I've been making toys for the last 30 years.

過去30年我一直在製作玩具

The early '70s, I was in college.

70年代早期我還是大學生

It was a very revolutionary time.

那是一個非常革命性的時期

It was a political ferment, so to say --

是政治上的動亂

students out in the streets of Paris,

巴黎的學生上街遊行

revolting against authority.

向威權挑戰

America was jolted

反越戰的運動以及人權運動

by the anti-Vietnam movement, the Civil Rights movement.

讓美國處於躁動的階段

In India, we had the Naxalite movement,

在印度，我們有納薩爾派的運動

the [unclear] movement.

和其他的運動

But you know, when there is a political churning of society,

但你知道當社會上有政治的擾動時

it unleashes a lot of energy.

就會宣洩出許多能量

The National Movement of India

印度的國民運動

was testimony to that.

就是明顯的見證

Lots of people resigned from well-paid jobs

許多人辭掉自己高薪的工作

and jumped into the National Movement.

投身到了國民運動中去了

Now in the early '70s,

在70年代初期

one of the great programs in India

印度最重要的計畫之一

was to revitalize

就是復興

primary science in village schools.

鄉鎮學校的基礎科學

There was a person, Anil Sadgopal, did a Ph.D. from Caltech

有一個叫做Gopal的人，他在加州理工學院拿到博士

and returned back as a molecular biologist

回來後成為分子生物學家

in India's cutting-edge research institute, the TIFR.

在TIFR，印度最重要的研究中心工作

At 31, he was not able

在31歲時，他沒有辦法

to relate the kind of [unclear] research,

把自己正在進行的研究

which he was doing with the lives of the ordinary people.

應用到人民的日常生活

So he designed and went and started a village science program.

所以他企劃了一個鄉鎮科學計畫，並開始實行

Many people were inspired by this.

許多人都被這個想法所激發

The slogan of the early '70s

70年代初期的口號

was "Go to the people.

是「走向人民」

Live with them; love them.

「與他們一起生活，愛他們」

Start from what they know. Build on what they have."

「從人民知道的著手，從他們已擁有開始建設」

This was kind of the defining slogan.

這是很代表性的口號

Well I took one year.

我花了一年的時間

I joined Telco, made TATA trucks, pretty close to Pune.

我進入Telco工作，在哪裡生產TATA卡車，就在Pune附近

I worked there for two years,

我在那裡工作了兩年

and I realized that I was not born to make trucks.

然後我發現自己不適合去做卡車

Often one doesn't know what one wants to do,

人常常不知道自己想要做什麼

but it's good enough to know what you don't want to do.

但是知道自己不想做什麼也夠好的了

So I took one year off, and I went to this village science program.

所以我請了一年假，去參加這個鄉鎮科學計畫

And it was a turning point.

這成為一個轉捩點

It was a very small village --

那是一個小村落

a weekly bazaar

每星期有一次市集

where people, just once in a week, they put in all the vats.

村民在這一星期一次的市集會把東西拿出來都裝在桶里

So I said, "I'm going to spend a year over here."

我告訴自己：「你將要在這裡過一年了」

So I just bought one specimen

我在市集裡每一個路邊攤

of everything which was sold on the roadside.

都買了一個東西做樣本

And one thing which I found

其中一個我找到的

was this black rubber.

是一條黑色的橡皮圈

This is called a cycle valve tube.

這個叫做氣門嘴

When you pump in air in a bicycle, you use a bit of this.

當你要幫腳踏車充氣時會用到它

And some of these models --

還有一些這些模型也會

so you take a bit of this cycle valve tube,

現在你拿起一個氣門嘴

you can put two matchsticks inside this, and you make a flexible joint.

你可以把兩根火柴放進去，就可以做出一個可動關節

It's a joint of tubes. You start by teaching angles --

兩根管子的連結，你可以從教角度開始

an acute angle, a right angle, an obtuse angle, a straight angle.

銳角，直角，鈍角，平角

It's like its own little coupling.

像一個小小的耦合

If you have three of them, and you loop them together,

如果你有三個，然後你把它們連起來

well you make a triangle.

把它作成一個三角形

With four, you make a square,

有四個，你可以作個正方形

you make a pentagon, you make a hexagon,

做個五角型，做個六角形

you make all these kind of polygons.

你可以做出所有這些多邊形

And they have some wonderful properties.

然後他們有一些奇妙的特質

If you look at the hexagon, for instance,

比如說你看著一個六角形

it's like an amoeba, which is constantly changing its own profile.

它就像是一隻阿米巴，可以不停的改變外貌

You can just pull this out, this becomes a rectangle.

把這個拔下來，它就變成矩形

You give it a push, this becomes a parallelogram.

稍稍拉開，便成了平行四邊形

But this is very shaky.

但這總是可活動的

Look at the pentagon, for instance,

比如說這個五邊形

pull this out -- it becomes a boat shape trapezium.

把這個拔起，就變成像船一樣的梯形

Push it and it becomes house shaped.

推一下就成了房子的型狀

This becomes an isosceles triangle --

這樣就變成等腰三角形

again, very shaky.

再次展現它有多靈巧

This square might look very square and prim.

這個正方形看起來非常整齊方正

Give it a little push -- this becomes a rhombus.

稍微推弄一下，它變成了菱形

It becomes kite-shaped.

像風箏的形狀

But give a child a triangle,

但僅給小孩一個三角形

he can't do a thing to it.

他玩不出什麼變化

Why use triangles?

為什麼我們用三角形

Because triangles are the only rigid structures.

因為三角形是唯一堅固的結構

We can't make a bridge with squares

我們不能用正方形來造橋

because the train would come, it would start doing a jig.

因為當火車經過時這種橋會劇烈搖晃

Ordinary people know about this

這是一般人的常識

because if you go to a village in India,

因為你只要到印度任一村莊瞧瞧

they might not have gone to engineering college,

他們也許沒有主修工程的大學文憑

but no one makes a roof placed like this.

但沒有人會把屋頂蓋成這樣

Because if they put tiles on top, it's just going to crash.

因為這種屋頂一放上瓦片就會垮掉

They always make a triangular roof.

他們蓋的一定是三角形的屋頂

Now this is people science.

所以這是常民知識

And if you were to just poke a hole over here

然後如果你在這裡戳一個洞

and put a third matchstick,

接著放進第三根火柴

you'll get a T joint.

你就有一個Ｔ型接頭

And if I were to poke all the three legs of this

如果我在這個三角形的三個頂點上

in the three vertices of this triangle,

戳進去這個T形連接的三條邊

I would make a tetrahedron.

我能做出一個四面體

So you make all these 3D shapes.

你可以做出這些3D多面體

You make a tetrahedron like this.

做出一個像這樣的四面體

And once you make these,

當你做完這些

you make a little house.

你就能做出來個房子。

Put this on top.

把這個放在上面，

You can make a joint of four. You can make a joint of six.

你就能連成四個，連成六個。

You just need a ton.

你只需要很多這些（小零件）

Now this was -- you make a joint of six,

你看這個-這是做成的六個連在一起的

you make an icosahedron.

你能做出一個二十面體

You can play around with it.

你可以隨意把玩這個小東西

This makes an igloo.

作個雪屋

Now this is in 1978.

1978年

I was a 24-year-old young engineer.

我當時是二十四歲的年輕工程師

And I thought this was so much better than making trucks.

然後我想，這比製造卡車棒多了

(Applause)

(掌聲)

If you, as a matter of fact, put four marbles inside,

事實上，如果你放四顆玻璃彈球在裏面

you simulate the molecular structure of methane, CH4.

這樣你就能造出甲烷（CH4)的分子結構

Four atoms of hydrogen, the four points of the tetrahedron,

是氫的四個原子，四面體的四個點，

which means the little carbon atom.

就是碳原子

Well since then,

從那時起

I just thought that I've been really privileged

我覺得我萬分有幸

to go to over 2,000 schools in my country --

能夠去我們國家的兩千所學校

village schools, government schools,

鄉村學校，國立學校

municipal schools, Ivy League schools --

市立學校，常春藤聯盟學校

I've been invited by most of them.

我被很多所學校邀請

And every time I go to a school,

每當我去一所學校

I see a gleam in the eyes of the children.

看到孩子們眼中閃著光

I see hope. I see happiness in their faces.

我能看到希望。我能在他們臉上看到快樂。

Children want to make things. Children want to do things.

孩子們想要製作東西。孩子們想要動手去做。

Now this, we make lots and lots of pumps.

瞧這兒，我們做了很多打氣筒。

Now this is a little pump

這是一個小的氣筒

with which you could inflate a balloon.

你能用它來給氣球充氣。

It's a real pump. You could actually pop the balloon.

這可是個真正的打氣筒，你能把氣球給打爆了。

And we have a slogan

我們有句話說：

that the best thing a child can do with a toy is to break it.

一個孩子能對玩具做的最好的事情就是拆掉它

So all you do is --

那我們就這麼做吧 --

it's a very kind of provocative statement --

這聽上去多有挑戰性啊

this old bicycle tube and this old plastic [unclear]

這個舊的自行車內胎和舊塑料管

This filling cap will go very snugly into an old bicycle tube.

這個塑料管可以很容易地放進舊自行車內胎

And this is how you make a valve.

這是怎樣做個閥門

You put a little sticky tape.

你在這兒貼上膠帶

This is one-way traffic.

這樣就是單向流通的了

Well we make lots and lots of pumps.

我們做了很多很多的泵

And this is the other one --

這是另外一個

that you just take a straw, and you just put a stick inside

你拿跟吸管，放根小棍進去

and you make two half-cuts.

切兩個口

Now this is what you do,

現在你這樣

is you bend both these legs into a triangle,

你把這腿彎成一個三角形

and you just wrap some tape around.

然後纏上膠帶

And this is the pump.

這就成了一個泵

And now, if you have this pump,

那你有了這個泵

it's like a great, great sprinkler.

就好像你有了個很棒的灑水器

It's like a centrifuge.

好像離心機

If you spin something, it tends to fly out.

如果你插在水裏面轉，水就會飛出來

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Well in terms of -- if you were in Andhra Pradesh,

那麼--如果你在安德拉普拉德士

you would make this with the palmyra leaf.

你就能用棕櫚葉子做這個

Many of our folk toys

很多我們的民間玩具

have great science principles.

都包含很多科學原理

If you spin-top something, it tends to fly out.

如果你旋轉東西，那它可能會飛起來

If I do it with both hands, you can see this fun Mr. Flying Man.

如果我兩個手來搓，你就能看到這個有趣的飛人先生了。

Right.

瞧

This is a toy which is made from paper. It's amazing.

這是個紙做的玩具，讓人稱奇。

There are four pictures.

有四個圖片

You see insects,

你看有昆蟲

you see frogs, snakes, eagles, butterflies,

有青蛙、蛇

frogs, snakes, eagles.

青蛙、蛇、鷹

Here's a paper which you could [unclear] --

這是張能讓你一起跳舞的紙

designed by a mathematician at Harvard in 1928,

在1928年由一位哈佛的數學家設計

Arthur Stone,

他名叫亞瑟斯棟

documented by Martin Gardner in many of his many books.

這在馬丁嘉德勒的很多著作中記錄過

But this is great fun for children.

但對小孩來說這太好玩了

They all study about the food chain.

他們都學過食物鏈