I just wanted to sit in the audience

我只是想坐在台下當觀眾，

and watch to learn more about Cambodia.

增加對柬埔寨的了解。

And they said, "Sure, you can come.

他們回覆：「當然，你可以來。

You will be doing your talk on the first morning."

你的演講是安排在第一天早上。」

And I said, "Oh, talk. Okay."

我說：「喔，演講呀。好。」

So, I'm going to talk to you for just three minutes

那麼，我會用短短三分鐘的時間，

about the importance of why you need to try

與各位談談，嘗試更多錯誤

to make more mistakes.

的重要性。

Because everybody here,

因為，

no matter what, everybody has something

不論如何，在座的各位

that you would like to do,

每個人都有想做

but that you're scared to do.

卻不敢去做的事。

And the reason you're scared to do it is

而不敢去做的原因，

because you think you will fail horribly

是因為覺得自己會徹底失敗，

and everything will go wrong.

然後一切都毀了。

So, I'm going to tell you that it is important

所以，我來跟大家說，

to make those mistakes, and you have to try to

這些錯誤是重要的，你也必須放手去試。

for very scientific reasons, like this:

這是有科學根據的

Number one, learning.

首先，是學習。

The way that you learn is by making mistakes,

從錯誤中學習

in the same way that muscles are built.

跟增強肌肉一樣。

What this means is that

這個意思是指

when you are in a gym, for example,

舉例來講，當你在健身房

and you are lifting some kind of weight

要進行重量訓練，

that is too strong for you to lift

但啞鈴太重，

and you get that kind of quivering,

然後手臂開始顫抖

and you can't lift it,

而無法將啞鈴舉起。

what is actually happening is little muscle fibers inside,

這個時候，體內的肌纖維

some of them are tearing, literally tearing.

有些正在撕裂。

And over the next two days,

接下來的兩天時間，

the muscle fibers repair themselves.

這些肌纖維會自我修復。

Every time they repair,

每次自我修復，

they repair themselves a little stronger,

這些肌纖維會變得更強一點，

and a little big bigger to adapt for future use.

更大一點，以應付未來的需要。

So, like there is a saying,

正如那句俗語：

"No pain, no gain."

「不經一事，不長一智 」

And it's the same with the brain.

增強腦力也是同樣的道理。

So, please take a second, and... take ten seconds,

請看一下....十秒好了

and look at these two sets of words.

來看看這兩組單字。

Okay.

時間到。

In multiple tests,

經多次實驗，

they found that people remember this second set of words

結果得知，人們記住第二組的單字

three times as much as they remember the first set of words.

比第一組的多三倍。

And neuroscientists have studied why,

神經學家研究發現其原因是

it's when you are looking at

當你在看這些單字，

these words and you find a little gap,

然後發現有缺字，

your brain has to struggle for a second.

你的腦袋必須奮戰一下

It actually is kind of failing.

這算是一種挫敗

It doesn't know what it is at first

一開始看不出來是什麼字，

and it takes a second to fill in the gap,

再花1秒鐘填補那個空缺之後，

and then it figures it out.

才弄清楚那是什麼字。

And that one second of struggle

那一秒鐘的奮戰，

makes all the difference in the world.

影響深遠。

That's why you retain the knowledge

這就是為什麼你記得的資訊

on the right hand side more than the left.

比較多是右邊的，而不是左邊的。

You remember things you learned with some failures

跟一帆風順比起來，

and with some mistakes,

從挫敗與失誤中學到的東西，

more than the things were easy.

會記得比較清楚。

So, to learn more effectively,

因此，想要更有效率的學習，

you need make more mistakes.

你需要經歷更多的錯誤。

Doing what you know is fun,

做已知的事情是愜意的，

but doesn't improve you.

但不會讓你進步。

So reason number one why you need to make more mistakes

所以，需要更多錯誤的第一個原因是

is learning.

學習。

Number two is that quantity leads to quality.

第二個原因，量造就質。

And this comes from a story about a pottery class.

這個源自於一個陶藝課的故事。

There was a university class

有一個大學課程

where they teach pottery making, I guess.

我想是在教陶藝吧。

And the teacher tried an experiment one day,

有一天...應該說，是有一個學期，

or one semester I should say.

老師做了一項實驗。

At the beginning of class for the whole semester,

學期初的第一堂課，

he said, "Ok, class, I'm going to do an experiment."

他說：「好，各位同學，我們來進行一項實驗。」

I'll stand in the middle to do it right here.

我先站到中間來，示範給大家看。

He said, "Everybody on the left-hand side of the class,

他說：「在我左手邊的同學，

for the entire semester, you are going to work

這個學期的作業

on just one pot, all semester.

只要作一個陶壺就好。

And at the end of semester,

學期結束的時候，

you will be graded on the perfection of that one pot.

那一個陶壺的完美程度，將會是你的成績。」

He said, "Everybody on the right-hand side of the class,

他接著說：「在我右手邊的同學，

you are going to be graded sheerly on quantity.

你們的成績只會依據作品的數量來評分。

I don't care what you make,

不管你們的作品是什麼，

I don't care what it looks like, I won't even look at it.

也不管它長怎樣，我連看都不會看。

But in the last day of class,

在最後一堂課的時候，

I'm going to bring in my bathroom scale,

我會帶體重計來，

and we're going to weight it.

然後進行秤量。

Anybody who has made over 15 pounds of pots, gets an A.

陶壺總重超過15磅的同學，可以拿到 A

Anybody who made over 14 pounds of pots,

超過14磅的同學，

gets a B. C, etc.

可以拿到 B，再來是C，以此類推。」

So that's it. So the whole semester,

就這樣。 接下來的整個學期

this half of room was working

這半邊的學生

just on one pot all semester.

只需要作一個陶壺；

This half of room will just throw in

另一邊的學生

pieces of clay on anything and it didn't matter,

拿陶土亂丟也無所謂，

they were just messing around.

因為就是胡搞瞎玩。

On the final day of class,

於是，到了學期末的最後一堂課。

the teacher brought in a few outside observers,

老師帶了幾位校外人士來，

I guess they were pottery aficionados,

我猜他們是陶藝玩家

that came to look at these pots.

來欣賞這些陶壺。

And he didn't tell the judges

但老師並沒有告知這些評審

which half of room the pots came from.

哪些陶壺是哪邊的學生製作的。

And maybe you are not surprised,

也許你們對於結果不感到驚訝

but all of the best pots in the final day

但是當天所有評價最好的陶壺

came from this half of class.

都來自這半邊的同學。

Because what they found is that all semester,

他們發現，整個學期下來，

this half of class just kept trying stuff,

這邊的學生一直不斷嘗試、

doing things, and making mistakes,

動手做、犯錯、

and doing experiments,

做實驗。

and getting so much experience making pots

他們得到了很多的實作經驗，

that they got so much better.

自然也就進步了。

Whereas this half had spent the whole semester

而另外一邊的學生用一個學期的時間

coming up with grandiose theories,

構思了雄偉的理論。

and at the end of semester

到了學期末，

had nothing more to show for it

交出來的，

than some fancy theories and a mediocre pot.

只是華麗不實的理論，跟一個平庸無奇的陶壺。

So, anyway. Why you need to make more mistakes?

總之，為什麼需要更多錯誤？

Number one, it enhances your learning.

第一、它會強化學習。

Number two, it's that quantity, just doing things,

第二、錯誤就是數量，

and making mistakes, and messing up,

放手去作，不斷的犯錯、搞砸，

in the end leads to better quality anyway.

終究還是會得到更好的品質。

And lastly, I went to a music school,

最後，我念的是音樂學校，

I went to a jazz school in Boston,

一間在波士頓的爵士樂學校，

called Brooklyn School of Music.

校名是 布魯克林音樂學院。

And there is a common saying in jazz that

爵士樂裡有一個名言：

if you're not making mistakes,

如果你沒有犯錯，

you're not trying hard enough.

表示你不夠努力。

In classical music, everybody aims for perfection.

在古典樂領域中，大家都追求完美。

But in jazz, it's like if somebody gets up there and plays a perfect solo,

但在爵士樂，如果是無懈可擊的完美獨奏，

you kinda go "um!".

台下只會興致淡淡的回應「嗯」

But if somebody gets up there and they're reaching for new notes,

如果是在嘗試新的音符，

they are hitting some occasional squeakers,

偶而還會出現破音，

you go, "yeah, right on!"

台下會很熱烈地歡呼「喔！讚啦！」

So, and lastly it's a lot of more fun.

最後的最後，這樣比較有趣。

Thanks!

謝謝！

(Applause)

(掌聲)