One of the most important attributes of origami is once we have studied and understood the way paper folds and unfolds, we can apply those patterns to things that are very different from paper. And I hope by bringing the tools of mathematics into my origami design that I can then fold something that's beautiful and that's unexpected. My name is Robert Lang, and I'm a physicist and an origami artist.
摺紙藝術其中一項最重要的特性是，一旦我們學習和理解紙張摺起和攤開的方式，我們就能將那些模式運用到和紙張非常不一樣的物品上。我希望藉由將數學方法帶入我的紙藝設計中，能讓我摺出美麗且出乎意料的事物。我是 Robert Lang，我是個物理學家和摺紙藝術家。
A Great Big Story—The Master of Folds
A Great Big Story－－摺紙大師
Origami is the Japanese name for the art of folding paper, and most origami is folded from a single sheet of paper with no cuts or tears. I have loved origami my entire life. I've pursued it ever since I was a kid, but my study was science and engineering. I worked for NASA doing research on lasers, but throughout that whole time, I had been pursuing origami, developing designs, and writing books. So in 2001, I quit my job to try to make a career out of origami.
Origami 是摺紙藝術的日文名字，大多數紙藝是用一張紙摺出，沒有裁切或撕過。我這輩子都愛著摺紙藝術。我從兒時就開始追求這種工藝，不過我的所學是科學和工程。我替美國太空總署做雷射相關的研究，不過那整段時期，我都有在做紙藝、發明圖案，以及寫書。在 2001 年時，我辭掉工作，嘗試用摺紙藝術闖出一番事業。
I've worked on a couple of different folding patterns that were round and would wrap into a cylindrical geometry to fit into a rocket. And I developed an airbag in a car that inflates from a small folded bundle. So whenever an engineer creates something that opens and closes in a controlled way, they can make use of the folding patterns of origami.
我在進行幾種不同的摺紙樣式，它們是圓狀的，而且可以捲成圓柱體來放進火箭中。另外我研發出從折起來的一小捆物體膨脹起來的車內安全氣囊。所以每當工程師創造出一件以可控方式開啟和閉合的東西時，他們都可以利用摺紙藝術的摺疊模式。
Over the years, math has allowed me to realize, as an artist, shapes and creations that I couldn't achieve any other way. Traditional origami was relatively simple—the designs would have taken maybe 20 or 30 steps at most. But today, origami pieces can be so complicated that they can have tens, hundreds, maybe even a thousand steps.
這些年來，數學讓我得以實現，作為一名藝術家，一些我用其它任何方式無法做出的形狀和創作。傳統的摺紙藝術相對簡單－－那些圖案最多只會花大概二十或三十個步驟。不過現在，摺紙作品可以是如此複雜，它們可以有數十、數百，或甚至上千個步驟。
When I'm folding, it's like working with an old friend; it's like dancing with a partner whose moves I know. If I move this way, I know my partner's going to move that way. And so I explore the math, develop the equations, solve the equations, create the folding pattern, and then I find out what it looks like. And as often as not, it is beautiful.
當我在摺紙時，那就像和一個老朋友一起工作一樣；那就像和一個我熟悉他的舞步的舞伴跳舞一樣。如果我往這邊移，我知道我的舞伴就會往那邊走。因此我仔細研究數學、發明方程式、解開方程式、創造摺疊模式，接著我發現那作品的樣貌。而往往，那是美麗的。
For me, the driving force is that there is always something new to try: a new problem, a new subject, a new shape that I didn't think I was able to create before, but now I think I know how to realize it. And each time I solve a problem, I get this wonderful feeling. And you want more of those feelings.
對我來說，動力就是總有新事物可以嘗試：一個新的問題、一個新的主題、一個我以前不認為自己做得出來，但現在覺得自己知道該如何實現的新形狀。而每次我解開一個問題時，我都會得到這種美妙的感受。你會想要得到更多那種感覺。
- 「使用、利用」- Make Use Of
So whenever an engineer creates something that opens and closes in a controlled way, they can make use of the folding patterns of origami.
所以每當工程師創造出一件以可控方式開啟和閉合的東西時，他們都可以利用摺紙藝術的摺疊模式。 - 「最多」- At Most
Traditional origami was relatively simple—the designs would have taken maybe 20 or 30 steps at most.
傳統的摺紙藝術相對簡單－－那些圖案最多只會花大概二十或三十個步驟。
