逆向大腦腳踏車 - Smarter Every Day 133：英語精讀講義

Hey, it's me Destin.

嘿，我是 Destin。

Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

歡迎回到 Smarter Every Day（天天變聰明）。

You've heard people say it's just like riding a bike, 慣用語

你聽過人們常說「就像騎腳踏車一樣」，

meaning it's really easy and you can't forget how to do it,

意思是這很簡單，你不可能忘記怎麼騎，

right?

對吧？

But I did something.

但我做了一件事。

I did something that damaged my mind.

做了件傷害我大腦的事。

It happened on the streets of Amsterdam

事情發生在阿姆斯特丹的街頭，

and and I got really scared,

坦白說，當時我真的害怕極了，

honestly.

說真的。

I can't ride a bike like you can anymore.

我再也不能像你那樣騎腳踏車了。

Before I show you the video of what happened,

在給你看事發當時的影片之前，

I I need to tell you the backstory.

我得先告訴你事情的背景。

Like many 6-year-olds with a MacGyver mullet, 文化背景

就像許多留著馬蓋先式鯔魚頭的小孩一樣，

I learned how to ride a bike when I was really young.

我很小的時候就學會了騎腳踏車。

I had learned a life skill and I was really proud of it.

我學到了一項生活技能，並為此感到自豪。

Everything changed,

然而一切都改變了，

though,

不過，

when my friend Barney called me 25 years later.

就在 25 年後我的朋友 Barney 打電話給我的時候。

Where I work,

在我工作的地方，

the welders are geniuses and they like to play jokes on the engineers. 片語搭配

銲接工們都是天才，他們很喜歡對工程師惡作劇。

He had a challenge for me.

他給了我一個挑戰。

He had built a special bicycle and he wanted me to try to ride it. 文法

他造了一輛特殊的腳踏車，想讓我試騎一下。

He had only changed one thing.

他只改變了一件事。

When you turn the handlebar to the left,

當你把車把向左轉時，

the wheel goes to the right.

輪子會向右轉。

When you turn it to the right,

當你向右轉時，

the wheel goes to the left.

輪子會向左轉。

I thought this would be easy,

我覺得這很簡單，

so I hopped on the bike ready to demonstrate how quickly I could conquer this. 片語動詞

於是我跳上車，準備展示我能多快征服它。

And here he is,

各位女士們先生們，

ladies and gentlemen,

他來了，

Mr. Destin Sandlin.

Destin Sandlin 先生。

First attempt riding the bicycle.

第一次嘗試騎這輛腳踏車。

So,

那麼，

the faster I go, 文法

我騎得越快，

the better.

越好。

Yeah.

對。

Yeah.

是的。

I couldn't do it.

我做不到。

You can see that I'm laughing,

你能看到我在笑，

but I'm actually really frustrated.

但實際上我非常沮喪。

In this moment,

就在這一刻，

I had a really deep revelation.

我有了很深的頓悟。

My thinking was in a rut. 慣用語

我的思維陷入了僵局。

This bike revealed a very deep truth to me.

這輛腳踏車向我揭示了一個非常深刻的真理。

I had the knowledge of how to operate the bike,

我擁有如何操作腳踏車的知識，

but I did not have the understanding.

但我並沒有理解它。

Therefore,

因此，

knowledge is not understanding. 表達脈絡

知識不等於理解。

Look,

聽著，

I know what you're probably thinking,

我知道你大概在想什麼，

Destin's probably just an uncoordinated engineer and can't do it.

「Destin 肯定只是個四肢不協調的工程師所以做不到。」

But that's not the case at all. 片語搭配

但完全不是這樣。

The algorithm that's associated with riding a bike in your brain is just that complicated. 文法

你的大腦裡關於騎腳踏車的演算法就是有這麼複雜。

Think about it.

想想看。

Downwards force on the pedals,

踩在踏板上的向下力量，

leaning your whole body,

傾斜你整個身體，

pulling and pushing the handlebars,

推拉車把，

gyroscopic precession in the wheels,

車輪的陀螺進動，

every single force is part of this algorithm.

每一種力量都是這個演算法的一部分。

And if you change any one part,

如果你改變其中的任何一部分，

it affects the entire control system.

就會影響整個控制系統。

I do not make definitive statements that often, 表達脈絡

我不常做這麼絕對的結論，

but I'm telling you right now,

但我現在就告訴你，

you cannot ride this bicycle.

你不可能騎得好這輛腳踏車。

You might think you can, 表達脈絡

你可能覺得你能行，

but you can't.

但你真不行。

I know this because I'm often asked to speak at universities and conferences

我之所以這麼清楚，是因為我常受邀在大學和會議上演講，

and I take the bike with me.

而且我會帶上這輛腳踏車。

It's always the same.

結果總是一樣的。

People think they're going to try some trick or they're just going to power through it. 片語動詞

人們總想著耍點小聰明，或者打算強行克服它。

It doesn't work.

根本行不通。

Your brain cannot handle this.

你的大腦處理不了。

For instance,

比如說，

this guy,

這傢伙，

I offered him $200 just to ride this bike 10 ft across the stage.

我提出只要他能騎著這車橫穿舞台 10 英尺，我就給他 200 美元。

Everybody thought he could do it.

所有人都覺得他能做到。

No,

不，

you don't understand.

你不明白。

You don't understand.

你不明白。

So,

好了，

this way.

這邊走。

All right,

好的，

so

那麼

whenever you're ready.

你準備好了就開始。

No, no,

不，不，

you have to keep your feet on

你的腳得踩在——

All right,

好了，

keep it together.

穩住。

Wait,

等等，

wait, wait.

等等，等等。

Like,

那個，

you've gotta start rolling at least.

你至少得先讓車子滾起來。

And go.

走。

Oh, no!

喔，不！

All right,

好吧，

back up.

退後。

Keep your feet on the pedal.

把腳放在踏板上。

Go.

走。

Just keep your feet on the pedals.

把腳放在踏板上就好。

Handlebars

抓好車把

Yeah,

對，

come on.

加油。

All right,

好了，

one more time.

再來一次。

One more time.

再來一次。

Once you have a rigid way of thinking in your head,

一旦你的大腦裡形成了一種僵化的思維方式，

sometimes you cannot change that

有時你就無法改變它，

even if you want to. 文法

即使你想改變也不行。

So,

於是，

here's what I did.

我是這麼做的。

It was a personal challenge.

這是個個人挑戰。

I stayed out here in this driveway and I practiced about 5 minutes every day.

我每天在這車道上待著，練習大約 5 分鐘。

My neighbors made fun of me. 慣用語

我的鄰居們都取笑我。

I had many wrecks,

我摔了無數次，

but after 8 months,

但是 8 個月後，

this happened.

奇蹟發生了。

One day I couldn't ride the bike and the next day I could. 表達脈絡

某天我還騎不了這車，第二天我就會了。

It was like I could feel some kind of pathway in my brain that was now unlocked.

感覺就像我腦海裡的某條通路突然被打通了。

It was really weird,

不過這真的很奇怪，

though.

可是。

It's like there's this trail in my brain,

就像我大腦裡有一條小路，

but if I wasn't paying close enough attention to it, 片語搭配

但如果我不全神貫注，

my brain would easily lose that neural path and jump back onto the old road it was more familiar with. 慣用語

我的大腦很容易就會失去那條神經通路，然後跳回它更熟悉的舊路上。

Any small distractions at all,

任何一點小小的分心，

like a cell phone ringing in my pocket,

比如口袋裡的手機響了，

would instantly throw my brain back to the old control algorithm and I would wreck.

都會瞬間讓我的大腦回到舊的控制演算法，然後我就會摔倒。

But at least I could ride it.

但至少我會騎了。

My son is the closest person to me genetically and he's been riding a normal bike for 3 years.

我兒子在基因上跟我最接近，他騎普通腳踏車已經 3 年了。

That's over half his life.

那超過了他一半的人生。

I wanted to know how long it would take him to learn how to ride a backwards bike, 文法

我想知道他學會騎反向腳踏車需要多長時間，

so I told him if he learned how to ride a backwards bike,

所以我告訴他，如果他學會騎反向腳踏車，

he could go with me to Australia and meet a real astronaut.

就可以和我去澳洲見真正的太空人。

Are you going to give up?

你要放棄了嗎？

No.

不。

Go ahead. 語氣意圖

繼續。

This is how it starts.

一開始就是這樣。

Look at this.

看看這個。

This is such a big deal. 慣用語

這可是件大事。

Get up,

站起來，

you got it.

你能行的。

Did you see his brain get it?

你們看到他的大腦開竅了嗎？

So,

那麼，

he

他

in

在

how many weeks have we been doing this?

我們練了幾個星期了？

Two weeks?

兩個星期？

In 2 weeks,

僅僅 2 個星期，

he did something that took me 8 months to do,

他就做到了我花了 8 個月才做到的事，

which demonstrates that a child has more neuroplasticity. 講解

這表明孩子的大腦具有更強的神經可塑性。

Am I even saying that right? 語氣意圖

我這詞說對了嗎？

Than an adult.

相比於成年人。

It's clear from this experiment that children have a much more plastic brain than adults. 表達脈絡

這個實驗清楚地表明，孩子的大腦比成年人的更具可塑性。

That's why the best time to learn a language is when you're a young child.

這就是為什麼學習語言的最佳時機是在你還是個孩子的時候。

All right,

好了，

today's bike log.

今天的騎行日誌。

I can ride smooth,

我能騎得很平穩，

I can ride fast.

我能騎得很快。

I'm thinking the experiment is over.

我想實驗結束了。

Okay,

好吧，

now I'm in Amsterdam,

現在我在阿姆斯特丹，

a city that has more bicycles than people.

一個腳踏車比人還多的城市。

The question is,

問題是，

can I ride a normal bike now?

我現在還能騎普通腳踏車嗎？

I mean,

我的意思是，

I've spent all this time unlearning how to ride a bike. 講解

我花了這麼多時間去忘掉怎麼騎腳踏車。

If I go back and try to ride a normal one,

如果我現在回去嘗試騎一輛普通的，

will my brain mess up?

我的大腦會混亂嗎？

So,

於是，

I've tweeted a Smarter Every Day meetup,

我在推特上發起了一個 Smarter Every Day 粉絲聚會，

if you will, 語氣意圖

也可以這麼說，

and I'm going to see if somebody brings a bicycle and I'm going to try to ride a normal bike.

我想看看是否有人會帶腳踏車來，我要試騎一下普通腳踏車。

It's backwards.

是反的。

It's backwards.

它是反過來的。

This was one of the most frustrating moments of my life.

這是我人生中最令人沮喪的時刻之一。

I had ridden a normal bike since I was six,

我從 6 歲起就騎普通腳踏車，

but in this moment,

但在這一刻，

I couldn't do it anymore.

我竟然騎不了了。

I had set out to prove that I could free my brain from a cognitive bias. 講解

我本來想證明我可以把大腦從認知偏見中解放出來。

But at this point,

但在這一刻，

I'm pretty sure that all I proved is that I can only re-designate that bias. 文法

我很確定我只證明了，我只能重新設定那個偏見。

So,

那麼，

what you're not seeing

你們沒看到的是

is just a group of people here looking at me,

周圍有一群人看著我，

looking at the strange American

看著這個奇怪的美國人，

that can't ride a bike because they think I'm dumb.

居然不會騎腳踏車，他們大概覺得我很蠢。

But I'm actually two levels deep into this because I've learned and unlearned

但實際上我進入了第二層境界，因為我經歷了學習與遺忘，

all right.

好吧。

After 20 minutes of making a fool out of myself, 慣用語

在出了 20 分鐘的洋相之後，

suddenly my brain clicked back into the old algorithm. 慣用語

突然我的大腦又切換回了舊的演算法。

I can't explain it,

我無法解釋，

but it happened in a very specific moment.

但它就發生在一個非常具體的時刻。

I got it.

我找到了。

I got it.

我找到感覺了。

I got it.

我找回來了。

I'm back.

我恢復了。

Oh,

喔，

it clicked.

喀噠一下。

It clicked.

開竅了。

Hold on,

等等，

it clicked.

喀噠一下。

I got it.

找到了。

I got it.

找到了。

Okay,

好了，

there it is.

就是這個。

There was the moment.

就是這個瞬間。

Okay,

好了，

I can ride a bike.

我會騎腳踏車了。

I tried to explain this to the people around me and they just didn't get it.

我試圖向周圍的人解釋，但他們根本聽不懂。

They thought I was faking the previous 20 minutes and I couldn't get anybody to believe me. 文法

他們以為我前 20 分鐘是裝的，我沒法讓任何人相信我。

That looked like I faked it, didn't it?

看起來就像我裝的，不是嗎？

Just a fake.

就是個騙子。

You think I'm faking.

你覺得我在裝。

You don't believe me.

你不相信我。

You think I'm lying, 文法

你認為我在說謊，

don't you?

是吧？

I'm not lying.

我沒有說謊。

I felt like the only person on the planet who had ever unlearned how to ride a bike

我覺得自己是這個地球上唯一一個學會「忘掉怎麼騎腳踏車」的人，

and I couldn't articulate it to anyone because everybody just knew that you can't forget how to ride a bike. 用詞

並且我無法向任何人解釋，因為大家都深信你是不可能忘記怎麼騎車的。

So,

所以，

I learned three things from this experiment.

我從這個實驗中學到了三件事。

I learned that welders are often smarter than engineers.

我學到了銲接工通常比工程師聰明。

I learned that knowledge does not equal understanding.

我學到了知識不等於理解。

And I learned that truth is truth no matter what I think about it. 講解

我還學到，無論我怎麼想，真理就是真理。

So,

那麼，

be very careful how you interpret things because you're looking at the world with a bias

當你解讀事物時要非常小心，因為你是帶著偏見在看世界，

whether you think you are or not. 文法

不管你承不承認。

I'm Destin.

我是 Destin。

You're getting smarter every day.

你每天都在變得更聰明。

Have a good one. 語氣意圖

祝你愉快。

Okay,

好了，

if you want to support Smarter Every Day,

如果你想支持 Smarter Every Day，

you can download a free audiobook at audible.com/smarter.

你可以在 audible.com/smarter 免費下載一本有聲書。

I recommend Commander Hadfield's book,

我推薦 Hadfield 指揮官的書，

which is an astronaut's guide to life on Earth.

書名是《太空人的地球生活指南》。

I read it.

我讀過。

It was awesome.

非常棒。

If you think about it,

想想看，

I had to learn how to ride a different kind of bicycle and my son did as well.

我不得不學習如何騎另一種腳踏車，我兒子也是。

But,

但是，

Commander Hadfield had to learn how to ride a different spaceship.

Hadfield 指揮官不得不住在不同的太空船上。

Not only that, 表達脈絡

不僅如此，

but a different type of space station.

還有不同類型的太空站。

He was on Mir

他去過和平號太空站，

and

以及

the International Space Station.

國際太空站。

Anyway,

總之，

if you're interested in supporting Smarter Every Day,

如果你有興趣支持 Smarter Every Day，

audible.com/smarter

造訪 audible.com/smarter

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.

獲取《太空人的地球生活指南》。

I'm Destin.

我是 Destin。

Getting smarter every day.

每天變聰明。

Have a good one.

祝你愉快。

Everything's wrong.

全都錯了。

My instinctive reaction's wrong.

我的本能反應是錯的。

Why don't you ride it?

你怎麼不騎一下？

You just built it?

不是你剛造的嗎？

I can't ride it.

我騎不了。

I just built it.

我只是造了它。