TED英语演讲：为什么说乌鸦的智商高到可怕

栏目：资讯发布：2023-10-10浏览：4收藏

TED英语演讲：为什么说乌鸦的智商高到可怕,第1张

　作为一名骇客和作家，Joshua Klein对乌鸦们的智慧感到神奇(你可曾注意过它们那小小的黑眼睛中蕴藏的智慧光芒)。他在很长一段的业余时间里对乌鸦群的行为进行观察后，想出了一个堪称优雅的机器，这或许将在人类与动物间构建一种新的关系。下面是我为大家收集关于TED英语演讲：为什么说乌鸦的智商高到可怕，欢迎借鉴参考。

　A thought experiment on the intelligence of crows

　演讲者：Joshua Klein

　/ 中英对照演讲稿 /

　How many of you have seen the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds" Any of you get really freaked out by that You might want to leave nowSo this is a vending machine for crowsOver the past few days, many of you have been asking, "How did you come tothis How did you get started doing this" It started, as with many great ideas, or many ideas you can't get rid of, anyway, at a cocktail party

　这里有多少人看过希区柯克的**《鸟》是不是认为那片子太过离奇了要是那样的话，你现在可以走了。(笑声) 大家看到的是一台专门为乌鸦设计的自动售货机。过去几天，人们都在问我同样的问题： “你怎么开始搞这玩意的有什么吸引你的地方吗” 说实话，这玩意就像很多伟大的想法，或者一些你无法在脑中驱散的想法一样，是从一次鸡尾酒派对产生的。

　About 10 years ago, I was at a cocktail party with a friend of mine We were sitting there, and he was complaining about the crows that were all over his yard and making a big mess And he was telling me we ought to eradicate these things,kill them, because they're making a mess I said that was stupid, maybe we should just train them to do something useful And he said that was impossible

　大概十年前，我与一个朋友在一个鸡尾酒派对上，我们坐在那，他一直在抱怨乌鸦乌鸦们把他的院子搞得一团糟。他那时很认真的跟我说，我们得想办法消灭这些鬼东西，否则我们就不会有好日子过。我跟他说，那才是坏主意呢，咱们为何不训练它们，让乌鸦帮我们人类做一点有意义的事情他丢给我一句“那不可能”。

　And I'm sure I'm in good company in finding that tremendously annoying, when someone tells you it's impossible So I spent the next 10 years reading about crows in my spare time

　我相信绝对不只我一人觉得这极度恼人——当有人告诉你“那不可能”时。于是决定用10年的时间在我的业余时间专门研究乌鸦。

　And after 10 years of this, my wife said,"You've got to do this thing you've been talking about, and build the vending machine" So I did But part of the reason I found this interesting is, I started noticing that we're very aware of all the species that are going extinct on the planet as a result of human habitation expansion,and no one seems to be paying attention to all the species that are actually living;they're surviving And I'm talking specifically about synanthropic species,which have adapted specifically for human ecologies, species like rats and cockroaches and crows

　现在10年过去了，我妻子说， “好吧，你也该把它做出来了，你不是一直说要给乌鸦们做一个自动售货机么” 于是我就把它做出来了。但我对这个项目感兴趣还有部分原因是因为我开始注意到我们人类已经意识到有很多物种因为人类无止尽的扩张将会在地球上灭绝。但貌似没人对那些还生存在世上的物种有所关心——它们都还真正地活着。这里我指的是那些长期与人共处，并适应了人类生态系统的动物。这样的动物包括老鼠、蟑螂、乌鸦。

　And as I started looking at them, I was finding that they had hyper-adapted They'd become extremely adept at living with us And in return, we just tried to kill them all the timeAnd in doing so, we were breeding them for parasitism We were giving them all sorts of reasons to adapt new ways So, for example, rats are incredibly responsive breeders And cockroaches, as anyone who's tried to get rid of them knows, have become really immune to the poisons that we're using

　而假如你仔细观察的话，你会发现所有的这类动物都已经对人类社会产生了高度的适应性，并且随着继续与人生活在一起，它们的适应性还加变得更强。但反观人类呢，我们只是一直在不断屠杀它们而已。为了做到这点，人类用喂养的方式来让它们寄生于我们我们给了动物们适应新环境的各种理由。比如：老鼠的生育能力变得超强。而蟑螂，逮过蟑螂的人都知道，它们已经不在乎我们的“诱饵”了。

　So I thought, let's build something that's mutually beneficial; something that we can both benefit from, and find some way to make a new relationship with these species So I built the vending machine

　于是我想，为何不制造出一些能让我们人类和这些“寄生虫”共同受益的东西呢以此和这些动物建立一种新型的关系，一种互利的关系。从而让人类找到一条与其共处的新路子。这就是我制作动物专用自动售货机的理由。

　But the story of the vending machine is a little more interesting if you know more about crows It turns out, crows aren't just surviving with human beings; they're actually thriving They're found everywhere on the planet except for the Arctic and the southern tip of South America And in all that area, they're only rarely found breeding more than five kilometers away from human beings So we may not think about them,but they're always around

　不过如果你多了解一下乌鸦，这个自动售货机的故事会更有趣。乌鸦们不仅仅是在人类环境中‘生存’得不错——事实上，他们活得还很精彩。你在地球上任何一处角落——除了两极和南美至南端——都可以见得到乌鸦。通常它们的栖息地离人类居所不出5公里。虽然你也许不会想到这一点，可是它们确确实实一直都这么活在我们身边。

　And not surprisingly, given the human population growth, more than half of the human population is living in cities now And out of those, nine-tenths of the human growth population is occurring in citiesWe're seeing a population boom with crows So bird counts are indicating thatwe might be seeing up to exponential growth in their numbers So that's no great surprise

　这也不奇怪，我们的地球上人口暴涨，其中有半数以上居住在城市。除此之外，90%的人口增长就都发生在城市里——乌鸦这个种群也在经历同样的发展。所以鸟类的数量在我们看来将会有一个爆炸型的增长，这并没有什么奇怪的。

　But what was really interesting to me was to find out that the birds were adapting in a pretty unusual way And I'll give you an example of that This is Betty She's a New Caledonian crow And these crows use sticks in the wild to get insects and what not out of pieces of woodHere, she's trying to get a piece of meat out of a tube But the researchers had a problem They messed up and left just a stick of wire in there And she hadn't had the opportunity to do this before You see, it wasn't working verywell So she adapted

　但令我感到吃惊的是这些鸟儿竟然学会了通过一些奇特的方式在我们的社会里求得生存。大家看看下面的例子：它的名字是Betty，它是一只New Caledonia(北美地名)的乌鸦。在森林里，它们会用树枝从林木里挑出虫子和其他食物。此时它正尝试用铁线取出瓶子里的那块肉。但是研究者们遇到了一个问题。他们把试验搞砸了，因为只留下了一根线在那里。而Betty以前可没尝试过这样的挑战。你可以看到，它进行得并不顺利。于是它想出了一个新法子。

　Now, this is completely unprompted; she had never seen this done before No one taught her to bend this into a hook or had shown her how it could happen But she did it all on her own So keep in mind-- she's never seen this done

　要知道，它没有看到过别的乌鸦这么做。之前也没有任何人或者别的乌鸦教它如何把线弯成钩子;或者告诉过它可以通过这种方式捞肉。这完全是它自己想出来的办法。请一定记得它以前从没有学过的哦。就这样。

　Right Yeah All rightSo that's the part where the researchers freak out

　对，就这样。这才是研究人员觉得不可思议的地方。

　It turns out, we've been finding more andmore that crows are really intelligent Their brains are in the same proportionas chimpanzee brains are There's all kinds of anecdotes for the different kinds of intelligence they have For example, in Sweden, crows will wait for fishermen to drop lines through holes in the ice And when the fishermen move off, the crows fly down, reel up the lines, and eat the fish or the bait It's pretty annoying for the fishermen

　我们发现越来越多的证据表明乌鸦的确是聪明的，它们的大脑占躯体的比例和大猩猩相当。大家也可能听过各种各样的关于乌鸦的趣闻吧。比如，在瑞典，那里的乌鸦会趁渔人往冰隙里放钓钩的时候守在一边，当渔人走了，它们就飞过去拉起钓钩，吃掉钩上的鱼或钓饵。这可是搞得那里的渔人很烦恼。

　On an entirely different tack, at University of Washington a few years ago, they were doing an experiment where they captured some crows on campus Some students went out, netted some crows,brought them in, weighed and measured them, and let them back out again And they were entertained to discover that for the rest of the week, whenever these particular students walked around campus, these crows would caw at them and runaround, and make their life kind of miserable

　而在华盛顿大学，那里的研究员几年前做了一个截然不同的实验。他们在校园里捉来一些乌鸦，在实验室里加以标记、称量，然后把它们放走。而随后的那个星期，他们惊喜地发现，那些被放走的乌鸦在校园里一见到那些捉过它们的学生，就会冲着他们鸣叫，并在他们周围飞来飞去，给他们的生活增添一些小烦恼。

　They were significantly less entertained when this went on for the next week And the next month And after summer break Until they finally graduated and left campus, and -- glad to get away,I'm sure -- came back sometime later, and found the crows still remembered them

　但之后几个星期还是如此，他们就不再那么惊喜了。甚至到了下个月，到了夏季学期结束，到了他们毕业离校了——我相信他们是很高兴地离去的——可当他们偶尔回校来看看时，那些乌鸦还是记得他们。

　So, the moral being: don't piss off crowsSo now, students at the University of Washington that are studying these crows,do so with a giant wig and a big mask

　所以——大家看到了吧，千万别惹乌鸦。正是这样的缘故，现在华盛顿大学做乌鸦研究的学生都带上巨大的假发，还套上面具。

　It's fairly interesting

　这真是令人哑然的一件事。

　So we know these crows are really smart,but the more I dug into this, the more I found that they actually have an even more significant adaptation

　以上说的无非是要证明乌鸦是非常聪明的，但我研究得越是深入，越是觉得它们的智慧要比我们想象的高出一个层次。

　Video: Crows have become highly skilled atmaking a living in these new urban environments In this Japanese city, they have devised a way of eating a food that normally they can't manage: drop it among the traffic The problem now is collecting the bits, without getting runover Wait for the light to stop the traffic Then, collect your cracked nut insafety

　视频：在新的城市环境中，乌鸦们的谋生技能正在变得越来越娴熟。这是一座日本城市，这里的乌鸦发明了一种吃果仁的办法——把坚果丢到车道上。然后飞走，等待汽车开过。之后它们在马路边等待绿灯，然后飞到马路中央安全地衔走那颗果仁

　Joshua Klein: Yeah, pretty interestingWhat's significant about this isn't that crows are using cars to crack nuts Infact, that's old hat for crows This happened about 10 years ago in a placecalled Sendai City, at a driving school in the suburbs of Tokyo And since that time, all the crows in the neighborhood are picking up this behavior Now everycrow within five kilometers is standing by a sidewalk, waiting to collect its lunch

　JoshuaKlein: 看看，这是不是挺有趣的不过，有趣的倒不是借助过往车辆压开果核的做法，事实上，乌鸦老早就学会了这门手艺了。刚才大家看到的景象发生在10年前东京市郊的一家驾驶学校附近。从那时开始，附近的乌鸦也学会了这样的吃坚果的方式。如今，方圆五公里内的乌鸦都在人行道旁守候着，等待过往车辆为他们带来午餐。

　So they're learning from each other And research bears this out Parents seem to be teaching their young They learn from their peers, they learn from their enemies If I have a little extra time,I'll tell you about a case of crow infidelity that illustrates that nicely The point being, they've developed cultural adaptation And as we heard yesterday,that's the Pandora's box that's getting human beings in trouble, and we're starting to see it with them They're able to very quickly and very flexibly adapt to new challenges and new resources in their environment, which is really useful if you live in a city

　乌鸦通过互相学习，都掌握了这种技巧。乌鸦父母还教会自己的孩子这样的技巧呢。它们向同伴学习，也向它们的敌人学习。如果我还有更多演讲时间，我会告诉你们一个有关乌鸦背信的案例来更好地证明我的观点。最关键的是它们学会了适应不同的生态文化。就如昨天我们听到的那样，是潘多拉之盒将人类引入混乱，现在是开始着手解决它的时候了。他们能快速且融洽地适应新的挑战及环境中的新资源，对于城市生活来说，这可真有用。

　So we know that there's lots of crows We found out they're really smart and they can teach each other When all this became clear, I realized the only obvious thing to do is build a vending machine So that's what we did This is a vending machine for crows And it uses Skinnerian training to shape their behavior over four stages It's pretty simple

　好了，现在我们都知道城市里有大量的乌鸦，它们很聪明，还懂得相互间分享生存的秘诀。当我知道这一切以后，我决定要专门为它们做一台自动售货机。并且还做成功了。这就是乌鸦专用自动售货机：我们用斯金纳(操作性条件反射)理论，分四阶段训练法来训练乌鸦。其实也很简单。

　Basically, what happens is that we put this out in a field or someplace where there's lots of crows We put coins and peanuts all around the base ofthe machine Crows eventually come by, eat the peanuts, and get used to the machine being there Eventually, they eat all the peanuts Then they see peanuts here on the feeder tray, and hop up and help themselves Then they leave, the machine spits up more coins and peanuts, and life is dandy if you're a crow -- you can come back anytime and get yourself a peanut

　首先，我们把这样的机器放到田野或者乌鸦经常出没的地方。在机器的底部放上一大堆的硬币和花生。乌鸦来了，吃掉机器上的花生，并且也习惯了机器的存在。吃光了地面的花生以后，它们发现在售货机的出货口那里也有很多花生，于是就跳到上面，也同样尽享美味。每一天，那机器上都会放满了硬币和花生。

　So when they get really used to that, we move on to the crows coming back Now they're used to the sound of the machine;they keep coming back and digging out peanuts from the pile of coins that'sthere When they get really happy about this, we stymie them

　嘿，要是当那样的一只乌鸦也不错哟，每天都不愁吃的。当它们都习惯这样的生活或，我们继续下一步我们等到乌鸦都习惯于机器的声音，就把花生盖在硬币底下，它们飞过来，掀开硬币，就能吃得到花生，它们也挺开心的。这时，我们决定给它们制造一些困难。

　We move to the third stage, where we only give them a coin Now, like most of us who have gotten used to a good thing,this really pisses them off So they do what they do in nature when they're looking for something: sweep things out of the way with their beak They do that here, and that knocks the coins down the slot When that happens, they get a peanut This goes on for some time The crows learn that all they have to do is show up, wait for the coin to come out, put it in the slot, then get their peanut

　我们开始了第三阶段的训练。只把一枚硬币留在机器上，此时乌鸦飞过来，看到没有食物，自然觉得很泄气——我们人也一样嘛。所以它们出于寻找食物的本能——用它的喙在机器上扫来扫去，不经意的把硬币碰到硬币口里去了，于是它获得了一颗花生。于是它们也学会了，每次都来这里，只要把机器上的硬币丢到硬币口，就能吃得到花生。

　When they're good and comfortable with that, we move to the final stage, where they show up and nothing happens Thisis where we see the difference between crows and other animals Squirrels, for example, would show up, look for the peanut, go away Come back, look for the peanut, go away They do this maybe half a dozen times before they get bored,and then they go off and play in traffic

　当他们对此过程非常熟练及满足以后，我们进入训练的最后一个阶段，它们来到机器旁边，却发现什么也没有。注意，就是这个关键的地方可以看出乌鸦是多么聪明。要是一只松鼠，它来到机器旁，寻找花生，找不到，就走了隔天再来，又是没有，又跑回去。如此反复五六次，它们也就觉得没意思了。

　Crows, on the other hand, show up and they try and figure it out They know this machine has been messing with them through three different stages of behavior

　而乌鸦则不一样，它们要寻找出一个究竟。通过前面三个阶段，并且这样的玩笑越开越大。

　They figure there must be more to it So they poke at it and peck at it And eventually some crow gets a bright idea:"Hey, there's lots of coins lying around from the first stage, hops down,picks it up, drops it in the slot, and we're off to the races That crow enjoys a temporary monopoly on peanuts, until his friends figure out how to do it, and then there we go

　它们觉得肯定还有更多方式获得花生。它们又是用头撞，又是用嘴咬。偶尔间有一些乌鸦想到了一个绝妙的主意：“嘿，大家还记得地面上放的那一大堆硬币么。或许有用呢”——于是它们飞过来，衔起硬币，扔进投币孔。它们发现了怎么吃得上花生了!这样的技巧先是为第一批到来的乌鸦所垄断，可慢慢的别的乌鸦也学会了……故事到此为止。

　So, what's significant about this to me isn't that we can train crows to pick up peanuts Mind you, there's 216 milliondollars' worth of change lost every year, but I'm not sure I can depend on that ROI from crows

　从这个故事我们得出结论：我们可以训练乌鸦，让它们通过售货机吃上花生。你知不知道，每一年都有价值216亿的硬币丢在大街上。

　Instead, I think we should look a little bit larger I think crows can be trained to do other things For example, why not train them to pick up garbage after stadium events Or find expensive components from discarded electronics Or maybe do search and rescue The main point of all this for me is, we can find mutually beneficial systems for these species We can find ways to interact with these other species that doesn't involve exterminating them, but involves finding an equilibrium with them that's a useful balance

　嘿，当然，我不是想靠乌鸦来赚钱。我们的眼光可以放远一点：我觉得我们可以训练乌鸦来做其他事。比如，为何不可以通过训练，让乌鸦给体育馆捡垃圾或者让它们帮助我们从大堆的废弃电子元件里头挑出有用的部件又或者让它们参与搜救工作我这个演讲的主要的一个观点是我们可以寻找到一种与此类动物共存的途径，我们能找到与其他族群共处的方式而不仅仅是灭绝它们，我们可以和它们实现共赢。

　Thanks very much(Applause)

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安德森说：“你的目标并不是成为丘吉尔或者曼德拉，而是成为你自己”。勇气，是这本书给我的第一个法宝。演讲就是学会有效沟通，做自己，分享有意义的思想。勇敢的站起来，接受新的挑战，让自己的人生有值得回忆的酸甜苦辣、惊心动魄、百转千回。

其实，好的演讲家并不是天生的，而是他们掌握了一定的技巧。比如充分的准备、有价值的思想、新鲜故事的包装、运用语言的神奇魔力、使用类比的修辞手法等等。书中用了大量的案例和通俗易懂的语言来进行阐述，让我们更意识到技巧的重要性。

虽然掌握了一定的技巧，好像也不是太成功。原来我们还要避免4种错误的演讲风格。第一推销策略，第二毫无目的的漫谈，第三讨厌的公司人，第四启迪性的表演。演讲本质上是一对多的有效沟通，如果目的是索取，而非给予，那往往结果会适得其反。真诚、勇气、无私奉献、智慧的领悟，与听众共勉。

开启一篇演讲时，首先要有清晰的主线，围绕主线，搭建框架，中间有主干垂直向上，每条树枝代表对主题的论述，一条在底部，趣味性的开场，上面两条讲失败的例子，还有一条讲可能的解决方案来作为新的例证，最后三条树枝在顶端，是对未来的猜想。通俗的讲，就是WHAT，WHY，HOW。

书中还从演讲工具、准备过程、舞台呈现几方面来讲述了我们在演讲过程中会碰到的问题，并给出了解决方案，值得认真研读，仔细揣摩。

通过阅读《TED演讲的力量》，让我学到了很多很多。真正的演讲者，不在于形式，而是在于分享彼此的美好思想。多读书，读好书，求甚解。

汤汤

2020713

TED是美国的一家私有非营利机构，该机构以它组织的TED大会著称，这个会议的宗旨是“传播一切值得传播的创意”。TED诞生于1984年，其发起人是理查德·索·乌曼。2001年起，克里斯·安德森接管TED，创立了种子基金会（The Sapling Foundation），并运营TED大会。每年3月，TED大会在北美召集众多科学、设计、文学、音乐等领域的杰出人物，分享他们关于技术、社会、人的思考和探索。

上海梦树TED演讲培训课程

成立历程

TED国际会议于1984年第一次召开，由里查德·沃曼和哈里·马克思共同创办，从1990年开始每年在美国加州的蒙特利举办一次，而如今也会选择其他城市每年举办一次。它邀请世界上的思想领袖与实干家来分享他们最热衷从事的事业。“TED”由“科技”、“娱乐”以及“设计”三个英文单词首字母组成，这三个广泛的领域共同塑造着我们的未来。事实上，这场盛会涉及的领域还在不断扩展，展现着涉及几乎各个领域的各种见解。参加者们称它为 “超级大脑SPA”和“四日游未来”。大会观众往往是企业的CEO、科学家、创造者、慈善家等等，他们几乎和演讲嘉宾一样优秀。比尔·克林顿、比尔·盖茨、英国动物学家珍妮·古道尔、美国建筑大师弗兰克·盖里、歌手保罗·西蒙、维珍品牌创始人理查德·布兰森爵士、国际设计大师菲利普·斯达克以及U2乐队主唱Bono都曾经担任过演讲嘉宾。TED环球会议是TED大会的子会议。2005年，第一届TED环球会议在英国召开。2007年，TED环球会议在坦桑尼亚召开。从2006年起，TED演讲的视频被上传到网上。

创始人

曾经，知识经济中的人说，你要保护如黄金般的知识，这是你唯一的价值。但是，当全球都联系在一起时，游戏规则改变了，每个人都互相关联，一切都会快速发展。当知识传播出去后，会以最快速度到达全球各地，得到反馈，得以传播，而它的潜在价值是无形的。

——TED大会创始人克里斯·安德森

2001年，安德森买下了TED会议，把这个会议变成非营利机构。每年举行一次大会，大会演讲做成视频放在互联网上，供全球观众免费分享。对于自己的“义举”，安德森解释道：“我是学哲学的，总是生活在自己的想法中。我之前就隐约地觉得，有很多好的想法如果能进行全球传播，是很好的事情。我当时有一点钱，很想做出一些贡献。我发现，TED是很好的工具。”

发展历史

参会的诺贝尔获奖者、类似比尔·盖茨之类的大腕，往往和魔术师、杂技演员混在一起。尽管每年有上万人申请参加TED，但只有1000人能得到邀请，他们要“有好奇心、创造力，思维开放，有改造世界的热情”，还要付得起7500美元一张的门票。

2001年，媒体大亨克里斯·安德森买下了TED，他自称“TED的守护人”，并将TED演讲者的领域从原先的技术、娱乐、设计三个领域扩展到了各行各业，邀请了科学家、哲学家、艺术家、探险家、心理学家、语言学家、宗教领袖、慈善家等人加入，致力于使TED成为超越会议性质的世界品牌。

在1984年的第一次TED大会上，有人带来了日后风靡全球的CD光盘，第一台苹果电脑也被带到了讲台上。今天，新版的MacbookAir让全世界无数的粉丝为之疯狂。

在改变世界的同时，TED自身也在26年后（至2010）由与会成员不过千人的“晚宴”，成长为每天50万人观看其视频的社区。自1990年起，参会的精英们每年三月相聚于美国加州长滩，享受这一场“超级大脑SPA”。

When people find out I write about time management,they assume two thingsOne is that I'm always on time,and I'm notI have four small children,and I would like to blame them for my occasional tardiness,but sometimes it's just not their faultI was once late to my own speech on time managementWe all had to just take a moment together and savor that irony

当人们发现我在写关于时间管理的内容时，通常会有两个想当然的想法。一个就是我肯定总是很守时，但并不是。我有四个年幼的孩子，我倒是很想把偶尔迟到怪到他们头上，但有时候并不是他们的责任。我有一次连自己的时间管理讲座都迟到了。当时大家只得一起体会了一下其中的讽刺意味。

The second thing they assume is that I have lots of tips and tricks for saving bits of time here and thereSometimes I'llhear from magazines that are doing a story along these lines,generally on how to help their readers find an extra hour in the dayAnd the idea is that we'll shave bits of time off everyday activities,add it up,and we'll have time for the good stuffI question the entire premise of this piece,but I'm always interested in hearing what they've come up with before they call me

第二件会被大家想当然的事，就是我有很多诀窍和小窍门来节省各种零散时间。有时候我会收到杂志的来信，说他们正在根据这样的思路写文章,通常是关于如何帮助读者在一天中抽出一小时时间。这个想法是说我们从日常活动中省出零散的时间，加起来就有足够时间来做有意义的事了。我对这个概念的整个前提保持怀疑，但我总是很感兴趣他们在打电话给我前想出了什么点子。

Some of my favorites:doing errands where you only have to make right-hand turns、Being extremely judicious in microwave usage:it says three to three-and-a-half minutes on the package,we're totally getting in on the bottom side of thatAnd my personal favorite,which makes sense on some level,is to DVR your favorite shows so you can fast-forward through the commercialsThat way,you save eight minutes every half hour,so in the course of two hours of watching TV,you find 32 minutes to exerciseWhich is trueYou know another way to find 32 minutes to exerciseDon't watch two hours of TV a day,right

有几个是我很喜欢的，出去办事选择一路全是右转弯的地方、极其谨慎地使用微波炉：包装上说叮三到三分半钟，那就绝对只叮三分钟。我个人最喜欢的，从某种程度来说还算有道理，就是把喜欢的节目录下来这样就能快进广告。通过这个办法，每半小时能节省八分钟,那么在看两小时电视的过程中，就有了三十二分钟来锻炼。这倒是真的。可你们知道找三十二分钟锻炼的另一种方法吗？就是一天不要看两小时电视，对吗？

Anyway,the idea is we'll,save bits of time here and there,add it up,we will finally get to everything we want to doBut after studying how successful people spend their time and looking at their schedules hour by hour,I think this idea has it completely backward We don't build the lives we want by saving timeWe build the lives we want,and then time saves itself

总之这个理论就是，我们节省零散的时间加起来，最终就能做到我们想做的所有事情。但是在研究了成功人士如何使用时间之后，并且逐个小时审视了他们的日程表，我认为这个理论已然彻底落后了。并不是通过节省时间创造想要的生活。而是先创造想要的生活，然后时间就自动节约下来了。

Here's what I meanI recently did a time diary project looking at 1,001 days in the lives of extremely busy womenThey had demanding jobs,sometimes their own businesses,kids to care for,maybe parents to care for,community commitmentsbusy,busy peopleI had them keep track of their time for a week,so I could add up how much they worked and slept,and I interviewed them about their strategies,for my book

接下来我会进行说明。我最近在做一个时间日记项目，观察那些非常繁忙的女性一天零一天的生活。她们都有繁忙的工作，有些是自己创业，要照顾孩子或许还要照顾老人，要做社区服务……都非常非常忙。我让她们每周做时间记录，这样我就能计算她们工作和睡觉的时间总和，为了收集资料，我还询问她们的安排策略。

One of the women whose time log I studiedshe goes out on a Wednesday night for somethingShe comes home to find that her water heater has broken,and there is now water all over her basementIf you've ever had anything like this happen to you,you know it is a hugely damaging,frightening,sopping messSo she's dealing with the immediate aftermath that night,next day she's got plumbers coming in,day after that,professional cleaning crew dealing with the ruined carpetAll this is being recorded on her time logWinds up taking seven hours of her weekSeven hoursThat's like finding an extra hour in the day

我研究了其中一位女士的时间日志……有个星期三晚上她出门办了点事。回家时发现家里的热水器坏了，地下室已经被水淹了。如果你曾经历过类似的事就知道，这可怕的事会造成很大破坏，淹得一塌糊涂。那天晚上她就面临了这场突发灾难，第二天她找来了水管工，又隔一天，她找来专业清理团队处理损毁的地毯。这些都记录在她的时间日志上。占用了她那一周七小时。七小时。那就是每天多出了一小时。

But I'm sure if you had asked her at the start of the week,"Could you find seven hours to train for a triathlon""Could you dind seven hours to mentor seven worthy people"I'm sure she would've said what most of us would've said,which is,"Nocan't you see how busy I am"Yet when she had to find seven hours because there is water all over her basement,she found seven hoursAnd what this shows us is that time is highly elastic

但我相信如果那一周开始时问她“你能挤出七小时进行铁人三项运动训练吗？”“你能挤出七小时辅导七个值得辅导的人吗？”我相信她会跟我们大多数人一样，说“不行…你看不出来我多忙吗？”可是当家里地下室淹着水她不得不因此挤出七个小时，她挤出了这七个小时。这向我们证明了时间的弹性是很强的。

We cannot make more time,but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into itAnd so the key to time management is treating our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater To get at this,I like to use language from one of the busiest people I ever interviewedBy busy,I mean she was running a small business with 12 people on the payroll,she had six children in her spare timeI was getting in touch with her to set up an interview on how she "had it all"that phraseI remember it was a Thursday morning,and she was not available to speak with meOf course,right

我们无法创造出更多时间，但时间会得到充分的利用，这取决于我们选择用时间来做什么。所以时间管理的关键就是对待重要的事像对待坏掉的热水器一样。为了说明这一点，我想借用我曾经采访过最忙的一个人的话。她很忙，因为她经营着一家小公司有十二名雇员，其余时间她要照顾六个孩子。我跟她联系想预约一次访问，了解她如何“日理万机”…原话如此。我记得那是个星期四早上她跟本没空跟我谈话。当然了，对吧？

But the reason she was unavailable to speak with me is that she was out for a hike,because it was a beautiful spring morning,and she wanted to go for a hikeSo of course this makes me even more intrigued,and when I finally do catch up with her,she explains it like thisShe says,"Listen Laura,everything I do,every minute I spend,is my choice"And rather than say,"I don't have time to do x,y or z,"she'd say, "I don't do x,y or z because it's not a priority" "I don't have time,"often means"It's not a priority"If you think about it,that's really more accurate language

可是她没空跟我谈话的原因是因为她去徒步了,因为那是一个美好的春日清晨，她就想去徒步。所以这当然给了我更大的触动，等我终于见到她时，她是这么解释的。她说“听着，劳拉，我做的每件事，花的每一分钟，都是我的选择。”她没有说，“我没时间做甲乙丙丁”，她说的是“我没做甲乙丙丁是因为那不是最重要的事。”“我没时间”通常意味着“这事不重要”。各位想想，这其实才是更准确的说法。

I could tell you I don't have time to dust to dust my blinds,but that's not trueIf you offered to pay me $100,000 to dust my blinds,I would get to it pretty quicklySince that is not going to happen,I can acknowledge this is not a matter of lacking time,it's that I don't want to do itUsing this language reminds us that time is a choiceAnd granted,there may be horrible consequences for making different choices,I will give you thatBut we are smart people,and certainly over the long run,we have the power to fill our lives with the things that deserve to be there

我可以跟你说我没时间给百叶窗除尘，可那并不是真的。如果你付我十万美元给百叶窗除尘，我立马就去做了。由于这只是异想天开，因此我可以承认这不是时间不够的问题，而是我不想去做。使用这种说法能提醒我们时间是选择。诚然，做出不同的选择有可能导致恶劣的后果，我承认。但大家都是聪明人，而且从长远来看，我们一定有能力让我们的人生充满有价值的事物。

So how do we do thatHow do we treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heaterWell,first we need to figure out what they areI want to give you two strategies for thinking about this The first,on the professional side:I'm sure many people coming up to the end of the year are giving or getting annual performance reviews You look back over your successes over the year,your "opportunities for growth"And this serves its purpose,but I find it's more effective to do this looking forward

那么要怎么做呢？我们如何对待重要的事情像对待坏掉的热水器一样呢？首先，我们需要分析哪些是重要的事。我想给你们两个思考的策略。第一，从工作角度来说：我相信很多人在年末前会给别人或收到自己的年度绩效评估。你们会回顾这一年的成绩，你们的“发展机会”这当然很有用，但我发现做未来的展望更加有效。

So I want you to pretend it's the end of next yearYou're giving yourself a performance reiew,and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you professionallyWrite next year's review:What 3-5 things would make it a great year for you professionallySo you can write next year's performance review nowAnd you can do this for your personal life,too

所以我想请大家假想现在是明年年底。你要给自己做绩效评估，而这一年里你的工作表现非常良好。写出明年的评估：哪些事会让你这一年的工作表现优异，列举三到五件事。所以你们可以现在就写下明年的绩效评估。这一招也可以用于私人生活。

I'm sure many of you,like me,come December,get cards that contain these folded up sheets of colored paper,on which written what is known as the family holiday letterBit of a wretched genre of literature,really,going on about how amazing everyone in the household is,or even more scintillating,how busy everyone in the household isBut these letters serve a purpose,which is that they tell your friends and family what you did in your personal life that mattered to you over the year

我相信在座很多人跟我一样，到了十二月会收到贺卡，就是那种对折的彩色制片，上面写着所谓的家庭假期贺词。说真的，简直是种拙劣的文学体裁，写的都是家里所有人都是多么出色，甚至更妙的是，说家里所有人都有多忙。不过这些文字有个作用，就是告诉你的亲朋好友这一年来你在个人生活中做了哪些对你来说重要的事。

So this year's kind of done,but I want you to pretend it's the end of next year,and it has been an absolutely amazing year for you and the people you care aboutWrite the family hollday letter:What three to five things did you do that made it so amazingSo you can write next year's family holiday letter nowDon't send itPlease,don't send itBut you can write it And now,between the performance review and the family holiday letter,we have a list of six to ten goals we can work on in the next yearAnd now we need to break these down into doable steps

今年差不多要结束了，但我希望你们假设现在是明年年底，而这一年过得十分精彩，对你和你关心的人来说都是。写下家庭假期贺信：你做的哪三到五件事让今年如此精彩？你们可以现在就写好明年家庭假日贺卡，别寄出去。摆脱，千万别寄。不过可以写好。现在有了绩效评估和家庭假期贺卡，我们就有了明年要努力的六到十个目标。现在就需要把这些目标分解为可行的步骤。

So maybe you want to write a family historyFirst,you can read some other family histories,get a sense for the styleThen maybe think about the questions you want to ask your relatives,set up appointments to interview themOr maybe you want to run a 5KSo you need to find a race and sign up,figure out a training plan,and dig those shoes out of the back of the closetAnd thenthis is keywe treat our priorities as the equivalent of that broken water heater,by putting them into our schedules first

或许你想编一份家谱。首先，你可以查阅一些别人的家谱，对家谱形式有所了解。然后想一想你要问亲戚们的问题，跟他们约面谈的时间。或者，也许你想跑五公里比赛。那么你就要找个赛事报名，做好训练计划，把跑鞋从衣柜深处找出来。然后……这就是关键……我们要对待重要的事像对待那台坏掉的热水器一样，把它们写到日程表的第一栏。

We do this by thinking through our weeks before we are in them,I find a really good time to do this is Friday afternoonsFriday afternoon is what an economist might call a "low opportunity cost" timeMost of us are not sitting there on Friday afternoons saying,"I am excited to make progress toward my personal and professional priorities right now"But we are willing to think about what those should beBut we are willing to think about what those should be

要在一周开始前就想好这一周的计划，我发现星期五下午是做计划的好时间。星期五下午可能会被经济学家称为“低机会成本”时间。我们大多数人是不会在星期五下午坐下来说“此时此刻，我很期待朝着我的个人和工作的首要目标努力。”但我们都愿意思考什么事应该成为首要目标。

So take a little bit of time Friday afternoon,make yourself a three-category priority list:career, relationships, self Making a three-category list reminds us that there should be something in all three categoriesCareer,we think about;relationships,selfnot so muchBut anyway,just a short list,two to three items in eachThen look out over the whole of the next week,and see where you can plan them in

所以用一点星期五下午的时间，给自己列一张三栏优先顺序表：工作、感情、个人。列出一张三栏表能提醒我们应该有些事是三种类型都包含的。我们会思考工作方面的事，但感情和个人……就不会想这么多。不过总之，只是列一个简单的表格，每一栏里写两到三项，然后纵览接下来的整个星期，看看可以把这些事安排在什么时候。

Where you plan them in is up to youI know this is going to be more complicated for some people than othersI mean,some people's lives are just harder than othersIt is not going to be easy to find time to take that poetry class if you are caring for multiple children on your ownI get thatAnd I don't want to minimize anyone's struggleBut I do think that the numbers I am about to tell you are empowering

怎么安排是你的决定。我知道这对部分人来说会比较复杂。有些人的生活就是比别人辛苦。比如说如果有好几个小孩的话就很难找到时间去上诗歌学习班。我明白。我也不想小看任何人的努力。不过我认为，接下来我要告诉各位的数字是很有说服力的。

There are 168 hours in a weekTwenty-four times seven is 168 hoursThat is a lot of timeIf you are working a full-time job,so 40 hours a week,sleeping eight hours a night,so 56 hours a weekthat leaves 72 hours for other thingsThat is a lot of timeYou say you're working 50 hours a week,maybe a main job and a side hustleWell,that leaves 62 hours for other thingsYou say you're working 60 hoursWell,that leaves 52 hours for other thingsYou say you're working more than 60 hoursWell,are you sure

一周有一百六十八小时，二十四乘以七即一百六十八小时。这是很多时间。如果你是全职工作者，那么每周工作四十小时，每晚睡八小时，一星期就是五十六小时……还剩下七十二小时做别的事。这是很多时间。你说你一周要工作五十个小时，或许除了正职以外还有副业。那么，还有六十二小时做别的事。你说你要工作六十小时。那么，还有五十二小时做别的事。你说你工作时长超过六十小时。你确定吗？

There was once a study comparing people's estimated work weeks with time diariesThey found that people claiming 75-plus-hour work weeks were off by about 25 hoursYou can guess in which direction,rightAnyway,in 168 hours a week,I think we can find time for what matters to you

曾经有一项研究，把人们估算的一周工作时间和时间日志做了对比。发现人们声称一周工作超过七十五小时，实际上误差大约为二十五小时。大家可以猜到误差是多了还是少了吧？总之，每周一百六十八小时，我想大家可以找到时间来做对你重要的事。

If you want to spend more time with your kids,you want to study more for a test you're taking,you want to exercise for three hours and volunteer for two,you canAnd that's even if you're working way more than full-time hoursSo we have plenty of time,which is great,because guess whatWe don't even need that much time to do amazing things

如果你想花更多时间陪伴孩子，你想花更多时间学习备考，你想做三小时运动，两小时志愿者，都能做到。就算你工作时常远远超过八小时。所以说我们有足够的时间，这是好事,因为大家猜怎么着？要做精彩的事，我们甚至不需要那么多时间。

But when most of us have bits of time,what do we doPull out the phone,rightStart deleting emailsOtherwise,we're puttering around the house or watching TVBut small moments can have great powerYou can use your bits of time for bits of joyMaybe it's choosing to read something wonderful on the bus on the way to work

不过大多数人有了一点时间时会做什么？拿出手机，对吗？开始删邮件。不然就是在家里晃荡，或者看电视。然而少量的时间也能起到大大的作用。你可以利用零散的时间得到小小的乐趣。或许是在上班的公交车上看本好书。

I know when I had a job that required two bus rides and a subway ride every morning,I used to go to the library on weekends to get stuff to readIt made the whole experience almost,almost, enjoyableBreaks at work can be used for meditating or prayingIf family dinner is out because of your crazy work schedule,maybe family breakfast could be a good substitute

我以前有个工作需要每天早上搭乘两趟公交车再加上一段地铁,我常在周末去图书馆借书看。这让整个通勤的过程变得几乎是种享受。工作中的休息时间可以用来冥想或祈祷。如果因为繁忙的工作不能跟家人共进晚餐，或许改成家人一起吃早餐是个不错的选择。

It's about looking at the whole of one's time and seeing where the good stuff can go I truly believe this,there is timeEven if we are busy,we have time for what mattersAnd when we focus on what matters,we can build the lives we want in the time we've got

重点是留意一个人的整段时间，看看有意义的事能安排到什么时候。我真心相信这一点，时间总是有的。就算我们再忙，还是有时间做重要的事。而当我们关注重要的事情时，我们就能用我们拥有的时间打造我们的想要的生活。

动物有怎样的思考和感悟

　　人与人之间存在情感，那么动物之间也一定存在这情感。我在一本叫《森林报》的书上看到过这样一则令我泪眼汪汪的小故事，这个故事十分感人……在一个茂盛的森林里，有许多可爱的小动物，但小动物也不会自由。弱小的动物就该被野兽吞食，这是大森林中不可变动的规律。但是如今大森林中出现了一群可怕的猎人，他们手持猎枪，不论是再强大的野兽也是不在话下！狼——这种既狡猾而又凶猛的完美野兽出洞前也必须用自己那灵敏的双耳和超强的嗅觉能力分辨猎人的方向与位置。

　　冬天来了，小动物们都躲到了厚厚的雪地里，部分野兽都冬眠了，只有狼还在与冬天顽强拼搏着。狼群们又饿又冷，渴望的望着森林外的村庄。村庄里有好多可口的“美食”，但也少不了可怕的猎人！暮色降临，这使得狼群们嚎嚎叫嚷。这时，有一窝狼实在受不了饥饿的阻挠，向着紫黑色的天空撕心裂肺地吼叫着“嗷-唔——嗷-唔——……”听见狼的叫声，村庄的家禽们慌乱极了！当然，家禽们不会有事，因为猎人已经做好埋伏。

　　这狼的一家并不知道，危险正在慢慢靠近……它们一直向着村庄的方向走去。突然，走在最前面的母狼发出了警惕的叫声。显然，母狼察觉到了猎人的存在，它马上掉头向狼群的方向走去，结果才刚走五十米，就见到一张红布挂在树枝上。十分有经验的母狼知道：有布的地方就一定有猎人！

　　可以来不及了！猎人都冲了出来，用枪口指着狼的一家。公狼站了出来，朝猎人怒吼一声。母狼明白，它唯一能帮助公狼的就只有带着三个孩子们离开了……

　　后来，公狼全身上下血淋淋的，躲在草丛中的母狼激动得双眼充血，紧紧搂着孩子们目送着公狼被猎人拖走的身影，地上还留着难以抹去的血迹……

在二月份的最后一天，正好是第四个12天听TED，以这样的方式结束二月份也是很有意义的。把这一周期TED介绍如下，伙伴们可以根据内容选择自己想听的TED。

题目1：读书改变命运

读书改变命运，这是人们经常听到的一句话，也成为激励人们读书的重要原因之一。演讲者是怎么理解这句话呢？

出生在阿拉伯世界，一个女性地位低下的地方，女孩要接受教育，要克服很多困难。在克服了种种困难后，演讲者成为一名摄影师，她想用照片记录那些通过教育得到改变的女性。

开始有很多女性并不愿意，通过演讲者反复说明这个项目对其他女性影响，有一些同意拍摄。透过这一项目，演讲者看到教育如何让女性更独立，更能掌控自己生活，更能获得一种自由。

读书改变命运，在这句话受到质疑的今天，我想读书不一定能带给你金钱回报，但是它能让你思想上更独立，内心更丰富。

题目2：如何跟压力做朋友

跟压力做朋友，这在许多人看来是不可能的事情。压力在很多人看来，是一件需要逃避的事情，因为在我们观念里压力会给人的身心造成伤害。演讲者为什么认为压力是朋友呢？

演讲者开始也认为压力是有害的，后来演讲者了解到一项研究：高压力但并不视压力为敌人的人身体更健康。

演讲者开始改变自己对于压力的看法，她开始转变认知，认为压力带来的心跳加速，出汗现象是人体在积极为挑战做准备，此外压力过程中会产生催产素，它会让人寻求支持，建立强的亲密关系，而这些都是对身体健康有好处的。

正确认知很重要。把压力当作朋友，而不是需要压制的对象，你会更健康。

题目3：追寻自我价值之路

演讲者开门见山引出自己观点：人们不是为你的真实价值买单，而是为他们认为你的价值买单，而你可以控制他们的认识。这个观点很鲜明，一下子引发我继续看下去的兴趣。

我们需要与别人沟通我们价值，不管是找工作，还是与客户沟通，都需要明确表达我能为企业和客户创造什么价值。演讲者认为，要获得与自己价值匹配的薪水，你要会定义自己价值，也要会传达自己的价值。

研究表明，女性在工作中，与男性相比，会获得更低的薪资，女性比男性更需要学习如何获得与自己价值相匹配的薪资。

演讲者认为你可以通过思考以下问题：

1 我的客户需要什么，我如何满足他们需要？

2 我身上哪些特殊品质让我能更好服务客户？

3 我有什么别人是不能做到的？

4 我能为客户创造什么价值？

很多人因为对自我怀疑而低估了自己价值，演讲者通过帮助一位女性更自信表达自己，把表达内容专注于为客户能创造什么价值上，她不再害怕与难搞的客户见面。

这个演讲确实反映了一个事实：你的价值来自于别人认知，而你可以控制别人认知。

另外在如何传达自己价值中，把关注点放在你能为别人创造什么价值也是很重要的，这能让你客观表达你的价值，而不给别人一种吹嘘自己的感觉，你也更能获得别人对你价值的认同。

题目4：向死而生

死亡是每个人都要经历的。说到它，都会觉得是很沉重的话题。对于死亡多一些认识，能够让人更好地活着。

演讲者经历过一次和死亡面对面，他对于死亡也自然有着比一般人更深的体验。通过自己的经历，他发现医疗机构设计初衷是治疗疾病，而不是关心人本身。他开始思考我们应该如何回到对人的关心上来。

死亡过程本身是要经历很多痛苦，首先我们应该减少那些不必要的痛苦。比如：失去和遗憾会造成人痛苦。失去也许无可避免，但是遗憾却是可以避免的，我们应该不给自己人生留有遗憾。这就需要我们清楚知道什么对自己是重要的。

活在当下。生命在于当下，只有你活在当下，你会细心体会通过自己感官与外在建立的联系，这个时候，你会感觉到自己真正在活着。

让生命更加丰富多彩。人的需要可以分为身体和心灵需求，从这两方面，我们都可以让自己生命丰富起来。

演讲者是从死亡角度讲如何设计医疗保健，让即将死亡人能够有尊严的离开。从这个演讲中，我们可以学习如何活着。不知死，焉知生。只有对死亡有了认识，我们才能更好活着。

题目5：世上最后一片净土

不丹，一个仅有70万人口，国民生产总值20亿美元国家，却能够做到碳排放为负值，它是如何做到的呢？

首先这个国家实现了基础教育和医疗全免费，这大大减轻了一个家庭负担，由于教育和医疗压力造成破坏自然环境行为也相应减少。

此外政府还做了以下事情：为人民提供免费清洁电力；政府部门努力实现无纸化办公；政府鼓励使用清洁交通工具。这些措施都较低了碳排放量。

另外，不丹宪法规定：国家绿化覆盖率不低于60%，而实际它有72%森林覆盖率。

现在环境问题已经引起各国重视，如果说过去人们还在怀疑全球变暖，如今人们已经同意全球在变暖，并且已经看到了其带来的危害。

全球变暖问题需要所有国家联合起来去解决。它不像其它问题，比如局部地区战争，具有地域性。没有哪个国家能不受全球变暖影响。正如演讲者所说，虽然不丹在碳排放上做出了巨大努力，但它也不得不承担因为气候变暖导致洪水，泥石流等自然灾害。

不丹国家虽小，国民生产总值也不高，但这些都没有成为它不承担环境保护的借口，这是非常值得肯定的。我们国家也越来越重视环境保护，过去这个冬天北京的天气状况就很好，这让我看到，只要我们把环境治理当做一个重要问题去解决，就一定会想出办法。

题目6：性格的迷思-你究竟是谁

认识自己并不是一件容易事情。虽然与自己朝夕相处，但真正了解自己的人很少。这个演讲是如何看待“你是谁”的呢？

演讲者是一名性格心理学家。他会从五个维度来把人归类：

1 开放型与封闭型

2 意识型与无热情型

3 外向型和内向型

4 讨好型和唱反调型

5 神经质型和情绪稳定型

这里边我们最熟悉的是外向型和内向型人。外向型人经常需要来自内外刺激，他们会喜欢喝咖啡，喜欢去热闹的地方。内向型人则喜欢待在安静地方，下午喝咖啡晚上就睡不着了。这并不是说内向型人不喜欢社交，只是他们意识到在刺激少的时候能够有更好表现。

一方面演讲者把人进行归类，另一方面他认为每个人又是独特的，不能简单归类。每个人看重东西是不同的，正是这些不同让你变得独特。

“你是谁？”，这是一个哲学问题，虽然这个问题不容易回答，但却值得我们认真去思考。很多苦恼，就是因为缺乏对自己的了解造成的。比如选择了不适合的工作和人。如果对自己多一些了解，就更容易做出正确的选择。

题目7：无所畏惧，学无止境

演讲者从小是一个很自信的男孩，认为自己就是绿巨人，直到七岁那年参加夏令营，被一个伙伴在水中拽住，虽然最终被一个老师解救，但是对水的恐惧却一直萦绕在他心里。他是怎么克服掉恐惧的呢？

一个每天都需要喝六杯咖啡的朋友对演讲者说，只要演讲者能在公开水域游一公里，他就在一年内不喝咖啡。演讲者接受了这个挑战。他为此尝试了各种方法：找铁人三项运动员训练自己；使用踢水板；上游泳冠军课。但这些都没有作用。直到有一天他听到了一个朋友建议：试试Terry Laughlin的“全身浸入水中”游泳法。

这个方法把演讲者带入了一种全新的游泳方法中，通过这种方法他学会了游泳，并成功游完一公里。这让他意识到：最好的结果会被那些错误的概念和未经测试假设拖累。

演讲者从对语言学习中发现：材料比方法更重要。演讲者有一段时间很畏惧外语学习。一次在日本的学习经历改变了他对语言看法。在日本学习让他意识到他必须要好好学日语。他找了不同书籍和CD, 但都没什么帮助，直到他找到了在1981年被日本教育部规定的1945个常用汉字表。

他专注学习这个资料，在六个月后，他可以读报，日语从一级到了四级。并用这种方法，学习了十二门语言。他意识到: being effective is more important than being efficient 做正确的事比效率更重要。后者只专注做好，却不关注做的事情是否正确。

他甚至总结出只要把下面六个句子让母语者翻译成过去、现在和将来时，你就可以明白这种语言的语法结构（句子中句子成分顺序规则）。

1 The apple is red

2 It is John's apple

3 I give John the apple

4 We want to give him the apple

5 He give it to John

6 She gives it to him

此外演讲者之前很害怕跳交谊舞。在阿根廷的一个舞蹈课上，他本来只想看看，后来受到鼓励报了一个月的课程。为了激励自己学习，他利用Parkinson's law(任务复杂程度和你给它的时间有关）。他给自己报名了一个比赛，距离比赛只有四个月时间。

在这个时间里，他首先请了一个女教练教他女伴的步子。然后研究了不同比赛冠军的能力和特点，并且采访了这些人。他注意到除了这些人提到的外显性的东西（他们建议练习的），还有一些内显性东西（他们没说，但通过观察可以发现的共性东西）。