評論
打印
Each of you possesses the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait
每一個人都擁有一個最強大，危險并具有顛覆性的特性
that natural selection has ever devised.
這一特性是自然選擇前所未有的設計
It's a piece of neural audio technology for rewiring other people's minds.
它是一個神經聲頻技術，用于與他人交流思想
I'm talking about your language, of course,
我說的當然就是語言
because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind directly into someone else's mind,
因為通過語言你可以將自己的想法直接灌輸進別人腦子里
and they can attempt to do the same to you, without either of you having to perform surgery.
而他們亦可這樣對你，雙方都不用動手術
Instead, when you speak, you're actually using a form of telemetry
實際上，當你講話的時候，使用的是一種遙測技術
not so different from the remote control device for your television.
這跟遙控器遙控電視的差別并不大
It's just that, whereas that device relies on pulses of infrared light,
差別僅是遙控器借助紅外光
your language relies on pulses, discrete pulses, of sound.
而你依靠的是脈沖，聲音的不連續脈沖
And just as you use the remote control device to alter the internal settings of your television to suit your mood,
就如同使用遙控器去修改電視機內部設定，迎合自己口味一樣
you use your language to alter the settings inside someone else's brain to suit your interests.
你使用語言來轉變別人大腦內部的設定，以滿足你的需要
Languages are genes talking, getting things that they want.
語言是用來表達的基因，得到它們想要的表述
And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound,
試想從嬰兒不可思議的視角來看，當嬰兒發現僅僅通過發出聲音
it can get objects to move across a room as if by magic, and maybe even into its mouth.
他/她就能使音頻穿過房間，如魔法一樣，甚至從他/她嘴里蹦出。
Now language's subversive power has been recognized throughout the ages
如今，語言的顛覆性能力已經在那些輿論審查的年代
in censorship, in books you can't read, phrases you can't use and words you can't say.
以及你無法讀到的書籍，你不能使用的敏感詞和字眼中得到了印證
