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AdamSpencer_2013-_为什么我爱上了怪兽般的质数_
Ah yes, those university days, a heady mix of Ph.D-level pure mathematics and world debating championships , or, as I like to say, "Hello, ladies. Oh yeah." 啊,那些大学的岁月, 那段充斥着博士级纯理论数学 和世界辩论赛的时光, 或者,像我爱说的:“嗨,女士们。哇。”
heady:adj.兴奋的;任性的;性急的;顽固的;使人头晕的; mathematics:n.数学;数学运算; debating:v.讨论,辩论;仔细考虑;思考;盘算;(debate的现在分词) championships:n.锦标赛,冠军(championship的复数);
Didn't get much sexier than the Spence at university, let me tell you. 没有比大学时期的斯宾塞更迷人的, 在我看来。
sexier:性感的(sexy的比较级); Spence:n.食品贮藏室;(学校等的)食品供应部;(乡间的)内室;
It is such a thrill for a humble breakfast radio announcer from Sydney, Australia, to be here on the TED stage literally on the other side of the world. 对于我这样一个来自澳大利亚悉尼的小小的早间电台主持人, 能站在世界另一端的TED的讲坛上, 真是倍感荣幸.
thrill:n.兴奋感;兴奋;激动;v.使非常兴奋;使非常激动; humble:adj.谦逊的; vt.使谦恭; announcer:n.[广播]广播员;宣告者; literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地: on the other side:另一面;在另一边;
And I wanted to let you know, a lot of the things you've heard about Australians are true. 让我告诉你们, 你们听到的 关于澳大利亚的见闻都是真的!
From the youngest of ages, we display a prodigious sporting talent. 从很小的时候, 我们就展示出 惊人的运动天赋。
display:n.显示;炫耀;vt.显示;表现;陈列;vi.[动]作炫耀行为;adj.展览的;陈列用的; prodigious:adj.惊人的,异常的,奇妙的;巨大的;
On the field of battle, we are brave and noble warriors . 在战场上,我们是勇敢和高尚的战士。
noble:adj.高尚的;贵族的;惰性的;宏伟的;n.贵族; warriors:n.(尤指旧时的)武士,勇士,斗士(warrior的复数)
What you've heard is true. 你们所耳闻的都是真实的。
Australians, we don't mind a bit of a drink, sometimes to excess , leading to embarrassing social situations. (Laughter) 你们所耳闻的都是真实的。 有时候会过量,出现一些尴尬的场面。（笑声）
excess:n.超过,超额;过度,过量;无节制;adj.额外的,过量的;附加的; embarrassing:adj.令人尴尬的; v.使尴尬; (embarrass的现在分词)
This is my father's work Christmas party, December 1973. 这是我父亲的工作圣诞聚会,是在1973年的12月。
I'm almost five years old. Fair to say, 我当时差不多5岁了。公平地说,
I'm enjoying the day a lot more than Santa was. 我玩得比圣诞老人开心多了。
But I stand before you today not as a breakfast radio host, not as a comedian , but as someone who was, is, and always will be a mathematician . 但是今天我 并不是以一个早间电台主持人, 或者喜剧演员的身份,站在你们面前的,而是一个过去是、现在是、 将来也一定会是的数学家。
comedian:n.滑稽演员;喜剧演员; mathematician:n.数学家;善作数字计算的人;
And anyone who's been bitten by the numbers bug knows that it bites early and it bites deep. 任何对数字感兴趣的人 都知道启蒙越早,印象越深.
bug:n.臭虫,小虫;故障;窃听器;v.烦扰,打扰;装窃听器;
I cast my mind back when I was in second grade at a beautiful little government-run school called Boronia Park in the suburbs of Sydney, and as we came up towards lunchtime, our teacher, 时光倒转到我二年级的时候, 我在一所美丽的公立学校就读, 名叫博洛尼亚公园学校, 位于悉尼的郊区, 当将近午餐时,我们的老师
government-run:官办; suburbs:n.郊外(suburb的复数);
Ms. Russell, said to the class, "Hey, year two. What do you want to do after lunch? 罗素女士,对着全班说道: “嗨,二年级的同学们,你们午餐之后想做什么？
I've got no plans." 我没有任何计划。”
It was an exercise in democratic schooling, and I am all for democratic schooling, but we were only seven. 那是一个民主教学的实践, 我完全支持民主教学,但是我们那时才7岁。
democratic:adj.民主的;民主政治的;大众的;
So some of the suggestions we made as to what we might want to do after lunch were a little bit impractical , and after a while, someone made a particularly silly suggestion 所以我们提出的午餐后活动 有点儿不切实际; 过了一会,有人提出了一个特别傻的建议,
impractical:adj.不切实际的,不现实的;不能实行的; particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地;
and Ms. Russell patted them down with that gentle aphorism , "That wouldn't work. 罗素女士引用了一个谚语,非常温和地拒绝了他的提议: “那是行不通的,
patted:轻拍; down with that:打倒; aphorism:n.格言;警句;
That'd be like trying to put a square peg through a round hole." 就像是想让方枘穿过圆孔一样。”
peg:n.楔子; v.用夹子夹住;
Now I wasn't trying to be smart. 那时我没想着耍小聪明,
I wasn't trying to be funny. 我也没想着显得风趣
I just politely raised my hand, and when Ms. Russell acknowledged me, I said, in front of my year two classmates, and I quote , "But Miss, surely if the diagonal of the square is less than the diameter of the circle, well, the square peg will pass quite easily through the round hole." 我也没想着显得风趣 然后当罗素女士同意我发言的时候, 当着所有二年级同学的面说到: “但是老师, 如果木枘的对角线 小于圆孔直径, 那么,木枘当然能非常轻松地通过圆孔。”
quote:v.引用;报价;举例说明;开价;为(企业的股份)上市;n.引用; diagonal:adj.斜的;对角线的;斜纹的;n.对角线;斜线; diameter:n.直径;对径;放大率;放大倍数;
(Laughter) （笑声）
'"It'd be like putting a piece of toast through a basketball hoop , wouldn't it?" “那就像让一块烤面包穿过篮球圈一样,不是吗？”
toast:n.干杯; v.为…干杯; hoop:n.箍;环;圈;(篮球)篮圈,篮框;
And there was that same awkward silence from most of my classmates, until sitting next to me, one of my friends, one of the cool kids in class, Steven, leaned across and punched me really hard in the head. 当时也是一阵类似于此的尴尬沉默, 来自于大多数的同学, 直到坐我旁边的一个小朋友, 同时也是班级里挺酷的一个小孩,叫做史蒂芬,靠了过来 在我头上重重打了一拳。
awkward:adj.尴尬的;笨拙的;棘手的;不合适的; leaned:v.前俯后仰;倾斜;倚靠;使斜靠;(lean的过去分词和过去式) punched:v.拳打;以拳痛击;给…打孔;按(键);(punch的过去分词和过去式)
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now what Steven was saying was, "Look, Adam, you are at a critical juncture in your life here, my friend. 那时史蒂芬接着说:“听着,亚当, 我的朋友,现在你是在生命中一个很重要的关口。
critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的; juncture:n.接缝;连接;接合;
You can keep sitting here with us. 你可以继续在这和我们坐在一起。
Any more of that sort of talk, you've got to go and sit over there with them." 但是如果你再说那种话,你就不得不离开 坐在那边和他们一起。”
I thought about it for a nanosecond . 我想了一纳秒,
nanosecond:n.纳秒;十亿分之一秒;
I took one look at the road map of life, and I ran off down the street marked " Geek " 审视了一下我的人生道路, 凭借我胖嘟嘟带有哮喘的小身体,
Geek:n.做低级滑稽表演的人,反常的人; n.(俚)极客,即智力超群,善于钻研但不懂与人交往的怪才;
as fast as my chubby , asthmatic little legs would carry me. 全速加入了 异类 行列.
chubby:adj.圆胖的,丰满的; asthmatic:adj.气喘的;似患气喘的;n.气喘患者;
I fell in love with mathematics from the earliest of ages. 我很早的时候就已经爱上了数学。
I explained it to all my friends. Maths is beautiful. 我解释数学给我的朋友们: 数学很美丽,
Maths:数学(课)
It's natural. It's everywhere. 它很自然,而且无处不在。
Numbers are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is written. 数字就像音符, 谱写出了宇宙这首交响乐。
symphony:n.交响乐;谐声,和声;
The great Descartes said something quite similar. 伟大的笛卡尔曾经说过类似的话。
Descartes:n.笛卡尔(法国哲学家,数学家);
The universe "is written in the mathematical language." 宇宙“是用数学的语言书写的。”
mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的;
And today, I want to show you one of those musical notes, a number so beautiful, so massive , 所以今天,我想向大家展示那些音符中的一个, 一种非常美丽、非常庞大的数字。
massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的;
I think it will blow your mind. 我想它会让你非常震惊。
Today we're going to talk about prime numbers. 今天我们将谈谈质数。
prime:adj.主要的; v.极好地; n.初期; v.使准备好;
Most of you I'm sure remember that six is not prime because it's 2 x 3. 我相信你们中的大部分人都记得6不是质数 因为它等于2 x 3。
Seven is prime because it's 1 x 7, but we can't break it down into any smaller chunks , or as we call them, factors . 7是质数因为它等于1 x 7, 而且我们不能把它约成任何更小的整数了, 或者叫因子.
chunks:n.厚块;大块;相当大的量;组块;(chunk的复数) factors:n.因素(factor的复数); v.做代理商;
Now a few things you might like to know about prime numbers. 你们也许想知道一些关于质数的事实.
One is not prime. 1不是质数。
The proof of that is a great party trick that admittedly only works at certain parties. 关于这一点的证明是一个很不错的聚会把戏, 当然只适合于某些聚会。
proof:n.证据;证实;adj.能抵御;可防护; admittedly:adv.公认地;无可否认地;明白地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Another thing about primes , there is no final biggest prime number . 另外一个关于质数的事实是,没有最终的最大的质数。
primes:n.初期; v.使准备好; prime number:n.素数;
They keep going on forever. 它们持续不断得增大下去。
We know there are an infinite number of primes due to the brilliant mathematician Euclid . 我们知道有无限个质数, 多亏了绝顶聪明的数学家欧几里得。
infinite:adj.无限的,无穷的; n.无限; Euclid:n.欧几里得;欧几里德几何学;
Over thousands of years ago, he proved that for us. 一千多年前,他就为我们证明了它。
But the third thing about prime numbers, mathematicians have always wondered, well at any given moment in time, what is the biggest prime that we know about? 但是关于质数的第三点事实是, 数学家们一直在探索, 在任何时刻, 我们知道的最大质数是多少？
mathematicians:n.[数]数学家(mathematician的复数形式);
Today we're going to hunt for that massive prime. 今天我们将去寻觅那个巨大的质数。
Don't freak out. 不要害怕。
freak:n.怪人,怪事;畸形人;反复无常;adj.奇异的,反常的;
All you need to know, of all the mathematics you've ever learned, unlearned , crammed , forgotten, never understood in the first place , all you need to know is this: 在所有那些 你们曾经学过的、没学过的、死记硬背的、忘了的、 从来没有弄明白的数学知识中, 你们只需要知道一点:
unlearned:adj.无学问的,未受教育的; n.没有文化的人们; v.忘掉已学到的知识(unlearn的过去分词); crammed:adj.塞满的;挤满的;v.把…塞进;挤满;塞满;(cram的过去分词和过去式) in the first place:首先;起初;
When I say 2 ^ 5, 当我说2的5次方时,
I'm talking about five little number twos next to each other all multiplied together, 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2. 我说的是5个小小的2 紧密排列 都互相相乘, 都互相相乘,
multiplied:v.乘;乘以;成倍增加;(使)繁殖,增殖;(multiply的过去分词和过去式)
So 2 ^ 5 is 2 x 2 = 4, 8, 16, 32. 所以2的5次方就是2 x 2 = 4, 8,16,32。
If you've got that, you're with me for the entire journey . Okay? 如果你理解这个,接下来全没问题。行吗?
journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行;
So 2 ^ 5, those five little twos multiplied together. 所以2的5次方, 就是那5个小小的2互相相乘。
(2 ^ 5) - 1 = 31. 2的5次方减去1等于31。
31 is a prime number, and that five in the power is also a prime number. 31是一个质数,而且指数中的5 也是一个质数。
And the vast bulk of massive primes we've ever found are of that form: two to a prime number, take away one. 并且我们曾经发现的大型的质数中的很大一部分 都符合这个公式: 都符合这个公式:
bulk:n.大部分;主体;(大)体积;大(量);v.扩展;增大;堆积起来;形成大块;
I won't go into great detail as to why, because most of your eyes will bleed out of your head if I do, but suffice to say, a number of that form is fairly easy to test for primacy . 我不会详细阐述为什么那样, 因为如果我那么做,你们当中的大多数人都会看得眼睛冒血, 我需要说的只是,那种形式的数字 相对容易检验是否是质数。
bleed:v.流血;失血;放掉;散开;n.[印]出血版 suffice:vt.使满足;足够…用;合格;vi.足够;有能力; fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直; primacy:n.首位;卓越;大主教的职位;
A random odd number is a lot harder to test. 一个随机的奇数检验起来要难得多。
random:adj.[数]随机的;任意的;胡乱的;n.随意;adv.胡乱地; odd:adj.古怪的;奇数的;n.奇数;
But as soon as we go hunting for massive primes, we realize it's not enough just to put in any prime number in the power. 但是一旦我们开始寻找大型的质数的时候, 我们意识到 仅仅尝试用不同的质数做指数是不够的。
as soon as:一…就;
(2 ^ 11) - 1 = 2,047, and you don't need me to tell you that's 23 x 89. 2的11次方减去1等于2047, 并且不需要我说你们也知道它等于23 x 89。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But (2 ^ 13) - 1, (2 ^ 17) - 1 但是2的13次方减去1,2的17次方减去1,
(2 ^ 19) - 1, are all prime numbers. 2的19次方减去1,也全都是质数。
After that point, they thin out a lot. 在那之后,它们就变得稀疏了很多。
And one of the things about the search for massive primes that I love so much is some of the great mathematical minds of all time have gone on this search. 寻找大型质数的过程中一个 我异常珍视的东西就是 所有时期奉献于这寻找过程中的一些伟大的数学头脑。
This is the great Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler. 这是伟大的瑞士数学家莱昂哈德·欧拉。
In the 1700s, other mathematicians said he is simply the master of us all. 在18世纪,其他数学家说过 他根本上是我们所有人的导师。
He was so respected, they put him on European currency back when that was a compliment . 他是那么得以崇敬,甚至于他的头像都被印在欧洲的货币上, 当时可称之为一种荣誉.
currency:n.货币;通货; compliment:n.恭维;称赞;问候;致意;道贺;v.恭维;称赞;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Euler discovered at the time the world's biggest prime: 欧拉发现了那个时候世界上最大的质数:
(2 ^ 31) - 1. 2的31次方减去1。
It's over two billion. 这个数超过了20亿。
He proved it was prime with nothing more than a quill , ink, paper and his mind. 他证明这个数是质数,只用了 羽毛笔、墨水、纸和他的智慧。
quill:n.大翎毛;羽茎;(豪猪,刺猬的)刚毛;vt.刺穿;
You think that's big. 你一定觉得那个数很大。
We know that (2 ^ 127) - 1 is a prime number. 我们知道2的127次方减去1 是一个质数。
It's an absolute brute . 真是叹为观止.
brute:adj.残忍的;无理性的;n.畜生;残暴的人;
Look at it here: 39 digits long, proven to be prime in 1876 by a mathematician called Lucas. 看看这里:39位数这么长, 在1876年被证明了是一个质数 由一位叫做卢卡斯的数学家。
Word up, L-Dog. 你太厉害了,我的卢卡斯朋友。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But one of the great things about the search for massive primes, it's not just finding the primes. 但是搜寻大型质数的众多方面中很重要的一个就是, 它不仅仅是寻找质数,
Sometimes proving another number not to be prime is just as exciting. 有时候证明一个数不是质数一样令人兴奋。
Lucas again, in 1876, showed us (2 ^ 67) - 1, 21 digits long, was not prime. 还是卢卡斯,在1876年,证明了2的67次方减去1, 一个21位长的数,不是质数。
But he didn't know what the factors were. 但是他不知道因子是什么。
We knew it was like six, but we didn't know what are the 2 x 3 that multiply together to give us that massive number. 我们知道它应该像6 等于2x3那种形式, 但不知是哪两个因子相乘 后得到这个巨大的数字.
multiply:vt.乘; vi.乘; v.多样地; adj.多层的;
We didn't know for almost 40 years until Frank Nelson Cole came along. 我们有几乎40年的时间都不清楚 直到弗兰克·尼尔森·科尔的出现。
Frank:adj.坦白的,直率的;老实的;n.免费邮寄特权;v.免费邮寄; Cole:n.油菜;
And at a gathering of prestigious American mathematicians, he walked to the board, took up a piece of chalk, and started writing out the powers of two: two, four, eight, 16 -- come on, join in with me, you know how it goes -- 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024, 2,048. 在一个著名美国数学家的聚会上, 他走到黑板前,拿起一支粉笔, 开始写2的幂: 2,4,8,16—— 来吧,跟我一起,你们知道它怎么进行下去的—— 32,64,128,256, 512,1024,2048。
prestigious:adj.有名望的;享有声望的;
I'm in geek heaven. We'll stop it there for a second. 我已经置身极客的乐园了。我们先在那打住一会。
Frank Nelson Cole did not stop there. 但是弗兰克·尼尔森·科尔没在那停下。
He went on and on and calculated 67 powers of two. 他继续写着 然后计算了2的67次方。
on and on:继续不停地;
He took away one and wrote that number on the board . 他减去了1,再把那个数写在黑板上。
on the board:在董事会,将在会上讨论;在那块木板上;
A frisson of excitement went around the room. 一阵激动的情绪充满了整个屋子。
frisson:n.(法)颤抖;战栗; excitement:n.兴奋;刺激;令人兴奋的事物;
It got even more exciting when he then wrote down these two large prime numbers in your standard multiplication format -- and for the rest of the hour of his talk 当他继续写下去的时候,这情绪变得更加亢奋; 他写下了这两个标准相乘形式的巨大的质数—— 在他之后的演讲中
standard:n.标准;水准;旗;度量衡标准;adj.标准的;合规格的;公认为优秀的; multiplication:n.[数]乘法;增加;
Frank Nelson Cole busted that out. 弗兰克·尼尔森·科尔全盘托出。
busted:adj.被当场逮住;v.打破;突击搜查;(使)降级;(bust的过去分词和过去式)
He had found the prime factors of (2 ^ 67) - 1. 他发现了 2的67次方减去1的质因子。
The room went berserk -- 整个屋子都疯狂了——
berserk:adj.狂怒的;adv.狂暴地,狂怒地;
(Laughter) -- as Frank Nelson Cole sat down, having delivered the only talk in the history of mathematics with no words. （笑声）—— 当弗兰克·尼尔森·科尔坐下的时候, 他完成了数学历史上仅有的一次 没有语言的演讲。
He admitted afterwards it wasn't that hard to do. 他后来承认那做起来并不那么难。
It took focus. It took dedication . 那需要专注。那需要付出。
dedication:n.奉献;献身;(建筑物等的)落成典礼;(书、音乐或演出前部的)献词;
It took him, by his estimate , "three years of Sundays." 据他估计,那花了他 “3年中的所有星期日”。
estimate:v.估计;估算;估价;n.估价;(对大小、数量、成本等的)估计;估计的成本;
But then in the field of mathematics, as in so many of the fields that we've heard from in this TED, the age of the computer goes along and things explode . 但是然后在数学领域, 就像我们从TED中听到的很多其他领域一样, 电脑时代的到来产生了爆炸性的效应。
in the field of:在…方面,在…领域; explode:v.爆炸;爆裂;勃然(大怒);突然发生(危险);
These are the largest prime numbers we knew decade by decade, each one dwarfing the one before as computers took over and our power to calculate just grew and grew. 这些是以十年左右的时间为间隔,我们曾经知道的最大的质数。 每一个数都让前一个数变得渺小。 当电脑占据主导地位之后,我们的运算能力 不断地增强。
dwarfing:v.使显得矮小;使相形见绌;(dwarf的现在分词)
This is the largest prime number we knew in 1996, a very emotional year for me. 这是我们在1996年所知道的的最大的质数, 那年对我来说也是感慨良多的一年。
emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的;
It was the year I left university. 那年我离开了大学。
I was torn between mathematics and media. 我在数学和媒体的选择之间受尽折磨。
It was a tough decision. I loved university. 那是个很难的抉择。我爱大学。
My arts degree was the best nine and a half years of my life. 我的艺术学位是我生命中最美好的九年半时光。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But I came to a realization about my own ability. 但是我最终意识到了我自己的能力。
realization:n.实现;领悟;
Put simply, in a room full of randomly selected people, 简单来说,在一个聚满了随机选择的人的屋子里,
randomly:adv.随便地,任意地;无目的,胡乱地;未加计划地;
I'm a maths genius . 我是一个数学天才。
genius:n.天才;天资;才能,本领;
In a roomful of maths Ph.Ds, 而在一个聚满了数学博士的屋子里,
roomful:n.满房间;全屋的人;
I'm as dumb as a box of hammers . 我笨得就像棒槌。
dumb:adj.哑的,无说话能力的;不说话的,无声音的; hammers:n.锤子(hammer的复数);v.锤击;使惨败(hammer的三单形式);
My skill is not in the mathematics. 我的强项不是数学。
It is in telling the story of the mathematics. 我的强项是讲述数学故事。
And during that time, since I've left university, these numbers have got bigger and bigger, each one dwarfing the last, until along came this man, Dr. Curtis Cooper, 在我离开了大学的那段时间里, 这些数变得越来越大, 每一个都让上一个数相形见绌, 直到柯蒂斯·库珀博士的出现,
who a few years ago held the record for the largest ever prime, only to see it snatched away by a rival university. 他在几年之前还保持着古往今来所发现的最大质数的记录, 又眼睁睁地看着这个记录被一对手大学夺走.
snatched:v.一把抓起;一下夺过;夺去;抢走;偷窃;(snatch的过去分词和过去式) rival:v.与…相匹敌;比得上;adj.竞争的;n.竞争对手;
And then Curtis Cooper got it back. 然后柯蒂斯·库珀又把它夺了回来。
Not years ago, not months ago, days ago. 不是几年前,不是几个月前,而是几天前。
In an amazing moment of serendipity , 在一个令人惊讶的意外情况下,
serendipity:n.意外发现珍奇事物的本领;有意外发现珍宝的运气;
I had to send TED a new slide to show you what this guy had done. 我不得不发给TED一个新的幻灯片 来展示这个人做了什么。
I still remember -- (Applause) -- 我依然记得——（掌声）——
I still remember when it happened. 我依然记得那一时刻.
I was doing my breakfast radio show. 我当时在做我的早间节目.
I looked down on Twitter. There was a tweet: "Adam, have you seen the new largest prime number?" 我低头看了下Twitter。有这样一条消息: “亚当,你看到了新的最大的质数吗？”
I shivered -- 我颤抖了——
shivered:n.颤抖,战栗;碎片;vi.颤抖;哆嗦;打碎;vt.颤抖;打碎;
(Laughter) -- contacted the women who produced my radio show out in the other room, and said "Girls, hold the front page . （笑声）—— 我马上联系隔壁的节目制作人, 说道:“姑娘们,留出头版.
contacted:v.联系,联络(如用电话或信件)(contact的过去分词和过去式) front page:adj.(新闻等的)头版的;重要的;轰动的;vt.把…登在头版;
We're not talking politics today. 我们今天不谈政治,
politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数)
We're not talking sport today. 也不谈体育,
They found another megaprime." 又有一个巨大的质数被发现了。”
The girls just shook their heads, put them in their hands, and let me go my own way. 女孩们只是摇着头, 用手捂住头,任由我自己发挥。
It's because of Curtis Cooper that we know, currently the largest prime number we know, is 2 ^ 57,885,161. 因为柯蒂斯·库珀我们知道了, 目前最大的质数 是2的57885161次方。
currently:adv.当前;一般地;
Don't forget to subtract the one. 不要忘了减去1。
subtract:v.减去;
This number is almost 17 and a half million digits long. 这个数几乎有一千七百五十万位数那么长。
If you typed it out on a computer and saved it as a text file, that's 22 meg. 如果你把它输入到电脑里再保存成文本文件, 那有22兆字节。
For the slightly less geeky of you, think about the Harry Potter novels , okay? 对于你们当中不那么 怪异 的人来说, 想想哈利·波特小说,行吧？
slightly:adv.些微地,轻微地;纤细地; geeky:adj.(俚)令人讨厌的; novels:n.小说;(novel的复数)
This is the first Harry Potter novel. 这是第一部哈利·波特小说。
This is all seven Harry Potter novels, because she did tend to faff on a bit near the end. 这是所有七部哈利·波特小说, 因为她快写完的时候确实有点喜欢拖泥带水。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Written out as a book, this number would run the length of the Harry Potter novels and half again. 写成一本书的时候,这个数会有 所有哈利·波特小说的1.5倍长。
Here's a slide of the first 1,000 digits of this prime. 这个幻灯片上有这个质数的前1000位数。
If, when TED had begun, at 11 o'clock on Tuesday, we'd walked out and simply hit one slide every second, it would have taken five hours to show you that number. 如果,TED在周二的11点开始, 如果简单地一秒钟点击一页幻灯片, 那需要5个小时来展示这个数。
I was keen to do it, could not convince Bono . 我很热衷这么做,但是无法说服波诺。
keen:adj.敏锐的,敏捷的;渴望的;强烈的;热心的;锐利的;n.痛哭,挽歌; convince:v.使确信;使相信;说服,劝说; Bono:n.宝鸟服饰;报喜鸟(品牌名);
That's the way it goes. 这也是没法子的事.
This number is 17 and a half thousand slides long, and we know it is prime as confidently as we know the number seven is prime. 这个数有一万七千五百个幻灯片那么长, 而我们非常肯定地知道它是个质数 就像我们知道数字7是质数一样。
confidently:adv.自信地;安心地;
That fills me with almost sexual excitement. 那几乎让我有了性冲动。
sexual:adj.性的;性别的;有性的;
And who am I kidding when I say almost? 当我说*几乎*时, 我到底是在骗谁？
(Laughter) （笑声）
I know what you're thinking: 我知道你们在想什么:
Adam, we're happy that you're happy, but why should we care? 亚当,你开心我们也很开心。 但是为什么我们要在意这个？
Let me give you just three reasons why this is so beautiful. 让我给你们三个理由来说明其美妙之处.
First of all , as I explained, to ask a computer "Is that number prime?" to type it in its abbreviated form, and then only about six lines of code is the test for primacy, is a remarkably simple question to ask. 首先,就像我解释过得一样,去问一台电脑 “那个数是质数吗？”并且输入它的缩略形式, 然后只要六行代码就能测试数字是否为质数, 是一个极其简单的问题,
First of all:adv.首先; abbreviated:adj.简短的;小型的;服装超短的;v.缩写;节略(abbreviate的过去分词); remarkably:adv.非常;极为;格外;出乎意料地
It's got a remarkably clear yes/no answer, and just requires phenomenal grunt . 答案无非是*是*或*否*. 只是需要惊人的计算能力.
phenomenal:adj.现象的;显著的;异常的;能知觉的;惊人的,非凡的; grunt:v.发出呼噜声;咕哝;嘟哝;n.哼声;咕哝声;呼噜声;收入低的工人;士兵;
Large prime numbers are a great way of testing the speed and accuracy of computer chips . (搜索)大型质数是测试 电脑芯片速度和准确度的很好的办法。
accuracy:n.[数]精确度,准确性; chips:炸土豆条(chip的复数)
But secondly, as Curtis Cooper was looking for that monster prime, he wasn't the only guy searching. 但是其次,在柯蒂斯·库珀寻找野兽般的质数的时候, 他不是唯一的搜索人.
monster:n.怪物;恶魔;庞然大物;adj.巨大的;
My laptop at home was looking through four potential candidate primes myself as part of a networked computer hunt around the world for these large numbers. 我家里的笔记本电脑正在测试 四个可能的质数, 我是一个全球性网络 搜寻大型质数的成员.
laptop:n.便携式电脑;笔记本电脑; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
The discovery of that prime is similar to the work people are doing in unraveling RNA sequences , in searching through data from SETI and other astronomical projects. 寻找那些质数类似于 人们解析核糖核酸序列, 以及搜寻地外文明计划和其他天文研究项目.
unraveling:v.解开,拆散,散开;(unravel的现在分词) sequences:n.[数][计]序列,顺序;继起的事(sequence的复数形式); astronomical:adj.天文的,天文学的;极大的;
We live in an age where some of the great breakthroughs are not going to happen in the labs or the halls of academia but on laptops , desktops , in the palms of people's hands who are simply helping out for the search. 我们生活的时代是一些重大突破 不会发生在实验室或者学术大厅, 而会发生在笔记本电脑上,台式电脑上, 在那些 帮助这些搜索的人们的手心里。
breakthroughs:突破; labs:n.实验室;实验大楼;(lab的复数) academia:n.学术界;学术生涯; laptops:n.便携式电脑;笔记本电脑;(laptop的复数) desktops:n.桌面;网络释义:虚拟桌面;台式机;台式电脑;(desktops是desktop的复数) palms:n.手掌,手心;棕榈植物(palm的复数);v.把…藏于手中(palm的第三人称单数);
But for me it's amazing because it's a metaphor for the time in which we live, when human minds and machines can conquer together. 但是对我来说这很了不起, 因为它象征着 在我们生活的时代 人脑和机器可以协同去征服难题.
metaphor:n.暗喻,隐喻;比喻说法; conquer:v.占领;攻克;征服;击败,战胜;对付,克服,控制;很受欢迎
We've heard a lot about robots in this TED. 我们在TED里听闻了不少关于机器人的故事.
We've heard a lot about what they can and can't do. 我们听到了很多他们能做和不能做的事情。
It is true, you can now download onto your smartphone an app that would beat most grandmasters at chess. 你们现在确实可以下载到一款 能击败大多数国际象棋大师的应用程序到你的智能手机上。
smartphone:n.智能手机; grandmasters:n.大师;最高段的棋手;
You think that's cool. 你们认为那很酷。
Here's a machine doing something cool. 这有个能做一些很酷的事情的机器。
This is the CubeStormer II. 这是魔方破解者二代。
It can take a randomly shuffled Rubik's Cube. 它可以对付任何一个随机旋转出的鲁比克魔方。
shuffled:拖曳;搅乱;推诿;洗牌(shuffle的过去式和过去分词);
Using the power of the smartphone, it can examine the cube and solve the cube in five seconds. 通过智能手机的力量, 它可以检查这个魔方 然后在五秒钟内复原这个魔方。
(Applause) （掌声）
That scares some people. That excites me. 那吓坏了一些人,却让我很兴奋。
How lucky are we to live in this age when mind and machine can work together? 我们生活在一个 人脑和机器可以协同工作的时代是多么得幸运啊？
I was asked in an interview last year in my capacity as a lower-case "c" celebrity in Australia, "What was your highlight of 2012?" 我去年参加了一个访谈, 作为在澳大利亚一个并不真正非常知名的名人,我被问道: “我在2012年最难忘的时刻是什么？”
interview:n.接见,采访;面试,面谈;v.采访;接见;对…进行面谈; capacity:n.能力;容量;资格,地位;生产力; lower-case:adj.小写字母的; celebrity:n.名人;名声; highlight:vt.突出;强调;使显著;加亮;n.最精彩的部分;最重要的事情;加亮区;
People were expecting me to talk about my beloved Sydney Swans football team. 人们希望我谈论 我深爱的悉尼天鹅澳式足球队。
beloved:adj.心爱的;挚爱的;n.心爱的人;亲爱的教友; Swans:n.天鹅(swan的复数);v.闲荡(swan的第三人称单数形式);
In our beautiful, indigenous sport of Australian football, they won the equivalent of the Super Bowl . 在我们美丽的、本土的澳式足球中, 他们获得了类似于美式足球冠军的成就。
indigenous:adj.本土的;土著的;国产的;固有的; equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物; Super Bowl:n.(美国)超级碗橄榄球赛;
I was there. It was the most emotional, exciting day. 我当时就在现场。那是非常激动兴奋的一天。
It wasn't my highlight of 2012. 但它不是我2012年最难忘的时刻。
People thought it might have been an interview I'd done on my show. 人们认为也许是我做的一个名人采访,
It might have been a politician . It might have been a breakthrough. 也许是一个政治家,或是一项重大突破;
politician:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;
It might have been a book I read, the arts. No, no, no. 也许是我读过的一本书,或者艺术之类的东西。不不不。
It might have been something my two gorgeous daughters had done. 也许是我两个美丽的女儿所做过的一些事情。
gorgeous:adj.华丽的,灿烂的;极好的;
No, it wasn't. The highlight of 2012, so clearly, was the discovery of the Higgs boson . 不,不是。我2012年最难忘的时刻,十分明确, 就是希格斯玻色子的发现。
boson:n.[高能]玻色子;
Give it up for the fundamental particle that bequeaths all other fundamental particles their mass. 请为这个 赋予了所有其他基本粒子质量的基本粒子送上掌声。
fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的; bequeaths:vt.遗赠;把…遗赠给;把…传下去; particles:n.微粒,粒子;粒子系统;碎木料(particle的复数形式);
(Applause) （掌声）
And what was so gorgeous about this discovery was 50 years ago Peter Higgs and his team considered one of the deepest of all questions: 并且这个发现的美妙之处在于 50年前皮特·希格斯和他的团队 考虑的最深奥问题之一:
How is it that the things that make us up have no mass? 如果组成我们的元素没有质量会怎么样？
I've clearly got mass. Where does it come from? 我显然是有质量的。它来自哪里？
And he postulated a suggestion that there's this infinite, incredibly small field stretching throughout the universe, and as other particles go through those particles and interact , that's where they get their mass. 于是他假设 存在这个无限的、极其微小的、 贯穿宇宙的场, 然后当其他粒子通过这些粒子 并且发生作用,就使他们获得了质量。
postulated:v.假定;假设;(postulate的过去分词和过去式) incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; stretching:v.拉长;撑大;有弹性;拉紧;拉直;(stretch的现在分词) throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及; interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息;
The rest of the scientific community said, "Great idea, Higgsy. 科学界的其他人说道: “不错的设想,希格斯。
scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
We've got no idea if we could ever prove it. 但我们不知道能否证明它。
It's beyond our reach." 它超越了我们的能力范围。”
And within just 50 years, in his lifetime, with him sitting in the audience, we had designed the greatest machine ever to prove this incredible idea that originated just in a human mind. 可是就在50年内, 在他的有生之年,在他坐在观众席里的时候, 我们设计出了有史以来最伟大的机器 来证明这个 起源于人脑的难以置信的想法。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; originated:v.起源;发源;创立;创建;发明;(originate的过去式和过去分词)
That's what is so exciting for me about this prime number. 这就是为什么质数搜索让我如此兴奋:
We thought it might be there, and we went and found it. 我们认为它可能存在, 然后我们去尝试,再发现它。
That is the essence of being human. 那就是人的本质。
essence:n.本质;实质;精髓;香精;
That is what we are all about. 那就是我们存在的意义。
Or as my friend Descartes might put it, we think, therefore we are. 或者像我的朋友笛卡尔描述的那样, 我思, 故我在。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）