I come to you with a modest proposal for easing the financial burden.

我向你們提出一個關於減輕財政負擔的適度建議。

This idea came to me while talking to a physicist friend of mine at MIT.

這個想法是我和我在麻省理工學院的一個物理學家朋友哈拉時想到的。

He was struggling to explain something to me.

他正努力向我解釋著什麼。

A beautiful experiment, that uses lasers to cool down matter.

一個美麗的實驗，使用脈衝光來冷卻物質。

He confused me from the very start,

他從一開始就把我搞糊塗了。

because light does not cool things down.

因為光照不會使事物冷卻。

It makes it hotter. It is happening right now.

它使它更熱。 現在正在發生。

The reason that you can see me standing here

你能看到我站在這裡的原因

is because this room is filled with more than one hundered quintillion photons.

是因為這個房間裡充滿了超過一萬億個光子。

And they are moving randomly through the space, near the speed of light.

而且它們在空間中隨機移動，接近光速。

All of them are different colours.

所有的人都是不同的顏色。

They are rippling with different frequencies.

它們以不同的頻率紋絲不動。

And they are bouncing off every surface, including me.

它們從每一個表面反彈，包括我。

Some of those are flying directly into your eyes,

有的直接飛進你的眼睛。

and that is why your brain is forming an image of me standing here.

所以你的大腦裡才會形成我站在這裡的形象。

Now, laser is different.

現在，脈衝光就不同了。

It also uses photons,

它也使用光子。

but they are all synchronized.

但它們都是同步的。

If you focus them into a beam

如果你把它們聚焦成一束

what you have is an incredibly useful tool!

你所擁有的是一個令人難以置信的有用的工具!

The control of the laser is so precise,

脈衝光的控制是如此精確。

that you can peform surgery inside of an eye.

你可以在眼睛裡做手術。

You can use it to store massive amounts of data,

你可以用它來存儲大量的數據。

and you can use it for this beautiful experiment,

你可以用它來做這個美麗的實驗。

that my friend was struggling to explain.

我的朋友正在努力解釋。

First, you trap atoms in a special bottle, that uses electromagnetic fields

首先，你把原子困在一個特殊的瓶子裡，利用電磁場的作用

to isolate the atoms from the noise of the environment.

以將原子與環境的噪音隔離開來。

And the atoms themselves are quite violent,

而原子本身是相當暴力的。

but if you fire lasers

但如果你發射脈衝光

that are precisely tuned to the right frequency,

準確調整到合適的頻率。

an atom will briefly absorb those photons and tend to slow down.

原子會短暫地吸收這些光子，並趨於緩慢。

Little by little it gets colder until eventually it approaches absolute zero.

漸漸地，它越來越冷，直到最終接近絕對零度。

Now, if you use the right kind of atoms and you get them cold enough,

現在，如果你使用正確的原子種類，並且你讓它們足夠冷。

something truly bizarre happens.

真正奇怪的事情發生了。

It's no longer a solid, a liquid or a gas,

它不再是固體、液體或氣體。

it enters a new state of matter, called a superfluid.

它進入一種新的物質狀態，稱為超流體。

The atoms lose their individual identity,

原子失去了它們的個體身份。

and the rules from the quantum world take over.

和量子世界的規則接管。

And that's what gives superfluid such spooky properties.

而這正是超流體具有如此詭異特性的原因。

For example, if you shine light through a superfluid,

例如，如果你用光照過一個超流體。

it is able to slow photons down to 60 km/h.

它能夠將光子的速度減慢到每小時60公里。

Another spooky property is that it flows with absolutely no viscosity or friction,

另一個詭異的特性是，它的流動完全沒有粘度和摩擦力。

so if you were to take the lid of that bottle it won't stay inside.

所以，如果你把那個瓶子的蓋子，它不會留在裡面。

A thin film will creep up the inside wall, flow over the top

一層薄薄的薄膜會爬上內壁，流過頂部，然後再流到外面。

and right out to the outside.

並直接向外。

Now, of course, at the moment that it does at the outside environment

現在，當然，目前它在外部環境中的作用是

and its temperature rises by even a fraction of a degree,

而它的溫度會上升哪怕一絲一毫。

it immediately turns back into normal matter.

它立即變回正常的物質。

Superfluids are one of the most fragile things we've ever discovered.

超流體是我們所發現的最脆弱的東西之一'。

And this is the great pleasure of science,

這就是科學的最大樂趣。

the defeat of our intuition through experimentation.

通過實驗打敗我們的直覺。

But the experiment is not the end of the story,

但實驗並不是故事的結束。

because you still have to transmit that knowlege to other people.

因為你還得把這些知識傳給別人。

I have a PhD in Molecular Biology.

我是分子生物學博士。

I still barely understand what most scientists are talking about.

我還是幾乎不明白大多數科學家在說什麼。

So, as my friend was trying to explain that experiment,

所以，當我的朋友試圖解釋那個實驗的時候。

it seemed like, the more he said, the less I understood.

似乎，他說得越多，我就越不明白。

Because, if you're trying to give someone the big picture of a complex idea,

因為，如果你'試圖給別人一個複雜的想法的大畫面。

to really capture its essence, the fewer words you'd use, the better.

要想真正抓住它的精髓，你'會用的字越少越好。

In fact the ideal may be to use no words at all.

其實最理想的可能是完全不用字。

I remember thinking

我記得我在想

"My friend could have explained that entire experiment with a dance."

"我的朋友可以用舞蹈來解釋整個實驗.&quot。

Of course, there never seem to be any dancers around when you need them.

當然，當你需要舞者的時候，周圍似乎從來沒有任何舞者。

Now, the idea is not as crazy as it sounds.

現在，這個想法並不像聽起來那麼瘋狂。

I started a contest four years ago called "Dance Your PhD".

四年前，我發起了一個名為"舞動你的博士"的比賽。

Instead of explaining the research with words, scientists have to explain it with dance.

科學家們不是用語言來解釋研究，而是要用舞蹈來解釋。

Suprisingly, it seems to work.

令人驚訝的是，這似乎很有效。

Dance really can make science easier to understand.

舞蹈真的可以讓科學更容易理解。

But don't take my word for it.

但不要相信我的話。

Go on the internet and search for "Dance Your PhD".

上網搜索"舞動你的博士"。

There are hundreds of dancing scientists waiting for you.

有幾百個跳舞的科學家在等你。

The most suprising thing that I 've learnt while running the contest,

我'在辦比賽時學到的最超乎尋常的東西。

is that some scientists are now working directly with dancers on their research.

是一些科學家現在直接與舞者合作進行研究。

For example, at the University of Minnesota there is a biomedical engineer

例如，在明尼蘇達大學，有一位生物醫學工程師。

named David Odde, and he works with dancers to study how cells move.

名為David Odde，他與舞者一起研究細胞如何運動。

They do it by changing their shape.

他們通過改變自己的形狀來實現。

When a chemical signal washes up on one side

當一個化學信號被衝到一邊時

it triggers the cell to expand its shape on that side,

它觸發細胞在該側擴展其形狀。

because the cell is constantly touching and tugging at the environment.

因為細胞在不斷地接觸和拉扯環境。

So, that allows cells to ooze along in the right directions.

所以，這讓細胞沿著正確的方向滲出。

But what seems so slow and graceful from the outside is really more like chaos inside.

但是，從外面看似乎很慢很優雅，其實內心更像是一片混亂。

Because cells control their shape with a skeleton of rigid protein fibres.

因為細胞以剛性蛋白纖維為骨架控制其形狀。

And those fibres are constantly falling apart.

而這些纖維也在不斷地崩裂。

But just as quickly as they explode, more proteins attach to their ends and grow them longer.

但就在它們爆炸的同時，更多的蛋白質會附著在它們的末端，讓它們長得更長。

So it's constanlty changing, just to remain exactly the same.

所以它'的恆定變化，只是為了保持完全一樣。

David builds mathematical models of this, and then he tests those in a lab,

大衛建立了這方面的數學模型，然後他在實驗室裡測試這些模型。

but before he does that, he works with dancers to figure out

但在這之前，他和舞者們一起想出了

what kinds of models to build in the first place.

首先要建立什麼樣的模型。

It is basically efficient brainstorming.

基本上就是高效的頭腦風暴。

And when I visited David to learn about his research,

而當我去拜訪大衛，瞭解他的研究。

he used dancers to explain it to me rather than the usual method, PowerPoint.

他用舞者來給我解釋，而不是用通常的方法，PowerPoint。

And this brings me to my modest proposal.

是以，我提出了我的小小建議。

I think that bad PowerPoint presentations are a serious threat to the global economy.

我認為，糟糕的PowerPoint演示文稿是對全球經濟的嚴重威脅。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

(Applause)

(掌聲)

It does depend on how you measure it, of course,

當然，這確實取決於你如何衡量它。

but one estimate has put the drain at 250 million dollars per day.

但有一個估計是每天流失2.5億美元。

Now that assumes half hour presentation for an average audience of four people

現在，假設為平均四人的聽眾進行半小時的演講。

with salaries of 35.000 dollars.

工資35.000美元。

And it conservatively assumes that about a quarter of the presentations are complete waste of time.

而它保守地認為，大約有四分之一的演講是完全浪費時間的。

And given that, there are some, apparently, 30 million PowerPoint presentations

考慮到這一點，顯然有一些，3000萬份PowerPoint演示文稿。

created every day, that would indeed add up to an annual waste of a hundred billion dollars.

每天都在創造，那就真的是每年浪費千億美金了。

Of course that's just the time we're losing sitting through presentations.

當然，這只是我們'坐在演講中失去的時間。

There are other costs.

還有其他費用。

Because PowerPoint is a tool, and like any tool, it can and will be abused.

因為PowerPoint是一個工具，像任何工具一樣，它可以也會被濫用。

To borrow a concept from my country's CIA,

借用我國'中情局的一個概念。

it helps you to soften up your audience,

它能幫助你軟化你的聽眾。

it distracts them with pretty pictures, irrelevant data.

它用漂亮的圖片、不相關的數據分散他們的注意力。

It allows you to create the illusion of competence,

它可以讓你產生能力的錯覺。

the illusion of simplicity, and most destructively,

簡單的假象，而且最具破壞性。

the illusion of understanding.

理解的錯覺。

So now my country is 15 trillion dollars in debt.

所以現在我國負債15萬億。

Our leaders are working tirelessly to try and find ways to save money.

我們的上司正在不遺餘力地想方設法節省開支。

One idea is to drastically reduce public support for the Arts.

其中一個想法是大幅減少對藝術的支持。

For example, our National Endowment for the Arts, with its 150 million dollar budget.

例如，我們的國家藝術基金會，其預算為1.5億美元。

Slashing that programme would immediately reduce the national debt by about 0.011%.

削減該方案將使國債立即減少約0.011%。

One certainly cannot argue with those numbers.

對於這些數字，人們當然無法辯駁。

However, once we eliminate public funding for the Arts, there will be some drawbacks.

但是，一旦取消了藝術的公共資助，就會有一些弊端。

The artists on the street will swell the ranks of the unemployed.

街頭的藝術家們將會擴大失業者的隊伍。

Many will turn to drug abuse and prostitution,

許多人將轉向吸毒和賣淫。

and that will inevitably lower propery values in urban neighbourhoods.

而這勢必會降低城市社區的適當價值。

All of this could wipe out the savings we are hoping to make in the first place.

所有這些都可能使我們當初希望的儲蓄化為烏有。

I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts,

是以，我現在要謙虛地提出自己的想法。

which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

我希望不會有任何異議。

Once we eliminate public funding for the artists, let's put them back to work,

一旦我們取消了對藝術家的公共資助，讓他們重新開始工作。

by using them instead of PowerPoint.

通過使用它們來代替PowerPoint。

As a test case, I propose we start with American dancers.

作為一個測試案例，我建議我們從美國舞者開始。

After all, they are the most perishable of their kind,

畢竟，它們是最容易腐爛的同類。

prone to injury and very slow to heal due to our health care system.

由於我們的醫療制度，容易受傷，而且癒合非常緩慢。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Rather than dancing our PhDs,

而不是跳我們的博士。

we should use dance to explain all of our complex problems.

我們應該用舞蹈來解釋所有複雜的問題。

Imagine our politicians using dance to explain why we must invade a foreign country,

想象一下，我們的政客用舞蹈來解釋為什麼我們必須入侵外國。

or bail out an investment bank.

或救助投資銀行。

It'd sure help.

這肯定會有幫助。

Of course some day, in the deep future, a technology of persuasion,

當然某一天，在深遠的未來，一種說服力的技術。

even more powerful than PowerPoint may be invented,

可能會發明比PowerPoint更強大的。

rendering dancers unnecessary as tools of rhetoric.

使舞者沒有必要作為修辭的工具。

However, I trust that by that day,

不過，我相信，到了那一天。

we shall have passed this present financial calamity.

我們將度過目前的金融災難。

Perhaps by then, we will be able to afford the luxury of just sitting in an audience,

也許到那時，我們就能享受到只坐在觀眾席上的奢侈了。

with no other purpose than to witness the human form in motion.

沒有其他目的，只是為了見證人類的運動形態。

(Music)

(音樂)

(Applause)

(掌聲)