How frustration can make us more creative | Tim Harford

Translator: Szeman Leung Reviewer: Alan Watson

Late in January 1975,

喺 1975 年 1 月

a 17-year-old German girl called Vera Brandes

一個 17 歲叫 Vera Brandes 嘅德國女仔

walked out onto the stage of the Cologne Opera House.

走上科隆歌劇院嘅舞台

The auditorium was empty.

嗰時觀眾席無人

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

歌劇院內

只有緊急出口牌綠色微弱嘅燈光

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

但嗰日係 Vera 人生裏面最興奮嘅一日

佢係德國最年輕嘅音樂會籌辦人

She was the youngest concert promoter in Germany,

and she had persuaded the Cologne Opera House

佢成功說服科隆歌劇院

to host a late-night concert of jazz

舉辨一場美國音樂人 Keith Jarrett 嘅

深夜爵士音樂會

from the American musician, Keith Jarrett.

1,400 people were coming.

音樂會有 1,400 個觀眾出席

And in just a few hours,

喺幾個鐘頭之後

Jarrett would walk out on the same stage,

Keith 走上同一個台

he'd sit down at the piano

坐低喺鋼琴前面

and without rehearsal or sheet music,

喺冇採排或者樂譜嘅情況下

佢開始演奏

he would begin to play.

But right now,

但喺宜家

Vera was introducing Keith to the piano in question,

Vera 預備俾 Keith 用嘅鋼琴原來有問題

and it wasn't going well.

而且情況並唔順利

Jarrett looked to the instrument a little warily,

Keith 小心咁睇個鋼琴

played a few notes,

彈咗幾個音

walked around it,

圍著鋼琴行咗一圈

played a few more notes,

又再彈咗幾個音

muttered something to his producer.

然後向佢嘅監製細聲講咗幾句

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

嗰個監製走過去同 Vera 講︰

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

「如果你唔換個新鋼琴，Keith 表演唔到。」

There'd been a mistake.

科隆歌劇院搞錯咗

The opera house had provided the wrong instrument.

歌劇院俾咗錯嘅樂器

This one had this harsh, tinny upper register,

鋼琴特別高音

because all the felt had worn away.

係因為鋼琴一條條吸音毛頭經已損耗

The black notes were sticking,

嗰啲黑鍵彈唔返上嚟

the white notes were out of tune,

白鍵走曬音

the pedals didn't work

腳踏又用唔到

and the piano itself was just too small.

而且鋼琴太細啦

It wouldn't create the volume

彈出嚟嘅音細聲得制

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

尤其是喺咁大嘅空間

唔會所有人都聽得到

So Keith Jarrett left.

所以 Keith 走咗

He went and sat outside in his car,

佢出去，坐喺佢架車裡面

leaving Vera Brandes

留低 Vera 自己一個

打電話去搵另一個琴返嚟

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

Now she got a piano tuner,

Vera 成功搵咗個鋼琴師傅

but she couldn't get a new piano.

但佢搵唔到一個新嘅鋼琴

And so she went outside

於是佢出去外面

and she stood there in the rain,

喺大雨之下企

talking to Keith Jarrett,

同 Keith 話

請求佢唔好取消音樂會

begging him not to cancel the concert.

And he looked out of his car

Keith 望著呢個狼狽 淋濕曬嘅德國青年

at this bedraggled, rain-drenched German teenager,

took pity on her,

因為同情佢

and said,

所以 Keith 話

"Never forget ... only for you."

「唔好忘記呢件事…今次只係為你。」

And so a few hours later,

幾個鐘頭之後

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

Keith 走上歌劇院嘅台

he sat down at the unplayable piano

佢坐低喺嗰個彈唔到嘅鋼琴

and began.

開始演奏

(Music)

（音樂）

Within moments it became clear that something magical was happening.

但神奇嘅嘢發生咗

Keith 避開高音

Jarrett was avoiding those upper registers,

he was sticking to the middle tones of the keyboard,

佢反而彈中間嘅音

which gave the piece a soothing, ambient quality.

令到呢首歌有撫慰同平靜嘅效果

But also, because the piano was so quiet,

因為鋼琴本身嘅音量唔大

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

Keith 唔單止要重複彈低音

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

仲要企起身用力襟啲鍵

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

確保後排聽眾都可以聽到琴聲

It's an electrifying performance.

呢場表演令人興奮

It somehow has this peaceful quality,

呢個表演雖然有平靜嘅特質

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

但同時又充滿活力

it's dynamic.

And the audience loved it.

聽眾唔但之鍾意

Audiences continue to love it

而且繼續鍾意

because the recording of the Köln Concert

因為呢次科隆音樂會嘅鋼琴專輯

is the best-selling piano album in history

係史上最暢銷嘅鋼琴專輯

and the best-selling solo jazz album in history.

亦係最暢銷嘅獨奏爵士樂專輯

Keith Jarrett had been handed a mess.

雖然 Keith 嘅表演開始前唔順利

He had embraced that mess, and it soared.

但佢接受咗，仲將佢搞好

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

等我哋諗一諗 Keith 最初嘅反應

He didn't want to play.

佢唔想演奏

Of course,

將心比己

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

如果任何一個喺類似嘅情況

我哋都會有一樣嘅感受

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

我哋都一樣唔想演奏

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

我哋都唔希望人哋叫我哋 用差嘅工具做好一件事

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

我哋都想避免不必要嘅障礙

But Jarrett's instinct was wrong,

但我哋都知道 Keith 最初嘅反應係錯嘅

好彩佢改變諗法

and thank goodness he changed his mind.

And I think our instinct is also wrong.

我認為我哋嘅判斷都係錯嘅

I think we need to gain a bit more appreciation

我認為我哋應該反而感激

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

因為解決麻煩而獲得意想不到嘅好處

So let me give you some examples

所以等我由認知心理學

from cognitive psychology,

複雜性科學

from complexity science,

社會心理學

from social psychology,

以及搖滾樂裏面

and of course, rock 'n' roll.

講一啲例子

So cognitive psychology first.

我哋由認知心理學開始

We've actually known for a while

實際上我哋已經知道咗有一段時間

that certain kinds of difficulty,

一啲難度同一啲障礙

certain kinds of obstacle,

can actually improve our performance.

可以提高表現

For example,

例如

the psychologist Daniel Oppenheimer,

喺幾年前

a few years ago,

心理學家 Daniel Oppenheimer

曾經同中學老師合作

teamed up with high school teachers.

And he asked them to reformat the handouts

要求佢哋重新編寫 派俾其中某幾班嘅筆記

that they were giving to some of their classes.

So the regular handout would be formatted in something straightforward,

一般筆記嘅字體都係大路，

such as Helvetica or Times New Roman.

譬如 Helvetica 同 Times New Roman

But half these classes were getting handouts that were formatted

但另一班收到嘅筆記嘅字體係比較強烈

in something sort of intense, like Haettenschweiler,

例如︰ Haettenschweiler 字體

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

又或係一啲比較跳躍嘅字體

例如斜體嘅 Comic Sans 字體

Now, these are really ugly fonts,

呢啲都係核突嘅字體

and they're difficult fonts to read.

而且佢哋好難閱讀

But at the end of the semester,

等學期結束時

students were given exams,

學生要考試

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

嗰啲獲發難睇字體筆記嘅學生

had actually done better on their exams,

喺考試入面唔同科目

in a variety of subjects.

表現都較好

And the reason is,

原因係

the difficult font had slowed them down,

難睇嘅字體減慢佢哋閱讀速度

forced them to work a bit harder,

令佢哋要落多啲苦功

to think a bit more about what they were reading,

要花多啲時間諗下佢哋到底寫乜嘢

要多啲時間去理解

to interpret it ...

and so they learned more.

所以佢哋學得更加多

Another example.

另外一個例子

The psychologist Shelley Carson has been testing Harvard undergraduates

心理學家 Shelley Carson 一直喺度測試哈佛本科生

for the quality of their attentional filters.

佢哋過濾事物嘅能力

What do I mean by that?

咁到底係咩意思呢？

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

我嘅意思係，想像你喺一間食肆裡面

you're having a conversation,

你同人傾緊偈

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

食肆裏邊仲有其他人傾緊

you want to filter them out,

你想將佢哋把聲都篩走

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

集中你目前嘅對話

Can you do that?

你做到嗎？

如果可以，你嘅過濾做得唔錯

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

But some people really struggle with that.

但有啲人比較吃力

一啲 Shelley 嘅本科生比較吃力

Some of Carson's undergraduate subjects struggled with that.

佢哋嘅過濾好弱，佢哋嘅過濾有問題

They had weak filters, they had porous filters --

好多無關重要嘅訊息 進入咗佢哋嘅腦裡邊

let a lot of external information in.

And so what that meant is they were constantly being interrupted

意思係佢哋會不斷 被外界嘅影像同聲音干擾

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

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

如果佢哋做論文嘅時候，電視開著嘅話

佢哋無法子專心喺論文度

they couldn't screen it out.

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

你可能會話呢樣係缺點…

but no.

但，唔係

When Carson looked at what these students had achieved,

當 Shelley 睇返呢啲學生所做到嘅嘢

the ones with the weak filters

佢發現嗰啲過濾比較弱嘅學生

were vastly more likely

佢哋係更加有可能

to have some real creative milestone in their lives,

喺佢哋嘅生命裡面成就一啲嘢

to have published their first novel,

出版佢哋第一部小說

to have released their first album.

發行咗佢哋第一張專輯

These distractions were actually grists to their creative mill.

分心實際上係佢哋創意嘅來源

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

佢哋突破原有思維

因為佢哋唔會鎖死自己

Let's talk about complexity science.

我哋嚟講下複雜性科學

So how do you solve a really complex --

你點樣解決一個非常複雜嘅…

the world's full of complicated problems --

我哋世界充滿複雜嘅問題

how do you solve a really complicated problem?

你點能夠解決一個非常複雜嘅問題？

例如，你想整一個飛機引擎

For example, you try to make a jet engine.

There are lots and lots of different variables,

呢度有好多、好多唔同嘅嘢要考慮

the operating temperature, the materials,

包括運行時嘅溫度、材料

all the different dimensions, the shape.

尺寸、形狀

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

你唔能夠一次過解決所有問題

it's too hard.

因為太難啦

So what do you do?

咁你會點做？

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

好啦，你可以一步一步咁解決呢啲疑難

So you have some kind of prototype

然後你有原型

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

你調整一下佢、測試佢、改良佢

再調整一下佢、測試佢、改良佢

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

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

呢種逐步改良嘅方法 最終會令你整到一個好嘅引擎

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

而且呢種方法全世界都廣泛應用

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

你會聽到，例如

喺高水平嘅單車運動裏面都會有

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

而網頁設計師會講 佢哋逐步優化佢哋網頁

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

呢個係解決複雜問題嘅好辦法

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

But you know what would make it a better way?

但你知道個辦法其實係點樣？

A dash of mess.

就係要亂七八糟

You add randomness,

又要一開始時隨意咁做嘢

early on in the process,

you make crazy moves,

你做出瘋狂嘅嘢

you try stupid things that shouldn't work,

你嘗試一啲一定唔會成功嘅愚蠢嘢

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

呢啲都會令問題解決得更加好

And the reason for that is

原因係

the trouble with the step-by-step process,

逐步做嘅問題

the marginal gains,

幾乎冇嘅收益嘅情兄

is they can walk you gradually down a dead end.

可以令你慢慢行入死路一條

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

如果你一開始時係亂咁做

行入掘頭路嘅機會都低啲

and your problem-solving becomes more robust.

你嘅解難能力就會勁啲

Let's talk about social psychology.

講下社會心理學

So the psychologist Katherine Phillips, with some colleagues,

心理學家凱瑟琳 ‧ 菲利普斯 同一啲同事

recently gave murder mystery problems to some students,

俾學生一啲謀殺謎團去解答

and these students were collected in groups of four

學生四個人一組

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

佢哋有一叠關於罪案嘅資料文件

alibis and evidence, witness statements and three suspects.

不在場證據、證人嘅供詞同三名嫌疑犯

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

佢哋要搵出係邊個做

who committed the crime.

邊個犯法

And there were two treatments in this experiment.

呢個實驗有兩種情況

一係一組人都係識得嘅朋友

In some cases these were four friends,

they all knew each other well.

In other cases,

第二種就係三個朋友加一個唔識嘅

three friends and a stranger.

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

你可以估到我要講啲咩

Obviously I'm going to say

好明顯

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

第二種情況嘅組別更有效解決問題

which is true, they did.

咁事實上真係，佢哋係更加有效率

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

So the groups of four friends,

喺第一種情況嘅組別裏面

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

佢哋只有一半機會答啱

佢哋唔係做得好好

Which is actually not that great --

當選擇題有三個選擇

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

得一半答啱確實唔係好好

(Laughter)

（笑聲)

第二情況嘅組別

The three friends and the stranger,

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

即使個陌生人冇俾任何額外嘅訊息

even though it was just a case

雖然呢個情況只係話

of how that changed the conversation to accommodate that awkwardness,

點樣令交談冇咁尷尬

the three friends and the stranger,

第二個情況嘅組別

有 75％ 機會搵到正確答案

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

That's quite a big leap in performance.

個結果係好大嘅進步

But I think what's really interesting

而我認為真正吸引嘅

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

唔係呢三個朋友同陌生人做得更加好

而係佢哋對件事嘅感覺

but how they felt about it.

So when Katherine Phillips interviewed the groups of four friends,

所以當凱瑟琳採訪咗第一種組別嘅時候

they had a nice time,

佢哋都認為佢哋有愉快嘅時光

they also thought they'd done a good job.

都認為佢哋做得好好

They were complacent.

佢哋好滿足

When she spoke to the three friends and the stranger,

當佢採訪第二種組別嘅時候

they had not had a nice time --

佢哋都認佢哋冇一個惀快嘅時光

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

佢實際上相處得好困難、又尷尬

and they were full of doubt.

佢哋中間都有好多疑難

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

佢哋冇諗過會做得咁好

And I think that really exemplifies

我認為，呢個測試嘅結果可以用喺

the challenge that we're dealing with here.

我哋面對梗嘅嘢

Because, yeah --

例如︰

核突嘅字體

the ugly font,

the awkward stranger,

尷尬嘅陌生人

the random move ...

隨機嘅做法…

these disruptions help us solve problems,

呢啲干擾其實幫梗我哋解決問題

they help us become more creative.

幫我哋更有創意

但我哋從來並唔覺得係咁

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

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

我哋覺得佢哋係窒礙我哋

所以我哋抗拒佢

and so we resist.

所以就係話點解最後呢個例子係好重要

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

So I want to talk about somebody

我諗講一個人

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

佢背景係搖滾音樂

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

你可能認得佢，佢係一個 TEDster

His name is Brian Eno.

佢叫布萊恩 ‧ 伊諾

He is an ambient composer -- rather brilliant.

佢係一個出色、有實力嘅作曲家

He's also a kind of catalyst

喺過去40年，佢都係

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

一啲好嘅搖滾音樂專輯嘅幕後推手

佢曾經同 David Bowie 喺作品 Heroes 裏面合作

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

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

佢亦曾經同 U2 喺 Achtung baby 同 The Joshua Tree 裏面合作過

佢曾經同 DEVO 一齊工作

he's worked with DEVO,

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

佢同 Coldplay 合作過 佢同每一個人都合作過

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

佢做過乜令呢啲出色嘅 搖滾樂隊更加好？

Well, he makes a mess.

佢整爛攤子

He disrupts their creative processes.

佢干擾佢哋嘅創作過程

It's his role to be the awkward stranger.

佢嘅角色就係頭先講過嘅陌生人

It's his role to tell them

佢就係要話俾佢哋聽

that they have to play the unplayable piano.

佢哋要彈嗰個彈唔到嘅鋼琴

And one of the ways in which he creates this disruption

佢整呢啲亂攤子嘅其中一個方法係

is through this remarkable deck of cards --

係用呢款啤牌

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

呢度有我親筆簽名嘅啤牌 多謝你，布萊恩

They're called The Oblique Strategies,

佢哋被稱為 Oblique Strategies

he developed them with a friend of his.

佢同佢朋友設計嘅

And when they're stuck in the studio,

而當佢哋喺工作室毫無頭緒嘅時候

Brian Eno will reach for one of the cards.

布萊恩攞其中一張卡

He'll draw one at random,

佢隨機抽一張

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

佢會叫樂隊按照卡上嘅說話做

So this one ...

所以呢個…

「更改樂隊成員嘅崗位」

"Change instrument roles."

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

每個人都要換一換位置

鼓手去彈鋼琴

Brilliant, brilliant idea.

唔錯嘅諗法

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

「仔細睇令人尷尬嘅細節，放大佢哋」

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

「做一個突然、破壞性、 不可預測嘅行動。

合拼入去首歌裏面」

These cards are disruptive.

呢啲卡係有破壞冇建設性嘅

透過一張又一張嘅專輯

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

我哋見到卡嘅價值

The musicians hate them.

但樂手好憎佢哋

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

菲爾 ‧ 柯林斯喺早期 布賴恩嘅專輯裏面打鼓

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

佢開始沮喪，佢開始喺工作室扔啤酒罐

Carlos Alomar, great rock guitarist,

Carlos Alomar，傑出嘅搖滾吉他手

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

曾經同布萊恩喺 David Bowie 嘅專輯 Lodger 裏面合作

and at one point he turns to Brian and says,

一次，佢同布賴恩話：

"Brian, this experiment is stupid."

「布賴恩，呢個實驗係蠢嘅。」

But the thing is it was a pretty good album,

但事實上，個專輯相當唔錯

but also,

而且卡洛斯喺 35 年後嘅今日 都用梗 Oblique Strategies

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

And he tells his students to use The Oblique Strategies

佢叫佢嘅學生都用 Oblique Strategies

because he's realized something.

因為佢意識到

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

你唔鍾意佢，唔代表佢幫唔到你

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

實際上，Oblique Strategies 並非一副啤牌

they were just a list --

佢只係一個表

喺錄音室牆上嘅一個表

list on the recording studio wall.

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

當你卡住咗，你可以試下用嘅一個表

The list didn't work.

但個表冇用

Know why?

知道點解嗎？

Not messy enough.

唔夠亂

Your eye would go down the list

你隻眼睛會掃落個表度

and it would settle on whatever was the least disruptive,

然後會停喺破壞性最小嘅一樣嘢

the least troublesome,

最少麻煩嘅一樣嘢

which of course misses the point entirely.

咁樣當然係完全冇意思啦

And what Brian Eno came to realize was,

布萊恩覺得

yes, we need to run the stupid experiments,

我哋需要運行做愚蠢嘅實驗

we need to deal with the awkward strangers,

我哋需要面對尷尬嘅陌生人

我哋要讀核突嘅字體

we need to try to read the ugly fonts.

These things help us.

呢啲嘢幫我哋

They help us solve problems,

解決問題

幫我哋更加有創意

they help us be more creative.

But also ...

而且…

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

如果我哋要做以上嘅嘢

我哋首先要說服自己

So however we do it ...

所以，無論我哋點做…

whether it's sheer willpower,

無論係純粹意志力

whether it's the flip of a card

無論係一張卡

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

定係 Vera 俾個彈唔到嘅琴你

all of us, from time to time,

我哋所有人都應該定時

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

坐低，彈嗰個彈唔到嘅琴

Thank you.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）