评论
打印
It's moments after the Big Bang and... wow, you're still reeling.
这是大爆炸之后的片刻...哇，你还在晕眩中！
You're a particle of matter, amidst a chaotic stew of forces, fusion, and annihilation.
你是一颗物质粒子，身处力量、融合和湮灭的混乱中。
If you're lucky and avoid being destroyed by antimatter, you'll be the seed of a future galaxy.
你如果很幸运没被反粒子破坏，你就成为了未来星系中的种子。
You gravitate towards a ring of particles that have devised a game.
你被一个巧妙设计过的粒子环所吸引。
A friendly gluon explains: there are an equal number of matter and antimatter particles.
有个亲切的胶子跟你说：这里有相同数量的物质和反物质粒子。
At the blow of a cosmic whistle, every particle of matter with a particle of antimatter to its immediate right will merge with that anitparticle to -- poof! -- both annihilate.
在宇宙的一声令下，每个物质粒子会与其右边的反物质粒子合并，噗！两者都湮灭。
The circle will tighten to make a smaller circle, and the process will repeat until just one particle of matter remains.
圆圈变紧，形成一个较小的圈圈，然后过程一直重复，直到只剩下一个物质粒子。
They'd been waiting for someone like you, as with a perfectly balanced setup, no one would be left in the end.
他们一直在等待像你这样的人，因为在这完美平衡的设定里，最终没有人会存活下来。
As guest of honor, they'll let you choose where to insert yourself into the ring.
作为贵宾，他们会让你选择进入圆环的位置。
What spot should you choose to make sure you're the last particle standing?
你要选定哪个位置，才能确保自己最后存活下来？
A general strategy can't rely on knowing what the circle looks like.
大家都知道不能依靠圆圈的样子制定策略。
But we can rely on how it should end: with you as the last particle standing. Let's start there and work backwards.
但我们可以思考游戏如何结束：把你当作最后一个粒子。我们从这往回推算。
Just before this, there were also some matter/antimatter pairs.
在此之前，还有一些成对的物质及反物质。
Here's 3 for the sake of example. This right away suggests a strategy.
这里有三对当作示范，这立即显示了一种策略。
You can simulate annihilations in any circle by marking all pairs of adjacent particles, then the newly adjacent pairs, and so on, to reach this final set.
您可以通过标记所有相邻粒子对来模拟任何圆圈中的湮灭，然后是下一组相邻的对，依此类推，到最后一组。
If you map them back to the original circle,
如果你把它们映射回原来的圆圈，
standing to the immediate left of those final matter particles or the immediate right of final antiparticles means you'll reach this endgame state and survive.
站在最终物质粒子的左侧或是最终反粒子的右侧，你就能走到游戏终局并生存下来。
So here are the safe spots in all three given circles.
而这些就是三个圆圈中的所有安全点。
You find a good position and experience the bittersweet radiance of your new friends pairing off and becoming pure energy.
你就找个好位置，看着你的新朋友们互相抵消，变成纯粹的能量，然后你独自感受这苦中带甜的滋味。
You're soon left alone. But wait a minute! Today's the big day.
你很快又一个人了。但等一下！今天是个特别的日子。
You're an intelligent creature of matter amidst a chaotic crowd of alien races.
你是一群混乱的外星种族中的一个智慧物质生物。
Every hundred million years, sentient species of the galaxy send emissaries to the core to pay tribute to the galactic seed you're all descended from.
每亿年，银河系中的智能生物们派遣使者前往星球核心，向万物之源银河种子致敬。
Each of the 27,182 attendees has brought a cube of matter and a cube of antimatter.
27182名与会者中的每一个都带了一个物质和一个反物质立方体。
Except you: you've been chosen to represent your famed ancestor and reenact its moment of choice.
除了你。你已经被选中代表你著名的祖先并重演它精彩的选择时刻。
Everyone places their matter and antimatter cubes in a ring.
每个人都将他们的物质和反物质立方体放在一个环中。
Your job: pick a spot to stand where you won't be annihilated.
你的目的是选择一个你不会被歼灭的地方。
The ring is too large to simulate annihilations like before, but you have a programmable device you can point at spots between cubes.
环太大了，因此无法像以前那样模拟湮灭，但你有一个可写程序的装置，你可以指向立方体之间的点。
The device can detect the full sequence of cubes around the circle, count cubes of each type, perform arithmetic, and carry out simple logical commands.
该设备可以检测圆形周围的完整立方体序列，计算每种类型的立方体，进行演算，并执行简单的逻辑命令。
How do you program your device to identify safe spots?
你会怎么写程序以识别安全点？
Let's go back to our earlier approach: running time backwards starting from you alone, then a sequence of pairs of cubes.
让我们回到前面提到的方法，时光倒流，从你是一个人开始，然后是一系列成对的立方体。
A second step back produces more pairs nestled between existing cubes.
再往回推，产生更多位于现有立方体之间的对。
As does the next, and the next, each adding nestled pairs like a Russian doll of fundamental particles.
就像下一对，再下一对，每个都添加一对，像是基本粒子版本的俄罗斯娃娃。
A pair never forms around an existing cube because only adjacent cubes annihilate.
一对永不在现有立方体旁形成，因为只有相邻的立方体会湮灭。
Your survival depends on the matter particles to your right buffering you from antimatter.
你的生存取决于你右边的物质粒子，它把你和反物质隔开。
We can mathematically model this idea with a sum, starting with your +1. For instance, this would be +1+1-1+1-1.
我们可以从你的+1开始，用总和对这个进行数学建模。例如，这将是+1+1-1+1-1。
From your perspective, no matter how far you look, this sum will be positive.
从你的角度来看，无论你看多远，总和都是正数。
Considering how we introduced pairs, this makes sense -- each inserted plus was immediately followed by a minus.
考虑到我们是如何引入配对的，这是说得通的：每个插入的加号紧跟一个减号。
If we examine the starting position of any other matter cube, its sum will eventually hit zero.
如果我们检查任何其他物质立方体的起始位置，最后总和都会归零。
The moment that happens marks its exact annihilation partner.
发生的那一刻表示着它的确切歼灭伙伴。
Again, our introduction of pairs reflects this; nestled pairs only delay the inevitable for the outer cubes.
同样，配对的引入反映了这一点：嵌套的对只会延迟外部立方体不可避免的消亡。
We can now program the device. Start a running sum with +1, representing you, and scan around the circle.
我们现在可以写出程序了。用+1开始一个连续的总和，代表你，然后绕圈扫描。
For each matter cube, add one, and for each antimatter cube, subtract one.
对于每个物质立方体，加一，对于每个反物质立方体，减一。
If all 54,364 cubes have been scanned without the sum ever hitting 0, that spot is safe. Nothing left to do but enjoy the fireworks.
如果扫描了所有54364个立方体而总和未达到0，则该位置是安全的。剩下要做的就是享受烟火吧！
