By David Robson

作者: 大衛(wèi).羅伯森


Although our ability to easily pick up a new skill declines with age, harnessing a specific type of mindset can help you learn effectively as an adult.

盡管隨著年齡的增長，我們學(xué)習(xí)新技能的能力會下降，但作為成年人，掌握一種特定的心態(tài)可以幫助你有效地學(xué)習(xí)。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處


Tom Vanderbilt’s fascination with the process of life-long learning began with his daughter’s hobbies: piano, soccer, Tae Kwon Do. He wanted to encourage her new pursuits, and accompanied her to the lessons or tournaments. As she exercised her mind, he would answer emails, play with his phone or stare into space until his daughter had finished.

湯姆·范德比爾特對終身學(xué)習(xí)過程的癡迷始于他女兒的愛好:鋼琴、足球、跆拳道。他想鼓勵她去擁有新的追求，想陪她去上課或參加比賽。他想著當(dāng)他女兒在鍛煉自己的思維時，他會回復(fù)電子郵件，玩手機，或者盯著天空看，直到女兒做完。

He soon recognised the hypocrisy of the situation. “I was impressing upon her the importance of having a broad education in all these different skills,” he says. “But she might have easily asked me, ‘Well, why don't you do all these things then?’”

但是他很快就認(rèn)識到了這種做法的虛偽。他表示:“我給她留下了深刻的印象，讓她意識到在所有這些不同技能方面接受廣泛教育的重要性?！薄暗赡芎苋菀拙蛦柕沽宋?，她問：‘那么，你為什么不做所有這些事情呢?’”

Starting with chess lessons, he decided to spend a year pursuing a range of new skills himself. He learnt to sing, draw, juggle and surf. At no point did he hope to fully master the abilities or to show off his prowess with an extraordinary feat, such as winning American Idol.

所以他從學(xué)習(xí)國際象棋課開始，決定花一年時間讓自己學(xué)習(xí)一系列新技能。他學(xué)習(xí)唱歌、畫畫、玩雜耍和沖浪。不過他從來沒有想過要完全掌握這種能力，也沒有想過要用贏得美國偶像之類的非凡壯舉來炫耀自己的非凡才能。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處


“As adults, we instantly put pressure on ourselves with goals,” he says. “We feel like we don't have the luxury to engage in learning for learning’s sake.” Instead, he wanted to revel in the pleasure of the process.

他說:“作為成年人，我們會立即給自己設(shè)定目標(biāo)，但是這會產(chǎn)生壓力。這是因為成年人往往覺得我們沒有奢侈地為了學(xué)習(xí)而學(xué)習(xí)的想法?！?相反，他只想陶醉在這個過程的樂趣中。

Vanderbilt details his journey in his January 2021 book Beginners, which combines his own personal revelations with the cutting-edge science of skill acquisition. Keen to find out more, we discussed the myths of adult learning, and the substantial benefits that the “beginner’s mindset” can bring to our lives.

范德比爾特在他2021年1月出版的《初學(xué)者》一書中詳細描述了他的旅程，這本書結(jié)合了他自己的個人啟示和最前沿的技能習(xí)得科學(xué)。為了了解更多，我們討論了成人學(xué)習(xí)的謬見，以及“初學(xué)者心態(tài)”能給我們的生活帶來的實質(zhì)性好處。

How to learn well

如何學(xué)得好？

Beginning the project in his late 40s, Vanderbilt knew that he would struggle to match the learning abilities of children like his daughter. Children are especially good at picking up patterns implicitly – understanding that certain actions will lead to certain kinds of events, without any explanation or descxtion of what they are doing. After the age of 12, however, we lose some of that capacity to absorb new information.

范德比爾特在40多歲的時候開始了這個項目，他知道自己很難達到像他女兒這樣的孩子的學(xué)習(xí)能力。孩子們特別擅長潛移默化的接受模式，即他們善于理解某些行為會導(dǎo)致某些類型的事件，不需要任何關(guān)于他們正在做什么的解釋或描述。然而，12歲以后，我們就失去了一些吸收新信息的能力。

We shouldn’t be too pessimistic about our own abilities, though. While adults may not absorb new skills as readily as a child, we still have “neuroplasticity” – the ability for the brain to rewire itself in response to new challenges. In his year of learning, Vanderbilt met many people, long past middle age, who were still exercising that “superpower”.

不過，我們不應(yīng)該對自己的能力過于悲觀。雖然成年人可能不像孩子那樣容易吸收新技能，但我們?nèi)匀痪哂小吧窠?jīng)可塑性”，即大腦為應(yīng)對新挑戰(zhàn)而自我重組的能力。在范德比爾特學(xué)習(xí)的這一年里，他遇到了許多年過中年的人，但是他們?nèi)匀辉阱憻捘欠N“超能力”。

What’s more, Vanderbilt’s research revealed some basic principles of good learning that anyone can use to make our learning more effective. The first may seem obvious but is easily forgotten: we need to learn from our mistakes. So, rather than just mindlessly repeating the same actions over and over, we need to be more focused and analytical, thinking about what we did right and what we did wrong. (Psychologists call this “deliberate practice”.) Vanderbilt noted this with chess playing. You could put in the hours with hundreds of online games, but that was not going to be as effective as studying the strategies of professionals or discussing the reasons for your losses with a chess teacher.

此外，范德比爾特的研究還揭示了一些良好學(xué)習(xí)的基本原則，這些原則可以幫助人們提高學(xué)習(xí)效率。第一個原則:我們需要從錯誤中學(xué)習(xí)。這個原則似乎很明顯，但在生活中卻很容易被遺忘。所以，與其只是一遍又一遍地?zé)o意識地重復(fù)同樣的行為，我們還不如更專注，同時要分析和思考我們做對了什么，做錯了什么。(心理學(xué)家稱之為“故意練習(xí)”。) 范德比爾特在下棋時注意到了這一點。你可以花數(shù)小時玩上百個在線游戲，但這種練習(xí)與學(xué)習(xí)專業(yè)人士的策略或與象棋老師討論失敗的原因相比，并沒有那么有效。

A second principle is more counter-intuitive: we need to make sure that our practice is varied. When juggling, for example, it helped to switch the obxts, or to change how high you throw them; he tried it sitting down, and while walking. As one scientist told Vanderbilt, this is “repetition without repetition” and it forces the brain’s learned patterns to become more flexible, allowing you to cope with the unpredictable difficulties – such as a mistake in one of your earlier movements that could lead you to lose control.

第二條原則：我們需要確保我們的實踐是多樣化的。這條原則更加反直覺。例如，在玩雜耍時，該原則有助于轉(zhuǎn)換物體，或改變投擲物體的高度; 他在練習(xí)坐下和走路的時候都會實踐這一原則。正如一位科學(xué)家告訴范德比爾特的那樣，這個原則就是“沒有重復(fù)的重復(fù)”，它迫使大腦的學(xué)習(xí)模式變得更靈活，讓你能夠應(yīng)對不可預(yù)測的困難。比如在早期動作中的一個錯誤可能會導(dǎo)致你失去控制，而這種靈活性可以幫助你應(yīng)對這種突發(fā)狀況。

Even more intriguingly, Vanderbilt discovered that we often learn best when we know that we will have to teach others the same skill. It’s not clear why this is, but that expectation seems to increase people’s interest and curiosity, which primes the brain’s attention and helps ensure that it lays down stronger memory traces. (Vanderbilt had lots of opportunities to teach what he had learnt, since he often included his daughter in his projects.) So, whatever you are personally trying to master, consider sharing that skill with someone you know. And while you may find it helpful to observe true experts executing a skill, Vanderbilt found that it can also be useful to watch other novices, since you can more easily analyse what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong.

更有趣的是，范德比爾特發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)我們知道自己必須教別人同樣的技能時，我們往往學(xué)得最好。目前還不清楚為什么會這樣，但這種期望似乎會增加人們的興趣和好奇心，從而啟動大腦的注意力，幫助確保它留下更強的記憶痕跡。(范德比爾特有很多機會傳授他所學(xué)到的東西，因為他經(jīng)常把女兒也帶進自己的項目中。) 所以，無論你個人想要掌握什么技能，都可以考慮與你認(rèn)識的人分享這個技能。雖然你可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)觀察真正的專家在展示某一技能時很有幫助，但范德比爾特發(fā)現(xiàn)觀察其他新手也很有用，因為你可以更容易地分析他們做對了什么，做錯了什么。

With this knowledge, Vanderbilt made good progress with each of the skills that he set out to learn. Singing, he says, offered one of the biggest hurdles, emotionally. “It was this process of opening oneself up to a stranger in the most raw way,” he says. When he had overcome those nerves, however, it also proved to be the most rewarding. “It is the thing I probably took to the most, because it has such an inherent pleasure and makes you feel so good.” He eventually became a member of New York’s Britpop Choir.

有了這些知識，范德比爾特在他開始學(xué)習(xí)的每一項技能上都取得了長足的進步。他說，在情感上，唱歌是他最大的障礙之一。 “這是一個向陌生人敞開心扉的過程?！?然而，當(dāng)他克服了這些緊張神經(jīng)時，結(jié)果證明是最值得的。“這可能是我最喜歡的東西了，因為它有一種內(nèi)在的快樂，這會讓你感覺很好。”最終他還成為了紐約英倫流行合唱團的一員。

If you are inspired to take up a new pastime yourself, Vanderbilt advises starting out with something that is easy to integrate into your existing lifestyle. You may be surprised by the speed of your progress, he says. “A lot of people get hung up on the idea that this is just a massive time investment – that there's no end of the road – and that's very daunting to them.” He found that his drawing, for example, had improved significantly in the time that it would normally take to binge-watch a TV boxset.

范德比爾特建議，如果你受到了鼓舞想從事一項新的消遣活動的話，那就從一項容易融入你現(xiàn)有生活方式的活動開始。你可能會對自己的進步速度感到驚訝的。“但是很多人認(rèn)為這只是一項巨大的時間投資，沒有盡頭，所以這會讓他們望而卻步?！?例如，他發(fā)現(xiàn)他把原本通常用來看電視的時間投資到繪畫之后，他的繪畫水平有了顯著的提高。

The why factor

為什么因素

You may still wonder why you should make the effort, when you could be vegging out on your sofa.

你可能還在想，明明你可以躺在沙發(fā)上放松的時候，為什么要努力呢。

But Vanderbilt points out that there are many general benefits to embracing any new skill – including some long-term brain changes that could offset some of the mental decline that often comes with ageing. Vanderbilt points to one study of adults – aged 58 to 86 – who pursed a handful of courses in subjects like Spanish, music, composition and painting. After a few months, they had not only made good progress in the individual skills, but also showed a pronounced improvement on more general cognitive tests – matching the performance of adults who were 30 years younger.

但范德比爾特指出，學(xué)習(xí)任何新技能都有許多普遍的好處，這些好處就包括可以抵消一些長期通常因年齡增長而導(dǎo)致的智力下降的大腦變化。范德比爾特提到了一項針對年齡在58歲至86歲之間的成年人的研究，這些被研究者都修過西班牙語、音樂、作曲和繪畫等幾門課程。幾個月后，他們不僅在個人技能方面取得了良好的進步，在更普遍的認(rèn)知測試中也表現(xiàn)出明顯的改善，甚至是與年輕30歲的成年人的表現(xiàn)相當(dāng)。

Intriguingly, the benefits here seemed to come from trying out multiple skills, rather than focusing exclusively on one particular expertise. As Vanderbilt writes in his book: “Rather than grinding out a marathon, you are putting your brain through a variety of high-intensity interval workouts. Each time you begin to learn that new skill, you’re reshaping. You’re training your brain again to be more efficient.” We tend to see the ‘dilettante’ as someone who is superficial and lacks dedication. But it seems that the jack of all trades – the perpetual beginner – may have a sharper brain than the master of one single ability.

有趣的是，這些好處似乎得益于嘗試多種技能，而不是只專注于一種特定的技能。正如范德比爾特在他的書中所寫的那樣:“你不是在辛苦地跑馬拉松，而是在讓你的大腦進行各種高強度的間歇性鍛煉?！?每次你開始學(xué)習(xí)新技能時，你都在重塑。你同時也在訓(xùn)練你的大腦，從而讓它變得更有效率。” 我們傾向于把“業(yè)余愛好者”看作是膚淺、缺乏奉獻精神的人。但似乎永遠的初學(xué)者，這些所謂的“萬事通”可能比只掌握一種能力的人擁有更敏銳的大腦。

The lifelong pursuit of many different interests may even increase your creativity. As David Epstein also noted in his book Range, Nobel laureates were many times more likely to have enjoyed artistic pursuits such as music, dance, visual art or creative writing than other scientists.

終身追求不同的興趣愛好甚至可以增加你的創(chuàng)造力。正如大衛(wèi)·愛潑斯坦在他的書中提到的那樣，諾貝爾獎得主比其他科學(xué)家更有可能享受音樂、舞蹈、視覺藝術(shù)或創(chuàng)造性寫作等藝術(shù)追求。

As you set about learning a new skill, there will be frustrations and moments of failure – but these may in fact be the most important experiences of the whole process. After years of experience in journalism, Vanderbilt says that the new challenges were a welcome change to his “professional complacency”. “It sort of opened my mind and brought me back to this sense of not knowing,” he says. This was especially true for the skills – such as drawing – that already felt somewhat familiar. “The learning of the thing itself was often different from what I imagined. My expectations were constantly being upset.”

當(dāng)你開始學(xué)習(xí)一項新技能時，你會面臨挫折和失敗的時刻。但事實上，這些經(jīng)歷可能是整個過程中最重要的經(jīng)歷。在經(jīng)歷了多年的新聞工作后，范德比爾特說，新的挑戰(zhàn)對他的“職業(yè)滿足感”來說是一個可喜的改變?！斑@在某種程度上打開了我的思維，讓我重新回到了那種未知的感覺，”對于那些已經(jīng)讓人感覺有些熟悉的技能來說尤其如此，比如畫畫?！皩W(xué)習(xí)事物本身往往與我想象的就不同。我的期望總是被打亂?！?/b>

Abundant research has shown that intellectual humility – the capacity to recognise the limits of our knowledge – can powerfully improve our thinking and decision making. And that capacity to reconsider our preconceptions and open our minds to new ways of thinking may be increasingly important in today’s rapidly changing world. Whether we are learning for pleasure or attempting to boost our professional skills, we could all do well to cultivate that “beginners’ mindset”, where nothing is certain, and there is everything to learn.

大量的研究表明，認(rèn)識到我們知識的局限性的能力是一種理智上的謙遜，這種能力能夠有力地提高我們的思考和決策能力。而這種重新考慮我們的先入之見并向新思維方式開放我們的思維的能力，在當(dāng)今快速變化的世界中可能變得越來越重要。無論我們是為了樂趣而學(xué)習(xí)，還是試圖提高我們的專業(yè)技能而學(xué)習(xí)，我們都可以很好地培養(yǎng)“初學(xué)者的心態(tài)”，沒有什么是確定的，一切都需要學(xué)習(xí)。