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这把椅子能因人而调节。
16:54
While you're sitting坐在 in it you can adjust调整 it
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当坐在它上面时,你能向下
16:56
down for the five-footer五尾,
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调整五英尺,
16:59
or you can adjust调整 it
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或者它能调整以适应
17:02
for the six-foot-six六英尺六 guy --
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6英尺6英寸高家伙。
17:07
all within the scope范围 of a few少数 simple简单 adjustments调整.
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所有这些调整只需要在很小的范围内进行。
17:13
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Felix Chen
Reviewed by Amy Zerotus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Niels Diffrient - Designer
Design legend Niels Diffrient is the creator of the Freedom Chair, a radical rethink of the way we sit today. Throughout his career, he's been a pioneer of ergonomic design -- studying the human body (in all its shapes and sizes) and how to make it comfortable.

Why you should listen

Niels Diffrient is a pioneer of ergonomic design -- taking the radical approach of examining the human body as it interacts with furniture, and asking, Is there a better way to sit? His three-volume reference work, Humanscale, explores the relationship of spine to chair and other "human engineering" data necessary for highly specialized workplaces such as a cockpit or a truck cab, as well as aiding in the search for the perfectly comfortable place to sit down.

In the 1990s, Diffrient turned his attention to the office task chair. Working with the company Humanscale, he drew up the Freedom chair, a self-adjusting chair that mixed advanced materials (such as a gel seat pad) with good old-fashioned sketchbook design. The Freedom chair was part of a late-'90s revolution in design that turned expensive ergonomic office chairs into dot-com covetables. In 2004, Diffrient and Humanscale released the lighter and lower-priced Liberty task chair.

More profile about the speaker
Niels Diffrient | Speaker | TED.com