异类之不一样的成功启示录 第55期:砖块与毛毯的测试

 　　What the test giver is looking for is the number and the uniqueness of your responses.

　　测试者希望知道的是你回答的数量和答案的个人特点，

　　And what the test is measuring isn't analytical¹ intelligence but something profoundly different something much closer to creativity

　　该项测试并不是测试分析能力而是截然不同的另一方面——它与创造力息息相关。

　　Divergence² tests are every bit as challenging as convergence tests,

　　发散测试和收敛测试一样，都要面临巨大的挑战，

　　and if you don't believe that I encourage you to pause and try the brickandblanket test right now.

　　如果你不信，就暂时停下手里的一切，现在就开始试试砖块与毛毯的测试吧。

　　Here, for example, are answers to the "uses of object" tests collected by Liam Hudson from a student named Poole at a top British high school:

　　这是利亚姆.哈德森从一位名为普尔的学生那里收集到的，这名学生是英国一所顶级中学的学生：

　　(Brick) To use in smashandgrab raids.

　　(砖块）可用来砸窗越货；

　　To help hold a house together.

　　砌房子；

　　To use in the game of Russian roulette if you want to keep fit at the same time

　　用在俄式轮盘赌里面，如果你想赌得舒服过瘾;

　　(bricks at ten paces, turn and throw no evasive action allowed).

　　（第十步在轮盘上放一块砖，转动几下然后甩出去——没有谁能逃脱）

　　To hold the eiderdown on a bed tie a brick at each corner.

　　鸭绒被的每个角都系上一块砖头，使得被子铺开在床上；

　　As a breaker of empty CocoCola bottles.

　　砸断空的可口可乐瓶。

　　(Blanket). To use on a bed.

　　(毛毯）可当床用；

　　As a cover for illicit³ sex in the woods

　　在密林里面铺开偷情；

　　As a tent. To make smoke signals with.

　　做帐逢用；点燃的烟火可传递信号；

　　As a sail for a boat, cart a sled.

　　小船、手推车或者是雪橇的篷；

　　As a substitute for a towel.

　　毛巾替代品；

　　As a target for shooting practise for shortsighted people.

　　近视的人作为射击练习的靶子用；

　　As a thing to catch people jumping out of burning skyscrapers⁴.

　　可以用它接住从着火的大楼里面跳出来的人。

　　It's not hard to read Poole's answers and get some sense of how his mind works.

　　从上面很难找到普尔的答案，也不大清楚他的具体思路。

　　He's funny. He's a little subversive⁵ and libidinous⁶.

　　他像是在恶作剧，有点反叛，

　　He has the flair⁷ for the dramatic.

　　他的答案也带点色情。

　　His mind leaps from violent imagery to sex to people jumping out of burning skyscrapers to very practical issues,

　　他的思路从暴力跳跃到性再到从巷火的大楼跳下的人们，再到-些非常实际的问题，

　　like how to get a duvet to stay on a bed.

　　例如怎样把羽绒被铺在床上。

　　He gives the sense that if you gave him another ten minutes, he'd come up with another twenty uses.

　　他给人一种感觉，似乎再给他10分钟，他能够找出另外的20种用途出来。

　　Now, for the sake of comparison, consider the answers of another student from Hudson's sample.

　　现在，为了便于对比，让我们来看看哈德森研究案例中的另外一个学生，

　　His name is Florence.

　　他的名字叫佛罗伦斯。

　　Hudson tells us that Florence is a prodigy⁸, with one of the highest IQs in the school.

　　哈德森告诉我们说佛罗伦斯是他们学校的一个天才，拥有很高的智商。

1 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

2 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

3 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

4 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

5 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

6 libidinous   

adj.淫荡的

参考例句：

• Powell let his libidinous imagination run away with him.鲍威尔淫心顿起，浮想联翩。
• Now it was believed that men were much more naturally libidinous and liable to seduce women.现在人们相信，男人天生要好色得多，要对勾引女人承担责任。

7 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

8 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。