ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bina Venkataraman - Writer, futurist
Bina Venkataraman is an MIT professor and author of the forthcoming book "The Optimist's Telescope."

Why you should listen

For more than six years, Bina Venkataraman has been traveling around the world studying how people and communities think about the future. Her curiosity as a former journalist, and her firsthand experience in the Obama White House, led her to question whether the shortsightedness rampant in today's societies is inevitable -- or actually "a choice we're making."

During the Obama years, Venkataraman built partnerships among communities, companies and government to prepare for coming pandemics, wildfires and rising seas. In 2014, she launched the White House Climate Data Initiative to bring actionable climate science to people making decisions around the globe. Previously, she was a science journalist for the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Now, she teaches students at MIT to use scientific knowledge in service of society.

As Venkataraman writes: "For as long as I can remember, I have suspected that the future of humanity depended on the future of the planet. I have since found this to be the most compelling story of our time. As I imagine what lies in our shared future, from gene-editing to the climate crisis, I see both dangers and extraordinary potential."

Venkataraman wrote her first book, The Optimist's Telescope (to be published by Riverhead on August 27, 2019), to help people today better shape their own future and that of coming generations.

More profile about the speaker
Bina Venkataraman | Speaker | TED.com
TED2019

Bina Venkataraman: The power to think ahead in a reckless age

比娜·文卡塔拉曼: 在魯莽的年代裡高瞻遠矚

Filmed:
2,001,754 views

在這個具有前瞻性的演講裡,作者比娜·文卡塔拉曼(Bina Venkataraman) 回答了我們時代的一個關鍵問題:我們如何確保我們的未來並為子孫後代做好準備? 她揭示了在想像我們的生活、工作和社區的未來時,我們犯下的錯誤;揭示了我們如何能夠重新獲得我們天生的遠見。 顯現出來的是一個令人驚訝的希望的案例,以及引導我們成為我們所渴望成為的「好的祖先」的道路。
- Writer, futurist
Bina Venkataraman is an MIT professor and author of the forthcoming book "The Optimist's Telescope." Full bio

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

00:13
So in the winter冬季 of 2012,
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2012 年冬天,
00:15
I went to visit訪問 my grandmother's祖母 house
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我去拜訪祖母
00:17
in South India印度,
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在印度南部的房子,
00:19
a place地點, by the way,
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順便說一下,那個地方
00:20
where the mosquitos蚊子 have a special特別 taste味道
for the blood血液 of the American-born美國出生.
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蚊子對美國出生的人
有著特別的胃口。
00:24
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:25
No joke玩笑.
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不是開玩笑的。
00:27
When I was there,
I got an unexpected意外 gift禮品.
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我在那裡時,收到一份意外的禮物。
00:31
It was this antique古董 instrument儀器
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是這個古董樂器,
00:34
made製作 more than a century世紀 ago,
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一個世紀前製造的,
00:36
hand-carved手工雕刻 from a rare罕見 wood,
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以罕見的木材手工刻製而成,
00:38
inlaid鑲嵌 with pearls珍珠
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鑲嵌滿了珍珠
00:40
and with dozens許多 of metal金屬 strings字符串.
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和數十根金屬弦。
00:43
It's a family家庭 heirloom傳家寶,
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這是個傳家寶,
00:46
a link鏈接 between之間 my past過去,
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一個連繫我的過去
00:48
the country國家 where my parents父母 were born天生,
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──我父母出生的國家──
00:50
and the future未來,
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和未來
00:52
the unknown未知 places地方 I'll take it.
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──我將帶它到達的未知地。
00:55
I didn't actually其實 realize實現 it
at the time I got it,
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我剛得到它時並沒有意識到這一點,
00:58
but it would later後來 become成為
a powerful強大 metaphor隱喻 for my work.
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但後來它成為了
我工作的有力隱喻。
01:02
We all know the saying,
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我們都知道這句話,
01:04
"There's no time like the present當下."
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「現在就是最好的時機」。
01:08
But nowadays如今, it can feel
like there's no time but the present當下.
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但現今,感覺除了現在,
就沒有其他時間。
01:13
What's immediate即時 and ephemeral短暫的
seems似乎 to dominate支配 our lives生活,
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立即和短暫似乎主宰了我們的生活、
01:17
our economy經濟 and our politics政治.
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經濟和政治。
01:21
It's so easy簡單 to get caught抓住 up
in the number of steps腳步 we took today今天
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很容易就不知不覺被今天走了幾步,
01:26
or the latest最新 tweet鳴叫
from a high-profile高調 figure數字.
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或是某高調人物的最新推特文吸引。
01:30
It's easy簡單 for businesses企業 to get caught抓住 up
in making製造 immediate即時 profits利潤
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企業很容易太過追求直接利潤,
01:35
and neglect忽略 what's good
for future未來 invention發明.
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而忽視了對未來好的投資。
01:40
And it's far too easy簡單
for governments政府 to stand by
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正當漁業和農地在耗竭,
01:44
while fisheries漁業 and farmland農田 are depleted耗盡
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政府也非常容易就袖手旁觀,
01:47
instead代替 of conserved保守
to feed飼料 future未來 generations.
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而非為養育未來一代而做保育。
01:52
I have a feeling感覺 that, at this rate,
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我有種感覺,以目前的速率,
01:54
it's going to be hard for our generation
to be remembered記得 as good ancestors祖先.
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我們這一代將很難
被後人銘記為好的祖先。
02:00
If you think about it,
our species種類 evolved進化 to think ahead,
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試想我們這個物種,
進化到了可以提前計劃、
02:04
to chart圖表 the stars明星,
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可以畫星圖、
02:07
dream夢想 of the afterlife來世,
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可以想像來世,
02:09
sow母豬 seeds種子 for later後來 harvest收成.
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可以為未來的收成而播種。
02:12
Some scientists科學家們 call this superpower超級大國
that we have "mental心理 time travel旅行,"
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有些科學家稱此超能力為
「思想的時間旅行」,
02:17
and it's responsible主管 for pretty漂亮 much
everything we call human人的 civilization文明,
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它幾乎負責了我們所謂的人類文明,
02:21
from farming農業 to the Magna麥格納 Carta憲章
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從農業耕作到大憲章,
02:24
to the internet互聯網 --
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到網路,
02:26
all first conjured喚出 in the minds頭腦 of humans人類.
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所有都是在人的思想中起源的。
02:30
But let's get real真實:
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但是,讓我們實際一點:
02:31
if we look around us today今天,
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如果今天環顧四周,
02:34
we don't exactly究竟 seem似乎 to be
using運用 this superpower超級大國 quite相當 enough足夠,
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我們似乎還未能
充分地運用這個超能力。
02:40
and that begs乞求 the question: Why not?
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這讓人不禁要問:為什麼沒有呢?
02:44
What's wrong錯誤 is how our communities社區,
businesses企業 and institutions機構 are designed設計.
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問題在於我們的社群、
企業和機構的設計。
02:49
They're designed設計 in a way
that's impairing損害 our foresight先見之明.
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它們被設計出來的方式
損害了我們的前瞻。
02:54
I want to talk to you
about the three key mistakes錯誤
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我想和你們討論
我們所犯的三個關鍵錯誤。
02:57
that I think we're making製造.
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02:59
The first mistake錯誤 is what we measure測量.
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第一個錯誤是我們所評量的事情。
03:03
When we look at the quarterly季刊
profits利潤 of a company公司
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我們看一間公司的季度盈利報告
03:06
or its near-term短期 stock股票 price價錢,
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或是短期股票價格,
03:09
that's often經常 not a great measure測量
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這個通常並不是評量一家公司
03:11
of whether是否 that company公司
is going to grow增長 its market市場 share分享
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其市場佔有率會否增長
03:14
or be inventive發明的 in the long run.
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或長期創造力的好標準。
03:16
When we glue ourselves我們自己 to the test測試 scores分數
that kids孩子 bring帶來 back from school學校,
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當我們糾結於孩子的校內成績,
03:21
that's not necessarily一定
what's great for those kids'孩子們 learning學習
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但成績卻並不一定有益於孩子的學習
03:24
and curiosity好奇心 in the long run.
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及好奇心的長遠發展。
03:27
We're not measuring測量
what really matters事項 in the future未來.
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我們沒有評量對未來真正重要的事。
03:31
The second第二 mistake錯誤 we're making製造
that impairs也妨礙 our foresight先見之明
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損害我們前瞻的第二個錯誤
03:34
is what we reward獎勵.
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是我們所給予的獎勵。
03:37
When we celebrate慶祝 a political政治 leader領導
or a business商業 leader領導
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當我們因某位政治或企業領袖
03:40
for the disaster災害 she just cleaned清洗 up
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為災難善後,
03:44
or the announcement公告 she just made製作,
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或所發布的公告而慶祝時,
03:46
we're not motivating激勵 that leader領導
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我們並沒有在激勵這位領袖
03:48
to invest投資 in preventing防止
those disasters災害 in the first place地點,
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去投資於預防災難的發生,
03:52
or to put down payments支付 on the future未來
by protecting保護 communities社區 from floods洪水
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或為了未來而投入經費,
透過保護社區免受水災之患、
03:56
or fighting戰鬥 inequality不等式
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對抗不平等,
03:58
or investing投資 in research研究 and education教育.
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或是投資研究和教育等方式實現。
04:02
The third第三 mistake錯誤
that impairs也妨礙 our foresight先見之明
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第三個損害我們前瞻的錯誤,
04:06
is what we fail失敗 to imagine想像.
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是我們無法想像。
04:10
Now, when we do think about the future未來,
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現在,當我們想到未來時,
04:12
we tend趨向 to focus焦點
on predicting預測 exactly究竟 what's next下一個,
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我們傾向要準確預測接下來會怎樣,
04:15
whether是否 we're using運用 horoscopes八字
or algorithms算法 to do that.
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不論是用星象還是演算法來預測。
04:19
But we spend a lot less time imagining想像
all the possibilities可能性 the future未來 holds持有.
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但我們花太少時間
想像未來所有的可能性。
04:26
When the Ebola埃博拉病毒 outbreak暴發
emerged出現 in 2014 in West西 Africa非洲,
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當伊波拉病毒在 2014 年
開始在西非爆發時,
04:31
public上市 health健康 officials官員 around the world世界
had early warning警告 signs跡象
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全世界的公共衛生官方
都有收到早期的警示訊息,
04:34
and predictive預測 tools工具
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也有預測工具
04:37
that showed顯示 how
that outbreak暴發 might威力 spread傳播,
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能顯示疾病的爆發會如何擴散,
04:40
but they failed失敗 to fathom捉摸 that it would,
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但他們卻沒理解到疾病確實會爆發。
04:44
and they failed失敗 to act法案
in time to intervene干預,
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而且他們未能即時應對,
04:46
and the epidemic疫情 grew成長
to kill more than 11,000 people.
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讓疫情擴大到超過一萬一千人喪生。
04:50
When people with lots of resources資源
and good forecasts預測
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當擁有很多資源和準確預報的人
04:53
don't prepare準備 for deadly致命 hurricanes颶風,
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不為致命的颶風做好準備,
04:56
they're often經常 failing失敗 to imagine想像
how dangerous危險 they can be.
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他們也往往未能想像到
颶風會多麼危險。
05:03
Now, none沒有 of these mistakes錯誤
that I've described描述,
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我所說的錯誤,雖然聽起來很慘,
05:05
as dismal慘淡 as they might威力 sound聲音,
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但沒有一個,
05:07
are inevitable必然.
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是不可避免的。
05:09
In fact事實, they're all avoidable避免.
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事實上,這些都可以避免。
05:13
What we need to make
better decisions決定 about the future未來
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要為未來做出更好決定,
05:15
are tools工具 that can aid援助 our foresight先見之明,
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我們需要的是
能幫助我們前瞻的工具,
05:17
tools工具 that can help us think ahead.
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這些工具可以幫助我們提前準備。
05:20
Think of these as something
like the telescopes望遠鏡
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把它們想像成類似望遠鏡的東西,
05:22
that ship captains船長 of yore昔時 used
when they scanned掃描 the horizon地平線.
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昔日船長用來掃視地平線的望遠鏡。
05:26
Only instead代替 of for looking
across橫過 distance距離 and the ocean海洋,
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只是它們不是用來看距離和海洋,
05:31
these tools工具 are for looking
across橫過 time to the future未來.
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而是用來看穿時間看到未來。
05:35
I want to share分享 with you a
few少數 of the tools工具
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我想和你分享幾個
05:38
that I've found發現 in my research研究
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在我研究裡面找到的工具,
05:40
that I think can help us with foresight先見之明.
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這些工具可以幫助我們高瞻遠矚。
05:43
The first tool工具 I want to share分享 with you
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第一個要分享給你們的工具
05:45
I think of as making製造
the long game遊戲 pay工資 now.
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是讓長期抗戰有立即的回報。
05:49
This is Wes韋斯 Jackson傑克遜, a farmer農民
I spent花費 some time with in Kansas堪薩斯.
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這是韋斯·傑克遜,
我在堪薩斯認識的農夫。
05:53
And Jackson傑克遜 knows知道
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傑克遜知道,
05:54
that the way that most crops作物
are grown長大的 around the world世界 today今天
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如今全世界大部分的農作物
05:58
is stripping剝離 the earth地球
of the fertile topsoil表土
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都在剝削餵養未來世代所需的
06:01
we need to feed飼料 future未來 generations.
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肥沃表層土壤。
06:04
He got together一起
with a group of scientists科學家們,
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他集結了一群科學家,
06:06
and they bred孕育 perennial多年生 grain糧食 crops作物
which哪一個 have deep roots
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他們培育了有深根的多年生穀物,
06:11
that anchor the fertile topsoil表土 of a farm農場,
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它們會穩固農場的肥沃表層土讓,
06:13
preventing防止 erosion侵蝕
and protecting保護 future未來 harvests收成.
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防止侵蝕並保護未來的收成。
06:17
But they also knew知道
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但他們也知道,
06:18
that in order訂購 to get farmers農民
to grow增長 these crops作物 in the short run,
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為了要讓其他農夫
在短期內種植這些穀物,
06:22
they needed需要 to boost促進
the annual全年 yields產量 of the crops作物
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他們需要提升穀物的年產量,
06:25
and find companies公司 willing願意
to make cereal穀類 and beer啤酒 using運用 the grains穀物
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和找到願意用這些穀物
做麥片和啤酒的公司,
06:30
so that farmers農民 could reap收割 profits利潤 today今天
by doing what's good for tomorrow明天.
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因此農夫可以藉由做對明天好的事,
並在今天就可以獲利。
06:35
And this is a tried-and-true嘗試和真正的 strategy戰略.
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這是一個驗證過的策略。
06:37
In fact事實, it was used
by George喬治 Washington華盛頓 Carver卡弗
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事實上,喬治·華盛頓·卡佛
06:40
in the South of the United聯合的 States狀態
after the Civil國內 War戰爭
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在 20 世紀初期
內戰後的美國南部使用過這策略。
06:43
in the early 20th century世紀.
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06:45
A lot of people have probably大概 heard聽說
of Carver's卡弗的 300 uses使用 for the peanut花生,
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很多人可能聽說過卡佛的
花生的三百種用途,
06:50
the products製品 and recipes食譜
that he came來了 up with
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花生製品及他想出來的食譜
06:53
that made製作 the peanut花生 so popular流行.
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使得花生如此的盛行。
06:56
But not everyone大家 knows知道
why Carver卡弗 did that.
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但並非人人都知道
卡佛這樣做的原因。
06:59
He was trying to help
poor較差的 Alabama阿拉巴馬 sharecroppers佃農
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他試著幫助貧窮的阿拉巴馬州佃農,
07:02
whose誰的 cotton yields產量 were declining下降,
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因為他們的棉花產量下降,
07:05
and he knew知道 that planting種植
peanuts花生 in their fields領域
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而他知道,在田裡種植花生
07:07
would replenish補充 those soils土壤
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會讓土壤再次變得肥沃,
07:09
so that their cotton yields產量
would be better a few少數 years年份 later後來.
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這樣佃農的棉花產量
會在幾年後變好。
07:12
But he also knew知道 it needed需要
to be lucrative有利可圖 for them in the short run.
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但他也知道,
佃農需要在短期內有利潤。
07:16
Alright好的, so let's talk
about another另一個 tool工具 for foresight先見之明.
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好吧,讓我們來談談
高瞻遠矚的另一個工具。
07:19
This one I like to think of
as keeping保持 the memory記憶 of the past過去 alive
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我喜歡把這個當作
對過去的記憶的保鮮,
07:24
to help us imagine想像 the future未來.
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來幫助我們想像未來。
07:27
So I went to Fukushima福島, Japan日本
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我去了日本福島,
07:29
on the sixth第六 anniversary週年
of the nuclear reactor反應堆 disaster災害 there
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在東北部地震和海嘯造成的
07:32
that followed其次 the Tohoku東北 earthquake地震
and tsunami海嘯 of 2011.
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2011 年核反應器災害
六週年之際。
07:37
When I was there, I learned學到了
about the Onagawa女川 Nuclear Power功率 Station,
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我在那裡時,得知女川核電廠
07:41
which哪一個 was even closer接近
to the epicenter震中 of that earthquake地震
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比當時臭名昭著的福島第一核電廠
07:44
than the infamous臭名昭著 Fukushima福島 Daiichi第一
that we all know about.
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更接近當時地震的震央。
07:48
In Onagawa女川, people in the city
actually其實 fled逃離 to the nuclear power功率 plant
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在女川,城市的人都逃往那核電廠,
07:53
as a place地點 of refuge避難所.
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把它視為避難所。
07:55
It was that safe安全.
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它是這麼地安全。
07:57
It was spared倖免 by the tsunamis海嘯.
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它在海嘯中倖免遇難。
08:00
It was the foresight先見之明 of just one engineer工程師,
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全靠高瞻遠矚的工程師
08:02
Yanosuke亞諾蘇克 Hirai希拉伊,
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平井彌之助,
08:04
that made製作 that happen發生.
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他做到了這一點。
08:06
In the 1960s, he fought戰鬥
to build建立 that power功率 plant
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1960 年代,他爭取讓那個核電廠
08:10
farther更遠 back from the coast
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遠離海岸線,
08:12
at higher更高 elevation海拔
and with a higher更高 sea wall.
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在海拔較高的地方建造,
並同時建造了較高的海牆。
08:16
He knew知道 the story故事 of his hometown家鄉 shrine神社,
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他知道他家鄉神社的故事,
08:20
which哪一個 had flooded
in the year 869 after a tsunami海嘯.
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神社在 869 年的海嘯被淹沒。
08:24
It was his knowledge知識 of history歷史
that allowed允許 him to imagine想像
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對歷史的知識讓他可以想像到
08:28
what others其他 could not.
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其他人無法想像的事情。
08:31
OK, one more tool工具 of foresight先見之明.
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好,再一個高瞻遠矚的工具。
08:34
This one I think of
as creating創建 shared共享 heirlooms傳家寶.
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這個工具我覺得是
創造共享的傳家寶。
08:38
These are lobster龍蝦 fishermen漁民
on the Pacific和平的 coast of Mexico墨西哥,
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照片裡的是在墨西哥
太平洋沿岸捕捉龍蝦的漁夫,
08:41
and they're the ones那些 who taught me this.
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是他們教我這個的。
08:44
They have protected保護
their lobster龍蝦 harvest收成 there
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他們已保護當地的龍蝦資源
08:46
for nearly幾乎 a century世紀,
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近一個世紀,
08:49
and they've他們已經 doneDONE that
by treating治療 it as a shared共享 resource資源
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他們是透過把龍蝦當作共享的資源,
08:52
that they're passing通過 on to their collected
children孩子 and grandchildren孫子.
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而資源要傳給他們的子子孫孫
因此而做到的。
08:55
They carefully小心 measure測量 what they catch抓住
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他們小心地衡量他們所捕捉的龍蝦,
08:58
so that they're not taking服用
the breeding配種 lobster龍蝦 out of the ocean海洋.
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確保不會把繁殖中的龍蝦抓走。
09:02
Across橫過 North America美國,
there are more than 30 fisheries漁業
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在北美,有超過三十多個水產業
09:05
that are doing something
vaguely依稀 similar類似 to this.
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在做大致類似的事情。
09:08
They're creating創建 long-term長期 stakes賭注
in the fisheries漁業 known已知 as catch抓住 shares分享
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他們在魚塭中創造名為
「漁獲股票」的長期股權,
09:13
which哪一個 get fishermen漁民 to be motivated動機
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這種形式讓漁夫不僅
09:15
not just in taking服用 whatever隨你 they can
from the ocean海洋 today今天
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有動機為當天的捕捉量努力,
09:19
but in its long-term長期 survival生存.
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也為保護海洋的長期生存而努力。
09:23
Now there are many許多,
many許多 more tools工具 of foresight先見之明
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現在有很多很多高瞻遠矚的工具
09:25
I would love to share分享 with you,
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我想和你分享,
09:27
and they come from all kinds of places地方:
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它們來自各種不同的地方:
09:29
investment投資 firms公司 that look
beyond near-term短期 stock股票 prices價格,
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眼光超越短期股票價格的投資公司,
09:32
states狀態 that have freed釋放 their elections選舉
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1976
讓選舉擺脫競選贊助商
所給予當下利益的州份。
09:34
from the immediate即時 interests利益
of campaign運動 financiers金融家.
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09:39
And we're going to need to marshal元帥
as many許多 of these tools工具 as we can
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而我們要盡可能編組這些工具,
09:43
if we want to rethink反思 what we measure測量,
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如果我們想重新思考所評量的事物、
09:45
change更改 what we reward獎勵
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1935
改變我們獎勵的方式,
09:47
and be brave勇敢 enough足夠
to imagine想像 what lies ahead.
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和夠勇敢去想像前方的路上有什麼。
09:52
Not all this is going to be easy簡單,
as you can imagine想像.
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可想而知,這些都不容易。
09:57
Some of these tools工具
we can pick up in our own擁有 lives生活,
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有些工具可在自己生活中使用,
10:00
some we're going to need to do
in businesses企業 or in communities社區,
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有些需要在企業或社區中使用,
10:05
and some we need to do as a society社會.
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而有些則是需要
以社會的面向來使用。
10:09
The future未來 is worth價值 this effort功夫.
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未來值得這樣的努力。
10:15
My own擁有 inspiration靈感 to keep up this effort功夫
is the instrument儀器 I shared共享 with you.
185
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啟發我堅持這份努力的
是我剛才分享的樂器。
10:19
It's called a dilruba迪爾魯巴,
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607777
1500
它叫迪爾魯巴琴,
10:22
and it was custom-made定制
for my great-grandfather曾祖父.
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而且是為我曾祖父訂製的。
10:25
He was a well-known知名
music音樂 and art藝術 critic評論家 in India印度
188
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他是印度 20 世紀早期
知名的音樂和藝術評論家。
10:28
in the early 20th century世紀.
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1542
10:32
My great-grandfather曾祖父 had the foresight先見之明
to protect保護 this instrument儀器
190
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4208
我曾祖母要當掉他們所有的東西時,
10:37
at a time when my great-grandmother曾祖母
was pawning典當 off all their belongings財物,
191
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4142
曾祖父就有遠見要保護這個樂器,
10:41
but that's another另一個 story故事.
192
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1250
不過那是另外一個故事了。
10:45
He protected保護 it by giving it
to the next下一個 generation,
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他以代代相傳的方式保護了它,
10:48
by giving it to my grandmother祖母,
194
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1684
先傳給了我的祖母,
10:50
and she gave it to me.
195
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2000
然後祖母又傳給了我,
10:54
When I first heard聽說
the sound聲音 of this instrument儀器,
196
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但我第一次聽到這個樂器的聲音時,
10:57
it haunted鬧鬼 me.
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就被它迷住了。
10:59
It felt like hearing聽力 a wanderer流浪 者
in the Himalayan喜馬拉雅 fog多霧路段.
198
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就如聽見喜馬拉雅山脈
霧中的漫遊者。
11:05
It felt like hearing聽力
a voice語音 from the past過去.
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2500
如同聽到來自過去的聲音。
11:08
(Music音樂)
200
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(音樂)
11:44
(Music音樂 ends結束)
201
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(音樂結束)
11:49
That's my friend朋友 Simran西姆蘭 Singh辛格
playing播放 the dilruba迪爾魯巴.
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這是我朋友辛蘭·辛格
在彈奏迪爾魯巴琴 。
11:53
When I play it, it sounds聲音
like a cat's dying垂死 somewhere某處,
203
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我彈時,聽起來像是有隻貓要死了,
11:56
so you're welcome歡迎.
204
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所以,不客氣。
11:57
(Laughter笑聲)
205
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(笑聲)
12:00
This instrument儀器 is in my home today今天,
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這個樂器如今在我家。
12:03
but it doesn't actually其實 belong屬於 to me.
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但它卻不屬於我。
12:06
It's my role角色 to shepherd牧羊人 it in time,
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我的角色是適時照顧它。
12:10
and that feels感覺 more meaningful富有意義的 to me
than just owning擁有 it for today今天.
209
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這對我來說
比現在擁有它更有意義。
12:15
This instrument儀器 positions位置 me
as both a descendant後代 and an ancestor祖先.
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5625
這樂器讓我成為了繼承者
同時也是個傳承者。
12:23
It makes品牌 me feel part部分 of a story故事
bigger than my own擁有.
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讓我覺得自己是一個比自己
大得多的故事的一部分。
12:28
And this, I believe,
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而這,我相信,
12:30
is the single most powerful強大 way
we can reclaim回收 foresight先見之明:
213
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就是我們可以高瞻遠矚
最強大的唯一方式:
12:35
by seeing眼看 ourselves我們自己
as the good ancestors祖先 we long to be,
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把自己看成想要成為的好傳承者,
12:41
ancestors祖先 not just to our own擁有 children孩子
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不僅是我們自己孩子的傳承者
12:45
but to all humanity人性.
216
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1875
也是全人類的傳承者。
12:48
Whatever隨你 your heirloom傳家寶 is,
217
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無論你的傳家寶是什麼,
12:52
however然而 big or small,
218
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是大是小,
12:55
protect保護 it
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保護它,
12:58
and know that its music音樂
can resonate諧振 for generations.
220
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並且銘記它的音樂可在世代中迴盪。
13:02
Thank you.
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謝謝。
13:03
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Yukun Chen
Reviewed by H.L. Au

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bina Venkataraman - Writer, futurist
Bina Venkataraman is an MIT professor and author of the forthcoming book "The Optimist's Telescope."

Why you should listen

For more than six years, Bina Venkataraman has been traveling around the world studying how people and communities think about the future. Her curiosity as a former journalist, and her firsthand experience in the Obama White House, led her to question whether the shortsightedness rampant in today's societies is inevitable -- or actually "a choice we're making."

During the Obama years, Venkataraman built partnerships among communities, companies and government to prepare for coming pandemics, wildfires and rising seas. In 2014, she launched the White House Climate Data Initiative to bring actionable climate science to people making decisions around the globe. Previously, she was a science journalist for the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Now, she teaches students at MIT to use scientific knowledge in service of society.

As Venkataraman writes: "For as long as I can remember, I have suspected that the future of humanity depended on the future of the planet. I have since found this to be the most compelling story of our time. As I imagine what lies in our shared future, from gene-editing to the climate crisis, I see both dangers and extraordinary potential."

Venkataraman wrote her first book, The Optimist's Telescope (to be published by Riverhead on August 27, 2019), to help people today better shape their own future and that of coming generations.

More profile about the speaker
Bina Venkataraman | Speaker | TED.com