Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a dream snatcher. He's an industrial spy, who steals secrets when his victims are at their most defenceless: when they are asleep, and dreaming. But he has an even rarer ability, that of inception. He can plant an idea in someone's sleeping mind, and watch it grow and take root in reality. "The most resilient parasite is an idea," he says.
身為工業(yè)間諜的多姆·科布（Dom Cobb：萊昂納多·迪卡普里奧飾）是一位掠夢(mèng)者，他以竊密為生，當(dāng)受害者們處在毫無(wú)防備的夢(mèng)境之中時(shí)，他最好的下手時(shí)機(jī)就出現(xiàn)了。除了能進(jìn)入他人的夢(mèng)境之外，科布還擁有一項(xiàng)更為罕見(jiàn)的本領(lǐng)，即奠基（inception），他可以將一段意識(shí)植入他人的夢(mèng)境之中，并看著它慢慢發(fā)展，扎根于現(xiàn)實(shí)?！白铑B固的寄生物莫過(guò)于一段意念，”這是多姆·科布在《盜夢(mèng)空間》中對(duì)我們的諄諄教誨。
Inception is a complex sci-fi thriller that lies somewhere between a James Bond film and The Matrix. Many of the film's themes are often covered in New Scientist, so we have assembled a spoiler-free guide to the science of the movie, and all you need to know about dreams and the unconscious mind.
《盜夢(mèng)空間》是一部情節(jié)復(fù)雜的科幻驚悚片，其劇情介于007系列電影和《駭客帝國(guó)》之間。電影中的很多主題在《新科學(xué)家》中都曾經(jīng)出現(xiàn)過(guò)，因此我們將這些話題集中起來(lái)，制作了一篇無(wú)劇透的觀影指南，以深入剖析《盜夢(mèng)空間》中的科學(xué)事實(shí)，讓廣大讀者對(duì)夢(mèng)境以及潛意識(shí)有所了解。
Is it possible to directly access someone's dreaming mind?
有可能直接進(jìn)入他人的夢(mèng)境之中嗎？
In the movie, the dream-snatchers use a drug called somnacin and a dream machine to upload a scenario into someone's sleeping mind. One or more of them then go to sleep themselves, hooked up to the machine, and enter the target's dream.
在《盜夢(mèng)空間》中，捕夢(mèng)者們使用一種叫做自動(dòng)夢(mèng)素（somnacin）的藥物和一臺(tái)盜夢(mèng)機(jī)器將情境上傳到他人的夢(mèng)境之中，然后若干名連入機(jī)器的捕夢(mèng)者也進(jìn)入夢(mèng)鄉(xiāng)，進(jìn)入對(duì)方的夢(mèng)中。
This fictional dream machine is called a Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous (PASIV) Device.
這種虛幻的盜夢(mèng)機(jī)器被稱為便攜式自動(dòng)夢(mèng)素靜脈注射（PASIV：Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous）裝置。
A device does already exist that can effectively read someone's mind. A functional MRI scanner takes snapshots of brain activity, and then the software recreates images of what the subject was looking at.
實(shí)際上，這樣可以讀取他人思想的裝置已經(jīng)被發(fā)明了出來(lái)，它就是核磁共振掃描儀（MRI scanner），這種儀器可以抓拍腦部活動(dòng)的照片，然后再通過(guò)某種軟件就可以將受試者所看到的圖像還原出來(lái)。
The researchers say it has the potential one day be able to record someone's dream - without the mess and danger (or the fun) of actually sharing that dream.
研究者們表示，有朝一日可以利用這種技術(shù)對(duì)受試者的夢(mèng)境進(jìn)行記錄，完全不需要像電影中那樣去共享夢(mèng)境，搞得即麻煩又危險(xiǎn)（或者說(shuō)是滑稽）。
Using drugs like somnacin to access a sleeping mind is not possible, but there are drugs that can drastically modulate our sleep. These include modafinal, which can promote continuous wakefulness, and new classes of sleeping pills that can deliver "super sleep".
利用自動(dòng)夢(mèng)素這樣的藥物來(lái)進(jìn)入夢(mèng)境并無(wú)可能，但有些藥物的確可以對(duì)我們睡眠進(jìn)行調(diào)解，例如莫達(dá)非尼（modafinal）就可以使人一直保持清醒狀態(tài)，還有一些新型安眠藥會(huì)讓人進(jìn)入“超級(jí)睡眠”。
How can I control my dreams?
怎樣才能控制自己的夢(mèng)境？
The easiest way to experience a lucid dream is to train yourself to ask, "Am I dreaming?" while you are asleep. Keen video gamers, probably because they focus on a single task for hours per day, are particularly good at lucid dreaming.
要經(jīng)歷清醒夢(mèng)（lucid dream）最簡(jiǎn)單的辦法莫過(guò)于訓(xùn)練自己在入睡時(shí)對(duì)自己發(fā)問(wèn)說(shuō)，“我正在做夢(mèng)嗎？”一些狂熱的視頻游戲迷們特別擅長(zhǎng)做這種清醒夢(mèng)，因?yàn)樗麄兘?jīng)常一整天都在集中精力去完成某個(gè)游戲任務(wù)。
The dream team of Inception is highly trained at this, which may be why they are able to perform complex tasks - such as reading - which most normal lucid dreamers find difficult. Some of the characters in the movie have also militarised their dreamscapes, to protect themselves against the invasive dream snatchers.
《盜夢(mèng)空間》中的捕夢(mèng)團(tuán)隊(duì)特別精于此道，他們?cè)诮邮芨呒?jí)訓(xùn)練以后可以完成很復(fù)雜的任務(wù)，比如在夢(mèng)中閱讀，對(duì)于一般的清醒夢(mèng)者來(lái)說(shuō)這就很難做到。電影中的某些角色還能在夢(mèng)境中構(gòu)筑防御，防止自己的夢(mèng)境被其他捕夢(mèng)者入侵。
Do dreams have to obey the laws of physics?
夢(mèng)境中的一切必須遵守物理法則嗎？
This is a fondly debated topic, and Inception has it both ways. Sometimes impossible things happen - in one dream Paris gets folded like a huge sheet of paper - and optical illusions become "real". The endless staircases created by M. C. Escher, for example, exist in Inception dreams thanks to a manipulation something like that occurring in 3D virtual environments.
這是個(gè)頗為值得一辯的話題，《盜夢(mèng)空間》對(duì)正反兩種情況都有所展示。電影中會(huì)展示一些不可思議的事情，比如在某一段夢(mèng)境中，巴黎就像一張巨大的紙張一般折疊了起來(lái)；而且某些光學(xué)幻象還會(huì)變得“真實(shí)”起來(lái)，例如在《盜夢(mèng)空間》中就出現(xiàn)了M.C.埃舍爾（M. C. Escher）創(chuàng)作的無(wú)限樓梯，它就是利用在三維虛擬環(huán)境下的操作方式實(shí)現(xiàn)的。
However, the dreams follow some "real life" rules. As writer and producer Jeff Warren wrote about his own dream investigations: Without sensory input, consciousness appears to behave in predictable ways. Informal laws can be deduced, for example, the "law of self-fulfilling expectations" (what you expect to happen will happen) the "law of narrative momentum" (linger too long in one place and the dream world begins to fray).
但是，夢(mèng)境也會(huì)遵循一些“現(xiàn)實(shí)生活”規(guī)則。身為作家兼制片人的杰夫·沃倫（Jeff Warren）就曾在一份夢(mèng)境調(diào)查報(bào)告中這樣寫到：在沒(méi)有感官輸入時(shí)，意識(shí)似乎以某些可預(yù)測(cè)的方式在運(yùn)作。夢(mèng)境可以演繹出一些非正式的定律，如“自我實(shí)現(xiàn)預(yù)期定律（law of self-fulfilling expectations）”（你期望發(fā)生的事情發(fā)生了）和“敘事動(dòng)力定律（law of narrative momentum）”（在某個(gè)地方徘徊太長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，夢(mèng)境就會(huì)開(kāi)始變得焦躁）。
In Inception, the dream world "frays" when external influences from the real world intrude.
在《盜夢(mèng)空間》中，當(dāng)來(lái)自現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的外在影響侵入時(shí)，夢(mèng)境就會(huì)“焦躁”起來(lái)。
What is the function of dreams?
夢(mèng)的功能是什么？
Freud thought that dreams expressed our repressed desires. And so they do, sometimes, but much modern research suggests that dreams help in information processing and memory storage.
弗洛伊德認(rèn)為夢(mèng)是我們表達(dá)壓抑欲望的方式之一，在某些時(shí)候，夢(mèng)的確行使了這樣的功能，但越來(lái)越多的現(xiàn)代研究表明，夢(mèng)境還會(huì)有助于信息加工和記憶存儲(chǔ)。
Dreams occur in both rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-REM sleep. REM dreams are more story-like, with emotion and aggression, and non-REM dreams often involve friendly social interactions. People with depression often experience more REM sleep than non-depressed people.
在快速眼動(dòng)（REM）睡眠期和非快速眼動(dòng)睡眠期都會(huì)有夢(mèng)境生成?？焖傺蹌?dòng)睡眠期的夢(mèng)境更有故事情節(jié)，充滿了感情和沖突；而非快速眼動(dòng)睡眠期的夢(mèng)境通常只會(huì)涉及友善的社交互動(dòng)。那些情緒沮喪的人通常會(huì)經(jīng)歷更多的快速眼動(dòng)睡眠期。
How does subjective time pass in a dream?
夢(mèng)境中的主觀時(shí)間是如何流逝的？
In Inception, dream time runs much slower than real time, and there is a scaling effect, such that if you dream within a dream, time passes even more slowly. So 5 minutes of real time equals 1 hour of dream time, a 5-minute dream inside a dream equals one week of second-level dream time, and so on.
在《盜夢(mèng)空間》中，夢(mèng)境中的時(shí)間比現(xiàn)實(shí)世界要慢得多，而且這里還存在一個(gè)尺度效應(yīng)（scaling effect），即如果你在夢(mèng)中做夢(mèng)，時(shí)間流逝的速度會(huì)更慢。原本五分鐘的現(xiàn)實(shí)時(shí)間等于一小時(shí)的夢(mèng)境時(shí)間，而五分鐘的夢(mèng)境時(shí)間又和二級(jí)夢(mèng)境中的一個(gè)禮拜時(shí)間相當(dāng)，如此類推。
This is perhaps the cleverest part of the movie, but though intuitively pleasing, there is little evidence for it. In fact there is some evidence that in lucid dreams, at least, the perception of time in similar to that when the dreamer is awake.
這一點(diǎn)應(yīng)該算是這部電影的最高明之處，但是除了驚嘆于電影精巧的構(gòu)思之外，似乎并沒(méi)有太多的現(xiàn)實(shí)證據(jù)證明這一點(diǎn)。實(shí)際上，至少在清醒夢(mèng)中研究者們已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些證據(jù)，當(dāng)做夢(mèng)者處于意識(shí)清醒狀態(tài)時(shí)，對(duì)時(shí)間的認(rèn)知的確會(huì)發(fā)生類似的變化。
A more pressing question for researchers is what happens when our brain's time perception goes faulty. In fact, the illusion of time may be created by the brain itself, which is at least as much of a head-scratcher as the plot of Inception.
對(duì)研究者們來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)更為緊迫的問(wèn)題在于：當(dāng)我們大腦的時(shí)間感知變得不正確時(shí)，究竟我們的腦子里發(fā)生了什么。實(shí)際上，雖然時(shí)間幻覺(jué)是大腦自身產(chǎn)生的，但正如《盜夢(mèng)空間》的情節(jié)一樣，這種幻覺(jué)也是個(gè)令科學(xué)家感到費(fèi)解的難題。
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