How frustration can make us more creative | Tim Harford

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

Late in January 1975,

Poznog januara 1975,

a 17-year-old German girl called Vera Brandes

17-ogodišnja Nemica, po imenu Vera Brandes,

walked out onto the stage of the Cologne Opera House.

se popela na scenu operske kuće u Kelnu.

The auditorium was empty.

Sala je bila prazna.

It was lit only by the dim, green glow of the emergency exit sign.

Jedino ju je obasjavala prigušena, zelena svetlost

znaka za izlaz u slučaju opasnosti.

This was the most exciting day of Vera's life.

To je bio najuzbudljiviji dan u Verinom životu.

She was the youngest concert promoter in Germany,

Bila je najmlađi organizator koncerata u Nemačkoj

and she had persuaded the Cologne Opera House

i ubedila je opersku kuću u Kelnu

to host a late-night concert of jazz

da bude domaćin kasno večernjem džez koncertu

from the American musician, Keith Jarrett.

američkog muzičara Kita Džareta.

1,400 people were coming.

Trebalo je da dođe 1400 ljudi.

And in just a few hours,

A samo za nekoliko sati

Jarrett would walk out on the same stage,

Džaret će išetati na istu scenu,

he'd sit down at the piano

sešće za klavir

and without rehearsal or sheet music,

i bez proba ili partitura

he would begin to play.

počeće da svira.

But right now,

Međutim u tom momentu,

Vera was introducing Keith to the piano in question,

Vera je pokazivala Kitu o kom klaviru se radilo

and it wasn't going well.

i nešto tu nije štimalo.

Jarrett looked to the instrument a little warily,

Džaret je posmatrao instrument pomalo oprezno,

played a few notes,

odsvirao je nekolike note,

walked around it,

obišao ga,

played a few more notes,

odsvirao još nekolike note,

muttered something to his producer.

promrmljao nešto svom producentu.

Then the producer came over to Vera and said ...

Potom je producent prišao Veri i rekao:

"If you don't get a new piano, Keith can't play."

"Ako ne nabaviš novi klavir, Kit neće moći da svira."

There'd been a mistake.

Došlo je do greške.

The opera house had provided the wrong instrument.

Operska kuća je obezbedila pogrešan instrument.

This one had this harsh, tinny upper register,

Ovaj je imao grub, zveketav gornji registar

because all the felt had worn away.

jer se sav filc izlizao.

The black notes were sticking,

Crne dirke su se lepile,

the white notes were out of tune,

bele su bile raštimovane,

the pedals didn't work

pedale nisu radile,

and the piano itself was just too small.

a sam klavir je bio suviše mali.

It wouldn't create the volume

Ne bi mogao da stvori zvuk

that would fill a large space such as the Cologne Opera House.

koji bi ispunio veliki prostor poput operske kuće u Kelnu.

So Keith Jarrett left.

Pa je Kit Džaret otišao.

He went and sat outside in his car,

Izašao je napolje i seo u svoj automobil,

leaving Vera Brandes

ostavljajući Veru Brandes

to get on the phone to try to find a replacement piano.

da preko telefona pokuša da nađe zamenski klavir.

Now she got a piano tuner,

Sad, dobila je klavirskog štimera,

but she couldn't get a new piano.

ali nije mogla da dobije novi klavir.

And so she went outside

Pa je izašla napolje

and she stood there in the rain,

i tu je stajala na kiši,

talking to Keith Jarrett,

razgovarajući s Kitom Džaretom,

begging him not to cancel the concert.

moleći ga da ne otkaže koncert.

And he looked out of his car

On je pogledao iz automobila

at this bedraggled, rain-drenched German teenager,

u ovu jadnu, pokvašenu nemačku tinejdžerku,

took pity on her,

sažalio se na nju

and said,

i rekao:

"Never forget ... only for you."

"Nikad ne zaboravi... samo zbog tebe."

And so a few hours later,

I nekoliko sati kasnije,

Jarrett did indeed step out onto the stage of the opera house,

Džaret je uistinu zakoračio na scenu operske kuće,

he sat down at the unplayable piano

seo je za nefunkcionalan klavir

and began.

i počeo.

(Music)

(Muzika)

Within moments it became clear that something magical was happening.

Za nekoliko trenutaka postalo je jasno da se nešto čarobno dešava.

Jarrett was avoiding those upper registers,

Džaret je izbegavao gornje registre,

he was sticking to the middle tones of the keyboard,

držao se srednjih tonova na klavijaturi,

which gave the piece a soothing, ambient quality.

što je komadu dalo umirujući, ambijentalni kvalitet.

But also, because the piano was so quiet,

Ali takođe, jer je klavir bio tako tih,

he had to set up these rumbling, repetitive riffs in the bass.

morao je da podesi te tutnjave, ponavljajuće bas rifove.

And he stood up twisting, pounding down on the keys,

I on je stajao uvijajući se, lupajući po dirkama,

desperately trying to create enough volume to reach the people in the back row.

očajnički se trudeći da stvori dovoljno snažan zvuk koji bi čuli oni u pozadini.

It's an electrifying performance.

To je uzbudljiv nastup.

It somehow has this peaceful quality,

Nekako poseduje spokojan kvalitet

and at the same time it's full of energy,

i istovremeno je pun energije,

it's dynamic.

dinamičan je.

And the audience loved it.

A publici se svideo.

Audiences continue to love it

Publika ga i dan danas voli

because the recording of the Köln Concert

jer je snimak kelnskog koncerta

is the best-selling piano album in history

najprodavaniji klavirski album u istoriji

and the best-selling solo jazz album in history.

i najprodavaniji džez solo album u istoriji.

Keith Jarrett had been handed a mess.

Kita Džareta je zapao nered.

He had embraced that mess, and it soared.

On je prigrlio taj nered i vinuo se.

But let's think for a moment about Jarrett's initial instinct.

No, razmišljajmo na kratko o Džaretovom prvobitnom instinktu.

He didn't want to play.

Nije želeo da svira.

Of course,

Naravno,

I think any of us, in any remotely similar situation,

verujem da bi se bilo ko od nas, u iole sličnoj situaciji,

would feel the same way, we'd have the same instinct.

osećao na isti način, imali bismo isti instinkt.

We don't want to be asked to do good work with bad tools.

Ne želimo da zahtevaju od nas da radimo dobro lošim alatom.

We don't want to have to overcome unnecessary hurdles.

Ne želimo da budemo prinuđeni da savladavamo nepotrebne prepreke.

But Jarrett's instinct was wrong,

Ali Džaretov instinkt je bio pogrešan,

and thank goodness he changed his mind.

i hvala bogu da se predomislio.

And I think our instinct is also wrong.

I verujem da i naš instinkt greši.

I think we need to gain a bit more appreciation

Smatram da moramo više da cenimo

for the unexpected advantages of having to cope with a little mess.

neočekivane prednosti izlaženja na kraj s malo nereda.

So let me give you some examples

Dozvolite da vam dam neke primere

from cognitive psychology,

iz kognitivne psihologije,

from complexity science,

iz kompleksne nauke,

from social psychology,

iz socijalne psihologije

and of course, rock 'n' roll.

i naravno iz rokenrola.

So cognitive psychology first.

Dakle, počećemo kognitivnom psihologijom.

We've actually known for a while

Već neko vreme nam je poznato

that certain kinds of difficulty,

da određeni tipovi poteškoća,

certain kinds of obstacle,

određeni vidovi prepreka,

can actually improve our performance.

mogu zapravo da poprave našu učinkovitost.

For example,

Na primer,

the psychologist Daniel Oppenheimer,

psiholog Danijel Openhajmer

a few years ago,

se pre nekoliko godina

teamed up with high school teachers.

udružio s nastavnicima iz srednje škole.

And he asked them to reformat the handouts

Tražio je od njih da promene font skripti,

that they were giving to some of their classes.

koje daju na nekim svojim časovima.

So the regular handout would be formatted in something straightforward,

Obične skripte imaju prilično jednostavan font,

such as Helvetica or Times New Roman.

poput helvetike ili tajms nju romana.

But half these classes were getting handouts that were formatted

Međutim polovina ovih odeljenja je dobijala skripte formatirane

in something sort of intense, like Haettenschweiler,

nešto intenzivnije, poput hatenšvajlera

or something with a zesty bounce, like Comic Sans italicized.

ili nešto razigranije, poput italik verzije komik sansa.

Now, these are really ugly fonts,

Sad, ovo su zaista gadni fontovi

and they're difficult fonts to read.

i teško ih je čitati.

But at the end of the semester,

Međutim, na kraju polugođa,

students were given exams,

đaci su imali ispite

and the students who'd been asked to read the more difficult fonts,

i oni đaci od kojih je zahtevano da čitaju teže fontove

had actually done better on their exams,

su zapravo bolje prošli na ispitima

in a variety of subjects.

iz niza predmeta.

And the reason is,

A razlog za to je:

the difficult font had slowed them down,

teški font ih je usporavao,

forced them to work a bit harder,

terao ih je da se malo više trude,

to think a bit more about what they were reading,

da razmišljaju više o onome što su čitali,

to interpret it ...

da to tumače...

and so they learned more.

te su tako više učili.

Another example.

Još jedan primer.

The psychologist Shelley Carson has been testing Harvard undergraduates

Psihološkinja Šeli Karson je testirala studente na Harvardu

for the quality of their attentional filters.

iz kvaliteta njihovih filtera za pažnju.

What do I mean by that?

Šta pod time podrazumevam?

What I mean is, imagine you're in a restaurant,

To znači, zamislite da ste u restoranu

you're having a conversation,

razgovarate,

there are all kinds of other conversations going on in the restaurant,

razni se drugi razgovori vode u restoranu,

you want to filter them out,

želećete da ih filtrirate,

you want to focus on what's important to you.

želećete da se usredsredite na ono što je vama važno.

Can you do that?

Možete li to da uradite?

If you can, you have good, strong attentional filters.

Ako možete, imate dobre, snažne filtere za pažnju.

But some people really struggle with that.

Međutim nekim ljudima je to teško.

Some of Carson's undergraduate subjects struggled with that.

Nekim Karsoninim studentima je to bilo teško.

They had weak filters, they had porous filters --

Imali su slabe filtere, imali su porozne filtere -

let a lot of external information in.

koji su propuštali mnogo informacija spolja.

And so what that meant is they were constantly being interrupted

A to je značilo da su stalno bili ometani

by the sights and the sounds of the world around them.

prizorima i zvucima iz sveta koji ih okružuje.

If there was a television on while they were doing their essays,

Ako je televizija bila uključena dok bi radili eseje,

they couldn't screen it out.

nisu mogli da je ignorišu.

Now, you would think that that was a disadvantage ...

E sad, pomislili biste da je to nedostatak...

but no.

ali nije.

When Carson looked at what these students had achieved,

Kada je Karson pogledala šta su ovi studenti postigli,

the ones with the weak filters

oni sa slabijim filterima

were vastly more likely

su uveliko bili skoloniji

to have some real creative milestone in their lives,

nekim istinski kreativnim prekretnicama u njihovim životima:

to have published their first novel,

objavili su svoj prvi roman,

to have released their first album.

objavili svoj prvi album.

These distractions were actually grists to their creative mill.

Ova ometanja su zapravo bila žito u njihovom kreativnom mlinu.

They were able to think outside the box because their box was full of holes.

Bili su u stanju da misle van kalupa jer su njihovi kalupi bili puni rupa.

Let's talk about complexity science.

Razgovarajmo o kompleksnoj nauci.

So how do you solve a really complex --

Kako da rešite zaista složen problem -

the world's full of complicated problems --

svet je pun komplikovanih problema -

how do you solve a really complicated problem?

kako da rešite uistinu komplikovan problem?

Na primer, pokušavate da napravite mlazni motor.

For example, you try to make a jet engine.

There are lots and lots of different variables,

Imate gomile i gomile različitih varijabli,

the operating temperature, the materials,

temperaturu rada, materijale,

all the different dimensions, the shape.

sve te različite dimenzije, oblik.

You can't solve that kind of problem all in one go,

Ne možete rešiti takav problem u jednom pokušaju,

it's too hard.

isuviše je težak.

So what do you do?

Pa šta da radite?

Well, one thing you can do is try to solve it step-by-step.

Pa, možete jedno da uradite, da pokušate da ga rešite korak po korak.

So you have some kind of prototype

Dakle, imate nekakav prototip

and you tweak it, you test it, you improve it.

i podešavate ga, testirate ga, poboljšavate ga.

You tweak it, you test it, you improve it.

Podešavate ga, testirate ga, poboljšavate ga.

Now, this idea of marginal gains will eventually get you a good jet engine.

Sad, ova zamisao o marginalnoj dobiti će vam vremenom doneti dobar mlazni motor.

And it's been quite widely implemented in the world.

I prilično je široko primenjivana u svetu.

So you'll hear about it, for example, in high performance cycling,

Pa ćete čuti za nju, na primer, u profesionalnom biciklizmu,

web designers will talk about trying to optimize their web pages,

veb dizajneri govore o pokušaju optimizacije svojih veb strana,

they're looking for these step-by-step gains.

traže te postupne dobiti.

That's a good way to solve a complicated problem.

To je dobar način da rešite komplikovan problem.

But you know what would make it a better way?

Ali znate koji bi bio bolji način?

A dash of mess.

Mala količina nereda.

You add randomness,

Dodate nasumičnost,

early on in the process,

rano u postupku,

you make crazy moves,

pravite lude pokrete,

you try stupid things that shouldn't work,

isprobavate gluposti koje neće funkcionisati

and that will tend to make the problem-solving work better.

i zahvaljujući tome rešavanje problema bolje uspeva.

And the reason for that is

A razlog za to je

the trouble with the step-by-step process,

što je problem s postupnim procesom,

the marginal gains,

s marginalnim dobitima,

is they can walk you gradually down a dead end.

što vas postupno mogu dovesti u ćorsokak.

And if you start with the randomness, that becomes less likely,

A ako započnete nasumičnošću to postaje manje verovatno

and your problem-solving becomes more robust.

i vaše rešavanje problema postaje spretnije.

Let's talk about social psychology.

Razgovarajmo o psihologiji društva.

So the psychologist Katherine Phillips, with some colleagues,

Dakle, psihološkinja Ketrin Filips je s nekim kolegama

recently gave murder mystery problems to some students,

nedavno zadala nekim studentima krimi misteriju,

and these students were collected in groups of four

a studenti su okupljeni u četvoročlane grupe

and they were given dossiers with information about a crime --

i dati su im dosijei s informacijama o zločinu -

alibis and evidence, witness statements and three suspects.

alibiji i dokazi, izjave svedoka i tri osumnjičena.

And the groups of four students were asked to figure out who did it,

A od tih četvoročlanih grupa je traženo da otkriju ubicu,

who committed the crime.

počinioca zločina.

And there were two treatments in this experiment.

U ovom eksperimentu se postupalo dvojako.

In some cases these were four friends,

U nekim slučajevima se radilo o četiri prijatelja,

they all knew each other well.

svi su se poznavali veoma dobro.

In other cases,

U drugim slučajevima,

three friends and a stranger.

bila su tri prijatelja i stranac.

And you can see where I'm going with this.

I naslućujete na šta ciljam ovim.

Obviously I'm going to say

Očigledno ću da kažem

that the groups with the stranger solved the problem more effectively,

da su grupe sa strancem efikasnije rešile problem,

which is true, they did.

što je istina, jesu.

Actually, they solved the problem quite a lot more effectively.

Zapravo su rešili problem daleko efikasnije.

So the groups of four friends,

Dakle, grupe sa četiri prijatelja,

they only had a 50-50 chance of getting the answer right.

su imale samo šansu 50-50 da dođu do tačnog rešenja.

Which is actually not that great --

Što i nije tako sjajno -

in multiple choice, for three answers? 50-50's not good.

višestruki izbor za tri pitanja? 50-50 nije dobro.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The three friends and the stranger,

Tri prijatelja i stranac,

even though the stranger didn't have any extra information,

iako stranac nije imao nikakve dodatne informacije,

even though it was just a case

iako je to prosto bio slučaj

of how that changed the conversation to accommodate that awkwardness,

o tome kako to menja razgovor da bi se prilagodilo neprijatnosti,

the three friends and the stranger,

tri prijatelja i stranac,

they had a 75 percent chance of finding the right answer.

imali su 75 posto šanse da otkriju pravo rešenje.

That's quite a big leap in performance.

To je priličan skok u učinkovitosti.

But I think what's really interesting

Ali smatram da je zaista zanimljivo,

is not just that the three friends and the stranger did a better job,

ne samo to da su tri prijatelja i stranac bolje odradili posao,

but how they felt about it.

već kako su se osećali zbog toga.

So when Katherine Phillips interviewed the groups of four friends,

Pa kad je Ketrin Filips intervjuisala grupe od četiri prijatelja,

they had a nice time,

bilo im je lepo,

they also thought they'd done a good job.

i smatrali su da su dobro odradili posao.

They were complacent.

Bili su zadovoljni.

When she spoke to the three friends and the stranger,

Kada je razgovarala s tri prijatelja i strancem,

they had not had a nice time --

njima nije bilo lepo -

it's actually rather difficult, it's rather awkward ...

zapravo je prilično teško, prilično čudno...

and they were full of doubt.

i bili su ispunjeni sumnjom.

They didn't think they'd done a good job even though they had.

Nisu smatrali da su odradilii dobro posao, iako jesu.

And I think that really exemplifies

I smatram da to zaista predočava

the challenge that we're dealing with here.

izazov s kojim se ovde suočavamo.

Because, yeah --

Jer, da -

the ugly font,

gadni font,

the awkward stranger,

čudni stranac,

the random move ...

nasumični pokret...

these disruptions help us solve problems,

ovi poremećaji nam pomažu u rešavanju problema,

they help us become more creative.

pomažu nam da budemo kreativniji.

But we don't feel that they're helping us.

Međutim, ne osećamo da nam pomažu.

We feel that they're getting in the way ...

Osećamo da nam stoje na putu...

and so we resist.

pa se zato opiremo.

And that's why the last example is really important.

I zato je poslednji primer zaista važan.

So I want to talk about somebody

Želim da vam pričam o nekome

from the background of the world of rock 'n' roll.

sa iskustvom u svetu rokenrola.

And you may know him, he's actually a TED-ster.

Možda ga poznajete, on je zapravo TED-ovac.

His name is Brian Eno.

Zove se Brajan Ino.

He is an ambient composer -- rather brilliant.

On je ambijentalni kompozitor - krajnje briljantan.

He's also a kind of catalyst

Takođe je poput katalizatora

behind some of the great rock 'n' roll albums of the last 40 years.

iza nekih od najuspešnijih rok albuma u poslednjih 40 godina.

He's worked with David Bowie on "Heroes,"

Sarađivao je s Dejvidom Bouvijem na albumu "Heroes",

he worked with U2 on "Achtung Baby" and "The Joshua Tree,"

sarađivao je s U2 na "Achtung Baby" i na "The Joshua Tree",

he's worked with DEVO,

sarađivao je s DEVO-m,

he's worked with Coldplay, he's worked with everybody.

Sarađivao je s Koldplejom, sarađivao je sa svima.

And what does he do to make these great rock bands better?

A šta on radi da bi učinio ove rok bendove boljim?

Well, he makes a mess.

Pa, pravi nered.

He disrupts their creative processes.

Remeti njihove kreativne procese.

It's his role to be the awkward stranger.

Njegova uloga je da bude čudni stranac.

It's his role to tell them

Njegova je uloga da im kaže

that they have to play the unplayable piano.

da moraju da sviraju na nefunkcionalnom klaviru.

And one of the ways in which he creates this disruption

A jedan od načina na koji ih ometa

is through this remarkable deck of cards --

je putem ovog neverovatnog špila karata -

I have my signed copy here -- thank you, Brian.

ovo je moj primerak s potpisom - hvala ti, Brajane.

They're called The Oblique Strategies,

Zovu ih indirektnim strategijama,

he developed them with a friend of his.

a razvio ih je sa njegovim prijateljem.

And when they're stuck in the studio,

Kada zaglave u studiju,

Brian Eno will reach for one of the cards.

Brajan Ino poseže za jednom od karata.

He'll draw one at random,

Izvlači nasumice jednu

and he'll make the band follow the instructions on the card.

i tera bend da prati uputstva s karte.

So this one ...

Na ovoj piše...

"Promenite instrumente."

"Change instrument roles."

Yeah, everyone swap instruments -- Drummer on the piano --

Da, svako menja instrumente - bubnjar prelazi za klavir -

Brilliant, brilliant idea.

Briljantna, briljantna ideja.

"Look closely at the most embarrassing details. Amplify them."

"Pažljivo osmotrite najsramotnije delove. Naglasite ih."

"Make a sudden, destructive, unpredictable action. Incorporate."

"Napravite iznenadan, štetan, nepredvidljiv pokret. Uvrstite ga."

These cards are disruptive.

Ove karte ometaju.

Now, they've proved their worth in album after album.

Sad, dokazale su svoju vrednost na albumu za albumom.

The musicians hate them.

Muzičari ih mrze.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So Phil Collins was playing drums on an early Brian Eno album.

Dakle, Fil Kolins je svirao bubnjeve na jednom ranom albumu Brajana Inoa.

He got so frustrated he started throwing beer cans across the studio.

Toliko se iznervirao da je počeo da baca limenke piva po studiju.

Carlos Alomar, great rock guitarist,

Karlos Alomar, veliki rok gitarista,

working with Eno on David Bowie's "Lodger" album,

sarađivao je s Inom na albumu Dejvida Bouvija "Lodger"

and at one point he turns to Brian and says,

i u jednom trenutku se okrenuo Brajanu i rekao:

"Brian, this experiment is stupid."

"Brajane, ovaj eksperiment je glup."

But the thing is it was a pretty good album,

Međutim radi se o tome da je to veoma dobar album,

but also,

ali takođe,

Carlos Alomar, 35 years later, now uses The Oblique Strategies.

Karlos Alomar, 35 godina kasnije sada koristi indirektne strategije.

And he tells his students to use The Oblique Strategies

I govori svojim studentima da koriste indirektne strategije

because he's realized something.

jer je shvatio nešto.

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it isn't helping you.

Samo zato što vam se nešto ne sviđa, ne znači da vam ne pomaže.

The strategies actually weren't a deck of cards originally,

Strategije prvobitno nisu bile špil karata,

they were just a list --

prosto su bile lista -

list on the recording studio wall.

lista na zidu studija za snimanje.

A checklist of things you might try if you got stuck.

Spisak stvari koje možete da isprobate kad ste u škripcu.

The list didn't work.

Lista nije funkcionisala.

Know why?

Znate li zašto?

Not messy enough.

Nije bila dovoljno neuredna.

Your eye would go down the list

Vaše oko bi prešlo preko liste

and it would settle on whatever was the least disruptive,

i zapelo bi na nečemu što najmanje ometa,

the least troublesome,

što je najmanje problematično,

which of course misses the point entirely.

što naravno u potpunosti promašuje poentu.

And what Brian Eno came to realize was,

A Brajan Ino je shvatio

yes, we need to run the stupid experiments,

da moramo da sprovodimo glupe eksperimente,

we need to deal with the awkward strangers,

moramo da se bavimo čudnim strancima,

we need to try to read the ugly fonts.

moramo da pokušamo da čitamo gadne fontove.

These things help us.

Ove stvari nam pomažu.

They help us solve problems,

Pomažu da rešimo probleme,

they help us be more creative.

pomažu nam da budemo kreativniji.

But also ...

Ali takođe...

we really need some persuasion if we're going to accept this.

zaista nam je potrebno ubeđivanje da bismo ovo prihvatili.

So however we do it ...

Pa kako god da to uradimo...

whether it's sheer willpower,

bilo pukom snagom volje,

whether it's the flip of a card

bilo okretanjem karte

or whether it's a guilt trip from a German teenager,

ili zamkom krivice nemačke tinejdžerke,

all of us, from time to time,

svi mi, s vremena na vreme,

need to sit down and try and play the unplayable piano.

moramo da sednemo i pokušamo da sviramo na nefunkcionalnom klaviru.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)