“Hi”

「嗨」

He’s 31 years old, lives in a major US city, went to college and earns $60,000 a year.

他31歲，住在美國一個很大的城市，上過大學，年薪六萬美元

He’s the most common demographic you’ll find on online dating.

他是你在交友網站上最常看見的人物

And he’s kind of lonely. Actually, really lonely.

他有點寂寞，事實上，是非常寂寞

“So pepperlonely”

「好孤單」

But… Why do we feel lonely?

但...為什麼我們會感到寂寞？

First of all, there’s something we need to clear up. Michael is lonely and he’s also alone.

首先，我們需要先釐清一些事。麥可很寂寞，他也是一個人

“Oh, man...”

「喔，老兄」

But there are lots of people who choose to be alone, and are not necessarily lonely.

但有很多人選擇獨處卻不覺得寂寞

It’s not a bad thing! Some suggest that solitude is essential for creativity

這不是壞事！有些人認為孤獨是激發創意的基礎

and it can help to improve your attention span.

而且它可以幫助你延長專注的時間

But… Michael doesn’t feel that way.

但...麥可不那樣認為

“deep sigh”

(深深嘆氣)

And some of us are prone to feel just like Michael.

我們之中也有一群人有像麥可一樣的感覺

Recent studies have linked loneliness to our genes.

最近的研究甚至將寂寞與我們的基因連結

“huh?”

「蛤？」

People with certain genetic markers - namely, a variant of the serotonin transporter gene,

一些有某種基因記號，也就是有各種負責承載基因的血清素的人

will feel lonelier than people without this genetic marker when they’re in the same situation.

和那些沒有基因記號的人處在同樣情境時，更容易感到寂寞

Loneliness causes a yearning for social connection and in the same way hunger makes us crave food

寂寞會造成一種對社會連結的渴望，好比飢餓使我們渴望食物一般

If Michael is genetically predispositioned to feel lonely, then he’s just really hungry for company.

如果麥可有基因上容易感到寂寞的傾向，那他就會渴望陪伴

But he’s not the most isolated person.

但他絕不是最寂寞的人

“Really?”

「真的？」

This honour goes to the seven Apollo command module pilots who orbited the Moon alone while

這份殊榮落在七位阿波羅飛行員身上，他們是獨自繞著月亮公轉

their fellow astronauts walked on the surface.

當其他夥伴在月球表面上行走時

Al Worden, the Apollo 15 pilot, was, at times, 3,600 km away from his colleagues Dave Scott

艾爾．沃登，阿波羅15號飛行員，有時距離他的同事戴夫．史考特和吉姆．歐文 3600 公里遠

and Jim Irwin in the Imbrium Basin.

而他們兩人那時正在印布里恩盆地。

Al was the most isolated person ever. He spent 3 days alone in orbit, hundreds of thousands of kms away

艾爾成了最孤獨的人。他花了三天獨自繞行月亮，那裡距離他家有數百至數千公里遠

from his home and often out of contact with those on Earth.

而他也經常與地球上的人們失去聯絡

And… Al enjoyed it. He said “There's a thing about being alone and there's a thing

艾爾卻很享受。他說「有一種情形是獨處，一種情形是

about being lonely, and they're two different things. I was alone but I was not lonely...

孤單，他們是不一樣的。我獨處，但我不覺得孤單....

On the backside of the Moon, I didn't even have to talk to Houston and that was the best

在月亮的另一面，我甚至不需要向休士頓(太空總部所在)回報，這是

part of the flight.”

飛行中最棒的部分」

But being alone for long periods of time isn’t so out of this world. Even if you enjoy it.

這世界上也有著為數眾多長期獨處的人，即使你很享受

One study found that actual social isolation increased people’s likelihood of death by 26 percent.

一項研究發現，真正的社會邊緣化會增加人們死亡機率達百分之二十六

Even when people didn’t consider themselves lonely. Isolated people don’t

即使那些邊緣人不認為自己孤單，他們周圍沒有

have others around to give them advice, make sure they see a doctor or be there when things go wrong.

其他人能給他們意見、確定他們有去看醫生、發生事情時能陪在身旁

Being alone is a biological alarm bell. We are social species.

獨自一人是一種生物警示鐘。我們是群體動物

But if you’re struggling for company,

但如果你渴望陪伴

a healthy dose of nostalgia can counteract those lonely feels.

一劑健康的緬懷可以抵銷一些孤單的感覺

So whether you sit on the Michael or Al side of the loneliness spectrum,

所以不管你在寂寞的光譜上是坐落於麥可或艾爾寂寞範疇的例子上

"Hey,over here!”

「嘿，在這裡！」

science says that surrounding yourself with others keeps you orbiting around the sun for

科學研究指出讓自己被一群人圍繞，是一個能讓自己持續保有動力

more and more years to come.

一年又一年的良方

Hey everyone it's Vanessa! I just wanted to pop in and say thank you so much for watching BrainCraft.

嘿，大家好，我是凡妮莎！只是想出現一下謝謝你們收看BrainCraft

I also have an announcement, which is next week if you're going to Vidcon, which is that

我同時也要宣布，下一個禮拜，如果你們會去Vidcon，就是那個

huge YouTube love fest that happens in Los Angeles every year, we're having a meet up

每年在洛杉磯舉行的大型YouTube集會，我們會有一個見面會

with all of the PBSDS hosts.

與全部PBSDS的主持人見面

And I'd love for you to come along! If you can't make it, you can follow me on Facebook

我也很樂意見到你前來！如果你不能，也可以收看我的臉書

or Twitter or Instagram or Snapchat, all of those things!

推特、Instagram、Snapchat，諸如此類的網站！

So you can feel like you're a part of our meet up as well.

這樣你彷彿也能身在我們的聚會之中

And look at this little guy! This is one of the astronauts you just saw. He's like, the

還有看看這個小傢伙！這是其中一個你剛剛看到的太空人。他跟我的

size of my fingernail. Crazy.

指甲一樣大而已，可怕吧

Anyway, see you next - Oh! I won't see you next Thursday because I'll be at Vidcon.

總之，下次見。喔！下星期四不會見到面，因為我會在Vidcon

See you in two Thursdays time!

下下星期四再見吧！