Where joy hides and how to find it | Ingrid Fetell Lee

翻译人员: Hong Li 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

It's 2008,

那是2008年，

and I'm just finishing my first year of design school.

我刚刚完成 设计学院第一年的课程。

And I'm at my first year-end review,

第一学年末的评审正在进行，

which is a form of ritual torture for design students,

这几乎算是每个 学设计的学生的噩梦，

where they make you take everything you made over the course of the year

因为需要你把 这一年课程中所有的作品

and lay it out on a table

摆在桌上，

and stand next to it while a bunch of professors,

你站在桌边，一群教授，

most of whom you've never seen before,

他们中的大部分你可能都没见过，

give you their unfiltered opinions of it.

会直接给出他们的意见。

So it's my turn and I'm standing next to my table,

轮到我了，我站在自己的桌子旁，

everything neatly lined up,

所有东西整齐排成一行，

and I'm just hoping that my professors can see

我只希望我的教授能看到

how much effort I've put into making my designs practical

我为我的设计付出了多少努力，

and ergonomic and sustainable.

让它们实用， 符合人体工学，且可持续。

And I'm starting to get really nervous,

但我开始越来越紧张，

because for a long time, no one says anything.

因为很长一段时间都没人说话。

It's just completely silent.

一片寂静。

And then one of the professors starts to speak, and he says,

终于一位教授开口了，他说，

"Your work gives me a feeling of joy."

“你的作品让我感到快乐。”

Joy?

快乐？

I wanted to be a designer because I wanted to solve real problems.

我做设计师是为了解决真正的问题。

Joy is nice, I guess, but it's kind of light --

快乐算是不错的评价吧， 但是没什么分量……

not substantial.

不是那么实在。

But I was also kind of intrigued,

但我也觉得好奇，

because joy is this intangible feeling,

因为快乐是一种无形的感受，

and how does that come from the stuff on the table next to me?

为什么我桌子上的东西 会带来这种感觉呢？

I asked the professors,

我问教授，

"How do things make us feel joy?

“事物如何让我们感到快乐呢？

How do tangible things make us feel intangible joy?"

有形的事物怎么会 让我们感受到无形的快乐呢？”

They hemmed and hawed and gestured a lot with their hands.

他们嘀嘀咕咕， 挥舞双手比划了半天，

说，“它们就是会这样！”

"They just do," they said.

I packed up my things for the summer,

我收拾完行李准备过暑假，

but I couldn't stop thinking about this question ...

但还是忍不住在想这个问题，

and this launched a journey --

它也让我开始了一段旅程——

one that I didn't know at the time would take me 10 years --

当时我并不知道 这段旅程会持续10年之久——

to understand the relationship between the physical world

我想去理解物理世界 和这神秘而虚幻的，

and the mysterious, quixotic emotion we call "joy."

我们称之为“快乐”的情感 到底有什么关系。

And what I discovered is that not only are they linked,

我发现，它们之间不仅有联系，

but that the physical world can be a powerful resource to us

而且物理世界对我们来说，

in creating happier, healthier lives.

可以成为打造更快乐， 更健康生活的有利资源。

After my review,

在那次评审过后，

I thought, "I know what joy feels like,

我在想，“我知道快乐是什么感觉，

but what is it, exactly?"

但快乐到底是什么呢？”

And I found that even scientists don't always agree,

我发现就连科学家 也得不出一致的结论，

and they sometimes use the words "joy" and "happiness" and "positivity"

他们有时候会将“快乐” “幸福”和“乐观”这几个词

more or less interchangeably.

互换着来用。

But broadly speaking, when psychologists use the word joy,

但大体上来说，当心理学家 使用快乐这个词的时候，

what they mean is an intense, momentary experience

他们所指的是一种强烈却短暂的，

of positive emotion --

乐观的情绪过程，

one that makes us smile and laugh and feel like we want to jump up and down.

会让我们微笑、大笑， 兴奋得想要跳起来。

And this is actually a technical thing.

其实这是一种技术性的过程。

那种想跳起来的感觉

That feeling of wanting to jump up and down

是衡量快乐的一种方式。

is one of the ways that scientists measure joy.

It's different than happiness,

这跟幸福有所不同，

which measures how good we feel over time.

幸福是一种更加长久的感觉。

Joy is about feeling good in the moment,

而快乐指的是在那一刻感觉很好，

right now.

是当下的感觉。

And this was interesting to me

这一点让我很感兴趣，

because as a culture, we are obsessed with the pursuit of happiness,

因为作为一种文化， 我们总是痴迷于追求幸福，

and yet in the process, we kind of overlook joy.

然而在这个过程中， 我们往往忽略了快乐。

So this got me thinking:

这不禁让我思考：

Where does joy come from?

快乐到底是从何而来的？

I started asking everyone I knew,

我开始询问每一个认识的人，

and even people I just met on the street,

甚至是在街头偶遇的人，

about the things that brought them joy.

是什么让他们感到快乐。

On the subway, in a café, on an airplane,

在地铁上、咖啡馆中、飞机上，

it was, "Hi, nice to meet you. What brings you joy?"

我开门见山，“嗨，很高兴认识你。 什么会让你感到快乐呢？”

I felt like a detective.

我感觉自己像个侦探，不停问

I was like, "When did you last see it?

“你最近一次看到 让你快乐的东西是什么时候？

Who were you with? What color was it?

当时你跟谁在一起？ 它是什么颜色的？

Did anyone else see it?"

还有其他人也看到它了吗？”

I was the Nancy Drew of joy.

我就是快乐界的神探南希。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And after a few months of this, I noticed that there were certain things

几个月后，我发现 有一些特定的事物

that started to come up again and again and again.

会一而再，再而三的出现。

They were things like cherry blossoms

比如樱花，

and bubbles ...

肥皂泡，

swimming pools and tree houses ...

游泳池，树屋，

hot air balloons and googly eyes --

热气球，还有大眼睛——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and ice cream cones, especially the ones with the sprinkles.

还有冰淇淋甜筒， 尤其是上面撒了糖豆的那种。

These things seemed to cut across lines of age and gender and ethnicity.

这些东西跨越了年龄、 性别和种族的界限。

I mean, if you think about it,

仔细想想，

我们都会停下脚步， 抬头看向天空，

we all stop and turn our heads to the sky

只因为有一道绚丽的 彩虹横跨半空。

when the multicolored arc of a rainbow streaks across it.

And fireworks --

还有烟火，

we don't even need to know what they're for,

我们都不需要知道是在庆祝什么，

and we feel like we're celebrating, too.

心里也会有喜庆的感觉。

These things aren't joyful for just a few people;

这些东西不仅仅 会让一部分人感到快乐，

they're joyful for nearly everyone.

它们几乎对所有人都有效，

They're universally joyful.

会让所有人开心。

And seeing them all together,

看到这些东西在一起出现，

it gave me this indescribably hopeful feeling.

让我有一种难以描述的、 充满希望的感觉。

The sharply divided, politically polarized world we live in

我们生活在一个分化严重、 政治对立的世界，

sometimes has the effect of making our differences feel so vast

有时候人与人之间的 差异如此巨大，

as to be insurmountable.

巨大到仿佛无法跨越。

And yet underneath it all,

然而在表象之下，

there's a part of each of us that finds joy in the same things.

我们还是能 在相同的事物中找到快乐。

And though we're often told that these are just passing pleasures,

尽管别人经常会告诉我们， 这些乐趣转瞬即逝，

in fact, they're really important,

但实际上，它们还是挺重要的，

because they remind us of the shared humanity we find

因为它们能提醒我们， 我们有着共同的人性，

in our common experience of the physical world.

这来源于我们在探索 物理世界时共同的经历。

But I still needed to know:

但我还是需要搞清楚：

What is it about these things that makes them so joyful?

这些让他们快乐的事物 到底是怎么回事？

I had pictures of them up on my studio wall,

我把这些照片挂在工作室的墙上，

and every day, I would come in and try to make sense of it.

每天我都会去那里，想弄清楚原因。

And then one day, something just clicked.

突然有一天，我恍然大悟。

I saw all these patterns:

我发现了某些规律：

round things ...

圆形的东西，

pops of bright color ...

绚丽的色彩，

symmetrical shapes ...

对称的形状，

a sense of abundance and multiplicity ...

丰富和多样性，

a feeling of lightness or elevation.

明亮或者在高空的感觉。

When I saw it this way,

用这种方式来观察的时候，

I realized that though the feeling of joy is mysterious and elusive,

我发现尽管快乐的感觉 有点神秘。又难以捕捉，

we can access it through tangible, physical attributes,

但我们可以通过一些 可触摸的、物理的特性来得到它，

or what designers call aesthetics,

或者用设计师的话说，通过审美，

a word that comes from the same root as the Greek word "aísthomai,"

这个词来源于希腊语的 同根词“aisthomai”，

which means, "I feel," "I sense," "I perceive."

意思是我感觉，我感受，我察觉。

And since these patterns were telling me that joy begins with the senses,

这些规律告诉我们， 快乐来源于感觉，

I began calling them "Aesthetics of Joy";

我于是称之为“快乐审美”，

the sensations of joy.

也就是对于快乐的感知。

And in the wake of this discovery,

伴随着这个发现，

我开始注意身边的一些事情，

I noticed something that as I walked around,

I began spotting little moments of joy everywhere I went --

留意那些让我快乐的瞬间， 无论我身处何处——

a vintage yellow car

一辆复古的黄色小汽车，

or a clever piece of street art.

一件巧妙的街头艺术。

It was like I had a pair of rose-colored glasses,

我觉得自己就像 戴着一副粉红眼镜，

and now that I knew what to look for,

知道自己在找什么之后，

I was seeing it everywhere.

我在哪儿都能找到快乐。

It was like these little moments of joy were hidden in plain sight.

这些快乐的小瞬间 就藏在我们眼皮底下。

And at the same time,

与此同时，

I had another realization,

我还发现，

that if these are the things that bring us joy,

如果刚刚提到的这些东西 能带给我们快乐，

then why does so much of the world look like this?

那为什么很多地方 看起来是这样的？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Why do we go to work here?

为什么我们要去这样的地方上班？

Why do we send our kids to schools that look like this?

为什么我们要把孩子 送到这样的地方上学？

Why do our cities look like this?

为什么我们的城市是这样的？

And this is most acute for the places that house the people

而下面这些地方是最糟糕的，

that are most vulnerable among us:

因为我们中间 最脆弱的那些人住在这里：

nursing homes,

疗养院，

hospitals,

医院，

homeless shelters,

收容所，

housing projects.

住宅项目。

How did we end up in a world that looks like this?

为什么我们的世界 会变成这个样子？

We all start out joyful,

我们小时候都非常快乐，

but as we get older,

但随着年龄的增长，

being colorful or exuberant opens us up to judgment.

太过色彩绚丽或者热情洋溢 会让我们遭受非议。

Adults who exhibit genuine joy are often dismissed as childish

成年人如果展现出纯粹的快乐， 经常就会被误解为孩子气，

or too feminine

或者太女性化，

or unserious

或者不够严肃，

or self-indulgent,

或者有些自我放纵，

and so we hold ourselves back from joy,

于是我们开始远离快乐，

and we end up in a world that looks like this.

于是我们的世界 就变成了这个样子。

But if the aesthetics of joy can be used

但如果快乐审美能帮助我们

to help us find more joy in the world around us,

在身边发现更多快乐，

then couldn't they also be used to create more joy?

那它能不能帮助 我们制造快乐呢？

I spent that last two years scouring the planet,

我花了至少两年的时间四处寻觅，

looking for different ways that people have answered this question.

寻找不同的人来回答这个问题。

And this led me to the work of the artist Arakawa

我找到了画家阿拉卡瓦，

and the poet Madeline Gins,

还有诗人玛德琳 · 基恩斯，

who believed that these kinds of environments are literally killing us.

他们认为这样的环境正在毁灭我们。

And so they set out the create an apartment building

于是他们打算建一栋公寓楼，

that they believed would reverse aging.

可以帮助我们逆生长。

And this is it.

它长这样。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

It's a real place, just outside Tokyo.

这栋房子真的存在， 就在东京郊外。

I spent a night there, and it's a lot.

我在那儿住过一晚， 但那一晚有点漫长。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The floors undulate,

地板是起伏不平的，

so you don't end up walking around

因此你无法在屋子里正常行走，

so much as kind of bouncing around the apartment,

只能跌跌撞撞地前进，

and there are bright colors in every direction.

到处是明亮的色彩。

I'm not sure I left any younger,

我不知道离开的时候 有没有变年轻一点，

but it's as if, by trying to create an apartment

但他们的确是想建一所公寓，

that would make us feel youthful,

可以让我们感觉年轻，

they ended up creating one that was joyful.

这所公寓给我们带来了快乐。

And yes, this is a bit much for everyday life,

当然，如果每天都这样， 会有点吃不消，

but it made me wonder: What about the rest of us?

但是这让我思考： 我们其他人该怎么办呢？

How do we bring these ideas back into the real world?

我们如何把这些想法带回给大众？

So I started finding people who were doing just that.

于是我开始寻找 那些在做同样事情的人。

For example, this hospital, designed by the Danish artist Poul Gernes.

比如这家医院， 是丹麦画家波尔 · 杰恩斯设计的。

Or these schools,

还有这些学校，

transformed by the non-profit Publicolor.

由非盈利机构“公众色彩”改造。

What's interesting is that Publicolor has heard from school administrators

有意思的是，“公众色彩” 从学校管理者那里得到反馈，

who say that attendance improves,

说出勤率上升了，

graffiti disappears

也没有涂鸦了，

and kids actually say they feel safer in these painted schools.

孩子们说，彩色的学校 让他们感到更安全。

And this aligns with research conducted in four countries,

有一项在4个国家开展的研究 也证实了这一点，

which shows that people working in more colorful offices

在彩色办公室里工作的人

are actually more alert,

会更加机敏，

more confident

更加自信，

and friendlier than those working in drab spaces.

更加友好，比那些 在单色调办公室的人表现要好。

Why would this be the case?

为什么会这样呢？

Well, as I started to trace back our love of color,

我开始回顾我们对色彩的喜爱，

I found that some researchers see a connection to our evolution.

我发现，有些研究者认为 这跟我们的进化有关。

Color, in a very primal way, is a sign of life, a sign of energy.

颜色，从最原始的角度来看， 象征着生命和活力。

And the same is true of abundance.

同时也象征着真正的富足。

We evolved in a world where scarcity is dangerous,

在我们生存的世界，匮乏是危险的，

and abundance meant survival.

而富足意味着生存。

So, one confetto --

所以，一片小纸屑 （confetto）——

which happens to be the singular of confetti,

就是漫天飞舞的 纸屑（confetti）中的一片，

in case you were wondering --

是的，我就是这么精确——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

isn't very joyful,

并不那么有趣，

but multiply it,

但如果是很多纸屑，

and you have a handful of one of the most joyful substances

你就拥有了这个星球上

on the planet.

最有趣的东西。

The architect Emmanuelle Moureaux uses this idea in her work a lot.

建筑师爱玛努埃勒 · 穆罗 在很多作品中运用了这一点。

This is a nursing home she designed,

这是她设计的一座疗养院，

where she uses these multicolored spheres to create a feeling of abundance.

她用许多五颜六色的球体 来营造一种富足的感觉。

And what about all those round things I noticed?

关于圆形的东西， 我有什么发现呢？

Well, it turns out neuroscientists have studied this, too.

神经学家已经做过研究。

They put people into fMRI machines,

他们把人放进功能性磁共振成像机，

and they showed them pictures of angular objects and round ones.

分别给他们看带尖角的 和圆形的物体。

And what they found is that the amygdala,

他们发现杏仁核，

a part of the brain associated in part with fear and anxiety,

就是大脑中与恐惧 和焦虑有关的部分，

lit up when people looked at angular objects,

会在看向尖锐物体的时候被点亮，

but not when they looked at the round ones.

而看向圆形物体的时候则没有。

They speculate that because angles in nature

他们推测因为自然界中的尖角，

are often associated with objects that might be dangerous to us,

往往跟危险的东西有关，

that we evolved an unconscious sense of caution around these shapes,

于是看到尖锐的物体， 我们会下意识地变得警觉，

whereas curves set us at ease.

而曲线会让我们放松。

You can see this in action in the new Sandy Hook Elementary School.

这一发现已经在 桑迪 · 胡克小学得以应用。

After the mass shooting there in 2012,

2012年大规模枪击案发生后，

the architects Svigals + Partners

建筑师斯维格斯和他的同事们

knew that they needed to create a building that was secure,

知道他们需要建一栋安全的建筑，

but they wanted to create one that was joyful,

但他们想建一栋有趣的建筑，

and so they filled it with curves.

于是他们运用了很多曲线的设计。

There are waves running along the side of the building,

建筑物的边是波浪形的，

and these squiggly canopies over the entryway,

入口通道的顶棚也是弯曲的，

and the whole building bends toward the entrance

整栋建筑向着入口弯曲

in a welcoming gesture.

摆出欢迎的姿势。

Each moment of joy is small,

快乐的时光总是短暂的，

but over time, they add up to more than the sum of their parts.

但随着时间推移， 这些快乐会叠加出更明显的效果。

And so maybe instead of chasing after happiness,

所以与其去追求幸福，

what we should be doing is embracing joy

其实我们更应该拥抱快乐，

and finding ways to put ourselves in the path of it more often.

想办法让自己在 快乐的路上停留更久。

Deep within us,

因为在内心深处，

we all have this impulse to seek out joy in our surroundings.

我们都想在自己周围寻找快乐。

And we have it for a reason.

这是有原因的。

Joy isn't some superfluous extra.

快乐并不是锦上添花的事情。

It's directly connected to our fundamental instinct for survival.

它直接与我们的生存本能相关联。

On the most basic level,

从最基本的层面来说，

the drive toward joy is the drive toward life.

追求快乐，就是追求生命。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

Thank you,

谢谢各位。

thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）