雙語美文：你的知識，正在阻礙你進步

我曾經看到3句很有意思的話：

I once read three interesting sentences:

任何在我15歲以前誕生的科技，都是讓人習以為常的事。

Any technology that has existed before one is 15 years old is commonplace.

任何在我15到35歲之間誕生的科技，都是改變人類未來的壯舉。

Any technology that is created between one’s 15 and 35 is a feat that will change the future of humans.

任何在我35歲以后誕生的科技，都是用來騙人的。

Any technology that is created after one is 35 years old is to deceive people.

仔細一想的確是這么回事。

This is indeed the case.

對于00后和10后來講，互聯(lián)網好像是天生就存在的東西，一點也不稀奇。

For people born after the new millennial, internet is no rare thing, like something that has existed all along.

但對于大部分80后來講，互聯(lián)網的誕生和普及卻是一個劃時代的歷史事件。

For most post-80s, the birth and popularity of the Internet is an epoch-making historic event.

而對于很多爸爸媽媽、爺爺奶奶來講，甚至到現在都不愿意用智能手機。

By contrast, their parents and grandparents might still refuse to use smart phones

這似乎揭露了一個殘酷的事實：隨著我們的年齡增長，我們接受新事物的能力一直在下降。

This seems to have revealed a brutal fact: as we age, our ability to accept new things has been declining.

這似乎也就解釋了，為什么父母和孩子之間、老師和學生之間存在著那么多天然的矛盾。

This also seems to explain why there are so many natural contradictions between parents and children, and between teachers and students.

雙方看世界的視角往往是不一樣的。

They see things from different angles.

雙方接受新事物的能力也往往是不一樣的。

Their ability to accept new things varies.

對于年長的人，當他們的知識積累多了，往往就會下意識懷疑、排斥新事物。

Elder people tend to subconsciously suspect and reject new things since they have accumulated enough knowledge.

這也可以理解，畢竟我們所有人都在潛意識中追求穩(wěn)定。

This is understandable. After all, in the subconsciousness we all seek stability.

這包括生活上的穩(wěn)定，也包括心理上的穩(wěn)定。

This includes stability in our everyday life and stability in our minds.

當我們遭遇到挑戰(zhàn)我們既有知識的東西時，我們會下意識地把它當成威脅。

When we encounter something that challenges what we have known, we will subconsciously regard it as a threat.

在以前，大部分人都會到35歲以后才達到這樣的穩(wěn)態(tài)。

In the past, most people would reach this stable state after the age of 35.

在那之后，他們變得不再接受新事物、不再嘗試新東西。

Then they are reluctant to accept and try new things.

他們呆在自己熟悉的那個舒適區(qū)里，只相信自己已經有的經驗。

They stay in the comfort zone they are familiar with and only believe in their own experience.

他們拒絕承認任何變化。

They refuse to acknowledge any change.

這就是你在飯桌上會遇到的那些油膩中年人。

They are some greasy middle-aged people you will meet at the dinner table.

而可怕的是，現在隨著信息的爆發(fā)，我們獲取新知識的速度正在飛快增長。

What's scary is that with the explosion of information, our speed of acquiring new knowledge is increasing rapidly.

其結果就是，很多人達到這種穩(wěn)態(tài)的速度也加快了。

The result is that the speed of reaching the stable state is also increasing.

于是，我們的成見變得越來越多。

Eventually, we have more and more preconceptions.

我們的價值觀、男女關系、意識形態(tài)、對待工作的態(tài)度都很快停止了進化。

Our values, the relationship between men and women, ideology, and the attitude toward work all quickly cease to evolve.

而我們了解真相的能力也被剝奪了。

Moreover, we are deprived of the ability to know the truth.

你的知識正在阻礙你的進步嗎?

Is your knowledge retarding your progress?

在你下次思考一個問題時，試著從下面這3個方面想一想吧：

When you think about a problem next time, try to look from the following three aspects:

當我思考這個問題的時候，我默認接受了哪些條件?

When I think about this problem, what conditions have I accepted by default?

我為什么相信這些條件就一定是對的?

Why do I believe these conditions must be correct?

如果忽略這些條件，我能得到怎樣的新結論?

What conclusions would we make if we ignored these conditions?

是的，這些問題看起來很難，而且很讓人摸不著頭腦。

These questions seem difficult and very confusing.

但這不就是真正有意義的問題嗎?

However, aren’t they exactly the meaningful questions?

進步的道路，從來都沒有地圖，從來就是不穩(wěn)定的，而這也就是為什么絕大多數人都會迷路。

There is never a map or stable state on the road to progress, and this is why most people get lost.