people's place in our hearts. However, too often,  our messages end up flat or somewhat unconvincing;  

人在我們心中的地位。然而，很多時候，我們的資訊最終都是平淡無奇的，或者說是有些缺乏說服力。

we say that the dinner was 'wonderful',  the present 'brilliant' and the holiday  

我們說，晚餐是 "精彩 "的，禮物是 "精彩 "的，節日是 "精彩 "的。

'the best ever', all of which may be true while  failing to get at what truly touched or moved us.  

'有史以來最棒的'，所有這些可能都是真的，卻沒有說到真正觸動或感動我們的地方。

To render our messages more effective, we  might take a lesson from an unexpected quarter:  

為了使我們的資訊更加有效，我們可以從一個意想不到的方面吸取教訓。

the history of art. Many paintings and poems  are in effect a series of thank you notes to  

藝術史。許多繪畫和詩歌實際上是一系列的感謝信，給

parts of the world. They are thank yous for the  sunset in springtime, a river valley at dawn,  

世界各地。他們是感謝春日裡的夕陽，黎明時分的河谷。

the last days of autumn or the face of a loved  one. What distinguishes great from mediocre art  

秋天的最後一天或親人的臉。偉大的藝術和平庸的藝術的區別是什麼？

is in large measure the level of detail with which  the world has been studied. A talented artist is,  

在很大程度上是研究這個世界的細節水準。一個有才華的藝術家是：

first and foremost, someone who takes us into  the specifics of the reasons why an experience  

首先，有人帶著我們去了解一個經歷的具體原因。

or place felt valuable. They don't merely tell  us that spring is 'nice', they zero in on the  

或地方感到有價值。它們不僅告訴我們春天是 "好 "的，它們還將目光鎖定在了 "好 "的方面。

particular contributing factors to this niceness:  leaves that have the softness of a newborn's  

導致這種好感的特殊因素：葉子有新生兒的柔軟度。

hands, the contrast between a warm sun and a sharp  breeze, the plaintive cry of baby blackbirds.  

手，溫暖的陽光和急促的微風之間的對比，小黑鳥樸實的叫聲。

The more the poet moves from generalities  to specifics, the more the scene comes alive  

詩人越是由籠統到具體，場景就越是生動。

in our minds. The same holds true in painting. A  great painter goes beneath a general impression  

在我們的腦海中。在繪畫中也是如此。一個偉大的畫家會在一般的印象之下...

of pleasure in order to select and emphasise  the truly attractive features of the landscape:  

的樂趣，以選擇和強調景觀的真正吸引力。

they show the sunlight filtering through the  leaves of the trees and reflecting off of a pool  

它們顯示了陽光透過樹葉，反射到池子裡的畫面。

of water in the road; they draw attention  to the craggy upper slopes of a mountain  

路上的水；他們引起人們對山的上坡的注意。

or the way a sequence of ridges and valleys open  up in the distance. They've asked themselves with  

或遠處一連串的山脊和山谷開闊的方式。他們問過自己

unusual rigour what is it that they particularly  appreciated about a scene and faithfully  

異常的嚴謹 他們對一個場景特別欣賞，並忠實地

transcribed their salient impressions. Some of  the reason why great artists are rare is that  

抄錄了他們的突出印象。偉大的藝術家之所以難得一見，有的原因是

our minds are not well set up to understand why we  feel as we do. We register our emotions in broad  

我們的大腦沒有很好的設置來理解我們為什麼會有這樣的感覺。我們的情緒被廣泛地記錄下來

strokes and derive an overall sense of our moods  long before we grasp the basis upon which they  

在我們掌握我們的情緒的基礎之前，我們就可以通過筆觸和推導出我們情緒的整體感。

rest. We are bad at travelling upstream from our  impressions to their source, it feels frustrating  

休息。我們不善於從印象的源頭逆流而上，這讓人感到沮喪

to have to ask too directly what was really  pleasing about a present or why exactly a person  

不得不太直接地問什麼是真正令人高興的禮物，或為什麼一個人究竟

seemed charming to have dinner with. But we can  be confident that if our minds have been affected,  

看起來很有魅力，可以一起吃飯。但我們可以相信，如果我們的思想受到影響。

the reasons why they have been so will be lodged  somewhere in consciousness as well, waiting to be  

他們為什麼會這樣的原因也會在意識中的某個地方，等待著被

uncovered with deftness and patience. We stand to  realise that it wasn't so much that the food was  

用巧勁和耐心揭開了。我們站在這裡意識到，這並不是因為食物是。

'delicious' but that the potatoes in particular  had an intriguing rosemary and garlic flavour  

"好吃"，但特別是洋芋有一種迷人的迷迭香和大蒜的味道。

to them. A friend wasn't just 'nice'; they  brought a hugely sensitive and generous tone  

對他們來說。朋友不僅僅是 "好"，他們帶來的是一種巨大的敏感和慷慨的語氣

to bear in asking us what it had been like for us  in adolescence after our dad died. And the camera  

在問我們父親去世後，青春期的我們是什麼樣子。而相機

wasn't just a 'great present'; it has an immensely  satisfying rubbery grip and a reassuringly  

不僅僅是一份 "大禮"，它還擁有非常令人滿意的橡膠握感和令人放心的。

clunky shutter sound that evokes a sturdier,  better older world. The details will be there,  

笨拙的快門聲，喚起了一個更堅固、更美好的舊世界。細節會有的。

waiting for us to catch them through our mental  sieve. Praise works best the more specific it can  

等著我們通過心理篩子來捕捉它們。讚美的效果最好，它可以越具體

be. We know this in love; the more a partner  can say what it is they appreciate about us,  

是。我們在愛情中知道，伴侶越是能說出欣賞我們的地方。

the more real their affection can feel. It is  when they've studied the shape of our fingers,  

他們的感情就越真實當他們研究了我們手指的形狀後。

when they've recognised and appreciated the quirks  of our character, when they've clocked the words  

當他們認識到並欣賞到我們性格的怪異時，當他們打卡了這些話時

we like or the way we end a phone call that the  praise starts to count. The person who has given a  

我們喜歡的方式或結束電話的方式，讚美開始計算。給過你讚美的人

dinner party or sent us a present is no different.  They too hunger for praise in its specific rather  

飯局或送我們的禮物也不例外。 他們也渴望得到具體的讚美，而不是。

than general forms. We don't have to be great  artists to send effective thank you notes: we  

比一般的形式。我們不一定要成為偉大的藝術家才能發送有效的感謝信：我們

just need to locate and hold on tightly to two or  three highly detailed reasons for our gratitude.

只需要找到並緊緊抓住兩三個高度細節化的理由，我們就會心存感激。