And I got to tell you, I think that was a huge error.
而我要说的是,我认为那是一个巨大的错误。
You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel, you know,
让一个人,区区一个个体,去相信他(她)是承载着神圣、创造、未知
like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable,
和永恒这些事物的源泉与圣器,
eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche.
这对于脆弱的个体而言,是太大的责任。
It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun. It just completely warps and distorts egos,
无异于要求他(她)吞下太阳,这彻底地扭曲了一个人的自我认知,
and it creates all these unmanageable expectations about performance.
并导致对于个人成就无比膨胀的预期。
And I think the pressure of that has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years.
我认为就是这种压力,在过去的500年间扼杀了无数艺术家。
And, if this is true, and I think it is true, the question becomes, what now?
如果真是这样,至少我认为是这样的,那么我们的问题就是:现在该怎么办?
Can we do this differently? Maybe go back to some more ancient understanding about the relationship between humans and the creative mystery.
我们能够改变这种状况吗?也许我们应回到更古老的过去,去参考他们对于人类与创造力的理解?
Maybe not. Maybe we can't just erase 500 years of rational humanistic thought in one 18 minute speech.
也许不行,我们无法用一个短短18分钟的演讲,抹杀掉发展了500多年的理性人文思想。
And there's probably people in this audience who would raise really legitimate scientific suspicions about the notion of, basically,
况且或许今天的听众中,就有人能够提出有理有据的科学质疑,
fairies who follow people around rubbing fairy juice on their projects and stuff.
批驳这种童话精灵跟着艺术家主人,给作品上点上神仙水的可笑想法。
I'm not, probably, going to bring you all along with me on this.
也许,我无法说服你们大家都同意我的看法。
But the question that I kind of want to pose is -- you know, why not? Why not think about it this way?
但我想说的是:为何不呢?为什么不换个角度思考呢?
Because it makes as much sense as anything else I have ever heard in terms of explaining the utter maddening capriciousness of the creative process.
就各种解释人类变化无常的创作过程的理论而言,这个精灵理论和我听过的所有其他理论一样地合理(或者说一样地无理)。
A process which, as anybody who has ever tried to make something -- which is to say basically everyone here --- knows does not always behave rationally.
这个过程,对于任何一个曾试图创作的人来说,相信在坐各位都曾有这方面的经历,都会知道创作过程并不总是理性的。
And, in fact, can sometimes feel downright paranormal.
实际上,创作过程有时简直就是超乎常理。