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And the bias I'm talking about
我这里说的偏误
works like this:
是这么回事：
Confront someone with the fact
某些人面对
that they are going to die
他们终将会死去的现实
and they will believe just about any story
他们只会相信
that tells them it isn't true
告诉他们的任何故事都不会是真的
and they can, instead, live forever,
他们可以永久的活着，
even if it means taking the existential elevator.
即便乘坐可能存在的升降电梯。
Now we can see this as the biggest bias of all.
现在我们可以将这个视为最大的偏误。
It has been demonstrated in over 400
它已经被400多项
empirical studies.
实证研究证明。
Now these studies are ingenious, but they're simple.
这些研究设计的很精巧，但非常简单。
They work like this.
它们像这样工作。
You take two groups of people
你找两组
who are similar in all relevant respects,
各个方面都很相似的人，
and you remind one group that they're going to die
并且提醒一组人他们即将死去
but not the other, then you compare their behavior.
而不告诉另一群人，然后比较他们的行为。
So you're observing how it biases behavior
你会观察到
when people become aware of their mortality.
当人们开始意识到他们大限将至，偏误行为是如何产生的。
And every time, you get the same result:
并且你每次都能得到相同的结论：
People who are made aware of their mortality
意识到会死亡的人
are more willing to believe stories
更愿意相信那些
that tell them they can escape death
告诉他们能够摆脱死亡
and live forever.
并能长生不老的故事。
So here's an example: One recent study
因此有下面这个例子：
took two groups of agnostics,
找两组不可知论者，
that is people who are undecided
这些人没有固定
in their religious beliefs.
的宗教信仰。
Now, one group was asked to think about being dead.
现在，其中一组被要求思考死亡。
The other group was asked to think about
而另一种则被要求思考
being lonely.
孤独。
They were then asked again about their religious beliefs.
他们再次被问到他们的宗教信仰。
Those who had been asked to think about being dead
那些被要求死亡的那组人
were afterwards twice as likely to express faith
有两倍的可能性来表达
in God and Jesus.
对上帝和耶稣的信仰。
Twice as likely.
两倍的可能性。
Even though the before they were all equally agnostic.
即使他们之前是同样的不可知论者。
But put the fear of death in them,
但对死亡的恐惧摆在他们面前，
and they run to Jesus.
他们会向耶稣靠拢。
Now, this shows that reminding people of death
这表明向人们提醒死亡
biases them to believe, regardless of the evidence,
会让他们忽视证据，使他们对所相信的事物产生偏误，
and it works not just for religion,
他不仅仅影响到宗教，
but for any kind of belief system
如果没有所有以
that promises immortality in some form,
许诺在某种形式下永生的任何信仰制度，
whether it's becoming famous
无论是否有名
or having children
或有孩子
or even nationalism,
甚至带民族主义形式，
which promises you can live on as part of a greater whole.
承诺你能成为伟大的整体中的一员生活下去。
This is a bias that has shaped
这样的偏误塑造了
the course of human history.
人类的历史。
Now, the theory behind this bias
目前，在这偏误背后
in the over 400 studies
有超过400多项研究
is called terror management theory,
被称之为恐惧管理理论，
and the idea is simple. It's just this.
这个理论很简单，
We develop our worldviews,
我们发展出我们的世界观。
that is, the stories we tell ourselves
即我们告诉自己一个
about the world and our place in it,
关于时间和我们所在地方的故事，
in order to help us manage
以便帮助我们管理
the terror of death.
对死亡的恐惧。
And these immortality stories
而这些永生的故事
have thousands of different manifestations,
有上千种不同的表现形式，
but I believe that behind the apparent diversity
但我相信在这些多样化的面目下
there are actually just four basic forms
实际只有四种基本形式
that these immortality stories can take.
是这些永生故事都有的。
And we can see them repeating themselves
并且我们能发现他们
throughout history, just with slight variations
在历史中不断重复，仅仅只有细微的差异
to reflect the vocabulary of the day.
用来反应当时的语言。
Now I'm going to briefly introduce these four
下面我会简要介绍这四种
basic forms of immortality story,
永生故事的基本形式，
and I want to try to give you some sense
并且我希望让你们知道
of the way in which they're retold by each culture
在各个文化
or generation
或在不同时代中
using the vocabulary of their day.
使用当时的语言传播的方式。
Now, the first story is the simplest.
第一个故事是最简单的。
We want to avoid death,
我们想要逃避死亡，
and the dream of doing that in this body
并且梦想着这身躯
in this world forever
能永久留存在世上
is the first and simplest kind of immortality story,
是第一个最简单的永生故事，
and it might at first sound implausible,
一开始听起来有些难以置信，
but actually, almost every culture in human history
但事实上，在人类历史上的每一种文化
has had some myth or legend
都流传着一些神话或传说
of an elixir of life or a fountain of youth
关于长生药或者不老泉
or something that promises to keep us going
或者能让我们一直
forever.
活下去的东西。
Ancient Egypt had such myths,
古埃及有这种传说，
ancient Babylon, ancient India.
古巴比伦，古印度。
Throughout European history, we find them in the work of the alchemists,
纵观这个欧洲历史，在炼金术师的工作中可以发现它，
and of course we still believe this today,
直到今天我们依旧相信它，
only we tell this story using the vocabulary
只不过我们使用科学的语言
of science.
来讲这个故事。
So 100 years ago,
所以100年前，
hormones had just been discovered,
荷尔蒙被发现了，
and people hoped that hormone treatments
人们希望荷尔蒙治疗
were going to cure aging and disease,
能使我们永葆青春和治愈疾病，
and now instead we set our hopes on stem cells,
现在我们则是希望干细胞，
genetic engineering, and nanotechnology.
基因工程，和纳米技术。
