????會(huì)議往往就像現(xiàn)場版的話劇。由于人為因素的存在，總是無法達(dá)到完美，就算TED大會(huì)也不例外。上周，這個(gè)兼容并包的盛會(huì)在加拿大不列顛哥倫比亞省的溫哥華舉行。但是就在這次盛會(huì)上，一些奇妙的時(shí)刻不期而至，讓我們明白，為什么任何現(xiàn)場版的活動(dòng)都是那么特別，值得參與，而且不可能被變成標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化的商品。

????上周三的TED大會(huì)上，這個(gè)奇妙的時(shí)刻發(fā)生在麻省理工學(xué)院（MIT）教授休?赫爾介紹仿生學(xué)的時(shí)候。赫爾本人就是一位雙側(cè)截肢者，他對自己的計(jì)算機(jī)輔助修復(fù)手術(shù)中所采用的科學(xué)做了引人入勝的講解，同時(shí)向大家演示，他戴著假肢照樣能跳上跳下。親眼目睹他像那些自如踱步的演講者一樣在臺(tái)上從容行走實(shí)在令人嘆為觀止。他明確告訴大家，仿生學(xué)現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)取得重大進(jìn)步，在不遠(yuǎn)的將來，那些四肢健康的病人可能也會(huì)希望通過仿生學(xué)來增強(qiáng)自己的肢體功能。赫爾說：“裝在我們身體上的機(jī)械部件會(huì)讓我們更強(qiáng)壯、更敏捷。”但是當(dāng)赫爾說起自己與阿德里安娜?哈斯利特-戴維斯打交道的經(jīng)歷時(shí)，這個(gè)奇妙的時(shí)刻才真正來臨。她是一名舞者，在震驚世界的波士頓馬拉松恐怖炸彈襲擊中失去了一條腿。赫爾在麻省理工媒體實(shí)驗(yàn)室（Media Lab）的團(tuán)隊(duì)研究了交際舞舞者的動(dòng)作，以便為她設(shè)計(jì)一條新的腿。隨后他就把她和一位舞伴請上臺(tái)來跳了一小段舞蹈，此情此景讓在場觀眾無不動(dòng)容。可能這么說有點(diǎn)俗套，但當(dāng)時(shí)現(xiàn)場確實(shí)沒有人不為之眼眶濕潤的。

????羅伯?奈特的演說不那么讓人動(dòng)感情，但也許卻更有影響力。他是一名“微生物生態(tài)學(xué)家”，向大家介紹了健康患者的“腸道細(xì)菌”與患有嚴(yán)重痢疾的病人的腸道菌群混合后，好細(xì)菌戰(zhàn)勝了壞細(xì)菌，從而治好了病人。奈特還介紹，相關(guān)研究表明，自然分娩的嬰兒出生時(shí)攜帶“陰道微生物”，而剖腹產(chǎn)嬰兒帶有“皮膚微生物”。后一類嬰兒更易患哮喘和肥胖等慢性病，而前一類似乎更健康。通過控制微生物來治療疾病目前尚處試驗(yàn)階段，但奈特相信相關(guān)藥物可能五年內(nèi)就能問世。

????上周三的TED舞臺(tái)上，新聞評論員兼脫口秀主持人查理?羅斯采訪了谷歌公司（Google）首席執(zhí)行官拉里?佩奇。佩奇并沒有取得什么重大的新進(jìn)展。由于長期患病，他的聲音比較微弱，聽起來頗為刺耳。但盡管如此，佩奇呈現(xiàn)在大家面前的卻是一位大局在握、充滿自信、高瞻遠(yuǎn)矚且領(lǐng)先業(yè)界的高管形象。他談起了谷歌打造由氣球構(gòu)成的“全球網(wǎng)”的宏大計(jì)劃，這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃能讓那些普通服務(wù)難以覆蓋的地區(qū)也用上互聯(lián)網(wǎng)——沒人會(huì)認(rèn)為他這些話聽起來像純屬狂想。他還回顧了自己對改善交通條件的那番熱忱，包括谷歌研發(fā)自動(dòng)駕駛汽車的行動(dòng)。他表示，這一切都源于他還在密歇根讀大學(xué)時(shí)大冷天等公車時(shí)產(chǎn)生的厭恨。最有意思的是，佩奇通過向大家介紹谷歌對它所謂探月行動(dòng)的熱衷介紹了“額外性”這一數(shù)學(xué)概念。他說：“我們總能著眼于沒人在做的事。”這一點(diǎn)無可辯駁——或者也正是這種思路成就了谷歌今天非凡的成功。

????這一屆TED有太多值得報(bào)道的內(nèi)容，不過我將在下一篇報(bào)道中再和讀者分享。上周三大會(huì)臨近結(jié)束時(shí)，TED的負(fù)責(zé)人克里斯?安德森宣布，美國國家安全局副局長里克?雷杰特已同意接受視頻采訪，對安德森在周二對流亡告密者愛德華?斯諾登所做的采訪做出回應(yīng)。這個(gè)采訪一定十分吸引人，大家可以看到雷杰特在對斯諾登的指控為國安局——同時(shí)也為自己做辯護(hù)時(shí)是否會(huì)像斯諾登攻擊國安局時(shí)一樣激情昂揚(yáng)。這個(gè)采訪計(jì)劃于太平洋夏令時(shí)上午8:30開始。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????Conferences are like live theater. With the human element, nothing's perfect, not even at TED, the eclectic conference taking place this week in Vancouver, British Columbia. But then magic happens, which reminds you why live events of any kind are special, worth the effort of attending, and impossible to commoditize.

????Such a magical moment happened Wednesday at TED during a presentation about bionics by MIT professor Hugh Herr. A double amputee, Herr gave a mesmerizing talk about the science that went into his computer-assisted prosthetics, including a demonstration of how he can jump up and down in them. Watching him amble around the stage like any wandering speaker was a sight to behold, and he explained how bionics have come so far that in the not-so-distant future patients with healthy limbs may want bionics to augment their performance. "Machines attached to our bodies will make us stronger and faster," Herr said. But the magical moment came as Herr explained how he met Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer who lost a limb in the Boston Marathon terror-bombing. His team at MIT's Media Lab studied the movements of ballroom dancers in order to program a new limb for Haslet-Davis. Then he introduced her and a dance partner to a stunned audience, as they performed a short number. It may be a little cliché to say, but there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

????Less emotional but perhaps more impactful was a presentation by Rob Knight, a "microbial ecologist," who explained how "gut microbes" from a healthy patient could be mingled with the microbes of patients with severe diarrhea, resulting in the good bugs winning out over the bad ones and curing the patient. Knight also explained how research shows that babies born in natural childbirth have "vaginal microbes" at birth, while C-section babies have "skin microbes." The latter cohort are more susceptible to chronic problems like asthma and obesity, while the former appear to be healthier. Microbial manipulation as a form of treatment remains experimental, but Knight believes actual medicines may be as little as five years away.

????Newscaster and talk show host Charlie Rose interviewed Google CEO Larry Page Wednesday on the TED stage. Page didn't break any new ground, and his faint voice due to a persistent medical condition was jarring to hear. But what emerged from Page was a portrait of an in-control, confident, strategic and industry-leading executive. He talked about Google's plans to build a "worldwide mesh" of balloons to bring the Internet to tough-to-serve areas -- and no one thought he sounded crazy.He reflected on his obsession with improving transportation, including Google's quest for self-driving cars, saying it dates to his hatred for waiting in the cold for buses in the wintertime when he was a college student in Michigan. Most interestingly, Page referred to the mathematical concept of "additionality," by way of explaining Google's penchant for what it likes to call moon shots. "We look at things no one else is working on," he said. It's hard to argue with that -- or that this mentality is what accounts for Google's impressive successes.

????There's so much more to report from TED, but I'll save these things for my next dispatch. At the very end of the day Wednesday, TED head Chris Anderson announced that Rick Ledgett, deputy director of the National Security Agency, had agreed to be interviewed by video in order to respond to Anderson's interview on Tuesday with fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden. It will be fascinating to learn if Ledgett is willing to be as demonstrative in defending the NSA against Snowden's accusations as Snowden was in attacking the NSA -- and defending himself. The session is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. PDT.