By the time I hit 10th grade, I'd lived in 10 different places.

高一時，我已經搬了九次家

Math is extraordinarily sequential.

數學，是高度前後相關的學科

By the time I hit 3rd grade, I'd fallen off the math bandwagon.

在我讀到三年級時，我就無法再體會它的魅力了

Basically, I flunked my way

基本上，從國小、國中到高中

through elementary, middle, and high school math and science.

我的數學一路被當到底

So it's a little strange looking back now

想想有點奇怪

because today I am a professor of engineering

因為現在 我正是電機工程學系的教授

and I'm passionate about my job.

我對我的工作充滿熱情

One day, one of my students found out about my past,

有一天 我的學生發現了我的經歷

and he asked me, "How did you do it? How did you change your brain?"

他問我：「你是怎麼做到的？ 如何讓你的大腦經歷那麼大的改變？」

And I thought, you know, "How did I do it?"

我想：「對呀，我到底是怎麼做到的？」

I mean, here I was, this little kid,

我原本只是個

and I just loved language and culture,

喜歡文化與文學的小孩

and that's all I wanted to learn when I grew up,

那是我唯一有興趣學的東西，但當我長大後

but I didn't have the money to go to college,

因為沒有錢讀大學

so I enlisted in the army right out of high school

高中畢業後，我就登記入伍

to learn a language.

去學習其他語言

You can see me there, looking very nervous,

你可以在圖片中看到 我非常緊張地

about to throw a grenade.

準備丟手榴彈

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I did learn a language.

我學了一門語言

I'd learned Russian,

俄文

and I ended up working out on Soviet trawlers, up on the Bering Sea,

結果 我到蘇聯 Bering Sea 的漁船工廠

as a Russian translator.

當一個翻譯者

So, I just love adventure and getting new perspectives.

我非常喜歡冒險跟獲得新觀點

So I also ended up in Antarctica, at the South Pole Station.

所以 我去了南極洲

That's where I ended up meeting my husband.

我也在那裡，認識了我老公

So I always say -

所以，我常說

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I had to go to the end of the Earth to meet that man.

我要到地球的「另一端」 才能和他相遇

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But I begin to realize something, though.

但是 我慢慢地瞭解了一些事情

I was doing all these adventures and seeing these new perspectives,

我一直冒險、獲得了全新的觀點

but somehow they were always external.

但是，那些好像是很...「外在的」

They weren't internal; I wasn't changing inside.

它們並不是「內在的」，我的內在並沒有比較充實

When I'd worked in the military,

在軍中時，我跟那些西點軍校的工程師一起工作

I worked with all these West Point engineers,

在軍中時，我跟那些西點軍校的工程師一起工作

and they had these powerful techniques for problem solving.

他們有非常厲害的工具 ，可以幫助他們解決問題

I thought, you know -

我就想：

I'd look sometimes at what they were doing,

「我有時候也想瞭解一下 ，他們到底在幹麻

and they had these calculus and physics books,

他們運用 微積分、物理知識等工具

and it looked like hieroglyphics to me.

而那對我而言，就像是...象形文字。」

But I thought, "What if I could get those ideas?"

我又想：「如果 我可以學會那些知識呢？」

What if I could learn that language?"

「如果，我可以瞭解他們『溝通』的語言呢？」

I mean, the world's evolving.

世界不斷地在進步

Language and culture are important,

語言及文化日益重要

but math, and science, and technology are important, too.

但是數學、科學和科技也很重要呀

What if I could learn these new ideas

如果 我可以學會這些新的想法

and add them to the ideas I already knew and loved?

運用到已知的知識上，可以產生什麼火花？

So, when I got out of the military, at age 26,

所以，當我在26歲退伍時，

I decided to try and change my brain.

我決定好好改一下我的設定

It wasn't easy.

那並不容易

But if I knew then what I know now about how to learn,

但是如果 我那時候就知道「學習的方法」

I could have learned much more easily and much more effectively.

我就可以更快地上手

So, several years ago,

因此，在幾年前

as I begin trying to answer

我決定試著回答

that student's question, "How did I change my brain?",

那個學生的問題： 「我是怎麼讓大腦改變的？」

I begin reaching out to top professors from around the world,

我開始與世界各地的頂尖學者聯絡

people who not only had knowledge of their difficult areas of expertise,

他們都不僅在專業領域有豐富知識

but also who could teach effectively.

並且可以有效率地幫助學生學習

And I asked them.

我問他們

I said, "How did you learn?

我說：「你們是怎麼學習的？

And how do you teach, so others could learn?"

你們如何教導，讓別人能夠理解？」

What I found was the way they learned,

我發現 他們學習與教導的方式

and the way they taught was often similar to the way I learned and I taught.

和我非常像

It was almost like this kind of shared fraternal handshake.

有點像兄弟間的默契

But we often didn't know why we did what we did.

但是我們並不知道，我們 為什麼 要那樣做

So I begin researching neuroscience and cognitive psychology,

所以 我開始著手研究 神經科學 及 認知心理學

and reaching out to talk to top experts of those fields.

並與該領域的專家討論

Here is what I found, the keys to learning effectively.

我發現了 有效率學習的關鍵

As we know, the brain is enormously complex.

我們都知道 大腦很複雜

But we can simplify its operation into two fundamentally different modes.

但是 我們可以根據它運作的方式，將它分為兩種模式

The first is just what I'll call the focus mode.

第一種，我稱它為 專注模式

The focus mode is just like it sounds like:

它...就跟它名字一樣

you turn your attention to something and boom! It's on.

你全心全意地專注在一件事情，在某一刻，你就想通了

But the second mode is a little different.

第二種 有點不一樣

It's a relaxed set of neural states that I'll call the diffuse mode.

是一種精神放鬆狀態，我稱它為 分心模式

It's a number of resting states.

就是 很放鬆的狀態

So it seems that, when you're learning,

在你學習的過程中

you're going back and forth between these two different modes.

你會不斷地在兩種模式間切換

How can we better understand these modes?

我們可以怎樣理解這個模型

Through analogy.

用譬喻好了

What we're going to use is a pinball machine analogy.

我們要用 彈珠台來譬喻

You all know how pinballs work.

大家都知道彈珠台吧

You just pull back on a plunger,

你拉一下下方柱塞

and the ball goes boinking out and bounces around on the rubber bumpers,

彈珠就會在障礙間彈來談去

and that's how you get points.

最終，你會得到成績

What we're going to do is we're going to take this pinball

我們要做的，就是把這個彈珠

and we're going to put it right on your brain.

放在你的腦中

So, there it is.

它就在那

There's the pinball machine on your brain.

這 就是你腦中的彈珠台

If you look, this is the analogy for the focus mode.

如果你仔細看，現在是對於專注模式的譬喻

When you're learning, you're often thinking tightly,

在學習時 我們經常很「緊繃地」想事情

as you're focusing on something.

就好像處在專注模式上

It involves thoughts you're somewhat familiar with,

大腦會去聯想那些你熟悉的事物、

perhaps historical patterns,

那些走過的軌跡

or you're familiar with the multiplication table.

或者你很熟的 九九乘法表

So you think a thought, and it takes off, and moves along smoothly,

當你開始思考，他就開始順順地滑

pretty much along the pathways that you've already laid.

幾乎是遵循那些 它之前走過的路徑

But what if the thought you're thinking

但是如果 你的想法

is actually a new thought, a new concept, a new technique

是新的 是一個 全新的概念、全新的技術

that you've never thought of before?

是那些你以前沒想過的

Well, that's symbolized by this new pattern

那就會像彈珠台下方 這個模式一樣

towards the bottom of the pinball machine metaphor.

那就會像彈珠台下方 這個模式一樣

To get to this new place, I mean, at least sort of metaphorically speaking,

以譬喻來說，為了到達這個新的地方

look at all the rubber bumpers that are in the way.

注意觀察那些障礙

How can you even get there?

你要怎麼到那裡呀？

You need a different way of thinking, a new perspective in a sense,

你需要一個 全新的思考方式 某種新的觀點

and that's provided here by the diffuse mode.

分心模式 會幫你找到答案

Look at how far apart those rubber bumpers are

注意看 那些障礙間彼此都是離得很遠

from one another.

注意看 那些障礙間彼此都是離得很遠

When you think a thought, it takes off, and it can range very widely,

當你有一個想法時，它能夠提供充分的空間

as you're attempting to come up with some new ideas.

讓你可以有 不同的想法

So, you can't do that careful, focused thinking

所以 你無法在像在「專心模式」那樣，只靠專注 達成目標

that you can in the focus mode,

所以 你無法在像在「專心模式」那樣，只靠專注 達成目標

but you can, at least, get to the place you need to be in

但是 你可以到你需要的地方

to grapple with these new ideas.

尋找一些新的靈感

The bottom line for all of us out of this is this:

重點是

when you're learning,

你在學習的過程中

you want to go back and forth between these modes,

必須要不斷地在這兩個模式中切換

and if you find yourself, as you're focusing in on something,

如果你在學習一個新的東西 或試圖解決問題時 發現自己處在「專注模式」

trying to learn a new concept or solve a problem,

如果你在學習一個新的東西 或試圖解決問題時 發現自己處在「專注模式」

and you get stuck,

卡住了

you want to turn your attention away from that problem

建議你，暫時轉移你的注意力

and allow the diffuse modes, those resting states,

讓大腦轉換到放鬆的「分心模式」

to do their work in the background.

讓它可以在後台繼續運作

How can we actually use these ideas in real life?

在現實生活中，我們可以怎麼用這些觀念呢？

If you look at this guy right here, he was Salvador Dali,

這張照片 正是20世紀

one of the most brilliant surrealist painters of the 20th century.

最傑出的超現實主義畫家之一 薩爾瓦多·達利

Dali was the very definition of a wild and crazy guy.

達利 完全就是狂野、不受拘束的代表

You can see him there.

你可以看到圖中

He's got his pet, Ocelot Babu.

他和他的寵物 Ocelot Babu 在一起

What Dali used to do when he was kind of stuck

每當達利作畫 遇到無法解決的問題時

as he was solving some problem related to his painting

他會習慣做一件事

was he'd sit down and he'd relax in a chair,

他會很放鬆地坐在椅子上

and he'd have keys in his hands.

手裡拿著鑰匙

He'd hold those keys, and he'd relax, kind of letting his brain noodling away.

輕握著鑰匙 在椅子上休息，讓他的大腦漫遊

Just as he'd relax so much that he'd fall asleep,

就在他正放鬆，快要睡著的時候

the keys would fall from his hands, the clatter would wake him up,

鑰匙會從手中掉下，把他叫醒

and off you go: he'd take those ideas

他再立刻 把那些在分心模式

from the diffuse mode over to the focus mode,

產生的想法 轉移到專心模式中

where he could work with them,

繼續工作

refine them, and use them for his painting.

從中提取最精華的點子，並用於創作上

You might think, "That's great! It's good for an artist.

你可能會想：「很棒呀！很適合畫家。

But I'm an engineer.

但是，我是一個工程師

So how can I use these ideas?"

我應該怎麼運用這些概念？」

If you see this guy right here, he was Thomas Edison,

你看到的這個人，他是發明家 湯瑪斯·愛迪生

one of the most brilliant inventors in history.

有史以來 最厲害的發明家之一

What Edison used to like to do, at least according to legend,

根據傳說 ，愛迪生 最喜歡做的事

he'd sit in a chair with ball bearings in his hand.

就是坐在椅子上，手中握著珠珠

He'd relax away, kind of thinking about the problem, loosely,

慵懶地

that he was trying to solve related to his inventions, relaxing.

試著很輕鬆地看待他的發明

Just as he'd fall asleep,

就在他快要睡著的時候

the ball bearings would fall from his hands,

珠珠就從手中掉落

and off you go: he'd be woken up,

他會立刻 被叫醒

and he'd take those ideas from the diffuse mode

然後把那些在分心模式產生的想法

back into the focus mode.

帶回專注模式中

He'd use them to refine and finish his inventions.

從中提取精華，加到他的發明裡

The bottom line for all of us out of this is this:

最重要的是

whenever you're sitting down

當你坐著

to solve a new problem or analyze a new idea,

試著解決一個問題、解析一個新的概念時

even if millions of other people have thought the same thoughts,

就算已經有好多人已經想到解決方法了

or solved the same problems,

就算已經有好多人已經想到解決方法了

for you, it's just as creative

對你而言，所需的創造力

as it was for famous people like Dali and Edison,

就跟那些名人達利和愛迪生，初次解決時 一樣

and you want to use some of these creative approaches.

所以 你會想用一些能激發創意的技巧，去思考

But you might say to me, "Yeah, but I've got a problem, though.

但是 你可能會說：「呃，我有一個問題，

You know, I just love to procrastinate.

我總是喜歡拖延

This back and forth stuff is great, but I don't have time.

那種...反覆切換的想法很棒，但是 我沒有時間呀

I cram at the last minute. That's just me."

我必須要有急迫感才願意做，我就是那樣。」

So, let's talk just a little bit about procrastination.

讓我們來談談拖延

What seems to happen when you procrastinate is this:

在你拖延時，有可能發生的事情是像

you look at something you'd really rather not do,

眼前擺著一件事情，你很不想做

and you actually feel a physical pain

在大腦的疼痛控制區

in the part of your brain that analyzes pain.

你感受到了真實地痛苦

So, there are two ways that you can handle this.

有兩種方法可解決

The first way is you can just kind of keep working a way through it.

第一種，你可以強迫自己開始

And research has shown

研究顯示

that within a few minutes it actually will disappear.

在幾分鐘後，那種強迫感就會消失

But the second way is you just turn your attention away, and guess what?

第二種，你可以分心去做別的事

You feel better, right, right away.

你覺得超好的 對吧！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So, you do this once, you do this twice; it's just not that big a deal.

如果你偶爾一兩次這樣，並不會有什麼影響

But you do this very often, and it's actually like an addiction.

但是漸漸地，就會像上癮一樣

It can really cause problems in how you lead your life.

會對你的生活造成很大的問題

So, how can you handle it?

所以，你可以怎麼做呢？

A very simple way: using the Pomodoro Technique.

有一個很簡單的方法，用蕃茄工作法

The Pomodoro technique, as it turns out, all you need to do is you get a timer.

你所需要的，只是一個計時器

Any timer will do.

任何計時器都可以

Then you just take it and set it for 25 minutes,

設定25分鐘

and make sure everything else is turned off

並且再次確認 已經把所有的電子產品 都關掉了

- so, no instant messengers, nothing like that -

不會有任何的訊息

and you work with focused attention for 25 minutes.

接著，很認真地工作25分鐘

Anybody can do 25 minutes, virtually anyone.

幾乎所有人 都能專注25分鐘吧

When you're done, you do something fun;

當你完成時，你可以做些有趣的事情

just a little bit, a few minutes of relaxed fun.

稍微放鬆一下下

What this seems to do is this:

這個方法

you are enhancing, you're practicing in some sense

可以幫助你練習

your ability to have focused attention,

提升專注的能力

and you're also practicing your ability to relax a little bit.

同時 你也在練習如何小小放鬆一下

Now you understand that relaxation

現在你應該懂了 放鬆

is also an important part of the learning process;

在學習過程中 也是很重要的

there are things going on in the background.

有一些事情，在後台處理

The only thing is this: when you do the Pomodoro,

在用蕃茄工作法時，你唯一要注意地是

you want to make sure that you don't sit there

記得 別訂下誇張目標

and say, "I'm going to do my entire homework set

說：「在這25分鐘， 我要完成所有的功課」 別這樣

in these 25 minutes." No.

說：「在這25分鐘， 我要完成所有的功課」 別這樣

You just sit and say, "I'm going to work with focused attention for 25 minutes",

只要告訴自己：「在接下來的25分鐘，我會很專心地做事」

and that's the key.

那 就是關鍵

Students sometimes make the mistake

學生常會犯一個錯誤

of thinking that some of their absolute best traits

認為有些他們所擁有的優勢

are their worst traits.

並非優勢

What do I mean by this?

什麼意思呢？

Let's take the idea of memory.

用記憶來舉例好了

Let's say that you have a poor working memory.

假設你記性不好

You can't seem to hold things in mind very well.

你總是難以把新記憶存入腦袋

You watch these other students

看看你身旁的同學

and they're able to grasp all these ideas and kind of manipulate them,

他們似乎總能輕易地理解並且運用它們

but you can't.

但你就是無法

Well, what this means is: surprisingly, you are more creative.

這所代表的意義是，其實，你是個很有創意的人

Because you can't hold these ideas in mind so tightly,

因為 你總是難以專心地把新記憶存入腦袋

other ideas are often creeping in.

其他的想法就有機會湧現

If you have problems with the tension,

如果你有專注力的問題，

you're always kind of diverting off into some other idea, it's similar:

總是會分心想其他事情，也是一樣的

you are often more creative,

你比多數人 都要有創意

because these new ideas are slipping in instead.