Or, are you connected to anything?

或者，你和任何事物是有所連結的?

First of all, you're part of a group of mammals, that's still very young,

首先，你是哺乳類的一份子，一種新興的物種。

but we can make YouTube videos already, and build Large Hadron Colliders.

但是我們現在已經可以自己做Youtube影片，或是建造一台大強子對撞機。

We've also split the atom and invented Pokémon.

我們也把原子給拆開了，還創造了神奇寶貝。

We stem from an ancient life form, that began living about three and a half billion years ago.

我們是從35億年前的一種古代生命形式發展而來的。

We feel like we're in control of this planet, but we aren't really.

我們以為自己有能力控制這顆星球，其實不然。

One little asteroid or one creative virus is really all it would take to kill us off for good.

一顆小小的小行星或是一種全新的病毒就足以把我們全部殺光。

Humanity credits itself with being able to destroy the planet,

人類認為自己有能力毀滅這顆行星，

but even with all our nuclear toys, we would probably just cause a huge mass extinction at best.

但是就算把我們的核武器全部用上，頂多就是造成大規模的生物滅絕而已。

Maybe we could kill 90% of everything living on this planet.

我們或許能殺掉這星球上90%的生物。

Big deal!

也沒什麼大不了。

A few million years later, life would be back everywhere.

因為過了幾百萬年後，生命又會再次遍佈地球。

Most microscopic life and life below the surface wouldn't even be disturbed that much probably.

大部分微生物和地底下的生物甚至不會受到太大的影響。

On a geological time scale, our impact on Earth is kind of laughable.

從地質學的時間尺度來看，我們在這星球上造成的影響根本是九牛一毛。

We're actually not that powerful.

我們實際上並沒有那麼強大。

We live on this tiny wet rock that speeds through space, following a massive ball of burning plasma.

我們生活在一顆小小的潮濕的岩石上頭，而它在太空中繞行著一顆滾燙的電漿大球。

One day, this ball of plasma will stop burning and, most likely, kill us in the process.

總有一天，這顆電漿大球會停止燃燒，而我們很有可能在這過程中被殺光。

If we survived the death of the Sun, and colonized a galaxy,

就算我們從太陽的死亡過程中逃出來，在一個星系上殖民了，

theoretically, we could survive until the last star in the Universe goes out.

理論上，我們也只能活到宇宙中最後一顆恆星熄滅為止。

After that, life becomes pretty impossible.

在那之後，生命就不太可能存在了。

Okay, so, everything has an end.

好的，所以，任何事物都有個盡頭。

Where does this leave you as an individual?

那麼我們哪是獨立的呢？

At one point in your life, for about half an hour, you were only one single cell inside your mother's womb.

在你生命中的某段時間，大約是半個小時，你只是母親子宮中一個小小的細胞而已。

A creature just 0.1 millimeters in diameter.

那時你只有0.1毫米的大小。

Today, you consist of about fifty trillion cells.

然而今天，你是由將近50兆個細胞組成的。

Fifty trillion incredibly complex little biological machines,

50兆個超級複雜的小小生物機器，

that are much bigger and more complex than the average bacteria.

比一般的細菌要來得大與複雜得多。

They operate by the laws of physics and chemistry,

他們在物理與化學的法則下運作，

and use micro-machines to build proteins, make energy usable,

並且用他們的微小機器來製造蛋白質，使能量變得可利用。

devour foods, transport resources, transmit information, or reproduce.

吞噬食物，運送資源，傳輸資訊，或是複製自己。

They communicate, duplicate, commit suicide, fight off intruders,

它們能溝通，複製，自殺，擊退入侵者，

and fulfill super-specialized duties for the greater good of keeping you alive.. so, you can have babies.

並且完成各自的專門工作來製造出更大量的物質來延續你的生命....你才能生出下一代。

But, where is the "you" part in this, if you're made of trillions of little things?

但是，如果你是由這數兆個小東西組成的，那麼「你」到底是哪個部分呢？

The basic information for "you" is stored in the DNA.

關於「你」的最基本的資訊，被儲存在"DNA"中。

A molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living things.

一種能夠將所有已知生物的發展與運作的基因法則編碼下來的分子。

If you were to unravel it, it would be two meters long.

如果將它展開，它有兩公尺那麼長。

If you combined all the little DNA strings in all your cells, you'd get a string so long that it would stretch to Pluto, and back to Earth.

如果將你體內所有的DNA絲線連在一起，那長度可以一路連到冥王星後再連回地球。

That's pretty long.

真的超長的。

And your DNA is a direct connection to your very first ancestor.

而你的DNA是你與最原始祖先的直接連結。

Take a second to think about this.

稍微試想一下吧。

In every cell of your body there's a little string of stuff that's been there in various forms for 3.4 billion years.

在你身體裡的每一個細胞，都有一段以多種形式存在了34億年的DNA。

It evolved, it mutated, it duplicated, trillions of times, but it directly connects you to the first living being on this planet.

它不斷的進化、變異、複製，重複了幾兆遍，但是他仍是你對於這星球上最初始生命的直接連結。

We could say you touched every living being that came before you, with your DNA.

也就是你藉由你的DNA，和在你之前的所有生物都有所連結。

But you are more than your DNA.

但是你不只是DNA而已。

Your body is made of seven octillion atoms.

你的身體由7千秭個原子組成的。

That's seven billion, billion, billions.

也就是70億乘以10億再乘以10億

Roughly 93% of the mass of the human body is made up of just three elements.

大致上93%的人體質量是由三種元素構成的。

Oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen.

氧、碳還有氫。

Oxygen and hydrogen are predominately found in water,

氧和氫主要在水裡。

which makes up about 60% of the body by weight.

而水構成了60%的人體

Carbon is maybe the most important element for life.

碳或許是生命最重要的元素。

It can easily bond with other atoms, which allows for the building of long, complex chains of molecules,

它能夠輕易和其他原子鍵結，能夠合成又長又複雜的分子鍊。

which make up the solid part of "you".

而這些東西構成了「你」的實體部分。

The remaining 7% is a tour of the periodic table of elements.

剩下的7%就是一趟元素週期表之旅。

Nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium,

氮、鈣、磷、鉀、硫、鈉

chlorine, magnesium, iron, fluorine, zinc, copper, iodine,

氯、鎂、鐵、氟、鋅、銅、碘

selenium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, cobalt, lithium, strontium,

硒、鉻、錳、鉬、鈷、鋰、鍶

aluminium, silicon, lead, vanadium, arsenic and bromine.

鋁、矽、鉛、釩、砷還有溴。

Uh!

呼!

By the way, this also means you're about 0.5% metal. No matter what your favorite music is.

順帶一提，這代表你身體有0.5%的金屬，不管你喜歡什麼樣的音樂。

Anyway, these elements, perform various functions, like: enabling oxygen transport,

總之，這些元素有著多樣的功能，像是：傳輸氧氣，

building of bones and cell structures, carrying signals, driving chemical reactions, and a lot more.

構成骨頭和細胞，傳遞訊號，啟動化學反應，還有其它有的沒的。

Your body is in a constant state of transition.

你的身體穩定的變化著。

Every sixteen days, 75% of "you" has been replaced,

每16天，有75%的「你」會被替換掉，

because a healthy human exchanges about 100% of their water in that time period.

因為一位健康的人類體內將近全部的水分都會在這段時間內被替換。

Each year, about 98% of your atoms are replaced by new ones,

每年你的原子有將近98%會被換新。

and every 5 years close to all of the atoms that make up your body weren't there five years ago.

而每過5年，將近你的身體全部的原子都會被汰換掉。

So, you could call yourself a temporary collection of atoms.

所以，你可以稱自己是一個「原子的暫時聚集體」。

But, were did these atoms come from?

但是，這些原子是哪來的呢？

In the beginning of the Universe, there were mostly hydrogen and helium atoms.

在宇宙的起源，幾乎只有氫和氦原子。

Enormous gas clouds formed, over millennia, and grew, denser and denser,

一大團的雲氣聚集在一起，經過千年，不斷的成長、壓縮、再壓縮。

until they collapsed under their own gravity, giving birth to the first stars.

直到他們被自己的重力壓垮，並且創造出了第一顆恆星。

In the cores of these stars hydrogen was converted into helium under extreme conditions.

在這些恆星的核心部分的極端的環境中，氫原子被轉換成氦原子。

After millions of years, the hydrogen became exhausted, and the stars began dying.

過了幾百萬年，氫原子耗盡，於是恆星開始死亡。

Under super-extreme conditions, all elements we know today were created a fraction of a second before they died and exploded in supernovas.

在超級極端的狀況下，我們今日所知的所有元素在不到一秒之內被創造出來--在他們死於超新星爆炸前。

They shot most of their contents into space, while the cores collapsed and became black holes.

大部分的物質被四散到太空中，而核心部分則開始塌縮並形成黑洞。

All these elements traveled through space for who knows how long,

這些物質在太空中飛行了不知道多長的距離，

until they arrived at a different cloud, that was slowly forming a new star, our Sun.

直到他們碰到另一團雲氣，然後逐漸形成了一顆新的恆星--我們的太陽。

These elements, that once were the insides of a star, formed planets,

這些曾經存在於恆星內部的元素形成了行星，

and found their way onto Earth, where they enabled life to begin.

他們一路到了地球上，於是生命開始了。

So we are directly connected to the first stars ever born in the Universe.

所以說，我們和宇宙中第一顆出生的恆星有著直接的連結。

We are part of the Universe.

我們，就是宇宙的一部分。

The idea of being a deeply connected minuscule part of an enormous structure is really mind-blowing.

「我們是龐大宇宙中微不足道卻息息相關的一份子」這概念，實在是非常震撼人心。

We don't know what all of this means.

我們不知道這一切到底意味著什麼。

Or, if it means anything at all.

或是，其實這已經代表了一切。

We know that we are made of little parts that connect us to everything in the Universe.

我們知道我們是由許多小小的部分所組成，而這些部分將我們和宇宙中萬物之間建立了關連。

To the beginning of everything.

直至一切的起源。

And this is kind of a nice thought:

而這是一件好事：

You are not alone. You never were.

你不是孤獨的。從來都不是。

You never will be.

也不可能會是。