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If you ask evolutionary biologists

如果你问生物进化学家们

when did humans become humans,

人类是在什么时候变成人的，

some of them will say that,

有些人会说，

well, at some point we started standing on our feet,

在我们开始能够站立，

became biped and became the masters of our environment.

变成两足生物，成为环境的主导者。

Others will say that because our brain started growing much bigger,

其他人会说，因为我们的 大脑开始逐渐越长越大，

that we were able to have much more complex cognitive processes.

因此我们拥有更加复杂的认知过程。

And others might argue that it’s because we developed language

有些人可能会说 那是因为我们发展了语言，

that allowed us to evolve as a species.

使得我们可以作为一种物种进化。

Interestingly, those three phenomena are all connected.

有趣的是，那三种情况 都是有关联的。

We are not sure how or in which order,

我们不清楚是怎么样的顺序，

but they are all linked

但是它们都是和

with the change of shape of a little bone in the back of your neck

你后颈的那一块，因其形状变化 而导致你的头部和身体的角度变化的

that changed the angle between our head and our body.

小骨头联系在一起的。

That means we were able to stand upright

这样才使我们能够直立，

but also for our brain to evolve in the back

同样也使得我们的后脑进化，

and for our voice box to grow from seven centimeters for primates

我们的喉头从灵长类的七厘米

to 11 and up to 17 centimetres for humans.

长成到人类的十一到十七厘米。

And this is called the descent of the larynx.

这就是喉头的由来。

And the larynx is the site of your voice.

喉头就是你发声的地方。

When baby humans are born today, their larynx is not descended yet.

当婴儿出生的时候， 他们还没有喉头，

That only happens at about three months old.

在三个月大的时候才长出喉头。

So, metaphorically, each of us here

打个比方，在座的每个人

has relived the evolution of our whole species.

都重新体验了一遍人类的进化。

And talking about babies,

说到婴儿，

when you were starting to develop in your mother’s womb,

当你在母亲的子宫里开始成长，

the first sensation that you had coming from the outside world,

你对外界产生的第一个感知，

at only three weeks old, when you were about the size of a shrimp,

在你只有几周大，还只有 一只虾那么大的时候，

were through the tactile sensation

是通过来自于你母亲声音震动

coming from the vibrations of your mother’s voice.

所产生的触觉。

So, as we can see, the human voice is quite meaningful and important

因此我们可以看到人类的 声音在物种层面

at the level of the species,

是很有意义也是很重要的，

at the level of the society --

在社会层面也是如此——

this is how we communicate and create bonds,

这是我们交流和建立连接的方式，

and at the personal and interpersonal levels --

在个人和人与人之间的层面——

with our voice, we share much more than words and data,

有了声音，我们分享的 不仅仅是字和数据，

we share basically who we are.

我们展示的是自己。

And our voice is indistinguishable from how other people see us.

我们的声音和我们给别人的印象 是紧密联系在一起的。

It is a mask that we wear in society.

这是我们在社会上戴的一个面具。

But our relationship with our own voice is far from obvious.

但是我们和自己声音的关系 并不是显而易见的。

We rarely use our voice for ourselves; we use it as a gift to give to others.

我们很少把声音用在自己身上；我们 把声音当作一个给别人的礼物。

It is how we touch each other.

这就是我们接触对方的方式。

It’s a dialectical grooming.

这是一种辩证的梳理。

But what do we think about our own voice?

但是我们是怎么看待 自己的声音的呢？

So please raise your hand

如果你不喜欢

if you don’t like the sound of your voice when you hear it on a recording machine.

录音带里自己的声音，请举手。

(Laughter)

（笑）

Yeah, thank you, indeed,

谢谢，的确，

most people report not liking the sound of their voice recording.

很多人反应说 不喜欢他们声音的录音。

So what does that mean?

那这意味着什么呢？

Let’s try to understand that in the next 10 minutes.

让我们在接下来的十分钟内去尝试着 去搞懂这个问题。

I’m a researcher at the MIT Media Lab,

我是MIT媒体实验室的 一名研究人员，

part of the Opera of the Future group,

也是“未来歌剧”组的一员，

and my research focuses on the relationship

我们的研究专注在

people have with their own voice and with the voices of others.

人们和自己的声音， 以及他人声音的关系上。

I study what we can learn from listening to voices,

我的研究是关于 我们可以在不同的领域

from the various fields,

从聆听中学到什么，

from neurology to biology, cognitive sciences, linguistics.

从神经学到生物学， 认知科学，语言学。

In our group we create tools and experiences

在研究组中，我们创造工具和体验

to help people gain a better applied understanding of their voice

来帮助人们对自己的声音 产生更好的理解，

in order to reduce the biases,

从而来减少偏见，

to become better listeners,

变成更好的聆听者，

to create more healthy relationships

建立更健康的人际关系，

or just to understand themselves better.

又或者只是能够更好的了解自己。

And this really has to come with a holistic approach on the voice.

这就要涉及到对声音的整体研究。

Because, think about all the applications and implications

在我们更进一步的探究 这个话题的时候，

that the voice may have, as we discover more about it.

想一下声音可能含有的 所有的应用和含义吧。

Your voice is a very complex phenomenon.

你的声音是一个非常复杂的现象。

It requires a synchronization of more than 100 muscles in your body.

它需要你身体里超过 一百块肌肉的同步运动。

And by listening to the voice,

通过聆听自己的声音，

we can understand possible failures of what happens inside.

我们可以判断 身体可能出了什么毛病。

For example:

比如说：

listening to very specific types of turbulences

通过一些很特别的不稳定气流

and nonlinearity of the voice

和非线性的声音，

can help predict very early stages of Parkinson’s,

可以帮助预测早期的帕金森病，

just through a phone call.

仅仅通过打电话就可以做到。

Listening to the breathlessness of the voice

监听呼吸声

can help detect heart disease.

可以帮助诊断心脏病。

And we also know that the changes of tempo inside individual words

我们也知道，说话时改变 每一个字的节拍

is a very good marker of depression.

是抑郁症一个明显的信号。

Your voice is also very linked with your hormone levels.

你的声音也和体内的激素水平有关。

Third parties listening to female voices

第三方听女性的声音

were able to very accurately place the speaker

可以很准确的判断出

on their menstrual cycle.

说话者是否处于经期。

Just with acoustic information.

仅仅是根据声音的信息。

And now with technology listening to us all the time,

现在有了能够 一直听我们说话的技术，

Alexa from Amazon Echo

亚马逊Echo的Alexa

might be able to predict if you’re pregnant

也许都可以在你之前

even before you know it.

预测出你有没有怀孕。

So think about --

所以，想象一下——

(Laughter)

（笑）

Think about the ethical implications of that.

想象一下它在伦理道德上的运用。

Your voice is also very linked to how you create relationships.

你的声音也和你怎样 创建人际关系是有关的。

You have a different voice for every person you talk to.

对每一个和你交谈的人， 你都会展现出不同的声音。

If I take a little snippet of your voice and I analyze it,

如果我截取一小段你的声音 然后进行剖析，

I can know whether you’re talking to your mother, to your brother,

我可以知道你是在和你妈妈，哥哥，

your friend or your boss.

朋友，还是你的老板说话。

We can also use, as a predictor, the vocal posture.

我们还可以用你的声音表现 来当作预测器。

Meaning, how you decide to place your voice when you talk to someone.

也就是当你和一个人交谈的时候， 会用什么样的声音。

And you vocal posture, when you talk to your spouse,

当你和另一半说话的时候， 你声音的表现

can help predict not only if, but also when you will divorce.

还可以预测你是否， 以及什么时候会离婚。

So there is a lot to learn from listening to voices.

所以通过听声音， 我们可以获得很多信息。

And I believe this has to start with understanding

我相信，我们首先得知道

that we have more than one voice.

我们不仅仅是只有一种声音。

So, I’m going to talk about three voices that most of us posses,

所以，我接下来要说说 三种大多数人都有的声音，

in a model of what I call the mask.

以一种我称之为面具模型的方式。

So when you look at the mask,

当你看着这个面具，

what you see is a projection of a character.

你看到的是一个人物的投影。

Let’s call that your outward voice.

让我们称之为外在的声音。

This is also the most classic way to think about the voice,

这也是最常见的看待声音的方式，

it’s a way of projecting yourself in the world.

这是反映你自己的一种方式。

The mechanism for this projection is well understood.

这种反映方式的原理 也是很好理解的。

Your lungs contract your diaphragm

你的肺会压缩你的膈

and that creates a self-sustained vibration of your vocal fold,

从而让声带产生自供的震动，

that creates a sound.

来发出声音。

And then the way you open and close the cavities in you mouth,

你在打开和关闭口腔的时候，

your vocal tract is going to transform the sound.

声道就会传递声音。

So everyone has the same mechanism.

所以每个人的发声原理都是一样的。

But voices are quite unique.

但是声音是独一无二的。

It’s because very subtle differences in size, physiology, in hormone levels

这是因为在尺寸，生理和 激素方面的微小差异

are going to make very subtle differences in your outward voice.

会使你外在的声音 产生细微的不同。

And your brain is very good

你的大脑能够很好的

at picking up those subtle differences from other people’s outward voices.

察觉到那些来自于他人 声音中的微小差异。

In our lab, we are working on teaching machines

在实验室，我们研究教学机

to understand those subtle differences.

来了解那些微小的差异。

And we use deep learning to create a real-time speaker identification system

我们用深度学习技术创建了 一个实时的声音辨别系统

to help raise awareness on the use of the shared vocal space --

来帮助提升使用 共享声音空间的意识——

so who talks and who never talks during meetings --

——谁在会议中发言， 或者从来不说话——

to increase group intelligence.

来提升团队效率。

And one of the difficulties with that is that your voice is also not static.

其中一个困难就是， 你的声音不总是一成不变的。

We already said that it changes with every person you talk to

就如之前提到的，你的声音会 因交谈对象而异，

but it also changes generally throughout your life.

但通常在人的 一生中也会逐渐改变。

At the beginning and at the end of the journey,

在生命的开始和末尾阶段，

male and female voices are very similar.

男性和女性的声音是非常相似的。

It’s very hard to distinguish

很难去辨别

the voice of a very young girl from the voice of a very young boy.

小女孩和小男孩的声音。

But in between, your voice becomes a marker of your fluid identity.

但是在这期间，你的声音 成为了你流动身份的标记。

Generally, for male voices there’s a big change at puberty.

通常来说，男性的声音 会在青春期有很大的改变。

And then for female voices,

对女性来说，

there is a change at each pregnancy and a big change at menopause.

每一次的孕期声音都会有所改变， 并且在更年期变化更大。

So all of that is the voice other people hear when you talk.

这都是你说话时 别人所听到的声音。

So why is it that we’re so unfamiliar with it?

那为什么我们自己对于 这些声音却那么陌生呢？

Why is it that it’s not the voice that we hear?

为什么这些不是我们自己 所听到的声音？

So, let’s think about it.

我们来想想看。

When you wear a mask, you actually don’t see the mask.

当你戴着面具的时候， 你实际上是看不到面具（的正面）的。

And when you try to observe it, what you will see is inside of the mask.

当你尝试去观察这个面具的时候， 你看到的是面具的内部。

And that’s your inward voice.

这就是你内在的声音。

So to understand why it’s different,

要去搞清这种差异产生的原因，

let’s try to understand the mechanism of perception of this inward voice.

让我们试着去理解一下 内在声音感知的原理。

Because your body has many ways of filtering it differently

你的身体有很多不同的方式

from the outward voice.

把它从外在的声音中筛选出来。

So to perceive this voice, it first has to travel to your ears.

为了察觉到这个声音， 它最开始传播到你的耳朵。

And your outward voice travels through the air

你的外在声音在空气中传播，

while your inward voice travels through your bones.

同时你内在声音在你的骨头中传播。

This is called bone conduction.

这就是骨传导。

Because of this, your inward voice is going to sound in a lower register

如此一来，你的 内在声音的音域会更低，

and also more musically harmonical than your outward voice.

也会比外在的声音听起来更和谐。

Once it travels there, it has to access your inner ear.

当它传播到那里， 必须进入到你的内耳。

And there’s this other mechanism taking place here.

这就涉及到另一个原理。

It’s a mechanical filter,

这是一种机械过滤，

it’s a little partition that comes and protects your inner ear

是在你每一次发声的时候

each time you produce a sound.

能够保护你内耳的一种分隔器。

So it also reduces what you hear.

所以你听到的内容也会有所减少。

And then there is a third filter, it’s a biological filter.

还有第三种过滤， 是一种生物过滤。

Your cochlea -- it’s a part of your inner ear that processes the sound --

你的耳蜗 ——用来处理声音的 内耳的一部分——

is made out of living cells.

是由活细胞组成的。

And those living cells are going to trigger differently

那些活细胞会根据 它们是否频繁地听到某种声音

according to how often they hear the sound.

而被不同程度地激发。

It’s a habituation effect.

这是一种习惯效应。

So because of this,

因此，

as your voice is the sound you hear the most in your life,

你自己的声音虽然是 你一生中最常听到的声音，

you actually hear it less than other sounds.

实际上却比其他声音 更少的被你的听觉接收。

Finally, we have a fourth filter.

最后是第四种过滤。

It’s a neurological filter.

这是一种神经过滤。

Neurologists found out recently

神经学家近期发现

that when you open your mouth to create a sound,

当你张开嘴发声的时候，

your own auditory cortex shuts down.

你的听觉皮层会关闭。

So you hear your voice

因此你听到了自己的声音，

but your brain actually never listens to the sound of your voice.

但是你的大脑并没有去听你的声音。

Well, evolutionarily that might make sense,

按进化论来说，这也说得通，

because we know cognitively what we are going to sound like

因为我们下意识的知道 我们的声音听起来是怎样的，

so maybe we don’t need to spend energy analyzing the signal.

因此我们不需要耗费能量 去分析这个信号。

And this is called a corollary discharge

这个过程被称作就“伴随发送”，

and it happens for every motion that your body does.

会发生在你身体的每一个动作上。

The exact definition of a corollary discharge

伴随发送的精确定义是

is a copy of a motor command that is sent by the brain.

一个大脑发出的指令的复印件。

This copy doesn’t create any motion itself

这个复印件自身不产生任何动作，

but instead is sent to other regions of the brain

而是被送去大脑的另一个地方

to inform them of the impending motion.

通知即将到来的动作。

And for the voice, this corollary discharge also has a different name.

对于声音来说，这个伴随发送 也有另一个名字。

It is your inner voice.

就是你内心的声音。

So let’s recapitulate.

让我们来概括一下。

We have the mask, the outward voice,

我们有面具，也就是外在声音，

the inside of the mask, your inward voice,

在面具的里面就是你内在的声音，

and then you have your inner voice.

然后就是你内心的声音。

And I like to see this one as the puppeteer

我想把这个看成是 一个手握整个系统的绳子的

that holds the strings of the whole system.

演木偶戏的人。

Your inner voice is

你内心的声音就是

the one you hear when you read a text silently,

当你默读文字，或者复述一个

when you rehearse for an important conversation.

很重要的对话时在脑海中听到的。

Sometimes is hard to turn it off,

有时候是很难关闭这个声音的，

it’s really hard to look at the text written in your native language,

当看到用你的母语写的 文字的时候很难做到

without having this inner voice read it.

不去用你内心的声音来读它。

It’s also the voice that refuse to stop singing

这也正是拒绝停止在你脑海里唱

the stupid song you have in your head.

那些很蠢的歌的声音。

(Laughter)

（笑）

And for some people it’s actually impossible to control it.

对于有些人来说， 这实际上很难去控制。

And that’s the case of schizophrenic patients,

对精神分裂症患者来说就是这样，

who have auditory hallucinations.

他们有幻听，

Who can’t distinguish at all between voices coming from inside

不能够分辨内在发出的声音

and outside their head.

和外界的声音。

So in our lab, we are also working on small devices

在实验室，我们也同样 在研究小型设备

to help those people make those distinctions

来帮助那些人分辨

and know if a voice is internal or external.

那些声音是内在的还是外界的。

You can also think about the inner voice as the voice that speaks in your dream.

你也可以把内心的声音 想成是你梦中的声音。

This inner voice can take many forms.

内心的声音可以是很多形式的。

And in your dreams, you actually unleash the potential of this inner voice.

在你的梦中，你实际上是在 解放那些潜在的内心的声音。

That’s another work we are doing in our lab:

这也是我们实验室中的另一项工作：

trying to access this inner voice in dreams.

尝试获得在梦中出现的内心的声音。

So even if you can’t always control it,

因此，即使你不能 总是控制内心的声音——

the inner voice -- you can always engage with it

你仍然可以参与其中，

through dialogue, through inner dialogues.

通过对话，内心的对话。

And you can even see this inner voice

你也可以把这个 内心的声音看成是

as the missing link between thought and actions.

想法和行动之间遗失的连接。

So I hope I’ve left you with a better appreciation,

那么，我希望我给你们留下了 一个对你自己声音的

a new appreciation of all of your voices

更好的，崭新的认识，

and the role it plays inside and outside of you --

还有它在内部和外在的 你当中扮演的角色——

as your voice is a very critical determinant of what makes you humans

一个之所以成为人类， 以及如何与世界互动的

and of how you interact with the world.

很重要的决定性因素。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）