A powerful way to unleash your natural creativity | Tim Harford

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: Cissy Yun 校对人员: TED Translators admin

"To do two things at once is to do neither."

同时做两件事 则两件都做不成。

It's a great smackdown of multitasking, isn't it,

这是对多任务工作方式的 一个巨大打击。

often attributed to the Roman writer Publilius Syrus,

这一概念常被认为是罗马作家 普布利留斯·西罗斯提出的，

although you know how these things are, he probably never said it.

但你也知道这是怎么一回事 他可能从来没有说过这句话。

What I'm interested in, though, is -- is it true?

我感兴趣的是，它正确吗？

I mean, it's obviously true for emailing at the dinner table

我想，这一概念应该是正确的， 若你在餐桌上发邮件，

or texting while driving or possibly for live tweeting at TED Talk, as well.

或在开车时发短信，也可能是 在TED演讲现场推文。

But I'd like to argue that for an important kind of activity,

但我想说的是， 在做一种重要的活动时

doing two things at once -- or three or even four --

双管齐下， 甚至是三、四管齐下

is exactly what we should be aiming for.

正是我们应该追求的目标。

Look no further than Albert Einstein.

看看爱因斯坦就知道了。

In 1905, he published four remarkable scientific papers.

1905 年，他出版了 四篇出色的科学论文。

One of them was on Brownian motion,

其中一个有关布朗运动。

it provided empirical evidence that atoms exist,

它提供了原子存在的实证，

and it laid out the basic mathematics behind most of financial economics.

并阐明了大多数金融经济学背后的 基本数学原理。

Another one was on the theory of special relativity.

另一个是关于 狭义相对论。

Another one was on the photoelectric effect,

还有一个有关光电效应。

that's why solar panels work, it's a nice one.

这就是太阳能电池板的工作原理。

这是篇不错的论文，

Gave him the Nobel prize for that one.

让他得了诺贝尔奖。

And the fourth introduced an equation you might have heard of:

第四篇论文介绍了一个 你可能听说过的方程：

E equals mc squared.

E = mc^2

所以你能再告诉我 你不应该同时做几件事情？

So, tell me again how you shouldn't do several things at once.

Now, obviously, working simultaneously

现在，很明显，同时研究 布朗运动，特殊相对论

on Brownian motion, special relativity and the photoelectric effect --

和光电效应，

it's not exactly the same kind of multitasking

这种多任务处理与 你在看《西部世界》时

as Snapchatting while you're watching "Westworld."

发Snapchat不太一样。

Very different.

非常不一样。

And Einstein, yeah, well, Einstein's -- he's Einstein,

而且，爱因斯坦，

他是爱因斯坦啊！

he's one of a kind, he's unique.

他是独特的，独一无二的。

But the pattern of behavior that Einstein was demonstrating,

但爱因斯坦所展示的行为

that's not unique at all.

并不独特。

It's very common among highly creative people,

在极具创造力的人中很常见， 包括艺术家和科学家，

both artists and scientists,

and I'd like to give it a name:

我想给它起个名字：

slow-motion multitasking.

慢动作多任务处理。

Slow-motion multitasking feels like a counterintuitive idea.

慢动作多任务处理 感觉像是一个违反直觉的想法。

What I'm describing here

我在这描述的是

is having multiple projects on the go at the same time,

同时在承担多个项目，

and you move backwards and forwards between topics as the mood takes you,

但你可以随着自己的心情或 情况的变化

在项目之间移动。

or as the situation demands.

But the reason it seems counterintuitive

但是它看起来违反常理的原因

is because we're used to lapsing into multitasking out of desperation.

在于我们习惯于出于绝望 而一心多用。

We're in a hurry, we want to do everything at once.

我们很着急； 我们想同时做所有事情。

If we were willing to slow multitasking down,

如果我们 愿意放慢多任务处理，

we might find that it works quite brilliantly.

我们会发现 它非常出色。

Sixty years ago, a young psychologist by the name of Bernice Eiduson

六十年前，一位年轻的心理学家 伯妮丝 · 艾杜森

began a long research project

开始了一个漫长的研究项目， 深入了解 40 名领先科学家的

into the personalities and the working habits

of 40 leading scientists.

个性和工作习惯。

Einstein was already dead,

爱因斯坦已逝世，但她研究的其他四位 都得过诺贝尔奖，

but four of her subjects won Nobel prizes,

including Linus Pauling and Richard Feynman.

包括莱纳斯 · 鲍林 和理查德 · 费曼。

The research went on for decades,

这项研究持续了几十年。

事实上，在艾杜森教授去世之后， 它仍在继续。

in fact, it continued even after professor Eiduson herself had died.

And one of the questions that it answered

它回答的一个问题是

was, "How is it that some scientists are able to go on producing important work

一些科学家是如何在有生之年

right through their lives?"

不断从事并出产重要成果？

What is it about these people?

这些人到底是怎么回事？

Is it their personality, is it their skill set,

是他们的个性？

他们的技能？ 还是他们的日常生活？

their daily routines, what?

到底是么？

Well, a pattern that emerged was clear, and I think to some people surprising.

出现的模式很明显， 对一些人来说，也许是令人惊讶的

The top scientists kept changing the subject.

顶尖的科学家会 不断改变研究主题。

They would shift topics repeatedly

他们会不断变换研究方向

during their first 100 published research papers.

在他们发表的前100篇研究论文中。

Do you want to guess how often?

你想猜猜变了多少次吗？

Three times?

三次？

Five times?

五次？

No. On average, the most enduringly creative scientists

不对。

平均而言，最有创造力的科学家

switched topics 43 times in their first 100 research papers.

在发表的前一百篇研究论文中 变换了43次主题。

Seems that the secret to creativity is multitasking

看来，创造力的秘诀是多任务处理，

in slow motion.

慢动作地进行。

Eiduson's research suggests we need to reclaim multitasking

艾杜森的研究表明， 我们需要改造多任务处理，

and remind ourselves how powerful it can be.

并提醒自己 它的有用之处。

And she's not the only person to have found this.

而且她不是唯一发现这个的人。

Different researchers,

不同的研究人员 使用不同的方法

using different methods to study different highly creative people

来研究不同的， 具有高度创造力的人，

have found that very often they have multiple projects in progress

他们发现这些人经常会

at the same time,

同时进行多个项目，而且他们 比我们大多数人更有可能

and they're also far more likely than most of us to have serious hobbies.

拥有专业的爱好。

Slow-motion multitasking among creative people is ubiquitous.

慢动作多任务处理在创意者之间 无处不在。

So, why?

那为什么呢？

I think there are three reasons.

我认为有三个原因，

And the first is the simplest.

第一个是最简单的。

Creativity often comes when you take an idea from its original context

创意往往出现于 把一个想法从原始情景中提取出来，

and you move it somewhere else.

并把它转移到其他地方。

跳出固有思维框架会变简单

It's easier to think outside the box

if you spend your time clambering from one box into another.

若你可以自由移动于 已有的多框架之间。

For an example of this, consider the original eureka moment.

例如， 考虑最初的尤里卡时刻——

Archimedes -- he's wrestling with a difficult problem.

阿基米德。

他在与一个困难的问题博弈，

And he realizes, in a flash,

在一瞬间，他意识到可以用 水的位移来解决这个问题。

he can solve it, using the displacement of water.

And if you believe the story,

如果你相信那个故事， 这是当他泡澡事想到的办法，

this idea comes to him as he's taking a bath,

lowering himself in, and he's watching the water level rise and fall.

降低自己身位，观察 水位上升和下降。

And if solving a problem while having a bath isn't multitasking,

如果在泡澡时解决问题 还不是多任务处理，

I don't know what is.

我不知道什么是了。

The second reason that multitasking can work

多任务处理非常有效的 第二个原因是

is that learning to do one thing well

学做一件事 常常可以帮助你做别的事情。

can often help you do something else.

Any athlete can tell you about the benefits of cross-training.

任何运动员都会 告诉你交叉训练的好处。

It's possible to cross-train your mind, too.

其实你也可以交叉训练 你的头脑。

A few years ago, researchers took 18 randomly chosen medical students

几年前，研究人员 随机选择了18个医科学生，

and they enrolled them in a course at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,

让他们去听一门 在费城艺术博物馆的课程，

where they learned to criticize and analyze works of visual art.

在那里他们学会了鉴赏 视觉艺术作品。

And at the end of the course,

在课程结束时，

these students were compared with a control group

这些学生与

医学院的同窗对照组进行了比较。

of their fellow medical students.

And the ones who had taken the art course

那些参加艺术课程的人在

had become substantially better at performing tasks

分析照片诊断眼部疾病等任务方面

such as diagnosing diseases of the eye by analyzing photographs.

完成得更好。

They'd become better eye doctors.

他们成为更好的眼科医生。

So if we want to become better at what we do,

因此，如果我们想 在自己的工作上变得更好，

maybe we should spend some time doing something else,

也许我们应该花一些时间 做别的事情，

even if the two fields appear to be as completely distinct

即使这两个领域看似毫无联系

as ophthalmology and the history of art.

就像是眼科医疗和艺术史一样。

And if you'd like an example of this,

如果你想要一个例子——

should we go for a less intimidating example than Einstein? OK.

让我们去看看不如爱因斯坦 那么极端的例子？

好的。

Michael Crichton, creator of "Jurassic Park" and "E.R."

迈克尔 · 克里顿，创造了 《侏罗纪公园》和《急诊室故事》。

So in the 1970s, he originally trained as a doctor,

在 20 世纪 70 年代， 他最初受过训练成为医生，

but then he wrote novels

但后来他写了小说，

and he directed the original "Westworld" movie.

他执导了 最初的《西部世界》电影。

But also, and this is less well-known,

但还有——这不太为人所知——

he also wrote nonfiction books,

他还写纪实文学，

about art, about medicine, about computer programming.

有关艺术、医药 和计算机编程。

So in 1995, he enjoyed the fruits of all this variety

所以在 1995 年， 他享受这些的果实，

by penning the world's most commercially successful book.

通过书写了 世界上最商业成功的书籍

And the world's most commercially successful TV series.

和创造了世界上最成功的商业电视剧

And the world's most commercially successful movie.

和商业电影。

In 1996, he did it all over again.

1996 年，他又做到了。

There's a third reason

慢动作多任务处理可以帮助解决问题 有第三个原因是

why slow-motion multitasking can help us solve problems.

It can provide assistance when we're stuck.

当我们陷入困境时， 它可以提供帮助。

This can't happen in an instant.

这可以在瞬间发生。

So, imagine that feeling of working on a crossword puzzle

所以想象一下， 在玩填字游戏时的感觉

and you can't figure out the answer,

你无法想出一个答案。

and the reason you can't is because the wrong answer is stuck in your head.

而你想不出的原因

是因为错误的答案 在你脑中挥之不去。

It's very easy -- just go and do something else.

这很容易解决。

去做别的事情。

You know, switch topics, switch context,

切换主题，切换环境。

you'll forget the wrong answer

你会忘记错误的答案，

and that gives the right answer space to pop into the front of your mind.

让出空间， 使正确的答案弹入脑中。

But on the slower timescale that interests me,

但在我感兴趣的较慢的时间尺度上，

being stuck is a much more serious thing.

被卡住是一个更严重的事情。

You get turned down for funding.

你的资金申请被拒绝了。

Your cell cultures won't grow, your rockets keep crashing.

你的细胞培育不会生长。

你的火箭不断坠毁。

Nobody wants to publish you fantasy novel about a school for wizards.

没有人愿意发表 你的关于一所巫师学校的奇幻小说。

Or maybe you just can't find the solution to the problem that you're working on.

或者，也许你无法找到 解决你正在处理的问题的方法。

And being stuck like that means stasis, stress,

像那样被卡死，

意味着停滞，压力， 甚至抑郁症。

possibly even depression.

But if you have another exciting, challenging project to work on,

但是，如果你还有另一个令人兴奋的、 具有挑战性的项目，

being stuck on one is just an opportunity to do something else.

被困在一个项目上只是 一个做其他事情的机会。

We could all get stuck sometimes, even Albert Einstein.

有时候我们都会被卡住， 爱因斯坦也是这样。

Ten years after the original, miraculous year that I described,

在我刚刚描绘的奇迹年的十年后，

Einstein was putting together the pieces of his theory of general relativity,

爱因斯坦在把他的广义相对论的 碎片理论拼凑在一起，

his greatest achievement.

这是他最大的成就，

And he was exhausted.

但也让他疲惫不堪。

And so he turned to an easier problem.

于是，他转向了一个 较容易的问题。

He proposed the stimulated emission of radiation.

他提出了受激发射（SER），

Which, as you may know, is the S in laser.

你可能知道， 它的缩写就激光（laser）中的”ser“。

So he's laying down the theoretical foundation for the laser beam,

他为激光束奠定了理论基础。

and then, while he's doing that,

然后，当他正研究这个时， 他又回去研究广义相对论，

he moves back to general relativity, and he's refreshed.

他恢复精神振作起来。

He sees what the theory implies --

他明白了理论所暗示的， 即宇宙不是静止的。

that the universe isn't static.

It's expanding.

它是不断扩大的。

It's an idea so staggering,

这是一个如此惊人的想法， 多年，爱因斯坦自己都不相信它。

Einstein can't bring himself to believe it for years.

Look, if you get stuck

你看，如果你卡住了，

and you get the ball rolling on laser beams,

你得在激光束上下下功夫，

you're in pretty good shape.

这样你的状态会相当不错。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, that's the case for slow-motion multitasking.

所以 慢动作多任务就是这样。

And I'm not promising that it's going to turn you into Einstein.

我并不能保证 它会把你变成爱因斯坦。

I'm not even promising it's going to turn you into Michael Crichton.

我甚至没法保证它会 把你变成迈克尔 · 克里顿，

But it is a powerful way to organize our creative lives.

但它是一个有效的方式 来组织我们的创意生活。

But there's a problem.

但有一个问题。

How do we stop all of these projects becoming completely overwhelming?

当所有项目变得完有些难以应付时， 我们怎么来阻止它呢？

How do we keep all these ideas straight in our minds?

我们如何将所有这些想法保持 在脑海中？

Well, here's a simple solution, a practical solution

这里有一个简单的解决方案，

这是来自伟大的美国编舞家 崔拉 · 夏普的实用方案。

from the great American choreographer, Twyla Tharp.

Over the last few decades,

在过去的几十年里，

she's blurred boundaries, mixed genres, won prizes,

她跨界， 混合流派，获奖无数，

danced to the music of everybody, from Philip Glass to Billy Joel.

她伴随着从菲利普 · 格拉斯到 比利 · 乔尔的音乐起舞。

She's written three books.

她写了三本书。

I mean, she's a slow-motion multitasker, of course she is.

我的意思是，她是一个慢动作 多任务机，当然，她是。

She says, "You have to be all things.

她说，“你必须成为一切。

Why exclude?

为什么要排除呢？

You have to be everything."

你必须成为一切。”

And Tharp's method

夏普不让这些不同的项目

for preventing all of these different projects from becoming overwhelming

使她喘不过气的方法很简单。

is a simple one.

She gives each project a big cardboard box,

她给每个项目一个大的纸箱，

writes the name of the project on the side of the box.

在盒子侧面写上项目的名称，

And into it, she tosses DVDs and books, magazine cuttings,

她把DVD、书籍、 杂志剪报、戏剧单，

theater programs, physical objects,

各种物品扔进去，

really anything that's provided a source of creative inspiration.

任何会成为灵感源泉的物品。

And she writes,

她写道：“盒子意味着 我永远不必担心遗忘。

"The box means I never have to worry about forgetting.

One of the biggest fears for a creative person

对于一个有创造力的人的 最大的恐惧是

is that some brilliant idea will get lost

一些绝妙的主意会被忘记

because you didn't write it down and put it in a safe place.

因为你没有把它写下来， 并把它保存下来。

I don't worry about that.

我不用担心， 因为我知道在哪里可以找到它。

Because I know where to find it.

It's all in the box."

都在盒子里。”

You can manage many ideas like this,

你可以通过这种方式管理许多想法，

either in physical boxes or in their digital equivalents.

无论是在盒子 还是利用电子设备。

So, I would like to urge you

所以，我想力劝大家接受 慢动作多任务工作，

to embrace the art of slow-motion multitasking.

Not because you're in a hurry,

不是因为你想匆忙完成一件事， 而是因为你根本不着急。

but because you're in no hurry at all.

And I want to give you one final example,

我想给你们最后一个例子， 我最喜欢的例子：

my favorite example.

Charles Darwin.

查尔斯 · 达尔文，

A man whose slow-burning multitasking is so staggering,

他的慢动作多任务处理能力 非常惊人，

I need a diagram to explain it all to you.

我需要一个图表来向你解释一切。

We know what Darwin was doing at different times,

我们知道达尔文 在不同的时间做了不同的事，

because the creativity researchers Howard Gruber and Sara Davis

因为创造力研究人员 霍华德 · 格鲁伯和萨拉 · 戴维斯

have analyzed his diaries and his notebooks.

分析了他的日记 和他的笔记本。

So, when he left school, age of 18,

所以当他18岁离开学校时， 他最初对两个领域感兴趣：

he was initially interested in two fields,

zoology and geology.

动物学和地质学。

Pretty soon, he signed up to be the onboard naturalist on the "Beagle."

不久，他报名成为 小猎犬船上的博物学家。

This is the ship that eventually took five years

这艘船最终花了五年时间

to sail all the way around the southern oceans of the Earth,

在地球的南部海洋中航行，

stopping at the Galápagos, passing through the Indian ocean.

停靠在加拉帕戈斯， 穿过印度洋。

While he was on the "Beagle," he began researching coral reefs.

当他在小猎犬号上时， 他开始研究珊瑚礁。

This is a great synergy between his two interests

这让他在研究动物学和地质学之间 有了巨大协同作用，

in zoology and geology,

and it starts to get him thinking about slow processes.

并开始让他 思考缓慢进程。

But when he gets back from the voyage,

但是当他的航程结束后，

his interests start to expand even further: psychology, botany;

他的兴趣开始进一步扩大——

心理学，植物学， 他的余生，

for the rest of his life,

he's moving backwards and forwards between these different fields.

他就在这些不同的领域之间移动。

He never quite abandons any of them.

他从来没有抛弃过任何一项。

In 1837, he begins work on two very interesting projects.

1837 年，他开始了 两个非常有趣的项目，

One of them: earthworms.

其中之一，蚯蚓，

The other, a little notebook which he titles

另一个则是名为

《物种的演变》的笔记本。

"The transmutation of species."

Then, Darwin starts studying my field, economics.

然后，达尔文开始研究 我的领域，经济学。

He reads a book by the economist Thomas Malthus.

他读了一本 经济学家托马斯 · 马尔萨斯的书，

And he has his eureka moment.

他有了他的尤里卡瞬间。

In a flash, he realizes how species could emerge and evolve slowly,

他意识到物种如何能够

through this process of the survival of the fittest.

通过适者生存 缓慢地出现和进化。

It all comes to him, he writes it all down,

当想到这一切时 他把这些都写下来 ——

every single important element of the theory of evolution,

进化论的每一个重要元素

in that notebook.

他都写进了笔记本里。

But then, a new project.

但随后，他又有了一个新的项目： 他的儿子威廉的诞生。

His son William is born.

Well, there's a natural experiment right there,

这是一个很自然的实验——

you get to observe the development of a human infant.

你可以观察 一个人类婴儿的发育。

So immediately, Darwin starts making notes.

因此， 达尔文立即开始做笔记。

Now, of course, he's still working on the theory of evolution

当然，他同时还在 研究进化论，

and the development of the human infant.

以及人类婴儿的生长。

But during all of this,

但同时，

he realizes he doesn't really know enough about taxonomy.

他意识到自己 对分类学的了解不够。

So he starts studying that.

于是，他开始研究这个， 最后他花了 8 年时间

And in the end, he spends eight years becoming the world's leading expert

成为世界领先的藤壶专家。

on barnacles.

Then, "Natural Selection."

还有《自然选择》

A book that he's to continue working on for his entire life, he never finishes it.

这本书，他的余生持续在写这本书，

但他从来没有完成它。

"Origin of Species" is finally published

《物种起源》 出版于

20 years after Darwin set out all the basic elements.

达尔文开始列出基本原理的 二十年后。

Then, the "Descent of Man," controversial book.

之后，《人类的由来》 这本极具争议的书出版了。

And then, the book about the development of the human infant.

接下来是一本关于 人类婴儿发育的书，

The one that was inspired when he could see his son, William,

这本书的灵感来自于他所观察到

他的儿子威廉 在客厅地板上爬来爬去。

crawling on the sitting room floor in front of him.

When the book was published, William was 37 years old.

当这本书出版时， 威廉已经是37岁了，

And all this time,

这一切发生时， 达尔文一直在研究蚯蚓。

Darwin's working on earthworms.

He fills his billiard room with earthworms in pots, with glass covers.

他在台球室里放满了 玻璃罩罐子里的蚯蚓。

He shines lights on them, to see if they'll respond.

他把灯照在它们身上， 看它们是否会回应。

He holds a hot poker next to them, to see if they move away.

他把剑叶兰在它们旁边 看看它们是否会移动。

He chews tobacco and --

他咀嚼烟草，并向蚯蚓吹气

(Blows)

He blows on the earthworms to see if they have a sense of smell.

看看它们是否有嗅觉。

He even plays the bassoon at the earthworms.

他甚至为蚯蚓吹奏巴松管。

I like to think of this great man

我喜欢想像这个伟人， 当他累了、

when he's tired, he's stressed,

有压力时，

he's anxious about the reception of his book "The Descent of Man."

他很担心他的书《人类的起源》会受到欢迎。

You or I might log into Facebook or turn on the television.

你我感到压力时，可能会刷脸书或 看电视。

Darwin would go into the billiard room to relax

达尔文则会走进入台球室，

by studying the earthworms intensely.

通过深入研究蚯蚓来放松。

And that's why it's appropriate that one of his last great works

达尔文的最后一件伟作是

is the "Formation of Vegetable Mould Through The Action of Worms."

《腐植土的产生与蚯蚓的作用》， 这一点也不足为奇。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He worked upon that book for 44 years.

他在那本书上工作了 44 年。

我们不再生活在 19 世纪了。

We don't live in the 19th century anymore.

I don't think any of us could sit

我不认为我们任何人可以 在我们的创意或科学项目上

on our creative or scientific projects for 44 years.

花 44 年。

But we do have something to learn from the great slow-motion multitaskers.

但是，我们确实要向 那些伟大的慢动作多任务者学习，

From Einstein and Darwin to Michael Crichton and Twyla Tharp.

从爱因斯坦和达尔文， 到迈克尔·克里顿和崔拉·夏普

The modern world seems to present us with a choice.

现代世界 似乎给我们一个选择。

If we're not going to fast-twitch from browser window to browser window,

如果我们不打算在浏览器窗口之间 快速切换，

we have to live like a hermit,

我们就得像隐士一样生活——

focus on one thing to the exclusion of everything else.

专注于一件事， 排除一切。

I think that's a false dilemma.

我认为这是一个虚假的困境。

We can make multitasking work for us,

我们可以让多任务工作帮主我们， 释放我们的自然创造力。

unleashing our natural creativity.

We just need to slow it down.

我们只需要慢下来。

So ...

所以，

Make a list of your projects.

列出你的项目。

Put down your phone.

放下你的手机。

Pick up a couple of cardboard boxes.

拿起几个纸箱。

And get to work.

开始吧！

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）