I had somebody count the number of books

我請人數了有多少本書

with "happiness" in the title published in the last five years

在近五年來出版書名有提到"快樂"

and they gave up after about 40, and there were many more.

他們數到大約超過40本,並且還有更多

There is a huge wave of interest in happiness,

越來越多人對快樂的議題感到有興趣

among researchers.

展開研究

There is a lot of happiness coaching.

其中更多訓練教導人如何變快樂

Everybody would like to make people happier.

人人都想讓人更快樂

But in spite of all this flood of work,

雖這類書籍多如牛毛

there are several cognitive traps

仍有些認知上的陷阱

that sort of make it almost impossible to think straight

讓人幾乎難以直接領會

about happiness.

快樂的本質

And my talk today will be mostly about these cognitive traps.

我今天主要談論的就是這些認知陷阱

This applies to laypeople thinking about their own happiness,

它們既會影響一般人對自身快樂的觀感

and it applies to scholars thinking about happiness,

也會影響學者對快樂的判斷

because it turns out we're just as messed up as anybody else is.

因為我們和任何人一樣都會出錯

The first of these traps

第一個陷阱

is a reluctance to admit complexity.

是不願去承認快樂並不簡單

It turns out that the word "happiness"

事實證明快樂這個詞

is just not a useful word anymore,

已經再也不實用了

because we apply it to too many different things.

因為我們拿它來詮釋太多事情

I think there is one particular meaning to which we might restrict it,

我想我們應該限定它的意思

but by and large,

不過,一般而言

this is something that we'll have to give up

我們得放棄這個想法

and we'll have to adopt the more complicated view

並用更複雜的觀點來看

of what well-being is.

何謂快樂生活

The second trap is a confusion between experience and memory;

第二個陷阱是經驗和記憶間的混淆

basically, it's between being happy in your life,

基本上這是在生活中體會快樂

and being happy about your life

和覺得生活很快樂

or happy with your life.

樂觀生活之間的差別

And those are two very different concepts,

這兩者意義相差甚遠

and they're both lumped in the notion of happiness.

論及快樂常混為一談

And the third is the focusing illusion,

第三點是大事幻覺論

and it's the unfortunate fact that we can't think about any circumstance

不幸,當我們想到一些

that affects well-being

關於快樂生活的情境

without distorting its importance.

勢必會覺得它特別重要

I mean, this is a real cognitive trap.

這是真正的認知陷阱

There's just no way of getting it right.

避無可避

Now, I'd like to start with an example

現在,我想以一個例子開頭

of somebody who had a question-and-answer session

有個人上過我的課後

after one of my lectures reported a story,

在Q&A回應了一則故事

and that was a story --

這個故事是這樣的

He said he'd been listening to a symphony,

他說他有次在聽交響樂時

and it was absolutely glorious music

覺得音樂真是動聽極了

and at the very end of the recording,

但在演奏快結束時

there was a dreadful screeching sound.

卻冒出了可怕刺耳的聲音

And then he added, really quite emotionally,

接著他生氣地表示

it ruined the whole experience.

這毀了整個愉快的經驗

But it hadn't.

事實並非如此

What it had ruined were the memories of the experience.

毀了的是對於這段經驗的記憶

He had had the experience.

他經歷了這段經驗

He had had 20 minutes of glorious music.

經歷了20分鐘的聽覺饗宴

They counted for nothing

現在都不算數了

because he was left with a memory;

因為他只剩下記憶

the memory was ruined,

有污點的記憶

and the memory was all that he had gotten to keep.

他就只剩下這段記憶

What this is telling us, really,

這告訴我們

is that we might be thinking of ourselves and of other people

我們在思考自己和別人時

in terms of two selves.

用了兩種我

There is an experiencing self,

經驗的我

who lives in the present

活在當下

and knows the present,

感受當下

is capable of re-living the past,

也能感受過去的經驗

but basically it has only the present.

但基本上他只屬於當下

It's the experiencing self that the doctor approaches --

當醫生要接觸的是經驗的我

you know, when the doctor asks,

他會問

"Does it hurt now when I touch you here?"

"我碰你這裡會痛嗎?"

And then there is a remembering self,

另一個是記憶的我

and the remembering self is the one that keeps score,

負責記錄生活

and maintains the story of our life,

抒寫生活故事

and it's the one that the doctor approaches

醫生要找他時

in asking the question,

會這麼問

"How have you been feeling lately?"

"最近感覺如何?"

or "How was your trip to Albania?" or something like that.

或"去阿爾巴尼亞好玩嗎",類似的問題

Those are two very different entities,

經驗的我和記憶的我

the experiencing self and the remembering self,

兩者十分不同

and getting confused between them is part of the mess

我們之所以不懂快樂

about the notion of happiness.

兩者的混淆是部分原因

Now, the remembering self

記憶的我

is a storyteller.

負責說故事

And that really starts with a basic response of our memories --

故事從記憶中直接擷取

it starts immediately.

即時上傳

We don't only tell stories when we set out to tell stories.

我們講故事的時候並不是我們在講

Our memory tells us stories,

是我們的記憶在說故事

that is, what we get to keep from our experiences

我們從經驗中儲存下來的

is a story.

是故事

And let me begin with one example.

讓我用一個例子開頭

This is an old study.

以前有個研究

Those are actual patients undergoing a painful procedure.

由真正的病人接受痛苦的治療

I won't go into detail. It's no longer painful these days,

細節不多說,現今的療法已不再難受

but it was painful when this study was run in the 1990s.

但在實驗進行的90年代,治療令人痛不欲生

They were asked to report on their pain every 60 seconds.

病人必須每分鐘報告痛苦指數

Here are two patients,

這邊有兩個病患

those are their recordings.

還有他們的紀錄

And you are asked, "Who of them suffered more?"

我問你,"誰受苦多一點?"

And it's a very easy question.

這問題很簡單

Clearly, Patient B suffered more --

顯然,是病人B

his colonoscopy was longer,

他的結腸鏡檢查時間較長

and every minute of pain that Patient A had,

病人A每分鐘感覺的疼痛

Patient B had, and more.

病人B也感覺到了,而且更久

But now there is another question:

但現在有另一個問題

"How much did these patients think they suffered?"

"誰感覺比較痛?"

And here is a surprise.

這裡有個小意外

The surprise is that Patient A

意外的是病人A

had a much worse memory of the colonoscopy

對於結腸鏡檢查的記憶比病人B

than Patient B.

還糟糕

The stories of the colonoscopies were different,

兩段結腸鏡檢查的故事不同

and because a very critical part of the story is how it ends.

重點在於故事的結尾

And neither of these stories is very inspiring or great --

兩個故事都不怎麼啟發人心

but one of them is this distinct ... (Laughter)

不過其中之一

but one of them is distinctly worse than the other.

顯然感受比另一個還差

And the one that is worse

感覺較糟的這一個

is the one where pain was at its peak at the very end;

結尾時處於疼痛高峰

it's a bad story.

這不是個好故事

How do we know that?

我們怎知道的?

Because we asked these people after their colonoscopy,

因為我們在檢查結束後問他們

and much later, too,

稍晚之後問說

"How bad was the whole thing, in total?"

"整體而言,感覺多糟?"

And it was much worse for A than for B, in memory.

而A的記憶感覺比B糟糕許多

Now this is a direct conflict

顯然經驗的我和記憶的我之間

between the experiencing self and the remembering self.

有了直接衝突

From the point of view of the experiencing self,

就經驗的我來看

clearly, B had a worse time.

顯然B比較難受

Now, what you could do with Patient A,

那病人A的情況該怎麼解釋

and we actually ran clinical experiments,

我們實際做了臨床實驗

and it has been done, and it does work --

實驗完成了,確實有用

you could actually extend the colonoscopy of Patient A

病人A的檢查結果能得到解釋

by just keeping the tube in without jiggling it too much.

在於持續插入導管時不晃動得太厲害

That will cause the patient

雖然病人還是會痛

to suffer, but just a little

但只有一點點

and much less than before.

比先前好受許多

And if you do that for a couple of minutes,

繼續這樣做,幾分鐘下來

you have made the experiencing self

病人A的經驗的我

of Patient A worse off,

感覺每況愈下

and you have the remembering self of Patient A

而病人A記憶的我

a lot better off,

感覺好多了

because now you have endowed Patient A

因為你給了病人A

with a better story

一個好一點的故事

about his experience.

記憶他的經驗

What defines a story?

故事好壞由什麼決定?

And that is true of the stories

記憶告訴我們的故事

that memory delivers for us,

是真實的

and it's also true of the stories that we make up.

我們講的故事也是真的

What defines a story are changes,

故事好壞取決於變化

significant moments and endings.

重要時刻和結尾的變化

Endings are very, very important

結尾非常重要

and, in this case, the ending dominated.

上面的例子是結尾由主導

Now, the experiencing self

經驗的我

lives its life continuously.

延續這個生活經驗

It has moments of experience, one after the other.

擁有各種時刻的經驗,一個接一個

And you can ask: What happens to these moments?

你會問"這些時刻怎麼了?"

And the answer is really straightforward:

答案很簡單

They are lost forever.

他們永遠消失了

I mean, most of the moments of our life --

我們生活中大多數時刻

and I calculated, you know, the psychological present

我算了算,以心理學上的現在而言

is said to be about three seconds long;

據說長達三秒

that means that, you know,

這表示

in a life there are about 600 million of them;

一個人一生中有大約6億個時刻

in a month, there are about 600,000 --

一個月有60萬個時刻

most of them don't leave a trace.

它們大多數不留痕跡

Most of them are completely ignored

大多數被全然忽視了

by the remembering self.

被記憶的我忽視

And yet, somehow you get the sense

但是現在你發現

that they should count,

他們應該也算數

that what happens during these moments of experience

因為我們經驗的每分每秒發生的一切

is our life.

組成了我們的人生

It's the finite resource that we're spending

他們是我們活在地球上

while we're on this earth.

就會消耗的有限資源

And how to spend it

該如何使用

would seem to be relevant,

似乎很重要

but that is not the story

但這不是故事

that the remembering self keeps for us.

也不是記憶的我會留給我們的

So we have the remembering self

我們有記憶的我

and the experiencing self,

和經驗的我

and they're really quite distinct.

兩者很好區別

The biggest difference between them

其中最大的不同

is in the handling of time.

在於處理時間的方式

From the point of view of the experiencing self,

就經驗的我而言

if you have a vacation,

如果你有一個假期

and the second week is just as good as the first,

第二週和第一週同等快樂

then the two-week vacation

那麼兩週下來

is twice as good as the one-week vacation.

快樂的份量是一週假期的兩倍

That's not the way it works at all for the remembering self.

記憶的我不是這樣算

For the remembering self, a two-week vacation

對記憶的我來說,兩週假期

is barely better than the one-week vacation

沒有比一週假期好多少

because there are no new memories added.

因為沒有新的記憶加入

You have not changed the story.

你沒有改變故事的劇情

And in this way,

因此

time is actually the critical variable

以時間長短

that distinguishes a remembering self

區分記憶的我和經驗的我

from an experiencing self;

是不可靠的

time has very little impact on the story.

時間對故事影響不大

Now, the remembering self does more

記憶的我所做的

than remember and tell stories.

不只記憶和說故事

It is actually the one that makes decisions

他也是真正做決定的人

because, if you have a patient who has had, say,

因為,假如你的病人有選擇權

two colonoscopies with two different surgeons

先由兩個醫生分別檢查一次

and is deciding which of them to choose,

然後選擇醫生

then the one that chooses

負責選擇的

is the one that has the memory that is less bad,

會選擇感覺較好的記憶中

and that's the surgeon that will be chosen.

執行檢查的醫生

The experiencing self

經驗的我

has no voice in this choice.

做選擇時無從置喙

We actually don't choose between experiences,

我們事實上不是在兩段經驗中做選擇

we choose between memories of experiences.

而是在兩段經驗的記憶中選擇

And even when we think about the future,

而且,當我們在想未來的時候

we don't think of our future normally as experiences.

一般我們不會以經驗的形式去思考

We think of our future

我們把未來

as anticipated memories.

以預想的記憶形式呈現

And basically you can look at this,

基本上你可以看這個

you know, as a tyranny of the remembering self,

記憶的我是個暴君

and you can think of the remembering self

你可以把記憶的我想成

sort of dragging the experiencing self

有點像是在跩著經驗的我

through experiences that

透過經驗的我用不著的經驗

the experiencing self doesn't need.

主宰個人的思考

I have that sense that

我有個想法

when we go on vacations

當我們放假時

this is very frequently the case;

往往

that is, we go on vacations,

之所以放假

to a very large extent,

有很大一部分

in the service of our remembering self.

是為了記憶的我

And this is a bit hard to justify I think.

我想這有點難辯證

I mean, how much do we consume our memories?

我們使用了多少記憶

That is one of the explanations

可以解釋

that is given for the dominance

記憶的我

of the remembering self.

為何能主導

And when I think about that, I think about a vacation

這讓我想起一次假期

we had in Antarctica a few years ago,

幾年前在南極度過的假期

which was clearly the best vacation I've ever had,

可說是我最棒的一個假期

and I think of it relatively often,

和其他假期相比

relative to how much I think of other vacations.

我比較常想起他

And I probably have consumed

這趟三周的旅程

my memories of that three-week trip, I would say,

我大概用掉了

for about 25 minutes in the last four years.

過去四年來大約25分鐘的記憶量

Now, if I had ever opened the folder

現在,如果我打開資料夾

with the 600 pictures in it,

裡面有600張照片

I would have spent another hour.

我可能要多花一小時回憶

Now, that is three weeks,

三周的旅程

and that is at most an hour and a half.

最多用一個半小時回憶

There seems to be a discrepancy.

這似乎不成比例

Now, I may be a bit extreme, you know,

現在,這讓我有點不滿

in how little appetite I have for consuming memories,

因為我記得的真是太少了

but even if you do more of this,

不過就算你記得再多

there is a genuine question:

這裡有個實際的問題

Why do we put so much weight on memory

為什麼我們這麼依賴記憶

relative to the weight that we put on experiences?

比依賴經驗還多

So I want you to think

所以我希望你能思考

about a thought experiment.