So you're reading an article online when you get an instant message with a link to a funny photo, which of course you have to share, and now you're reading your Facebook news wall, which sends you to a video of a panda bear attacking a kid, and now you're reading Wikipedia to learn everything you can about the violent behavior of panda bears. And this is what three minutes on the Internet can be like.
在你收到一則附有搞笑圖片連結的即時訊息時，你正在網路上讀一篇文章，你當然得分享那張搞笑圖片，然後現在你在看你的 Facebook 塗鴉牆，那又把你帶到一個貓熊攻擊孩童的影片，現在你在看維基百科好盡可能地了解關於貓熊暴力行為的一切。而這就是網路上三分鐘可能發生的情形。
We live like this all the time, and it has to have some kind of an effect on us.
我們一直像這樣生活，而這肯定會對我們有某種影響。
The Net is making us more superficial as thinkers.
網路正讓我們變成較膚淺的思考者。
That is Nicholas Carr. He is the author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. To understand this whole thing better, we need to go way back in time, to say, like, the prehistoric age.
那是 Nicholas Carr。他是《網路讓我們變笨？：數位科技正在改變我們的大腦、思考與閱讀行為》的作者。要更了解這整件事，我們需要回到很久很久以前，好比說，像是，史前時代。
You wanted to know everything going on around you because the more you knew about your surroundings, the less likely you were to get attacked by a predator. And there's even evidence that our brains release some dopamine (a pleasure-producing neurotransmitter chemical) to reward us for seeking out or finding new information.
你想要知道所有發生在你身邊的事情，因為你越了解周圍環境，你就越不會被掠食者攻擊。甚至還有證據顯示，我們的大腦會釋出一些多巴胺 (一種產生愉悅感的神經傳導化學物質) 以作為我們尋找新資訊的獎勵。
So getting distracted felt good and helped us stay alive. But the problem is that nowadays, predators aren't much of an issue, but we still have the same brains. And also, there's the Internet, which is...
所以有事情來分散自己注意力的感覺很好，而且還能幫我們保住小命。但問題是如今，掠食者不太是個麻煩了，不過我們的腦袋還是沒變。此外，還有網路，網路它...
It's an incredibly information-rich environment that the Net creates for us, and that's why you use it so much. I mean sounds, pictures, words, texts, and what this tends to do is promote a sort of compulsive behavior, in which we're constantly checking our smartphone, constantly glancing at our email inbox. We're kind of living in this perpetual state of distraction and interruption.
網路為我們創造的是個資訊十分豐富的環境，而那就是為什麼你這麼常用它。我是指聲音、圖片、文字、訊息，而這容易造成的事是引起一種強迫行為，我們會不斷看我們的智慧型手機、不斷看我們的信箱。我們有點活在這種不停分心和受干擾的狀態下。
Which is dangerous because...
那很危險，因為...
That mode of thinking crowds out the more contemplative, calmer modes of thinking.
那種模式的思考排擠掉更深思、更冷靜的思考模式。
And that focused, calm thinking is actually how we learn. It's a process called memory consolidation.
而那種專注、冷靜的思考其實是我們學習東西的方式。這是種稱作「記憶鞏固」的過程。
And that means the transfer of information from our short-term working memory to our long-term memory. And it's through moving information from your working memory to your long-term memory that you create connections between that information and everything else you know.
那代表訊息從我們的短期工作記憶到長期記憶的轉換。正是透過將訊息從你的工作記憶移至你的長期記憶，你才能夠創造出那訊息和其它你所知事物間的連結。
So you've got this awesome, life-changing piece of information in your short-term memory, but then you hear that email ding, and—poof!—there it goes! That email takes its place, and you never get a chance to learn anything—all because of one distraction.
所以你在你的短期記憶裡有這個超棒、改變一生的訊息，但接著你聽到郵件的通知，然後－－噗!－－消失啦!那封郵件取代訊息的位置，然後你永遠沒機會學到任何東西－－全因為那一件讓人分心的事。
So, attention is the key. And if we lose control of our attention, or are constantly dividing our attention, then we don't really enjoy that consolidation process.
所以，注意力是關鍵。如果我們無法控制我們的注意力，或不停地分心，那我們就沒有真正得到鞏固記憶過程的好處。
But I can hear it now, someone out there is saying, "Uh, what does learning matter if all the information in the world is just a Google search away?" Well...
但我現在可以聽到，有人在那說：「呃...如果世界上所有資訊只要用 Google 搜尋一下就找得到，那學習有什麼重要？」 這個嘛...
Um, that is kind of shortchanging our intellects. If that's the way you're using your mind, just kind of searching very quickly and finding information and then forgetting it very quickly, you're never building knowledge. You're simply—you're kind of thinking like a computer.
嗯，那樣有點是在欺騙自己的大腦。如果那是你使用大腦的方式，只是稍微快速搜尋一下然後找到資訊然後很快忘記，你永遠建立不起知識。你只是在－－你有點像電腦那樣思考。
Which means that our very humanity is at stake. And it would be a shame if we all got assimilated because, well, humanity is pretty neat.
那就代表我們的人性處在危急存亡之際。如果我們全被同化，那會很可惜，因為，這個嘛，人性滿美好的。
I really believe that if you look at the great monuments of culture, they come from people who are able to pay attention, who control their mind—that's what allows us to think in the highest terms and think conceptually, think critically, think in some very creative ways.
我真的相信如果你觀察那些偉大的文化典範，它們都出自能夠專注、掌控自己思緒的人－－那是使我們得以從更高層次思考和抽象地思考、批判地思考、用有創意的方式思考的關鍵。
And it's this kind of thinking that's at risk, being eroded one cute cat video at a time. Don't get us wrong, the Internet is good for lots of things and it should be celebrated, but the best thing we can do for our minds is to find some time every day to unplug, calm down, and focus on one thing at a time. Your email and those cats will be here when you get back.
而正是這種深度思考處於危險中，每看一次可愛貓咪影片它就被磨損一些。不要誤會我們，網路對很多事情有益，而且它應該被頌揚，但我們能為自己大腦所做最好的事，是每天找出一些時間拔掉插頭、靜下心來，並一次只專注在一件事上。你的郵件和那些貓咪不會在你離開時跑掉。
