这个月读书训练营读 Surely, You're Not Joking Mr. Feynman! 讲的是费曼的故事,特别喜欢。
我从读书训练营的读书笔记中节选了一些内容,也分享给你。 1)I finnaly fixed it because it beacause I had, and still have, persistence. Once I get on a puzzle, I can't get off. 费曼除了聪明好学,他非常有耐心——甚至花一年半掌握了开锁开保险。学习一定要能延迟满足(delaying of gratification),这也是 The Road Less Traveled 中提到的人生四大原则之一。 延迟满足意味着承认任务的难度和所需的必要时间,然后学会 take the time 去面对和解决。因此我们可以说「耐心」和「坚持」的本质就是 delaying of gratification。 拿英语学习来说,那些我们觉得比我们更优秀的人,一定是花了更多时间和耐心解决了更多问题。当我们遇到不懂的词句,提醒自己 take the time! 紧接着还有这样一段: I wouldn’t stop until I figured the damn thing out—it would take me fifteen or twenty minutes. But during the day, other guys would come to me with the same problem, and I’d do it for them in a flash. So for one guy, to do it took me twenty minutes, while there were five guys who thought I was a super-genius. 这也让我想到了语言学习。 过去这几年我收到许多来自读者和学生的问题,大多数问题其实我也不知道答案。为了解答这些问题,我被逼着搜索查证、逼着向母语人士请教,有时候要花上几个小时甚至一整晚。这样做久了,等被问到之前问到过的问题,我就能立刻自信地给出答案——看上去的毫不费力其实都来一点一滴的积累。 我们要主动提问,也学会利用别人的问题。当别人提出一个问题,别急着给出那个答案,而是想想「他为什么有这个问题?」然后你可以和他分享你会如何解决这样的问题。这样一来,交流就不只是简单的问答,而是学习思路的切磋。 2)I also fixed typewriters, with paper clips and rubber bands (the rubber bands didn’t break down like they do here in Los Angeles), but I wasn’t a professional repairman; I’d just fix them so they would work. But the whole problem of discovering what was the matter, and figuring out what you have to do to fix it—that was interesting to me, like a puzzle.” 费曼通过 thinking 就修好了收音机,这章最后一段他说令他最痴迷的是discovering what was the matter and figuring out what you have to do to fix it。解决问题首先要定位问题,学习的乐趣也在于此。 拿语言学习来说,许多人说语法不好、口语不流利、写作没思路,愿意花大量时间和金钱学习套路、听课,但是不愿意花时间分析自己的问题。学霸的过人之处在于把最多的精力放在了更重要更核心的事上,当想明白问题在那里再去行动,自己就多了些方向和自信。 3)I call back, “RONte BALta!”, returning the greeting. He didn’t know I didn’t know, and I didn’t know what he said, and he didn’t know what I said. But it was OK! It was great! It works! After all, when they hear the intonation, they recognize it immediately as Italian—maybe it’s Milano instead of Romano, what the hell. But he’s an iTALian! So it’s just great. But you have to have absolute confidence. Keep right on going, and nothing will happen. 费曼通过听收音机学了点意大利语,几个常见的用词足以让别人以为他就是意大利人。这哥们还在妹妹的家长会上即兴来了个诗朗诵,内容是拼凑一些意大利语词汇,逗得大家哈哈乐,最后还有人问他哥们你刚说的是意大利语还是拉丁语啊? 我们能从中得到的启发是学习口语,一定要有「范儿」。张口那一刻就把自己当作是外语为母语者,fake it till you make it。技巧上,我们先把一些最常见最实用的表达练好,发音不必多精准,但要有内味,也就是语言的节奏、重音和语调。当我们有了几个这样听起来特别地道的说法,我们就会更自信更愿意尝试其他的说法。 4)I often had this problem of demonstrating to these fellas something that they didn’t believe—like the time we got into an argument as to whether urine just ran out of you by gravity, and I had to demonstrate that that wasn’t the case by showing them that you can pee standing on your head. 我们不必是科学家,但一定要有科学家的思考模型。像科学家一样思考:不争输赢,而是求真;不打嘴仗,而是实验和发现,主动打脸跟自己杠。
5)They didn’t put two and two together. They didn’t even know what they “knew.” I don’t know what’s the matter with people: they don’t learn by understanding; they learn by some other way—by rote, or something. Their knowledge is so fragile! 费曼在一个访谈中说 I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something。 他说学习要靠「理解」,知其所以然,而不只是死记硬背概念。费曼的一贯风格是不会花太多功夫在各种术语上——术语命名是为了便于我们和他人沟通,但从学习的角度看,知道是什么、为什么更重要。 拿英语学习来讲,许多英语大家会建议不要太纠结语法术语。我们从小到大学了一堆什么XX从句、不定式、倒装句型......却很少能用最通俗的话说出它们是什么、为什么、有什么用。我们也会沉迷于一些听起来很厉害的概念,比如「英语思维」「后部发声法」,也会不自觉的主动使用这些概念,但很少主动用最简单的话定义这些概念。 知道一只鸟在不同语言中的名字,又能如何?分分钟就可以解决。但我们若是从来没有观察过一只鸟,我们其实并不能说自己「知道」。
以上是我从 Surely, You're Joking Mr. Feynman 中读到的收获和启发。最后再分享一个书中的小故事。 费曼遇到一位画家,画家说想要调出黄色,把红色和白色油漆调在一起即可。费曼说还有这回事?虽然我不懂艺术,但依我多年研究光的经验,红白CP出粉色呀!莫非这里有什么玄机?画家说我是老司机了,我天天画画我还能错? 最后费曼去买了两桶漆,用事实说话。画家调了半天颜色也不黄,他说我得加点黄色进去才行。费曼说那你看,你这不还是加了黄色才调成了黄色,而不是只用红白调出来?说到这画家就走了。 接下来费曼并没有得理不饶人得意洋洋,而是分享他的心路历程。他说我很确定我是对的,但同时我也会特别期待有意外发生。如果红白确实能调出黄色,那就有意思了!那我就有机会思考为什么会呢?反思自己是不是有什么盲区? 在他身上看到了闪着光的好奇和自信。 猜你还想读: |
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