TED2007
John Maeda: Designing for simplicity
前田约翰讲述"简洁"
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Readability: 3.4
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前田约翰工作于MIT的媒体实验室。他从事于技术和艺术融合的领域，这个领域很复杂。这个演讲就是要为您细细道来。
John Maeda - Artist
John Maeda, the former president of the Rhode Island School of Design, is dedicated to linking design and technology. Through the software tools, web pages and books he creates, he spreads his philosophy of elegant simplicity. Full bio
John Maeda, the former president of the Rhode Island School of Design, is dedicated to linking design and technology. Through the software tools, web pages and books he creates, he spreads his philosophy of elegant simplicity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:25
On simplicity. What a great way to start.
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关于简洁，这是一个多么伟大的开端。
00:30
First of all, I've been watching this trend
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首先，我一直在关注这个趋势
00:32
where we have these books like such and such "For Dummies."
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例如《傻瓜系列图书》
00:35
Do you know these books, these such and such "For Dummies?"
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你们知道《傻瓜系列图书》吗？
00:37
My daughters pointed out that I'm very similar looking, so this is a bit of a problem.
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我女儿说我和他长得很象，这就有点问题了。
00:41
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
00:44
But I was looking online at Amazon.com for other books like this.
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但是，我在亚马逊上搜索过其他类似的书。
00:48
You know, there's also something called the "Complete Idiot's Guide?"
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你们知道还有一个被称为《傻瓜指南系列》的吗？
00:51
There's a sort of business model around being stupid in some sense.
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这一类商业模式，探讨的是关于在某种意义下成为白痴的事情
00:54
We like to have technology make us feel bad, for some strange reason.
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为了一些奇怪的原因，我们总喜欢拥有某些使我们感觉并不太好的科技。
00:57
But I really like that, so I wrote a book called "The Laws of Simplicity."
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但是我十分喜欢那些科技，所以我写了一本书，名为《简洁的法则》。
01:01
I was in Milan last week, for the Italian launch.
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为了这本书在意大利的上市，上周我在米兰。
01:04
It's kind of a book about questions, questions about simplicity.
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这是一本探讨问题的书，这些问题是关于简洁。
01:08
Very few answers. I'm also wondering myself, what is simplicity?
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我也总是问自己，什么是简洁？很少找到答案。
01:11
Is it good? Is it bad? Is complexity better? I'm not sure.
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简洁好吗？简洁坏吗？还是复杂更好一些？我不确定。
01:15
After I wrote "The Laws of Simplicity,"
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写完了《简洁的法则》之后，
01:17
I was very tired of simplicity, as you can imagine.
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你们可以想像，对于简洁我该有多么厌烦。
01:20
And so in my life, I've discovered that
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所以，在我的生活中，我发现
01:22
vacation is the most important skill for any kind of over-achiever.
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对于成功人士来说度假是一个非常重要的本领。
01:25
Because your companies will always take away your life,
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因为你的公司总把你从生活中带走，
01:28
but they can never take away your vacation -- in theory.
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但是理论上讲，他们不能把你的假期带走。
01:31
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
01:32
So, I went to the Cape last summer to hide from simplicity,
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所以，去年夏天为了躲避简洁我去了科德角，
01:35
and I went to the Gap, because I only have black pants.
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我还去了GAP服装专卖店，因为我只有黑色的裤子。
01:37
So I went and bought khaki shorts or whatever,
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所以我在那里买了几条短裤还有其他一些衣物，
01:39
and unfortunately, their branding was all about "Keep It Simple."
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不幸的是他们的品牌定位正是“保持简洁。”
01:43
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
01:45
I opened up a magazine, and Visa's branding was,
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我打开一本杂志，Visa信用卡的品牌定位是
01:47
"Business Takes Simplicity."
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“商务需要简洁。” （后半句是“生活需要Visa”）
01:49
I develop photographs, and Kodak said, "Keep It Simple."
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我冲洗相片，发现柯达在提倡“保持简洁。”
01:52
So, I felt kind of weird that simplicity was sort of following me around.
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所以，我觉得奇怪的是简洁怎么一直围绕着我。
01:55
So, I turned on the TV, and I don't watch TV very much,
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于是，我打开电视，我不常看电视的，
01:58
but you know this person? This is Paris Hilton, apparently.
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但是你们知道这个人－－她是帕丽斯·希尔顿。
02:02
And she has this show, "The Simple Life."
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她有个真人秀节目叫“简单生活。”
02:04
So I watched this. It's not very simple, a little bit confusing.
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我看着这个节目。它不是非常简单，反倒有点令人迷惑。
02:08
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:10
So, I looked for a different show to watch.
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所以，我就找其他的节目看。
02:12
So, I opened up this TV Guide thing,
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我打开这个电视节目指南，
02:14
and on the E! channel, this "Simple Life" show is very popular.
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在E!频道，这个“简单生活”真人秀竟然非常流行。
02:17
They'll play it over, and over, and over.
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他们不停地播放它。
02:19
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:20
So it was traumatizing, actually.
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事实上，它令人伤脑筋。
02:22
So, I wanted to escape again, so I went out to my car.
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所以我再一次想到逃离，我钻进了车里，
02:27
And Cape Cod, there are idyllic roads, and all of us can drive in this room.
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科德角有完美乡间公路－－我们都能在这个空间里驾驶。
02:32
And when you drive, these signs are very important.
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当你驾驶的时候，这些路标非常重要。
02:34
It's a very simple sign, it says, "road" and "road approaching."
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这是一个非常简单的路标，它显示前方是个丁字路口。
02:38
So I'm mostly driving along, okay, and then I saw this sign.
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所以我大部分都是一直往前开，然后，我看见了这个路标。
02:42
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:44
So, I thought complexity was attacking me suddenly,
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所以，我想到"复杂"正突然袭击了我，
02:46
so I thought, "Ah, simplicity. Very important."
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我想，“啊，简洁－－太重要了。”
02:49
But then I thought, "Oh, simplicity. What would that be like on a beach?
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但是，稍候我想到“哦，简洁，在海滩上是什么样子呢？
02:53
What if the sky was 41 percent gray? Wouldn't that be the perfect sky?"
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如果天空百分之四十一是灰色的话－－那不是完美的天空吗？“
02:57
I mean that simplicity sky.
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我是说那个简洁的天空。
02:59
But in reality, the sky looked like this. It was a beautiful, complex sky.
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事实上，天空是这样的，一个美丽，复杂的天空。
03:04
You know, with the pinks and blues. We can't help but love complexity.
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你们看，这有粉红色和蓝色。我们情不自禁得喜欢复杂。
03:07
We're human beings: we love complex things.
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我们是人类，我们喜欢复杂的事物。
03:09
We love relationships -- very complex. So we love this kind of stuff.
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我们喜欢人际关系。我们非常复杂。所以，我们喜欢这些事物。
03:12
I'm at this place called the Media Lab.
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我在这个被称为媒体实验室的地方。
03:14
Maybe some of you guys have heard of this place.
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可能你们都听说过这个地方。
03:16
It's designed by I. M. Pei, one of the premier modernist architects.
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它是由贝律铭设计的，一个卓越的现代建筑设计师。
03:20
Modernism means white box, and it's a perfect white box.
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现代主义意味着白盒子，它是一个非常完美的白盒子。
03:24
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
03:26
And some of you guys are entrepreneurs, etc., whatever.
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你们中有一些人是企业家，或者是其他等等。
03:29
Last month, I was at Google, and, boy, that cafeteria, man.
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上个月我在谷歌，看见那个自助餐厅，天哪。
03:34
You guys have things here in Silicon Valley like stock options.
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他们在硅谷拥有的东西就象股票期权。
03:37
See, in academia, we get titles, lots of titles.
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你看，在学术界，我们则拥有头衔，很多很多头衔。
03:41
Last year at TED, these were all my titles. I had a lot of titles.
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去年在TED，这是我全部的头衔。我有很多头衔。
03:44
I have a default title as a father of a bunch of daughters.
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我有一个默认的头衔，比如一堆女儿的父亲。
03:47
This year at TED, I'm happy to report that I have new titles,
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今年在TED，我很高兴地向大家汇报，我又有了一个新头衔
03:50
in addition to my previous titles.
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除了我原来的头衔之外。
03:52
Another "Associate Director of Research."
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另一个副调研总监的职务。
03:54
And this also happened, so I have five daughters now.
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这个头衔也发生变化了，那就是我现在是五个女儿的父亲。
03:58
(Laughter)
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笑声
03:59
That's my baby Reina. (Applause) Thank you.
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这是我的宝贝女儿瑞娜。谢谢。
04:01
And so, my life is much more complex because of the baby, actually,
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事实上，我的生活因为宝宝越来越复杂了，
04:04
but that's okay. We will still stay married, I think.
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但是没关系。我想我会继续保持婚姻状态。
04:08
But looking way back, when I was a child --
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但是，回头看看我小的时候－－
04:10
you see, I grew up in a tofu factory in Seattle.
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我在西雅图的一个豆腐工厂里长大。
04:12
Many of you may not like tofu because you haven't had good tofu,
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你们很多人可能不喜欢豆腐，那是因为你们没尝到好豆腐，
04:15
but tofu's a good food. It's a very simple kind of food.
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但是豆腐是个好食物。它是一个非常简单的食物。
04:17
It's very hard work to make tofu.
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它非常难做。
04:20
As a child, we used to wake up at 1 a.m. and work till 6 p.m., six days a week.
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作为孩子，我们过去经常在清晨一点被叫醒然后工作到下午六点，一周六天都如此。
04:26
My father was kind of like Andy Grove, paranoid of the competition.
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我的父亲象安迪·葛洛夫，一个追求竞争的偏执狂。
04:30
So often, seven days a week. Family business equals child labor.
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所以，我们经常一周工作七天。我的家族生意就等同于童工。
04:35
We were a great model. So, I loved going to school.
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我们是一个伟大的模式。但是，我还是喜欢去学校读书。
04:39
School was great, and maybe going to school
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学校是伟大的，或许去学校读书
04:41
helped me get to this Media Lab place, I'm not sure.
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帮我来到了媒体实验室，我不确定。
04:43
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:45
Thank you.
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谢谢。
04:47
But the Media Lab is an interesting place, and it's important to me
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媒体实验室是一个有趣的地方，这点对我很重要
04:51
because as a student, I was a computer science undergrad,
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因为作为学生，我是一个计算机科学的本科生，
04:53
and I discovered design later on in my life.
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而且后来在我的生活中我发现了设计。
04:56
And there was this person, Muriel Cooper.
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这个人是穆里尔·库珀。
04:58
Who knows Muriel Cooper? Muriel Cooper?
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有谁知道穆里尔·库珀？
05:00
Wasn't she amazing? Muriel Cooper. She was wacky.
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她是不是很不可思议？穆里尔·库珀挺古怪的。
05:03
And she was a TEDster, exactly, and she showed us,
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她是一个TED的推广人，准确地说，她展示给我们
05:07
she showed the world how to make the computer beautiful again.
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一个如何使计算机再度美丽起来的世界。
05:10
And she's very important in my life,
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她在我生命中非常重要，
05:12
because she's the one that told me to leave MIT and go to art school.
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因为她告诉我离开MIT去艺术学校读书。
05:15
It was the best advice I ever got. So I went to art school, because of her.
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这是我得到过的最好的建议。所以，因为她，我去了艺术学校。
05:19
She passed away in 1994,
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她1994年过世了，
05:21
and I was hired back to MIT to try to fill her shoes, but it's so hard.
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我又被MIT反聘，尝试接她的班，但是非常困难。
05:26
This amazing person, Muriel Cooper.
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这就是这个不可思议的人，穆里尔·库珀。
05:28
When I was in Japan -- I went to an art school in Japan --
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当我在日本的时候－－我去了日本的艺术学校读书－－
05:31
I had a nice sort of situation, because somehow I was connected to Paul Rand.
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我有过一段很好的体验，因为我联系上了保罗·兰德。
05:36
Some of you guys know Paul Rand,
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你们有些人也认识保罗·兰德，
05:38
the greatest graphic designer -- I'm sorry -- out there.
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他是最伟大的平面设计师。
05:40
The great graphic designer Paul Rand
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这位伟大的平面设计师保罗·兰德，
05:42
designed the IBM logo, the Westinghouse logo.
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设计了IBM的品牌标识，西屋电气的品牌标识－－
05:44
He basically said, "I've designed everything."
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他从根本上说，“我设计了一切。”
05:47
And also Ikko Tanaka was a very important mentor in my life --
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还有田中一光也是我生命中非常重要的一位导师－－
05:51
the Paul Rand of Japan. He designed most of the major icons of Japan,
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他被喻为日本的保罗·兰德。他设计了大部分日本重要的标志性事物
05:56
like Issey Miyake's brand and also Muji.
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例如三宅一生的品牌，还有无印良品。
05:59
When you have mentors -- and yesterday,
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当你有导师的时候的时候－－昨天
06:01
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talked about mentors,
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卡里姆·阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔谈论了导师，
06:03
these people in your life -- the problem with mentors is that they all die.
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这些在你生命中的人－－问题是这些导师们都已经去世了。
06:07
This is a sad thing, but it's actually a happy thing in a way,
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这是一件悲伤的事，但是某种意义上这实际也是一件快乐的事，
06:09
because you can remember them in their pure form.
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因为你能以他们纯然的形式记忆着他们。
06:12
I think that the mentors that we all meet sort of humanize us.
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我想那些我们遇见过的导师们使我们更人性化。
06:16
When you get older, and you're all freaked out, whatever,
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当你变得越来越衰老，你就会恐慌，
06:18
the mentors calm us down.
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但是，导师能使我们平静。
06:20
And I'm grateful for my mentors, and I'm sure all of you are too.
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我很感激我的导师们，我确信你们也一样。
06:25
Because the human thing is very hard when you're at MIT.
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因为当你在MIT的时候，关于人的事物是非常困难的。
06:27
The T doesn't stand for "human," it stands for "technology."
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这个T字不代表“人”，它代表“科技”。
06:30
And because of that, I always wondered about this human thing.
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也是因为这一点，我总是疑惑关于人的事物。
06:33
So, I've always been Googling this word, "human,"
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所以，我总是在谷歌上搜索“人”这个词语，
06:35
to find out how many hits I get.
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为了找出有多少点击率。
06:37
And in 2001, I had 26 million hits, and for "computer,"
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2001年关于“人”这个词有2千6百万的点击率，而对于“电脑”这个词
06:41
because computers are against humans a bit,
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因为电脑是有点超过人类的，
06:43
I have 42 million hits. Let me do an Al Gore here.
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有4千2百万的点击率。我学学戈尔。
06:46
So, if you sort of compare that, like this,
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所以，如果你把两者象这样比较，
06:48
you'll see that computer versus human --
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你会发现电脑对比人－－
06:51
I've been tracking this for the last year --
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去年我一直追踪这个－－
06:53
computer versus human over the last year has changed.
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经过去年一年发生了变化。
06:56
It used to be kind of two to one. Now, humans are catching up.
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过去是2比1。现在，“人”追赶上来了。
06:59
Very good, us humans! We're catching up with the computers.
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非常好，作为人类，我们追赶上了电脑。
07:02
In the simplicity realm, it's also interesting.
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在简洁的层面，也很有趣，
07:04
So if you compare complexities to simplicity,
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所以如果你把复杂和简洁做比较，
07:08
it's also catching up in a way, too.
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他们也是越来越接近。
07:10
So, somehow humans and simplicity are intertwined, I think.
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所以，人和简洁是紧密相连的。
07:16
I have a confession: I'm not a man of simplicity.
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我坦白：我不是一个简洁的人。
07:19
I spent my entire early career making complex stuff.
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我职业生涯的初期全部在制作复杂的事物。
07:22
Lots of complex stuff.
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很多很多复杂的事物。
07:24
I wrote computer programs to make complex graphics like this.
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我编辑了电脑程序来制作复杂的图形，例如这个。
07:28
I had clients in Japan to make really complex stuff like this.
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我给日本的客户做过相当复杂的东西，比如这个。
07:31
And I've always felt bad about it, in a sense.
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某种层面上，我总是感觉很不好。
07:34
So, I hid in a time dimension.
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所以我躲在了一个时间的维度里：
07:36
I built things in a time-graphics dimension.
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我建立了一个时间－平面图形的维度。
07:39
I did this series of calendars for Shiseido.
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我为资生堂制作了一系列日历。
07:42
This is a floral theme calendar in 1997,
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这是1997年的一个花卉日历，
07:45
and this is a firework calendar. So, you launch the number into space,
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这是一个焰火日历。你把数字发送到宇宙里，
07:50
because the Japanese believe that when you see fireworks,
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因为日本人相信当你看见焰火
07:53
you're cooler for some reason.
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出于某些原因你就会感觉更凉爽了。
07:55
This is why they have fireworks in the summer.
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这就是为什么他们在夏天会放烟花的原因。
07:57
A very extreme culture.
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一种非常极端的文化传统。
08:00
Lastly, this is a fall-based calendar,
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最后这个是以秋天为主题的日历，
08:02
because I have so many leaves in my yard.
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因为在我的后院有特别多的落叶。
08:04
So this is the leaves in my yard, essentially.
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所以这基本上来说，就是我家后院的秋叶。
08:06
And so I made a lot of these types of things.
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我制作了很多这种类型的东西。
08:10
I've been lucky to have been there before people made these kind of things,
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我很幸运在其他人制作类似这些东西之前我就已经在做了，
08:13
and so I made all this kind of stuff that messes with your eyes.
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我制作了所有这些能让人眼花缭乱的东西。
08:16
I feel kind of bad about that.
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但我对此感觉不太好。
08:18
Tomorrow, Paola Antonelli is speaking. I love Paola.
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明天保拉·安特娜莉将演讲；我爱她。
08:21
She has this show right now at MoMA,
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她正在纽约现代艺术博物馆举办一个展览
08:23
where some of these early works are here on display at MoMA, on the walls.
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正是关于这样的一些早期的作品。
08:27
If you're in New York, please go and see that.
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如果你在纽约，请你前往参观。
08:29
But I've had a problem, because I make all this flying stuff
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但是，因为我做了这些出色的东西，于是我遇到一个问题
08:33
and people say, "Oh, I know your work.
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人们会说，“哦，我知道你的作品，
08:36
You're the guy that makes eye candy."
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你是那个能做视觉糖果（能看不能吃，华而不实）的人。”
08:38
And when you're told this, you feel kind of weird.
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当人们这么对你说的时候，你会感觉很奇怪。
08:40
"Eye candy" -- sort of pejorative, don't you think?
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“视觉糖果”（华而不实）－－你不觉得有点轻蔑吗？
08:43
So, I say, "No, I make eye meat," instead.
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所以，我说。“不，我做的是视觉鲜肉”
08:45
(Laughter)
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笑声
08:46
And eye meat is something different, something more fibrous,
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视觉鲜肉是不一样的，更具纤维性，
08:49
something more powerful, perhaps. But what could that be, eye meat?
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可能更有力量。但是视觉鲜肉是怎样的呢？
08:53
I've been interested in computer programs all my life, actually.
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事实上，在我一生中我都对计算机程序一直很感兴趣。
08:57
Computer programs are essentially trees,
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计算机程序基本上来讲就是一些树，
08:59
and when you make art with a computer program, there's kind of a problem.
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当你用计算机程序制作艺术品的时候，就遇到问题了。
09:02
Whenever you make art with a computer program,
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无论什么时候当你用计算机程序制作艺术品，
09:04
you're always on the tree, and the paradox is that
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你总是在树上，但是矛盾的是
09:07
for excellent art, you want to be off the tree.
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为了制作出更好的艺术品，你想从树上下来－－想摆脱树。
09:11
So, this is sort of a complication I've found.
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所以，这是我发现的一个复杂之处。
09:14
So, to get off the tree, I began to use my old computers.
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为了摆脱树，我开始用我的以前的旧电脑。
09:18
I took these to Tokyo in 2001 to make computer objects.
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2001年我把这些东西带到了东京去制作电脑主体。
09:22
This is a new way to type, on my old, color Classic.
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这是一个新的打字方式，在我的旧的“彩色经典”型号的电脑上。
09:26
You can't type very much on this.
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你不能在这个上面打太多的字。
09:29
I also discovered that an IR mouse responds to CRT emissions
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我也发现了一个IR鼠标对CRT的辐射有反应
09:33
and starts to move by itself, so this is a self-drawing machine.
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它自己开始移动，所以这是一个自动绘图的机器。
09:39
And also, one year, the G3 Bondi Blue thing --
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也是在同一年制作了苹果G3邦迪蓝，
09:42
that caddy would come out, like, dangerous, like, "whack," like that.
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那个光驱弹出来的时候，既危险，又象重击一样。
09:45
But I thought, "This is very interesting. What if I make like a car crash test?"
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但是我想，“这是非常有趣的。如果我制造一个类似的撞车测试怎么样？”
09:48
So I have a crash test.
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于是我设计了撞车测试。
09:50
(Laughter)
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笑声
09:51
And sort of measure the impact. Stuff like this are things I made,
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我制作了一些诸如评测结果的物体
09:53
just to sort of understand what these things are.
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就是为了理解这些东西究竟是什么。
09:56
(Laughter)
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笑声
09:58
Shortly after this, 9/11 happened, and I was very depressed.
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此后不久，9／11发生了，我非常难过。
10:01
I was concerned with contemporary art
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我参与的当代艺术
10:03
that was all about piss, and sort of really sad things,
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全是瞎胡闹，全是些十分悲伤的事物，
10:05
and so I wanted to think about something happy.
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所以我开始考虑一些快乐的事物，
10:07
So I focused on food as my area --
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于是，我把食品当做我关注的领域－－
10:09
these sort of clementine peel things.
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这些可以剥开皮的橙子。
10:11
In Japan, it's a wonderful thing to remove the clementine peel
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在日本，完整的剥掉橙子的皮是一件很棒的事。
10:14
just in one piece. Who's done that before? One-piece clementine?
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谁以前能这么剥下一整片橙子皮？
10:17
Oh, you guys are missing out, if you haven't done it yet.
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哦，如果你们没做过，那你真失败。
10:19
It was very good, and I discovered I can make sculptures out of this,
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这很好，我发现我能用它做个雕塑，
10:21
actually, in different forms.
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事实上，用不同的形式。
10:23
If you dry them quick, you can make, like, elephants and steers and stuff,
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如果你很快的风干他们，你能做成大象和方向盘等等物品，
10:26
and my wife didn't like these, because they mold, so I had to stop that.
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我太太并不喜欢这些东西，因为他们会发霉，所以我不得不停下来。
10:29
So, I went back to the computer, and I bought five large fries,
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我又回到了电脑前，我买了五包大薯条，
10:33
and scanned them all. And I was looking for some kind of food theme,
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并且把他们全部扫描。我寻找一些食品得主题，
10:38
and I wrote some software to automatically lay out french-fry images.
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而且我写了一些软件自动呈现出炸薯条的图像。
10:43
And as a child, I'd hear that song, you know,
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作为一个孩子，我曾经听过一首歌，你们知道，
10:45
"Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,"
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“啊，美丽的亚美利加！辽阔的天空，金色的麦浪”
10:49
so I made this amber waves image.
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所以我做了一幅金色海浪图像。
10:51
It's sort of a Midwest cornfield out of french fries.
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这是一幅用炸薯条做的中西部玉米地。
10:54
And also, as a child, I was the fattest kid in class,
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小时候，我曾经是班级里最胖的孩子，
10:58
so I used to love Cheetos. Oh, I love Cheetos, yummy.
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所以我很爱吃芝士玉米条。我爱芝士玉米条，好吃极了。
11:01
So, I wanted to play with Cheetos in some way.
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所以，我想用芝士玉米条做点什么。
11:03
I wasn't sure where to go with this. I invented Cheeto paint.
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我不确定怎么用他们。我发明了芝士玉米条绘画。
11:07
Cheeto paint is a very simple way to paint with Cheetos.
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芝士玉米条绘画是用芝士玉米条来画画的一种非常简单的方式。
11:09
(Laughter)
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笑声
11:11
I discovered that Cheetos are good, expressive material.
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我发现芝士玉米条是个好的表达材料。
11:14
And with these Cheetos, I began to think,
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用这些芝士玉米条我开始想，
11:16
"What can I make with these Cheetos?"
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”我能用这些芝士玉米条做些什么呢？“
11:18
And so, I began to crinkle up potato chip flecks, and also pretzels.
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我又开始用薯片和小卷饼。
11:23
I was looking for some kind of form,
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我一直在寻找一种形式，
11:25
and in the end, I made 100 butter-fries. Do you get it?
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最后，我做了一百只薯条蝴蝶。你们能看出来吗？
11:28
(Laughter)
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笑声
11:30
And each butter-fry is composed of different pieces.
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每一只蝴蝶都是由不同的小片薯条组成。
11:33
People ask me how they make the antenna.
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人们问我用什么做的触角。
11:36
Sometimes, they find a hair in the food. That's my hair.
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有时他们能发现一根头发；那是我的头发。
11:38
My hair's clean -- it's okay.
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还不错，我头发很干净。
11:40
I'm a tenured professor, which means, basically, I don't have to work anymore.
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我是一个终身教授，这意味着，基本上，我不用再工作了。
11:43
It's a strange business model. I can come into work everyday
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这是一个奇怪的模式。我每天都在工作
11:46
and staple five pieces of paper and just stare at it with my latte.
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订五页纸，拿着我的拿铁咖啡盯着他们看。
11:49
End of story.
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故事结束了。
11:51
(Laughter)
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笑声
11:52
But I realized that life could be very boring,
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但是我意识到生活很无聊，
11:54
so I've been thinking about life, and I notice that my camera --
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所以我一直考虑生活，我看到我的相机－－
11:56
my digital camera versus my car, a very strange thing.
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我的数字相机对比我的车－－一个非常奇怪的东西。
12:01
The car is so big, the camera is so small,
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汽车那么大，相机那么小，
12:03
yet the manual for the camera is so much bigger than the car manual.
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但是相机的使用手册远远大于汽车的使用手册。
12:07
It doesn't make any sense.
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这一点不合理。
12:09
(Laughter)
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笑声
12:11
So, I was in the Cape one time, and I typed the word "simplicity,"
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所以，我在科德角，我写下了，”简洁“这个词，
12:14
and I discovered, in this weird, M. Night Shyamalan way,
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我发现，用怪异的导演奈特·沙马兰的手法，
12:17
that I discovered [the] letters, M, I, T. You know the word?
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我发现了字母”M-I-T“，你们知道这个词吧？
12:20
In the words "simplicity" and "complexity," M, I, T occur in perfect sequence.
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在词语“简洁”和“复杂”里，"M-I-T"这个词以一种完美的序列出现了。
12:24
It's a bit eerie, isn't it?
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有点毛骨悚然，是不是？
12:26
So, I thought, maybe I'll do this for the next twenty years or something.
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所以我想或许我应该未来二十年做这个或一些类似的事物。
12:29
And I wrote this book, "The Laws of Simplicity."
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我写了这本书，《简洁的法则》－－
12:31
It's a very short, simple book. There are ten laws and three keys.
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这是一本非常短的简单的书。有十法则和三要素。
12:36
The ten laws and three keys -- I won't go over them because that's why I have a book,
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我不会重温这十法则和三要素，这就是为什么我有一本书的原因，
12:39
and also that's why it's on the Web for free.
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这也是为什么它在网上是免费的。
12:41
But the laws are kind of like sushi in a way: there are all kinds.
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但是这些法则象寿司一样：都有很多种类。
12:45
In Japan, they say that sushi is challenging.
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在日本，他们说寿司很难做。
12:47
You know the uni is the most challenging, so number ten is challenging.
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你们知道海胆是最难做的，所以十这个数字也很难－－
12:50
People hate number ten like they hate uni, actually.
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事实上，人们讨厌十这个数字就象他们讨厌海胆一样。
12:53
The three keys are easy to eat, so this is anago, cooked already, so easy to eat.
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三要素很容易吃（很容易理解），就像是海鳗，已经做熟的，很容易吃。
12:57
So enjoy your sushi meal later, with the laws of simplicity.
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所以，稍候请你用简洁法则来享受你的寿司晚餐吧。
13:02
Because I want to simplify them for you.
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因为我想为你们而简化他们。
13:04
Because that's what this is about. I have to simplify this thing.
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因为写此书的目的就是：我要简化。
13:06
So, if I simplify the laws of simplicity,
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所以，我简化了简洁的法则，
13:09
I have what's called the cookie versus laundry thing.
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我用了“饼干对比洗衣”的例子。
13:12
Anyone who has kids knows that if you offer a kid
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任何有孩子的人都知道如果你给孩子
13:14
a big cookie or a small cookie,
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一个大饼干和一个小饼干，
13:16
which cookie are they going to take? The big cookie.
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他们会拿哪个饼干？大饼干。
13:19
You can say the small cookie has Godiva chocolate bits in it,
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你会说小饼干里有高迪瓦巧克力，
13:22
but it doesn't work. They want the big cookie.
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但是没用，他们就是要拿大饼干。
13:25
But if you offer kids two piles of laundry to fold,
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但是如果你让孩子叠两堆衣服，
13:29
the small pile or the big pile, which will they choose?
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一大堆和一小堆，他们会选哪一堆？
13:32
Strangely, not the big pile. So, I think it's as simple as this.
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奇怪的是，他们不会选那个大堆的。所以，我想这就是简单。
13:37
You know, when you want more, it's because you want to enjoy it.
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你们知道，当你想要更多的时候，那是因为你想要享受它，
13:40
When you want less, it's because it's about work.
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当你想要更少的时候，那是因为它一项工作。
13:43
And so, to boil it all down, simplicity is about living life
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所以，归根结底，简洁是关于生活
13:47
with more enjoyment and less pain.
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更多得享受生活更少得体会痛苦。
13:49
I think this is sort of simple more versus less.
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我觉得这是一种简单的多对比少。
13:51
Basically, it always depends.
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基本上讲它是可靠的。
13:55
This book I wrote because I want to figure out life.
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我写这本书是因为我想搞明白生活是什么。
13:57
I love life. I love being alive. I like to see things.
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我热爱生活，我热爱活着。我喜欢看事物。
13:59
And so life is a big question, I think, in simplicity,
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所以我想以简洁的方式来看，生活是个大问题，
14:01
because you're trying to simplify your life.
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因为你在尽力简化你的生活。
14:04
And I just love to see the world. The world is an amazing place.
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我喜欢看世界。世界是一个很奇妙的地方。
14:07
By being at TED, we see so many things at one time.
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在TED我们同一时间能看到那么多事物。
14:10
And I can't help but enjoy looking at everything in the world.
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我情不自禁的享受观看世界上的任何事物。
14:14
Like everything you see, every time you wake up.
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就象你们醒来看到的每一件事物一样。
14:16
It's such a joy to sort of experience everything in the world.
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体验世界上的每一件事物是多么快乐的事情。
14:20
From everything from a weird hotel lobby,
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从每一个事物，从一个诡异的酒店大堂，
14:22
to Saran wrap placed over your window,
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到你窗户上的塑料保鲜膜，
14:25
to this moment where I had my road in front of my house paved dark black,
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到这张照片上的这一刻－－这是我家门前黑色马路
14:29
and this white moth was sitting there dying in the sun.
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上的一只白蛾子，它停在那里慢慢地在阳光下死去。
14:32
And so, this whole thing has struck me as exciting to be here,
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目睹这整个过程令我惊讶，就象今天我来到这里一样兴奋不已，
14:36
because life is finite.
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因为生命是有限的。
14:38
This was given to me by the chairman of Shiseido.
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这是资生堂的董事长给我的图表。
14:41
He's an expert in aging. This horizontal axis is how old you are --
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他是一个研究衰老的专家。这条水平横轴显示你的年龄－－
14:44
twelve years old, twenty-four years old, seventy-four, ninety-six years old --
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20岁，24岁，70岁，96岁－－
14:48
and this is some medical data. So, brain strength increases up to 60,
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纵轴是一些医疗数据。所以大脑的增长一直持续到60岁，
14:54
and then after 60, it sort of goes down. Kind of depressing in a way.
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过了60岁，大脑就开始减弱。某种意义上挺让人沮丧的。
14:58
Also, if you look at your physical strength.
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同样的，如果你看你的体能。
15:00
You know, I have a lot of cocky freshmen at MIT, so I tell them,
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在MIT时，我见过很多自以为是的新生，所以我告诉他们，
15:03
"Oh, your bodies are really getting stronger and stronger,
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“你们的身体的确越来越强壮，
15:06
but in your late twenties and mid-thirties, cells, they die."
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但是在你二十岁的末期和三十岁中期，细胞就开始死亡了。“
15:09
OK. It gets them to work harder, sometimes.
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有时，这样能让他们更努力地工作。
15:12
And if you have your vision, vision is interesting.
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如果你有视力，视力是有趣的。
15:15
As you age from infant age, your vision gets better,
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当你从婴儿开始发育，你的视力会越来越好，
15:19
and maybe in your late teens, early twenties, you're looking for a mate,
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或许当你青春期晚期的时候，20岁初期，你正在寻找伴侣，
15:22
and your vision goes after that.
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从那以后，你的视力开始衰退。
15:24
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
15:28
Your social responsibility is very interesting.
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你的社会责任也很有趣。
15:30
So, as you get older, you may, like, have kids, whatever.
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所以当你越来越老的时候，你或许，有孩子，或许还有其他。
15:33
And then the kids graduate, and you have no responsibility any more --
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等孩子大学毕业了，你就变得不必再有什么责任了－－
15:37
that's very good, too.
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那也很好。
15:39
But if any of you people ask,
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但是如果你们有人问，
15:41
"What actually goes up? Does anything go up?
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”有什么东西是向上增长的呢？
15:43
What's the positive part of this, you know?" I think wisdom always goes up.
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这里面有什么是积极的呢？” 我想智慧总是在增长的。
15:46
I love these eighty-year-old, ninety-year-old guys and women.
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我爱那些八九十岁的老人们。
15:49
They have so many thoughts, and they have so much wisdom,
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他们有那么多的想法，有那么多的智慧，
15:51
and I think -- you know, this TED thing, I've come here.
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我想－－为了TED，我来到这里。
15:53
And this is the fourth time, and I come here for this wisdom, I think.
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这是第四次，我想为了智慧，我来到这里。
15:57
This whole TED effect, it sort of ups your wisdom, somehow.
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TED的整个影响力，能提升你们的智慧。
16:01
And I'm so glad to be here, and I'm very grateful to be here, Chris.
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克里斯，我非常高兴来这里，我也非常感激来这里。
16:04
And this is an amazing experience for me as well.
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这对我也是一个奇妙的体验。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John Maeda - ArtistJohn Maeda, the former president of the Rhode Island School of Design, is dedicated to linking design and technology. Through the software tools, web pages and books he creates, he spreads his philosophy of elegant simplicity.
Why you should listen
When John Maeda became president of the legendary Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2008, he told the Wall Street Journal, "Everyone asks me, 'Are you bringing technology to RISD?' I tell them, no, I'm bringing RISD to technology."
In his fascinating career as a programmer and an artist, he's always been committed to blurring the lines between the two disciplines. As a student at MIT, studying computer programming, the legendary Muriel Cooper persuaded him to follow his parallel passion for fine art and design. And when computer-aided design began to explode in the mid-1990s, Maeda was in a perfect position at the MIT Media Lab to influence and shape the form, helping typographers and page designers explore the freedom of the web.
Maeda is leading the "STEAM" movement--adding an "A" for Art to the education acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)--and experiencing firsthand the transformation brought by social media. After leaving his post as RISD's president, Maeda is turning his attention to Silicon Valley, where is is working as a Design Partner for Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers. He is also consulting for eBay, where he is the chair of the Design Advisory Board.
John Maeda | Speaker | TED.com