評論
打印
Listen to a conversation between a student and the professor.
聽下面一段學生和老師間的對話。
Hi, professor Handerson. That was a really interesting lecture in class today.
你好，漢德森教授！今天你的課真的是太精彩了！
Thanks, Tom. Yeah, animals' use of deception, ways they play tricks on other animals, that's a fascinating area.
謝謝，湯姆。嗯，動物的欺騙，以及他們如何戲弄別的動物，是一個很有趣的研究領域，
One we are really just starting to understand.
而且我們也才剛剛起步。
Yeah, you know, selective adaptations over time are one thing.
是的，一段時間內的選擇性適應就是其中一個方面。
Oh, like non-poisonous butterflies that have come to look like poisonous ones.
譬如，嗯，無毒的蝴蝶，會在一段時間內，漸漸看上去跟有毒的類型一個樣了。
But the idea that animals of the same species intentionally deceive each other, I have never heard that before.
但是，某些動物會刻意欺騙他們同類的這個想法，我之前從來沒有聽說過。
Right, like, there are male frogs who lower their voices and end up sounding bigger than they really are.
好吧，我舉一個例子，比如，雄性青蛙在鳴叫的時候，會降低鳴叫的音高，使得它們的聲音更低沉，比他們本來的叫聲底。
So they do that to keep other frogs from invading their territory?
這樣的話，他們就能保衛自己的領地，使得別的青蛙不敢侵犯嗎？
Right, bigger frogs have deeper voices, so if a smaller frog can imitate that deep voice. Well ...
對的，個頭越大的青蛙，鳴叫的聲音音高也就越低，所以，如果小個兒的青蛙能夠模仿這種叫聲的話，嗯…
Yeah, I can see how that might do the trick.
好的，我能猜到他們是怎樣做到的。
But, anyway, what I wanted to ask was, when you started talking about game theory.
但是，我真正想知道的是，你提到過的博弈論。
Well, I know a little bit about it, but I am not clear about its use in biology.
嗯，我雖然知道一點，但我不知道它在生物學上的應用。
Yeah, it is fairly new to biology.
是這樣的，這個理論對于生物學還是非常新的。
Basically, it uses math to predict what an individual would do under certain circumstances.
基本上說，它依靠數學計算來預計某一個動物個體在某一種特定環境下的反應。
But for example, a business sells, oh computer, say, and they want to sell their computers to a big university.
比如說，做生意吧，比如買電腦，如果電腦商想要把電腦賣給一個規模大的大學，
But there is another company bidding too. So, what should they do?
而另一個公司也在競標。這樣的話，他們會怎么做呢？
Well, try to offer the lowest price so they can compete, but still make money.
嗯，在能夠賺錢的前提下，相互競爭，給出盡量低的價格。
Right, they are competing, like a game, like the frogs.
答對了，他們會競爭，就像一場游戲一樣，就像我們剛才講的青蛙一樣。
There are risks with pricing too high, the other company might get the sale, there is also the number and types of computers to consider.
他們都面臨著這樣的境況，即如果給的標價太高，另一家公司就會拿下訂單；而且，他們還要考慮出售電腦的數量和種類。
Each company has to find a balance between the cost and benefits.
每家公司都要在成本和盈利之間爭取平衡。
Well, game theory creates mathematical models that analyze different conditions like this to predict outcomes.
而博弈論呢，可以幫助他們建立起數學模型，并以之分析不同條件下可能的結果會是怎樣的。
Ok, I get that. But how does it apply to animals?
好的，我懂了！但這個理論是怎樣用在動物上的呢？
Well, you know, if you are interested in this topic, it would be perfect for your term paper.
嗯，如果你真的對這個東西感興趣的話，它很適合作為你的學期論文題目。
The literature review?
您說的是哪個文獻綜述作業嗎？
Yeah, find three journal articles about this or another topic that interests you and discuss them.
是的，它要你找出三本不同雜志上相關的、令你感興趣的觀點，然后你對這些觀點進行討論。
If there is a conflict in the conclusions or something, that would be important to discuss.
如果三本雜志上的說法有抵牾的話，那么這個矛盾的地方就有必要討論了。
Well, from what I have looked at dealing with game theory, I can't say I understand much of the statistics end.
嗯，從我現在知道的關于博弈論的文獻來看的話，里面涉及的許多統計學結論我都不太明白。
Well, I can point you to some that presents fairly basic studies, that don't assume much background knowledge.
嗯，我可以交給你一些非常簡單的基礎知識，不需要太多背景你就能懂的那種。
You'll just need to answer a few specific questions: What was the researchers' hypothesis?
你特別有必要搞清楚這樣幾個問題：研究者的假設是什么？
What did they want to find out?
他們想要得出什么樣的結果？
And how did they conduct their research? An then the conclusions they came to.
他們是怎么進行他們的研究的？他們得出了怎樣的結論。
Learning to interpret these statistics will come later.
之后才涉及到你如何解讀那些統計數據的問題。
