to a 10-by-10-foot room in complete isolation.

與世隔絕的小房間

No timekeeping devices, no phones, no books,

沒有時鐘、手機或書籍

nothing to write on, no windows.

沒有任何可以書寫的東西 也沒有窗戶

[dramatic music]

心理學家指出

♪ ♪

在這樣的房間裡不到三天

Psychologists say that fewer than three days

便足以令腦部損傷

in a room like this can lead to brain damage.

我將待在這房間裡三天

I will be staying in this room

顯然他已經瀕臨崩潰

for three days.

即使在一個人滿為患的城市裡

♪ ♪

一個人仍有可能感到孤單

- Clearly, he is on the border of misery.

或無聊

[electronic music]

人腦就像個飢渴的海綿

♪ ♪

不斷地接收資訊

- Even in a city surrounded by people,

並受外在刺激而興奮

it's possible to feel lonely

透過由智慧手機、書籍

or bored.

電影、朋友和家人

Your brain is like a hungry sponge.

成千上萬的觀感刺激

It's constantly absorbing information.

不斷進入我們腦中

It thrives when stimulated.

但若將這些刺激全然斷絕會如何？

Between smartphones and books

隔離

and movies and friends and family,

無聊是什麼？

thousands of sensations

普遍認為它是一種情緒

are constantly going into our heads.

但不像厭惡那麼強烈

But what if it all got cut off?

一張由羅伯特普鲁奇克發展的圖表

[dramatic music]

將情緒呈現在一個輪盤上

♪ ♪

留意無聊和厭惡、噁心 都在同一個軸度上

What is boredom?

他們只是不同強度的情緒觀感

Well, it's believed to be an emotion

無聊促使我們離開低刺激的環境

that's a less intense form of disgust.

因為多樣化與刺激

A visual representation of emotions

有助於腦神經的生長

developed by Robert Plutchik

我們今天在這裡做這些事

shows them all on a wheel.

全因無聊將我們推向更多的挑戰

Notice that boredom shares a spoke

和更大更複雜的腦

with disgust and loathing.

若我們視之為理所當然

They are different intensities of the same emotion.

那麼當感覺和社交活動被剝奪時

You see, boredom pushes us away from low-stimulus situations

會發生什麼事？

because variety and stimulation

示範一：疼痛與無聊

literally lead to neurogenesis--

一項由哈佛大學與維吉尼雅大學 進行的指標性研究指出

brain-cell growth.

學生寧可經歷生理上的疼痛

We are here today doing what we do

也不願體驗 15 分鐘的無聊

because boredom has guided us

為了顯示一個人能夠忍受多長時間的無聊

toward greater and greater challenges

我們找來一位不知情的受測者

and bigger and more complex brains.

讓他以為自己是參加焦點訪談

So what is it like to be deprived

我們首先提供一組刺激性道具

of the sensations and social interactions

其中有一個會令人相當不適

so many of us take for granted?

糟糕！

♪ ♪

- 什麼？ - 把我電得痛死了

A landmark study at Harvard and Virginia Universities

你試試看

found that students prefer to experience physical pain

- 的確電到我了 - 沒有啊

over 15 minutes of boredom.

- 他真的有電到嗎？ - 有，真的

To demonstrate the surprising lengths

- 他不喜歡那感覺 - 真的電到我了

people will go to to avoid boredom,

我們偽裝的焦點訪談持續進行

we brought in an unsuspecting subject

讓我們從觸電按鈕開始

for what he believes to be a focus group.

賈米森，你會選擇再碰觸一次嗎？

We begin by introducing a set of stimuli,

我不想再碰它了

one of which is very unpleasant.

為什麼不？

[device buzzes] - Oh, shit.

因為它電到我

- What? - Shocked the shit out of me.

而我現在還感覺的到它在我前臂遊走

Touch it.

真正的測驗現在開始

[device buzzes] - [grunts]

關於無聊的測驗

It did shock me. - No, it didn't.

你會待在這房間 30 分鐘

Did it really? - Yeah, it did.

請保持坐在位子上

- He doesn't like it. - That really shocked me.

你可以自由選擇再次觸碰觸電按鈕…

- Our fake focus test continues.

- 好的 - 或不

- So let's start with the shock button.

真相大白的時候到了

Jamison, would you choose to experience this again?

當只剩下無聊和疼痛的電觸

- I don't want to do that again.

我們的受測者會如何選擇呢？

- Why wouldn't you?

他連看都不看那個按鈕

- 'Cause it shocked me,

連一分鐘都還不到

and I can still feel it going down my forearm.

賈米森已感到焦躁不安

- Now it's time for Jamison's true test--

還有將近半小時的時間

the test of boredom.

而且房裡沒有其他刺激

- You will be in the room for 30 minutes.

電擊按鈕是個吸引人的物件

Please remain in your chair.

來轉移賈米森的思緒

Feel free to re-experience the electric-shock button...

還記得幾分鐘前賈米森怎麼說的嗎？

- Okay. Okay. - Or not.

我不想再碰它了

- All right, the moment of truth.

但他會渴求刺激到

[door closes]

去碰觸那個按鈕嗎？

When the only two options are boredom or painful shock,

這無聊僅維持了 1 分 57 秒

which will our subject choose?

就讓賈米森的想法從「絕不」

He's not even looking at the button.

改變成「好啊，再電一次我自己」

Oh.

「來緩解無聊感吧！」

It hasn't even been a minute yet,

有時候刺激 任何刺激都好

and already Jamison is restless.

都比毫無刺激來得好

[pensive music]

這個人不喜歡無聊

With 29 minutes to go

他能克制自己不再碰觸它嗎？

and no other stimulation in the room,

我們是群居的動物

the shock button is a tempting object

不管是另一個人

to occupy Jamison's mind.

或是一個排球 或僅是一個觸電按鈕

♪ ♪

我們都試圖和那人或東西當朋友

Remember what Jamison said a few minutes ago.

賈米森？ 我是麥可

- I don't want to do that again.

- 謝謝你今天來參加 - 沒問題

- But will he desire stimulation so strongly,

可以告訴我

he just goes ahead and pushes that button?

你在這房裡做了些什麼嗎？

♪ ♪

我和一個按鈕一起待在這房裡

[device buzzes] - [grunts]

- 是 - 雖然我說再也不想碰觸它

- It took exactly one minute and 57 seconds of boredom

但我按了兩次

for Jamison's mind to go from, "Never again,"

為什麼？

to "Sure, I'll give myself an electric shock

我想我只是無聊吧，所以…

to relieve boredom."

- 真的嗎？ - 對啊

Sometimes stimulation, any stimulation

- 按它會痛嗎？ - 會痛

is perceived as better than none at all.

我們的假設是當一個人

This guy doesn't like being bored.

和一個負面刺激獨處

Can he resist touching it a second time?

人們傾向重複體驗那負面刺激

[dramatic music]

只為了有事可做

♪ ♪

我也是其中一員

[device buzzes] - [grunts, laughing]

我們厭惡無聊到寧可選擇生理疼痛

- We're social animals.

但蓄意使自己處於極端無聊的環境下是有用的

Whether it's another human

這叫做剝奪感知

or a volleyball or an electric-shock button,

示範二：剝奪感知

you'll make friends with whatever you need to.

心理學家們從 1930 年代

Jamison? I'm Michael.

就開始進行剝奪感知的實驗

Thanks for coming in today. - Sure.

冷戰期間

- So tell me a little bit

軍隊們利用剝奪感知

about what you've been up to here in this room.

進行訓練和審問

- I've been sitting in this room with a button.

在 70 年代，這項活動成為一項休閒活動

- Yeah. - And despite saying

透過隔音與無光漂浮艙

I didn't want to press it again, I pressed it twice.

漂浮在和等同體溫的鹽水中

- Why?

我正在前往地下漂浮實驗室

- I was just bored in this room, I suppose, so...

這家公司以剝奪感知營利

- Really? - Yeah.

這將是個前置訓練

- Did that hurt? - Yes.

為我三天的隔離做準備

- The hypothesis is that when left alone

我同時得到專家的協助

with a very negative stimulus,

多明尼克，你好嗎？

people will go ahead an re-experience it

你好，麥可

just because it's something to do.

多明尼克莫納漢

- I'm one of them. - [laughs]

演過電影魔戒和電視劇 LOST檔案

We dislike being bored so much,

這是你的第一次，對嗎？

sometimes physical pain is preferable.

是的，這是我的初體驗

But intentionally putting yourself

我有點緊張

into what would seem to be

我從沒在毫無他物的情況下獨處

the most boring environment possible

我喜歡漂浮的其中一個原因

can be useful.

是不會有任何其他事干擾

It's called sensory deprivation.

- 是 - 你看不到任何東西

♪ ♪

聽不到任何聲音 不能做任何事情

Psychologists have conducted experiments

你只能專注在自己身上

in sensory deprivation since the 1930s.

對於某些人來說，這是很可怕的

During the Cold War,

像是面對一面鏡子幾個小時

the military used sensory deprivation

漂浮艙是他與世隔絕前很好的練習

for both training and interrogation.

但我認為他應該要了解

In the 1970s, the activity became recreational,

這將使他踏出舒適圈

with soundproof, lightproof flotation tanks

偶爾放空自己是件好事

that keep you buoyant with salt water

好吧，讓我偷看一下

that is the same temperature as your body.

這就是那個房間

♪ ♪

我接下來一小時將在這裡獨自漂浮

All right, so I'm on my way to a subterranean float lab.

除了聆聽自己外 什麼也不能做

This company sells sensory deprivation.

我們等會見

This will be sort of a training session

偶爾放空是件好事

for my three days in isolation,

你應該要提醒恐懼 讓它知道誰才是老大

and I'm getting guidance from an expert.

- 嘿，多明尼克 - 感覺如何?

Hey, Dominic. How are you?

非常好

- Hey. What's up, Michael?

- 我們可以坐一下嗎? - 好啊

- You know Dominic Monaghan

我躺下來時的第一個感覺是

from "Lord of the Rings" and the TV series "Lost."

這真是輕飄飄

- Now, this is your first time, right?

然後我就開始...想些雜事

- This is my first time.

但是到了一個階段後 感覺像在作夢

I'm a little nervous.

但我眼睛是張開的

I've never been alone without any stimulation.

有點像那種快睡著和快醒來前 的半夢半醒狀態

- One of my favorite things about floating is,

有趣的就在這個時候

there's nothing else going on.

你讓腦袋完全放空

- Okay. - You can't see anything.

你飄在太空中 你就好像浮在池子上的原子，飄在外太空

You can't hear anything. You can't do anything.

接下來你將與世隔絕

You just have to look at you.

你認為這個練習對你有什麼幫助

And for some people, that's scary.

或造成什麼阻礙嗎？

It's like looking in a mirror for hours.

這讓我更擔心接下來將發生的事情

This flotation tank is a really good way

三天和一小時差蠻多的

of getting him prepped for the isolation chamber,

有些人選擇與世隔絕

but I also think he needs to be okay with the fact

來學習與世隔絕

that it's gonna put him outside of his comfort zone.

當我們準備好探索其他星球

The mind is a good thing to lose every so often.

我們面臨一個小問題

- All right, let's take a peek.

外太空的物體

♪ ♪

彼此距離相當遙遠

Oh. So this is the room.

即使在太陽系

This is where I will be floating for the next hour,

飛到火星都需耗時數月

alone with nothing to do but listen to my thoughts.

往返都是

♪ ♪

這會與人類隔離一段很長的時間

I'll see you on the other side.

並困在一個小太空艙內

♪ ♪

為了準備好這種旅程

- The mind is a good thing to lose every so often.

我們找了幾位受測者在地球上 進行這種極端測驗

You have to remind fear that you're in the driver's seat."

1989 年

- Hey. - Hey, Dominic.

一名年輕義大利室內設計師史蒂芬妮佛理尼

- How was it? - It was really good.

自願為美國太空總署 NASA 測試

- Yeah? - Can we sit down?

在太空旅行期間

- Yeah, let's do it.

與世隔絕造成的影響

- My initial thought when I laid down was,

她獨自待在一玻璃小艙內 130 天

"Wow, this is buoyant."

這小艙位在新墨西哥地底 30 呎的洞穴中

And then I just...

在沒有任何計時工具

started thinking about errands and tasks,

和無法分別白天與黑夜的情況下

but at some point...

佛理尼的身體原完全失序了

well, it was like dreams.

她的月經停止

- Uh-huh.

睡眠週期劇烈變化

- But my eyes were open.

她每一次醒著的狀態維持 20 至 25 小時

Like, it was sort of like half-dreams you have

然後睡眠大約 10 小時

either when you're about to fall asleep

當她離開艙體時

or when you're waking up.

她誤判自己在地下的時間只有實際的一半

- That's when it gets interesting.

即使史蒂芬妮的環境很艱難

You're allowing your brain to be free.

至少她還有書可以閱讀

You're just floating in space.

而在我的隔離房間內

You're just atoms that are on the top of this pool,

只有白牆可以看

floating in space.

獨處的時間

So now you've done this,

多麼愜意

and you're doing this isolation booth.

遠離塵囂

Do you think that that was in some way helpful

放鬆

or a hindrance?

被社會流放

- It made me more...

沉默治療

unhappy about what's coming up.

單獨監禁

72 hours is quite a bit different than one hour.

孤獨未必這麼好

♪ ♪

當隔離並非自願時會如何呢？

Some people choose isolation

威廉布朗就有單獨監禁的切身體悟

to learn about isolation.

威廉，這輩子你待在監獄多久了？

As we prepare to explore other planets,

差不多 16 年

we're faced with a little issue.

將近是你一半的人生

Stuff in outer space is really,

基本上是

really far apart.

因為我在 18 歲時

Within our own solar system,

因搶劫銀行入監服刑

even a trip to Mars would take months

就在這裡

in each direction.

有前後兩年的時間

That's a long time to spend cut off from the rest of humanity,

這裡就是我家

stuck in a tiny spaceship.

這個洞穴

To get ready for those journeys, we have subjected some people

你最長連續在這待了多久？

to extreme conditions here on Earth.

一共大約五個月

In 1989, a young Italian interior designer

最令我意外的是

named Stefania Follini

這感覺比一般牢房糟多了

volunteered for a NASA experiment

這沒有空隙讓外面光線透入

to help study the effects of isolation

完全沒有

associated with space travel.

你至少會有個床墊吧

She spent 130 days alone

那是唯一的東西

in a plexiglass cell

床墊是這隔間裡唯一的東西

in a cave 30 feet underground in New Mexico.

你只有一張床墊

In the absence of timepieces and any sign of day or night,

其他什麼都沒有

Ms. Follini's body was thrown out of wack.

這盞燈會一直亮著

Her menstrual cycle stopped,

所以…

and her sleep-wake cycle changed radically.

- 這燈會一直亮著？ - 一直…

She tended to stay away for 20 to 25 hours at a time,

即使在夜晚？

sleeping about 10 hours.

即使在夜晚這燈也一直亮著

When she finally emerged,

你只能和你的思緒獨處於此

she mistakenly believed

沒有其他東西

she'd only been underground about half as long

我會坐在這個角落

as she actually had.

面對角落還是面向外面？

As difficult as Stefania's experience was,

面向外面

at least she had books to read.

我會坐著

In my isolation chamber,

然後專注在呼吸上

I will only have white walls to stare at.

你不明白，這就像被打入冷宮

♪ ♪

你永遠不知道他們何時會開門

Alone time-- what a pleasure.

我知道有人被關在這好幾年

Checking out, getting away from it all,

在這小房間裡

relaxing...

這對他們有什麼影響？

banishment from society,

對他們造成永久的心理創傷

the silent treatment,

- 真的？ - 真的

solitary confinement.

這就是我接下來要做的事

[dramatic music]

我將待在類似這種房間

Solitude isn't always nice.

我不會有時鐘

♪ ♪

沒有其他東西？

What happens when isolation

完全無法判斷時間

is not voluntary?

我緊張的是

William Brown has firsthand knowledge

當這門關上後…

of solitary confinement.

那突如其來的意識

So, William, how much of your life

意識到自己有多少時間

have you spent in prison?

這就是重點

- Probably, like, 16 years.

當這門一關上

- That's, like, almost half your life.

這就是終點

- Yeah, basically, almost half my life,

感覺就像在棺材裡一樣

'cause I want to jail when I was 18

真的嗎？

for armed bank robbery.

比與人隔離更極端的

This right here...

是與人以及所有刺激隔絕

This was my home, off and on, about two years...