Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!

翻译人员: Yingzhi Vera Gu 校对人员: Karen SONG

So I just want to tell you my story.

我想跟大家谈谈我的故事。

I spend a lot of time

我的很多时间都用在

teaching adults how to use visual language

指导成年人怎样在工作中使用视觉化语言

and doodling in the workplace.

还有涂鸦。

And naturally, I encounter a lot of resistance,

自然，我遇到很多抵触

because it's considered to be anti-intellectual

因为有人认为这样做不理性

and counter to serious learning.

而且不严肃。

But I have a problem with that belief,

但是我不这样认为

because I know that doodling has a profound impact

因为我知道涂鸦

on the way that we can process information

对于我们处理信息

and the way that we can solve problems.

和解决问题的方式有深远的影响。

So I was curious about why there was a disconnect

所以我就纳闷——为什么

between the way our society perceives doodling

社会上对于涂鸦的看法

and the way that the reality is.

和涂鸦真正的功能是脱节的呢？

So I discovered some very interesting things.

我发现了一些非常有趣的事实

For example, there's no such thing

比如说，对doodle 这个词

as a flattering definition of a doodle.

没有任何一种解释是褒义的。

In the 17th century, a doodle was a simpleton or a fool --

在17世纪，doodle 是傻瓜、笨蛋的意思

as in Yankee Doodle.

就像扬基歌中唱的那样。

In the 18th century, it became a verb,

到了18世纪，它变成了一个动词

and it meant to swindle or ridicule or to make fun of someone.

意思是欺骗、嘲弄、或取笑某人

In the 19th century, it was a corrupt politician.

到了19世纪，这个词指贪污的政客

And today, we have what is perhaps our most offensive definition,

而现在，这个词拥有了有史以来最讨厌的定义

at least to me, which is the following:

至少在我看来是最讨厌的，那就是：

To doodle officially means

Doodle的正式定义是

to dawdle,

偷懒，

to dilly dally, to monkey around,

吊儿郎当、鬼混胡闹、

to make meaningless marks,

涂画无意义的记号，

to do something of little value, substance or import,

做没有价值、没有实质、没有重要性的事情，

and -- my personal favorite --

还有——我认为最绝的——

to do nothing.

无所事事。

No wonder people are averse to doodling at work.

难怪人们反对在工作中涂鸦。

Doing nothing at work is akin to masturbating at work;

在工作时无所事事与在工作时手淫一样

it's totally inappropriate.

是完全不恰当的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Additionally, I've heard horror stories

此外，我还听说了一些恐怖的故事

from people whose teachers scolded them, of course, for doodling in classrooms.

一些人因为在上课时涂鸦而被老师责骂

And they have bosses who scold them for doodling in the boardroom.

还有在开会时涂鸦而被上司批评。

There is a powerful cultural norm against doodling

社会上排斥涂鸦的文化定式是很强大的

in settings in which we are supposed to learn something.

在这样的文化定式中学习应该是很严肃的一件事。

And unfortunately,

遗憾的是

the press tends to reinforce this norm

媒体倾向于加强这种文化定式

when they're reporting on a doodling scene --

当记者们得以报道

of an important person at a confirmation hearing and the like --

某位要员在国会中涂鸦的场景时

they typically use words like "discovered"

他们通常会用“撞见”

or "caught" or "found out,"

“被捉到”或者“查出”这类词

as if there's some sort of criminal act being committed.

就好像涂鸦就是犯了某种罪行一样。

And additionally, there is a psychological aversion to doodling --

另外，人们对于涂鸦有一种心理厌恶。

thank you, Freud.

谢了，弗洛伊德。

In the 1930s, Freud told us all

在20世纪30年代，弗洛伊德告诉我们

that you could analyze people's psyches

你可以根据人们的涂鸦

based on their doodles.

来分析他们的心理

This is not accurate, but it did happen to Tony Blair

这种分析并不准确，但托尼·布莱尔就中过招

at the Davos Forum in 2005,

在2005年达沃斯论坛上

when his doodles were, of course, "discovered"

他的涂鸦被“发现”，

and he was labeled the following things.

并被贴上了这样的标签。

Now it turned out to be Bill Gates' doodle.

现在它变成了比尔·盖茨的涂鸦。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And Bill, if you're here, nobody thinks you're megalomaniacal.

比尔，如果你在场，没有人会认为你是自大狂。

But that does contribute

但这确实导致人们

to people not wanting to share their doodles.

不愿意公开自己的涂鸦。

And here is the real deal. Here's what I believe.

现在我要讲最重要的了。这是我所坚信的。

I think that our culture

我认为我们的文化

is so intensely focused on verbal information

过分关注来自于语言文字的信息

that we're almost blinded to the value of doodling.

而几乎看不到涂鸦的价值

And I'm not comfortable with that.

我觉得这样是不合适的。

And so because of that belief that I think needs to be burst,

正因为我有这样的信念需要传达给大家，

I'm here to send us all hurtling back to the truth.

今天我来到这里，希望把所有人扳回真相的这一边

And here's the truth:

这个真相就是：

doodling is an incredibly powerful tool,

涂鸦是一种极其有用的工具

and it is a tool that we need to remember and to re-learn.

我们要牢记并重新认识这种工具。

So here's a new definition for doodling.

以下是涂鸦这个词新的定义

And I hope there's someone in here from The Oxford English Dictionary,

我希望在座的有来自牛津英语词典的人士

because I want to talk to you later.

因为我想和你稍后谈谈。

Here's the real definition:

这是真实的定义：

Doodling is really to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think.

涂鸦实际上是能帮助你思考的自发性记号

That is why millions of people doodle.

因此成千上万的人涂鸦

Here's another interesting truth about the doodle:

关于涂鸦的另一个有趣的事实是：

People who doodle when they're exposed to verbal information

当人们接收语言文字形式的信息时，涂鸦的人

retain more of that information

比不涂鸦的人

than their non-doodling counterparts.

能记住更多的信息。

We think doodling is something you do when you lose focus,

我们以为人们在注意力涣散时才去涂鸦

but in reality, it is a preemptive measure

但真相却是，涂鸦是一种预防措施

to stop you from losing focus.

而使你的注意力不涣散。

Additionally, it has a profound effect

另外，涂鸦对于

on creative problem-solving

创造性解决问题

and deep information processing.

和深层次信息处理有深远的影响。

There are four ways that learners intake information

学习者通过四种方式来吸收信息

so that they can make decisions.

以便做出决策。

They are visual, auditory,

这就是视觉、听觉、

reading and writing and kinesthetic.

读写、以及运动。

Now in order for us to really chew on information

为了能够完整掌握某种信息

and do something with it,

并活学活用

we have to engage at least two of those modalities,

我们至少要使用其中的两种学习模式

or we have to engage one of those modalities

或者只使用其中的一种学习模式

coupled with an emotional experience.

但要加上自己的情感共鸣。

The incredible contribution of the doodle

涂鸦那令人不可思议的好处就在于

is that it engages all four learning modalities simultaneously

它同时用到了全部四种学习模式

with the possibility of an emotional experience.

也完全可能引起情感共鸣。

That is a pretty solid contribution

这真是一个相当重要的贡献——

for a behavior equated with doing nothing.

对于一个等同于无所事事的行为来说。

This is so nerdy,

虽然有些蠢，

but this made me cry when I discovered this.

可我发现下面这个研究之后真是喜极而泣。

So they did anthropological research

有一项人类学研究

into the unfolding of artistic activity in children,

是关于儿童艺术活动的演进。

and they found that, across space and time,

人们发现，无论来自哪里、哪个年代，

all children exhibit the same evolution in visual logic

所有的孩子在视觉逻辑方面表现出一致的发展规律

as they grow.

伴随他们的成长

In other words, they have a shared and growing

换句话说，他们的视觉语言体系

complexity in visual language

有着共同的发展规律

that happens in a predictable order.

按照一个可以预测的顺序而变得越来越复杂。

And I think that is incredible.

我觉得这是很神奇的。

I think that means doodling is native to us

我想这充分说明了涂鸦是人的天性

and we simply are denying ourselves that instinct.

但是我们在拒绝自己的这种天性。

And finally, a lot a people aren't privy to this,

最后，很多人并不了解.

but the doodle is a precursor

涂鸦草图

to some of our greatest cultural assets.

是我们一些最伟大的文化遗产形成的雏形

This is but one:

举一个例子：

this is Frank Gehry the architect's precursor to the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi.

这是建筑师法兰克·盖瑞(Frank Gehry)完成阿布扎比的古根海姆美术馆的雏形。

So here is my point:

这就是我的观点：

Under no circumstances should doodling be eradicated

无论什么情况下，都不要禁止涂鸦的行为

from a classroom or a boardroom

无论是在教室，在会议室，

or even the war room.

甚至是在作战指挥部。

On the contrary,

相反，

doodling should be leveraged in precisely those situations

在这些场合，应该充分发挥涂鸦的作用

where information density is very high

因为信息过于密集

and the need for processing that information is very high.

而且需要处理的信息量很大

And I will go you one further.

我还想更进一步地来说。

Because doodling is so universally accessible

由于涂鸦是人人皆可的，

and it is not intimidating as an art form,

又不像任何一种艺术形式那样不可亲近

it can be leveraged as a portal

涂鸦可以成为一种很好的手段

through which we move people

来帮助人们

into higher levels of visual literacy.

获得更高的视觉认知能力。

My friends, the doodle has never been

朋友们，涂鸦从来不曾是

the nemesis of intellectual thought.

理智思考的仇敌，

In reality, it is one of its greatest allies.

而事实上，它是最棒的盟友之一。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）