TED 语言笔记

how frustration can make us more creative

表达

bedraggled, rain-drenched German teenager

It's an electrifying performance. 

 What do I mean by that?

内容，观点，素材

Keith Jarrett had been handed a mess.He had embraced that mess, and it soared.But let's think for a moment about Jarrett's initial instinct. Of course,I think any of us, in any remotely similar situation,would feel the same way, we'd have the same instinct.We don't want to have to overcome unnecessary hurdles. I think we need to gain a bit more appreciation for the unexpected advantages of having to cope with a little mess.

So cognitive psychology first.We've actually known for a while that certain kinds of difficulty,certain kinds of obstacle,can actually improve our performance. 

And the reason is,the difficult font had slowed them down,forced them to work a bit harder,to think a bit more about what they were reading,to interpret it ...and so they learned more.

some people really struggle with that.
So what do you do?Well, one thing you can do is try to solve it step-by-step.So you have some kind of prototype and you tweak it, you test it, you improve it. 

And it's been quite widely implemented in the world.

they're looking for these step-by-step gains.

That's a good way to solve a complicated problem.But you know what would make it a better way?A dash of mess.You add randomness,early on in the process,you make crazy moves,you try stupid things that shouldn't work,and that will tend to make the problem-solving work better.And the reason for that is the trouble with the step-by-step process,the marginal gains,is they can walk you gradually down a dead end.And if you start with the randomness, that becomes less likely,and your problem-solving becomes more robust.

That's quite a big leap in performance.

Look closely at the most embarrassing details. Amplify them.

But also ...we really need some persuasion if we're going to accept this.So however we do it ...whether it's sheer willpower,whether it's the flip of a cardor whether it's a guilt trip from a German teenager,all of us, from time to time,need to sit down and try and play the unplayable piano.

Recommendation

People instinctively resist obstacles and disruptions. Yet persevering in spite of such difficulties forces you to become more imaginative and resourceful and compels you to produce your best work. Journalist and economist Tim Harford explores this idea of creative improvisation. Employing several vivid anecdotes, he convincingly argues in favor of “a dash of mess.” 

Why aren't we compassionate

if we attend to the other person, we automatically empathize, we automatically feel with them.

if we are focused on ourselves, if we're preoccupied, as we so often are throughout the day, we don't really fully notice the other.

I felt good about myself. I realized that I went from this kind of narcissistic self-focus to altruistic joy, to feeling good for the people that were being helped. I think that's a motivator.