river, thought after thought after thought, an infinite stream, each one leading to the

河，一念又一念，無窮無盡的溪流，每一條都通向。

next?

下一個？

This river never runs dry.

這條河從不幹涸。

I dip my hands into the river of my own thoughts, take a sip, and wait.

我把手浸入自己的思想之河，喝一口，然後等待。

Will this next sip lead to strength, clarity, and growth?

接下來的這一口會不會帶來力量、清晰和成長？

Or will it lead to weakness, intoxication, and decay?

還是會導致虛弱、醉酒、衰敗？

The river itself is full of paradox.

這條河本身就充滿了悖論。

It carries nourishment and sickness in equal measures, because what makes one person sick

它帶著養分和病痛，因為讓一個人生病的是

now might make them strong later.

現在可能會讓他們以後變得強大。

A powerful thinker learns to take the water and filter it to their own needs.

一個強大的思想家要學會取水，並根據自己的需要進行過濾。

Like most people, my mind naturally thinks in monologue form.

和大多數人一樣，我的思維自然是以獨白的形式來思考。

One voice jumps around from thought to thought to thought.

一個個聲音在思緒中跳躍，在思緒中跳躍。

For example, it might go: what should I have for lunch, what did I eat yesterday, I can't

比如，可能會說：我中午應該吃什麼，昨天吃了什麼，我不能。

believe yesterday went by so fast, time is weird, I wonder what time feels like at the

相信昨天過的真快，時間真奇怪，不知道時間是什麼感覺，在

speed of light.

光速。

The monologue flows like an unfiltered stream.

獨白像未經過濾的小溪一樣流淌。

When the waters of thought are unfiltered, I am completely at their whim.

當思想之水未經過濾時，我完全可以隨心所欲。

Sometimes it inflates me, giving me Icarus wings to soar with.

有時它給我充氣，給我伊卡洛斯的翅膀，讓我飛翔。

I see myself as bigger, better, and higher than I am.

我認為自己比自己更大、更好、更高。

It makes me overly confident, prideful, and pompous.

這讓我過於自信、驕傲、浮誇。

It makes me believe that everything I create is good.

它讓我相信，我所創造的一切都是好的。

I see more fault with the rest of the world than myself.

我看到世界上其他地方的錯誤比我自己更多。

But sometimes, a sip of my own thoughts deflates me.

但有時，一口自己的想法讓我洩氣。

It burdens me.

這讓我感到負擔。

It makes me feel weaker and heavier than I am.

這讓我覺得自己比原來更弱，更重。

It makes me feel useless, worthless, unconfident, and overly critical.

這讓我覺得自己很沒用，很沒價值，很不自信，而且過分挑剔。

I long for the sip that brings nourishment and clarity.

我渴望這一口，帶來滋潤和清澈。

The one that helps me see the world as it is.

幫助我看清世界本質的那個人。

To obtain that clean sip, I create a filter, a second voice.

為了獲得那乾淨的一口，我創建了一個過濾器，第二個聲音。

I transform my internal monologue into a dialogue.

我把自己的內心獨白轉化為對話。

The first voice acts as the writer and creator.

第一種聲音作為作者和創作者。

The second voice acts as the editor and destroyer.

第二種聲音作為編輯和破壞者。

The first voice prepares the clay, and the second one shapes it.

第一聲準備泥土，第二聲塑造泥土。

The second voice counterbalances the first.

第二種聲音抵消了第一種聲音。

What would a novel be without revision?

沒有修改的小說會是什麼？

Writers have a technical term for this: a poopy first draft.

作家們對此有一個專業術語：大便初稿。

Seriously, without a critical voice to balance your monologue, all your thoughts are just

說真的，如果沒有批判的聲音來平衡你的獨白，你所有的想法都不過是。

poopy first drafts.

大便初稿。

This is, perhaps, the greatest lesson I learned from Plato and Socrates.

這也許是我從柏拉圖和蘇格拉底那裡學到的最大的教訓。

So how do you go about developing this inner dialogue?

那麼，你如何去發展這種內在的對話呢？

My favourite ways are through writing.

我最喜歡的方式是通過寫作。

I start by stating something in my creative voice.

我先用我的創作聲音陳述一些東西。

For example, I'll say, “good thinking leads to truth.”

比如，我會說："善於思考，才能獲得真理"。

Then I try to disprove myself with the destructive voice.

然後我試圖用破壞性的聲音來否定自己。

I'll say, “Can't bad thinking lead to truth too?

我就說："壞的思維不也可以導致真理嗎？

And what do you mean by truth?”

那你說的真理是什麼意思？"

Then my creative voice goes, “truth is a type of knowledge that gives you power.

然後我的創作聲音就說："真理是一種知識，能給你力量。

It's information that allows you to close the gap between the way the world is and the

是資訊，讓你縮小與世界方式之間的差距。

way it ought to be.

它應該是的方式。

Truth is the knowledge of how to remove an obstacle or overcome stress.

真理是關於如何消除障礙或克服壓力的知識。

Then my destructive voice goes, “can't truth cause stress?

然後我的破壞性聲音就會說："真相難道不能造成壓力嗎？

For example, the truth about your spouse's infidelity?”

比如說，你配偶不忠的真相？"

Anyways you get the point.

反正你懂的。

I have a dialogue with myself, from two opposite points of view, creating something, destroying

我和自己對話，從兩個相反的角度，創造一些東西，破壞一些東西。

it, and refining it—constantly working towards an idea that is indestructible, inextinguishable,

它，並完善它--不斷向著一個堅不可摧、不滅的理念努力。

timeless.

永恆的。

The more I practice this method, the more I internalize both voices in my natural thought.

我越是練習這個方法，就越是把這兩種聲音內化在自然思維中。

Doing this on paper works a lot better, cause if you do this in person, in public, in the

在紙上做這些工作效果更好，因為如果你做這個人，在公共場合，在... ...

corner of a room, everyone will think you're crazy, which you might be, but they don't

在房間的角落裡，每個人都會認為你是瘋了，你可能是，但他們不這樣認為

have to know that.

要知道，。

In another technique, I keep two notebooks.

在另一種技術中，我保留了兩個筆記本。

In one of them, I perform critical dissections or destructions.

在其中，我進行了批判性的剖析或破壞。

I watch a movie, read a book, play a video game, or listen to a song, and I try to dissect

我看一部電影，讀一本書，玩一個電子遊戲，或者聽一首歌，我試著去解剖

it into the parts that make it up.

成的部分，使其。

In a story, for example, I peel apart the different components, such as characters,

比如說，在一個故事中，我把不同的成分，比如說人物，剝離出來。

relationships, locations, plot, themes, symbolism, prose, so on and so forth.

關係、地點、情節、主題、象徵主義、散文等等。

I try to find what makes a piece work, what doesn't, and how I might improve it.

我試著去尋找什麼讓作品成功，什麼不成功，以及如何改進它。

Then, in the other notebook, my creative notebook, I take the different pieces I have gathered

然後，在另一個筆記本，我的創意筆記本，我把不同的作品，我已經收集了

and try to assemble them into a new and original work of art.

並試圖將它們組合成一個新的原創性的藝術作品。

I use it for sketches, prose, poetry, theories—anything really.

我用它來寫素描、散文、詩歌、理論--任何東西。

I try to create a little something in there each day, without filtering or censoring myself.

我試著每天在裡面創造一點東西，不過濾、不刪減自己。

I use these different notebooks to cultivate the creative and destructive aspects of my

我用這些不同的筆記本來培養我的創造性和破壞性。

personality.

個性。

This style of learning is similar to taking apart a machine and rebuilding it to find

這種學習方式類似於把一臺機器拆開，然後重建它，以找到

out how it works.

瞭解它是如何工作的。

The real magic happens when you create something you can't destroy, disprove, or improve.

真正的魔法發生在你創造了一些你無法破壞、反駁或改進的東西時。

Maybe you, or someone else, will disprove it in the future, which is good because now

也許你，或者別人，將來會推翻它，這很好，因為現在...

you can improve it, but in the mean time, it's a well-earned opinion or idea that

你可以改進它，但與此同時，它是一個很好的意見或想法，你可以改進它。

is the closest you can come to truth at the moment.

是你目前最接近真相的時候。

So with that said, I'm off to go practice my dialectic.

說完這些，我就去練習辯證了。

You're dumb!

你是啞巴！

No, you're dumb!

不，你是啞巴！

You're dumb!

你是啞巴！

No, you're dumb!

不，你是啞巴！