你的大脑里住着一个沉默的陌生人：英语精读讲义

Your brain is two brains,

你的大脑其实是两个大脑，

two hemispheres,

两个半球，

each doing half the work of being you.

各自分担着“成为你”的一半工作。

Half your vision goes to each and half your movement directed by each.

你的视觉各有一半归它们处理，你的动作各有一半由它们指挥。

Right controls left and left controls right.

右脑控制左侧，左脑控制右侧。

Your two brains coordinate through a wire of nerves,

你的两个大脑通过一条神经纤维来协调，

but this wire can be cut and was for a time used as an epilepsy treatment. 文化背景

但这条纤维可以被切断，而且曾一度被用作癫痫的治疗方法。

After the cut,

在切断之后，

people seemed the same,

患者看起来似乎没什么不同，

though their brain was split in twain. 用詞

尽管他们的大脑被一分为二了。

Except some post-split patients described that while selecting their morning outfit with right hand,

除了有些脑裂患者描述，当他们用右手挑选早上的衣服时，

left might come along to disagree. 短語動詞

左手可能会跑出来表示反对。

Actually, left hand might quite often disagree,

事实上，左手可能经常会持反对意见，

which these split brain patients found frustrating.

这让这些脑裂患者感到很沮丧。

What's happening?

发生了什么事呢？

To investigate,

为了弄清原因，

remember right brain sees and controls one half

请记住右脑能看见并控制身体的一半，

while left brain controls and sees the other,

而左脑控制并看见另一半，

but only left brain can speak.

但只有左脑会说话。

Hello.

你好。

Because that's where the speech center is located. 語法

因为那是语言中枢所在的位置。

Right brain without this is mute.

没有这个的右脑是哑的。

In normal brains,

在正常的大脑中，

this doesn't matter because each half communicates across the wire with the other.

这没关系，因为两个半球会通过那条纤维进行交流。

But split brains can't and thus you can show just the right brain a word, 語法

但裂开的大脑无法做到，因此你只向右脑展示一个词汇，

ask the person,

问患者：

"What did you see?"

"你看到了什么？"

and you'll hear nothing.

你将什么也听不到。

Because left speaking brain saw nothing.

因为会说话的左脑什么也没看见。

Meanwhile,

与此同时，

right brain will use its hand to pick the object out of a pile 短語動詞

右脑会用它的手从一堆物品中挑出那个东西，

hidden from left brain.

而这对左脑是隐藏的。

This is deeply creepy.

这让人感到毛骨悚然。

Ask,

如果问：

"Why are you holding the object and speaking?"

"你为什么拿着这个东西说话？"

left brain will make up a plausible sounding but totally wrong reason. 短語動詞

左脑会编造一个听起来合理但完全错误的理由。

I always wanted to learn how to solve one of these.

我一直想学怎么解开这种东西。

Left brain isn't lying.

左脑并没有在说谎。

It's just doing what brains do,

它只是在做大脑该做的事，

creating a story that explains its past actions to its current self, 語法

编造一个故事，向现在的自己解释过去的行径，

a behavior which does rather cast doubt onto the notion of free will, 短語搭配

这种行为确实让人对自由意志的观念产生怀疑，

but that's a story for another time. 短語搭配

但那是另一个故事了。

Creating reasons for why it does things is just something left brains do.

为自己的行为编造理由就是左脑常做的事。

It happens in normal healthy humans all the time,

它一直在正常健康的人类身上发生，

and if you think about it closely, 表達脈絡

如果你仔细回想，

you know you've done this.

你就知道你也做过这事。

Back to experiments. 表達脈絡

回到实验。

Give right brain an object,

给右脑一个物品，

ask the person,

问这个人：

"What's in your hand?"

"你手里拿的是什么？"

and they won't be able to say.

他们将无法回答。

I'm not holding anything.

我什么也没拿。

And when asked to draw, 語法

而当被要求画画时，

a split brain can draw two separate objects simultaneously

裂脑人可以同时画出两个独立的物体，

with each hand in a way unsplit brains find challenging. 語法

用两只手以未分裂大脑觉得困难的方式画出来。

These experiments on split brain patients are deeply unsettling

这些对脑裂患者的实验令人深感不安，

because they really point in the direction of a mute separate intelligence, 習語

因为它们真真切切地指向了某种无声且独立的智力，

something living in the skull.

某种居住在头骨里的东西。

You can even ask questions of a split brain

你甚至可以向裂开的大脑提问，

and get disagreement on the answer.

并得到不一致的答案。

So,

那么，

if your brain is split,

如果你的大脑分裂了，

who is the you in this situation? 用詞

这种情况下的你是谁？

From the outside,

从外表来看，

it's tempting to think of the part of the brain that's speaking as the person. 語法

人们很容易把大脑中说话的那部分当成是这个人。

But something is hearing and answering questions,

但有某种东西在聆听并回答问题，

and though right brain can't speak, 語法

尽管右脑不会说话，

it does understand faces,

但它能识别面孔，

which left brain can't.

这是左脑做不到的。

If this is you,

如果这就是你，

you don't know who your friends and family are in a crowd.

你在人群中根本不知道谁是你的亲友。

This act of cutting exposes two minds in one head, 習語

切断神经的这一举动暴露出一个脑袋里有两个心智，

and the talking mind doesn't know there's someone else in the house. 習語

而会说话的心智却不知道房子里还有别人。

The left brain can describe the situation it's in,

左脑可以描述它所处的状况，

but nonetheless will constantly be surprised by right brain's actions

但仍然会不断对右脑的行为感到惊讶，

and explain them away. 短語動詞

并找借口把它们搪塞过去。

There's a question to be asked here. 表達脈絡

这里有一个值得提出的问题。

Why,

为什么，

after separation,

在分离之后，

does right brain not totally freak out, 短語動詞

右脑没有完全崩溃，

but instead plays along helpfully answering questions 短語動詞

而是配合地帮忙回答问题，

and listening to left brain's dumb stories about what's happening?

并听着左脑讲述关于发生了什么的愚蠢故事？

It's the best pony.

它是最棒的小马。

I don't know.

我不知道。

Speculation time.

猜测时间。

But one answer is the cutting doesn't make right brain a separate intelligence, 語法

可是有一个答案是，切断神经并没有让右脑成为一个独立的智力、

consciousness,

意识、

person,

人格，

but rather it has always been.

而是它本来就是。

In normal people,

在正常人身上，

perhaps right brain grows up as a companion without a choice,

也许右脑别无选择地作为一个同伴成长，

feeling at first somewhat equal partners,

起初觉得是地位有些平等的伙伴，

but then as speech develops that it can't participate in,

但随着语言能力的发展它无法参与其中，

that increasingly becomes the central point of life,

这逐渐成为生活的中心点，

it resigns to mutely coordinate with left brain. 語法

它便只好顺从地默默配合左脑。

At this moment in your normal head,

此时此刻在你正常的脑袋里，

there are two of you watching this video.

就有两个你在看这个视频。

One having a mind equals blown moment 文化背景

一个有着脑洞大开的时刻，

and the other mentally rolling its eye at the obviousness of it all. 習語

另一个则在心里对这一切的显而易见翻着白眼。

In split brains,

在裂脑中，

right doesn't freak out because not a whole lot has really changed.

右脑之所以没有崩溃，是因为一切并没有真的改变多少。

You might not agree and may be arguing right now why it can't be possible,

你可能不赞同，并且现在可能在争论为什么这是不可能的，

exactly as we would expect talking left brain to do. 語法

完全就像我们期望会说话的左脑所做的那样。

Speculation aside, 表達脈絡

抛开猜测不谈，

split brain patients show at the very least that in the mind, 表達脈絡

裂脑患者至少表明了，在心智中，

there is a separate something that can hear and understand and respond

存在一个独立的东西，可以听到、理解并回应，

given the right circumstances. 短語搭配

只要给出合适的环境。

Your brain isn't entirely yours.

你的大脑并不完全属于你。

Who is you? 表達脈絡

你是谁？

You is two.

你是两个。

But we can go deeper.

但我们可以挖得更深。

You are many.

你是许多个。

The pile of meat that is your body 習語

构成你身体的这堆肉，

is made up of trillions of tiny individuals that have a life of their own. 講解

是由数以万亿计有着各自生命的小个体组成的。

So,

那么，

at which point do the many become one? 語法

这许多个是在哪一刻变成一个的？

What makes lots of tiny things you?

是什么让许多微小的东西组成了你？

Click here to go to our channel and watch the next part.

点击这里前往我们的频道观看下一部分。

Seriously,

说真的，

if you haven't checked out Kurzgesagt,

如果你还没看过 Kurzgesagt，

then you don't know what you're missing.

那你根本不知道错过了什么。

Kurgaset?

Kurgaset?

Kurtzgaset?

Kurtzgaset?

I never know.

我总搞不清楚。