Peter Doolittle: How your "working memory" makes sense of the world

譯者: lin piao 審譯者: Bighead Ge

So yesterday, I was out in the street

昨天呢，我出去走在

in front of this building,

這幢樓前的大街上。

and I was walking down the sidewalk,

我在人行道上

and I had company, several of us,

和幾個朋友同行。

and we were all abiding by the rules

我們都很守規矩地

of walking down sidewalks.

走在行人專用道上。

We're not talking each other. We're facing forward.

我們什麼也不說，就是向前走。

We're moving.

就這樣往前走。

When the person in front of me slows down.

走在我前面的人突然減慢了速度。

And so I'm watching him, and he slows down,

我看見他放慢了速度，

and finally he stops.

然後停下了。

Well, that wasn't fast enough for me,

然後我很快就趕上他了。

so I put on my turn signal, and I walked around him,

正好我要在街角轉彎，我就繞過他走。

and as I walked, I looked to see what he was doing,

我一邊走，一邊看他在做什麼。

and he was doing this.

他就是這樣。

He was texting,

他在發簡訊，

and he couldn't text and walk at the same time.

因為他不可能一邊走路一邊打字。

Now we could approach this

現在我們可以

from a working memory perspective

從工作記憶的角度

or from a multitasking perspective.

或從多工處理的角度來看這件事。

We're going to do working memory today.

我們今天要講的就是工作記憶的問題。

Now, working memory

現在，工作記憶是

is that part of our consciousness that we are

每天任何一個有意識的片斷裡

aware of at any given time of day.

我們自我認知的一部分。

You're going it right now.

你現在就有工作記憶。

It's not something we can turn off.

我們不可能隨時關閉它。

If you turn it off, that's called a coma, okay?

你要是把它關閉了，那就叫昏迷，對不對?

So right now, you're doing just fine.

所以，你們現在都做得挺好。

Now working memory has four basic components.

工作記憶有四個基本元素。

It allows us to store some immediate experiences

它使我們能夠存儲一些很直接的體驗

and a little bit of knowledge.

和很少的一部分知識。

It allows us to reach back into our long-term memory

它允許我們去追溯我們的長期記憶

and pull some of that in as we need it,

找到我們需要的，

mixes it, processes it

進行組合和處理，

in light of whatever our current goal is.

這主要取決於我們的當前動機是什麼。

Now the current goal isn't something like,

那麼當前動機不是像

I want to be president or the best surfer in the world.

我想要當總統 或是做世界最佳衝浪手這樣的動機。

It's more mundane. I'd like that cookie,

它更世俗化，比如我要吃那塊餅乾，

or I need to figure out how to get into my hotel room.

或者我要找到今晚住宿的酒店。

Now working memory capacity

工作記憶的能力

is our ability to leverage that,

是我們能夠利用記憶的能力，

our ability to take what we know

是我們利用知識的能力。

and what we can hang onto

我們可以依賴，

and leverage it in ways that allow us to satisfy

可以利用工作記憶能力來滿足

our current goal.

我們的當前目標。

Now working memory capacity

工作記憶能力

has a fairly long history,

有相當長的歷史

and it's associated with a lot of positive effects.

它能帶來很多積極效應。

People with high working memory capacity

工作記憶能力強的人

tend to be good storytellers.

一般會很擅長講故事。

They tend to solve and do well on standardized tests,

他們一般很善於應付標準化測試，

however important that is.

不管是多麼重要的考試。

They're able to have high levels of writing ability.

他們很善於寫作。

They're also able to reason at high levels.

他們善於提出深層次的問題。

So what we're going to do here is play a little bit with some of that.

那麼這裡呢，我們來做個工作記憶能力的小遊戲。

So I'm going to ask you to perform a couple tasks,

我會讓你們完成兩個任務，

and we're going to take your working memory out for a ride.

帶你們的工作記憶出來兜兜風。

You up for that? Okay.

你們想玩兒吧？好！

I'm going to give you five words,

我會給你們五個詞，

and I just want you to hang on to them.

我要你們記住這些詞，

Don't write them down. Just hang on to them.

不是把它們寫下來，而是用腦子記住它們。

Five words.

五個詞。

While you're hanging on to them, I'm going to ask you to answer three questions.

你記著它們的同時，還要回答我三個問題。

I want to see what happens with those words.

我想看看你們記這五個詞記得怎麼樣

So here's the words:

好吧，這五個詞是：

tree,

樹，

highway,

公路，

mirror,

鏡子，

Saturn

土星

and electrode.

和電極。

So far so good?

沒問題吧？

Okay. What I want you to do

好！現在我要你們

is I want you to tell me what the answer is

回答我的問題，

to 23 times eight.

23乘以8是多少。

Just shout it out.

喊出來就行。

(Mumbling) (Laughter)

(喃喃自語)（笑聲）

In fact it's -- (Mumbling) -- exactly. (Laughter)

事實上它等於 — — (喃喃自語) — — 完全正確。（笑聲）

All right. I want you to take out your left hand

好吧。那現在我要你們伸出你的左手，

and I want you to go, "One, two, three, four, five,

你們要數：「一、二、三、四、五、

six, seven, eight, nine, 10."

六、 七、 八、 九，十"。

It's a neurological test, just in case you were wondering.

它是一個神經功能測試，如果你想知道。

All right, now what I want you to do

好吧，我現在要你們

is to recite the last five letters

倒著讀出來

of the English alphabet backwards.

英語字母表中的最後五個字母。

You should have started with Z.

要從 Z 開始讀。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

All right. How many people here are still pretty sure

好吧。這裡有多少人

you've got all five words?

還記得我剛才給出的那五個單詞？

Okay. Typically we end up with about less than half,

好吧。通常會有不到一半的人還記得。

right, which is normal. There will be a range.

沒錯，這是很正常的。就是這麼個範圍。

Some people can hang on to five.

有些人可以記住五個。

Some people can hang on to 10.

有些人可以記住十個。

Some will be down to two or three.

有的人只能記住兩三個。

What we know is this is really important to the way we function, right?

我們知道，這個對大腦功能確實很有用，對吧？

And it's going to be really important here at TED

這個在 TED 尤其重要，

because you're going to be exposed to so many different ideas.

因為你會接觸到很多不同的想法。

Now the problem that we have

現在我們的問題是

is that life comes at us,

我們迎面而來的生活，

and it comes at us very quickly,

它來得非常快。

and what we need to do is to take that amorphous

我們需要做的是收集那些模糊的

flow of experience and somehow

體驗，然後

extract meaning from it

用工作記憶來提煉

with a working memory

它的意義所在。

that's about the size of a pea.

差不多一個豌豆大小。

Now don't get me wrong, working memory is awesome.

別搞錯，工作記憶是很不簡單的。

Working memory allows us

它允許我們

to investigate our current experience

在繼續前行時

as we move forward.

檢視我們當前的體驗。

It allows us to make sense of the world around us.

它讓我們理解我們周圍的世界。

But it does have certain limits.

但它確實是有極限的。

Now working memory is great for allowing us to communicate.

工作記憶讓我們能夠和人交流。

We can have a conversation,

我們可以談話，

and I can build a narrative around that

我可以通過敘述來說明

so I know where we've been and where we're going

我們講到甚麼地方了，要說什麼

and how to contribute to this conversation.

以及怎麼說。

It allows us to problem-solve, critical think.

它讓我們解決問題，慎重思考。

We can be in the middle of a meeting,

我們可能在一個會議期間，

listen to somebody's presentation, evaluate it,

聽別人的發言，評價它，

decide whether or not we like it,

決定我們是否喜歡它，

ask follow-up questions.

然後提出問題。

All of that occurs within working memory.

所有這一切都是在工作記憶的範疇裡。

It also allows us to go to the store

它讓我們去商店

and allows us to get milk and eggs and cheese

買牛奶、雞蛋和乳酪，

when what we're really looking for

當我們真正想買的

is Red Bull and bacon. (Laughter)

是紅牛飲料和培根時。（笑聲）

Gotta make sure we're getting what we're looking for.

要確保我們知道我們要找的是什麼。

Now, a central issue with working memory

現在，短期記憶的一個主要問題是

is that it's limited.

它的局限性。

It's limited in capacity, limited in duration,

它的能力和時長都是有局限的。

limited in focus.

它的聚焦點也有局限。

We tend to remember about four things.

我們一般可以記住四件事情。

Okay? It used to be seven,

對吧？以前說是七件，

but with functional MRIs, apparently it's four,

但用功能性核磁共振成像檢測，其實是四件

and we were overachieving.

我們以前是逞強了。

Now we can remember those four things

現在我們在大約10到20秒時間內

for about 10 to 20 seconds

可以記住四件事，

unless we do something with it,

除非我們利用它，

unless we process it, unless we apply it to something,

處理它，應用它，

unless we talk to somebody about it.

討論它。

When we think about working memory,

我們談到工作記憶的時候

we have to realize that this limited capacity

我們需要意識到它的局限性

has lots of different impacts on us.

對我們的影響。

Have you ever walked from one room to another

你以前有沒有從一個房間走到另個房間

and then forgotten why you're there?

突然忘了你要幹什麼？

You do know the solution to that, right?

你知道怎麼解決這樣的事，對吧？

You go back to that original room. (Laughter)

你就回到原來的那個房間去想想。（笑聲）

Have you ever forgotten your keys?

你曾經忘記過你的鑰匙吧？

You ever forgotten your car?

你曾經忘記過你的車嗎?

You ever forgotten your kids?

你曾經忘記過你的孩子吧？

Have you ever been involved in a conversation,

你有沒有在聊天時，

and you realize that the conversation to your left

意識到你左邊那人的談話

is actually more interesting? (Laughter)

其實更有趣？（笑聲）

So you're nodding and you're smiling,

嗯，你在點頭，你在笑，

but you're really paying attention to this one over here,

你一直很專心地聽我講

until you hear that last word go up,

直到你聽到我說的最後一個字音調升高，

and you realize,

你才意識到，

you've been asked a question. (Laughter)

我是在問你一個問題。（笑聲）

And you're really hoping the answer is no,

然後你們希望答案是否定的。

because that's what you're about to say.

因為那是你要說的。

All of that talks about working memory,

我們講的就是這些工作記憶，

what we can do and what we can't do.

我們能做什麼，不能做什麼。

We need to realize that working memory

我們必須認識到工作記憶

has a limited capacity,

的能力是有限的。

and that working memory capacity itself is how we negotiate that.

工作記憶的能力在於我們怎麼平衡它。

We negotiate that through strategies.

我們通過一些策略來平衡。

So what I want to do is talk a little bit about a couple of strategies here,

我現在想講的就是兩個策略。

and these will be really important

這兩個確實很重要。

because you are now in an information target-rich environment

因為接下來的幾天

for the next several days.

你將處在一個資訊爆炸的環境裡。

Now the first part of this that we need to think about

首先我們需要思考

and we need to process our existence, our life,

我們需要整理我們的體驗，

immediately and repeatedly.

迅速地和反復地。

We need to process what's going on

我們需要處理正在發生的事情

the moment it happens, not 10 minutes later,

就在當下，而不是十分鐘後，

not a week later, at the moment.

更不是一週後，就在當下。

So we need to think about, well, do I agree with him?

我們需要考慮，嗯，我同意他嗎？

What's missing? What would I like to know?

不足的地方有那些？我想知道有哪些？

Do I agree with the assumptions?

我同意這個假設嗎？

How can I apply this in my life?

我怎麼把它用到我這兒？

It's a way of processing what's going on

我們就這麼處理正在發生的事情

so that we can use it later.

然後就可以利用它。

Now we also need to repeat it. We need to practice.

那麼，我們還需要重複它，需要實踐。

So we need to think about it here.

所以需要不斷琢磨它。

In between, we want to talk to people about it.

同時需要和別人談論它。

We're going to write it down, and when you get home,

回家後還要寫下它。

pull out those notes and think about them

然後拿出那些記錄，再考慮考慮它。

and end up practicing over time.

就這樣結束記憶的訓練。

Practice for some reason became a very negative thing.

為某些原因而重複記憶 是一件非常被動的事。

It's very positive.

但它其實有非常積極的意義。

The next thing is, we need to think elaboratively

下一件事就是，我們需要考慮如何精煉

and we need to think illustratively.

和如何闡述我們的記憶

Oftentimes, we think that we have to relate new knowledge to prior knowledge.

很多時候，我們將新知識和舊知識聯繫起來。

What we want to do is spin that around.

把它們融會貫通。

We want to take all of our existence

我們想要把所有我們舊的體驗

and wrap it around that new knowledge

都圍繞著新的知識展開，

and make all of these connections and it becomes more meaningful.

讓新舊知識融合在一起使它變得更有意義。

We also want to use imagery. We are built for images.

我們還需要運用圖像。人類對圖像天生敏感。

We need to take advantage of that.

我們需要利用這一點。

Think about things in images,

思考圖像裡面的事實，

write things down that way.

把它記下來。

If you read a book, pull things up.

如果你在讀一本書，從裡面提煉出想要的東西

I just got through reading "The Great Gatsby,"

我以前通讀過《偉大的蓋茨比》，

and I have a perfect idea of what he looks like

我很清楚地知道他是怎樣的人。

in my head, so my own version.

在我的腦海裡，我有我自己的看法。

The last one is organization and support.

最後一個就是組織和支援。

We are meaning-making machines. It's what we do.

人天生喜歡追尋意義。我們做的也就是這個。

We try to make meaning out of everything that happens to us.

我們努力從任何事情中尋求意義所在。

Organization helps, so we need to structure

大腦的組織整理功能説明我們，所以我們要

what we're doing in ways that make sense.

讓做的事情更加合情合理。

If we are providing knowledge and experience,

如果我們提供知識和經驗，

we need to structure that.

就需要去構建它。

And the last one is support.

最後一個是支援。

We all started as novices.

我們都是從初學者起步的。

Everything we do is an approximation of sophistication.

我們做的一切都是一點點趨向成熟。

We should expect it to change over time. We have to support that.

這就需要時間使我們成熟起來。我們需要支援體系。

The support may come in asking people questions,

這個支援體系通過問人們問題，

giving them a sheet of paper that has an organizational chart on it

給他們有表格的紙張，

or has some guiding images,

或一些提示性圖片，

but we need to support it.

我們需要這樣的支援體系。

Now, the final piece of this, the take-home message

現在，最後我要說的就是

from a working memory capacity standpoint is this:

從工作記憶能力的角度來看是這樣的：

what we process, we learn.

我們整理思考什麼資訊，就學習什麼。

If we're not processing life, we're not living it.

我們不整理思考人生，我們就是行屍走肉。

Live life. Thank you.

過好你的人生。謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）