评论
打印
A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime's only known witnesses recount their version of the events that transpired.
一位武士陈尸于僻静的竹林中。命案仅有的几位证人逐一从各自的视角描述了事件经过。
But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different. And each witness implicates themselves.
然而，当他们逐个叙述时，显然，每个人的证词都能自圆其说，却又互相矛盾，而且每位证人都承认自己涉案。
This is the premise of "In a Grove," a short story published in the early 1920s by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
这就是日本作家芥川龙之介早在1920年发表的短篇小说《竹林中》的引文。
Though many know this tale of warring perspectives by a different name: "Rashomon."
不过，大多数人知道的可能是这扑朔迷离故事的别名：《罗生门》。
In 1950, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa adapted two of Akutagawa's stories into one film.
1950年，日本导演黑泽明将芥川的两篇小说改编成了一部电影。
This movie introduced the world to an enduring cultural metaphor that has transformed our understanding of truth, justice and human memory.
这部电影向世界介绍了一个经久不衰的文化隐喻，这个隐喻转变了我们对真相、正义和人类记忆的所知。
The Rashomon effect describes a situation in which individuals give significantly different but equally conceivable accounts of the same event.
罗生门效应描述的情况是，个体对同一个事件给出了截然不同却又同样可信的描述。
Often used to highlight the unreliability of eyewitnesses, the Rashomon effect usually occurs under two specific conditions.
罗生门效应常常被用来强调目击证人的不可靠，这种效应经常在两种特定条件下发生。
The first: there's no evidence to verify what really happened.
其一：没有证据印证究竟发生了什么。
And the second: there's pressure to achieve closure, often provided by an authority figure trying to identify the definitive truth.
其二：有人施压想要了结事件，这种压力通常来自试图对真相得出定论的权威人物。
But the Rashomon effect undermines the very idea of a singular, objective truth.
但罗生门效应动摇了存在单一、客观真相的想法。
In the source material, Akutagawa and Kurosawa use the tools of their media to give each character's testimony equal weight, transforming each witness into an unreliable narrator.
在原始作品中，芥川和黑泽分别在小说与电影中，给每个角色的证词以同等权重，从而使得每位证人的证词都不可靠。
Without any hints on who's sharing the most accurate account, the audience can't tell which character to trust.
因为没有任何线索告诉我们谁分享的事件经过最确切，观众也无法判断该信任哪个角色。
Instead, each testimony takes on a truthful quality, and the audience is left doubting their convictions as they guess who ended the samurai's life.
相反，每段证词都具备真实性，观众只能一边猜测谁夺走了武士的性命，一边怀疑自己的判断。
Some might find this frustrating because the plot subverts expectations of how mysteries usually end.
有些人可能会感到沮丧，因为剧情颠覆了人们以往对悬疑小说结尾的期望。
But by refusing to provide a clear answer, these two artists capture the messiness and complexity of truth and human memory.
但正因为没有提供明确答案，这两位艺术大家捕捉到真相与人类记忆的纷乱与复杂。
Neuroscientists have found that when we form a memory, our interpretation of visual information is influenced by our previous experiences and internal biases.
神经科学家发现，当我们记忆形成时，我们对眼前信息的解读会受到过往经历和内在偏见的影响。
Some of these biases are unique to individuals, but others are more universal.
有些偏见是个人独有的，有些则更为普遍。
For example, egocentric bias can influence people to subconsciously reshape their memories in ways that cast a positive light on their actions.
比如说，自我中心偏差能让人潜意识地重塑记忆，让自己的行动显得更为积极。
Even if we were able to encode a memory accurately, recalling it incorporates new information that changes the memory.
即使我们能准确地记住，在回忆时也会加入新信息，让记忆发生改变。
And when we later recall that event, we typically remember the embellished memory instead of the original experience.
之后再回忆事件时，我们通常会记住经过修饰的记忆，而不是原始的经历。
These underlying psychological phenomena mean that the Rashomon effect can pop up anywhere.
这些基本的心理现象意味着罗生门效应随时随地都能出现。
In biology, scientists starting from the same dataset and applying the same analytical methods, frequently publish different results.
在生物学中，科学家们用同样的分析方法研究同样的数据集，却常常会发表不同的结果。
Anthropologists regularly grapple with the impact personal backgrounds can have on an expert's perception.
人类学家经常要面对个人背景对专业认知产生的影响。
In one famous case, two anthropologists visited the Mexican village of Tepoztlan.
一个有名的例子就是，两位人类学家探访了墨西哥的迪坡斯特兰村镇。
The first researcher described life in the town as happy and contented, while the second recorded residents as paranoid and disgruntled.
第一位研究学者描述说，镇里的生活幸福而满足；而第二位学者则记录的是，居民既偏执又不满。
Experts aside, the Rashomon effect can also impact the general public, particularly when it comes to the perception of complicated world events.
抛开专家不谈，罗生门效应也能影响普通公众，尤其是在对复杂的世界事件的看法上。
For example, following a 2015 security summit between the United States and leaders from the Arab States, media reports about the summit varied enormously.
例如，在2015年美国和阿拉伯国家领袖的安全峰会后，媒体对该峰会的报道大相径庭。
Some stated that it had gone smoothly, while others called it a complete failure.
有的声称峰会进行顺利，而有的则大呼峰会彻底失败。
It's tempting to fixate on why we have competing perceptions, but perhaps the more important question the Rashomon effect raises is, what is truth anyway?
虽然很容易纠结于我们为什么会有互相矛盾的感受，但也许罗生门效应提出了一个更重要的问题：真相到底是什么呢？
Are there situations when an "objective truth" doesn't exist?
是否有“客观真相”不存在的情况？
What can different versions of the same event tell us about the time, place and people involved?
同一事件的不同版本是否能让我们了解时间、地点和涉及人物？
And how can we make group decisions if we're all working with different information, backgrounds, and biases?
如果我们的信息、背景和偏见各不相同，我们又该如何做出集体决策呢？
Like most questions, these don't have a definitive answer.
与大多数问题一样，这些并没有明确答案。
But the enduring importance of Akutagawa's story suggests there may be value in embracing the ambiguity.
但芥川故事里的重要意义经久不衰，表明了接受不确定性或许也有其价值。
