正文翻译

By David Robson

作者: 除夜卫.罗伯森

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 +++++.

当然跟着岁数的添加，我们进修新技能的才干会降低，但作为成年人，掌控一种特定的心态可以辅佐你有效地进修。

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.

汤姆·范德比尔特对生平进修过程的痴迷始于他女儿的欢欣乐乐喜悦爱好:钢琴、足球、跆拳道。他想鼓舞鼓舞她往具有新的寻求，想陪她往上课或介入比赛。他想着当他女儿在锤炼本身的思惟时，他会答来电子邮件，玩手机，或盯着天空看，直到女儿做完。

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.

所以他从进修国际象棋课最早，决意花一年时分让本身进修一系列新技能。他进修唱歌、画画、玩杂耍和冲浪。不过他历来没有想过要无缺掌控这类身手，也没有想过要用博得美国偶像之类的出格豪举来夸耀本身的出格才调。

“As +++++s, we instantly put pressure on ourselves with goals,” he says. “We feel like we don&39;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.

范德比尔特建议，假定你遭到了鼓舞想从事一项新的消遣活动的话，那就从一项随便融进你现有糊口编制的活动最早。你大年夜大年夜约会对本身的进步速度感应诧异的。“可是良多人认为这只是一项宏除夜的时分投资，没有绝顶，所以这会让他们看而生畏。” 比如，他创作创造他把本来但凡用来看电视的时分投资到绘画此后，他的绘画程度有了较着的进步。

The why factor

为甚么要素

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

你大年夜大年夜约还在想，光鲜较着你可以躺在沙发上抓紧的时辰，为甚么要戮力呢。

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 +++++s – 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 +++++s who were 30 years younger.

但范德比尔特指出，进修任何新技能都有良多普及的益处，这些益处就包含可以抵消一些经久但凡因岁数添加而招致的智力降低的除夜脑改削。范德比尔特提到了一项针对岁数在58岁至86岁之间的成年人的研究，这些被研究者都修过西班牙语、音乐、作曲和绘画等几门课程。几个月后，他们不单在小我技能方面掉落踪掉落踪了出色的进步，在更普及的认知测试中也默示出较着的改进，甚至是与年青30岁的成年人的默示相当。

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.

滑稽的是，这些益处似乎得益于考验考验多种技能，而不是只专注于一种特定的技能。正如范德比尔特在他的书中所写的那样:“你不是在辛苦地跑马拉松，而是在让你的除夜脑举办各类高强度的间歇性锤炼。” 每次你最进步先辈修新技能时，你都在重塑。你同时也在操练你的除夜脑，从而让它变得更有效率。” 我们偏向于把“专业欢欣乐乐喜悦爱好者”看作是陋劣、窘蹙供献精力的人。但似乎永远的初学者，这些所谓的“万事通”大年夜大年夜约比只掌控一种身手的人具有更活络的除夜脑。

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.

生平寻求不合的欢欣乐乐喜悦爱好欢欣乐乐喜悦爱好甚至可以添加你的创作创作创造力。正如除夜卫·爱泼斯坦在他的书中提到的那样，诺贝尔奖得主比其他科学家更有大年夜大年夜约享用音乐、跳舞、视觉艺术或创作创作创造性写作等艺术寻求。

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 journali++, 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.”

当你最进步先辈修一项新技能时，你访谒访谒访谒对曲折勉强和损掉落踪落败的时辰。但理论上，这些经验多是全数过程中最次要的经验。在经验了多年的旧事工作后，范德比尔特说，新的挑衅对他的“职业知足感”来讲是一个可喜的改削。“这在某种程度上翻开了我的思惟，让我从头回到了那种未知的感应感染，”对那些已让人感应感染有些熟谙的技能来讲出格如斯，比如划画。“进修事物本身经常与我想象的就不合。我的期看老是被打乱。”

Abundant research has shown that intellectual humility – the capacity to recognise the limits of our knowledge – can powerfully improve our thinking and decision ***. 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.

除夜量的研究注解，熟谙到我们常识的局限性的身手是一种明智上的礼让，这类身手可以无力地进步我们的思虑和决意狡计身手。而这类从头思虑我们的进步先辈之见并向新思惟编制开放我们的思惟的身手，在当今疾速改削的全国中大年夜大年夜约变得愈来愈次要。非论我们是为了喜悦爱好而进修，仍是试图进步我们的专业技能而进修，我们都可以很好地培养“初学者的心态”，没有甚么是断定的，实足都需求进修。