Name: ted 中英雙語字幕: 希娜 艾因嘉：選擇的藝術 (TED 中英雙語字幕: 希娜 艾因嘉：選擇的藝術)
Uploaded: 2025-04-16T13:20:13.000Z
Duration: 24 min 6 s

Translators note Today I'm going to take you around the world in 18 minutes.

譯者注：今天，我將用 18 分鐘帶您環遊世界。

My base of operations is in the US, but let's start at the other end of the map, in Kyoto, Japan, where I was living with a Japanese family while I was doing part of my dissertational research 15 years ago.

我的工作基地在美國，但讓我們從地圖的另一端--日本京都--說起吧。15 年前，我在那裡進行部分論文研究時，住在一個日本家庭裡。

程度副詞

I knew even then that I would encounter cultural differences and misunderstandings, but they popped up when I least expected it.

我當時就知道會遇到文化差異和誤解，但它們卻在我最意想不到的時候突然出現。

On my first day, I went to a restaurant and I ordered a cup of green tea with sugar.

第一天，我去了一家餐館，點了一杯加糖的綠茶。

After a pause, the waiter said, One does not put sugar in green tea.

頓了頓，服務員說，綠茶裡不放糖。

I know, I said, I'm aware of this custom, but I really like my tea sweet.

我知道，我說過，我知道這個習俗，但我真的喜歡我的茶是甜的。

In response, he gave me an even more courteous version of the same explanation.

對此，他給了我一個更加禮貌的解釋。

I understand, I said, that the Japanese do not put sugar in their green tea, but I'd like to put some sugar in my green tea.

我說，我知道日本人不在綠茶裡放糖，但我想在我的綠茶裡放點糖。

Surprised by my insistence, the waiter had to took up the issue with the manager.

服務員被我的堅持嚇了一跳，只好向經理提出了這個問題。

Pretty soon, a lengthy discussion ensued and finally the manager came over to me and said, I am very sorry, we do not have sugar.

很快，我們進行了長時間的討論，最後經理走過來對我說：非常抱歉，我們沒有糖。

Well, since I couldn't have my tea the way I wanted it, I ordered a cup of coffee, which the waiter brought over promptly.

好吧，既然不能按我想要的方式喝茶，我就點了一杯咖啡，服務員很快就端了過來。

Resting on the saucer were two packets of sugar.

My failure to procure myself a cup of sweet green tea was not due to a simple misunderstanding.

我沒能給自己買到一杯甜綠茶，並不是因為一個簡單的誤會。

This was due to a fundamental difference in our ideas about choice.

這是因為我們對選擇的觀念存在根本性的差異。

From my American perspective, when a paying customer makes a reasonable request based on her preferences, she has every right to have that request met.

從我美國人的角度來看，當付費顧客根據自己的喜好提出合理要求時，她完全有權要求得到滿足。

The American way to quote Burger King is to have it your way because as Starbucks says, happiness is in your choices.

美國人引用漢堡王的方式就是隨心所欲，因為正如星巴克所說，幸福在於你的選擇。

But from the Japanese perspective, it's their duty to protect those who don't know any better.

但從日本人的角度來看，他們有責任保護那些不懂事的人。

In this case, the ignorant gaijin for making the wrong choice.

在這種情況下，無知的老外做出了錯誤的選擇。

Let's face it, the way I wanted my tea was inappropriate according to cultural standards and they were doing their best to help me save face.

面對現實吧，按照文化標準，我喝茶的方式是不合適的，他們在盡力幫我挽回面子。

Americans tend to believe that they've reached some sort of pinnacle in the way they practice choice.

美國人往往認為，他們在選擇方式上已經達到了某種巔峰。

They think that choice is seen through the American lens best fulfills an innate and universal desire for choice in all humans.

他們認為，從美國人的視角看選擇，最能滿足全人類與生俱來的普遍選擇慾望。

Unfortunately, these beliefs are based on assumptions that don't always hold true in many countries, in many cultures.

不幸的是，這些信念所基於的假設在許多國家、許多文化中並不總是成立的。

At times, they don't even hold true at America's own borders.

有時，它們甚至在美國自己的邊境也不成立。

I'd like to discuss some of these assumptions and the problems associated with them.

我想談談其中的一些假設以及與之相關的問題。

As I do so, I hope you'll start thinking about some of your own assumptions and how they were shaped by your backgrounds.

在我這樣做的同時，我希望你們能開始思考自己的一些假設，以及這些假設是如何由你們的背景所塑造的。

First assumption, if a choice affects you, then you should be the one to make it.

第一個假設是，如果一個選擇影響到你，那麼就應該由你來做出選擇。

This is the only way to ensure that your preferences and interests will be most fully accounted for.

只有這樣，才能確保您的喜好和興趣得到最充分的考慮。

In America, the primary locus of choice is the individual.

在美國，選擇的主要場所是個人。

People must choose for themselves, sometimes sticking to their guns regardless of what other people want or recommend.

人們必須自己做出選擇，有時會不顧別人的要求或建議而堅持己見。

But do all individuals benefit from taking such an approach to choice?

但是，是否所有的人都能從這種選擇方法中獲益呢？

Mark Lipper and I did a series of studies in which we sought the answer to this very question.

馬克-利珀和我曾做過一系列研究，尋找這個問題的答案。

In one study, which we ran in Japantown, San Francisco, we brought seven to nine-year-old Anglo and Asian-American children into the laboratory and we divided them up into three groups.

在舊金山日本城進行的一項研究中，我們把 7 到 9 歲的英裔和亞裔美國兒童帶到實驗室，抽成三組。

The first group came in and they were greeted by Miss Smith, who showed them six big piles of anagram puzzles.

第一組人進來後，史密斯小姐向他們打招呼，並向他們展示了六大堆謎題。

The kids got to choose which pile of anagrams they would like to do and they even got to choose which marker they would write their answers with.

孩子們可以選擇要做哪一堆謎語，甚至可以選擇用哪種記號筆寫答案。

When the second group of children came in, they were brought to the same room, shown the same anagrams, but this time Miss Smith told them which anagrams to do and which markers to write their answers with.

當第二組孩子進來時，他們被帶到同一個房間，給他們看了同樣的謎語，但這次史密斯小姐告訴他們要做哪些謎語，用哪種記號筆寫答案。

Now when the third group came in, they were told that their anagrams and their markers had been chosen by their mothers.

現在，當第三組人進來時，他們被告知，他們的字母表和標記都是由他們的母親選擇的。

In reality, the kids who were told what to do, whether by Miss Smith or their mothers, were actually given the very same activity which their counterparts in the first group had freely chosen.

實際上，無論是史密斯小姐還是他們的母親，那些被告知該做什麼的孩子們實際上得到了與第一組中的孩子們自由選擇的活動完全相同的活動。

With this procedure, we were able to ensure that the kids across the three groups all did the same activity, making it easier for us to compare performance.

有了這個程序，我們就能確保三個組的孩子都做同樣的活動，從而更容易比較他們的表現。

Such small differences in the way we administered the activity yielded striking differences in how well they performed.

我們開展活動的方式的細微差別，卻在他們的表現上產生了驚人的差異。

Anglo-Americans, they did two and a half times more anagrams when they got to choose them as compared to when it was chosen for them by Miss Smith or their mothers.

與史密斯小姐或他們的母親為他們選擇的謎語相比，英美人自己選擇的謎語要多出兩倍半。

If the task was dictated by another, their performance suffered.

如果任務由他人主宰，他們的表現就會受到影響。

In fact, some of the kids were visibly embarrassed when they were told that their mothers had been consulted.

事實上，有些孩子在得知他們的母親被徵求過意見時，明顯感到尷尬。

One girl named Mary said, you asked my mother?

一個叫瑪麗的女孩說，你問我媽媽了？

In contrast, Asian-American children performed best when they believed their mothers had made the choice.

相比之下，亞裔美國兒童在相信母親做出選擇時表現最好。

Second best when they chose for themselves and least well when it had been chosen by Miss Smith.

當他們自己選擇時是第二好的，當史密斯小姐選擇時是最差的。

A girl named Natsumi even approached Miss Smith as she was leaving the room and tugged on her skirt and asked, could you please tell my mommy I did it just like she said?

一個名叫 Natsumi 的女孩甚至在史密斯小姐離開房間時走到她身邊，拽著她的裙子問：你能告訴我媽媽，我是按她說的做的嗎？

The first generation children were strongly influenced by their immigrant parents' approach to choice.

第一代兒童深受其移民父母選擇方式的影響。

For them, choice was not just a way of defining and asserting their individuality, but a way to create community and harmony by deferring to the choices of people whom they trust it and respect it.

對他們來說，選擇不僅是界定和堅持個性的一種方式，也是通過服從他們信任和尊重的人的選擇來創造社區與和諧的一種方式。

If they had a concept of being true to oneself, then that self most likely composed not of an individual, but of a collective.

如果他們有 "忠於自我 "的概念，那麼這個自我很可能不是由個人組成的，而是由一個集體組成的。

Success was just as much about pleasing key figures as it was about satisfying one's own preferences.

成功既要取悅關鍵人物，也要滿足自己的喜好。

Or you could say that the individual's preferences were shaped by the preferences of specific others.

或者也可以說，個人的偏好是由特定他人的偏好形成的。

The assumption then that we do best when the individual self chooses only holds when that self is clearly divided from others.

是以，只有在自我與他人明確區分開來的情況下，"當個人自我做出選擇時，我們才能做得最好 "這一假設才會成立。

When in contrast two or more individuals see their choices and their outcomes as intimately connected, then they may amplify one another's success by turning choosing into a collective act.

相反，如果兩個或更多的人認為他們的選擇和結果是密切相關的，那麼他們就會把選擇變成一種集體行為，從而擴大彼此的成功。

To insist that they choose independently might actually compromise both their performance and their relationships.

堅持讓他們獨立選擇，實際上可能會影響他們的工作表現和人際關係。

Yet that is exactly what the American paradigm demands.

然而，這正是美國模式所要求的。

It leaves little room for interdependence or an acknowledgment of individual fallibility.

它幾乎沒有為相互依存或承認個人弱點留出餘地。

It requires that everyone treat choice as a private and self-defining act.

它要求每個人都將選擇視為一種私人和自我定義的行為。

People that have grown up in such a paradigm might find it motivating, but it is a mistake to assume that everyone thrives under the pressure of choosing alone.

在這種模式下成長起來的人可能會覺得這是一種激勵，但如果認為每個人都能在獨自選擇的壓力下茁壯成長，那就大錯特錯了。

The second assumption which informs the American view of choice goes something like this.

美國人選擇觀的第二個假設是這樣的。

The more choices you have, the more likely you are to make the best choice.

選擇越多，就越有可能做出最好的選擇。

So bring it on Walmart with a hundred thousand different products and Amazon with 27 million bucks and Match.com with, what is it, 15 million date possibilities now?

沃爾瑪有 10 萬種不同的產品，亞馬遜有 2,700 萬美元，Match.com 有 1,500 萬個約會機會。

Let's test this assumption by heading over to Eastern Europe.

讓我們到東歐去驗證一下這個假設。

Here I interviewed people who were residents of formerly communist countries who had all faced the challenge of transitioning to a more democratic and capitalistic society.

在這裡，我採訪了前共產主義國家的居民，他們都面臨著向更加民主和資本主義社會轉型的挑戰。

One of the most interesting revelations came not from an answer to a question, but from a simple gesture of hospitality.

最有趣的啟示之一不是來自對問題的回答，而是來自一個簡單的待客姿態。

When the participants arrived for their interview, I offered them a set of drinks.

當參與者到達採訪地點時，我給他們提供了一套飲料。

Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, seven to be exact.

可樂、健怡可樂、雪碧，準確地說是七種。

During the very first session, which was run in Russia, one of the participants made a comment that really caught me off guard.

在俄羅斯舉辦的第一期培訓班上，一位學員的一句話讓我猝不及防。

I was so struck by this comment that from then on I started to offer all the participants those seven sodas, and I asked them, how many choices are these?

這句話讓我印象深刻，從那時起，我開始向所有參與者提供這七種蘇打水，我問他們，這有多少種選擇？

Again and again, they perceived these seven different sodas not as seven choices, but as one choice, soda or no soda.

他們一次又一次地認為，這七種不同的蘇打水不是七種選擇，而是一種選擇，即喝蘇打水或不喝蘇打水。

When I put out juice and water in addition to these seven sodas, now they perceived it as only three choices, juice, water, and soda.

當我把果汁和水放在這七種蘇打水之外時，現在他們認為只有三種選擇：果汁、水和蘇打水。

Compare this to the diehard devotion of many Americans, not just to a particular flavor of soda, but to a particular brand.

相比之下，許多美國人不僅對某種口味的蘇打水情有獨鍾，而且對某個品牌的蘇打水情有獨鍾。

You know, research shows repeatedly that we can't actually tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi.

要知道，研究一再表明，我們實際上分辨不出可口可樂和百事可樂的區別。

Of course, you and I know that Coke is the better choice.

當然，你我都知道可樂是更好的選擇。

For modern Americans who are exposed to more options and more ads associated with options than anyone else in the world, choice is just as much about who they are as it is about what the product is.

對於現代美國人來說，他們比世界上任何其他人都接觸到更多的選擇和更多與選擇相關的廣告，選擇既與他們的身份有關，也與產品的內容有關。

Combine this with the assumption that more choices are always better, and you have a group of people for whom every little difference matters, and so every choice matters.

再加上 "選擇越多越好 "的假設，就會產生這樣一群人：對他們來說，每一個細微的差別都很重要，是以每一個選擇都很重要。

But for Eastern Europeans, the sudden availability of all these consumer products on the marketplace was a deluge.

但是，對於東歐人來說，市場上突然出現的這些消費品簡直就是洪水猛獸。

They were flooded with choice before they could protest that they didn't know how to swim.

他們還沒來得及抗議自己不會游泳，就被選擇淹沒了。

When asked, what words and images do you associate with choice, Gregors from Warsaw said, Ah, for me it is fear.

當被問及 "選擇 "會讓你聯想到哪些詞語和形象時，來自華沙的格雷戈斯說："啊，對我來說是恐懼。

Boden from Kiev said, in response to how he felt about the new consumer marketplace, It is too much.

來自基輔的 Boden 在回答他對新的消費市場的感受時說："這太多了。

A sociologist from the Warsaw Survey Agency explained, The older generation jumped from nothing to choice all around them.

華沙調查機構的一位社會學家解釋說："老一代人從一無所有跳到他們周圍的選擇。

They were never given a chance to learn how to react.

他們從來沒有機會學習如何應對。

And Tomasz, a young Polish man, said, I do not need 20 kinds of chewing gum.

波蘭青年托馬西說，我不需要 20 種口香糖。

I don't mean to say that I want no choice, but many of these choices are quite artificial.

我並不是說我不想有選擇，但許多選擇都是人為的。

In reality, many choices are between things that are not that much different.

實際上，很多選擇都是在差別不大的事物之間做出的。

The value of choice depends on our ability to perceive differences between the options.

選擇的價值取決於我們感知選項之間差異的能力。

Americans train their whole lives to play spot the difference.

美國人一生都在訓練玩 "找不同 "遊戲。

They practice this from such an early age that they've come to believe that everyone must be born with this ability.

他們從小就這樣做，以至於認為每個人天生都有這種能力。

In fact, though all humans share a basic need and desire for choice, we don't all see choice in the same places or to the same extent.

事實上，雖然全人類都有選擇的基本需求和願望，但我們並不是在同樣的地方或在同樣的程度上看到選擇。

When someone can't see how one choice is unlike another, or when there are too many choices to compare and contrast, the process of choosing can be confusing and frustrating.

如果一個人看不出一個選擇與另一個選擇有什麼不同，或者有太多的選擇需要比較和對比，那麼選擇的過程就會令人困惑和沮喪。

字幕列表影片播放

ted 中英雙語字幕: 希娜艾因嘉：選擇的藝術 (TED 中英雙語字幕: 希娜艾因嘉：選擇的藝術)

perspective

perceive

individual

practice

ted 中英雙語字幕: 希娜 艾因嘉：選擇的藝術 (TED 中英雙語字幕: 希娜 艾因嘉：選擇的藝術)

perspective

perceive

individual

practice

ted 中英雙語字幕: 希娜艾因嘉：選擇的藝術 (TED 中英雙語字幕: 希娜艾因嘉：選擇的藝術)