It feels like this is just how humans exist and always existed.

就好像人類自古以來都過著這樣的生活

But, it's not.

但，其實不是

Never before have we humans lived in a world as sophisticated and engineered to our needs as today.

人類從未居住在如此複雜 而且改造的適合我們的世界過

Giving us the luxury to forget about ourselves and not worry about survival.

我們有幸可以忘卻自我，不必擔憂生存

Food, shelter, security – all of this is, more or less, taken for granted.

食糧、住所、安全——我們或多或少把這些視為理所當然

But we're a special few; for more than 99.99% of human history, life was completely different.

但我們是少數特別的人； 人類歷史的99.99%中，生活是截然不同的

And there's no such thing as just one human history.

而且人類的歷史不只有一部

Our story begins 6 million years ago, when the tribe of hominini split and our relationship with the apes ended.

我們的故事從六百萬年前開始，人族的部落與猿猴分家

2.8 million years ago, the genus of homo, the first humans, emerged.

280萬年前，最初的人類，智人屬出現了

We like to think about ourselves as the only humans, but this is far from the truth.

我們喜歡認為自己是唯一的人類，但事實可不是這樣

When we, homo sapiens sapiens, came into existence 200,000 years ago, there were at least six other human species around.

當我們現代人類在二十萬年前出現時， 世界上至少還有6種其他的人類物種

Cousins of comparable intelligence and ability, which must have been incredibly scary, kind of like living with aliens.

和有著相近智力和能耐的親戚一起生活，肯定是 非常可怕的事情，就像是跟外星人生活一樣

Some of them were very successful.

有些親戚們非常成功

Homo erectus, for example, survived for 2 million years.

譬如說，直立人存活了兩百萬年

Ten times longer than modern humans have existed.

比現代人類存在久了十倍的時間

The last of the other humans disappeared around 10,000 years ago.

最後的他族人類大約在一萬年前消失

We don't know what caused them to die out.

我們不知道為什麼他們滅絕了

Modern humans have at least a few percent of neanderthal and other human DNA, so there was some mixing,

現代人至少有幾個百分點的尼安德塔人和其他人類的DNA， 所以我們曾經混過一點血

but certainly not enough to be a merger between species.

但沒有多到足以能使人種結合

So we don't know if our cousins went away because they lost the battle over resources, or because of a series of minor genocides.

所以我們不清楚我們的親戚的消失究竟是因為輸掉了 爭奪資源的戰鬥，或是發生了一連串的小規模屠殺

Either way, only we remain.

無論如何，我們是唯一剩下的人類

Back to the beginnings of humanity.

回到人類的起源

2.8 million years ago, early humans used tools, but did not make a lot of progress for nearly 2 million years.

280萬年前，早期的人類使用工具， 但有差不多有兩百萬年沒有什麼進展

Until they learned to control fire.

直到他們學會控制火

Fire meant cooking, which made food more nutritious, which contributed to the development of our brain.

火意味著煮食，讓食物更加營養， 而這幫助了我們大腦的發展

It also produced light and warmth, which made days longer and winters less gruesome.

火也發出光和熱，讓白日更長，冬季變得沒那麼慘淡

On top of that, it not only scared predators away, it could also be used for hunting.

除此以外，火可以驅逐掠食者，火也可以用來打獵

A torched wood or grassland provided small animals, nuts and tubers that were pre-roasted.

燒盡的森林或草原提供了 烤好的小型動物、堅果和塊莖類食物

From 300,000 years ago, most of the different human species lived in small hunter-gatherer societies.

自三十萬年前開始，多數不同的人類物種生活在 小型的狩獵採集社會中

They had fire, wood and stone tools, planned for the future, buried their dead, and had cultures of their own.

他們有火、木頭和石頭工具、為未來打算、 埋葬死者、以及自己的文化

But most importantly, they spoke to each other.

但最重要的是，他們會對彼此說話

Probably in a kind of proto-language, less complex than ours.

可能是一種原始語言，不像我們的那麼複雜

If we had a time machine, how far would we be able to go back,

如果我們有個時光機器，那我們可以回到多久以前，

steal a few babies and raise them today without anyone noticing that they're a bit different?

偷幾個小嬰兒，養大他們， 而不會有人發現他們不太一樣？

There is much debate.

學界對此有所爭論

Anatomically, modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago,

以解剖學而言，現代人是在二十萬年前出現的

but probably 70,000 years is as far as we could travel back and still snatch a behaviourally modern human.

但可能要到七萬年前，我們才能找到行為表現上的現代人

Before that, the babies would probably lack a few crucial gene mutations

在那之前，我們抓到的嬰兒可能會 少了幾個關鍵的基因突變

Necessary to build a brain with modern language and abstract thinking abilities.

就是那些突變讓大腦可以接受現代語言和抽象思考的能力

At some point, around 50,000 years ago, there was an explosion in innovation.

在某個時間點，大約五萬年前，人類突然大幅發展

Tools and weapons became more sophisticated and culture became more complex,

工具和武器變得精密，文化變得複雜

because at this point, humans had a multi-purpose brain,

因為那時，人類有了一個多用途的大腦

and a more advanced language to communicate information with each other effectively,

還有更先進的語言可以有效和彼此交換訊息

and down to the last detail.

連一點小細節都不放過

This allowed much closer cooperation, and is what really makes us different from any other creature on Earth.

這讓更緊密的合作成為可能，這也是讓我們 和地球上其他物種不同的重點

Not our comparatively weak bodies and inferior senses,

不是我們相對柔弱的身體和較差的感官

but the ability to cooperate flexibly in large groups, unlike, for example, rigid beehives

而是可以在大型團體裡彈性合作的能力， 不像是僵硬的蜂巢

or intimate, but tiny wolf packs.

或親密但微小的狼群

As our brain evolved, we became able to do something, life had been unable to do up to this point.

隨著我們大腦的演化，我們可以做到 其他生命至今仍無法做到的事情

One – expand knowledge quickly.

一、快速擴充知識

Two – preserve the knowledge gained over generations.

二、把幾個世代以來獲得的知識保存下來

Three – build on past knowledge, to gain even deeper insight.

三、以過往的知識為基礎，產生更深厚的洞察力

This seems daft, but until then, information had to be passed on from generation to generation,

說來愚蠢，但一直以來，訊息都得 依賴基因才能傳到下一代

mostly through genetics, which is not efficient.

而這樣的效率並不高

Still, for the next 40,000 years, human life remained more or less the same.

不過，在接下來的四萬年內，人類的生活沒有什麼改變

There was little to build upon.

我們累積的太少

Our ancestors were only one animal among many.

我們的祖先只是各種動物中的一支

Building a skyscraper without knowing what a house is… is hard.

不知道房子是什麼就想蓋摩天大樓…難如登天

But while it is easy to be arrogant in our attitude to our ancestors, this would be ignorant.

但如果我們瞧不起祖先，那我們就太愚昧了

Humans 50,000 years ago were survival specialists.

五萬年前的人類是生存專家

They had a detailed mental map of their territory,

他們對自己的領土有一幅精密的心中地圖

their senses were fine-tuned to the environment,

他們的感官完美的適應環境

they knew and memorized a great amount of information about plants and animals.

他們知道而且記得大量有關動植物的資訊

They could make complicated tools that required years of careful training and very fine motor skills

他們可以製作需要多年細心訓練和高度手藝的複雜工具

Their bodies compared to our athletes today just because of their daily routines,

僅是因為每日的例行活動， 他們的身體才不符合今日的審美觀

and they lived a rich social life within their tribe

他們在自己的部落裡可是有著豐富的社交生活

Survival required so many skills that the average brain volume of early modern humans

生存需要這麼多技能，結果是早期現代人的平均腦容量

might even have been bigger than it is today

可能還比當今現代人還多

As a group we know more today, but as individuals our ancestors were superior to us

今天的我們身在團體中，懂的更多， 但我們的祖先在個體上比我們更加優越

But then around 12,000 years ago, in multiple locations, humans developed agriculture.

一萬兩千年前，不同地區的人類發展出了農業

Everything changed very quickly.

一切都在快速轉變

Before, survival as a hunter and forager required superb physical and mental abilities in all fields from everybody

在此之前，打獵、採集的人要生存， 每個人都要有非凡的體能和各領域上優秀的心智能力

With the rise of the agricultural age, individuals could increasingly rely on the skills of others for survival.

隨著農業時代的來臨，個人開始 可以更依賴他人的技能來生存

This meant that some of them could specialize.

這意味著某些人可以專攻某件事

Maybe they worked on better tools, maybe they took time to breed more resistant crops or better livestock,

也許他們會做更好的工具、也許他們花時間培育出 更有韌性的農作物和更好的家畜

Maybe they started inventing things.

也許他們開始發明東西

As farming got more and more efficient, what we call civilization began

隨著農業變得越來越有效率，我們所說的文明於焉展開

Agriculture gave us a reliable and predictable food source,

農業讓我們有一個穩定、可預測的食物來源

which allowed humans to hoard food on a large scale for the first time,

這讓人類首次可以大規模儲存食物

which is much easier to do with grains than meat,

囤積穀物遠比囤積肉類簡單的多

The food stock required protection, which led to communities living together in tighter spaces

保存的食物需要保護，這讓社群一起居住在緊密的空間中

First, early defense structures were built, the need for organization grew

第一次，早期的防禦工事被建築起來， 對組織團體的需求不斷成長

The more organized we got, the faster things became efficient

當我們變得更有組織，事情就更快的變得有效率

Villages became cities, cities became kingdoms, kingdoms became empires

村莊變成都市，都市變成王國，王國變成帝國

Connections between humans exploded which led to opportunities to exchange knowledge

人類之間的聯繫爆發性的成長，增加了交換知識的機會

Progress became exponential

人類開始翻倍進步

About 500 years ago the Scientific Revolution began

大約500年前，科學革命開始了

Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, and Chemistry transformed everything we thought we knew

數學、物理學、天文學、生物學和化學 把我們自以為知道的一切給徹底改變

The Industrial Revolution followed soon after laying the foundation for the modern world

隨後發生的工業革命成了現代世界的基石

As our overall efficiency grew exponentially,

隨著我們總體的效率指數地成長

more people could spend their lifetime contributing to the progress of humanity

更多人可以把一生奉獻給人類的進步

Revolutions kept happening.

革新不斷發生

The invention of the computer, its evolution into a medium we all use on a daily basis,

電腦發明了，成為了我們每日使用的媒介

and the rise of the Internet shaped our world

而網路的興起塑造了我們的世界

It's hard to grasp how fast all of that happened

很難去掌握事情發生的多快

It's been about 125,000 generations since the emergence of the first human species

第一個人類物種出現以來已經過了12500個世代

About 7,500 generations since the physiologically modern humans saw the light of day

生理學上的現代人出現以來已經過了7500個世代

500 generations ago, what we call civilization began

500個世代以前，我們所謂的現代文明誕生

20 generations ago, we learned how to do science

20個世代以前，我們學會使用科學

And the Internet became available to most people only one generation ago

而多數人接觸到網路不過是在一個世代以前

Today we live in the most prosperous age humanity has ever experienced

今日我們生活在人類有史以來最繁榮的年代

We have transformed this planet, from the composition of its atmosphere to large-scale changes in its landscape

我們改變了這顆星球，從它的大氣成份到它的地景

and also in terms of the other animals in existence.

還改變了一些動物

We light up the night with artificial stars and put people in a metal box in the sky

我們用人造的星星點亮夜空，把人類放到天空中的鐵盒

Some have even walked on our Moon

有些人甚至在我們的月亮上留下足跡

We put robots on other planets

我們把機器人送上其他星球

We've looked deep into the past of the universe with mechanical eyes

我們用機械的眼睛望入宇宙的遙遠過去

Our knowledge and our way of acquiring and storing more of it has exploded

我們的知識，和學習、儲存更多知識的方法 已經爆發地成長

The average high school student today knows more about the universe than a scholar a few centuries ago

今日普通的高中生比幾個世紀以前的學者更了解宇宙

Humans dominate this planet, even if our rule is very fragile

人類征服了這顆星球，儘管我們的統治非常脆弱

We are still not that different from our ancestors 70,000 years ago

我們和七萬年前的祖先仍然沒有太大的不同

But your lifestyle has existed for less than 0.001% of human history

但你的生活方式只佔了人類歷史的0.001%

From here on, there's no saying what the future holds for us

我們不知道未來會怎樣

We're building a skyscraper, but we're not sure if it's standing on a solid foundation

我們在蓋一棟摩天大樓，但我們不知道它的地基是否穩固

or if we're building it on quicksand

也許我們把它蓋在流沙上

Let's leave it with that for now

但我們暫時不去討論這個

The next time you miss your train, your burger is not hot enough, or someone cuts in line

下次你錯過火車時、你的漢堡不夠熱時、 或當某個人插隊時

Remember how special this made-up human world is

記住，這個人類創造的世界是多麼特別

Maybe it's not worth being upset about all those little things.

也許不值得為所有小事操心

This video was supported by audible.com/nutshell

這部影片由 audible.com/nutshell 支持

In the making of it, we used the book "Sapiens: a brief history of humankind" as one of the major sources.

我們主要參考了《智人：人類的簡短歷史》 （Sapiens: a brief history of humankind） 一書來製作這部影片

If you want to get to it, or any other for free and support us, go to audible.com/nutshell and get a free 30-day trial

如果你想要這本書，或其他免費的書來支持我們， 請到 audible.com/nutshell 獲得30日免費試用

It's so hard to read books when you have the internet, so we can at least listen to them

有網路的時候看書不容易，所以我們至少可以用聽的

In general, we listen to a lot of audiobooks while designing our videos,

一般而言，我們製作影片時會聽很多有聲書

so we can highly recommend audible

所以我們大力推薦 audible

OK, so this was our first take on making a history-related video

OK，這是我們第一次製作和歷史有關的影片

we'd love to make much more of them, but they take even more time than our average video.

我們還想做更多這類影片，但它們會 比我們的普通影片花更多時間製作

So we might do 3 or 4 a year.

所以我們一年可能會做三到四部

Your feedback's very welcome here

我們歡迎您的回饋

Thank you so much for watching, and if you want to support us directly,

感謝您的觀賞 如果你希望直接支援我們

you can do so on Patreon.

你可以在 Patreon 上支援我們

It really helps us out.

那對我們大有幫助

While you think about it, here are more videos, if you need more distraction.

當您考慮時，如果你需要更多事情讓你分心 這裡還有更多影片