As a scientist and engineer, I've focused on efficiency for many years.

作爲一名科學家與工程師，多年來我專注於提高效率

But efficiency can be a cult,

有時效率會變成一種迷信

and today I'd like to tell you about a journey

今天，我想與你們分享一段奇遇

that moved me out of the cult and back to a far richer reality.

這段奇遇把我從對效率的迷信中解救出來，帶我回到了更豐富的現實世界

A few years ago, after finishing my Ph.D. in London, I moved to Boston.

幾年前，我在倫敦博士畢業後，來到波士頓

I lived in Boston and worked in Cambridge.

我在波士頓居住，在劍橋工作

I bought a racing bicycle that summer,

在那一年的夏天，我買了一輛競賽型腳踏車

and I bicycled every day to work.

每天我都騎腳踏車去工作

To find my way, I used my phone.

我用手機導航找路

It sent me over Mass. Ave., Massachusetts Avenue,

通過導航，我會經過馬薩大道即馬薩諸塞州大道

the shortest route from Boston to Cambridge.

這是從波士頓前往劍橋的最短路徑

But after a month

然而，一個月後的某一天

that I was cycling every day on the car-packed Mass. Ave.,

在經歷了馬薩大道上的厮殺後

I took a different route one day.

我決定騎另一條路線

I'm not entirely sure why I took a different route that day, a detour.

我並不是十分確定爲什麽當時我會選擇另一條路線

I just remember a feeling of surprise;

我只記得，我的心裡十分驚喜

surprise at finding a street with no cars,

驚喜這是一條沒有車輛的路

as opposed to the nearby Mass. Ave. full of cars;

因為隔壁的馬薩大道擠滿了車

surprise at finding a street draped by leaves and surrounded by trees.

驚喜這是一條被大樹圍繞，被落葉鋪蓋的路

But after the feeling of surprise, I felt shame.

可是，驚喜之餘，我感到了羞愧

How could I have been so blind?

我怎麽會如此的盲目？

For an entire month,

過去整整一個月

I was so trapped in my mobile app

我都被困在了手機的導航應用裡

that a journey to work became one thing only:

騎腳踏車去工作的路僅僅意味著：

the shortest path.

這是一條最短的路

In this single journey, there was no thought

在這段單調的路途中

of enjoying the road,

完全沒有享受這條路的愉悅

no pleasure in connecting with nature,

也沒有與大自然交流的樂趣

no possibility of looking people in the eyes.

在路上，我根本不可能去看其他路人

And why?

爲什麽？

Because I was saving a minute out of my commute.

因爲我想盡量減少上下班花費的時間，哪怕只是一分鍾

Now let me ask you: Am I alone here?

現在讓我問一個問題：我是在場唯一經曆過此事的人嗎？

How many of you have never used a mapping app for finding directions?

有多少人從沒用過導航應用來確定方向？

Most of you, if not all, have.

絕大多數的人都曾用過導航

And don't get me wrong -- mapping apps are the greatest game-changer

也千萬別誤會我的意思導航的確也是改變社會的一大應用

for encouraging people to explore the city.

它鼓勵人們去探索他們的城市

You take your phone out and you know immediately where to go.

你拿出你的手機，不出幾秒，你就知道你要去哪兒了

However, the app also assumes

可是，應用只能提供

there are only a handful of directions to the destination.

幾條有限的路線

It has the power to make those handful of directions

導航把這幾條路線

the definitive direction to that destination.

變成成爲到達目的地的唯一選擇

After that experience, I changed.

在那段經曆過後，我做出了改變

I changed my research from traditional data-mining

我把我的研究方向從傳統的數據挖掘

to understanding how people experience the city.

改爲理解人們的城市體驗

I used computer science tools

我通過電腦科技

to replicate social science experiments at scale, at web scale.

完成社會實驗，並把社會實驗帶入網路

I became captivated by the beauty and genius

在此其中我被這些實驗中

of traditional social science experiments

暗含的美妙與真理深深迷住

done by Jane Jacobs, Stanley Milgram, Kevin Lynch.

特別是由 Jane Jacobs, Stanley Milgram和 Kevin Lynch 完成的傳統的社會科學實驗

The result of that research has been the creation of new maps,

這個研究的成果是一張新的地圖

maps where you don't only find the shortest path, the blue one,

在這張地圖裡，你不僅僅能找到最短的路線，即藍色的那條

but also the most enjoyable path,

還能找到最令人享受的路線

the red one.

就是這條紅色的路線

How was that possible?

這到底是怎麽做到的呢？

Einstein once said,

愛因斯坦曾經說過

"Logic will get you from A to B.

“邏輯能讓你從A點到達B點。

Imagination will take you everywhere."

而想像力，卻能讓你到達所有地方。”

So with a bit of imagination,

因此，通過一點點的想像力

we needed to understand

我們找到了

which parts of the city people find beautiful.

城市哪個部分讓人們覺得很美

At the University of Cambridge, with colleagues,

我和在劍橋大學的時的同事們

we thought about this simple experiment.

想出一個簡單的實驗

If I were to show you these two urban scenes,

如果我向你展示兩張城市的景色圖片

and I were to ask you which one is more beautiful,

並問你哪一張最漂亮

which one would you say?

你會選哪一個呢?

Don't be shy.

別害羞

Who says A? Who says B?

誰選A？誰選B？

Brilliant.

好極了

Based on that idea,

基於這個想法

we built a crowdsourcing platform,

我們建立了一個利用群衆資源的平台

a web game.

一個線上遊戲

Players are shown pairs of urban scenes,

在遊戲中，我們會展示給玩家們成對的城市景色

and they're asked to choose which one is more beautiful, quiet and happy.

並讓他們選擇哪一個景色更美麗，更安靜，更有幸福感

Based on thousands of user votes,

基於上千張的用戶投票

then we are able to see where consensus emerges.

我們能夠得出哪裡有公認的美景

We are able to see which are the urban scenes

哪裡是公認

that make people happy.

能讓路人感到幸福的景色

After that work, I joined Yahoo Labs,

在那次實驗之後，我加入了雅虎實驗室

and I teamed up with Luca and Rossano,

我與 Luca 和 Rossano 組隊

and together, we aggregated those winning locations in London

收集那些在倫敦勝出的景色

to build a new map of the city,

利用這些數據，我們制定了一張新地圖

a cartography weighted for human emotions.

這張地圖以感受做為基礎

On this cartography, you're not only able to see and connect

在地圖裡，你不僅僅能看見並連接

from point A to point B the shortest segments,

A點和B點，了解到最近的路線

but you're also able to see the happy segment,

你還能看到快樂的路線

the beautiful path, the quiet path.

美麗的路線，和安靜的路線

In tests, participants found the happy, the beautiful, the quiet path

在地圖測試中，參與者們發現那些快樂、美麗、安靜的路線

far more enjoyable than the shortest one,

都遠比最短的路線更令人享受

and that just by adding a few minutes to travel time.

而且那些路線所花的時間只是多了幾分鍾

Participants also love to attach memories to places.

參與者們也很喜歡把回憶注入到這些景色中

Shared memories -- that's where the old BBC building was;

其中有大衆的回憶這是BBC的舊址

and personal memories -- that's where I gave my first kiss.

也有私人的回憶那是我獻出初吻的地方

They also recalled how some paths smelled and sounded.

他們都回憶起這些道路曾經的味道與聲音

So what if we had a mapping tool

我們便有了這樣一個地圖應用

that would return the most enjoyable routes

它指出的路線

based not only on aesthetics

並不僅僅基於美觀，

but also based on smell, sound, and memories?

而是建立在氣味、聲音與回憶上

That's where our research is going right now.

這便是我們現在研究的目標

More generally, my research,

簡單地說，我的研究目標是

what it tries to do is avoid the danger of the single path,

避免單一選項

to avoid robbing people of fully experiencing the city in which they live.

讓使用者能真正地享受他們居住的城市

Walk the path through the park, not through the car park,

散步在公園小徑上而不是停車場

and you have an entirely different path.

這條路就會變得截然不同

Walk the path full of people you love

與愛的回憶相伴

and not full of cars,

而不是與車輛爭道

and you have an entirely different path.

這條路就變得截然不同

It's that simple.

就這麽簡單

I would like to end with this thought:

我希望用一個想法來結束這次演講：

do you remember "The Truman Show?"

你們還記得《楚門的世界》嗎？

It's a media satire in which a real person

這部諷刺電影描述一個人

doesn't know he's living in a fabricated world.

不知道他的世界是個人造的假象

Perhaps we live in a world fabricated for efficiency.

或許我們就活在效率編織的假象裡

Look at some of your daily habits,

看看你們的日常習慣

and as Truman did in the movie, escape the fabricated world.

快像電影裡的楚門一樣，逃出這個虛假的世界吧

Why?

為什麼？

Well, if you think that adventure is dangerous, try routine. It's deadly.

如果你覺得探索很危險，習以為常的事反而更致命

Thank you.

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