TED演讲:为什么要跟别人一样?(1)

 Embracing otherness. When I first heard this theme, I thought, well, embracing otherness is embracing myself. 拥抱他人。当我第一次听到这个主题时，我觉得拥抱他人就是拥抱我自己。

And the journey to that place of understanding and acceptance has been an interesting one for me, 对于我来说，通往理解和接纳的路是十分有意思的，

and it's given me an insight into the whole notion of self, which I think is worth sharing with you today. 并且让我对“自我”这一概念有了深刻的理解，我想这值得在今天和你们分享。

We each have a self, but I don't think that we're born with one. 我们都有一个自我，但我并不认为这是与生俱来的。

You know how newborn babies believe they're part of everything; they're not separate? 你看那些刚出生的小婴儿，他们认为自己属于任何事物，他们并不是脱离的。

Well that fundamental sense of oneness is lost on us very quickly. 这种最基本的同一性，会很快从我们身上消失。

It's like that initial stage is over -- oneness: infancy¹, unformed, primitive². It's no longer valid³ or real. 如同最初始的状态已经结束，同一性：婴儿期未成形的，原始的，将不复存在。

What is real is separateness, and at some point in early babyhood, the idea of self starts to form. 取而代之的是分离，在婴儿期的某一点，关于自我的意识开始萌芽。

Our little portion of oneness is given a name, is told all kinds of things about itself, 我们同一性的一小部分被赋予了一个名字，被告知关于它自己的任何事情，

and these details, opinions and ideas become facts, which go towards building ourselves, our identity. 这些细节、观点和想法，变成事实，这些都帮我们形成自我以及自己的身份。

And that self becomes the vehicle for navigating⁴ our social world. 然后这个自我就成为一个工具，用来探索周围的这个世界。

But the self is a projection⁵ based on other people's projections⁶. 但是这个自我实际上是一个投影，以其他人的投影为基础。

Is it who we really are? Or who we really want to be, or should be? 这就是真正的我们吗？是我们真正想成为，或者应该成为的人吗？

1 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

6 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。