In the great 1980s movie “The Blues Brothers,”
上映于十九世纪八十年代的经典电影《福禄双霸天》
there’s a scene where John Belushi goes to visit Dan Aykroyd in his apartment
有这样一幕 约翰·贝鲁西第一次去找
in Chicago for the very first time.
住在芝加哥的公寓里的丹·艾克罗伊徳
It’s a cramped, tiny space
公寓的空间又窄又小
and it’s just three feet away from the train tracks.
距离火车轨道仅三英尺远
As John sits on Dan’s bed,
约翰坐在丹的床上时
a train goes rushing by,
一辆火车呼啸而过
rattling everything in the room.
震得屋内所有东西叮当响
John asks, “How often does that train go by?”
约翰问 “火车多久经过一趟”
Dan replies, “So often, you won’t even notice it.”
丹回答说 “很频繁 你甚至都不会去留意到它”
And then, something falls off the wall.
然后 有什么东西从墙上掉下来
We all know what he’s talking about.
我们都知道他说的是什么
As human beings, we get used to everyday things really fast.
作为人类 我们很快就能习惯日常事务
As a product designer, it’s my job to see those everyday things,
作为一个产品设计师 我的工作就是观察这些日常小事
to feel them, and try to improve upon them.
去感受它们 试着去改进它们
For example,
举个例子
see this piece of fruit?
看到这个水果了吗
See this little sticker?
看到这张小贴纸了吗
That sticker wasn’t there when I was a kid.
我小的时候水果上是没有贴纸的
But somewhere as the years passed,
但很多年之后
someone had the bright idea to put that sticker on the fruit.
有人提出一个好点子 将贴纸贴在水果上
Why?
为什么
So it could be easier for us to check out at the grocery counter.
这么做可以方便我们查看货架上的商品
Well that’s great, we can get in and out of the store quickly.
这真的很棒 因为我们可以快速买好东西出来
But now, there’s a new problem.
但现在有个新的问题
When we get home and we’re hungry
当我们饥肠辘辘回到家中
and we see this ripe, juicy piece of fruit on the counter,
看到桌上有一个熟透多汁的水果
we just want to pick it up and eat it.
我们只想拿起来就啃
Except now, we have to look for this little sticker.
可是现在 我们必须找一下这张小小的贴纸
And dig at it with our nails, damaging the flesh.
用指甲抠出来 把果肉都抠烂了
Then rolling up that sticker —
然后把贴纸卷起来
you know what I mean.
你懂的
And then trying to flick it off your fingers.
然后试图把它甩离你的手指
(Applause)
［掌声］
It’s not fun,
这不好笑
not at all.
一点都不好笑
But something interesting happened.
但是有趣的事情发生了
See the first time you did it, you probably felt those feelings.
当你第一次做这件事 你可能感受会很强烈
You just wanted to eat the piece of fruit.
你只想吃到那个水果
You felt upset.
你会觉得烦躁
You just wanted to dive in.
你只想尽情享用它
By the 10th time,
到第十次时
you started to become less upset
你会开始没那么烦躁
and you just started peeling the label off.
开始只是将标签撕下来
By the 100th time,
到第一百次的时候
at least for me, I became numb to it.
至少对我来说 对此已经麻木了
I simply picked up the piece of fruit,
我只会拿起水果
dug at it with my nails, tried to flick it off,
用指甲把贴纸抠下来 努力甩走贴纸
and then wondered,
然后会想
“Was there another sticker?”
“还有其它贴纸吗”
So why is that?
为什么会这样呢
Why do we get used to everyday things?
为什么我们会习惯日常小事
Well as human beings, we have limited brain power.
作为人类 我们的脑力是有限的
And so our brains encode the everyday things we do into habits
所以我们的大脑会将日常事情转化为习惯行为
so we can free up space to learn new things.
这样我们可以腾出空间来学习新事物
It’s a process called habituation
这个过程称为习惯化
and it’s one of the most basic ways, as humans, we learn.
这也是人类学习的最基本方式之一
Now, habituation isn’t always bad.
但是 习惯化也有好的一面
Remember learning to drive?
还记得学车的时候吗
I sure do.
我当然记得
Your hands clenched at 10 and 2 on the wheel,
你的手紧紧握住方向盘十点钟和两点钟的位置
looking at every single object out there —
盯着车外每一个物体
the cars, the lights, the pedestrians.
车辆 信号灯 行人
It’s a nerve-wracking experience.
精神处于紧绷的状态
So much so, that I couldn’t even talk to anyone else in the car
我紧张到没办法跟车里任何人交谈
and I couldn’t even listen to music.
甚至听不了音乐
But then something interesting happened.
不过随后有趣的事情发生了
As the weeks went by,
几个星期后
driving became easier and easier.
开车变得越来越简单
You habituated it.
它成为你的一个习惯
It started to become fun and second nature.
开车开始变得有趣 成为你的第二天性
And then, you could talk to your friends again and listen to music.
然后 你又能和朋友交谈或者听音乐了
So there’s a good reason why our brains habituate things.
所以说我们的大脑习惯化行为是有充足的理由的
If we didn’t, we’d notice every little detail, all the time.
如若不然 我们会一直留意到每一个细节
It would be exhausting,
那会让人筋疲力尽
and we’d have no time to learn about new things.
同时也让我们没时间去学习新事物
But sometimes, habituation isn’t good.
但是有时候 习惯化也有不好的一面
If it stops us from noticing the problems that are around us,
如果习惯性行为妨碍我们发现身边的问题
well, that’s bad.
那就是不好的
And if it stops us from noticing and fixing those problems,
如果它会妨碍我们发现和解决问题
well, then that’s really bad.
那就实在是太糟糕了
Comedians know all about this.
喜剧演员对此了如指掌
Jerry Seinfeld’s entire career was built on noticing those little details,
杰瑞·宋飞的毕生事业便是建立于观察这些微小细节的基础之上
those idiotic things we do every day that we don’t even remember.
那些我们都会做 但是不会放在心上的日常囧事
He tells us about the time he visited his friends
他告诉我们 那次他去拜访他朋友
and he just wanted to take a comfortable shower.
他只想舒舒服服地洗个澡
He’d reach out and grab the handle and turn it slightly one way,
他伸出手 抓住水龙头把手 稍稍往一个方向转动
and it was 100 degrees too hot.
水太热了
And then he’d turn it the other way, and it was 100 degrees too cold.
然后他换了个方向转 水又太冷了
He just wanted a comfortable shower.
他只不过是想舒舒服服地洗个澡
Now, we’ve all been there,
我们都经历过这种事情
we just don’t remember it.
不过我们都忘记了而已
But Jerry did,
但是杰瑞不会
and that’s a comedian’s job.
这就是喜剧演员的职业修养
But designers, innovators and entrepreneurs,
而作为设计师 革新者 企业家
it’s our job to not just notice those things,
我们的工作不只是注意到这些小事情
but to go one step further and try to fix them.
而且还得更进一步 尝试解决这些问题
See this, this person,
我们看下这个人
this is Mary Anderson.
这是玛丽·安德森
In 1902 in New York City, she was visiting.
1902年 她到纽约观光
It was a cold, wet, snowy day and she was warm inside a streetcar.
当时的天气又寒冷又潮湿 还下着雪 她正坐在温暖的有轨电车里
As she was going to her destination, she noticed the driver opening the window
在前往目的地的途中 她发现司机打开窗户
to clean off the excess snow so he could drive safely.
去清理挡风玻璃的积雪 这样他才可以安全驾驶
When he opened the window, though, he let all this cold, wet air inside,
可是当他打开车窗时 寒冷潮湿的空气便钻进车厢
making all the passengers miserable.
让乘客们觉得非常难受
Now probably, most of those passengers just thought,
这时 大部分乘客可能会想
“Ah, It’s a fact of life, he’s got to open the window to clean it.
“唉 没办法 他必须得打开车窗才能清理到积雪”
That’s just how it is.”
“也只能这样了”
But Mary didn’t.
但是玛丽不这么想
Mary thought, “What if the diver could actually clean the windshield from the inside
玛丽心想 “如果司机在车内就能清理挡风玻璃会怎么样呢”
so that he could stay safe and drive
“这样他既能确保安全驾驶”
and the passengers could actually stay warm?”
“乘客又能够不受寒风之苦”
So she picked up her sketchbook right then and there,
所以她在车上立马拿出了素描本
and began drawing what would become the world’s first windshield wiper.
开始画后来成为世界上第一个的挡风玻璃雨刷
Now as a product designer, I try to learn from people like Mary
作为产品设计师 我试着向玛丽这样的人学习
to try to see the world the way it really is,
学会透过事物看本质
not the way we think it is.
而不是想当然
Why?
为什么
Because it’s easy to solve a problem that almost everyone sees.
因为解决一个每个人都能看到的问题很简单
But it’s hard to solve a problem that almost no one sees.
但是解决一个几乎没人看到的问题很难
Now some people think you’re born with this ability
那有些人就会认为 有的人天生就有这个本事
or you’re not,
有的人是没有的
as if Mary Anderson was hardwired at birth to see the world more clearly.
就好像玛丽·安德森天生就有更细致的观察力一样
That wasn’t the case for me.
我没有这个天赋
I had to work at it.
我就必须学习这个技能
During my years at Apple,
我在苹果公司工作的那些年里
Steve Jobs challenged us to come into work every day,
史蒂夫·乔布斯要求我们每天工作的时候
to see our products through the eyes of the customer,
都站在客户的角度看待我们的产品
the new customer, the one that has fears and possible frustrations
尤其是那些新客户 他们一边有顾虑 而且可能会失望
and hopeful exhilaration that their new technology product could work straight away for them.
一边又希望我们的新技术产品能马上为他们服务而略带兴奋
He called it staying beginners,
乔布斯称之为保持住新手的心态
and wanted to make sure that we focused on those tiny little details
同时他想确保我们着眼细枝末节
to make them faster, easier and seamless for the new customers.
为新客户提供更快 更便捷 能够无缝连接的新产品
So I remember this clearly in the very earliest days of the iPod.
在iPod早期开发的时候我一直清楚得记得这点
See, back in the ’90s,
90年代的时候
being a gadget freak like I am,
我狂热地喜欢各种小玩意
I would rush out to the store for the very, very latest gadget.
我会跑去商店里买最新潮的小玩意
I’d take all the time to get to the store,
我会花很长时间去到商店
I’d check out, I’d come back home, I’d start to unbox it.
结账离开 回到家 开始拆包装
And then, there was another little sticker:
然后 赫然出现另一张小贴纸
the one that said, “Charge before use.”
上面写着 使用前请先充电
What!
什么
I can’t believe it!
我真是不敢相信
I just spent all this time buying this product
我刚花了那么多时间买这玩意
and now I have to charge before use.
现在我还得给它充电才能用
I have to wait what felt like an eternity to use that coveted new toy.
就像要等待一辈子才能玩上心仪的小玩具
It was crazy.
太荒唐了
But you know what?
但是你知道吗
Almost every product back then did that.
那个时候几乎所有的产品都是这样的
When it had batteries in it, you had to charge it before you used it.
只要产品里有电池 你在使用前就必须先充电
Well, Steve noticed that
那么 史蒂夫注意到这个问题了
and he said, “We’re not going to let that happen to our product.”
他说 “我们的产品绝对不能有这个问题”
So what did we do?
那我们怎么做呢
Typically, when you have a product that has a hard drive in it,
一般来说 只要你的产品里有硬盘驱动器
you run it for about 30 minutes in the factory
在出厂前会让它运行大概30分钟
to make sure that hard drive’s going to be working years later
以确保这个产品的硬盘驱动器在开箱后
for the customer after they pull it out of the box.
能供客户长期使用
What did we do instead?
相比于此 我们是怎么做的呢
We ran that product for over two hours.
我们花了两个多小时来运行产品
Why?
为什么呢？
Well, first off, we could make a higher quality product,
首先 我们能制造出质量更好
be easy to test,
更容易测试的产品
and make sure it was great for the customer.
确保它在客户那边也能运行得很好
But most importantly,
但最重要的是
the battery came fully charged right out of the box, ready to use.
电池电量满格 产品开箱即可使用
So that customer, with all that exhilaration, could just start using the product.
所以客户只管开心地开始使用产品即可
It was great, and it worked.
这个设计很棒 而且奏效了
People liked it.
大家都喜欢
Today, almost every product that you get that’s battery powered
如今 几乎所有你们购买的有电池的产品
comes out of the box fully charged,
开箱后电池电量都是满格的
even if it doesn’t have a hard drive.
不管它有没有硬盘驱动器
But back then, we noticed that detail and we fixed it,
但是在那时 我们注意到了这个细节 并解决了这个问题
and now everyone else does that as well.
所以现在大家也都会这么做
No more, “Charge before use.”
不再需要“使用前先充电”
So why am I telling you this?
我讲这些的目的是什么呢
Well, it’s seeing the invisible problem,
因为看到了看不见的问题才是重要的
not just the obvious problem, that’s important,
而不是只看到了显而易见的问题
not just for product design, but for everything we do.
我说的不只是产品设计 而是涉及到方方面面
You see, there are invisible problems all around us,
你看 我们身边有各种不起眼的问题
ones we can solve.
而这些问题我们都有办法解决
But first we need to see them, to feel them.
但是首先我们需要发现问题 感受问题
So, I’m hesitant to give you any tips about neuroscience or psychology.
所以 我很犹豫是否要给你们任何关于神经科学或心理学的建议
There’s far too many experienced people in the TED community
因为在TED社区有很多经验丰富的大佬
who would know much more about that than I ever will.
他们对这些方面的了解要比我一辈子可能了解的都多
But let me leave you with a few tips that I do,
不过 我想跟你们分享一些我在面对习惯化行为时的做法
that we all can do, to fight habituation.
我们都能做到的 抵抗习惯化的方法
My first tip is to look broader.
我的第一个建议就是拓宽视野
You see, when you’re tackling a problem,
当你在解决一个问题的时候
sometimes, there are a lot of steps that lead up to that problem.
有时候 可能在这个问题产生之前会有很多步骤
And sometimes, a lot of steps after it.
而有时 则是问题产生之后有很多步骤
If you can take a step back and look broader,
如果你能退一步 拓宽自己的视野
maybe you can change some of those boxes before the problem.
或许你可以在问题产生前做出一些改变
Maybe you can combine them.
或许你可以将有些步骤结合起来
Maybe you can remove them altogether to make that better.
或许你可以不管那些步骤 想出更好的解决办法
Take thermostats, for instance.
拿恒温器做例子
In the 1900s when they first came out, they were really simple to use.
在十九世纪 恒温器刚面世时 使用方法非常简单
You could turn them up or turn them down.
你可以调高温度或调低温度
People understood them.
大家都明白使用方法
But in the 1970s, the energy crisis struck,
但在十九世纪七十年代 面临能源危机
and customers started thinking about how to save energy.
客户们开始考虑如何节约能源
So what happened?
然后呢
Thermostat designers decided to add a new step.
恒温器设计者决定增加一个新步骤
Instead of just turning up and down,
不再只是简单的调高或调低温度
you now had to program it.
你需要去设置恒温器
So you could tell it the temperature you wanted at a certain time.
让它在特定的时间调节成你想要的温度
Now that seemed great.
这看起来很棒
Every thermostat had started adding that feature.
每个调温器都开始添加这个功能
But it turned out that no one saved any energy.
不过结果显示 没人能够节约到能源
Now, why is that?
为什么呢
Well, people couldn’t predict the future.
因为人类无法预知未来
They just didn’t know how their weeks would change season to season, year to year.
他们无法预测在季节更替和年复一年中 每周的生活会发生什么变化
So no one was saving energy,
所以没人在节约能源
and what happened?
然后呢
Thermostat designers went back to the drawing board
恒温器设计者决定从头开始
and they focused on that programming step.
他们把重点放在设置恒温器的环节
They made better U.I.s,
优化了界面设计
they made better documentation.
完善了说明书
But still, years later, people were not saving any energy
但好几年过去了 人们依旧没能做到节能
because they just couldn’t predict the future.
因为他们就是无法预测未来
So what did we do?
那我们怎么做呢
We put a machine-learning algorithm in instead of the programming
我们植入了机器学习算法 来替代程序设置
that would simply watch when you turned it up and down,
该算法会观察你对温度高低的调节
when you liked a certain temperature when you got up,
你起床的时候偏好的温度
or when you went away.
或你什么时候会出门
And you know what?
你猜怎么着
It worked.
这个做法奏效了
People are saving energy without any programming.
人们不需要通过设置任何程序就能节约能源
So, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing.
所以说 你做了什么不重要
If you take a step back and look at all the boxes,
如果你能退一步 纵览全局
maybe there’s a way to remove one or combine them
也许就能找到办法去掉某个步骤 或者把它们结合起来
so that you can make that process much simpler.
这样你就可以将过程简单化
So that’s my first tip: look broader.
这就是我第一个建议：拓宽视野
For my second tip, it’s to look closer.
我的第二个建议 近距离观察
One of my greatest teachers was my grandfather.
我的爷爷是我最好的导师之一
He taught me all about the world.
他教会我世界是怎样的
He taught me how things were built and how they were repaired,
他教会我东西是怎么做出来的 怎么去修好它们
the tools and techniques necessary to make a successful project.
还传授我成功做好一个项目的必需工具和技术
I remember one story he told me about screws,
我还记得他跟我讲过一个关于螺丝钉的故事
and about how you need to have the right screw for the right job.
这个故事讲的是你要用对螺丝才能做好事情
There are many different screws:
螺丝的种类很多
wood screws, metal screws, anchors, concrete screws,
木制螺丝 金属螺丝 固定螺丝 水泥螺丝
the list went on and on.
不胜枚举
Our job is to make products that are easy to install
我们的工作就是制造可以简易安装的产品
for all of our customs themselves without professionals.
让所有顾客可以不需要专业人士也能自行安装
So what did we do?
我们是怎么做的
I remembered that story that my grandfather told me,
于是我想起来我爷爷告诉我的故事
and so we thought,
我们在想
“How many different screws can we put in the box?
“我们能将多少种不同的螺丝放进盒子里”
Was it going to be two, three, four, five?
“两种 三种 四种 还是五种”
Because there’s so many different wall types.”
“因为有那么多不同类型的墙”
So we thought about it, we optimized it,
我们冥思苦想出最优的方式
and we came up with three different screws to put in the box.
最后我们决定将三种不同的螺丝放进盒子里
We thought that was going to solve the problem.
我们认为这就解决问题了
But it turned out, it didn’t.
但其实并没有
So we shipped the product,
我们出了货
and people weren’t having a great experience.
但是大家的用户体验并不好
So what did we do?
那我们怎么做呢
We went back to the drawing board
在发现我们做错之后
just instantly after we figured out we didn’t get it right.
我们立马从头开始
And we designed a special screw, a custom screw,
然后设计了一款特别的螺丝钉 一款定制的螺丝钉
much to the chagrin of our investors.
我们的投资方很生气
They were like, “Why are you spending so much time on a little screw?
他们说 “为什么你们要花这么多时间在一个小小的螺丝钉上”
Get out there and sell more!”
“出去多卖一些产品吧”
And we said, “We will sell more if we get this right.”
我们说 “如果把这个螺丝做好 我们能卖出更多产品”
And it turned out, we did.
结果我们做到了
With that custom little screw, there was just one screw in the box,
只要这一个定制的螺丝钉 箱子里只要这么一个螺丝钉
that was easy to mount and put on the wall.
客户就能轻松地将产品安装到墙上
So if we focus on those tiny details, the ones we may not see
所以如果我们能着眼于这些不起眼的小细节
and we look at them as we say,
看着这些细节 并说道
“Are those important or is that the way we’ve always done it?
“这些细节重要吗 或者 我们一直以来就是这么做的吗”
Maybe there’s a way to get rid of those.”
“也许有办法可以避开这些问题”
So my last piece of advice is to think younger.
我最后的建议是 像年轻人一样思考
Every day, I’m confronted with interesting questions from my three young kids.
我三个孩子每天都会问我一些有趣的问题
They come up with questions like,
他们会提出这样的问题
“Why can’t cars fly around traffic?”
“为什么车不能在天上飞 绕过堵车”
Or, “Why don’t my shoelaces have Velcro instead?”
或者 “为什么我的鞋子有鞋带而没有魔术贴”
Sometimes, those questions are smart.
有时候 他们提的问题很巧妙
My son came to me the other day and I asked him,
几天前我儿子来找我 我跟他说
“Go run out to the mailbox and check it.”
“去外面邮筒看看有没有邮件”
He looked at me, puzzled, and said,
他疑惑地看着我 说道
“Why doesn’t the mailbox just check itself and tell us when it has mail?”
“为什么邮筒不能自动检查邮件 在收到新邮件时通知我们呢”
I was like, “That’s a pretty good question.”
我心想 “这个问题问得太好了”
So, they can ask tons of questions
他们会像这样问很多问题
and sometimes we find out we just don’t have the right answers.
有时我们会发现我们也没有正确答案
We say, “Son, that’s just the way the world works.”
我们会说 “儿子 这就是世界运作的方式”
So the more we’re exposed to something,
我们遇到某件事的次数越多
the more we get used to it.
就越会对其习以为常
But kids haven’t been around long enough to get used to those things.
但是孩子还没有足够长的时间去习惯这些事情
And so when they run into problems,
所以当他们一产生问题
they immediately try to solve them,
就马上尝试去解决
and sometimes they find a better way,
有时他们会想出更好的解决办法
and that way really is better.
而且真的是更加切实有效的办法
So my advice, and that we take to heart, is to have young people on your team,
所以我的建议 同时也是我们自己牢记在心的 是让年轻人加入团队中
or people with young minds.
或者有年轻心态的人
Because if you have those young minds,
因为只要你拥有这些心态年轻的人
they cause everyone in the room to think younger.
他们就能带动整个团队的人像年轻人一样思考
Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist.
毕加索曾经说过 “每个孩子都是艺术家”
The problem is when he or she grows up, is how to remain an artist.”
“问题是他们长大后 如何继续做一个艺术家”
We all saw the world more clearly when we saw it for the first time,
当我们第一次见到这个世界时 没有各种习惯的阻碍
before a lifetime of habits got in the way.
我们可以更透彻地观察这个世界
Our challenge is to get back there,
所以我们要做的就是要回到最开始
to feel that frustration,
去感受那些挫败
to see those little details,
去观察那些小细节
to look broader,
去拓宽视野
look closer,
近距离观察
and to think younger
像年轻人一样思考
so we can stay beginners.
这样我们就能保持新手的状态
It’s not easy.
这可不容易
It requires us pushing back against one of the most basic ways we make sense of the world.
这要求我们抵抗自己认知这个世界的最基本方式
But if we do,
但是如果我们做到了
we could do some pretty amazing things.
我们就能做出一番卓越的成就
For me, hopefully, that’s better product design.
对我来说 当然是希望设计出更好的产品
For you, that could mean something else, something powerful.
对你们来说 有可能是一些其他的有力量的东西
Our challenge is to wake up each day and say,
我们要做的就是 每天起床的时候问自己
“How can I experience the world better?”
“我要怎样更好地体验这个世界”
And if we do, maybe, just maybe,
如果我们做到了 我是说如果
we can get rid of these dumb little stickers.
我们就可以摆脱这些愚蠢的小贴纸
Thank you very much.
非常感谢
(Applause)
［掌声］