I'm going to tell you about some of my research

我想談談我的研究，

where I provided evidence

我為一些不一樣的假設

for a different kind of hypothesis

提出證據。

than the one might be on the book

這些假設可能和你們

on your coffee stand.

在路邊找到的書裡說的不同。

Alright, so let's look at one of the illusions here.

好，讓我們先來看其中一種錯覺。

And this is a stand-in for many, many kinds of illusions

它是許多種錯覺的代表，

that are explained by this hypothesis.

那些錯覺都可以用這假設解釋。

I'm just going to walk through it for this particular one.

我只是想要用這一個 來談一下這個假設。

As usual in these things,

就像平常一樣，

these two lines are in fact parallel,

這兩條線實際上是平行的，

but you perceive them to bow outwards at their centers.

但是你覺得它們中間有向外微彎。

At the center where those radial lines are,

在你視覺中，那個輻射狀的中心，

it's wider in your visual field

比上面和下面的部份

than the parts above and below.

都還要寬。

And this is remarkable

這很特別，

because it's a remarkably simple stimulus.

因為它是特別簡單的圖形。

It's just a bunch of straight lines.

它只是一束直線而已。

Why should one of the most complicated objects in the universe

為什麼這宇宙中堪稱最複雜的器官

be unable to render this incredibly simple image?

沒辦法處理這簡單到不行的影像？

When you want to answer questions like this,

當你想要回答像這類的問題時，

you need to ask,

你必須去問：

"Well, what might this mean to your brain?"

「嗯，那這在我們腦中代表什麼呢？」

And what your brain is going to think this is

而我們大腦對它的想法

is not some lines on a page,

並不只是紙上的一堆線，

your brain has evolved to handle

你的大腦已經進化到

the kinds of natural stimuli

可以處理在現實生活中

that it encounters in real life.

會遇到的各種視覺刺激。

So when does the brain encounter stimuli like this?

所以什麼時候大腦 會遇到這種視覺刺激？

Well, it seems a little bit odd,

嗯，好像有點怪，

but in fact, you've been encountering this stimulus all day long.

但事實上， 你每天都會遇到這種視覺刺激。

Whenever you move,

每當你移動的時候，

whenever you move forward in particular.

尤其是每當你向前移動的時候。

When you move forward, you get optic flow,

當你向前移動時， 你會感覺視覺的流動，

flowing outwards in an individual field

在你的視覺影像中 向外流動，

like when the Enterprise goes into Warp.

就像是企業號啟動了曲速引擎一樣。 （譯註：企業號是影集星際迷航記的一艘太空船。）

All of these objects flow outwards

所有東西都向外流，

and they leave trails or blur lines on your retina.

而它們在你的視網膜上 留下軌跡或是模糊的線。

They're activating mini-neurons all in a row.

它們會啟動一整排的微小神經元。

So, this is a version of what happens in real life

所以，這是現實會發生的一個版本

and this another version of what happens in real life all the time.

而這也是常會發生的另一個版本。

In fact, cartoonists know about this.

事實上，漫畫家知道這點。

They put these blur lines in their cartoons

他們在他們的漫畫中加上模糊的線

and it means to your brain, motion.

而這在你的有腦中代表 ── 運動。

Now it's not that in real life you see blur lines,

我並不是想說 你在現實生活中

the point is that it's the stimulus at the back of your eye

會看到模糊的線， 重點在於這個視覺刺激

that has these optic blurs in them

會在你眼睛底層留下 模糊的圖像，

and that's what tells your brain that you're moving.

而就是它告訴你 你正在移動。

When you move forward, your eyes fixate like cameras,

當你向前走的時候， 你的眼睛會像相機一樣留下影像

like snap-shot cameras,

像快照相機一樣，

it fixates,

它會留下影像、

it fixates,

留下影像、

little camera shots,

一張張的小照片，

and each time it fixates,

每一次它留下影像，

when you're moving forward,

當你向前進時，

you get all this flowing outwards.

你會看到全部都向外流。

So when you take a fixation,

所以當你將底片定影的時候，

you end up with this weird optic blur stuff

你會看到這奇怪的視覺模糊

and it tells you the direction you're moving.

而它會告訴你 你移動的方向。

Alright, that's half the story.

好，這是我要講的一部份。

That's what this stimulus means.

這是這個視覺刺激 代表的意義。

It means that your brain thinks

這表示你的大腦

when it's looking at the first image

在你看到第一張圖像時

that you're actually on your way,

會覺得你正在路上，

moving towards the center.

正向中心點前進。

Still doesn't explain why you should perceive

但這還是沒有解釋為什麼

these straight lines as bowed outwards.

你會感覺那兩條線向外彎曲。

To understand the rest of the story,

要了解剩下的故事，

you have to understand that our brains are slow.

你必須知道我們的大腦運作緩慢。

What you would like is that when light hits your eye,

你可能希望 光一接觸你的眼睛，

then, ping!

隨即，砰！

Immediately you have a perception

瞬間你就有整個世界

of what the world is like.

的視覺影像。

But it doesn't work that way.

但大腦並不是這樣的。

It takes about a tenth of a second

它大約須要十分之一秒

for your perception to be created.

來產生視覺。

And a tenth of a second doesn't sound very long,

這十分之一秒聽起來並不太長，

but it's a long time in normal behaviors.

但對一般的動作來說 它算是長的。

If you're moving just at one meter per second,

如果你每秒動一公尺，

which is fairly slow,

這算是很慢的，

then a tenth of second, you've moved ten centimeters.

那麼十分之一秒你已經走了十公分了。

So if you didn't correct for this delay,

所以如果你沒有修正這個延遲現象，

then anything that you perceived

那麼每一樣你覺得

to be within ten centimeters of you,

和你差十公分的物體，

then by the time you perceived it,

在你看到的那一刻

you would have bumped into it or just passed it.

你可能就已經撞到或錯過它了。

And of course, this is going to be much worse,

而當然地，這可能會更糟，

it's going to be much worse

像是這種情況下，

in a situation like this.

可能會更糟。

Your perception is behind.

你的視覺慢了。

What you want is that your perception should look like this.

你期望看到的的應該是像這樣子。

You want your perceptions at any time, "t",

你希望你在時間 t 看到的

to be of the world at time "t".

應該是時間 t 的世界。

But the only way that your brain can do that

除了在光打到你的視網膜上時

is that it has to instead of generating

大腦就馬上產生影像，

a perception of the way that the world was

這個方法外，

when light hit your retina,

你的大腦唯一可以做的

it has to do something fancier.

應該是更具想像力。

It can't passively respond and create a best guess,

我們不應該只是 消極地反應並做出猜測，

it has to create a best guess about the next moment.

應該是要對下一刻做出最合理的猜測。

What will the world look like in a tenth of a second?

十分之一秒之後的世界會像是什麼樣子？

Build a perception of that

必須建立這樣的視覺影像，

because by the time your perception

因為當你的大腦建構好

of the near future occurs in your brain,

這樣不遠的未來影像時，

the near future will have arrived

那這不遠的未來 就已經到了

and you'll have a perception of the present,

而你就變成有了 「現在」的影像，

which is what you want.

這正是你想要的。

In my research, I provided a lot of evidence that,

在我的研究中， 我為這想法提出證據，

and there's other research areas that have provided evidence,

也有其它研究提出證據，

that the brain is filled with these sorts of mechanisms

證明大腦擁有這類的機制

that try to compensate for its slowness.

來彌補這樣的延遲。

And I've shown that huge swaths of illusions are explained by this,

而我也證明了非常多的錯覺 都可以用這個來解釋，

this just being one example.

這只是一個例子而已。

But let me finish it by saying

但讓我說一下

how exactly does this explain this particular example?

這個想法要如何解釋 現在這個例子。

So, the question really we have to ask is

所以，我們真正想問的是

how do those two vertical lines in that first stimulus,

第一張圖像中的兩條線，

how do they change in the next moment

這兩條線下一刻會是什麼樣子？

were I moving towards the center

假設在我正在往中心點移動，

that all those optical lines are suggesting that I'm moving,

因為每條線都這麼跟我說，

what happens to them?

這情況下它們會怎麼改變？

Well, let's just imagine.

那，讓我們想像看看。

Imagine you've got a doorway.

想像前方有一扇門。

You got a doorway,

有一扇門，

and imagine it's a cathedral doorway

想像那是教堂的大門，

just to make it more concrete,

這樣會具體些，

it's going to be helpful in second.

也會比較有用。

When you are very far away from it,

當你離它還很遠時，

the sides are perfectly parallel.

它的兩側是完全平行的。

But now imagine what happens when you get closer.

但是想像當你靠近的時候。

When you get really,

當你真的很靠近時，

it all flows outwards in your visual field,

在你的視覺中 它會向外流動

flowing outwards,

向外流，

but when you're really close,

但因為你是真的很靠近，

imagine the sides of the doorway are here and here,

想像門的兩側就在這裡和這裡，

but if you look up at this cathedral doorway

但如果你看看教堂的大門

and you did your fingers like this,

你會像這樣用手指來指它，

the sides of the doorways are going up

門的兩側向上攀升

like railroad tracks in the sky.

就像鐵路到達天際。

What started off as two parallel lines

原本平行的兩條線

in fact bows outwards at eye-level

實際上會在眼睛水平處 向外彎曲

and doesn't go outwards nearly as much above.

而在上面的部份則 沒有那麼向外彎。

So in the next moment,

所以在下一刻，

you have a shape that's more like this next picture.

你會看到的形狀 更像這下一張。

It ends up in fact, the projective geometry,

這實際上，就是投影幾何，

there's the way the things project

有一種投影會讓

in fact change in this way in the next moment.

影像在下一刻變成這樣。

So when you have a stimulus like this,

當你遇到這樣的視覺刺激，

well, your brain has no problem,

你的大腦不會有什麼問題，

there's just two vertical lines

它們就只是兩條垂直的線，

and there's no cues

因為沒有提示

that there's going to be a change in the next moment,

告訴你下一刻會有改變，

so just render it as it is.

所以只要正常地處理它就好。

But if you add cues,

但如果加了些提示，

and this is just one of many kinds of cues

這只許多會造成這類錯覺

that can lead to these kinds of illusions,

的提示之一，

this very strong optic blur cue,

這個非常強烈 視覺模糊的提示，

then you're going to perceive instead

那你會感受到的

exactly how it will appear in the next moment.

就剛好會是下一刻會顯現的樣子。

All of our perceptions are always trying to be about the present,

我們所有的知覺， 都試著與現在相符，

but you have to perceive the future

但你必須感覺未來

to in fact perceive the present.

才能實際地感覺現在。

And these illusions are failed perceptions of the future

而這些錯覺則是 對未來失敗的預測，

because they are just static images on a page,

因為它們只是靜止的一張圖像，

they're not changing like in real life.

他們並不像現實中會動。

And let me just end by showing one illusion here,

讓我用這一個錯覺做結尾，

and if I could, I'll quickly show two.

如果可以的話，看能不能講兩個。

This one's fun.

這個很有趣。

If you just fixate at the middle, there,

如果你注視中間，那裡，

and make stabbing motions with your head,

然後前後移動你的頭，

looming towards it like this.

像這樣靠近它。

Everybody do that.

每個人都試試看。

Make short, stabbing motions.

試幾下前後移動。

Because I've added blur to these optic flow lines,

因為我有把這些視覺流線 變得模糊，

your brain says, "they're probably already moving,

你的大腦會告訴你： 「它們可能已經在動了，

that's why they're blurry."

所以才會變得模糊。」

When you do it, they should be bursting out

當你這麼做的時候，它們就會

in your visual field faster than they should.

在你的視覺中向外炸， 超過它們應該有的速度。

They shouldn't be moving that much.

它們不應該移動那麼多。

And a final one I'll just leave in the background is this.

而最後一張我會留下來當背景的 是這張。

Here are the cues of motion,

這裡面有移動的線索，

the kinds of cues that you get on your retina

當你看到物體在動的時候， 會看到

when things are moving.

這類的線索。

You don't have to do anything here,

你不用做什麼動作，

just look at it.

只要看著它就好。

And many of you, raise your hand,

可能有許多人，看到的請舉手，

if things are moving when they shouldn't be.

明明它們不該動 可是你感覺到東西在移動。

It's weird, right?

這很詭異，對吧？

But what you have now are the cues,

但你現在有的只是提示，

that from your brain's point of view,

這來自你大腦的觀點、

your eye,

你的眼睛，

you have the stimulus on your eyes saying,

會有視覺刺激告訴你的眼睛：

"Oh, these things are moving."

「喔，這些東西在移動。」

Render a perception of what they'll do in the next moment.

產生它們下一刻 可能的視覺影像

In the next moment, they should be moving

在下一刻，他們可能會移動

and they should have shifted.

或是會位移。

Alright, thank you very much.

好，非常謝謝你們。