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Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin!
大家好！欢迎来到脑洞大开的生命奇想！
At a young age, children begin to understand the world around them through observational learning -- where young children observe the actions of others and mimic them.
儿童在很小的时候就开始通过观察学习理解周围的世界，观察学习是指儿童观察其他人的行为并进行模仿。
In a famous study, called the Bobo Doll Experiment, children observed adults both verbally and physically abusing a doll.
著名的波波玩偶实验中，儿童观察到大人对玩偶言语和行为上的欺凌。
Later, when the adults were not present, the children who saw the aggressive behavior reacted in a similar way.
而后，成年人不在场的时候，看到过攻击行为的孩子做出了同样的反应。
So, it’s clear that observation facilitates learning.
所以，很明显，是观察促进了学习。
But what if you didn’t have anything to observe, or anyone to teach you?
不过如果你没有可观察的东西呢？或者如果没有人教你呢？
In other words, what if you were never taught anything?
换句话说，如果你什么也没学到会怎么样？
To begin, let’s discuss what it would be like if you were missing something as fundamental as language.
首先，我们来讨论一下，如果没能掌握语言这样基本的东西，人生会是什么样的。
Understandably, this is a tricky thing to study because, ya know, it’s incredibly immoral to isolate a person for the sake of scientific research.我们可以理解，研究这个东西非常复杂，因为，借科学研究之名让一个人与世隔绝是非常不道德的。
But sometimes, due to horrible circumstances, scientists are able to study the brains of children who have been raised with little to no human contact.
而有一些儿童，成长过程中几乎没有和人类接触过。有时候，出于一些复杂的情况，科学家们得以研究这些孩子的大脑。
And the most famous of these feral children is Genie Wiley.
最著名的未受教化的儿童是吉妮·威利。
Genie spent the first 13 years of her life locked away in a small bedroom in her parents' home.
吉妮13岁之前都被父母锁在家里的小卧室里。
In 1970, her parents were charged with child abuse and Genie began rehabilitation with a team of psychologists and linguists.
1970年，她的父母被指控虐待儿童。在一些心理学家和语言学家的帮助下，吉妮开始治疗。
And scientists were using her experiences to answer the following question: if a person is deprived of language throughout their childhood, can they ever learn enough to be able to communicate well?
科学家们通过她的经历回答了以下问题：如果一个人童年时期没有掌握语言，那么他还能不能通过学习掌握沟通的能力呢？
At first, the answer appeared to be yes.
一开始，答案是“是”。
Genie quickly began to learn new words for the objects around her and even say phrases with two or three words similar to how toddlers speak.
吉妮很快学会了描述身边物品的词汇，甚至还像牙牙学语的小孩子一样，可以说两到三个词的词组。
However, from there, her ability to communicate verbally plateaued.
但是，到此为止，她的语言交流能力似乎无法进步了。
This is because she could not learn grammar, which linguist Noam Chomsky believes separates human language from the communication of animals.
因为她无法掌握语法，而语言学家诺姆·乔姆斯基认为，语法是将人类语言和动物交流区分开来的关键。
It appeared that Genie had passed the critical period of learning human language, which is thought to end around puberty.
吉妮似乎已经错过了学习人类语言的关键时期，相关人员认为，这个阶段大约在青春期就结束了。
Scientists have hypothesized that, after a restricted developmental period where the nervous system is particularly sensitive to the effects of a certain experience, in this case, language, it is nearly impossible to learn it.
科学家们提出了这样的假设，人类在发育期中有一个特定的阶段，在此阶段人类对某种经历的影响极为敏感，比如这个案例中的语言，过了这个阶段，再想学会几乎是不可能了。
And the same effects have also been shown when learning sign language after the critical period.
过了关键时期，再学手语，也是同样的情况。
Now, you’re probably wondering why there is a critical period in the first place.
你可能纳闷，为什么这个关键阶段如此重要。
According to Eric Lenneberg, the linguist who popularized the critical period hypothesis, the function of language tends to settle in the left hemisphere of the brain after the critical period.
语言学家雷纳·伯格，普及了关于关键阶段的假设。他认为，过了这个关键阶段，语言的机能就基本定位在大脑左半球了。
And it’s thought that the brain loses some of its plasticity after this lateralization.
也有人认为大脑机能单侧化之后便失去了一部分可塑性。
So, if you haven’t learned language until after this point, it may be harder for your brain to learn the new material.
所以，到这个时候如果你还没学会语言，那么学习新材料，对你的大脑来说会更困难。
And sadly for Genie, she was already past that point.
非常遗憾，吉妮已经过了那个时间。
However, while Genie would never be able to effectively use language, she was able to quickly learn other things, such as how to use the toilet and dress herself.
然而，虽然吉妮无法有效地使用语言，但她学其他东西却很快，比如上厕所还有自己穿衣服。
And she was also incredibly fascinated by the world around her.
对周围的世界，她表现出极大的兴趣。
So maybe there is still some hope for those who have never been taught anything.
所以，什么都不会的人，还是有希望的。
Language may have a critical period, but some actions may still be possible to learn through observation no matter the age they’re introduced.
语言有这样一个关键时期，不过不管什么时候，有些行为还是可以通过观察学到的。
So what is something you've always wanted to learn?
有没有什么东西你一直想学？
Leave me in the comment section below and I encourage you to go and learn it.
请在下方评论区留言告诉我，我还是建议大家马上去学。
A Quick reminder that Life Noggin now has a channel that focuses entirely on the science of video games!
特别提醒，本节目新开了频道，电脑游戏的专用频道哦。
Is the time travel in Overwatch possible?
《守望先锋》里的时光旅行真的有可能吗？
Check out Play Noggin and find out!
请看脑洞大开的游戏奇想！
As always, I’m Blocko and this has been Life Noggin!
我是宝高，这里是脑洞大开的生命奇想！
Don’t forget to keep on thinking!
思考不要停！
