(单词翻译:单击)
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This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Erika Beras.
Got a minute?
Ever wonder how the citizens of Metropolis somehow could not recognize Clark Kent once he ditched the glasses and became Superman? Well, now there's an actual scientific explanation: When a person alters their appearance, even in small ways like adding a pair of glasses, it can indeed lessen the ability of others who do not know that person to recognize his or her face.
The study is in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Psychologists Robin Kramer and Kay Ritchie from the University of York in the U.K. showed volunteers pictures of unknown people—not celebrities. The photos came from Google Images, and featured people in various poses, with different facial expressions and changing lighting.
The participants saw two photos at the same time—either two pictures of the same person or a different person in each picture. Three possible pairs of pictures were presented: both people wore glasses; neither person wore glasses; or only one of the pair of people had glasses on.
Then the researchers asked the volunteers whether the pictures were of the same person or of two different people.
When the folks in both pictures were in the same condition—either both with glasses or both without—the participants were about 80 percent accurate in telling whether it was the same person or a different person in the two pics. But accuracy fell to 74 percent when glasses were worn in only one of the pictures.
The researchers noted that the appearance of the eyes may be the most important aspect of facial recognition, so a change to the eyes could be expected reduce recognition. But trained examiners, such as TSA agents, may be less fooled by such simple modifications.
The researchers concluded their paper by writing [quote]: "While we may still find it hard to believe that the inhabitants of Metropolis are unable to match Clark Kent with the numerous appearances of Superman in newspapers and on television, we can at least understand why Kent has chosen glasses as his aid to anonymity."
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Erika Beras.
参考译文
这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是艾丽卡·贝拉斯。
有一分钟时间吗？
你有没有想过，为什么克拉克·肯特摘下眼镜成为超人的时候，大都市的市民就不认识他了？现在关于这个问题有了一个切实的科学解释：当一个人改变自己的面貌时，即使是只戴上一副眼镜这样的小改变，也可以弱化对此人不熟悉的人对他或她的识别能力。
该研究结果发表在《应用认知心理学》期刊上。
来自英国约克大学的心理学家罗宾·克莱默和凯·里奇向志愿者们展示了一些陌生人的照片，这些人并不是名人。这些照片来自于谷歌图片，这些陌生人变换不同的姿势、不同的面部表情并且改变周围的亮度。
志愿者会同时看到两张照片，这两张照片要么为同一人要么为不同的人。一共呈现的照片有三组：两人都戴眼镜；两人都不戴眼镜；两人中只有一人戴眼镜。
然后研究人员询问这些志愿者两张照片是否为同一人。
当照片中的人物情形相同，即都戴眼镜或者都不戴眼镜时，志愿者分辨两张照片是否为同一人的正确率为80%。但是，若两张照片中只有一张戴眼镜，那正确率则会下降到74%。
研究人员指出，眼睛可能是面部识别中最重要的部位，所以，眼睛部位发生改变会减少辨识度。但是安全审查人员等训练有素的检查员，不太会被这些微小的变化所欺骗。
研究人员在论文的结尾处写道：“虽然我们仍然很难相信大多数人无法将都市居民克拉克·肯特和在电视以及报纸上经常露面的超人联系到一起，但是，至少我们可以理解为什么肯特选择戴眼镜来帮助自己隐藏身份。”
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是艾丽卡·贝拉斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. at the same time 同时；
例句：They arrived here at the same time.
他们同时抵达这里。
2. either...or... （表示在两者或多者中择其一）或者，要么；
例句：Tom is going to buy either a guitar or a piano.
汤母不是要买一把吉他就是要买一架钢琴。
3. such as (用于举例)例如，像，诸如；
例句：We are particularly interested in phenomena such as telepathy and levitation.
我们对心灵感应及空中漂浮这样的现象特别有兴趣。
4. be unable to do sth. 不能…的；无法…的；
例句：He is unable to do such a difficult job now.
他现在还不能做这样困难的工作。
