TED英语演讲稿我们为什么快乐.docx

TED英语演讲稿我们为什么快乐.docx

《TED英语演讲稿我们为什么快乐.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《TED英语演讲稿我们为什么快乐.docx（10页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

TED英语演讲稿我们为什么快乐

TED英语演讲稿：

我们为什么快乐？

　　whenyouhave21minutestospeak,twomillionyearsseemslikeareallylongtime.butevolutionarily,twomillionyearsisnothing.andyetintwomillionyearsthehumanbrainhasnearlytripledinmass,goingfromtheone-and-a-quarterpoundbrainofourancestorhere,habilis,tothealmostthree-poundmeatloafthateverybodyherehasbetweentheirears.whatisitaboutabigbrainthatnaturewassoeagerforeveryoneofustohaveone?

well,itturnsoutwhenbrainstripleinsize,theydon’tjustgetthreetimesbigger;theygainnewstructures.andoneofthemainreasonsourbraingotsobigisbecauseitgotanewpart,calledthe”frontallobe.”andparticularly,apartcalledthe”pre-frontalcortex.”nowwhatdoesapre-frontalcortexdoforyouthatshouldjustifytheentirearchitecturaloverhaulofthehumanskullintheblinkofevolutionarytime?

well,itturnsoutthepre-frontalcortexdoeslotsofthings,butoneofthemostimportantthingsitdoesisitisanexperiencesimulator.flightpilotspracticeinflightsimulatorssothattheydon’tmakerealmistakesinplanes.humanbeingshavethismarvelousadaptationthattheycanactuallyhaveexperiencesintheirheadsbeforetheytrythemoutinreallife.thisisatrickthatnoneofourancestorscoulddo,andthatnootheranimalcandoquitelikewecan.it’samarvelousadaptation.it’suptherewithopposablethumbsandstandinguprightandlanguageasoneofthethingsthatgotourspeciesoutofthetreesandintotheshoppingmall.

now--（laughter）--allofyouhavedonethis.imean,youknow,benandjerry’sdoesn’thaveliver-and-onionicecream,andit’snotbecausetheywhippedsomeup,trieditandwent,”yuck.”it’sbecause,withoutleavingyourarmchair,youcansimulatethatflavorandsay”yuck”beforeyoumakeit.

let’sseehowyourexperiencesimulatorsareworking.let’sjustrunaquickdiagnosticbeforeiproceedwiththerestofthetalk.here’stwodifferentfuturesthatiinviteyoutocontemplate,andyoucantrytosimulatethemandtellmewhichoneyouthinkyoumightprefer.oneofthemiswinningthelottery.thisisabout314milliondollars.andtheotherisbecomingparaplegic.so,justgiveitamomentofthought.youprobablydon’tfeellikeyouneedamomentofthought.

interestingly,therearedataonthesetwogroupsofpeople,dataonhowhappytheyare.andthisisexactlywhatyouexpected,isn’tit?

butthesearen’tthedata.imadetheseup!

thesearethedata.youfailedthepopquiz,andyou’rehardlyfiveminutesintothelecture.becausethefactisthatayearafterlosingtheuseoftheirlegs,andayearafterwinningthelotto,lotterywinnersandparaplegicsareequallyhappywiththeirlives.

now,don’tfeeltoobadaboutfailingthefirstpopquiz,becauseeverybodyfailsallofthepopquizzesallofthetime.theresearchthatmylaboratoryhasbeendoing,thateconomistsandpsychologistsaroundthecountryhavebeendoing,haverevealedsomethingreallyquitestartlingtous,somethingwecallthe”impactbias,”whichisthetendencyforthesimulatortoworkbadly.forthesimulatortomakeyoubelievethatdifferentoutcomesaremoredifferentthaninfacttheyreallyare.

fromfieldstudiestolaboratorystudies,weseethatwinningorlosinganelection,gainingorlosingaromanticpartner,gettingornotgettingapromotion,passingornotpassingacollegetest,onandon,havefarlessimpact,lessintensityandmuchlessdurationthanpeopleexpectthemtohave.infact,arecentstudy--thisalmostfloorsme--arecentstudyshowinghowmajorlifetraumasaffectpeoplesuggeststhatifithappenedoverthreemonthsago,withonlyafewexceptions,ithasnoimpactwhatsoeveronyourhappiness.

why?

becausehappinesscanbesynthesized.sirthomasbrownwrotein1642,”iamthehappiestmanalive.ihavethatinmethatcanconvertpovertytoriches,adversitytoprosperity.iammoreinvulnerablethanachilles;fortunehathnotoneplacetohitme.”whatkindofremarkablemachinerydoesthisguyhaveinhishead?

well,itturnsoutit’spreciselythesameremarkablemachinerythatalloffushave.humanbeingshavesomethingthatwemightthinkofasa”psychologicalimmunesystem.”asystemofcognitiveprocesses,largelynon-consciouscognitiveprocesses,thathelpthemchangetheirviewsoftheworld,sothattheycanfeelbetterabouttheworldsinwhichtheyfindthemselves.likesirthomas,youhavethismachine.unlikesirthomas,youseemnottoknowit.（laughter）

wesynthesizehappiness,butwethinkhappinessisathingtobefound.now,youdon’tneedmetogiveyoutoomanyexamplesofpeoplesynthesizinghappiness,isuspect.thoughi’mgoingtoshowyousomeexperimentalevidence,youdon’thavetolookveryfarforevidence.

asachallengetomyself,sinceisaythisonceinawhileinlectures,itookacopyofthenewyorktimesandtriedtofindsomeinstancesofpeoplesynthesizinghappiness.andherearethreeguyssynthesizinghappiness.”iamsomuchbetteroffphysically,financially,emotionally,mentallyandalmosteveryotherway.”“idon’thaveoneminute’sregret.itwasagloriousexperience.”“ibelieveitturnedoutforthebest.”

whoarethesecharacterswhoaresodamnhappy?

well,thefirstoneisjimwright.someofyouareoldenoughtoremember:

hewasthechairmanofthehouseofrepresentativesandheresignedindisgracewhenthisyoungrepublicannamednewtgingrichfoundoutaboutashadybookdealhehaddone.helosteverything.themostpowerfuldemocratinthecountry,helosteverything.helosthismoney;helosthispower.whatdoeshehavetosayalltheseyearslateraboutit?

”iamsomuchbetteroffphysically,financially,mentallyandinalmosteveryotherway.”whatotherwaywouldtherebetobebetteroff?

vegetably?

minerally?

animally?

he’sprettymuchcoveredthemthere.

moreesebickhamissomebodyyou’veneverheardof.moreesebickhamutteredthesewordsuponbeingreleased.hewas78yearsold.hespent37yearsinalouisianastatepenitentiaryforacrimehedidn’tcommit.hewasultimatelyexonerated,attheageof78,throughdnaevidence.andwhatdidhehavetosayabouthisexperience?

”idon’thaveoneminute’sregret.itwasagloriousexperience.”glorious!

thisguyisnotsaying,”well,youknow,thereweresomeniceguys.theyhadagym.”it’s”glorious,”awordweusuallyreserveforsomethinglikeareligiousexperience.

harrys.langermanutteredthesewords,andhe’ssomebodyyoumighthaveknownbutdidn’t,becausein1949hereadalittlearticleinthepaperaboutahamburgerstandownedbythesetwobrothersnamedmcdonalds.andhethought,”that’sareallyneatidea!

”sohewenttofindthem.theysaid,”wecangiveyouafranchiseonthisfor3,000bucks.”harrywentbacktonewyork,askedhisbrotherwho’saninvestmentbankertoloanhimthe3,000dollars,andhisbrother’simmortalwordswere,”youidiot,nobodyeatshamburgers.”hewouldn’tlendhimthemoney,andofcoursesixmonthslaterraycrochadexactlythesameidea.itturnsoutpeopledoeathamburgers,andraycroc,forawhile,becametherichestmaninamerica.

andthenfinally--youknow,thebestofallpossibleworlds--someofyourecognizethisyoungphotoofpetebest,whowastheoriginaldrummerforthebeatles,untilthey,youknow,senthimoutonanerrandandsnuckawayandpickedupringoonatour.well,in1994,whenpetebestwasinterviewed--yes,he’sstilladrummer;yes,he’sastudiomusician--hehadthistosay:

”i’mhappierthaniwouldhavebeenwiththebeatles.”

okay.there’ssomethingimportanttobelearnedfromthesepeople,anditisthesecretofhappiness.hereitis,finallytoberevealed.first:

accruewealth,power,andprestige,thenloseit.（laughter）second:

spendasmuchofyourlifeinprisonasyoupossiblycan.（laughter）third:

makesomebodyelsereally,reallyrich.（laughter）andfinally:

nevereverjointhebeatles.（laughter）

ok.nowi,likezefrank,canpredictyournextthought,whichis,”yeah,right.”becausewhenpeoplesynthesizehappiness,asthesegentlemenseemtohavedone,weallsmileatthem,butwekindofrolloureyesandsay,”yeahright,youneverreallywantedthejob.”“ohyeah,right.youreallydidn’thavethatmuchincommonwithher,andyoufiguredthatoutjustaboutthetimeshethrewtheengagementringinyourface.”

wesmirkbecausewebelievethatsynthetichappinessisnotofthesamequalityaswhatwemightcall”naturalhappiness.”whataretheseterms?

naturalhappinessiswhatwegetwhenwegetwhatwewanted,andsynthetichappinessiswhatwemakewhenwedon’tgetwhatwewanted.andinoursociety,wehaveastrongbeliefthatsynthetichappinessisofaninferiorkind.whydowehavethatbelief?

well,it’sverysimple.whatkindofeconomicenginewouldkeepchurningifwebelievedthatnotgettingwhatwewantcouldmakeusjustashappyasgettingit?

withallapologiestomyfriendmatthieuricard,ashoppingmallfullofzenmonksisnotgoingtobeparticularlyprofitablebecausetheydon’twantstuffenough.iwanttosuggesttoyouthatsynthetichappinessiseverybitasrealandenduringasthekindofhappinessyoustumbleuponwhenyougetexactlywhatyouwereaimingfor.now,i’mascientist,soi’mgoingtodothisnotwithrhetoric,butbymarinatingyouinalittlebitofdata.

letmefirstshowyouanexperimentalparadigmthatisusedtodemonstratethesynthesisofhappinessamongregularoldfolks.andthisisn’tmine.thisisa50-year-oldparadigmcalledthe”freechoiceparadigm.”it’sverysimple.youbringin,say,sixobjects,andyouaskasubjecttorankthemfromthemosttotheleastliked.inthiscase,becausetheexperimenti’mgoingtotellyouaboutusesthem,thesearemonetprints.so,everybodycanrankthesemonetprintsfromtheonetheylikethemost,totheonetheyliketheleast.nowwegiveyouachoice:

”wehappentohavesomeextraprintsinthecloset.we’regoingtogiveyouoneasyourprizetotakehome.wehappentohavenumberthreeandnumberfour,”wetellthesubject.thisisabitofadifficultchoice,becauseneitheroneispreferredstronglytotheother,butnaturally,peopletendtopicknumberthreebecausetheylikeditalittlebetterthannumberfour.

sometimelater--itcouldbe15minutes;itcouldbe15days--thesamestimuliareputbeforethesubject,andthesubjectisaskedtore-rankthestimuli.”tellushowmuchyoulikethemnow.”whathappens?

watchashappinessissynthesized.thisistheresultthathasbeenreplicatedoverandoveragain.you’rewatchinghappinessbesynthesized.wouldyouliketoseeitagain?

happiness!

”theoneigotisreallybetterthanithought!

thatotheroneididn’tgetsucks!

”（laughter）that’sthesynthesisofhappiness.

nowwhat’stherightresponsetothat?

”yeah,right!

”now,here’stheexperimentwedid,andiwouldhopethisisgoingtoconvinceyouthat”yeah,right!

”wasnottherightresponse.

wedidthisexperimentwithagroupofpatientswhohadanterogradeamnesia.thesearehospitalizedpatients.mostofthemhavekorsakoff’ssyndrome,apolyneuriticpsychosisthat--theydrankwaytoomuch,andtheycan’tmakenewmemories.ok?

theyremembertheirchildhood,butifyouwalkinandintroduceyourself,andthenleavetheroom,whenyoucomeback,theydon’tknowwhoyouare.

wetookourmonetprintstothehospital.andweaskedthesepatientstorankthemfromtheonetheylikedthemosttotheonetheylikedtheleast.wethengavethemthechoicebetweennumberthreeandnumberfour.likeeverybodyelse,theysaid,”gee,thanksdoc!

that’sgreat!

icoulduseanewprint.i’lltakenumberthree.”weexplainedwewouldhavenumberthreemailedtothem.wegatheredupourmateria