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动物究竟有多聪明

来源:可可英语 编辑:hepburn   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet

You may have formed an impression of how animals think and feel from Disney Movies or documentaries,

对于动物的想法和感受,迪士尼电影或纪录片或许已经给大家留下了一定的印象,
but the reality is startlingly different.
但电影和现实实际上相去甚远。
A new study has shown that sheep can recognize human faces in photos, and can even recognize their owner --
一项新的研究表明, 绵羊可以识别照片中的人脸, 甚至可以认出他们的主人--
because that's who the sheep are personally familiar with on a day-to-day basis.
因为他们是绵羊们每天都会见到的面孔。
And, despite having watched 'Babe' many times as a child,
而且, 尽管小时候看过很多次 《宝贝》,
I never thought sheep were that smart,
但我从来没有想过绵羊会那么聪明,
so this study made me feel pretty sheepish!
所以这项研究让我觉得有点不好意思!
In all seriousness, the internal lives of animals are relatively shrouded in mystery.
严肃地说, 动物的内在可以说是笼罩在神秘之中的。
The fields of animal behavior and animal cognition have animals perform certain tests
动物行为和动物认知领域也对动物进行了一些测试,
to quantify levels of animal logic, reason, and emotion.
试图确定动物的逻辑、理性和情感的水平。
For example, in corvids, the bird family that includes ravens and crows...
就拿渡鸦、乌鸦等鸦科鸟类来说,
they've found some use tools in nature and can improvise tools in urban environments...
研究人员发现,有些自然界中的鸦科会使用工具, 还有一些甚至能在城市环境中改造工具。
some have complex problem-solving at at least the level of a five-year old.
有些解决问题的能力达到了五岁左右儿童的水平。
And some play. Just for the sheer pleasure of it.
有些还会做游戏,而且纯粹是为了乐趣。
All kinds of animals are now being subjected to intelligence tests of different kinds--
如今,各种各样的动物都接受着不同种类的智力测验,
racoons, bats, bears, bees...
小浣熊、蝙蝠、熊、蜜蜂等等等等。
But, can we even classify all the different pathways of communication in our fellow earthlings,
然而, 所有的地球同胞的沟通方式都可以进行分门别类吗?
or do some of them exist outside our realm of comprehension?
是否有一些物种的交流方式在我们的理解范围之外呢?
Do they have individual consciousness, or even a collective hive mind?
他们有个体意识吗, 或者集体意识呢?
We don't know!
不知道!
We don't even know if insects can feel pain!
我们甚至不知道昆虫是否会感到疼痛!
We really don't know a lot.
我们不知道的真的还有很多。
Take communication for example.
以沟通为例。
Researchers hypothesize that cetaceans--dolphins and whales--
研究人员推测鲸类动物--海豚和鲸鱼--
are capable of communicating and receiving 20 times the amount of information that we can with our hearing.
能够沟通和接收的信息量是人类听力能够沟通和接受的信息量的20倍。
And that also surpasses the amount of information we can perceive based on vision, which is our primary sense.
同时也超过了我们可以根据视觉感知的信息量, 而视觉是我们的主要感觉器官。
Not only that, but some scholars think that because cetaceans can create and process such complex sound,
不仅如此, 还有一些学者认为, 因为鲸目动物可以创造和处理如此复杂的声音,
1

they could be capable of sending auditory images to one another using their vocalizations.

他们也有能力通过发声发送听觉图像给同类。
A dolphin wants to tell another dolphin about a fish?
一只海豚想通知另一只海豚某条鱼的信息?
They might be able to send the image of a fish to the other animal--through sound.
他们或许能通过声音把鱼的形象传给对方。
This is like if I wanted to tell you about a tree
这就好像我想跟大家描述一棵树,
and instead of describing it with my words,
不需用语言来描述,
I was able to use sound to project a 3D hologram of that tree in front of you for you to look at.
我可以用声音把那棵树的3D全息图投射在你面前。
It's NUTS.
这简直是太疯狂了!
They perceive sound as a complex, whole scene, kind of like us when looking at a painting.
他们感知到的声音是一个复杂的, 整体的画面, 有点像我们看一幅画。
So them trying to understand our language, which progresses word by word,
所以,海豚试图理解我们这种逐字逐字叠加的语言时,
would be like us trying to watch a movie single frame by single frame.
就像我们看电影一帧一帧地看一样。
They even have distinct sounds that act as names for individuals!! Ok, I'm getting too excited.
他们甚至还有不同的声音, 就像我们的名字一样!!好吧, 我太激动了。
Am I crazy or does this sound like the plot of 'Arrival' to anyone else?
是我太夸张了?有没有听起来感觉有种《降临》的味道?
Of course, this doesn't mean they're sentient,
当然, 这并不意味着动物是有知觉的,
but if it's this hard to understand communication --
但如果我们连它们的沟通方式都理解不了-
how can we assess the hidden beauty of their cognition?!
又怎么去欣赏它们认知的美呢?!
We, as humans, are arguably the smartest species out there...
我们人类可以说是最聪明的物种了,
but that's by our own measure, limited by our ability to only frame the questions we know how to ask.
但是, 这是我们自己的评判, 也有一定的局限性,因为我们只能问我们知道怎么问的问题。
I mean we don't even fully understand our own brains, much less the way a whale's works.
我的意思是,我们甚至连我们自己的大脑都还没有了解透彻, 更别说鲸鱼大脑了。
We're limited by our own senses, by the tools that we create to measure and explore the world,
我们被我们自己的感官所局限, 被我们创造出来衡量和探索世界的工具所局限,
and by our inevitably human-centric version of the universe...
也被我们不可避免的以人为中心的宇宙观所局限……
because, well, we're the ones looking at it.
因为, 嗯, 这一切都是我们的判断。
So. Will we ever understand what it's like to live life as another species? Mayyyybeee?
因此,是否有朝一日我们能够理解其他物种生活的感受呢?也许吧?
The next time you see a sheep staring, seemingly vacantly, in your direction...
下一次看到一只绵羊,看似茫然地看着你这边,
maybe wave.
不妨跟它挥挥手。
Say hi. Make a friend.
打个招呼,交个朋友。
And don't assume you know what's going on in it's head.
别以为你知道它脑子里在想什么。
Hi fellow animals! If you want more awesome animal knowledge,
嗨,喜欢动物的小伙伴儿们!如果你想要更多精彩的动物知识,
bees just might be on the up and up!
勤劳的小蜜蜂就会一直努力为大家搬运的!
Trace has got the knowledge for you right here.
Trace已经给大家准备好了,在这里。
And one last thing, if you're ever swimming near a dolphin,
最后, 如果你曾经在海豚附近游过泳,
they can use their sonar to communicate with each other, but also to 'see' inside your body

他们不仅可以用他们的声纳来互相交流, 还能看到你身体的内部结构噢。

because the noises they make are a basically the same thing as an ultrasound.
因为它们发出的噪音与超声波基本相同。
Creepy? Or insanely cool? Thanks for watching Seeker.
细思极恐吗?还是觉得酷毙了?感谢大家收看我们的科学探索之旅频道。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
certain ['sə:tn]

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adj. 确定的,必然的,特定的
pron.

 
smart [smɑ:t]

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adj. 聪明的,时髦的,漂亮的,敏捷的,轻快的,整洁的

 
intelligence [in'telidʒəns]

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n. 理解力,智力
n. 情报,情报工作,情报

联想记忆
frame [freim]

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n. 框,结构,骨架
v. 构成,把 ...

 
plot [plɔt]

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n. 阴谋,情节,图,(小块)土地,
v. 绘

 
complex ['kɔmpleks]

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adj. 复杂的,复合的,合成的
n. 复合体

联想记忆
mystery ['mistəri]

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n. 神秘,秘密,奥秘,神秘的人或事物

 
distinct [dis'tiŋkt]

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adj. 独特的,不同的,明显的,清楚的

联想记忆
realm [relm]

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n. 王国,领域

联想记忆
measure ['meʒə]

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n. 措施,办法,量度,尺寸
v. 测量,量

联想记忆

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