TED演讲:经验与记忆之谜(8)

 　　I mean, how much do we consume our memories?  我们使用了多少的记忆？

　　That is one of the explanations that is given for the dominance of the remembering self. 这可以解释记忆自我为何能成为主导的自我。

　　And when I think about that, I think about a vacation we had in Antarctica a few years ago, 这让我想起一次假期，几年前在南极度过的假期，

　　which was clearly the best vacation I've ever had,  这可以说是我最棒的一个假期，

　　and I think of it relatively¹ often, relative to how much I think of other vacations. 与其它假期相比，我常常会想起这个假期。

　　And I probably have consumed my memories of that three-week trip, I would say, 这趟旅程大概让我用掉了三周的记忆量，

　　for about 25 minutes in the last four years.  大概仅在过去四年中占了约25分钟。

　　Now, if I had ever opened the folder² with the 600 pictures in it, I would have spent another hour. 现在，如我打开资料夹，里面大概有600张相片，我可能要花一个小时来回忆。

　　Now, that is three weeks, and that is at most an hour and a half. 三周的旅程最多只用一个半小时来回忆。

　　There seems to be a discrepancy³.  这似乎不成比例啊。

　　Now, I may be a bit extreme, you know, in how little appetite I have for consuming memories, 这让我有点不满，因为我记得真是太少了，

　　but even if you do more of this, there is a genuine question: 不过就算你记得再多，这里也会有个实际的问题。

　　Why do we put so much weight on memory relative to the weight that we put on experiences? 为什么我们用来记忆比依赖经验还多？

　　So I want you to think about a thought experiment. 所以我希望你能思考一个有关思考的实验。

　　Imagine that for your next vacation,  假使你的下一个假期，

　　you know that at the end of the vacation all your pictures will be destroyed, 当你知道假期结束后假期中所有的相片将被销毁时，

　　and you'll get an amnesic⁴ drug so that you won't remember anything. 而你也会吞下一颗遗忘药以使你遗忘一切。

　　Now, would you choose the same vacation? 这样，你还会想过同样的假期么？

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

3 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

4 amnesic   

遗忘的； 失去记忆的； 失去存储的； 引起遗忘的

参考例句：

• They arrive back in the US amnesic for the period of brainwashing. 他们返抵美国后，由于洗脑忘记了那段时间发生了什么。
• The researchers tested four healthy individuals and four amnesic patients. 研究者测试了四个健康的人和四个失忆症患者。