Imagine yourself standing

想象一下 你站在

outside the front door of your home.

自己家門外

I'd like you to notice the color of the door,

請留心一下門的顏色

the material that it's made out of.

以及門的材質

Now visualize a pack of overweight nudists on bicycles.

現在請想象一群超重的裸騎者

They are competing in a naked bicycle race,

正在進行一場裸體自行車賽

and they are headed straight for your front door.

向你的前門直沖而來

I need you to actually see this.

盡量讓畫面栩栩如生近在眼前

They are pedaling really hard, they're sweaty,

他們都在奮力地踩腳踏板 汗流浹背

they're bouncing around a lot.

路面非常顛簸

And they crash straight into the front door of your home.

然後徑直撞進了你家前門

Bicycles fly everywhere, wheels roll past you,

自行車四下飛散 車輪從你身旁滾過

spokes end up in awkward places.

輻條紮進了各種尷尬角落

Step over the threshold of your door

跨過門檻

into your foyer, your hallway, whatever's on the other side,

進到門廳 走廊 和門裏的其他地方

and appreciate the quality of the light.

室內光線柔和舒適

The light is shining down on Cookie Monster.

光線灑在餅乾怪獸(芝麻街人物)身上

Cookie Monster is waving at you

他坐在一匹棕色駿馬的馬背上

from his perch on top of a tan horse.

向你招手

It's a talking horse.

這匹馬會說話

You can practically feel his blue fur tickling your nose.

你可以感覺到怪物的藍色鬃毛讓你鼻子發癢

You can smell the oatmeal raisin cookie that he's about to shovel into his mouth.

你可以聞到他正要扔進嘴裏的葡萄燕麥曲奇的香氣

Walk past him. Walk past him into your living room.

繞過他. 繞過他走進客廳

In your living room, in full imaginative broadband,

站在客廳裏 把你的想象力調到最大檔

picture Britney Spears.

想象小甜甜布蘭妮

She is scantily clad, she's dancing on your coffee table,

她衣著性感 在你咖啡桌上跳舞

and she's singing "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

並唱著"Hit Me Baby One More Time"

And then follow me into your kitchen.

接下來 跟著我走進你的廚房

In your kitchen, the floor has been paved over with a yellow brick road

廚房的地面被一道黃磚路覆蓋

and out of your oven are coming towards you

依次鉆出你的烤箱向你走來的是

Dorothy, the Tin Man,

《綠野仙蹤》裏的多蘿西 鐵皮人

the Scarecrow and the Lion from "The Wizard of Oz,"

稻草人 和獅子

hand-in-hand skipping straight towards you.

他們手挽著手 蹦蹦跳跳地向你走來

Okay. Open your eyes.

好了 睜開眼睛吧

I want to tell you about a very bizarre contest

我要給你們講一個每年春天在紐約

that is held every spring in New York City.

都會舉辦的奇異競賽

It's called the United States Memory Championship.

叫做全美記憶冠軍賽

And I had gone to cover this contest a few years back

幾年前我作為一名科技類記者

as a science journalist

去報導這項競賽

expecting, I guess, that this was going to be

我期待這是一個

like the Superbowl of savants.

像是學者們的超級盃

This was a bunch of guys and a few ladies,

參加比賽的是一群男人 以及少數女人

widely varying in both age and hygienic upkeep.

橫跨相當大的年齡層且衛生習慣上大不相同

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

They were memorizing hundreds of random numbers,

他們在記憶幾百個隨機數

looking at them just once.

卻僅僅看那些數字一眼

They were memorizing the names of dozens and dozens and dozens of strangers.

他們記很多陌生人名

They were memorizing entire poems in just a few minutes.

他們在幾分鍾內記憶整首詩

They were competing to see who could memorize

他們競爭來看誰能

the order of a shuffled pack of playing cards the fastest.

最快記住一副洗亂的牌

I was like, this is unbelievable.

我覺得這難以想象

These people must be freaks of nature.

這些人一定是異類

And I started talking to a few of the competitors.

所以我開始和他們交流

This is a guy called Ed Cook

有一個叫艾德·庫克的人

who had come over from England

是英格蘭人

where he had one of the best trained memories.

在那裏他是記憶力最好的人之一

And I said to him, "Ed, when did you realize

我說 艾德你什麽時候意識到

that you were a savant?"

你是這種專家？

And Ed was like, "I'm not a savant.

他說 我不是專家

In fact, I have just an average memory.

我的記憶力很普通

Everybody who competes in this contest

這個比賽中的所有人

will tell you that they have just an average memory.

都會告訴你他們的記憶力很普通

We've all trained ourselves

我們訓練我們自己

to perform these utterly miraculous feats of memory

來完成這種幾乎不可思議的任務

using a set of ancient techniques,

用的只是一些很古老的技巧

techniques invented 2,500 years ago in Greece,

在2500年前的希臘就有了

the same techniques that Cicero had used

這個西斯羅用來記憶演講

to memorize his speeches,

是同一個技術

that medieval scholars had used to memorize entire books."

也是醫學學者來背醫書的技巧

And I was like, "Whoa. How come I never heard of this before?"

我問 喔 我怎麽從來沒聽說過？

And we were standing outside the competition hall,

然後我們站在競賽大堂外面

and Ed, who is a wonderful, brilliant,

艾德 一個很妙的 聰明的

but somewhat eccentric English guy,

但有些奇怪的英國人

says to me, "Josh, you're an American journalist.

告訴我 約什 你是一個美國記者

Do you know Britney Spears?"

你認識小甜甜布蘭妮（歌手）嗎？

I'm like, "What? No. Why?"

我說 什麽 不認識 問著幹嘛

"Because I really want to teach Britney Spears

因爲我真的想教會小甜甜布蘭妮

how to memorize the order of a shuffled pack of playing cards

如何記憶撲克牌順序

on U.S. national television.

在美國國家電視台上

It will prove to the world that anybody can do this."

這樣就能證明每個人都行

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I was like, "Well I'm not Britney Spears,

我說 我不是小甜甜布蘭妮

but maybe you could teach me.

但也許你能教我

I mean, you've got to start somewhere, right?"

我說 咱們開始吧

And that was the beginning of a very strange journey for me.

這對于我來說是一段奇異的旅行

I ended up spending the better part of the next year

在最後 我花了第二年的很長時間

not only training my memory,

不僅用來訓練記憶力

but also investigating it,

更研究它

trying to understand how it works,

嘗試弄懂它如何有效運作

why it sometimes doesn't work

爲什麽有時候又沒有效

and what its potential might be.

它的潛能何在

I met a host of really interesting people.

我遇到了很多很有趣的人

This is a guy called E.P.

有一個叫E.P.

He's an amnesic who had, very possibly,

他是一個健忘症患者 也許有著

the very worst memory in the world.

世界上最糟糕的記憶力

His memory was so bad

他的記憶力太不好

that he didn't even remember he had a memory problem,

甚至於他不記得他有記憶的問題

which is amazing.

這多麽神奇！

And he was this incredibly tragic figure,

他就是這樣一個悲劇的人

but he was a window into the extent

但它反映了

to which our memories make us who we are.

記憶能把我們變成什麽

The other end of the spectrum: I met this guy.

在另一個極端 我遇見了這個人

This is Kim Peek.

他叫金·匹克

He was the basis for Dustin Hoffman's character in the movie "Rain Man."

他就是達斯汀·霍夫曼電影“雨人”的原型

We spent an afternoon together

他花一個下午

in the Salt Lake City Public Library memorizing phone books,

在鹽湖城公共圖書館記電話號

which was scintillating.

這閃爍著光芒

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I went back and I read a whole host of memory treatises,

然後我回去讀了很多關于記憶的文章

treatises written 2,000-plus years ago

在兩千多年前寫的

in Latin in Antiquity

用拉丁文寫的

and then later in the Middle Ages.

然後就是在中世紀寫的

And I learned a whole bunch of really interesting stuff.

我學到了很多有趣的事

One of the really interesting things that I learned

其中一個就是

is that once upon a time,

從前

this idea of having a trained, disciplined, cultivated memory

擁有訓練精良的、有系統的、深耕的記憶力的這種觀念

was not nearly so alien as it would seem to us to be today.

不像現在這麽陌生少見

Once upon a time, people invested in their memories,

從前人們努力訓練記憶力

in laboriously furnishing their minds.

在刻苦地佈置他的心智的

Over the last few millennia

在過去的幾千年裏

we've invented a series of technologies --

我們發明了一系列的技術——

from the alphabet to the scroll

從字母表到滾軸

to the codex, the printing press, photography,

到手抄本 印刷出版，到 攝影

the computer, the smartphone --

到電腦，到智慧型手機——

that have made it progressively easier and easier

這些都把記憶變得愈來愈簡單

for us to externalize our memories,

對我們而言更具象化我們的記憶

for us to essentially outsource

讓我們外包

this fundamental human capacity.

這個把這些基本人類能力

These technologies have made our modern world possible,

這些科技實現了現代的世界

but they've also changed us.

但他們也改變了我們

They've changed us culturally,

他們在文化角度f上改變了我們

and I would argue that they've changed us cognitively.

而我會說這些從認知上改變了我們

Having little need to remember anymore,

幾乎不再需要記什麽東西再了

it sometimes seems like we've forgotten how.

有時我們似乎忘記了如何記憶

One of the last places on Earth

地球上最後一塊

where you still find people passionate about this idea

你還能夠找到熱衷於於這種觀念

of a trained, disciplined, cultivated memory

這種訓練精良的、有序的、深耕的記憶力的概念的人

is at this totally singular memory contest.

就是在完全唯一的記憶競賽裏了

It's actually not that singular,

其實也不是唯一

there are contests held all over the world.

在全世界都有這樣的競賽

And I was fascinated, I wanted to know how do these guys do it.

並且我很好奇 我想知道那些人如何辦到的？

A few years back a group of researchers at University College London

幾年前一夥研究人員在倫敦大學

brought a bunch of memory champions into the lab.

把一些記憶冠軍們帶到了實驗室

They wanted to know:

他們想知道

Do these guys have brains

這些人

that are somehow structurally, anatomically different from the rest of ours?

有結構上 生理上與其他人有不同的大腦嗎？

The answer was no.

答案是否定的

Are they smarter than the rest of us?

他們是比我們更聰明嗎？

They gave them a bunch of cognitive tests,

他們進行了一系列認知測試

and the answer was not really.

並且得到的答案也是不盡然

There was however one really interesting and telling difference

然而的確有一個有趣的且分辨得出來的不同

between the brains of the memory champions

在這些記憶冠軍的大腦

and the control subjects that they were comparing them to.

和控制組的大腦裏

When they put these guys in an fMRI machine,

當他們用功能性核磁共振照影下

scanned their brains

掃描他們的腦

while they were memorizing numbers and people's faces and pictures of snowflakes,

當正在記憶數字、人們的臉、 雪片的圖像時

they found that the memory champions

他們發現記憶冠軍們

were lighting up different parts of the brain

亮起的大腦部份

than everyone else.

有別於其他人

Of note, they were using, or they seemed to be using,

他們在用

a part of the brain that's involved in spatial memory and navigation.

一個關於空間記憶和導航的那部分大腦

Why? And is there something the rest of us can learn from this?

爲什麽？那我們又能學到什麽？

The sport of competitive memorizing

記憶競賽

is driven by a kind of arms race

被一種軍備競賽驅動

where every year somebody comes up

在這裏每年一些人來到

with a new way to remember more stuff more quickly,

同時帶來一些新的記憶方法

and then the rest of the field has to play catchup.

然後其他人要趕緊追上來

This is my friend Ben Pridmore,

這是我的朋友本·普裏蒂莫

three-time world memory champion.

三次世界記憶冠軍

On his desk in front of him

在他的台前

are 36 shuffled packs of playing cards

有三十六副打亂順序的牌

that he is about to try to memorize in one hour,

他要在一個小時內全部記下來

using a technique that he invented and he alone has mastered.

用的是一種他自己發明的 也只有他會的技巧

He used a similar technique

用與此類似的方法

to memorize the precise order

他曾一字不差地背下了

of 4,140 random binary digits

4140個任意排列的二進制數

in half an hour.

只用了半個小時

Yeah.

很神吧！

And while there are a whole host of ways

參賽者在這些競賽中

of remembering stuff in these competitions,

運用過很多不同的記憶方法

everything, all of the techniques that are being used,

各式各樣 被運用到的所有技巧

ultimately come down to a concept

最終都能歸化爲一個概念

that psychologists refer to as elaborative encoding.

心理學家稱之爲"精細編碼"

And it's well illustrated by a nifty paradox

這個概念能用一則幽默的矛盾完美圖示

known as the Baker/baker paradox,

叫做貝克矛盾

which goes like this:

簡單說來就是

If I tell two people to remember the same word,

假設我讓兩個人去記同一個詞

if I say to you,

我跟你說

"Remember that there is a guy named Baker."

"記住有個人叫貝克"

That's his name.

貝克是人名

And I say to you, "Remember that there is a guy who is a baker."

我又來告訴你 "記住有個人是麵包師父(英文和貝克一樣)"

And I come back to you at some point later on,

過了一段時間我又回來找到你們

and I say, "Do you remember that word

問 "還記得我之前

that I told you a while back?

叫你們記住的那個詞嗎?"

Do you remember what it was?"

”還記得是什麽詞嗎?“

The person who was told his name is Baker

被告知人名是貝克的人

is less likely to remember the same word

記住這個詞的可能性遠不如

than the person was told his job is that he is a baker.

被告知職業是麵包師父的那個人

Same word, different amount of remembering; that's weird.

同樣的詞 導致不同的記憶程度

What's going on here?

到底是爲什麽呢

Well the name Baker doesn't actually mean anything to you.

是因爲 人名Baker沒有任何特殊含義

It is entirely untethered

沒法跟你腦海裏

from all of the other memories floating around in your skull.

零碎繁雜的記憶産生任何聯系

But the common noun baker,

但是麵包師父作爲一個常用名詞

we know bakers.

我們都知道麵包師父是什麽

Bakers wear funny white hats.

麵包師父戴著好笑的白帽子

Bakers have flour on their hands.

他們手上沾滿了麵粉

Bakers smell good when they come home from work.

他們下班回到家帶著撲鼻的烤麵包香

Maybe we even know a baker.

甚至於我們還可能真的認識一個朋友是麵包師父

And when we first hear that word,

我們初次聽到這個詞時

we start putting these associational hooks into it

馬上就開始産生各種各樣的聯想連結

that make it easier to fish it back out at some later date.

這使我們能在一段時間後還能勾起回憶

The entire art of what is going on

其實 要理解記憶競賽中的

in these memory contests

一切奧妙

and the entire art of remembering stuff better in everyday life

或在日常生活中改善記憶力的秘訣

is figuring out ways to transform capital B Bakers

僅僅在于想辦法把Baker中的大寫B

into lower-case B bakers --

變爲麵包師父(baker)中的小寫b

to take information that is lacking in context,

把沒有前因後果

in significance, in meaning

沒有重要性 沒有涵義的資訊

and transform it in some way

用某種方法轉化爲

so that it becomes meaningful

有意義的內容

in the light of all the other things that you have in your mind.

跟腦海裏的其他記憶串聯起來

One of the more elaborate techniques for doing this

這種精確記憶的技巧

dates back 2,500 years to Ancient Greece.

在兩千五百年前的古希臘就已出現

It came to be known as the memory palace.

後來將其稱爲記憶宮殿

The story behind its creation goes like this:

發明這種技巧的過程如下

There was a poet called Simonides

有個叫做西蒙奈德的詩人

who was attending a banquet.

他要去參加一個晚宴

He was actually the hired entertainment,

其實他算是被請去做表演嘉賓的

because back then if you wanted to throw a really slamming party,

因爲在那個年代 炫酷派對的標准

you didn't hire a D.J., you hired a poet.

不是請D.J.來打碟 而是要請詩人來頌詩

And he stands up, delivers his poem from memory, walks out the door,

他站起來 背出了他的全篇詩作 然後潇灑離去

and at the moment he does, the banquet hall collapses,

他剛走出門口 晚宴大廳就塌了

kills everybody inside.

砸死了裏面所有的人

It doesn't just kill everybody,

不僅全體死亡

it mangles the bodies beyond all recognition.

所有的死者都被砸得面目全非

Nobody can say who was inside,

沒人說得清死者都有些誰

nobody can say where they were sitting.

沒人說得清誰坐在哪兒

The bodies can't be properly buried.

導致死者的屍體沒法得到合適的殉葬安置

It's one tragedy compounding another.

這又加重了整件事的悲劇色彩