評論
打印
Not only humans have fun. My observation is that all animals who can make choices as to what to do to fulfill their needs seem at times to have fun. The higher the animal, the more fun. Lower animals, whose behavior is essentially built-in and who do not have much ability to learn, are not involved with fun. If you want a fun pet, you would not choose a turtle.
不僅人類擁有快樂。據(jù)我觀察，所有能夠決定如何來實現(xiàn)自我意愿的動物，有時候也擁有快樂。越是高級的動物，得到的快樂就越多。對于低級動物來說，它們的行為基本上是固有的，沒有太多的學習能力，也就與快樂沒什么關(guān)聯(lián)。如果你想要擁有一個有趣的寵物的話，你就不會選擇烏龜。
My guess is that we will survive in direct proportion to how much we can learn. So, driven by the need for fun, we always have a powerful genetic incentive to keep trying to learn as much as we can. Without the relationship between fun and learning we would not learn nearly as much. I realize that we also learn for power, love and freedom, but to satisfy these often requires long-term dedication. It is the immediate fun of learning that keeps us going day by day, especially when we are young and have so much to learn.
我的推測是我們的生存能力跟我們的學習能力成正比。因此，在對快樂的需要的驅(qū)使下，我們總是有著強有力的內(nèi)在動機，促使我們盡可能多地學習。如果學習和快樂之間沒有關(guān)系的話，我們就不會獲得這么多的知識。我發(fā)現(xiàn)我們也在為權(quán)力、愛和自由而學習，但是要滿足這些需求常常需要長時間的忘我工作。正是學習所帶來的直接樂趣讓我們天天進步，尤其是當我們年輕時，當還有很多東西需要學習的時候。
Boredom is the opposite of fun. It always occurs when we have to spend time without learning: A monotonous task is always boring unless we can find a way to learn while doing something repetitive, or make the thing we are doing competitive or social, as Tom Sawyer did when he was painting the fence. A prisoner who is actively planning his escape finds his confinement much less oppressive. Anytime we can introduce power, freedom or belonging into a situation, we find it more interesting. And as we do, we also find ourselves learning along the way.
無聊乏味是快樂的對立面。當我們消磨時間卻學不到東西時，這種無聊感便會向我們襲來。單調(diào)的工作是很乏味的，除非當我們做這些重復(fù)的工作時，尋找到一種學習方法或者讓我們所做的事情具有競爭性或社會意義，就像湯姆·索亞在給柵欄刷漆時所做的一樣。一個積極策劃越獄的囚犯會覺得監(jiān)獄生活不那么難挨。任何時候只要我們把權(quán)力、自由或者歸屬感引入到某一環(huán)境，我們就會發(fā)現(xiàn)更多樂趣。當我們那樣做時，也會發(fā)現(xiàn)我們同樣是在學習。
