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The human brain is one of the most sophisticated organs in the world, a supercomputer made of billions of neurons that processes and controls all of our senses, thoughts, and actions.
人類的大腦是世界上最復雜的器官之一，一個由數十億神經元組成的超級計算機，控制我們所有的感觀、思維和行動。
But there was something Charles Darwin found even more impressive: the brain of an ant, which he called one of the most marvelous atoms of matter in the world.
但是查爾斯。達爾文發現了更引人矚目的東西：那就是螞蟻的大腦。他稱其為世界上最不可思議的原子構成物之一。
If you find it hard to believe that something so tiny could have a complex brain, you're not alone.
這么小的生物卻擁有如此復雜的大腦真令人難以置信，這樣想的不只你一個。
In his project to classify and describe all living things, Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus assumed insects had no brains at all.
瑞典自然學家卡爾。林奈在分類和描述生物時，認為昆蟲根本沒有大腦。
He was wrong, but understandably so.
雖然他錯了，但情有可原。
Insect brains are not only miniscule, but in many respects, they function differently than our own.
昆蟲的大腦不僅極其微小，而且在很多方面，與我們大腦的工作方式完全不同。
One of the most noticeable differences is that an insect that loses its head can still walk, scratch itself, breathe, and even fly.
最顯而易見的區別之一就是一只沒了頭的昆蟲仍然能夠爬行、撓癢、呼吸、甚至飛行。
This is because while our nervous system works like a monarchy, with the brain calling the shots, the insect nervous system works more like a decentralized federation.
我們神經系統的運作好比君主制，由大腦發號施令，而昆蟲的神經系統卻像分權制那樣運行。
Many insect activities, like walking or breathing, are coordinated by clusters of neurons, also known as ganglia, along their bodies.
昆蟲的許多活動，比如爬行或者呼吸，都由貫穿身體的神經元群處理，也就是神經節。
Together with the brain, these local ganglia form the insect nervous system.
各部位的神經節與大腦一起，構成了昆蟲的神經系統。
While an insect can do a lot with just its local ganglia, the brain is still crucial for its survival.
盡管昆蟲可以依靠神經節進行生命活動，對它的生存來說，大腦依舊不可或缺。
An insect's brain lets it perceive the world through sight and smell.
昆蟲的大腦讓它通過視覺和嗅覺來感知世界。
It also chooses suitable mates, remembers locations of food sources and hives, regulates communication, and even coordinates navigation over huge distances.
選擇合適的配偶，記住食物和巢穴的位置，進行有效的溝通，甚至在長途跋涉時辨別方向。
And this vast diversity of behaviors is controlled by an organ the size of the head of a pin, with less than one million neurons, compared to our 86 billion.
上述種種行為都由一個針尖大的器官控制，里面的神經元不超過一百萬，而我們人類，有860億神經元。
