与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S05E03

Part 2 April 19, 2021, 3:02 p.m.

与赚钱多的人之间
have some kind of genetic difference
是会存在一些遗传差异
from people who wind up making a lot of money.
我认为我们的工作表明
I think what our work has shown
什么样的遗传倾向对于
is that it doesn't matter what kind of genetic tendencies
孩子的成长可能没什么关系
some of these kids may have had.
如果他们成长的环境很糟
If they're raised in a bad enough environment,
这些基因就不会表达
they're not gonna be able to express them.
基因的“纺织物”
The tapestry of genes
造就了已经成人的你
that make up you as an adult
其中包括与生俱来的DNA
are shaped by the fabric of DNA you were born with
以及你成长的环境
and by the environment you grew up in.
我们如何扭转在婴幼儿时
How can we overcome the cards that nature and nurture dealt us
先天（本性）与后天（培养）为我们定好的命运呢？
in the womb and the crib?
一项新的研究表明我们未来的经济条件
A new study suggests our economic destiny
可能在12岁时就已经决定好了
may be determined by the time we are 12,
因为贫穷会影响大脑
because poverty can affect the brain.
玛莎·法拉赫是宾夕法尼亚大学
Martha Farah is the founder and director
神经科学与社会中心的
of the Center for Neuroscience and Society
建立者与主管
at the University of Pennsylvania.
她经常在想：
She has often wondered,
“为什么穷♥人♥家的孩子在IQ测试
"Why do poor children perform worse on I.Q. tests
和学校学习中的表现较差呢？”
and in school?"
许多不同的学科
Many different disciplines
都想要弄清楚贫穷
have tried to understand how it is that poverty
如何塑造了人们的生活
shapes people's life chances.
我和我的同事正在尝试一种新的神经生物学方法
My colleagues and I are taking a neurobiological approach
来解答这一问题
to this question.
过去几年里
Over the past few years,
玛莎和她的同事扫描了上百个
Martha and her colleagues have scanned the brain architecture
成长自
of hundreds of children
不同社会经济背景的儿童的脑部结构
from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
她发现富人家和穷♥人♥家的孩子
She has found there are physical differences
大脑结构就存在不同
between the brains of the rich and the poor.
我们想要知道的问题是
The question we asked was,
“他们大脑的哪一部分
"What parts of the brain are dependent
“在不同经济条件下
"on that socioeconomic status
会发育成如何的大小及形状？”
for the size and shape that they eventually grow to?"
我们发现有一些重要区域的发育
What we found is that several important areas
的确与经济条件状况有关
do show an effect of socioeconomic status.
在极度贫困中成长
Growing up in extreme poverty
海马体则生长缓慢
slows the growth of the hippocampus,
海马体负责了学习、记忆和压力控制
which is important for learning, memory, and stress regulation,
同样前额叶皮层也会萎缩
and it also shrinks the prefrontal cortex,
这块区域负责了协调记忆、感知和运动控制
which helps coordinate memory, perception, and motor control.
富裕人家孩子的大脑皮层更厚
Rich kids tend to have a thicker cortex than poor kids,
但关键在于
but it is crucial to note
这些差异并不是天生就存在的
the rich and poor aren't born with these differences.
穷孩子的大脑开始时和所有人都是一样的
The brains of the poor start off the same as anyone else's.
但是他们的大脑
Their brains are, however, at greater risk
在婴幼儿期发育缓慢的风险很大
of developing slowly in early childhood.
这并不是遗传上的问题
It is not genetics that does the damage.
而是由于缺少思维刺♥激♥以及贫穷带来的压力
It is lack of mental stimulation and the stresses of poverty.
我们知道穷♥人♥家的孩子
One difference we know exists
和富人家孩子之间的
between the childhood experiences of poor kids
一大不同就是
and wealthier kids
富人家的孩子会得到更多的认知刺♥激♥
is that the wealthier kids get more cognitive stimulation,
比如从阅读开始
everything from being read to, just being talked to,
到与人交谈
conversation,
还有参观有趣的地方
visits to interesting places,
这些都可以促进认知
and we know that that promotes cognitive
与大脑发育
and brain development.
但还有其他力量可以决定
But other forces can determine
谁富谁穷
who is rich and who is poor,
这种力量不只作用于个体
forces that govern not just individuals
甚至整个国家
but entire nations.
今日的富人可能是明日的乞丐
Today's rich man may be tomorrow's pauper,
因为财富通常与地理位置有关
because wealth is often a matter of geography.
两千年前
Two millennia ago,
如果你想变的富有
if you wanted to get rich,
就要去罗马；
you'd head for Rome.
上个世纪，你要来美国；
For the past century, you came to America.
现在，你可能要去中国
Now you might want to head for China.
为什么某些地点会在特定的时间里财富爆发？
Why are certain places bursting with money at certain times?
为什么有些国家更为贫穷？
Why are some nations poorer than others?
有两位科学家对此有个激进的解释：
Two scientists have a radical explanation.
经济的繁荣是因为其中人们
Economies buzz because of the genetic mix
基因的混合程度
of the people in them.
这些常春藤联盟的经济学家看起来没什么危险
These Ivy league economists may not look dangerous,
但他们却是经济世界中的狂热的无政♥府♥主义者
but to the academic world, they are wild-eyed anarchists.
几年前
A few years ago,
威廉姆斯学院的魁鲁尔·阿什拉夫
Quamrul Ashraf of Williams College
和布朗大学的乌迪德·加勒
and Oded Galor of Brown University
尝试解释不同国家间的
were looking to explain the disparity
财富差异问题
of wealth between nations.
他们的结论引起了
Their findings set off a raging debate
关于贫穷根源的激烈争论
about the roots of poverty.
作为经济学家，我们最终感兴趣的是
As economists, we are ultimately interested
全球范围不均等的起源
in understanding the origins of global inequality.
这源自遥远的过去
Those origins lie in the distant past.
乌迪德和魁鲁尔打算研究
Oded and Quamrul set out to study
遗传多样性
the role genetic diversity
在全球财富分布上
has played in wealth distribution
发挥的作用
around the globe.
他们得到了一个令人惊讶而又不受欢迎的结论
They reached a surprising and unpopular conclusion.
乌迪德和我发现遗传多样性
You know, Oded and I established that there is a cause and effect
与经济发展有着因果联♥系♥
of genetic diversity on economic development
这种联♥系♥从遥远的过去
that goes back to the distant past,
一直持续到现在
and it persists through the present day.
初始的多样性状态会持续很久
Initial conditions tend to be very persistent.
我们从数据中发现
These variations in conditions that go back, you know,
这些多样性状态的变化可追溯到
80,000 to 40,000 years ago show up in the data today,
8万到4万年前
and they're there.
进化生物学家发现
Evolutionary biologists
距离非洲越远的种族
find that the farther an indigenous group is from Africa,
其基因多样性就越小
the less diverse it is genetically.
非洲人的遗传多样性很庞大
Africans are the most genetically diverse
而世界上所有的人都来自这里
because all the various peoples of the world originated there.
离开非洲
The smaller groups that left Africa
定居其他地方的人越少，其基因差异性就越小
to settle in more distant lands are less diverse.
乌迪德和魁鲁尔追溯这种遗传效应
Oded and Quamrul traced this genetic effect
纵横8万年
across 80,000 years.
接着对比了过去两千年中
Then they compared it to markers of economic development
经济发展的标志性事件
over the last 2,000 years.
遗传多样性对于全球不均衡发展的影响
Genetic diversity is responsible for about 1/6
占了1/6的份额
of the variations or the inequality
这是很大的一部分了
that we see across the globe, which is a huge fraction.
经济学家发现过多
The economists found that too much or too little
或过少的基因多样性会阻碍经济的发展
genetic diversity can be harmful to economic development.
他们认为，纵观历史
Throughout history, they claim,
成功社会中的遗传多样性
successful societies have been the ones that hit the sweet spot
要恰好到最适点上
of genetic diversity.
棒球运动中，球棒的击球最适点
In baseball, the sweet spot of the bat
大概在从球棒粗端开始6英寸的位置
is about six inches from the end of the barrel.
这点是击球最佳点
This is where the performance of the bat is maximized
也是手部感到震动的最弱点
and the hand sensation, or sting, is minimized.
用这个位置击球正好
It is the spot where the bat is just right.
最适点
There is a sweet spot.
现阶段的最适点
The sweet spot at the moment is associated
即美国的基因多样性水平
with the level of diversity in the United States,
社会中多样性越多
and societies that are more diverse