你的大腦裡住著一個沉默的陌生人：英語精讀講義

Your brain is two brains,

你的大腦其實是兩個大腦，

two hemispheres,

兩個半球，

each doing half the work of being you.

各自分擔著「成為你」的一半工作。

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

你的視覺各有一半歸它們處理，你的動作各有一半由它們指揮。

Right controls left and left controls right.

右腦控制左側，左腦控制右側。

Your two brains coordinate through a wire of nerves,

你的兩個大腦透過一條神經纖維來協調，

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

但這條纖維可以被切斷，而且曾一度被用作癲癇的治療方法。

After the cut,

在切斷之後，

people seemed the same,

患者看起來似乎沒什麼不同，

though their brain was split in twain. 用詞

儘管他們的大腦被一分為二了。

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

除了有些裂腦患者描述，當他們用右手挑選早上的衣服時，

left might come along to disagree. 片語動詞

左手可能會跑出來表示反對。

Actually, left hand might quite often disagree,

事實上，左手可能經常會持反對意見，

which these split brain patients found frustrating.

這讓這些裂腦患者感到很沮喪。

What's happening?

發生了什麼事呢？

To investigate,

為了弄清原因，

remember right brain sees and controls one half

請記住右腦能看見並控制身體的一半，

while left brain controls and sees the other,

而左腦控制並看見另一半，

but only left brain can speak.

但只有左腦會說話。

Hello.

你好。

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

因為那是語言中樞所在的位置。

Right brain without this is mute.

沒有這個的右腦是啞的。

In normal brains,

在正常的大腦中，

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

這沒關係，因為兩個半球會透過那條纖維進行交流。

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

但裂開的大腦無法做到，因此你只向右腦展示一個詞彙，

ask the person,

問患者：

"What did you see?"

"你看到了什麼？"

and you'll hear nothing.

你將什麼也聽不到。

Because left speaking brain saw nothing.

因為會說話的左腦什麼也沒看見。

Meanwhile,

與此同時，

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

右腦會用它的手從一堆物品中挑出那個東西，

hidden from left brain.

而這對左腦是隱藏的。

This is deeply creepy.

這讓人感到毛骨悚然。

Ask,

如果問：

"Why are you holding the object and speaking?"

"你為什麼拿著這個東西說話？"

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

左腦會編造一個聽起來合理但完全錯誤的理由。

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

我一直想學怎麼解開這種東西。

Left brain isn't lying.

左腦並沒有在說謊。

It's just doing what brains do,

它只是在做大腦該做的事，

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

編造一個故事，向現在的自己解釋過去的行徑，

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

這種行為確實讓人對自由意志的觀念產生懷疑，

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

但那是另一個故事了。

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

為自己的行為編造理由就是左腦常做的事。

It happens in normal healthy humans all the time,

它一直在正常健康的人類身上發生，

and if you think about it closely, 表達脈絡

如果你仔細回想，

you know you've done this.

你就知道你也做過這事。

Back to experiments. 表達脈絡

回到實驗。

Give right brain an object,

給右腦一個物品，

ask the person,

問這個人：

"What's in your hand?"

"你手裡拿的是什麼？"

and they won't be able to say.

他們將無法回答。

I'm not holding anything.

我什麼也沒拿。

And when asked to draw, 文法

而當被要求畫畫時，

a split brain can draw two separate objects simultaneously

裂腦人可以同時畫出兩個獨立的物體，

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

用兩隻手以未分裂大腦覺得困難的方式畫出來。

These experiments on split brain patients are deeply unsettling

這些對裂腦患者的實驗令人深感不安，

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

因為它們真真切切地指向了某種無聲且獨立的智力，

something living in the skull.

某種居住在頭骨裡的東西。

You can even ask questions of a split brain

你甚至可以向裂開的大腦提問，

and get disagreement on the answer.

並得到不一致的答案。

So,

那麼，

if your brain is split,

如果你的大腦分裂了，

who is the you in this situation? 用詞

這種情況下的你是誰？

From the outside,

從外表來看，

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

人們很容易把大腦中說話的那部分當成是這個人。

But something is hearing and answering questions,

但有某種東西在聆聽並回答問題，

and though right brain can't speak, 文法

儘管右腦不會說話，

it does understand faces,

但它能識別面孔，

which left brain can't.

這是左腦做不到的。

If this is you,

如果這就是你，

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

你在人群中根本不知道誰是你的親友。

This act of cutting exposes two minds in one head, 慣用語

切斷神經的這一舉動暴露出一個腦袋裡有兩個心智，

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

而會說話的心智卻不知道房子裡還有別人。

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

左腦可以描述它所處的狀況，

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

但仍然會不斷對右腦的行為感到驚訝，

and explain them away. 片語動詞

並找藉口把它們搪塞過去。

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

這裡有一個值得提出的問題。

Why,

為什麼，

after separation,

在分離之後，

does right brain not totally freak out, 片語動詞

右腦沒有完全崩潰，

but instead plays along helpfully answering questions 片語動詞

而是配合地幫忙回答問題，

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

並聽著左腦講述關於發生了什麼的愚蠢故事？

It's the best pony.

牠是最棒的小馬。

I don't know.

我不知道。

Speculation time.

猜測時間。

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

可是有一個答案是，切斷神經並沒有讓右腦成為一個獨立的智力、

consciousness,

意識、

person,

人格，

but rather it has always been.

而是它本來就是。

In normal people,

在正常人身上，

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

也許右腦別無選擇地作為一個同伴成長，

feeling at first somewhat equal partners,

起初覺得是地位有些平等的夥伴，

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

但隨著語言能力的發展它無法參與其中，

that increasingly becomes the central point of life,

這逐漸成為生活的中心點，

it resigns to mutely coordinate with left brain. 文法

它便只好順從地默默配合左腦。

At this moment in your normal head,

此時此刻在你正常的腦袋裡，

there are two of you watching this video.

就有兩個你在看這支影片。

One having a mind equals blown moment 文化背景

一個有著腦洞大開的時刻，

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

另一個則在心裡對這一切的顯而易見翻著白眼。

In split brains,

在裂腦中，

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

右腦之所以沒有崩潰，是因為一切並沒有真的改變多少。

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

你可能不贊同，並且現在可能在爭論為什麼這是不可能的，

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

完全就像我們期望會說話的左腦所做的那樣。

Speculation aside, 表達脈絡

撇開猜測不談，

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

裂腦患者至少表明了，在心智中，

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

存在一個獨立的東西，可以聽到、理解並回應，

given the right circumstances. 片語搭配

只要給出合適的環境。

Your brain isn't entirely yours.

你的大腦並不完全屬於你。

Who is you? 表達脈絡

你是誰？

You is two.

你是兩個。

But we can go deeper.

但我們可以挖得更深。

You are many.

你是許多個。

The pile of meat that is your body 慣用語

構成你身體的這堆肉，

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

是由數以萬億計有著各自生命的小個體組成的。

So,

那麼，

at which point do the many become one? 文法

這許多個是在哪一刻變成一個的？

What makes lots of tiny things you?

是什麼讓許多微小的東西組成了你？

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

點擊這裡前往我們的頻道觀看下一部分。

Seriously,

說真的，

if you haven't checked out Kurzgesagt,

如果你還沒看過 Kurzgesagt，

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

那你根本不知道錯過了什麼。

Kurgaset?

Kurgaset?

Kurtzgaset?

Kurtzgaset?

I never know.

我總搞不清楚。