I'm gonna tell you three things about myself.

我會跟你說三件關於我的事

You have to pick up one that it's not true. Ready?

你要找出哪件是假的，準備好了嗎？

Okay. Number one, I have a machine at home that transforms plain water into carbonated water.

第一，我家有台機器可以把白開水變成氣泡水

Two: I'm really bad at the card game Set

第二，我很不會玩一種叫SET的桌遊

Three, Michael Jackson is my aunt. Isn't that obvious?

第三，麥可傑克森是我阿姨。答案很明顯吧？

Yeah. God, so bad at games.

沒錯。唉！我真不會玩遊戲

Lying. We do it a lot.

說謊，我們很常做

And we're a lot better at it than you'd like to think.

而且我們比你想像中更擅長說謊

Like I'm not a stupid. I could totally make up a better lie than Michael Jackson is my aunt.

我又不是笨蛋，當然可以編個比「麥可是我阿姨」好的謊話

But check it out; the fact that I appeared to be terrible at lying was in fact a lie.

看，我很不會說謊這件事，其實就是個謊話

In the ten-minute conversation with a stranger, we humans will tell an average of 3 lies.

和陌生人談話十分鐘，人類平均會說三個謊話

Researchers who study lying said that the subjects of these lying studies

研究說謊的學者指出，說謊實驗的受試者

rarely even realize that they're doing it.

很少意識到自己正在說謊

But why? What purpose does lying actually serve?

但為什麼？說謊的實際目的是什麼呢？

Well, to put human deception into perspective, it's worth pointing out that humans aren't the only fibbers in nature.

想全面了解人類的說謊，就得知道，世上不是只有人類會說謊

My favorite anecdotal examples of non-human lying.

我最喜歡的非人類說謊案例是

Koko the gorilla who was taught sign language back in 1970s.

1970年代，有隻會手語的猩猩KOKO

Once actually blamed her pet kitten for ripping a sink out of the wall in her room.

牠把水槽從牆上扯了下來，然後說是牠養的小貓做的

Bad bad old ball. So yeah, lying is nothing new with nature.

真是隻壞猩猩！所以，說謊是種自然天性

But why did humans specifically do so much of it?

但為什麼人類特別常說謊？

Well as I mentioned here before on SciShow, humans are first and foremost social animals.

我在之前的節目提過，人類是最初且最重要的社會化動物

Got really, super-huge brains, and that's mainly because we need them for all the interacting we're always doing.

人腦演化得這麼巨大，就是為了應付日常互動

For human successful social interaction is key to success for much of our lives.

成功的社會互動是人類存活的關鍵

So it's clear that lying is a great way of keeping elaborate social structures running smoothly while looking out for number one.

說謊可以維持複雜的社會運作，讓人獲得更高的社會地位

For instance, if you can keep your social group happy, you're going to reap all kinds of benefits

比如說，如果你能讓群體開心，就能獲得各種好處

like food, higher social standing, more and better sexual partners

像是食物、社會地位、更多更好的性伴侶

and you know you don't make friends and influence people going around and saying things like

你會交不到朋友，失去影響力，要是你說這種話：

“Actually, that loincloth does make your butt look big,”

「說真的，那剪裁讓你屁股看起來更大」

or "Hey, uh, I have been having sex with your brother while you're out hunting mastodons,

或是：「每次你去獵長毛象時，我都趁機和你哥打炮」

so little Blurgh over there is probably your cave nephew."

「所以我們的小孩可能是你姪子喔」

So the ability to lie and to detect a lie became pretty important to early humans

說謊和辨別謊言的能力，對早期人類非常重要

Because lying is actually not very easy for a brain to do

對大腦來說，說謊其實不是很簡單

And actually caused a bit of an evolutionary arms race.

因此產生了大腦的演化競賽

So people start to get better and better at lying.

人類越來越擅長說謊

Better liars got better stuff while hopefully remain in good standing with their communities.

比較會說謊的人得到較好的物資，且能維持良好社會地位

By the same time token those who were better at detecting lies were cheated on by their mates and

同樣的，比較會辨別謊言的人，比較不會被伴侶欺騙

screwed over in camel trades a lot or less of it

比較不會被伴侶欺騙，或在駱駝交易中吃虧

So yes now we've evolved to be good liars and also good at spotting bad liar.

現在，我們演化得很會說謊，也擅長辨別彆腳的說謊者

So that society became more sophisticated. Folks were like

社會變得更複雜了，人們會說：

okay okay. Enough with the lying!

好了好了，別再說謊了

Because there are a lot of advantages to living in tight-knit communities and structured societies,

住在緊密有秩序的社會有很多優點

but you can't really have them when you don't know for sure if the kids you're raising are yours

但你無法享受這些，假如你不能確定小孩是不是親生的

and the camels you just bought has ever been in an accident. Whatever

也不能確定你買的駱駝有沒有出過意外

So a society in which bold face lying goes completely unchecked leads to total anarchy.

肆無忌憚的說謊，會使社會失去秩序

So organized societies started putting the hammer down.

所以有秩序的社會開始譴責說謊

Religious systems began to drive home the point that God rewards and cares for the truthful and punishes liars.

宗教團體開始宣導，神會保佑誠實者，懲罰說謊者

So if you could survive being thrown into the bog and tied up with a sack of hammers,

所以，如果你被綁上重物丟進沼澤之後，還能活下來的話

God was on your side and you were telling the truth.

神就是站在你這邊，你是誠實的

If not, you were obviously lying.

如果活不下來，那你顯然是在說謊

Oh. Medieval European judicial system, how I love you.

噢，我真愛中世紀歐洲司法系統

Even now, in modern times, there are laws that prohibit lying

即使在現代，也有各種法律禁止說謊

and override even our rights to free speech.

甚至凌駕於我們的言論自由

For instance, you go to jail for lying in the court of law

比如說，在法庭上說謊，會使你入獄

or for lying about having received a Medal of Honor for service in the armed forces.

謊稱收到軍隊榮譽勳章，也會讓你坐牢

Don't do that. Also, ‘cause you're not an evil... Why would someone do that?

你不是惡魔，別做這種事…怎麼會有人做這種事？

So lying it's not okay.

所以，說謊是不好的

But we're all so good at it, and our brains want to do it.

但我們都很擅長說謊，大腦就是想這麼做

And we start lying really early; some researchers say as early as six months old.

我們很早就會說謊，有學者說，六個月大就開始會說謊

I mean you've seen a baby fake crying right?

你有看過小嬰兒假哭，對吧？

It's very obvious. Like they're crying,

那很明顯，小孩會假哭

then they like check to see if anybody's coming over to sympathize,

之後看看有沒有人會過來哄

and then they're like “Oh, I'm going to keep crying then.”

他們會想：「有人來了！那我繼續哭！」

Scientists think this is the time when babies are actually learning how to be better liars.

科學家認為，這時嬰兒其實是在學習如何說謊

By the time when kids in college, they're lying to the mom about once in every five interactions

到了孩子上大學時，和媽媽每五次互動就有一次說謊

And actually, that seems, that seems low to me.

但我覺得…這樣其實算少

I would say five out of five for my college experience.

我大學時，五次互動就說謊了五次！

Kids these days, actually, kids every day.

這年頭的小孩呀…其實，小孩一直都這樣

By the time, we're adults. We've gotten so very good at lying

長大了以後，我們變的很擅長說謊

that we're actually able to do it to ourselves very effectively.

就算是對自己說謊，也都非常有效率

The trick of lying to yourself is in the holding of two pieces conflicting information in your head at the same time

對自己說謊的關鍵是，在腦中同時保有兩種衝突訊息

And paying attention to one while ignoring the other.

一次只注意一個訊息，忽略另一個

People who are good liars can hold a bunch of conflicted information in their heads all at once and keep tracking to that

很會說謊的人，可以同時處理一大堆衝突訊息，不會混亂

Take pathological liars, people who habitually and compulsively lie, cheat, and manipulate other people.

病態的說謊者會強迫性的說謊誤導別人

The thing about pathological liars is that they're super good at self-deception

他們非常擅長欺騙自己

At the moment they're telling it, they whole-heartedly believe their own lie.

他們說謊的當下，是全心全意相信那謊言的

Interestingly enough, there is an actual difference between the brain of a normal person and the brain of a pathological liar.

更有趣的是，正常人和病態說謊者的腦，有個地方不同

That difference is in the very front of the brain, in a place called the prefrontal cortex.

那個部位在大腦的最前端，稱為前額葉皮質

Most neuroscience studies focus on the gray matter of the brain, that's the material that actually processes information.

大部分神經科學研究都專注於大腦灰質，灰質負責處理資訊

However, nearly half of our brains are made up of what's called white matter

但是，將近一半的大腦是由白質組成的

Which is composed of connective tissues that carry electrical signals from one group of neurons to another.

白質由結締組織構成，將電子訊息在神經叢之間傳遞

So gray matter is where all the processing happens and white matter connects the different parts of the brain

所以灰質負責處理資訊，白質則連接大腦各部位

In a study at the University of Southern California, researchers found that

在南加州大學的研究中，科學家發現，

pathological liars have about 25 % more white matter in their prefrontal cortex than the rest of us.

病態說謊者前額葉皮質裡的白質，比普通人多了25%

Suggesting the pathological liars can make a bunch of connections in their brain really fast.

表示他們大腦可以快速連結各種資訊

And that let them keep all the information in order that they need to sustain the lie.

讓他們可以記住維持謊言的所有資訊

also to read the person that they're lying to, suppress their emotions,

理解他們說謊的對象，並壓抑情緒

and probably believe what they're saying on top of it all.

可能完全相信他們正在說的謊

So why haven't pathological liars taken over the world?

那麼，為什麼病態說謊者還沒佔領世界呢？

I mean, they seem to be the next step in human evolution.

我是說，他們似乎是人類演化的下一世代

Well, pathological liars have a surplus of white matter, they also have around 14% less gray matter than other people.

病態說謊者大腦白質較多的同時，灰質也比一般人少了約14%

And grey matter is where all the critical thinking happens.

而全部的批判性思考都由灰質運作

So the white matter is all like, “I'm gonna tell Jim I used to be a fighter pilot!”

所以當白質說：我要跟Jim說，我以前是戰鬥機飛行員！

And the gray matter is all, “I could tell Jim I used to be a fighter pilot,

灰質會說：我是可以跟Jim這樣說

but I probably shouldn't because that would jeopardize my relationship with Tammi.”

但我不應該，因為這會危害到我和Tammy的關係

So extreme liars have a really hard time maintaining relationships and holding down jobs

所以說謊成性的人，極難維持關係或工作

Because after a while, everybody realizes they are full of crap and they get dumped or fired,

因為過了一陣子，大家會發現他謊話連篇，把他甩掉或炒魷魚

Which is not ideal for the person. It's great for everyone.

對說謊者來說不太如意，但對大家而言是件好事

But if there are these super liars out there, how do we know if we're being lied to?

但是，世上有這麼多說謊者，我們該怎麼知道自己被騙了呢？

I mean, lie detectors might be able to pick up signals like

我意思是，測謊器也許能發現一些線索

like change the liar's voice, or increased heart rate, or sweating

像是說謊者的聲音變化、心跳加快、流汗等等

all stuff that we do when we're fibbing out right.

偵測我們在撒謊時的生理反應

But a really good liar might not display any of those symptoms.

但很會說謊的人，可能不會有這些反應

Well, no matter how good of a liar you are, the fact that you are lying will often leak out,

其實，不管有多會說謊，總是有些線索能分辨謊言

Both through your body language and for your word choices.

像是身體語言，還有用字遣詞

Let's look at the sample sentences.

來看些例子吧

Believe me, I was not the one who farted and evacuated that movie theater.

相信我！放屁讓那個戲院人都跑光的人不是我！

So do you believe me? Probably not

你相信我嗎？可能不相信

because I did three things in that sentence that made you totally certain

我在這句話中，做了三件事，讓你能完全肯定

that I was, in fact, the person who made them evacuate the movie theater. Do it!

我就是那個放屁讓人疏散電影院的人

One, I said “believe me” liars will always said that

第一，我說「相信我」，騙子總是這樣說

or “to be totally honest.”

或是「說真的」

Or Richard Nixon's favorite: “in all candor.”

或是尼克森總統的名言「坦白說」

Two, I all of a sudden stopped using contractions.

第二，我講話突然不用縮寫了

Liars often use more formal language to deny something that they've actually done.

騙子常用正式的語氣來否認他們做過的事

And three, I said that movie theater instead of the movie theater.

第三，我說「那間」戲院而不使用冠詞the

I was trying to distance myself from the whole situation.

我想讓自己與整個情況保持距離

We think of liars as being fidgety, but we actually tend to freeze our upper bodies when we lie.

我們常覺得說謊會坐立不安，但其實說謊時上半身會定住不動

We make more, not less, eye contact; maybe a little too much to over-compensate for telling a fib.

說謊時會有更多眼神接觸，而不是更少，有時反而會太多

Liars will also do things like shake their heads while saying yes.

說謊者也會在說「是」時搖頭

And smile when they're done telling the story even if it's a terrible one

在說故事時微笑，即使那故事很糟

All of this stuff, the reading of what we leak through our words and bodies, is actually the future of lie detection.

這些從語言或身體洩漏出的訊息，其實就是說謊偵測的未來

Training law enforcement officers to read potential criminals to catch them in the act of lying.

訓練執法人員找出潛在犯人，當場揭穿他們的謊言

Of course there are always coming up with new kinds of gadgets all the time, too

當然，總是會有各種新的科技裝置出現

eye trackers, MRI brain scanners that are going to replace the old lie-detector tests

眼動儀和大腦核磁共振儀會取代舊式測謊器

Maybe I'll tell my two truths and a lie to a brain scanner and see how it does.

也許我會對大腦掃描儀說「兩真一假」，看看結果如何

Pretty sure we all know how it's gonna turn out.

我相信我們都知道結果會如何

Yeah, you're right; I'm a terrible liar. Or am I?

對啦，我很不會說謊…你確定？

Thank you for watching this Infusion. All the facts contained within are not lies, we promise!

謝謝你的收看，本集節目純屬事實毫無編造，我們保證！

But if you want to check, there are citations in the description. Of course because we're scientists here.

想查證的話，資料來源全在影片描述裡，我們是科學家嘛

If you have ideas for future episodes or infusions, you can leave those in the comments.

如果你對未來的節目內容有任何想法，請留言告訴我們

Or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter also questions. We'll be happy to answer those as well.

也可以用臉書或推特和我們聯絡，我們很樂意回答任何問題

See you next time.

下次見！