ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tim Harford - Economist, journalist, broadcaster
Tim Harford's writings reveal the economic ideas behind everyday experiences.

Why you should listen

In the Undercover Economist column he writes for the Financial Times, Tim Harford looks at familiar situations in unfamiliar ways and explains the fundamental principles of the modern economy. He illuminates them with clear writing and a variety of examples borrowed from daily life.

His book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure, argues that the world has become far too unpredictable and complex for today's challenges to be tackled with ready-made solutions and expert opinions. Instead, Harford suggests, we need to learn to embrace failure and to constantly adapt, to improvise rather than plan, to work from the bottom up rather than the top down. His next book, Messy: Thriving in a Tidy-Minded World will be published in September 2016. 

Harford also presents the BBC radio series More or Less, a rare broadcast program devoted, as he says, to "the powerful, sometimes beautiful, often abused but ever ubiquitous world of numbers."

He says: "I’d like to see many more complex problems approached with a willingness to experiment."

More profile about the speaker
Tim Harford | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal>London

Tim Harford: How frustration can make us more creative

Tim Harford: 挫折點樣可以激發創意

Filmed:
3,929,150 views

困難同問題可以令你偏離你自己嘅創意路線,又或者佢哋令你比以前更加有創意。歷嚟最暢銷個人鋼琴專輯嘅背後原來有著驚人嘅故事,Tim Harford 或者會令你說服稍為零亂嘅好處。
- Economist, journalist, broadcaster
Tim Harford's writings reveal the economic ideas behind everyday experiences. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

喺 1975 年 1 月
00:12
Late in January一月 1975,
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一個 17 歲叫 Vera Brandes 嘅德國女仔
00:15
a 17-year-old German德文 girl女孩
called Vera維拉 Brandes勃兰
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走上科隆歌劇院嘅舞台
00:19
walked out onto the stage階段
of the Cologne科隆 Opera歌劇 House房子.
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嗰時觀眾席無人
00:24
The auditorium禮堂 was empty.
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00:27
It was lit點燃 only by the dim昏暗, green綠色 glow輝光
of the emergency緊急 exit退出 sign標誌.
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歌劇院內
只有緊急出口牌綠色微弱嘅燈光
但嗰日係 Vera 人生裏面最興奮嘅一日
00:32
This was the most
exciting令人興奮 day of Vera's薇拉嘅 life.
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佢係德國最年輕嘅音樂會籌辦人
00:36
She was the youngest年輕
concert音樂會 promoter促進 in Germany德國,
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佢成功說服科隆歌劇院
00:39
and she had persuaded說服
the Cologne科隆 Opera歌劇 House房子
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舉辨一場美國音樂人 Keith Jarrett 嘅
00:41
to host主機 a late-night深夜 concert音樂會 of jazz爵士樂
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深夜爵士音樂會
00:45
from the American美國 musician音樂家, Keith基思 Jarrett加里特.
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00:48
1,400 people were coming.
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音樂會有 1,400 個觀眾出席
喺幾個鐘頭之後
00:51
And in just a few幾個 hours小時,
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Keith 走上同一個台
00:53
Jarrett加里特 would walk out on the same相同 stage階段,
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坐低喺鋼琴前面
00:55
he'd佢會 sit down at the piano鋼琴
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喺冇採排或者樂譜嘅情況下
00:57
and without rehearsal排練 or sheet music音樂,
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佢開始演奏
01:01
he would begin初時 to play.
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但喺宜家
01:04
But right now,
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Vera 預備俾 Keith 用嘅鋼琴原來有問題
01:05
Vera維拉 was introducing正在推出 Keith基思
to the piano鋼琴 in question個問題,
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而且情況並唔順利
01:09
and it wasn't唔係 going well.
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Keith 小心咁睇個鋼琴
01:11
Jarrett加里特 looked to the instrument儀器
a little warily警惕,
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彈咗幾個音
01:13
played發揮 a few幾個 notes筆記,
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圍著鋼琴行咗一圈
01:15
walked around it,
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又再彈咗幾個音
01:16
played發揮 a few幾個 more notes筆記,
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然後向佢嘅監製細聲講咗幾句
01:18
muttered喃喃地說 something to his producer生產者.
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嗰個監製走過去同 Vera 講︰
01:19
Then the producer生產者
came over to Vera維拉 and said ...
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「如果你唔換個新鋼琴,Keith 表演唔到。」
01:24
"If you don't get a new新增功能 piano鋼琴,
Keith基思 can't play."
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01:30
There'd been a mistake錯誤.
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科隆歌劇院搞錯咗
歌劇院俾咗錯嘅樂器
01:31
The opera歌劇 house房子 had provided提供
the wrong instrument儀器.
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鋼琴特別高音
01:33
This one had this harsh苛刻,
tinny微弱 upper register註冊,
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係因為鋼琴一條條吸音毛頭經已損耗
01:36
because all the felt覺得 had worn穿 away.
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01:39
The black notes筆記 were sticking堅持,
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嗰啲黑鍵彈唔返上嚟
白鍵走曬音
01:42
the white白色 notes筆記 were out of tune調整,
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腳踏又用唔到
01:44
the pedals踏板 didn't work
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而且鋼琴太細啦
01:46
and the piano鋼琴 itself本身 was just too small.
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彈出嚟嘅音細聲得制
01:48
It wouldn't唔會 create創建 the volume體積
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01:50
that would fill填補 a large space空間
such as the Cologne科隆 Opera歌劇 House房子.
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尤其是喺咁大嘅空間
唔會所有人都聽得到
01:54
So Keith基思 Jarrett加里特 left.
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所以 Keith 走咗
01:58
He went and sat outside外面 in his car架車,
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佢出去,坐喺佢架車裡面
02:01
leaving離開 Vera維拉 Brandes勃兰
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留低 Vera 自己一個
打電話去搵另一個琴返嚟
02:03
to get on the phone電話
to try to find a replacement更換 piano鋼琴.
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02:07
Now she got a piano鋼琴 tuner調諧器,
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Vera 成功搵咗個鋼琴師傅
但佢搵唔到一個新嘅鋼琴
02:09
but she couldn't唔可以 get a new新增功能 piano鋼琴.
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02:12
And so she went outside外面
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於是佢出去外面
喺大雨之下企
02:14
and she stood there in the rain,
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同 Keith 話
02:17
talking講嘢 to Keith基思 Jarrett加里特,
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請求佢唔好取消音樂會
02:20
begging him not to cancel取消 the concert音樂會.
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02:24
And he looked out of his car架車
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Keith 望著呢個狼狽
淋濕曬嘅德國青年
02:25
at this bedraggled荒廢,
rain-drenched淋濕 German德文 teenager青少年,
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02:30
took pity可惜 on her,
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因為同情佢
所以 Keith 話
02:32
and said,
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「唔好忘記呢件事…今次只係為你。」
02:33
"Never forget唔記得 ... only for you."
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幾個鐘頭之後
02:39
And so a few幾個 hours小時 later之後,
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Keith 走上歌劇院嘅台
02:40
Jarrett加里特 did indeed講真 step out
onto the stage階段 of the opera歌劇 house房子,
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佢坐低喺嗰個彈唔到嘅鋼琴
02:45
he sat down at the unplayable播放 piano鋼琴
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開始演奏
02:49
and began初時.
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02:51
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
但神奇嘅嘢發生咗
03:04
Within moments時刻 it became成為 clear清楚
that something magical神奇 was happening發生.
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Keith 避開高音
03:10
Jarrett加里特 was avoiding避免
those upper registers寄存器,
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佢反而彈中間嘅音
03:12
he was sticking堅持 to the middle中間
tones色調 of the keyboard鍵盤,
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令到呢首歌有撫慰同平靜嘅效果
03:15
which gave the piece一塊
a soothing舒緩, ambient環境 quality質素.
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因為鋼琴本身嘅音量唔大
03:19
But also, because the piano鋼琴 was so quiet安靜,
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Keith 唔單止要重複彈低音
03:22
he had to set設置 up these rumbling隆隆,
repetitive重複 riffs即興 in the bass低音.
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仲要企起身用力襟啲鍵
03:26
And he stood up twisting扭曲,
pounding衝擊 down on the keys鎖匙,
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確保後排聽眾都可以聽到琴聲
03:32
desperately拼命 trying試圖 to create創建 enough volume體積
to reach達到 the people in the back row.
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呢場表演令人興奮
03:37
It's an electrifying電氣化 performance性能.
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呢個表演雖然有平靜嘅特質
03:39
It somehow無論如何 has this peaceful和平 quality質素,
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但同時又充滿活力
03:42
and at the same相同 time it's full of energy能源,
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03:44
it's dynamic動態.
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聽眾唔但之鍾意
03:47
And the audience觀眾 loved it.
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03:49
Audiences觀眾 continue繼續 to love it
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而且繼續鍾意
因為呢次科隆音樂會嘅鋼琴專輯
03:51
because the recording記錄 of the Köln Concert音樂會
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係史上最暢銷嘅鋼琴專輯
03:54
is the best-selling暢銷 piano鋼琴 album in history歷史
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亦係最暢銷嘅獨奏爵士樂專輯
03:56
and the best-selling暢銷
solo獨奏 jazz爵士樂 album in history歷史.
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04:02
Keith基思 Jarrett加里特 had been handed遞畀 a mess混亂.
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雖然 Keith 嘅表演開始前唔順利
04:06
He had embraced擁抱 that mess混亂, and it soared飆升.
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但佢接受咗,仲將佢搞好
04:12
But let's think for a moment時刻
about Jarrett'sJarrett 嘅 initial初始 instinct本能.
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等我哋諗一諗 Keith 最初嘅反應
佢唔想演奏
04:17
He didn't want to play.
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將心比己
04:18
Of course課程,
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如果任何一個喺類似嘅情況
04:20
I think any of us,
in any remotely遠程 similar類似 situation情況,
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我哋都會有一樣嘅感受
04:23
would feel the same相同 way,
we'd我哋會 have the same相同 instinct本能.
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我哋都一樣唔想演奏
04:25
We don't want to be asked問吓
to do good work with bad tools工具.
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我哋都唔希望人哋叫我哋
用差嘅工具做好一件事
我哋都想避免不必要嘅障礙
04:29
We don't want to have to overcome克服
unnecessary必要 hurdles障礙.
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04:34
But Jarrett'sJarrett 嘅 instinct本能 was wrong,
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但我哋都知道
Keith 最初嘅反應係錯嘅
好彩佢改變諗法
04:37
and thank goodness善良 he changed his mind介意.
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04:39
And I think our instinct本能 is also wrong.
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我認為我哋嘅判斷都係錯嘅
04:44
I think we need to gain獲得
a bit more appreciation欣賞
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我認為我哋應該反而感激
因為解決麻煩而獲得意想不到嘅好處
04:48
for the unexpected意外 advantages優勢
of having to cope with a little mess混亂.
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04:55
So let me give you some examples例子
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所以等我由認知心理學
複雜性科學
04:57
from cognitive認知 psychology心理學,
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社會心理學
05:00
from complexity複雜性 science科學,
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以及搖滾樂裏面
05:01
from social社會 psychology心理學,
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講一啲例子
05:03
and of course課程, rock岩石 'n'n' roll.
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05:05
So cognitive認知 psychology心理學 first.
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我哋由認知心理學開始
實際上我哋已經知道咗有一段時間
05:07
We've我哋都 actually講真 known for a while
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一啲難度同一啲障礙
05:09
that certain一定 kinds of difficulty困難,
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05:11
certain一定 kinds of obstacle障礙,
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可以提高表現
05:13
can actually講真 improve提高 our performance性能.
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例如
05:15
For example例子,
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喺幾年前
05:17
the psychologist心理學家 Daniel丹尼尔 Oppenheimer奥本海默,
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心理學家 Daniel Oppenheimer
05:18
a few幾個 years ago,
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曾經同中學老師合作
05:20
teamed合作 up with high school學校 teachers教師.
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要求佢哋重新編寫
派俾其中某幾班嘅筆記
05:22
And he asked問吓 them to reformat格式化 the handouts講義
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05:24
that they were giving
to some of their佢哋 classes.
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05:28
So the regular定期 handout講義 would be formatted格式化
in something straightforward簡單,
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一般筆記嘅字體都係大路,
譬如 Helvetica 同 Times New Roman
05:31
such as Helvetica黑體 or Times New新增功能 Roman羅馬.
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05:34
But half一半 these classes were getting得到
handouts講義 that were formatted格式化
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但另一班收到嘅筆記嘅字體係比較強烈
05:37
in something sort排序 of intense激烈,
like HaettenschweilerHaettenschweiler,
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例如︰ Haettenschweiler 字體
又或係一啲比較跳躍嘅字體
05:41
or something with a zesty燦爛 bounce反彈,
like Comic漫畫 Sans italicized傾斜.
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例如斜體嘅 Comic Sans 字體
05:45
Now, these are really ugly樣衰 fonts字體,
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呢啲都係核突嘅字體
而且佢哋好難閱讀
05:47
and they're difficult困難 fonts字體 to read.
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等學期結束時
05:49
But at the end結束 of the semester學期,
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學生要考試
05:51
students學生 were given exams考試,
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嗰啲獲發難睇字體筆記嘅學生
05:54
and the students學生 who'd邊個會 been asked問吓
to read the more difficult困難 fonts字體,
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喺考試入面唔同科目
05:58
had actually講真 done better on their佢哋 exams考試,
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表現都較好
06:00
in a variety品種 of subjects科目.
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原因係
06:01
And the reason原因 is,
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難睇嘅字體減慢佢哋閱讀速度
06:03
the difficult困難 font字體 had slowed放緩 them down,
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令佢哋要落多啲苦功
06:06
forced them to work a bit harder,
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要花多啲時間諗下佢哋到底寫乜嘢
06:08
to think a bit more
about what they were reading閲讀,
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要多啲時間去理解
06:11
to interpret解釋 it ...
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06:13
and so they learned more.
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所以佢哋學得更加多
06:16
Another另一個 example例子.
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另外一個例子
06:18
The psychologist心理學家 Shelley雪萊 Carson卡森
has been testing測試 Harvard哈佛 undergraduates大學生
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心理學家 Shelley Carson
一直喺度測試哈佛本科生
佢哋過濾事物嘅能力
06:23
for the quality質素
of their佢哋 attentional注意 filters過濾器.
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咁到底係咩意思呢?
06:26
What do I mean by that?
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我嘅意思係,想像你喺一間食肆裡面
06:28
What I mean is,
imagine想象 you're in a restaurant餐廳,
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你同人傾緊偈
06:30
you're having a conversation談話,
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食肆裏邊仲有其他人傾緊
06:32
there are all kinds of other conversations對話
going on in the restaurant餐廳,
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你想將佢哋把聲都篩走
06:35
you want to filter濾波器 them out,
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集中你目前嘅對話
06:36
you want to focus重點
on what's important重要 to you.
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你做到嗎?
06:38
Can you do that?
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如果可以,你嘅過濾做得唔錯
06:40
If you can, you have
good, strong attentional注意 filters過濾器.
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但有啲人比較吃力
06:43
But some people really struggle鬥爭 with that.
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一啲 Shelley 嘅本科生比較吃力
06:45
Some of Carson's卡森的 undergraduate本科
subjects科目 struggled掙扎 with that.
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佢哋嘅過濾好弱,佢哋嘅過濾有問題
06:49
They had weak filters過濾器,
they had porous filters過濾器 --
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好多無關重要嘅訊息
進入咗佢哋嘅腦裡邊
06:52
let a lot of external外部 information信息 in.
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意思係佢哋會不斷
被外界嘅影像同聲音干擾
06:55
And so what that meant意味着 is they were
constantly係咁 being interrupted打斷
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06:58
by the sights景點 and the sounds聽上去
of the world世界 around them.
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如果佢哋做論文嘅時候,電視開著嘅話
07:01
If there was a television電視 on
while they were doing their佢哋 essays論文,
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佢哋無法子專心喺論文度
07:04
they couldn't唔可以 screen屏幕 it out.
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你可能會話呢樣係缺點…
07:05
Now, you would think
that that was a disadvantage缺點 ...
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07:09
but no.
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但,唔係
當 Shelley 睇返呢啲學生所做到嘅嘢
07:10
When Carson卡森 looked at what
these students學生 had achieved實現,
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佢發現嗰啲過濾比較弱嘅學生
07:14
the ones with the weak filters過濾器
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07:16
were vastly大大 more likely可能
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佢哋係更加有可能
喺佢哋嘅生命裡面成就一啲嘢
07:18
to have some real真正
creative創造性 milestone里程碑 in their佢哋 lives生活,
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出版佢哋第一部小說
07:21
to have published發表 their佢哋 first novel小說,
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發行咗佢哋第一張專輯
07:24
to have released釋放 their佢哋 first album.
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分心實際上係佢哋創意嘅來源
07:27
These distractions were actually講真
gristsgrists to their佢哋 creative創造性 mill軋機.
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佢哋突破原有思維
07:30
They were able to think outside外面 the box
because their佢哋 box was full of holes.
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因為佢哋唔會鎖死自己
07:36
Let's talk about complexity複雜性 science科學.
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我哋嚟講下複雜性科學
你點樣解決一個非常複雜嘅…
07:37
So how do you solve解決 a really complex複雜 --
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我哋世界充滿複雜嘅問題
07:39
the world's世界嘅 full
of complicated複雜 problems個問題 --
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你點能夠解決一個非常複雜嘅問題?
07:41
how do you solve解決
a really complicated複雜 problem個問題?
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例如,你想整一個飛機引擎
07:44
For example例子, you try to make a jet射流 engine發動機.
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呢度有好多、好多唔同嘅嘢要考慮
07:46
There are lots and lots
of different不同 variables變量,
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包括運行時嘅溫度、材料
07:48
the operating經營 temperature溫度, the materials材料,
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尺寸、形狀
07:50
all the different不同 dimensions尺寸, the shape形狀.
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你唔能夠一次過解決所有問題
07:52
You can't solve解決 that kind一種
of problem個問題 all in one go,
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因為太難啦
07:55
it's too hard努力.
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咁你會點做?
07:56
So what do you do?
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好啦,你可以一步一步咁解決呢啲疑難
07:57
Well, one thing you can do
is try to solve解決 it step-by-step逐步.
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然後你有原型
08:02
So you have some kind一種 of prototype原型
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你調整一下佢、測試佢、改良佢
08:04
and you tweak調整 it,
you test測試 it, you improve提高 it.
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再調整一下佢、測試佢、改良佢
08:08
You tweak調整 it, you test測試 it, you improve提高 it.
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08:12
Now, this idea想法 of marginal邊際 gains收益
will eventually最終 get you a good jet射流 engine發動機.
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呢種逐步改良嘅方法
最終會令你整到一個好嘅引擎
而且呢種方法全世界都廣泛應用
08:17
And it's been quite都幾 widely廣泛
implemented實現 in the world世界.
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你會聽到,例如
08:20
So you'll你咪會 hear聽到 about it, for example例子,
in high performance性能 cycling循環,
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喺高水平嘅單車運動裏面都會有
08:24
webWeb designers設計師 will talk about trying試圖
to optimize優化 their佢哋 webWeb pages頁面,
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而網頁設計師會講
佢哋逐步優化佢哋網頁
08:27
they're looking
for these step-by-step逐步 gains收益.
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呢個係解決複雜問題嘅好辦法
08:30
That's a good way
to solve解決 a complicated複雜 problem個問題.
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08:34
But you know what would
make it a better way?
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但你知道個辦法其實係點樣?
08:38
A dash破折號 of mess混亂.
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就係要亂七八糟
08:41
You add添加 randomness隨機性,
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又要一開始時隨意咁做嘢
08:43
early早期 on in the process過程,
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08:44
you make crazy moves移動,
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你做出瘋狂嘅嘢
你嘗試一啲一定唔會成功嘅愚蠢嘢
08:46
you try stupid愚蠢 things that shouldn't唔该 work,
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呢啲都會令問題解決得更加好
08:49
and that will tend往往 to make
the problem-solving問題解決 work better.
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原因係
08:52
And the reason原因 for that is
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逐步做嘅問題
08:54
the trouble唔該 with the step-by-step逐步 process過程,
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幾乎冇嘅收益嘅情兄
08:56
the marginal邊際 gains收益,
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08:57
is they can walk you
gradually逐漸 down a dead end結束.
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可以令你慢慢行入死路一條
如果你一開始時係亂咁做
09:01
And if you start初時 with the randomness隨機性,
that becomes成為 less likely可能,
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行入掘頭路嘅機會都低啲
09:05
and your problem-solving問題解決
becomes成為 more robust魯正.
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你嘅解難能力就會勁啲
09:10
Let's talk about social社會 psychology心理學.
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講下社會心理學
09:12
So the psychologist心理學家 Katherine凯瑟琳 Phillips菲比斯,
with some colleagues同事,
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心理學家凱瑟琳 ‧ 菲利普斯
同一啲同事
俾學生一啲謀殺謎團去解答
09:15
recently最近 gave murder謀殺 mystery神秘
problems個問題 to some students學生,
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學生四個人一組
09:19
and these students學生
were collected收集 in groups of four
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佢哋有一叠關於罪案嘅資料文件
09:22
and they were given dossiers檔案
with information信息 about a crime犯罪 --
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不在場證據、證人嘅供詞同三名嫌疑犯
09:26
alibis不在場證明 and evidence證據,
witness證人 statements語句 and three suspects嫌疑人.
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09:31
And the groups of four students學生
were asked問吓 to figure out who did it,
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佢哋要搵出係邊個做
邊個犯法
09:35
who committed承諾 the crime犯罪.
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呢個實驗有兩種情況
09:37
And there were two treatments治療
in this experiment實驗.
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一係一組人都係識得嘅朋友
09:40
In some cases these were four friends朋友,
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09:44
they all knew each每個 other well.
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09:46
In other cases,
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第二種就係三個朋友加一個唔識嘅
09:47
three friends朋友 and a stranger陌生人.
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你可以估到我要講啲咩
09:51
And you can see where I'm going with this.
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好明顯
09:53
Obviously顯然 I'm going to say
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09:54
that the groups with the stranger陌生人
solved解決 the problem個問題 more effectively有效,
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第二種情況嘅組別更有效解決問題
咁事實上真係,佢哋係更加有效率
09:57
which is true真係, they did.
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09:59
Actually講真, they solved解決 the problem個問題
quite都幾 a lot more effectively有效.
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10:03
So the groups of four friends朋友,
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喺第一種情況嘅組別裏面
佢哋只有一半機會答啱
10:07
they only had a 50-50 chance機會
of getting得到 the answer回答 right.
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佢哋唔係做得好好
10:10
Which is actually講真 not that great --
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當選擇題有三個選擇
10:11
in multiple多個 choice選擇, for three answers答案?
50-50's not good.
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得一半答啱確實唔係好好
(笑聲)
10:14
(Laughter笑聲)
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第二情況嘅組別
10:16
The three friends朋友 and the stranger陌生人,
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即使個陌生人冇俾任何額外嘅訊息
10:17
even though雖然 the stranger陌生人
didn't have any extra額外 information信息,
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雖然呢個情況只係話
10:20
even though雖然 it was just a case情況下
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點樣令交談冇咁尷尬
10:22
of how that changed the conversation談話
to accommodate容納 that awkwardness尷尬,
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第二個情況嘅組別
10:28
the three friends朋友 and the stranger陌生人,
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有 75% 機會搵到正確答案
10:30
they had a 75 percent百分比 chance機會
of finding發現 the right answer回答.
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個結果係好大嘅進步
10:32
That's quite都幾 a big leap飛躍 in performance性能.
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而我認為真正吸引嘅
10:34
But I think what's really interesting有趣
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唔係呢三個朋友同陌生人做得更加好
10:36
is not just that the three friends朋友
and the stranger陌生人 did a better job工作,
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而係佢哋對件事嘅感覺
10:40
but how they felt覺得 about it.
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所以當凱瑟琳採訪咗第一種組別嘅時候
10:42
So when Katherine凯瑟琳 Phillips菲比斯
interviewed採訪 the groups of four friends朋友,
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佢哋都認為佢哋有愉快嘅時光
10:47
they had a nice time,
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都認為佢哋做得好好
10:49
they also thought they'd佢地會 done a good job工作.
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佢哋好滿足
10:52
They were complacent自滿.
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10:54
When she spoke講嘢 to the three
friends朋友 and the stranger陌生人,
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當佢採訪第二種組別嘅時候
佢哋都認佢哋冇一個惀快嘅時光
10:57
they had not had a nice time --
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10:58
it's actually講真 rather difficult困難,
it's rather awkward尷尬 ...
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佢實際上相處得好困難、又尷尬
佢哋中間都有好多疑難
11:02
and they were full of doubt懷疑.
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11:06
They didn't think they'd佢地會 done a good job工作
even though雖然 they had.
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佢哋冇諗過會做得咁好
11:10
And I think that really exemplifies體現
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我認為,呢個測試嘅結果可以用喺
11:11
the challenge挑戰 that we're
dealing交易 with here.
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我哋面對梗嘅嘢
11:14
Because, yeah --
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例如︰
核突嘅字體
11:16
the ugly樣衰 font字體,
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尷尬嘅陌生人
11:18
the awkward尷尬 stranger陌生人,
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隨機嘅做法…
11:20
the random隨機 move移動 ...
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11:22
these disruptions中斷 help us solve解決 problems個問題,
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呢啲干擾其實幫梗我哋解決問題
11:25
they help us become成為 more creative創造性.
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幫我哋更有創意
但我哋從來並唔覺得係咁
11:28
But we don't feel that they're helping幫手 us.
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我哋覺得佢哋係窒礙我哋
11:30
We feel that they're
getting得到 in the way ...
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所以我哋抗拒佢
11:33
and so we resist抵抗.
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所以就係話點解最後呢個例子係好重要
11:36
And that's why the last example例子
is really important重要.
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11:39
So I want to talk about somebody有人
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我諗講一個人
佢背景係搖滾音樂
11:41
from the background背景
of the world世界 of rock岩石 'n'n' roll.
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你可能認得佢,佢係一個 TEDster
11:46
And you may可能 know him,
he's actually講真 a TED-ster泰德-動漫.
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佢叫布萊恩 ‧ 伊諾
11:49
His name名字 is Brian布莱恩 EnoEno.
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佢係一個出色、有實力嘅作曲家
11:50
He is an ambient環境 composer作曲家 --
rather brilliant輝煌.
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喺過去40年,佢都係
11:53
He's also a kind一種 of catalyst催化劑
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一啲好嘅搖滾音樂專輯嘅幕後推手
11:57
behind背後 some of the great
rock岩石 'n'n' roll albums of the last 40 years.
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佢曾經同 David Bowie
喺作品 Heroes 裏面合作
12:01
He's worked工作 with David大衛 Bowie鲍伊 on "Heroes英雄,"
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佢亦曾經同 U2 喺 Achtung baby
同 The Joshua Tree 裏面合作過
12:04
he worked工作 with U2 on "Achtung注意!!! Baby寶貝"
and "The Joshua乔舒亚 Tree,"
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佢曾經同 DEVO 一齊工作
12:08
he's worked工作 with DEVODEVO,
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佢同 Coldplay 合作過
佢同每一個人都合作過
12:09
he's worked工作 with ColdplayColdplay,
he's worked工作 with everybody大家.
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佢做過乜令呢啲出色嘅
搖滾樂隊更加好?
12:12
And what does he do to make
these great rock岩石 bands better?
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佢整爛攤子
12:17
Well, he makes使 a mess混亂.
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佢干擾佢哋嘅創作過程
12:19
He disrupts擾亂 their佢哋 creative創造性 processes過程.
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佢嘅角色就係頭先講過嘅陌生人
12:21
It's his role作用 to be the awkward尷尬 stranger陌生人.
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佢就係要話俾佢哋聽
12:23
It's his role作用 to tell them
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12:25
that they have to play
the unplayable播放 piano鋼琴.
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佢哋要彈嗰個彈唔到嘅鋼琴
佢整呢啲亂攤子嘅其中一個方法係
12:28
And one of the ways方式
in which he creates創建 this disruption中斷
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係用呢款啤牌
12:31
is through透過 this remarkable顯著
deck甲板 of cards --
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12:34
I have my signed簽署 copy複製 here --
thank you, Brian布莱恩.
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呢度有我親筆簽名嘅啤牌
多謝你,布萊恩
佢哋被稱為 Oblique Strategies
12:38
They're called The Oblique Strategies策略,
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佢同佢朋友設計嘅
12:40
he developed開發 them with a friend朋友 of his.
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12:42
And when they're stuck in the studio縯播室,
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而當佢哋喺工作室毫無頭緒嘅時候
12:46
Brian布莱恩 EnoEno will reach達到 for one of the cards.
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布萊恩攞其中一張卡
佢隨機抽一張
12:49
He'll佢會 draw one at random隨機,
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佢會叫樂隊按照卡上嘅說話做
12:50
and he'll佢會 make the band
follow遵循 the instructions指示 on the card.
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所以呢個…
12:54
So this one ...
264
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「更改樂隊成員嘅崗位」
12:57
"Change instrument儀器 roles角色."
265
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12:58
Yeah, everyone個個都 swap交換 instruments儀器 --
Drummer鼓手 on the piano鋼琴 --
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每個人都要換一換位置
鼓手去彈鋼琴
13:01
Brilliant輝煌, brilliant輝煌 idea想法.
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唔錯嘅諗法
「仔細睇令人尷尬嘅細節,放大佢哋」
13:03
"Look closely密切 at the most
embarrassing尷尬 details細節. Amplify放大 them."
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13:08
"Make a sudden突然, destructive破壞性,
unpredictable不可預知 action行動. Incorporate."
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「做一個突然、破壞性、
不可預測嘅行動。
合拼入去首歌裏面」
13:14
These cards are disruptive破壞性.
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呢啲卡係有破壞冇建設性嘅
透過一張又一張嘅專輯
13:17
Now, they've佢地已經 proved證明 their佢哋 worth值得
in album after album.
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我哋見到卡嘅價值
13:21
The musicians音樂家 hate討厭 them.
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但樂手好憎佢哋
(笑聲)
13:24
(Laughter笑聲)
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菲爾 ‧ 柯林斯喺早期
布賴恩嘅專輯裏面打鼓
13:25
So Phil菲爾 Collins柯林斯 was playing drums
on an early早期 Brian布莱恩 EnoEno album.
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13:29
He got so frustrated沮喪 he started初時
throwing beer啤酒 cans across the studio縯播室.
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佢開始沮喪,佢開始喺工作室扔啤酒罐
13:34
Carlos卡洛斯 AlomarAlomar, great rock岩石 guitarist結他手,
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Carlos Alomar,傑出嘅搖滾吉他手
曾經同布萊恩喺 David Bowie 嘅專輯
Lodger 裏面合作
13:36
working工作 with EnoEno
on David大衛 Bowie's鲍伊嘅 "Lodger住客" album,
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一次,佢同布賴恩話:
13:40
and at one pointD
he turns輪流 to Brian布莱恩 and says,
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「布賴恩,呢個實驗係蠢嘅。」
13:43
"Brian布莱恩, this experiment實驗 is stupid愚蠢."
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但事實上,個專輯相當唔錯
13:49
But the thing is
it was a pretty good album,
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而且卡洛斯喺 35 年後嘅今日
都用梗 Oblique Strategies
13:53
but also,
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13:55
Carlos卡洛斯 AlomarAlomar, 35 years later之後,
now uses使用 The Oblique Strategies策略.
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佢叫佢嘅學生都用 Oblique Strategies
13:59
And he tells話畀 his students學生
to use The Oblique Strategies策略
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因為佢意識到
14:02
because he's realized實現 something.
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14:05
Just because you don't like it
doesn't mean it isn't helping幫手 you.
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你唔鍾意佢,唔代表佢幫唔到你
14:12
The strategies策略 actually講真
weren't唔係 a deck甲板 of cards originally原來,
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實際上,Oblique Strategies
並非一副啤牌
佢只係一個表
14:14
they were just a list列表 --
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喺錄音室牆上嘅一個表
14:16
list列表 on the recording記錄 studio縯播室 wall.
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當你卡住咗,你可以試下用嘅一個表
14:17
A checklist清單 of things
you might可能 try if you got stuck.
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但個表冇用
14:23
The list列表 didn't work.
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知道點解嗎?
14:26
Know why?
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14:29
Not messy混亂 enough.
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唔夠亂
14:31
Your eye眼睛 would go down the list列表
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你隻眼睛會掃落個表度
然後會停喺破壞性最小嘅一樣嘢
14:33
and it would settle解決 on whatever無論
was the least最小 disruptive破壞性,
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最少麻煩嘅一樣嘢
14:37
the least最小 troublesome唔該,
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咁樣當然係完全冇意思啦
14:40
which of course課程 misses錯過 the pointD entirely完全.
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14:46
And what Brian布莱恩 EnoEno came to realize實現 was,
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布萊恩覺得
我哋需要運行做愚蠢嘅實驗
14:48
yes, we need to run運行
the stupid愚蠢 experiments實驗,
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我哋需要面對尷尬嘅陌生人
14:53
we need to deal交易
with the awkward尷尬 strangers陌生人,
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我哋要讀核突嘅字體
14:55
we need to try to read the ugly樣衰 fonts字體.
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呢啲嘢幫我哋
14:57
These things help us.
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解決問題
14:58
They help us solve解決 problems個問題,
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幫我哋更加有創意
15:00
they help us be more creative創造性.
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而且…
15:01
But also ...
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如果我哋要做以上嘅嘢
15:04
we really need some persuasion說服
if we're going to accept接受 this.
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我哋首先要說服自己
15:08
So however然而 we do it ...
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所以,無論我哋點做…
無論係純粹意志力
15:10
whether係唔係 it's sheer純粹 willpower意志力,
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無論係一張卡
15:12
whether係唔係 it's the flip翻轉 of a card
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定係 Vera 俾個彈唔到嘅琴你
15:15
or whether係唔係 it's a guilt內疚 trip旅行
from a German德文 teenager青少年,
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15:19
all of us, from time to time,
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我哋所有人都應該定時
15:21
need to sit down and try and play
the unplayable播放 piano鋼琴.
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坐低,彈嗰個彈唔到嘅琴
15:27
Thank you.
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多謝
(掌聲)
15:28
(Applause掌聲)
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Translated by Szeman Leung
Reviewed by Chak Lam Wan

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tim Harford - Economist, journalist, broadcaster
Tim Harford's writings reveal the economic ideas behind everyday experiences.

Why you should listen

In the Undercover Economist column he writes for the Financial Times, Tim Harford looks at familiar situations in unfamiliar ways and explains the fundamental principles of the modern economy. He illuminates them with clear writing and a variety of examples borrowed from daily life.

His book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure, argues that the world has become far too unpredictable and complex for today's challenges to be tackled with ready-made solutions and expert opinions. Instead, Harford suggests, we need to learn to embrace failure and to constantly adapt, to improvise rather than plan, to work from the bottom up rather than the top down. His next book, Messy: Thriving in a Tidy-Minded World will be published in September 2016. 

Harford also presents the BBC radio series More or Less, a rare broadcast program devoted, as he says, to "the powerful, sometimes beautiful, often abused but ever ubiquitous world of numbers."

He says: "I’d like to see many more complex problems approached with a willingness to experiment."

More profile about the speaker
Tim Harford | Speaker | TED.com