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So, people want a lot of things out of life,
人們總是想從生活中得到許多東西
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but I think, more than anything else, they want happiness.
但我認為,相較於其他,人們最想要的是幸福
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Aristotle called happiness "the chief good," the end
亞里斯多德將幸福稱為「最重要的好事」,也是
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towards which all other things aim.
所有其他事情最終的歸宿
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According to this view, the reason we want a big house
這樣來看的話,我們想要大房子
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or a nice car
或一部好車子
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or a good job
或是好工作的原因
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isn't that these things are intrinsically valuable.
並不是這些事物本身的價值
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It's that we expect them to bring us
而是期待這些東西可以帶給我們
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happiness.
幸福
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Now in the last 50 years, we Americans have gotten
半個世紀以來 我們美國人已經得到
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a lot of the things that we want. We're richer.
很多很多東西 我們變得富有
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We live longer. We have access to technology
我們的壽命更長 我們透過科技
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that would have seemed like science fiction just a few years ago.
過著幾年前還是被認為科幻小說中才有的生活
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The paradox of happiness is that even though the
這種存在於矛盾的幸福就是
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objective conditions of our lives have improved dramatically,
我們的物質生活得到了前所未有的提高
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we haven't actually gotten any happier.
而實際上我們卻沒有更快樂
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Maybe because these conventional notions of progress
這或許是因為這些傳統意義上的進步
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haven't delivered big benefits in terms of happiness,
從幸福的角度來說並沒有給我們帶來多大的價值
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there's been an increased interest in recent years in happiness itself.
這些年,人們更加關注幸福本身
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People have been debating the causes of happiness
人們爭辯幸福的成因
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for a really long time, in fact for thousands of years,
由來已久,事實上已歷經數千年了
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but it seems like many of those debates remain unresolved.
但似乎這些爭辯尚未得到結果
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Well, as with many other domains in life, I think
我覺得,對於生活中的其它領域
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the scientific method has the potential to answer this question.
用科學的研究方法是有希望回答這個問題的
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In fact, in the last few years, there's been an explosion
事實上,近幾年來,研究幸福
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in research on happiness. For example, we've learned a lot
已蔚為風潮。例如,我們學到很多
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about its demographics, how things like income
關於這方面的統計資料,例如收入
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and education, gender and marriage relate to it.
教育、性別和婚姻這些與幸福有關聯的因素
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But one of the puzzles this has revealed is that
而困擾我們的問題是
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factors like these don't seem to have a particularly strong effect.
以上這些因素對於人的幸福來說似乎沒有特殊的影響
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Yes, it's better to make more money rather than less,
當然,賺的錢越多越好
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or to graduate from college instead of dropping out,
拿到大學學位勝過於輟學
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but the differences in happiness tend to be small.
但是對於幸福與否,差異卻很小
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Which leaves the question, what are the big causes of happiness?
問題是,究竟甚麼是成就幸福的主因呢?
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I think that's a question we haven't really answered yet,
我想這個問題我們還沒真正得到答案
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but I think something that has the potential to be an answer
但是已經有些端倪
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is that maybe happiness has an awful lot to do with
或許幸福在很大程度上
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the contents of our moment-to-moment experiences.
和我們轉瞬之間的思考內容有關聯
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It certainly seems that we're going about our lives,
很明顯地,我們如何過日子
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that what we're doing, who we're with, what we're thinking about,
我們正在做甚麼,和誰一起,想些甚麼
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have a big influence on our happiness, and yet
都和我們的幸福息息相關,而且
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these are the very factors that have been very difficult,
這些重要的因素,一直是很難
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in fact almost impossible, for scientists to study.
事實上是不可能,用科學方法去研究的
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A few years ago, I came up with a way to study people's happiness
幾年前,我想到一個研究幸福的方法
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moment to moment as they're going about their daily lives
我們試圖關注人們日常生活的片段
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on a massive scale all over the world, something we'd never
而得到的數據是基於世界範圍內的調查的 而這個研究也是前所未有的
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been able to do before. Called trackyourhappiness.org,
我們為此建立了一個網站網址是trackyourhappiness.org (你的幸福足跡)
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it uses the iPhone to monitor people's happiness in real time.
我們透過蘋果手機去實時監測人們真實的幸福時刻
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How does this work? Basically, I send people signals
如何進行呢?基本上,我會傳送受測者一些訊號
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at random points throughout the day, and then I ask them
一天中隨機幾次,我問他們
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a bunch of questions about their moment-to-moment experience
一系列的問題,關於每個片刻的體驗
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at the instant just before the signal.
就在收到訊號前的當下感覺
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The idea is that, if we can watch how people's happiness
這個想法是,如果我們能觀察人們
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goes up and down over the course of the day,
在那一天中幸福感的高低起伏
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minute to minute in some cases,
有些是分鐘之間的體驗
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and try to understand how what people are doing,
並試著去了解當人們做甚麼
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who they're with, what they're thinking about, and all
和誰在一起,想些甚麼
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the other factors that describe our day, how those might
所有能形容自己那天的重點,那些因素是如何
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relate to those changes in happiness, we might be able
和幸福感的改變產生關聯,我們就有可能
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to discover some of the things that really have
發覺那些對於人的幸福
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a big influence on happiness.
有著重大影響的因素。
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We've been fortunate with this project to collect
我們很幸運地透過這個項目收集到了
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quite a lot of data, a lot more data of this kind than I think
很多很多資訊
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has ever been collected before,
比我先前預想的還多
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over 650,000 real-time reports
我們收到了超過65萬筆的即時紀錄
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from over 15,000 people.
而這些是從1萬5千多人中得到的
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And it's not just a lot of people, it's a really diverse group,
不僅人數眾多,還涵蓋各式各樣的群體
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people from a wide range of ages, from 18 to late 80s,
各個年齡層,18歲到80多歲
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a wide range of incomes, education levels,
不論學歷高低,收入多寡
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people who are married, divorced, widowed, etc.
已婚、離婚、守寡者等等
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They collectively represent every one of
這些受訪人代表了
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86 occupational categories and hail from over 80 countries.
來自超過80多個國家和86個不同行業的群體
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What I'd like to do with the rest of my time with you today
剩下的時間,我想和大家
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is talk a little bit about one of the areas that we've been
分享一下我們調查中涉及到的一個領域
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investigating, and that's mind-wandering.
那就是「分心」
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As human beings, we have this unique ability
身為人類,我們擁有一項獨特能力
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to have our minds stray away from the present.
就是讓思緒脫離現況
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This guy is sitting here working on his computer,
這傢伙坐在電腦前工作
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and yet he could be thinking about
但他可能正想到
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the vacation he had last month,
上個月的假期
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wondering what he's going to have for dinner.
想著晚餐要吃甚麼
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Maybe he's worried that he's going bald. (Laughter)
或許正煩惱自己可能會禿頭
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This ability to focus our attention on something other
這種可將注意力從現狀轉移到
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than the present is really amazing. It allows us to learn
其他地方的能力其實相當神奇。讓我們能用許多方式
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and plan and reason in ways that no other species of animal can.
學習、計畫和推理,這是其他物種無法做到的
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And yet it's not clear what the relationship is
可是還不能清楚說明這項能力的運用和
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between our use of this ability and our happiness.
幸福之間的關係
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You've probably heard people suggest that you should
或許有人曾向你建議
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stay focused on the present. "Be here now,"
專注眼前的事。「活在當下」
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you've probably heard a hundred times.
可能都聽膩了
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Maybe, to really be happy, we need to stay completely
也許,要幸福,我們還真的要完完全全地
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immersed and focused on our experience in the moment.
專心致志在當下的體驗
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Maybe these people are right. Maybe mind-wandering
這些忠告也許是對的,分心
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is a bad thing.
不是一件好事
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On the other hand, when our minds wander,
換言之,分心
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they're unconstrained. We can't change the physical reality
是自然而然的事情。我們不能改變物理現況
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in front of us, but we can go anywhere in our minds.
卻能任由心思隨意奔馳
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Since we know people want to be happy, maybe
我們知道人們都想快樂,或許
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when our minds wander, they're going to someplace happier than the place
任由思緒四處晃蕩,會帶我們到比眼前更快樂的地方
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that they're living. It would make a lot of sense.
也是有道理的
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In other words, maybe the pleasures of the mind
換句話說,也許透過分心
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allow us to increase our happiness with mind-wandering.
能帶給我們心情的愉快,增加幸福感
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Well, since I'm a scientist, I'd like to try to
因為我是科學家,比較傾向
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resolve this debate with some data, and in particular
透過數據來解決爭辯,我在這裡特別
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I'd like to present some data to you from three questions
為大家提供3個問題的一些數據
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that I ask with Track Your Happiness. Remember, this is from
這些得自於「你的幸福足跡」。別忘了,這是來自於
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sort of moment-to-moment experience in people's real lives.
一系列受訪者真實生活的每個片刻的經驗
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There are three questions. The first one is a happiness question:
3個問題。首先是關於幸福的問題
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How do you feel, on a scale ranging from very bad
從量表最壞到最好的分數,你感覺如何?
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to very good? Second, an activity question:
其次,關於活動的問題
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What are you doing, on a list of 22 different activities
你正在做甚麼?表列中有22個不同的活動
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including things like eating and working and watching TV?
包含像吃東西、工作和看電視
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And finally a mind-wandering question:
最後是分心的問題
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Are you thinking about something other
對於當下進行的活動中
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than what you're currently doing?
你心有旁騖嗎?
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People could say no -- in other words, I'm focused only on my task --
他們可能回答「不」--也就是「我專注在眼前的事情」--
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or yes -- I am thinking about something else --
或「是」--「我正在胡思亂想」--
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and the topic of those thoughts are pleasant,
以及這些想法會讓你愉快
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neutral or unpleasant.
沒特別感覺或是不愉快
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Any of those yes responses are what we called mind-wandering.
對於所有「是」的答覆,我們歸類為「分心」
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So what did we find?
我們發現了甚麼
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This graph shows happiness on the vertical axis,
這個圖表顯示幸福感在垂直軸線上
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and you can see that bar there representing how happy
可以看到條狀圖表示當人們
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people are when they're focused on the present,
專注在當下時,感覺有多快樂
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when they're not mind-wandering.
當他們不分心時
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As it turns out, people are substantially less happy
事實證明,人們分心時遠比
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when their minds are wandering than when they're not.
不分心時不快樂
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Now you might look at this result and say, okay, sure,
你們現在看著這個結果,可能說:好吧,應該是這樣
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on average people are less happy when they're mind-wandering,
一般人處在分心狀態時,比較不快樂
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but surely when their minds are straying away
但是當他們的思緒能從一些
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from something that wasn't very enjoyable to begin with,
不開心的事情中脫離
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at least then mind-wandering should be doing something good for us.
至少,分心對我們還是有些好處
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Nope. As it turns out,
不,事實證明
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people are less happy when they're mind-wandering
人們處於分心狀態時,都是較不快樂的
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no matter what they're doing. For example,
不管他們當時在做甚麼。例如
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people don't really like commuting to work very much.
應該沒有人喜歡長時間的上班
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It's one of their least enjoyable activities, and yet
這是最無趣的活動之一,但是
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they are substantially happier when they're focused
他們覺得專注在上班這件事上
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only on their commute than when their mind is going
相較於胡思亂想
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off to something else.
還要快樂許多
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It's amazing.
真令人意想不到
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So how could this be happening? I think part of the reason,
為什麼會這樣?我猜想部分原因
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a big part of the reason, is that when our minds wander,
大部分的原因,當我們胡思亂想時
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we often think about unpleasant things, and they are
通常會想到不愉快的事
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enormously less happy when they do that,
當做這些事情時會讓他們相當不愉快
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our worries, our anxieties, our regrets,
想到憂愁、焦慮和後悔的事情
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and yet even when people are thinking about something
即使想到一些沒有特別感覺的事情
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neutral, they're still considerably less happy
比起心無旁騖
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than when they're not mind-wandering at all.
還是會覺得較不快樂
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Even when they're thinking about something they would describe as pleasant,
甚至他們想的是愉快的事情
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they're actually just slightly less happy
比起心無旁騖
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than when they aren't mind-wandering.
還是少了一點快樂
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If mind-wandering were a slot machine, it would be like
如果分心是一部吃角子老虎
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having the chance to lose 50 dollars, 20 dollars
讓我們有機會損失50元、20元
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or one dollar. Right? You'd never want to play. (Laughter)
或是1元。你不會想玩,對吧
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So I've been talking about this, suggesting, perhaps,
我的重點是,告訴你們或許
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that mind-wandering causes unhappiness, but all
分心是導致感覺不幸福的成因
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I've really shown you is that these two things are correlated.
我已經證明二者是有關係的
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It's possible that's the case, but it might also be the case
這個案例可能互成因果
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that when people are unhappy, then they mind-wander.
當人們不快樂時,他們就容易分心
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Maybe that's what's really going on. How could we ever
或許這樣更講得通。我們如何
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disentangle these two possibilites?
釐清這兩種可能呢?
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Well, one fact that we can take advantage of, I think a fact
有一個我們可以運用的事實,這個事實
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you'll all agree is true, is that time goes forward, not
你們都會同意,時間只會往前
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backward. Right? The cause has to come before the effect.
不會倒退,對吧?成因總是在結果之前
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We're lucky in this data we have many responses from each person,
我們很幸運地,這些資料包含每個受訪者的許多回應
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and so we can look and see, does mind-wandering
我們得以好好觀察,分心是否
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tend to precede unhappiness, or does unhappiness
產生在感覺不幸福之前,或者不幸福感
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tend to precede mind-wandering, to get some insight
在分心前產生,就能夠多少理解
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into the causal direction.
這不同的方向
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As it turns out, there is a strong relationship between
事實證明,兩者之間有強烈關聯
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mind-wandering now and being unhappy a short time later,
分心後會立即感覺不幸福
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consistent with the idea that mind-wandering is causing people to be unhappy.
和分心造成人們不快樂的想法是一致的
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In contrast, there's no relationship between being unhappy
對照下,並沒有發現這樣的關聯
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now and mind-wandering a short time later.
不快樂會立即分心
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In other words, mind-wandering very likely seems to be an actual cause, and not merely a consequence, of unhappiness.
換言之,分心似乎就是感覺不幸福的主因而非結果
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A few minutes ago, I likened mind-wandering
幾分鐘前,我將分心比喻為
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to a slot machine you'd never want to play.
你不會想玩的吃角子老虎
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Well, how often do people's minds wander?
那麼,我們常分心嗎?
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Turns out, they wander a lot. In fact, really a lot.
事實證明,常常。事實上,相當多
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Forty-seven percent of the time, people are thinking
47%的時間,人們想著
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about something other than what they're currently doing.
不是眼前進行的事情
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How does that depend on what people are doing?
程度取決於正在做甚麼事
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This shows the rate of mind-wandering across 22 activities
這裡顯示22種活動的分心程度
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ranging from a high of 65 percent — (Laughter) —
從最高的65%
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when people are taking a shower, brushing their teeth,
在沖澡時,刷牙時
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to 50 percent when they're working,
50%在工作時
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to 40 percent when they're exercising,
40%在運動時
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all the way down to this one short bar on the right
一路往下到最右邊最短的條狀圖
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that I think some of you are probably laughing at.
或許有些人會覺得好笑
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Ten percent of the time people's minds are wandering
10%的機率會分心
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when they're having sex. (Laughter)
當從事性行為時
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But there's something I think that's quite interesting in this graph,
圖表中我認為相當有趣的是
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and that is, basically with one exception,
基本上也是一個例外
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no matter what people are doing, they're mind-wandering
不論人們做甚麼,都會分心
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at least 30 percent of the time, which suggests, I think,
我認為至少30%的時間
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that mind-wandering isn't just frequent, it's ubiquitous.
分心不僅常常發生,簡直無處不在
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It pervades basically everything that we do.
遍及我們所做的每件事
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In my talk today, I've told you a little bit about mind-wandering,
我今天告訴大家一些關於分心的研究
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a variable that I think turns out to be fairly important
一個被證明是非常重要的變數
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in the equation for happiness.
可以和幸福畫上等號
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My hope is that over time, by tracking people's
我希望花更多時間,通過追蹤人們每天
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moment-to-moment happiness and their experiences
每個片刻的幸福感和經驗
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in daily life, we'll be able to uncover a lot of important causes of happiness,
我們將可以揭開更多成就幸福的重要原因
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and then in the end, a scientific understanding of happiness
最終,經由科學方式解讀的幸福
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will help us create a future that's not only richer
將幫助我們建立一個不僅更豐富
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and healthier, but happier as well.
更健康也更幸福的未來
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Thank you. (Applause)
謝謝
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(Applause)
(掌聲)