TED演讲：别对我撒谎(5)

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　　We're deeply ambivalent² about the truth.  我们对真相总是拿捏不准。

　　We parse³ it out on an as-needed basis, sometimes for very good reasons, other times just because we don't understand the gaps in our lives.  我们在需要的时候才来分析它，有时候是情理之中的，而有时候则是因为我们不理解生活中现实与理想的差距。

　　That's truth number two about lying.  这是关于说谎的第二条真相。

　　We're against lying, but we're covertly⁴ for it in ways that our society has sanctioned for centuries and centuries and centuries.  我们反对说谎，但背地里赞同说谎，我们的社会对种种这些做法包容了好几百年。

　　It's as old as breathing. It's part of our culture, it's part of our history. Think Dante, Shakespeare, the Bible, News of the World. 其历史源远流长。是我们文化和历史的一部分，想想看但丁、莎士比亚、圣经、世界新闻报。

　　Lying has evolutionary⁵ value to us as a species.  说谎在人类进化上有着重要价值。

　　Researchers have long known that the more intelligent the species, the larger the neocortex, the more likely it is to be deceptive⁶.  研究者早就知道物种的智慧越高，大脑皮层越大，这个物种就更可能欺骗。

　　Now you might remember Koko. Does anybody remember Koko the gorilla⁷ who was taught sign language?  你们可能还记得可可，有人还记得那只学会手语的大猩猩可可吗？

　　Koko was taught to communicate via sign language.  可可学会如何用手语进行交流。

　　Here's Koko with her kitten. It's her cute little, fluffy⁸ pet kitten.  这是可可和她的小猫。这就是她毛茸茸的可爱小猫咪。

　　Koko once blamed her pet kitten for ripping a sink out of the wall. 可可有一次责备她的小猫，怪它把洗手池从墙上剥下来。

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