涌现——愚笨的事物如何聚合成智能体：英语精读讲义

An ant is pretty stupid.

蚂蚁相当笨。

It doesn't have much of a brain,

它没有发达的大脑，

no will,

没有意志，

no plan.

也没有计划。

And yet, 表達脈絡

然而，

many ants together are smart.

许多蚂蚁聚在一起却很聪明。

An ant colony can construct complex structures.

蚁群可以建造复杂的结构。

Some colonies keep farms of fungi,

有些蚁群种植真菌，

others take care of cattle. 短語動詞

还有的饲养“家畜”。

They can wage war or defend themselves. 短語搭配

它们还能发动战争或抵御外敌。

How is this possible?

这怎么可能呢？

How can a bunch of stupid things do smart things together? 短語搭配

一群笨东西怎么能一起做出聪明的事？

This phenomenon is called emergence,

这种现象被称为“涌现”（emergence），

and it's one of the most fascinating and mysterious features of our universe. 語法

它是我们宇宙中最迷人、最神秘的特征之一。

In a nutshell, 表達脈絡

简而言之，

it describes small things forming bigger things that have different properties than the sum of their parts. 習語

它描述的是小事物组成大事物时，大事物具有了不同于其各部分总和的属性。

Emergence is complexity arising from simplicity,

涌现是简单中孕育出的复杂，

and emergence is everywhere.

而涌现无处不在。

Water has vastly different properties to the molecules that make it up, 短語動詞

水的属性与构成它的分子截然不同，

like the concept of wetness.

比如“湿润”这个概念。

Take wet fabric.

以湿布为例。

If you zoom in far enough, 短語動詞

如果你放大得足够多，

there is no wetness,

就根本不存在“湿润”，

there are just molecules sitting in the spaces between the atoms of the cloth.

只有处于布料原子间隙中的分子。

Wetness is an emerging property of water.

湿润是水的一种涌现属性。

Something new

一种新事物

only created by a lot of individual interactions between water molecules.

仅仅由水分子之间大量个体的相互作用而产生。

And this is sort of it. 語氣意圖

基本就是这么回事。

Many things interact under a certain set of rules, 短語搭配

许多事物在一套特定的规则下相互作用，

creating something above and beyond themselves. 習語

创造出超越自身的存在。

It turns out that more is different. 表達脈絡

事实证明，数量多即意味着不同。

This different property is itself a new thing,

这种不同的属性本身就是一种新事物，

and that new thing can couple with other new things to repeat the process. 用詞

而这种新事物可以与其他新事物结合，重复这个过程。

You can imagine this as layers stacked upon each other, 語法

你可以把它想象成层层叠加的结构，

every layer made from more complex parts. 短語搭配

每一层都由更复杂的部分组成。

Atoms form molecules,

原子形成分子，

molecules form proteins,

分子形成蛋白质，

proteins make up cells,

蛋白质构成细胞，

cells make up organs,

细胞构成器官，

organs form individuals,

器官形成个体，

individuals form societies.

个体形成社会。

But how can something be more than the sum of its parts?

但是，事物如何能大于其各部分的总和呢？

How do ants form the sort of cloudy entity that is a colony?

蚂蚁是如何形成蚁群这种云雾般模糊的实体的呢？

By following a rule set that produces order through chaos. 語法

通过遵循一套能在混沌中产生秩序的规则。

For example,

例如，

let's look at how an ant colony distributes jobs. 表達脈絡

让我们来看看蚁群是如何分配工作的。

Let's assume that a colony should have 25% workers, 表達脈絡

假设一个蚁群应该有25%的工蚁、

25% caretakers,

25%的保姆蚁、

25% soldiers,

25%的兵蚁、

and 25% gatherers.

以及25%的采集蚁。

Ants communicate their current job via chemicals.

蚂蚁通过化学物质交流它们当前的工作。

For example,

例如，

a worker ant constantly secretes chemicals that say,

一只工蚁不断分泌化学物质表明：

"I'm a worker."

“我是个工蚁。”

When ants meet other ants,

当蚂蚁遇到其他蚂蚁时，

they smell each other to gather information,

它们会通过气味相互收集信息，

telling each other their job and what they're doing.

告诉对方自己的工作和正在做的事。

Both keep track of who they met in the past. 短語搭配

双方都会记住它们过去遇到过谁。

Now,

现在，

imagine an anteater kills most of the gatherers.

假设一只食蚁兽吃掉了大部分的采集蚁。

If this isn't fixed quickly, 語法

如果不能迅速解决这个问题，

the colony will starve.

蚁群就会饿死。

Many worker ants need to switch jobs,

许多工蚁需要更换工作，

but how do you tell this to thousands of them?

但你怎么告诉成千上万只蚂蚁呢？

Simple.

很简单。

You don't.

你不需要告诉它们。

Our worker ant will still meet and smell other ants,

我们的工蚁依然会遇到并闻到其他蚂蚁，

but it will encounter almost no gatherers at all. 語法

但它几乎再也遇不到采集蚁了。

It counts too few gatherers until it reaches a critical point,

它遇到的采集蚁数量太少，直到达到一个临界点，

and then it changes its job.

然后它就改变了自己的工作。

The worker becomes a gatherer.

工蚁变成了采集蚁。

Other ants will do the same until after a while,

其他蚂蚁也会这么做，直到过了一段时间，

there are enough gatherers again.

采集蚁的数量再次充足。

The balance is restored all by itself. 短語搭配

平衡就这么自动恢复了。

The actions and interactions of an individual are random.

个体的行动和互动是随机的。

You can't plan which ant will encounter which other ant, 語法

你无法计划哪只蚂蚁会遇到哪只蚂蚁，

but the simple set of rules is so elegant that a colony's many operations emerge as a consequence. 語法

但这套简单的规则如此优雅，以至于蚁群的许多运作作为结果涌现出来。

On an even more fundamental level, 表達脈絡

在更基础的层面上，

hundreds of millions of complicated molecules interact to maintain a robust and amazing structure.

数亿个复杂的分子相互作用，维持着一个坚固而惊人的结构。

A being with vastly different properties than the sum of its dead parts emerges.

一个具有与死亡成分总和截然不同属性的存在涌现了。

The smallest unit of life,

生命的最小单位，

a cell.

细胞。

We still don't have a clear definition of what living things are,

我们仍然没有关于什么是生物的明确定义，

we just know they emerge from things that are not alive.

我们只知道它们是从无生命的事物中涌现出来的。

Cells combine and cooperate,

细胞结合并合作，

they specialize and respond to one another,

它们分化并相互响应，

and over time,

随着时间的推移，

we develop into complex organisms with remarkable capacities. 短語搭配

我们发育成了具有非凡能力的复杂生物体。

Your arms and legs and heart are an incredibly complex and complicated system made of trillions of individual stupid things. 短語搭配

你的手臂、腿和心脏都是极其复杂庞大的系统，由数万亿个独立的笨东西组成。

And yet we breathe,

然而我们能呼吸、

digest,

消化、

and watch YouTube videos.

还能看YouTube视频。

How do your cells know what to do?

你的细胞怎么知道该做什么？

Think of the pacemaker cells in your heart. 短語動詞

想象一下你心脏里的起搏细胞。

Billions of them need to send out an impulse just at the right moment to collectively create a heartbeat. 短語動詞

数以十亿计的起搏细胞需要在恰当的时刻发出脉冲，共同创造出心跳。

Our cells exchange chemical information with their neighbor cells to see what they're up to, 習語

我们的细胞与邻近细胞交换化学信息，看看它们在做什么，

and then decide what to do.

然后决定自己该做什么。

If it's among a lot of cells that are working on the same task,

如果它周围有很多细胞在做同一个任务，

it will start working on that task as well and sync up with them. 短語動詞

它也会开始做这个任务，并与它们同步。

There is no mastermind giving commands, 語法

并没有什么首脑在下达命令，

just single units communicating with their neighbors and acting according to the feedback they get.

只有单个单元与邻居交流，并根据得到的反馈采取行动。

What about our most important part? 表達脈絡

那我们最重要的部分呢？

What is the thing that asks these kinds of questions?

提出这种问题的东西是什么呢？

Is our consciousness then an emergent property of the cells in our brain? 用詞

我们的意识也是大脑细胞的涌现属性吗？

This question is too big and important.

这个问题太大、太重要了。

It deserves a video of its own. 短語搭配

它值得单独做一期视频。

Some things that emerge are hard to define.

有些涌现出来的事物很难定义。

You can't touch an ant colony,

你无法触摸一个蚁群，

only its parts.

只能触摸它的各个部分。

It has neither brain nor face, 語法

它既没有大脑，也没有面孔，

nor body.

更没有身体。

And yet,

然而，

the colony interacts with the world.

蚁群却在与世界互动。

Just like colonies emerge from ants, 語法

就像蚁群从蚂蚁中涌现一样，

things emerge from humans,

事物也从人类中涌现，

like nations.

比如国家。

What actually is a nation? 表達脈絡

国家究竟是什么？

Is it its population?

是它的人口吗？

Is it its institutions?

是它的机构吗？

Its symbols like its flag,

是像国旗、

colors,

颜色、

or anthems?

或者国歌这样的象征吗？

The physical things it makes like cities?

是像城市这样的人造实体吗？

The territory it occupies?

还是它所占据的领土？

All of these things are fluid.

所有这些事物都是流动的。

Populations change and are replaced.

人口会变迁和更替。

Institutions come and go. 習語

机构起起落落。

Cities can be constructed and abandoned.

城市可以被建造，也可以被废弃。

Borders have changed all the time for most of history.

在历史的大部分时间里，边界总是在改变。

And symbols get replaced by new symbols. 語法

象征物也会被新的象征物取代。

A nation has no face,

一个国家没有面孔、

no brain,

没有大脑、

no body.

没有身体。

Are nations not real then? 語氣意圖

那国家是不真实的吗？

Of course they are.

它们当然是真实的。

Just like ant colonies,

就像蚁群一样，

nations interact with the world.

国家与世界互动。

They can change landscapes,

它们可以改变地貌、

wage wars,

发动战争、

grow or decline,

崛起或衰落，

and they can stop existing. 語法

它们也可能不复存在。

But they only exist because of a lot of humans interacting with each other.

但它们的存在只是因为大量的人类在彼此互动。

But not just nations. 表達脈絡

而且不只是国家。

All the complex structures that surround us emerge from us.

环绕着我们的所有复杂结构都是从我们中涌现出来的。

Even if we don't intend to, 語法

即使我们并非刻意，

we are constantly creating communities,

我们也在不断地创造社区、

companies,

公司、

cities,

城市、

societies.

社会。

All of these things are entities that have fundamentally different properties and abilities than the pretty stupid apes they emerged from.

所有这些事物的属性和能力，都从根本上不同于孕育它们的那些相当笨的猿类。

We don't know why any of this happens,

我们不知道这一切为什么会发生，

we just observe it,

我们只是观察到它，

and it seems to be a fundamental property of our universe. 語氣意圖

而这似乎是我们宇宙的一个基本属性。

It may be the most beautiful and wondrous property of our universe.

这或许是我们宇宙中最美丽、最奇妙的属性。