And now you are reading your Facebook News Wall, which sends you to a video of a panda bear attacking a kid.

結果你變成在滑臉書動態消息牆了，然後你看到一段熊貓攻擊小孩的影片。

And now you are reading Wikipedia to learn everything you can about the violent behavior of panda bears.

所以你又變成在看維基百科上跟熊貓暴力行為有關的資料。

And this is what 3 minutes on the internet can be like.

這是你上網三分鐘內可能發生的事。

We live like this all the time, and it has to have some kind of effect on us.

我們一直都過著這種生活，因此必定多少受其影響。

"The net is making us more superficial as thinkers."

「身為有思想能力的人，我們因網路而變得太膚淺了。」

That is Nicholas Carr. He is the author of, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains."

這是尼可拉斯卡爾說的，他是《網路讓我們變笨？：數位科技正在改變我們的大腦、思考與閱讀行為》的作者。

To understand this whole thing better we need to go way back in time, to say, like, the prehistoric age.

為了更全面了解這種現象，我們必須回溯到...像是史前時代。

"You wanted to know everything was going on around you because the more you knew about your surroundings the less likely you were to get attacked by a predator.

「當時人們會想知道身邊所有的事物，因為越了解環境越不容易被掠食者攻擊。」

And there's even evidence that our brains release some dopamine - a pleasure-producing neurotransmitter chemical - to reward us for seeking out and finding new information."

「有證據顯示我們的大腦會釋放一種多巴胺 - 它是一種引導快樂情緒的神經傳導化學物質 - 來獎勵我們摸索新事物。」

So, getting distracted felt good and helped us stay alive. But the problem is that nowadays, predators aren't much of an issue, but we still have the same brains.

所以，分心的感覺很棒，而且能幫助我們存活下來。但是現在的問題是掠食者已經不大構成威脅了，然而我們大腦卻沒變。

And also, there's the internet, which is...

而且網路誕生了，所以...

"It's an incredibly information rich environment, uh, that the 'net creates for us.

「網路是個資訊無比豐富的地方，呃，這是為我們人類設計的。

And that's why we use it so much. I mean, sounds, pictures, words, texts.

而這也是我們這麼常使用網路的原因。各種聲音、圖片、字詞、文章。

And what this tends to do is promote a sort of compulsive behavior in which we are constantly checking your smart phone.

如此一來這些促成了一種強迫行為，那就是我們不斷地看手機。

Constantly glancing at our email inbox. We're kind of living in this perpetual state of distraction and interruption."

不斷地檢查電子信箱。結果我們反而活在這種無止盡的分心與干擾之中。」

Which is dangerous because...

這有危險，因為...

"That mode of thinking crowds out the more contemplative calmer modes of thinking."

「這種思考模式會取代另一種更平靜的思考模式。」

And that focused, calm thinking is actually how we learn. It's a process called "memory consolidation".

而那種注意力集中、平靜的思考模式其實就是我們學習事物的方式。這種過程稱為「記憶鞏固」。

"And that means the transfer of information from our short term working memory, to our long term memory.

「就是我們的短期工作記憶中的資訊轉化成長期記憶的過程。

And it's through moving information from your working memory to your long term memory that you create connections between that information and everything else you know."

在將資訊從工作記憶移動到長期記憶的過程中你會建立起這項資訊與你已知事物之間的連結。」

So you've got this awesome, life changing piece of information in your short term memory, but then you hear that email ding, and "poof", there it goes.

假設你短期記憶中有一個超棒、無懈可擊的資訊，但是就在此時你聽到e-mail收信提示，然後「噗」，你的絕世狂想就灰飛煙滅了。

That email takes its place, and you never get a chance to learn anything, all because of one distraction.

被那封 e-mail 取而代之了，這樣一來你永遠沒有機會學到新事物，就是因為分心。

"So attention is the key. And if we lose control of our attention, or are constantly dividing our attention, uh, then we don't really enjoy that consolidation process."

「所以說注意力是關鍵。如果我們沒辦法控制自己的注意力，或注意力總是不集中，那麼我們的記憶就不能鞏固。」

But I can hear it now, someone is out there saying, "Uh, what does learning matter if all of the information in the world is just a Google search away?" Well...

我知道你們想說什麼：「如果我們可以在Google上找到世界上全部的資訊，幹嘛還要學呢？」這個嘛...

"Um, that is is kind of short-changing our, our intellects.

「恩，這樣的話我們的智力很快就會改變。

If that's the way you're using your mind, just kind of searching very quickly and finding information and then forgetting it very quickly, you're never building knowledge.

如果這是你用腦的方式，總是很快地找到資料然後很快地忘掉。

You're simply, you're, you're kind of thinking like a computer."

你永遠都不記住任何知識。你就只會變成，有點像是電腦人。」

Which means that our very humanity is at stake.

也就是說我們獨有的人性岌岌可危。

And it would be a shame if we all got assimilated, because, well, humanity is pretty neat.

如果我們都被同化了會非常可惜，因為人性其實很奇妙。

"I really believe that if you look at the great monuments of culture, they come from people who are able to pay attention, who control their mind.

「我真的相信如果你看看那些偉大的文化遺產，它們都是出自

That's what allows us to think in the highest terms and think conceptually, think critically, uh, think in some very creative ways.

能夠聚精會神、自我控制的人類手中。這就是為什麼我們能夠有深度思考，不論是概念思考、批判思考，或是創意思考。」

And it's this kind of thinking that's at risk: being eroded one cute cat video at a time.

而這種思考方式目前岌岌可危：大家總是因一部又一部可愛貓咪的影片而分心。

Don't get us wrong: The internet is good for lots of things, and it should be celebrated.

不要誤解我們：網路在很多方面都是好的，我們應慶幸它的存在。

But the best thing we can do for our minds is to find some time every day to unplug, calm down, and focus on one thing at a time.

而我們能為自己頭腦所做的，就是每天找一些時間拔掉電源、冷靜下來，只專注在某件事情上。

Your email -- and those cats -- will be here when you get back.

等你回來之後，你的 e-mail 還有那些可愛貓咪都不會不見。