读者文摘:如何打破固化思维(2)

The JAMA study didn’t pinpoint¹ the reasons for the decreased death rate,

《美国医学会杂志》没有指出死亡率降低的原因，

but the authors explained that most errors made by doctors are connected to a tendency to form opinions quickly, based on experience.

但是作者们解释，医生犯的大多数错误都跟他们倾向基于经验快速形成观点有关。

In cases that are not routine, the expert doctors may miss important aspects of the problem that are not consistent with their initial analysis.

在一些非常规的情况下，专家医生可能会忽略与他们最初分析不一致的问题的重要方面。

As a result, although junior doctors may be slower and less confident in treating run-of-the-mill cases,

结果就是，虽然初级医生在治疗普通病例时可能速度较慢，也缺乏信心，

they can be more open-minded with unusual cases. Fortunately, psychologists have found that anyone can unfreeze his or her thinking.

对于不寻常的情况，他们可以更加开明。幸运的是，心理学家发现，任何人都可以打破自己的固化思维。

One of the most effective ways is to introduce a little discord² to one’s intellectual interactions.

最有效的方法之一是在智力交流中引入一点不一致的观点。

Consider a study performed about half a century ago.

参考一个大概半个世纪以前的研究。

The researcher showed two groups of female volunteers a sequence of blue slides.

研究人员向两组女性志愿者展示了一系列蓝色幻灯片。

In both groups, he asked each individual to state the color of each slide.

在两组中，他要求每个人陈述每张幻灯片的颜色。

In the experimental group, he had planted some actors who called the color green rather than blue.

在实验组，他安排了一些演员，他们称这种颜色为绿色而不是蓝色。

Whom were they fooling? Nobody. The experimental subjects ignored the deviant responses.

他们在欺骗谁?没有人。实验组的人忽略了异常的回答。

When their turns came, most of them answered blue, just as the control group had.

当轮到他们的时候，大多数人的回答都是蓝色的，就像对照组一样。

Then the subjects were asked to classify a series of paint chips as either green or blue, even though their color lay between those two pure colors.

然后，研究人员让受试者将一系列油漆芯片分为绿色和蓝色，即使它们的颜色介于这两种纯色之间。

Amazingly, the people who’d been in the experimental group identified many chips as green while those from the control group called the same ones blue.

令人惊讶的是，实验组的人把很多芯片都标为绿色，而控制组的人把同样的芯片标为蓝色。

Even though no one in the experimental group had been convinced by the actors before,

之前，尽管实验组中没有人被演员说服过，

their exposure to the earlier misidentification had shifted their judgment³ and made them more open to seeing a color as green.

但是早期错误识别的经历改变了他们的判断，使他们更容易看到绿色。

Other experiments have shown that dissent⁴ can not only sway us with regard to the issue at hand;

其他的实验说明了异议不仅能影响我们对当下问题的看法，

it can also thaw⁵ frozen thinking in general, even in contexts unrelated to the original discussion.

它也能打破一般情况下的固化思维，即使是在与最初讨论不相关的情况中。

What this all means is that, as difficult as it can sometimes be, talking to people who disagree with you is good for your brain.

这意味着，尽管有时候很困难，但是和你意见不一致的人交流对你的大脑是有益的事情。

So if you hate conspiracy⁶ theories and run into someone who believes that we faked the moon landing, don’t walk away.

所以如果你讨厌阴谋论，遇到了一个相信我们伪造了登月的人，不要走开。

Have tea with him or her. It can broaden your thinking in countless⁷ ways.

和那位先生或女士喝杯茶。它可以在无数方面开拓你的思维。

1 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

2 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

5 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。