英文速読　中級−50

　　In the past, following others was a good survival strategy. Suppose that 50,000 year ago, you were travelling in the wild with your hunter-gatherer friends, and suddenly they all fled at the sight of an animal. What would you have done? Would you have remained still, wondering about what you were looking at?
　Was it a lion, or something that just looked like a lion but was in fact a harmless animal? No, you would have followed your friends. Later on, when you were safe, you could have reflected on what the “Lion” had actual been. 
Those who acted differently from the group did not pass their genes on the later generations. We are directly descended from those who copied the others’ behavior.
　This pattern is so deeply rooted in us that we still use it today, even when it offers no survival advantage, which is most of the time. Only a few cases come to mind where social proof is of value. For example, if you find yourself hungry in a foreign city and don’t know a good restaurant, it makes sense to pick the one that’s full of local people. In other words, you copy the local people`s behavior.
　Comedy and talk shows make use of social proof by inserting sounds of people laughing at key moments, encouraging the audience to laugh along.

　In the past, following others was a good survival strategy. Suppose that 50,000 year ago, you were travelling in the wild with your hunter-gatherer friends, and suddenly they all fled at the sight of an animal. What would you have done? Would you have remained still, wondering about what you were looking at?

　過去には、他の人についていくことが生き残るための良い戦略だった。想像してほしい、5万年前、荒野を移動していた、狩猟採集民の仲間と一緒に、そして彼らは皆突然逃げ去った、動物を見て。あなたはどうするだろうか。あなたはじっとしたまま、あなたが見ているものは何か考えているだろうか。

　 Was it a lion, or something that just looked like a lion but was in fact a harmless animal? No, you would have followed your friends. Later on, when you were safe, you could have reflected on what the “Lion” had actual been.  Those who acted differently from the group did not pass their genes on the later generations. We are directly descended from those who copied the others’ behavior.

　ライオンなのか、あるいはただライオンのように見えただけで実は無害の動物なのか。いや、あなたはついていくだろう、仲間たちに。後にあなたが安全になった時、あなたはじっくり考えるだろう、「ライオン」が実際には何だったのかについて。集団と異なる行動をした人たちは彼らの遺伝子を伝えなかった、後の世代に。私たちは直接伝えられている、他人の行動をまねた人たちから。

　　This pattern is so deeply rooted in us that we still use it today, even when it offers no survival advantage, which is most of the time. Only a few cases come to mind where social proof is of value. For example, if you find yourself hungry in a foreign city and don’t know a good restaurant, it makes sense to pick the one that’s full of local people. In other words, you copy the local people’s behavior.

　このパターンは私たちの中にとても深く根ざしているので私たちはそれを今な
お使っている、それが生き残る利点を何ももたらさない時でさえ、それはたいていの場合である。思い浮かぶ例はごく少ない、そこでは社会的証明が価値ある。例えば、あなたが外国の街でお腹がすいて、良いレストランを知らないならば、それは理にかなっている、地元の人でいっぱいのレストランを選ぶことは。言い換えれば、あなたは地元の人の行動をまねている。

　Comedy and talk shows make use of social proof by inserting sounds of people laughing at key moments, encouraging the audience to laugh along.

　コメディーやトークショーは社会的証明を利用している、人々の笑い声を要所要所に挿入することによって、そして視聴者を促している、いっしょに笑うように。