Our given names influence our lives in all sorts of strange ways, affecting everything from where we choose to live to what we do for a living. That's the takeaway of a fascinating new video from PBS Digital Studios' BrainCraft series.
我們的名字會以千奇百怪的方式影響我們的生活，從我們的住址選擇到我們的工作選擇等各個方面。這是PBS數碼工作室的BrainCraft系列新出的一個視頻里的觀點。

"We write our names thousands of times throughout our lives," science reporter Vanessa Hill explains in the video. "The more we are merely exposed to something, like those letters, the more we like them."
“我們一生中會數千次寫下我們的名字，”科學記者瓦內莎·希爾在視頻中解釋道，“我們越接觸到一些東西，比如名字中的字母，我們就會越喜歡它們。”

It seems we tend to pick cities whose names sound like our own. Phils, for example, often gravitate to Philadelphia. Virginias are overrepresented in Virginia Beach.
我們似乎傾向于選擇一些聽起來像自己名字的城市。譬如，叫菲爾斯這個名字的人常常會被吸引到費城去。而在弗吉尼亞海灘（Virginia Beach）上到處都有叫弗吉尼亞這個名字的人。

The same works for our occupations, according to the video. The ranks of dentists, for example, include more Dennises and Denises than you might expect.
視頻指出，這一現象同樣適用于我們的職業。舉例說，牙醫行業中就有很多叫丹尼斯和丹妮絲的人，多得遠超你的想象。

Lauries, Lawrences and Laurens? Those names are especially common among -- you guessed it -- lawyers.
那勞里、勞倫斯和勞倫呢? 這些名字在律師行業中尤其常見，你猜到了吧。

Scientists call this strange phenomenon "implicit egotism." But what explains it? Most people have positive self-associations, and by extension anything associated with the self -- even phonetically -- is seen as positive too.
科學家稱這一奇怪的現象為“隱性的自我主義”（implicit egotism）。但是怎么解釋呢？大多數人都有積極的自我聯想。進一步延伸開來便是，任何與自己相聯系的事物，甚至是發音上的聯系，也會被看做積極的。

Now you know!
現在你知道了吧！

Vocabulary

gravitate：被吸引

overrepresent：使有過多的代表

egotism：自我中心

（翻譯：旋轉木馬0930 編輯：江巍）