TED英语演讲稿内容

RemembertosaythankyouHi.I'mheretotalktoyouabouttheimportanceofpraise,admirationandthankyou,andhavingitbespecificandgenuine.AndthewayIgotinterestedinthiswas,Inoticedinmyself,whenIwasgrowingup,anduntilaboutafewyearsago,thatIwouldwanttosaythankyoutosomeone,Iwouldwanttopraisethem,IwouldwanttotakeintheirpraiseofmeandI'djuststopit.AndIaskedmyself,why?Ifeltshy,Ifeltembarrassed.Andthenmyquestionbecame,amItheonlyonewhodoesthis?So,Idecidedtoinvestigate.I'mfortunateenoughtoworkintherehabfacility,soIgettoseepeoplewhoarefacinglifeanddeathwithaddiction.Andsometimesitcomesdowntosomethingassimpleas,theircorewoundistheirfatherdiedwithouteversayinghe'sproudofthem.Butthen,theyhearfromallthefamilyandfriendsthatthefathertoldeverybodyelsethathewasproudofhim,buthenevertoldtheson.It'sbecausehedidn'tknowthathissonneededtohearit.Somyquestionis,whydon'tweaskforthethingsthatweneed?Iknowagentleman,marriedfor25years,who'slongingtohearhiswifesay,"Thankyouforbeingthebreadwinner,soIcanstayhomewiththekids,"butwon'task.Iknowawomanwho'sgoodatthis.She,onceaweek,meetswithherhusbandandsays,"I'dreallylikeyoutothankmeforallthesethingsIdidinthehouseandwiththekids."Andhegoes,"Oh,thisisgreat,thisisgreat."Andpraisereallydoeshavetobegenuine,butshetakesresponsibilityforthat.Andafriendofmine,April,whoI'vehadsincekindergarten,shethanksherchildrenfordoingtheirchores.Andshesaid,"Whywouldn'tIthankit,eventhoughthey'resupposedtodoit?"So,thequestionis,whywasIblockingit?Whywereotherpeopleblockingit?WhycanIsay,"I'lltakemysteakmediumrare,Ineedsizesixshoes,"butIwon'tsay,"Wouldyoupraisemethisway?"Andit'sbecauseI'mgivingyoucriticaldataaboutme.I'mtellingyouwhereI'minsecure.I'mtellingyouwhereIneedyourhelp.AndI'mtreatingyou,myinnercircle,likeyou'retheenemy.Becausewhatcanyoudowiththatdata?Youcouldneglectme.Youcouldabuseit.Oryoucouldactuallymeetmyneed.AndItookmybikeintothebikestore--Ilovethis--samebike,andthey'ddosomethingcalled"truing"thewheels.Theguysaid,"Youknow,whenyoutruethewheels,it'sgoingtomakethebikesomuchbetter."Igetthesamebikeback,andthey'vetakenallthelittlewarpsoutofthosesamewheelsI'vehadfortwoandahalfyears,andmybikeislikenew.So,I'mgoingtochallengeallofyou.Iwantyoutotrueyourwheels:behonestaboutthepraisethatyouneedtohear.Whatdoyouneedtohear?Gohometoyourwife--goaskher,whatdoessheneed?Gohometoyourhusband--whatdoesheneed?Gohomeandaskthosequestions,andthenhelpthepeoplearoundyou.Andit'ssimple.Andwhyshouldwecareaboutthis?Wetalkaboutworldpeace.Howcanwehaveworldpeacewithdifferentcultures,differentlanguages?Ithinkitstartshouseholdbyhousehold,underthesameroof.So,let'smakeitrightinourownbackyard.AndIwanttothankallofyouintheaudienceforbeinggreathusbands,greatmothers,friends,daughters,sons.Andmaybesomebody'sneversaidthattoyou,butyou'vedoneareally,reallygoodjob.Andthankyouforbeinghere,justshowingupandchangingtheworldwithyourideas.Thebenefitsofabilingualbrain¿Hablasespañol?Parlez-vousfrançais?nihuishuozhongwenma?Ifyouanswered“si”,”oui”or”hui”andyouarewatchingthisinEnglish,chancesareyoubelongtotheworldbilingualandmultilingualmajority.Andbesideshavinganeasiertimetraveling,orwatchingmovieswithoutsubtitles,knowingtwoormorelanguagesmeansthatyourbrainmayactuallylookandworkdifferentlythanthoseofyourmonolingualfriends.Sowhatdoesitreallymeantoknowalanguage?Languageabilityistypicallymeasuredintwoactiveparts,speakingandwriting,andtwopassiveparts,listeningandreading.Whileabalancedbilingualhasnearequalabilitiesacrosstheboardintwolanguages,mostbilingualsaroundtheworldknowandusetheirlanguagesinvaryproportions.Anddependingontheirsituationandhowtheyacquiredeachlanguage,theycanbeclassifiedintothreegeneraltypes.Forexample,let’stakeGabriella,whosefamilyimmigratestotheUSfromPeruwhenshewastwo-yearsold.Asacompoundbilingual,Gabrielladevelopstwolinguisticcodessimultaneously,withasinglesetofconcepts,learningbothEnglishandSpanishasshebeginstoprocesstheworldaroundher.Herteenagebrother,ontheotherhand,mightbeacoordinatebilingual,workingwithtwosetsofconcepts,learningEnglishinschool,whilecontinuingtospeakSpanishathomeandwithfriends.Finally,Gabriella’sparentsarelikelytobesubordinatebilingualswholearnedasecondarylanguagebyfilteringitthroughtheirprimarylanguage.Becausealltypesofbilingualpeoplecanbecomefullyproficientinalanguageregardlessofaccentandpronunciation,thedifferencemaynotbeapparenttobeacasualobserver.Butrecentadvancesinimagingtechnologyhavegivenneurolinguistsaglimpseintohowspecificaspectsoflanguagelearningaffectthebilingualbrain.It’swellknownthatthebrain’slefthemisphereismoredominantandanalyticalinlogicalprocesses,whiletherighthemisphereismoreactiveinemotionalandsocialones,thoughthisisamatterofdegree,notanabsolutesplit.Thefactthatlanguageinvolvesbothtypesoffunctionswhilelateralizationdevelopsgraduallywithage,hasleadtothecriticalperiodhypothesis.Accordingtothistheory,childrenlearnlanguagesmoreeasilybecausetheplasticityoftheirdevelopingbrainsletthemusebothhemispheresinlanguageacquisition,whileinmostadults,languageislateralizedtoonehemisphere,usuallytheleft.PublicLibrarymemorizingphonebooks,whichwasscintillating.AndIwentbackandIreadawholehostofmemorytreatises,treatiseswritten2,000-plusyearsagoinLatin,inantiquity,andthenlater,intheMiddleAges.AndIlearnedawholebunchofreallyinterestingstuff.OneofthereallyinterestingthingsthatIlearnedisthatonceuponatime,thisideaofhavingatrained,disciplined,cultivatedmemorywasnotnearlysoalienasitwouldseemtoustobetoday.Onceuponatime,peopleinvestedintheirmemories,inlaboriouslyfurnishingtheirminds.Overthelastfewmillenia,we'veinventedaseriesoftechnologies--fromthealphabet,tothescroll,tothecodex,theprintingpress,photography,thecomputer,thesmartphone--thathavemadeitprogressivelyeasierandeasierforustoexternalizeourmemories,forustoessentiallyoutsourcethisfundamentalhumancapacity.Thesetechnologieshavemadeourmodernworldpossible,butthey'vealsochangedus.They'vechangedusculturally,andIwouldarguethatthey'vechangeduscognitively.Havinglittleneedtorememberanymore,itsometimesseemslikewe'veforgottenhow.OneofthelastplacesonEarthwhereyoustillfindpeoplepassionateaboutthisideaofatrained,disciplined,cultivatedmemory,isatthistotallysingularmemorycontest.It'sactuallynotthatsingular,therearecontestsheldallovertheworld.AndIwasfascinated,Iwantedtoknowhowdotheseguysdoit.AfewyearsbackagroupofresearchersatUniversityCollegeLondonbroughtabunchofmemorychampionsintothelab.Theywantedtoknow:Dotheseguyshavebrainsthataresomehowstructurally,anatomicallydifferentfromtherestofours?Theanswerwasno.Aretheysmarterthantherestofus?Theygavethemabunchofcognitivetests,andtheanswerwas:notreally.Therewas,however,onereallyinterestingandtellingdifferencebetweenthebrainsofthememorychampionsandthecontrolsubjectsthattheywerecomparingthemto.WhentheyputtheseguysinanfMRImachine,scannedtheirbrainswhiletheywerememorizingnumbersandpeople'sfacesandpicturesofsnowflakes,theyfoundthatthememorychampionswerelightingupdifferentpartsofthebrainthaneveryoneelse.Ofnote,theywereusing,ortheyseemedtobeusing,apartofthebrainthat'sinvolvedinspatialmemoryandnavigation.Why?Andistheresomethingthattherestofuscanlearnfromthis?Thesportofcompetitivememorizingisdrivenbyakindofarmsracewhere,everyyear,somebodycomesupwithanewwaytoremembermorestuffmorequickly,andthentherestofthefieldhastoplaycatch-up.ThisismyfriendBenPridmore,three-timeworldmemorychampion.Onhisdeskinfrontofhimare36shuffledpacksofplayingcardsthatheisabouttotrytomemorizeinonehour,usingatechniquethatheinventedandhealonehasmastered.Heusedasimilartechniquetomemorizethepreciseorderof4,140randombinarydigitsinhalfanhour.Yeah.Andwhilethereareawholehostofwaysofrememberingstuffinthesecompetitions,everything,allofthetechniquesthatarebeingused,ultimatelycomedowntoaconceptthatpsychologistsrefertoas"elaborativeencoding."Andit'swell-illustratedbyaniftyparadoxknownastheBaker/bakerparadox,whichgoeslikethis:IfItelltwopeopletorememberthesameword,ifIsaytoyou,"RememberthatthereisaguynamedBaker."That'shisname.AndIsaytoyou,"Rememberthatthereisaguywhoisabaker."Okay?AndIcomebacktoyouatsomepointlateron,andIsay,"DoyourememberthatwordthatItoldyouawhileback?Doyourememberwhatitwas?"ThepersonwhowastoldhisnameisBakerislesslikelytorememberthesamewordthanthepersonwastoldhisjobisabaker.Sameword,differentamountofremembering;that'sweird.What'sgoingonhere?Well,thenameBakerdoesn'tactuallymeananythingtoyou.Itisentirelyuntetheredfromalloftheothermemoriesfloatingaroundinyourskull.Butthecommonnoun"baker"--weknowbakers.Bakerswearfunnywhitehats.Bakershaveflourontheirhands.Bakerssmellgoodwhentheycomehomefromwork.Maybeweevenknowabaker.Andwhenwefirsthearthatword,westartputtingtheseassociationalhooksintoit,thatmakeiteasiertofishitbackoutatsomelaterdate.Theentireartofwhatisgoingoninthesememorycontests,andtheentireartofrememberingstuffbetterineverydaylife,isfiguringoutwaystotransformcapitalBBakersintolower-caseBbakers--totakeinformationthatislackingincontext,insignificance,inmeaning,andtransformitinsomeway,sothatitbecomesmeaningfulinthelightofalltheotherthingsthatyouhaveinyourmind.Oneofthemoreelaboratetechniquesfordoingthisdatesback2,500yearstoAncientGreece.Itcametobeknownasthememorypalace.Thestorybehinditscreationgoeslikethis:TherewasapoetcalledSimonides,whowasattendingabanquet.Hewasactuallythehiredentertainment,becausebackthen,ifyouwantedtothrowareallyslammingparty,youdidn'thireaD.J.,youhiredapoet.Andhestandsup,delivershispoemfrommemory,walksoutthedoor,andatthemomenthedoes,thebanquethallcollapses.Killseverybodyinside.Itdoesn'tjustkilleverybody,itmanglesthebodiesbeyondallrecognition.Nobodycansaywhowasinside,nobodycansaywheretheyweresitting.Thebodiescan'tbeproperlyburied.It'sonetragedycompoundinganother.Simonides,standingoutside,thesolesurvivoramidthewreckage,closeshiseyesandhasthisrealization,whichisthatinhismind'seye,hecanseewhereeachoftheguestsatthebanquethadbeensitting.Andhetakestherelativesbythehand,andguidesthemeachtotheirlovedonesamidthewreckage.WhatSimonidesfiguredoutatthatmoment,issomethingthatIthinkweallkindofintuitivelyknow,whichisthat,asbadasweareatrememberingnamesandphonenumbers,andword-for-wordinstructionsfromourcolleagues,wehavereallyexceptionalvisualandspatialmemories.IfIaskedyoutorecountthefirst10wordsofthestorythatIjusttoldyouaboutSimonides,chancesareyouwouldhaveatoughtimewithit.But,IwouldwagerthatifIaskedyoutorecallwhoissittingontopofatalkingtanhorseinyourfoyerrightnow,youwouldbeabletoseethat.Theideabehindthememorypalaceistocreatethisimaginededificeinyourmind'seye,andpopulateitwithimagesofthethingsthatyouwanttoremember--thecrazier,weirder,morebizarre,funnier,raunchier,stinkiertheimageis,themoreunforgettableit'slikelytobe.Thisisadvicethatgoesback2,000-plusyearstotheearliestLatinmemorytreatises.Sohowdoesthiswork?Let'ssaythatyou'vebeeninvitedtoTEDcenterstagetogiveaspeech,andyouwanttodoitfrommemory,andyouwanttodoitthewaythatCicerowouldhavedoneit,ifhehadbeeninvitedtoTEDxRome2,000yearsago.Whatyoumightdoispictureyourselfatthefrontdoorofyourhouse.Andyou'dcomeupwithsomesortofcrazy,ridiculous,unforgettableimage,toremindyouthatthefirstthingyouwanttotalkaboutisthistotallybizarrecontest.Andthenyou'dgoinsideyourhouse,andyouwouldseeanimageofCookieMonsterontopofMisterEd.AndthatwouldremindyouthatyouwouldwanttothenintroduceyourfriendEdCook.Andthenyou'dseeanimageofBritneySpearstoremindyouofthisfunnyanecdoteyouwanttotell.Andyou'dgointoyourkitchen,andthefourthtopicyouweregoingtotalkaboutwasthisstrangejourneythatyouwentonforayear,andyou'dhavesomefriendstohelpyourememberthat.ThisishowRomanoratorsmemorizedtheirspeeches--notword-for-word,whichisjustgoingtoscrewyouup,buttopic-for-topic.Infact,thephrase"topicsentence"--thatcomesfromtheGreekword"topos,"whichmeans"place."That'savestigeofwhenpeopleusedtothinkaboutoratoryandrhetoricinthesesortsofspatialterms.Thephrase"inthefirstplace,"that'slike"inthefirstplaceofyourmemorypalace."Ithoughtthiswasjustfascinating,andIgotreallyintoit.AndIwenttoafewmoreofthesememorycontests,andIhadthisnotionthatImightwritesomethinglongeraboutthissubcultureofcompetitivememorizers.Buttherewasaproblem.Theproblemwasthatamemorycontestisapathologicallyboringevent.Truly,itislikeabunchofpeoplesittingaroundtakingtheSATs--Imean,themostdramaticitgetsiswhensomebodystartsmassagingtheirtemples.AndI'majournalist,Ineedsomethingtowriteabout.Iknowthatthere'sincrediblestuffhappeninginthesepeople'sminds,butIdon'thaveaccesstoit.AndIrealized,ifIwasgoingtotellthisstory,Ineededtowalkintheirshoesalittlebit.AndsoIstartedtryingtospend15or20minuteseverymorning,beforeIsatdownwithmyNewYorkTimes,justtryingtoremembersomething.Maybeitwasapoem,maybeitwasnamesfromanoldyearbookthatIboughtatafleamarket.AndIfoundthatthiswasshockinglyfun.Ineverwouldhaveexpectedthat.Itwasfunbecausethisisactuallynotabouttrainingyourmemory.Whatyou'redoing,isyou'retryingtogetbetterandbetteratcreating,atdreamingup,theseutterlyludicrous,raunchy,hilarious,andhopefullyunforgettableimagesinyourmind'seye.AndIgotprettyintoit.Thisismewearingmystandardcompetitivememorizer'strainingkit.It'sapairofearmuffsandasetofsafetygogglesthathavebeenmaskedoverexceptfortwosmallpinholes,becausedistractionisthecompetitivememorizer'sgreatestenemy.IendedupcomingbacktothatsamecontestthatIhadcoveredayearearlier,andIhadthisnotionthatImightenterit,sortofasanexperimentinparticipatoryjournalism.It'dmake,Ithought,maybeaniceepiloguetoallmyresearch.Problemwas,theexperimentwenthaywire.Iwonthecontest--whichreallywasn'tsupposedtohappen.Now,itisnicetobeabletomemorizespeechesandphonenumbersandshoppinglists,butit'sactuallykindofbesidethepoint.Thesearejusttricks.Theyworkbecausethey'rebasedonsomeprettybasicprinciplesabouthowourbrainswork.Andyoudon'thavetobebuildingmemorypalacesormemorizingpacksofplayingcardstobenefitfromalittlebitofinsightabouthowyourmindworks.Weoftentalkaboutpeoplewithgreatmemoriesasthoughitweresomesortofaninnategift,butthatisnotthecase.Greatmemoriesarelearned.Atthemostbasiclevel,werememberwhenwepayattention.Werememberwhenwearedeeplyengaged.Werememberwhenweareabletotakeapieceofinformationandexperience,andfigureoutwhyitismeaningfultous,whyitissignificant,whyit'scolorful,whenwe'reabletotransformitinsomewaythatmakessenseinthelightofalloftheotherthingsfloatingaroundinourminds,whenwe'reabletotransformBakersintobakers.Thememorypalace,thesememorytechniques--they'rejustshortcuts.Infact,they'renotevenreallyshortcuts.Theyworkbecausetheymakeyouwork.Theyforceakindofdepthofprocessing,akindofmindfulness,thatmostofusdon'tnormallywalkaroundexercising.Butthereactuallyarenoshortcuts.Thisishowstuffismadememorable.AndIthinkifthere'sonethingthatIwanttoleaveyouwith,it'swhatE.P.,theamnesicwhocouldn'tevenrememberhehadamemoryproblem,leftmewith,whichisthenotionthatourlivesarethesumofourmemories.Howmucharewewillingtolosefromouralreadyshortlives,bylosingourselvesinourBlackberries,ouriPhones,bynotpayingattentiontothehumanbeingacrossfromuswhoistalkingwithus,bybeingsolazythatwe'renotwillingtoprocessdeeply?Ilearnedfirsthandthatthereareincrediblememorycapacitieslatentinallofus.Butifyouwanttoliveamemorablelife,youhavetobethekindofpersonwhorememberstoremember.Thankyou.请别忘记感谢身边的人嗨。我在这里要和大家谈谈向别人表达赞美，倾佩和谢意的重要性。并使它们听来真诚，具体。之所以我对此感兴趣是因为我从我自己的成长中注意到几年前，当我想要对某个人说声谢谢时，当我想要赞美他们时，当我想接受他们对我的赞扬，但我却没有说出口。我问我自己，这是为什么？我感到害羞，我感到尴尬。接着我产生了一个问题难道我是唯一一个这么做的人吗？所以我决定做些探究。我非常幸运的在一家康复中心工作，所以我可以看到那些因为上瘾而面临生与死的人。有时候这一切可以非常简单地归结为，他们最核心的创伤来自于他们父亲到死都未说过“他为他们而自豪”。但他们从所有其它家庭或朋友那里得知他的父亲告诉其他人为他感到自豪，但这个父亲从没告诉过他儿子。因为他不知道他的儿子需要听到这一切。因此我的问题是，为什么我们不索求我们需要的东西呢？我认识一个结婚25年的男士渴望听到他妻子说，“感谢你为这个家在外赚钱，这样我才能在家陪伴着孩子，”但他从来不去问。我认识一个精于此道的女士。每周一次，她见到丈夫后会说，“我真的希望你为我对这个家和孩子们付出的努力而感谢我。”他会应和到“哦，真是太棒了，真是太棒了。”赞扬别人一定要真诚，但她对赞美承担了责任。一个从我上幼儿园就一直是朋友的叫April的人，她会感谢她的孩子们做了家务。她说：“为什么我不表示感谢呢，即使他们本来就要做那些事情？”因此我的问题是，为什么我不说呢？为什么其它人不说呢？为什么我能说：“我要一块中等厚度的牛排，我需要6号尺寸的鞋子，”但我却不能说：“你可以赞扬我吗？”因为这会使我把我的重要信息与你分享。会让我告诉了你我内心的不安。会让你认为我需要你的帮助。虽然你是我最贴心的人，我却把你当作是敌人。你会用我托付给你的重要信息做些什么呢？你可以忽视我。你可以滥用它。或者你可以满足我的要求。我把我的自行车拿到车行－－我喜欢这么做－－同样的自行车，他们会对车轮做整形。那里的人说：“当你对车轮做整形时，它会使自行车变成更好。”我把这辆自行车拿回来，他们把有小小弯曲的铁丝从轮子上拿走这辆车我用了2年半，现在还像新的一样。所以我要问在场的所有人，我希望你们把你们的车轮整形一下：真诚面对对你们想听到的赞美。你们想听到什么呢？回家问问你们的妻子，她想听到什么？回家问问你们的丈夫，他想听到什么？回家问问这些问题，并帮助身边的人实现它们。非常简单。为什么要关心这个呢？我们谈论世界和平。我们怎么用不同的文化，不同的语言来保持世界和平？我想要从每个小家庭开始。所以让我们在家里就把这件事情做好。我想要感谢所有在这里的人们因为你们是好丈夫，好母亲，好伙伴，好女儿和好儿子。或许有些人从没跟你们说过但你们已经做得非常非常得出色了。感谢你们来到这里，向世界显示着你们的智慧，并用它们改变着世界。双语能力对大脑的益处惊人你会说中文吗？如果你能回答“si”、“oui”或者“是的”，而且能看懂这个英文短片，那么你就跟世界上很多人一样、具备双语能力或是多语能力。除了旅游时沟通比较方便、看电影不需要字幕这些好处之外，通晓两种或者三种以上的语言，意味着你的大脑在结构上或运作上与你那些单一语言的朋友有着明显的不同。所以到底什么才能算通晓一门语言呢？衡量语言能力，主要包含两个主动部分——说和写，和两个被动部分——听和读。虽然一个出色的双语者对于两种语言都有着相近的使用能力，但是大多数的双语者对两个语种的认知和使用能力是有差异的。根据个人所处的环境以及他们具体学语言的方法，双语者通常可以分成三类。举个例子来说，Gabriella在两岁时跟着家人由秘鲁移民到美国。她属于复合型双语者，Gabriella在刚接触这个世界时就同时学英语和西班牙语，所以给她一个概念、她的大脑就能同时唤起两种语言信号。她有一个十几岁的哥哥，则属于协调型双语使用者，他运用两种不同的概念，一方面在学校学习英语，另一方面用西班牙语和家人、朋友交流。最后，Gabriella的父母，则属于从属型双语者。当他们学习外语（英语）时，需要通过母语进行翻译再进行学习。如果不考虑口音和发音问题，这三种类型的双语者至少都算能精通一门语言。因此，一般人很难发现这三种类型的差异。然而现在，由于大脑成像技术不断进步，神经语言学家能够知道语言学习对双语使用者的大脑产生什么样的影响。大家都知道，大脑的左半球是掌管数据和逻辑分析的，而大脑的右半球则掌管情感与社交，但这并不是绝对的、只是比例多少的问题。语言同时包括了左脑和右脑的功能，而随着年龄的增长，大脑的功能会逐渐侧重其中的一边，语言学习的关键时期假说就是由这个事实引申出来的。根据这个理论，儿童学习语言更容易，是因为他们的大脑仍在发展、可塑性更强，他们可以同时调用左右两边大脑的机能来学习语言；然而多数成年人只通过大脑的一边（通常是左脑）学习语言。如果这个假说是真的，那么在儿童时期学习语言可以让你对其社会和情感内涵有着更整体的把握。另一方面，近期的研究表明，成年人学习外语时的情绪性偏见没那么多，同时相比于母语环境，他们在外语环境中遇到问题时也更为理性。无论如何，当你学习一门新的语言时，多语能力都会给你的大脑带来明显的好处。有些好处甚至是可视化的，比如大脑灰白质的密度增加，那里包含了大多数的神经元和突触，而且在学习外语时，大脑的部分区域会变得更加活跃。双语者的大脑可以持续不断地接收强化训练，这能让一些病症（如阿兹海默痴呆症和失智症）的发作推迟至5年以后。双语能力对认知能力的有所帮助在现代来看是很好理解的，但是过去的专家一定会对这个观点大吃一惊。在1960年之前，人们认为使用双语对于儿童的成长来说是一种障碍，因为这需要儿童花费精力去分辨别不同语言，这种观点的产生源自有瑕疵的研究方法。最新的研究的确显示，在跨语言测验当中，使用双语的学生的反应时间与错误次数增加了；同时也表明，学生需要花费更多的努力和注意力进行语言的转换，这也使得前额叶脑区更加活跃、进而强化其机能。前额叶脑区主要影响执行、解决问题、多任务转换、集中注意力、排除无关信息的能力。虽然学习双语不一定能让你更聪明，但是它可以让你的大脑更加健康、多元和活跃。即使你在年幼时没有机会学习第二语言，但是现在学习永远不会太晚。从现在开始学一门外语吧，把“hello”转换成“Hola”、“Bonjour”、“你好”(本文作者母语为英语)等外语问候，即使只是小小的训练，也能对大脑有所帮助。每个人都能掌握的记忆技巧请大家跟我一起闭上眼睛，象一下。你站在，自己家门口的外面，请留心一下门的颜色，以及门的材质，现在请想象一群超重的裸骑者，正在进行一场裸体自行车赛，向你的前门直冲而来，尽量让画面想象得栩栩如生近在眼前，他们都在奋力地踩脚踏板汗流浃背，路面非常颠簸，然后径直撞进了你家前门，自行车四下飞散车轮从你身旁滚过，辐条扎进了各种尴尬角落，跨过门槛，进到门厅、走廊和门里的其他地方，室内光线柔和舒适，光线洒在甜饼怪物身上，他坐在一匹棕色骏马的马背上，正向你招手，这匹马会说话，你可以感觉到他的蓝色鬃毛让你鼻子发痒，你可以闻到他正要扔进嘴里的葡萄燕麦曲奇的香气，绕过他绕过他走进客厅，站在客厅里把你的想象力调到最大档，想象小甜甜布兰妮，她衣着暴露在你咖啡桌上跳舞，并唱着"HitMeBabyOneMoreTime"，接下来跟着我走进你的厨房，厨房的地面被一道黄砖路覆盖，依次钻出你的烤箱向你走来的是，《绿野仙踪》里的多萝西铁皮人，稻草人和狮子，他们手挽着手蹦蹦跳跳地向你走来，好了睁开眼睛吧，我要给你们讲一个每年春天在纽约，都会举办的奇异竞赛，叫做全美记忆冠军赛，几年前我作为一名科技类记者，去报道这项竞赛，心里想着大概那儿得像，怪才的"超级碗冠军赛"一样热闹吧，一大堆男人和屈指可数的女性，从小孩儿到老人有些还不怎么注意个人卫生，有的奋力在只看一次的情况下，记下上百个任意列出的数字，有的在努力记住成群的陌生人的名字，有的想在几分钟内努力背下整篇诗歌，还有的在比赛谁能以最快速度，记下一整副打乱的牌的顺序，我当时觉得这太不可思议了，这些人肯定天赋异禀。所以我开始采访参赛者，这位叫EdCook，是从英格兰来的，他在那儿接受了最好的记忆训练，我问他"Ed你是什么时候开始意识到，自己是记忆天才的?"，Ed答道“我并不是什么专家，其实我的记忆力很一般，来参赛的每一个人，都会告诉你他们的记忆力只是一般水平，我们都在训练自己后才能，完成这些奇迹般的记忆游戏，我们运用了一系列古老的技巧，这些技巧是希腊人在两千五百年前发明的，西塞罗正是用了这些技巧，来记忆他的演讲稿的，中世纪学者用这种技巧来背诵正本书籍的内容"，我惊讶不已"哇噻怎么我从来没听说过呢?"，我们站在竞技大厅外，聪明过人令人惊叹，而又稍有些古怪的英国人Ed，对我说"Josh你是个美国记者，你知道小甜甜布兰妮吧?”，我茫然不解"什么?当然为什么要问这个?"，“因为我真的很想在，美国国家电台上教会布兰妮，怎样记住一整副打乱的牌的顺序，就能证明这是人人都可以做到的了"，我说"虽然我不是布兰妮，但你也可以教教我呀，总得找个人开教嘛不是吗?"，接着一段非常奇特的历程在我面前展开了序幕，结果第二年的大部分时间，我都花在了训练自己的记忆力，同时调查研究记忆上，我想尝试理解产生记忆的原理，为何有时会记了又忘，及其它到底隐藏着什么样的潜力，途中我遇到了很多有趣的人，其中一个叫E.P.，他患有健忘症他的记忆力，恐怕是世界上最差的了，他的记忆能力差到，甚至记不得自己有健忘症，真的很神奇，虽然他是个悲剧角色，但通过他我们能了解到，记忆在何种程度上塑造了我们的人格，情况的另一个极端是我遇到了这样一个人，他叫KimPeek，他是DustinHoffman在电影《雨人》里的角色的原型，我和他花了一下午，在盐湖城公共图书馆里背电话簿，让我大开眼界，回家后我读了许多关于记忆的论文，写于两千多年前的论文，用拉丁文写的从古代，一直到后来中世纪期间，我学到很多很有意思的事儿，其中一个就是，曾经，训练规束培养记忆力的这种概念，完全不像如今那样陌生，曾几何时人们寄希望于自己的记忆，能不遗余力地装饰自己的心灵，近几千年来，人类发明了一系列技术，从字母表到卷轴，到法典印刷机摄影技术，电脑智能手机，让我们能越来越轻松地，外化记忆能力，让我们从根本上，把这种基础的人类能力拱手让出，这些技术让现代生活变为可能，但同时也改变了我们，不仅在文化上，我觉得也在认知上，不再需要费劲去记忆，有时会觉得我们已经忘了如何去记忆，在这片地球上已经很少有地方，能让你觉得人们仍热衷于，训练规束培养记忆力了，那非同寻常的记忆大赛算是一个，其实它也没有那么非同寻常，世界各地都开始举办这样的竞赛，我对此深深着迷想要知道这些人是怎么做到的，几年前伦敦大学学院的一组研究人员，请来一批记忆大赛的冠军接受研究，他们想要弄明白，这些人的大脑，是否跟我们其他人在解剖学上的结构不一样?，答案是否定的，那他们比我们都聪明吗?，他们给研究对象实施了一系列认知测试，依旧得出了否定结论，但对比受控制的比对目标的大脑，记忆大赛冠军们的大脑，确实有一处很有趣的不同很说明问题，这些人被送去做功能磁共振，扫描大脑时，当他们在记忆数字或人脸或雪花图案时，研究人员发现记忆大赛冠军们，的大脑激活的区域，跟普通人不太一样，值得注意的是他们看来是在用，脑中在空间记忆和导航时会用到的部分，为什么?我们可以从中得出什么样的结论呢?，竞争性记忆的较量，被一种类似军事比赛的方式推向了白热化，每年都会有人，带着更有效的记忆方法现身赛场，而其他人就必须迎头赶上，这是我的朋友BenPridmore，赢得过三次国际记忆大赛冠军，在他的台前，有三十六副打乱顺序的牌，他要在一个小时内记下全部，用的是一种他自己发明的也只有他会的技巧，用与此类似的方法，他曾一字不差地背下了，4140个任意排列的二进制数，只用了半个小时，很牛吧，参赛者在这些竞赛中，运用过很多不同的记忆方法，各式各样被运用到的所有技巧，最终都能归化为一个概念，心理学家称之为"精细编码"，这个概念能用一则幽默的悖论完美诠释，叫做Baker/baker悖论，简单说来就是，假设我让两个人去记同一个词，我跟你说，"记住有个人叫Baker"，Baker是人名，我又来告诉你"记住有个人是面包师(baker)"，过了一段时间我又回来找到你们，问"还记得我之前，叫