科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了人類(lèi)和其他動(dòng)物的相似之處

科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了人類(lèi)和其他動(dòng)物的相似之處

Do you worry over a young-adult family member, just out of college or in between jobs, who has moved back home? Or a teenager who faces bullying at school?

你是否擔(dān)心一個(gè)剛大學(xué)畢業(yè)或正在找工作的年輕家庭成員搬回家?或者是一個(gè)青少年在學(xué)校面臨欺凌?

In Wildhood: The Epic Journey from Adolescence to Adulthood in Humans and Other Animals, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers invite you to find wisdom in the ways that penguins, hyenas, whales, wolves and other animals experience adolescence.

芭芭拉·納特森-霍洛維茨和凱瑟琳·鮑爾斯在《荒野:人類(lèi)和其他動(dòng)物從青春期到成年的漫長(zhǎng)之旅》一書(shū)中邀請(qǐng)你從企鵝、鬣狗、鯨魚(yú)、狼和其他動(dòng)物經(jīng)歷青春期的方式中尋找智慧。

In their bestselling earlier book, Zoobiquity, Natterson-Horowitz, an evolutionary biologist and professor of medicine, and Bowers, a science writer and animal behaviorist, examined ways in which human health and animal health are linked.

進(jìn)化生物學(xué)家、醫(yī)學(xué)教授納特森-霍洛維茨和科學(xué)作家、動(dòng)物行為學(xué)家鮑爾斯在他們?cè)缙诘臅充N(xiāo)書(shū)《動(dòng)物普同性》中探討了人類(lèi)健康與動(dòng)物健康之間的聯(lián)系。

Now in Wildhood, they team up again to look across species at adolescence, that in-between stage of life when one is neither a young child nor a full adult.

現(xiàn)在在《荒野》中，他們?cè)俅魏献餮芯坎煌锓N的青春期，也就是一個(gè)人既不年輕也不完全成年的中間階段。

Puberty, they explain, is about physical development, whereas adolescence "combines body and behavior. It is about learning to think, act, and even feel like a mature member of a group." Because animals have been doing this for millions of years, we can take a lesson or two from them about the process.

他們解釋說(shuō)，青春期是關(guān)于身體發(fā)育的，而青春期“結(jié)合了身體和行為”。青春期是關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)思考、行動(dòng)，甚至感覺(jué)自己是團(tuán)隊(duì)中一名成熟的成員。”因?yàn)閯?dòng)物已經(jīng)這樣做了數(shù)百萬(wàn)年，我們可以從它們身上受到一兩個(gè)關(guān)于這個(gè)過(guò)程的啟發(fā)。

Take the phenomenon of "boomerang kids," those young adult humans who move back home after an initial period of relative independence. Often it's viewed critically, as if the parents are overindulging offspring who should be more self-reliant. Yet this sort of prolonged parental help is widespread in the animal world, the authors say.

以“回巢族兒童”為例，這些年輕人在初期經(jīng)歷了一段相對(duì)獨(dú)立的階段后搬回家。很多時(shí)候，人們對(duì)這種行為持批評(píng)態(tài)度，認(rèn)為父母溺愛(ài)子女，而子女應(yīng)該更獨(dú)立。然而，作者說(shuō)，父母的長(zhǎng)期庇護(hù)在動(dòng)物世界中很普遍。

Many birds and mammals at adolescence are allowed or encouraged to stay home instead of striking out on their own. They may babysit younger siblings or otherwise help out while avoiding the dangers of the wider world.

在青春期的許多鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)和哺乳動(dòng)物被允許或鼓勵(lì)呆在家里，而不是自力更生。他們可能會(huì)照顧弟弟妹妹或以其他方式提供幫助，同時(shí)避免外面世界的危險(xiǎn)。

Sometimes the parental help offered is pretty extreme. Red squirrel mothers in middle age cede their territories to their adult offspring, often stocking those territories with food first. Certain songbird moms escort their older offspring to other flocks and introduce them to high-status potential mates. Costs may incur to these stay-at-home youngsters too, because they don't get much experience in finding their own food or coping with predators.

有時(shí)父母提供的幫助是相當(dāng)極端的。中年的紅松鼠媽媽會(huì)把自己的領(lǐng)地割讓給成年的后代，而且通常會(huì)先在這些領(lǐng)地儲(chǔ)存食物。某些鳴禽媽媽把年長(zhǎng)的后代送到其他鳥(niǎo)群中，并為它們介紹地位較高的潛在伴侶。這些待在家里的年輕生物可能也要付出代價(jià)，因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)趯ふ沂澄锘驅(qū)Ω恫妒痴叻矫鏇](méi)有太多經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers conclude, "Recognizing the advantages and disadvantages of extending parental care in the animal world can help humans understand how and when to continue to support their older and adult children."

納特森-霍洛維茨和鮑爾斯總結(jié)道:“認(rèn)識(shí)到在動(dòng)物世界中延長(zhǎng)父母關(guān)愛(ài)的利弊，可以幫助人類(lèi)理解如何以及何時(shí)繼續(xù)支持年長(zhǎng)和成年的孩子。”

Yet it could fairly be asked, how informative is this sort of specific comparison really?

然而，有人可能會(huì)問(wèn)，這種具體的比較到底能提供多少信息呢?

After all, while adolescent animals often need to negotiate complex family relationships and group dominance hierarchies, they don't face the pressures of overdue student loans and mental health crises — or sexism or racism. The culturally constructed, power-based in the human world are qualitatively different.

畢竟，雖然青春期的動(dòng)物經(jīng)常需要協(xié)調(diào)復(fù)雜的家庭關(guān)系和群體統(tǒng)治階層，但它們不會(huì)面臨逾期學(xué)生貸款和心理健康危機(jī)的壓力——或者性別歧視或種族主義。這個(gè)由文化構(gòu)建的、以權(quán)力為基礎(chǔ)的人類(lèi)世界中在本質(zhì)上是不同的。