侯冬意

You have probably seen it in movies： when the moon is full， a man turns into a hairy（毛茸茸的）， frightening creature and runs around the city， tearing （撕裂） people to pieces. You may laugh at stories of wolfmen （狼人）， but have you ever wondered where the association（聯(lián)系） of a full moon with crazy goings-on （舉動；發(fā)生的事情） came from？

Such notions （觀念） have been around a lot longer than scary （嚇人的） movies. The word lunacy， meaning “madness”， is derived （起源） from Luna. And， a hundred years ago in some European hospitals， with the fear of violence during full moons， doctors would chain up patients who were thought to be lunatics （精神錯亂的）.

It is surprising that many people still believe that the moon can affect human behavior in unusual ways. For example， many medical workers are convinced （確信的） that the number of emergency cases increases during a full moon. One study in the United States found that people drink less alcohol and eat more during a full moon. Italian researchers found that more babies seem to be born in the one or two days following a full moon. And Britains largest telecommunications （電訊） company claims that Internet use increases during the seven days before a full moon.

Other researchers， however， have found serious methodological （方法的） flaws （缺陷；瑕疵） in some of the studies that claim to demonstrate （證明） a relationship between a full moon and human behavior. Also， no research has yet found a direct link between the phases （月亮、行星的位相） of the moon and attacks of depression or lunacy.

With only weak scientific evidence （證據(jù)） relating madness to the moon， perhaps the best way to explain the existence of this myth is to call it a relic （遺物；紀(jì)念物） of the past： Long before electricity， bright moonlight was an invitation to open the window or go out the door to enjoy the night scene — whether or not they have hair on their hands.

你可能曾經(jīng)在電影中看到過：月圓的時候，一個男人變成毛茸茸的駭人怪物在城市里四處橫行，把人撕成碎片。你也許對狼人的故事感到好笑，但你可曾好奇過滿月與瘋狂舉動之間的聯(lián)系從何而來？

這種觀念在恐怖電影出現(xiàn)之前便已流傳許久?！發(fā)unacy”這個表示“瘋狂”的詞源自“月亮”。一百年多前，在歐洲的一些醫(yī)院，醫(yī)生們因為擔(dān)心在月圓時會出現(xiàn)暴力行為，會用鏈子綁住那些被認(rèn)為是瘋子的患者。

令人驚訝的是現(xiàn)在仍有很多人相信月亮?xí)屓诵袨槭С?。例如，許多醫(yī)務(wù)工作者相信月圓時急診病例會增多。美國的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)人們在滿月時飲酒量減少而食量增加。意大利的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，月圓后的一兩天內(nèi)，嬰兒的出生人數(shù)更多。而英國最大的電訊公司則宣稱，在月圓的前7天，網(wǎng)絡(luò)使用率會增加。

然而其他研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，某些宣稱能證明月圓與人類行為有關(guān)的研究存在方法上的嚴(yán)重錯誤。而且沒有一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)月相（月亮圓缺）與人類憂郁癥或癲狂舉動的發(fā)作有直接聯(lián)系。

只有微弱的科學(xué)證據(jù)能證明瘋狂舉動與月亮有關(guān)，也許解釋這個說法存在的最好方法是把它當(dāng)作一種過去的遺俗：在電發(fā)明之前的很長一段時間里，皎潔的月光會誘使人們推開窗子或者走出門去欣賞夜景——無論他們的手上是否會長出長毛。