We have always held fast to the belief that anything is possible — whether or not it has any basis in reality — and it is precisely this conviction that has propelled this nation into the ranks of the world's largest economies.
我們素來篤信凡事皆有可能——無論其有無現實依據——正是此一信念成就了這個國家躋身世界最大經濟體之列。
It has also caused us, time and again, to fall deeply under the spell of swindlers and quacks.
它亦令我們一次又一次地深深迷戀上騙徒與江湖郎中。
If such a profusion of possibilities exists here in America, who can say that the next novel supplement, emerging gadget, or ingenious scam will not simultaneously restore your youth, fortify your health, and line your pockets with wealth—or even deliver all these aspirations in one fell swoop?
倘若在美國此地存在如許紛繁之可能，誰又能斷言下一款嶄新補充劑、新興裝置抑或新穎騙局，必不能令你同時返老還童、身強體健、腰纏萬貫，甚或諸般願景一舉兼得？
In 1897, a Baptist minister convinced us that the company under his command could extract gold from the seawater off the coast near Lubec, Maine.
1897年，一位浸信會牧師使我們深信，其麾下公司得以自緬因州盧貝克鄰近海域的海水中淬煉出黃金。
Meanwhile, a company in East Orange, New Jersey, called Bailey Radium Laboratories, launched a wildly popular product in 1925 — "Radithor" — marketing it as "a cure for the living dead" and claiming it could restore vitality and cure impotence.
而紐澤西州東橘市一家名為貝利鐳實驗室的公司，則於1925年推出一款風靡一時的產品——「鐳水」(Radithor)，並將其標榜為「活死人的解藥」，聲稱能重煥生機、治癒陽痿。
The United States introduced us to "Rattlesnake King" Clark Stanley, who peddled to us his so-called "snake oil liniment," touting its ability to cure "pain and lameness, rheumatism, neuralgia, sciatica, sprains, bunions," to heal "partial paralysis of the upper and lower limbs," and even to "restore swollen joints to their natural size."
美利堅合眾國為我們引介了「響尾蛇王」克拉克·史丹利，此人向我們兜售所謂的「蛇油搽劑」，標榜其能療癒「疼痛與跛行、風濕病、神經痛、坐骨神經痛、扭傷、拇趾囊腫」，並能治癒「上肢與下肢之局部癱瘓」，更可「使腫脹之關節回復其天然尺寸」。
America also gave rise to Charles Ponzi, who, on the strength of an investment in postal reply coupons alone, could deliver a fifty percent profit in the space of a mere forty-five days.
美國亦催生了查爾斯·龐茲，此人僅憑郵票券之投資，便能在短短四十五日之內饋以百分之五十之利潤。
These hackneyed examples may be all too easy to laugh at or to make one squirm with embarrassment, yet we would do well to be on our guard: we are, with unwavering consistency, only too willing to credit claims that would appear absurd on the slightest exercise of common sense.
這些陳腐的例證固然極易引人發噱或令人赧然，然則吾人理當戒慎恐懼：我們始終如一地甘願採信那些僅需訴諸些許常識判斷便顯得荒誕不經的主張。
Does raw milk possess extraordinary powers? Can peptides restore us to youth? Can a hangover be dispelled by injecting large quantities of vitamins intravenously?
生乳蘊含殊異功效？胜肽得以令吾人返老還童？藉由靜脈注射大量維生素即可消解宿醉？
So says Dr. Lydia Kang, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and author of Quackery, a history of medical fads.
內布拉斯加大學醫學中心內科副教授、著有醫學時尚史《庸醫》一書的莉迪亞·康恩博士作如是言。
A certain desperation underlies this.
箇中蘊含著一種絕望。
"Deep down, everyone longs for a long and abundant life," she says, "free of disability or pain, with the mind intact."
「每個人內心深處無不渴望擁有長久而豐盛的人生，」她說道，「沒有失能或疼痛，而且頭腦完好。」
Admittedly, this is not unique to the United States.
誠然，此非美國所獨有。
Yet the reason these instincts and proclivities are magnified to such an unbounded degree in America lies in the almost ruthless optimism prevailing here, in a deeply entrenched spirit of individualism, in a capitalist system marked by lax regulation, in an almost obsessive fervour for wealth, health and beauty, and in a covetousness driven by suspicion and a desire to claim a share of the spoils: others are surely all exploiting the loopholes in the system, so why shouldn't I?
然而，這些本能與傾向在美國之所以被無限放大，實緣於此間那種近乎冷酷的樂觀主義、根深蒂固的個人主義精神、監管鬆弛的資本主義體制、對財富、健康與美貌近乎偏執的狂熱追求，以及一種由猜忌所驅使、欲從中分一杯羹的貪念：他人定然皆在鑽制度的空子，那我何嘗不可？
"This is a scenario straight out of a Wild West cowboy film," Cohn remarked.
「這儼然是狂野西部牛仔片的典型情境，」康恩說道。
"People will reason, 'Well, if you won't do it, then I'll simply take matters into my own hands.'"
「人們會忖度，『罷了，倘若你不為之，那我便親力親為。』」
Tali Sharot, Professor of Neuroscience at University College London, points out that human beings do not hold beliefs in order to construct an accurate representation of the world.
倫敦大學學院神經科學教授塔莉·沙羅特指出，人類之所以懷有信念，並非旨在構築對世界的精確再現。
She explains that beliefs serve merely "to enable us to reap the greatest rewards and to help us avoid harm.
她闡明，信念僅是「為了讓我們獲取最大回報，並助我們規避傷害。
Such beliefs are sometimes accurate, and sometimes they are not."
這些信念有時準確無誤，有時則不然。」
She explains that, for instance, overconfidence may help you find a partner, or else secure a job for which you are utterly unqualified.
她闡述道，譬如，過度自信或可襄助你覓得伴侶，抑或謀得一職你壓根兒不夠格勝任的工作。
By fervently believing what others in the group believe, people can attain a sense of community, support, and belonging.
人們得以藉由篤信群體中他人所篤信的，獲致社群感、支持與歸屬感。
"Even if that belief is erroneous, it does no harm," Sharot says.
「縱然那是錯誤的信念，亦無傷大雅，」沙羅特說道。
The conviction that vaccines and autism are causally linked—even though conclusive evidence has thoroughly refuted this misconception—not only furnishes families and their loved ones with a target for blame, but also enables them to find solace and support within a community that shares their resentment, fear, and anguish.
篤信疫苗與自閉症存有因果關聯——縱然確鑿證據已徹底否證此一謬見——不僅為家庭及其至親提供了一個可供歸咎的對象，更使他們得以從一個同懷憤懣、恐懼與痛苦的群體中覓得慰藉與支持。
Yet hope and belief are capable of engendering a kind of optimism — a conviction that things may well improve — which in turn can, at least temporarily, alleviate one's mood and mental health.
而希望與信念足以催生一種樂觀情緒，使人相信事態或將好轉，而這反過來至少能暫時緩解心境與心理健康。
Sharot remarked, "Believing that your future will be better than your past and your present — even if your future does not in fact turn out to be better — may, more often than not, prove to be an optimal strategy."
沙羅特說：「相信你的未來會比過去和現在更好——即便你的未來不會更好——很多時候這可能是一種最優策略。」
Buying a lottery ticket amounts to an almost guaranteed loss—it is a poor financial decision.
購買彩券幾乎形同保證虧損——此乃一項拙劣的財務決策。
People are perfectly aware of this.
人們對此心知肚明。
Yet they are equally aware that a lottery ticket carries with it a glimmer of hope—an opportunity to envision a more affluent future.
然而，他們同樣明白，一張彩券承載著一縷希望，是一個得以想像更為富裕之未來的契機。
"What you are certain to get is the pleasure of contemplating it," she says.
「你確定所購得的，是思索此事的樂趣，」她說道。
"That is what you are guaranteed to receive."
「那是你保證能獲得的東西。」
When it comes to supplements, salves, and therapies that tout benefits bordering on the fantastical, our response follows the same pattern.
論及那些標榜著近乎天方夜譚般效益的補充劑、藥膏與療法時，我們的反應亦如出一轍。
On the one hand, they amount to nothing more than a futile squandering of hard-earned money, sometimes accompanied by adverse side effects.
一方面，它們無異於對血汗錢的徒然虛擲，有時更伴隨負面副作用。
On the other hand, "you do derive something from the attempt," Sarot points out—things such as positive anticipation or a sense of excitement.
另一方面，「你確實從嘗試中有所收穫，」沙羅特指出，諸如正向的期待或興奮感。
Surveying American history, a clear pattern leaps off the page: the moment the faintest glimmer of evidence emerges that some measure might actually work, the door cracks open a sliver, and corporations seize the opening to march straight in, preying on the desperation—and the paychecks—of those who are suffering, worn down, or gripped by fear.
縱觀美國歷史，一個清晰的模式躍然紙上：但凡某項舉措可能奏效的蛛絲馬跡乍現，門扉便隨之裂開一道縫隙，而企業則趁勢長驅直入，攫取那些飽受煎熬、心力交瘁或驚惶不安之人的絕望——以及他們的薪水。
Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, was profoundly frustrated by his inability to save lives during the raging yellow fever epidemic of 1793.
費城內科醫師、獨立宣言簽署人班傑明·拉什博士，於1793年黃熱病疫情肆虐之際，因回天乏術而深感挫敗。
Subsequently, he perused several autopsy reports that hinted purging and bloodletting might prove efficacious.
其後，他披閱若干屍檢報告，其中隱約揭示催瀉與放血或可奏效。
He therefore resorted to a desperate gamble, administering high doses of calomel and jalap to his patients—the former a mercury compound, the latter a powder derived from a Mexican plant root, which in combination constituted a drastic purgative—while simultaneously subjecting them to copious bloodletting.
遂鋌而走險，對病患投以高劑量之甘汞與賈拉普——一者為汞化合物，一者為墨西哥植物根部粉末，二者併用即成峻烈瀉劑——同時大肆為之放血。
As one document records: "So much blood flowed in the front yard that the stench there was overpowering, and the buzzing of flies was incessant."
據一份文獻所載：「前院淌血之多，致使該處穢氣熏天，蠅聲嗡嗡不絕。」
Charles Stanley's snake oil was utterly spurious — the United States Bureau of Chemistry established in 1916 that its composition consisted chiefly of mineral oil, containing "a fatty oil (possibly beef tallow), capsicum, and possibly traces of camphor or turpentine."
查爾斯·史丹利的蛇油純屬偽劣——美國化學局於1916年查明，其成分主要為礦物油，內含「脂肪油（或係牛脂）、辣椒，以及或然微量之樟腦或松節油」。
Yet its inspiration in fact derived from Chinese labourers, whose own preparation was an oil extracted from a particular species of snake and may indeed have possessed a certain anti-inflammatory efficacy.
然其靈感實源自中國勞工，彼等所使用者，乃萃取自某一特定蛇種之油，或確具若干抗炎之效。
Radiation's utility in medicine, whether past or present, is undeniable; this fact opened the door for William J. A. Bailey to market radium water as a "health tonic"—until one prominent and thoroughly convinced patron overdosed, leading to the putrefaction of his jawbone and death from radiation poisoning.
輻射之於醫療，無論昔今，皆有其用；此一事實為威廉·J·A·貝利敞開了大門，使其得以將鐳水標榜為「健康補品」——直至一位聲名顯赫且篤信不疑的主顧服用過量，終致下顎骨腐爛，死於輻射中毒。
In the meantime, companies will come flocking in.
與此同時，公司便會蜂擁而至。
"The horrifying thing is that they will seize that hope, attempt to bottle it, and then resell it to you at whatever price they deem you can bear," Cohn said.
「可怖之處在於，他們會攫走那份希望，試圖將其封存於瓶中，繼而以他們認定你所能承受的任何價格轉售予你，」康恩如是說。
Countless supplements and unapproved "therapies" base their rationale on the faintest hints of potential benefit observed in animal studies or small observational studies, which are inherently incapable of establishing causation.
無數補充劑與未經核准的「療法」，其立論基礎皆在於動物研究或小型觀察性研究中所顯現的潛在益處之蛛絲馬跡，而此類研究根本無從確立因果關係。
Today, some of those yearning for longevity have pinned their hopes on rapamycin — a drug administered to organ transplant patients that has been shown to extend lifespan in yeast, flies, and mice.
時至今日，若干渴求長壽之人已將冀望繫於雷帕黴素——一種施用於器官移植患者之藥物，曾於酵母、蒼蠅及小鼠身上延展其壽命。
Several remarkably successful drugs — insulin, and even the weight-loss medications Wegovy and Zepbound — belong to the category of peptides, that is, short chains of amino acids that can fold into a countless variety of configurations.
若干成就斐然的藥物——胰島素，乃至減重製劑Wegovy與Zepbound——皆屬胜肽之列，亦即短鏈胺基酸，其可摺疊成無以計數的構型。
This fact has spawned an entire industry dedicated to marketing other peptides — most of them neither proven nor tested — that are claimed to promote muscle growth, accelerate recovery, and deliver anti-aging effects.
此一事實催生了一整條產業鏈，專事推銷其他胜肽——多數既未經證實，亦未經檢驗——據稱可促進肌肉增生、加速恢復並收抗衰老之效。
Does this rhetoric sound familiar?
此番說辭，聽來是否似曾相識？
Of course, science, technology, and this country's relentlessly driven economic engine have spawned countless genuine miracles and enduring legends; and all of this, in turn, has loosened the soil for credulous minds to take root.
當然，科學、技術，以及這個國家那具無情驅力的經濟引擎，業已催生出無數貨真價實的奇蹟與歷久彌新的軼聞；而這一切，反過來又為輕信之心智疏鬆了滋生的土壤。
We are able, within the span of a few hours, to traverse the entire country aboard a metallic tubular flying machine.
我們得以在數小時之內，乘坐金屬管狀飛行器橫越全國。
We are able, by means of a small sliver of metal and glass, to access virtually the entirety of humankind's accumulated knowledge.
我們得以憑藉一小片金屬與玻璃，觸及幾乎全人類的知識總和。
Advances in medicine, vaccination in particular—a notion once deemed radical—have all but eradicated the childhood diseases that, in the nation's founding era, were capable of claiming the lives of half of all children under the age of five.
醫學之進展，尤以疫苗接種為然——此一概念曾屬激進——已近乎根絕建國時期足以奪走半數五歲以下兒童性命的童年疾病。
An American born in 1900 could expect to live a mere 47 years or so.
1900年出生的美國人，預期壽命不過約47歲。
Today, American life expectancy has reached 79 years, the highest ever recorded.
時至今日，美國人的預期壽命已達79歲，為有史以來最高。
Who would dare assert that it cannot double once more?
誰敢斷言它不能再翻倍？
And why should there be any limit whatsoever?
又何以應有任何極限？
We are perhaps more susceptible to being swayed now than at any other moment in history.
我們如今或許比歷史上任何時刻都更易於受到左右。
Kahn observes that we are being bombarded by an ever-denser barrage of seductive claims, because the devices in our pockets ceaselessly deliver hawkers — euphemistically dubbed "influencers" — who peddle "cures" and other shortcuts, catering to our 250-year-long pursuit of happiness.
康恩指出，我們正遭受日益密集的誘人主張之轟炸，因為口袋裡的裝置源源不絕地輸送叫賣者——被委婉冠以「網紅」之名——他們兜售「療法」及其他終南捷徑，迎合我們長達250年追求幸福的歷程。
Social media is exceedingly adept at replicating the very type of message that scientists have identified as the one our brains are most inclined to believe: direct, personalised appeals emanating from individuals who appear credible and who claim to possess first-hand experience.
社群媒體極其精於複製科學家所指出、我們大腦最傾向採信的訊息類型：源自看似可信、且自稱擁有親身經歷者所發出的直接而個人化的訴求。
And in the United States, it may also serve as a particularly alluring alternative to a healthcare system that is expensive, impersonal, and absurdly difficult to navigate.
而在美國，它亦可能成為格外誘人的替代選項，用以取代那昂貴、冷漠且荒謬地難以駕馭的醫療體系。
"The guardrails have now utterly vanished," Cohn said.
「護欄如今已然蕩然無存，」康恩說道。
"In fact, the situation is even more perilous than it once was, and the reason lies in social media, in the various content found online, and in those ostensibly trustworthy figures whose counsel we ought to be able to rely upon but who are, in reality, anything but credible.
「實則情勢較諸往昔更形險峻，其故在於社群媒體，在於網路上的種種內容，亦在於那些我們理當仰賴其建言、實則並不可信的所謂可信之士。
For this very reason, I believe this has plunged the American public into even graver peril."
職是之故，我以為這使美國大眾陷於更為深重的危殆之中。」
George C. Parker, that consummate American swindler who time and again managed to sell off the Brooklyn Bridge for cash, would surely have relished such a state of affairs; what is more, he would undoubtedly have concocted a scheme on your behalf with the utmost cunning.
那位曾屢次將布魯克林大橋脫手變現的曠世美國騙徒喬治·C·帕克，勢必會對這般局面欣然稱快；不僅如此，他定然還會為你精心謀劃一樁交易。
Jonathan Fay serves as the global health and science editor for Reporters.
強納森·費伊係《Reporters》之全球健康與科學編輯。
Health and science coverage published in Reporters is financially supported by the Journalists' News Fund and private foundations.
《Reporters》所刊健康與科學相關報導，乃獲記者新聞基金及私人基金會之財務挹注。
The Associated Press bears sole responsibility for all of its content.
美聯社就其全部內容獨自承擔責任。
Guidelines governing the Associated Press's collaborations with philanthropic organizations, a roster of supporters, and the scope of funded coverage are all available for consultation at AP.org.
有關美聯社與慈善機構合作之準則、支持者名錄及受資助報導範疇，均可於AP.org查閱。
