Day 81: Free Will at Sunrise
Before dawn, Marius (A), a nurse with two job offers, and his friend Malte (B), a programmer, both in their late twenties, climb the last stretch up the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Noch zweihundert Höhenmeter. Oben angekommen, werfe ich die Münze, und was sie sagt, gilt: Kopf heißt Hamburg, Zahl heißt Wernigerode.
Two hundred more metres to climb. Once we're at the top, I'll toss the coin, and whatever it says goes: heads is Hamburg, tails is Wernigerode.
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B
Ein seit Wochen hin- und hergewälztes Problem, gelöst von einem Zwei-Euro-Stück: Das ist der ehrlichste Algorithmus, den ich je gesehen habe.
A problem you've been turning over for weeks, solved by a two-euro coin: that's the most honest algorithm I've ever seen.
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A
Lach du nur, ich habe Listen geschrieben, bis mir die Argumente ausgingen. Intensivstation in Eppendorf gegen Palliativteam in Wernigerode: Das ist ein Patt.
Go on, laugh, I wrote lists until I ran out of arguments. Intensive care at Eppendorf versus the palliative team in Wernigerode: it's a stalemate.
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B
Und jetzt soll es der Zufall richten, den es gar nicht gibt. Wurf, Drehung, Luftwiderstand, alles berechenbar: Die Münze ist so frei wie du, also überhaupt nicht.
And now chance is supposed to sort it out, when there's no such thing. The toss, the spin, the air resistance, it's all calculable: the coin is as free as you are, which is to say not at all.
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A
Jetzt fang nicht mit Determinismus an. Ich bin Buridans Esel: zwei gleich gute Heuhaufen, und ich verhungere dazwischen.
Don't start on determinism now. I'm Buridan's ass: two equally good haystacks, and I'm starving to death between them.
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B
Schopenhauer sagt: Der Mensch kann tun, was er will, aber er kann nicht wollen, was er will. Und was du willst, weißt du längst.
As Schopenhauer says, man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills. And you know what you want already.
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A
Gar nichts weiß ich, sonst stünde ich nicht im Morgengrauen auf dem Brocken. Da, die Sonne! Wirf du, mir zittern die Hände.
I don't know anything, or I wouldn't be standing on the Brocken at the crack of dawn. Look, the sun! You toss it, my hands are shaking.
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B
Wie der Herr wünscht. In die Luft geworfen, auf dem Handrücken gefangen, und: Kopf. Hamburg, Glückwunsch!
As you wish, sir. Tossed into the air, caught on the back of my hand, and: heads. Hamburg, congratulations!
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A
Oh. Na ja, Hamburg ist ja auch schön. Große Klinik, nette Kollegen, und die Elbe hat sicher auch Sonnenaufgänge.
Oh. Well, Hamburg's nice too. A big hospital, nice colleagues, and I'm sure the Elbe has sunrises too.
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B
Dein Gesicht! So guckt keiner, der eine vom Zufall getroffene Wahl gelassen hinnimmt. Die Münze hat nicht entschieden, sie hat nur gefragt.
Look at your face! Nobody who calmly accepts a choice made by chance pulls a face like that. The coin didn't decide anything, it just asked the question.
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A
Mist. Dann war der Esel also nie unentschieden, er wollte nur nicht zugeben, welcher Heuhaufen besser riecht.
Damn. So the ass was never undecided at all, he just didn't want to admit which haystack smelt better.
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B
Willensfreiheit mit Verspätung, ein seltener Fall. Ruf um acht in Wernigerode an, und die Münze behalte ich: Die kannte dich besser als du dich selbst.
Free will running late: a rare case. Ring Wernigerode at eight, and I'm keeping the coin: it knew you better than you knew yourself.
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