that's devoted to "Inspired by Nature" -- you can imagine.

「自然的啟發」的研討會實在非常榮幸。

And I'm also thrilled to be in the foreplay section.

我也很開心被安排在「導論」這一節。

Did you notice this section is foreplay?

你們有沒有注意到這一節演說是導論？

Because I get to talk about one of my favorite critters,

因為我可以談談我最喜歡的生物之一，

which is the Western Grebe. You haven't lived

那就是北美鷿鷈。你一輩子一定要看過

until you've seen these guys do their courtship dance.

這些傢伙跳求偶舞才算真正活過。

I was on Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park,

我當時在蒙大拿冰河國家公園的波曼湖上，

which is a long, skinny lake with sort of mountains upside down in it,

那是一個狹長的湖，湖面上有群峰的倒影，

and my partner and I have a rowing shell.

我和我的伴侶有一艘小船。

And so we were rowing, and one of these Western Grebes came along.

當我們在划船的時候，來了一隻北美鷿鷈。

And what they do for their courtship dance is, they go together,

他們的求偶舞就是，兩隻北美鷿鷈，

the two of them, the two mates, and they begin to run underwater.

兩隻這樣併排在一起，開始在水面下奔跑。

They paddle faster, and faster, and faster, until they're going so fast

牠們的雙蹼愈划愈快，愈划愈快，

that they literally lift up out of the water,

快到最後身體從水中騰起，

and they're standing upright, sort of paddling the top of the water.

身體直立，就像是輕功水上飄一般，在水面上奔跑。

And one of these Grebes came along while we were rowing.

我們划船的時候，來了一隻北美鷿鷈。

And so we're in a skull, and we're moving really, really quickly.

我們划著小船，划得非常非常快。

And this Grebe, I think, sort of, mistaked us for a prospect,

而這隻鷿鷈，我猜，大概是把我們誤認為可能的對象，

and started to run along the water next to us,

開始在我們旁邊的水域跑了起來，

in a courtship dance -- for miles.

跳著求偶舞，跑了好幾英里。

It would stop, and then start, and then stop, and then start.

牠會停下來，又開始，停下來，又開始。

Now that is foreplay.

這，才叫前戲吧！（註：原文與導論同）

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I came this close to changing species at that moment.

好，我承認，我當時差一點就要改當鷿鷈了。

Obviously, life can teach us something

在娛樂方面，生命顯然可以教導我們一些事情

in the entertainment section. Life has a lot to teach us.

生命可以教導我們的其實很多。

But what I'd like to talk about today

但是我今天所要談的，

is what life might teach us in technology and in design.

是在科技與設計領域，生命可以教我們什麼。

What's happened since the book came out --

自從我的書出版以後，

the book was mainly about research in biomimicry --

書中主要談的是仿生學的研究。

and what's happened since then is architects, designers, engineers --

書出版了以後，建築師、設計師、工程師

people who make our world -- have started to call and say,

那些打造我們這個世界的人，開始打電話給我說，

we want a biologist to sit at the design table

我們想要一個生物學家跟我們一起坐在設計桌旁，

to help us, in real time, become inspired.

即時幫助我們啟發靈感。

Or -- and this is the fun part for me -- we want you to take us out

或者，這是我喜歡的部份，我們希望你帶我們

into the natural world. We'll come with a design challenge

到自然界中探險。我們會提出設計上的難題

and we find the champion adapters in the natural world, who might inspire us.

然後在自然界中找到那些可以提供靈感的適存者。

So this is a picture from a Galapagos trip that we took

這張照片是我們去加拉巴哥旅行時拍的。

with some wastewater treatment engineers; they purify wastewater.

同行的是一群廢水處理工程師; 他們的工作是純化廢水。

And some of them were very resistant, actually, to being there.

他們當中有些人其實很不想去。

What they said to us at first was, you know, we already do biomimicry.

一開始他們跟我們說，「我們已經在應用仿生學了」

We use bacteria to clean our water. And we said,

「我們用細菌來處理廢水」

well, that's not exactly being inspired by nature.

我們說，嗯這並不算是從大自然中找靈感。

That's bioprocessing, you know; that's bio-assisted technology:

那是生物處理， 是生物輔助技術：

using an organism to do your wastewater treatment

使用生物來處理廢水

is an old, old technology called "domestication."

是一種非常、非常古老的技術，叫做「馴養。」

This is learning something, learning an idea, from an organism and then applying it.

仿生學是從生物上學習，得到靈感並加以應用。

And so they still weren't getting it.

然而他們還是不懂。

So we went for a walk on the beach and I said,

所以我們在海灘上走著，我說，

well, give me one of your big problems. Give me a design challenge,

提一個你們最大的困難給我。給我一個設計上的難題，

sustainability speed bump, that's keeping you from being sustainable.

永續性的絆腳石， 讓設計達不到永續標準的問題。

And they said scaling, which is the build-up of minerals inside of pipes.

他們回答：水垢，也就是礦物質在水管裡沈積。

And they said, you know what happens is, mineral --

大家知道

just like at your house -- mineral builds up.

就跟家裡的水垢一樣，礦物質會沈積。

And then the aperture closes, and we have to flush the pipes with toxins,

然後水管會被阻塞，我們就必須用有毒的溶劑去沖洗水管，

or we have to dig them up.

或是使用物理方法把它們挖出來。

So if we had some way to stop this scaling --

所以如果能夠阻止水垢沈積...

and so I picked up some shells on the beach. And I asked them,

聽完以後我撿起海灘上的一 些貝殼。我問他們，

what is scaling? What's inside your pipes?

水垢是什麼？水管裡的東西是什麼？

And they said, calcium carbonate.

他們說，碳酸鈣。

And I said, that's what this is; this is calcium carbonate.

然後我就說，這就是了; 貝殼也是碳酸鈣。

And they didn't know that.

他們本來不知道這件事。

They didn't know that what a seashell is,

他們不知道貝殼其實是

it's templated by proteins, and then ions from the seawater

先有蛋白質組成的模板，然後海水中的離子

crystallize in place to create a shell.

照著模板結晶，就這樣形成貝殼。

So the same sort of a process, without the proteins,

所以類似的程序，只是少了蛋白質，

is happening on the inside of their pipes. They didn't know.

也在他們的水管中發生，但他們並不曉得。

This is not for lack of information; it's a lack of integration.

這並不是資訊不足，而是缺乏整合 。

You know, it's a silo, people in silos. They didn't know

是不同領域各自為政，缺乏交流。他們不知道

that the same thing was happening. So one of them thought about it

同樣的事情也在其他領域發生。他們當中有個人

and said, OK, well, if this is just crystallization

想了想說，好，如果這只是結晶現象

that happens automatically out of seawater -- self-assembly --

在海水中自然產生，自我組裝，

then why aren't shells infinite in size? What stops the scaling?

為什麼貝殼不會長到無限大？是什麼停止了沈積過程？

Why don't they just keep on going?

貝殼為甚麼不會長個不停？

And I said, well, in the same way

我說，就像它們釋放蛋白質

that they exude a protein and it starts the crystallization --

來啟動結晶現象...

and then they all sort of leaned in --

這時工程師們都靠了過來，

they let go of a protein that stops the crystallization.

貝殼也會釋放蛋白質來中止結晶現象。

It literally adheres to the growing face of the crystal.

蛋白質會吸附在結晶生長的那一面。

And, in fact, there is a product called TPA

事實上，有一種叫做 TPA 的產品

that's mimicked that protein -- that stop-protein --

模仿了這個終止蛋白。

and it's an environmentally friendly way to stop scaling in pipes.

這是一個環保的方法，可以避免水管長水垢。

That changed everything. From then on,

這改變了一切。在那之後，

you could not get these engineers back in the boat.

這些工程師都捨不得回到船上。

The first day they would take a hike,

行程第一天他們會走一小段路，

and it was, click, click, click, click. Five minutes later they were back in the boat.

喀嚓、喀嚓、喀嚓，拍個五分鐘後就回到船上。

We're done. You know, I've seen that island.

「好了，這個島看過了。」

After this,

但在這之後，

they were crawling all over. They would snorkel

他們到處爬來爬去。

for as long as we would let them snorkel.

他們一直浮潛，潛到最後一刻非走不可才起來。

What had happened was that they realized that there were organisms

因為他們體會到自然界中

out there that had already solved the problems

已經有生物體

that they had spent their careers trying to solve.

解決了他們一輩子努力想解決的難題。

Learning about the natural world is one thing;

認識自然界是一回事，

learning from the natural world -- that's the switch.

向自然界學習，這才是轉變的開始。

That's the profound switch.

這是一個深負意涵的轉變。

What they realized was that the answers to their questions are everywhere;

他們了解到，問題的答案俯仰皆是；

they just needed to change the lenses with which they saw the world.

只需要改變觀察這個世界的觀點。

3.8 billion years of field-testing.

38 億年的實地測驗。

10 to 30 -- Craig Venter will probably tell you;

克萊格•凡特可能會跟你說有 1-3 億，

I think there's a lot more than 30 million -- well-adapted solutions.

我則認為自然界裡有遠遠超過三億種適應良好的解決方案。

The important thing for me is that these are solutions solved in context.

對我來說重點在於，這些解決方案考慮了整體環境

And the context is the Earth --

這個整體環境就是地球。

the same context that we're trying to solve our problems in.

我們要解決的問題，也存在同樣的整體環境裡。

So it's the conscious emulation of life's genius.

我們要有意識地向自然界的天才學習，

It's not slavishly mimicking --

而不是全盤照抄。

although Al is trying to get the hairdo going --

雖然說愛因斯坦的髮型是想要模仿...

it's not a slavish mimicry; it's taking the design principles,

不是全盤照抄，而是找出設計原則，

the genius of the natural world, and learning something from it.

找出自然界的天才，從中學習。

Now, in a group with so many IT people, I do have to mention what

在場有許多資訊界的人士，我必須提一下

I'm not going to talk about, and that is that your field

演講正文不會提到的，也就是

is one that has learned an enormous amount from living things,

資訊界向生物界借鏡，在軟體方面已經學到很多。

on the software side. So there's computers that protect themselves,

所以有能自我保護的電腦，就像免疫系統一樣。

like an immune system, and we're learning from gene regulation

其他效法的對象還有基因調控、

and biological development. And we're learning from neural nets,

生物發展、神經網路、

genetic algorithms, evolutionary computing.

基因演算法、演化計算。

That's on the software side. But what's interesting to me

這是軟體層面。但我覺得有趣的是

is that we haven't looked at this, as much. I mean, these machines

我們還沒有開始考慮這個（硬體部份），這些機器

are really not very high tech in my estimation

在我看來不算高科技

in the sense that there's dozens and dozens of carcinogens

因為矽谷的水裡

in the water in Silicon Valley.

有好幾十種致癌物。

So the hardware

因此硬體部份

is not at all up to snuff in terms of what life would call a success.

以生命的觀點來看根本稱不上成功的設計。

So what can we learn about making -- not just computers, but everything?

在製造方面，我們可以學到什麼？不只針對電腦，我指所有東西的製造。

The plane you came in, cars, the seats that you're sitting on.

大家搭的飛機、汽車、坐的椅子。

How do we redesign the world that we make, the human-made world?

我們如何重新設計我們所製造的世界，這個人造世界？

More importantly, what should we ask in the next 10 years?

更重要的是，未來十年，我們的目標應該是什麼？

And there's a lot of cool technologies out there that life has.

自然界的生命有數不清的有趣科技。

What's the syllabus?

我們的課程大綱該是什麼？

Three questions, for me, are key.

對我來說，有三個問題是關鍵。

How does life make things?

生命如何製造東西？

This is the opposite; this is how we make things.

我們製造東西的方法與自然恰是兩個極端。

It's called heat, beat and treat --

我們的方法是加熱、加壓、化學處理，

that's what material scientists call it.

這是材料科學家的說法。

And it's carving things down from the top, with 96 percent waste left over

這個方法從開始到結束，產生了 96% 的廢物

and only 4 percent product. You heat it up; you beat it with high pressures;

只有 4% 是成品。加熱，施加高壓，

you use chemicals. OK. Heat, beat and treat.

再用化學藥物處理。加熱、加壓、化學處理。

Life can't afford to do that. How does life make things?

生命沒辦法這麼浪費。那生命如何製造東西？

How does life make the most of things?

生命製造東西都是怎麼做的？

That's a geranium pollen.

這是天竺葵花粉。

And its shape is what gives it the function of being able

它的形狀讓它能輕易地在空中漂浮。

to tumble through air so easily. Look at that shape.

看看它的形狀。

Life adds information to matter.

生命在物質上加入資訊。

In other words: structure.

換言之就是結構。

It gives it information. By adding information to matter,

結構包含資訊。物質加上資訊，

it gives it a function that's different than without that structure.

就有了功能，如果沒有結構就會有不同的功能。

And thirdly, how does life make things disappear into systems?

第三，生命如何讓東西消失到系統裡？

Because life doesn't really deal in things;

因為生命處理的並不是東西

there are no things in the natural world divorced

自然界中沒有什麼東西

from their systems.

是與系統脫節的。

Really quick syllabus.

一個很簡短的課程大綱。

As I'm reading more and more now, and following the story,

當我順著這個題材，閱讀愈來愈多相關資料的同時，

there are some amazing things coming up in the biological sciences.

生物科學界有了一些驚奇的發現。

And at the same time, I'm listening to a lot of businesses

在此同時，我傾聽許多企業的聲音

and finding what their sort of grand challenges are.

了解他們面臨什麼樣的大挑戰。

The two groups are not talking to each other.

這兩個團體缺乏對話。

At all.

完全沒有。

What in the world of biology might be helpful at this juncture,

此時此刻，生物學的世界也許能幫上忙

to get us through this sort of evolutionary knothole that we're in?

幫助我們在這演化的節骨眼渡過難關。

I'm going to try to go through 12, really quickly.

下面我會很快地帶過 12 個重點。

One that's exciting to me is self-assembly.

好，我很有興趣的是自我組裝。

Now, you've heard about this in terms of nanotechnology.

大家在奈米科技的領域裡面聽過這個名詞。

Back to that shell: the shell is a self-assembling material.

回到貝殼：貝殼本身就是一個自我組裝的材料。

On the lower left there is a picture of mother of pearl

左下方是珠母貝的照片。

forming out of seawater. It's a layered structure that's mineral

它在海水中成形，是一個礦物質

and then polymer, and it makes it very, very tough.

和聚合物相間的層狀結構，所以非常非常堅硬。

It's twice as tough as our high-tech ceramics.

硬度是高科技陶瓷的兩倍。

But what's really interesting: unlike our ceramics that are in kilns,

但是有趣的是：我們的陶瓷要在高溫窯爐中燒製，

it happens in seawater. It happens near, in and near, the organism's body.

貝殼卻是在海水中產生，在非常靠近生物體的地方產生。

This is Sandia National Labs.

現在大家開始嘗試...

A guy named Jeff Brinker

Sandia 國家實驗室中有一位 Jeff Brinker，

has found a way to have a self-assembling coding process.

他找到一個方法，做出自我組裝的編碼程序。

Imagine being able to make ceramics at room temperature

想像一下，在室溫下就能製造陶瓷，

by simply dipping something into a liquid,

只要把某個東西浸入一種液體中，

lifting it out of the liquid, and having evaporation

再從液體中移出，晾乾，

force the molecules in the liquid together,

強迫液體中的分子緊密排列，

so that they jigsaw together

像拼圖一樣結合在一起，

in the same way as this crystallization works.

就跟結晶生成的方式一樣。

Imagine making all of our hard materials that way.

想像有一天，所有堅硬材質都能這樣製造

Imagine spraying the precursors to a PV cell, to a solar cell,

或是噴灑前驅物到太陽能板上，

onto a roof, and having it self-assemble into a layered structure that harvests light.

放到屋頂上面，讓它自我組裝成可以轉換光能的層狀結構。

Here's an interesting one for the IT world:

下面這個是資訊界會有興趣的：

bio-silicon. This is a diatom, which is made of silicates.

生物矽。這是矽藻，它是由矽酸鹽所組成的。

And so silicon, which we make right now --

我們現在製造矽元素...

it's part of our carcinogenic problem in the manufacture of our chips --

也就是製造晶片時，會產生致癌物的問題。

this is a bio-mineralization process that's now being mimicked.

現在有人開始嘗試模仿這個生物礦化的過程。

This is at UC Santa Barbara. Look at these diatoms.

這是加州大學聖塔芭芭拉分校。看看這些矽藻。

This is from Ernst Haeckel's work.

這是 Ernst Haeckel 的研究。

Imagine being able to -- and, again, it's a templated process,

想像我們能夠... 同樣的，這個過程也需要一塊模板起頭，

and it solidifies out of a liquid process -- imagine being able to have that

再從液體中固化產生。想像有一天

sort of structure coming out at room temperature.

我們能在常溫下製造出這種結構。

Imagine being able to make perfect lenses.

想像有一天我們能製造完美的鏡片。

On the left, this is a brittle star; it's covered with lenses

左邊是一隻陽燧足，它全身都是鏡片。

that the people at Lucent Technologies have found

朗訊科技的研究人員發現，

have no distortion whatsoever.

這些鏡片完全沒有成像變形的問題。

It's one of the most distortion-free lenses we know of.

這是據我們所知最沒有成像變形的一種鏡片。

And there's many of them, all over its entire body.

陽隧足全身佈滿了這些鏡片。

What's interesting, again, is that it self-assembles.

有趣的是，這也是自我組裝的產物。

A woman named Joanna Aizenberg, at Lucent,

朗訊科技有一位叫做 Joanna Aizenberg 的女研究員，

is now learning to do this in a low-temperature process to create

她正在學習如何以低溫製程

these sort of lenses. She's also looking at fiber optics.

做出這種鏡片。她同樣也研究光纖。

That's a sea sponge that has a fiber optic.

這是一種海綿，

Down at the very base of it, there's fiber optics

它身體最底部有光纖，這些就是光纖。

that work better than ours, actually, to move light,

這種光纖傳播光線的效果比人造光纖還要好。

but you can tie them in a knot; they're incredibly flexible.

而且還可以打結；這種光纖彈性好得不得了。

Here's another big idea: CO2 as a feedstock.

這是另外一個重要的概念：拿二氧化碳當原料。

A guy named Geoff Coates, at Cornell, said to himself,

康乃爾大學有一位 Geoff Coates，他心想，

you know, plants do not see CO2 as the biggest poison of our time.

你知道嗎，植物不像我們，把二氧化碳當成這世代最嚴重的毒害。

We see it that way. Plants are busy making long chains

那是我們的看法，植物則忙著用二氧化碳

of starches and glucose, right, out of CO2. He's found a way --

合成出長鍊的澱粉和葡萄糖。

he's found a catalyst -- and he's found a way to take CO2

他發現了一種催化劑，也找到方法能將二氧化碳

and make it into polycarbonates. Biodegradable plastics

變成聚碳酸酯。用二氧化碳

out of CO2 -- how plant-like.

做出生物分解性塑膠 — 多像植物呀。

Solar transformations: the most exciting one.

太陽能轉換：這是最令人期待的一個。