聰明的人更孤獨嗎？：英語精讀講義

It sounds like a very mean and undemocratic thought,

這聽起來像是一個非常刻薄且不民主的想法，

trading off the peculiar glamour that isolation has in a romantic culture, 片語動詞

藉著在浪漫主義文化中孤獨所特有的魅力，

in order to gain an oblique sense of superiority

來獲得一種隱晦的優越感，

and perhaps pass off an absence of social skills as a virtue. 片語動詞

甚至可能把缺乏社交技巧標榜為一種美德。

It's important, therefore, to be clear what is meant here by intelligence. 文法

因此，有必要澄清這裡所說的「聰明」究竟指什麼。

It has nothing to do with degrees or any of the criteria by which we ordinarily measure cleverness. 片語搭配

它與學歷或我們通常衡量聰明的任何標準毫無關係。

What is meant is emotional intelligence,

我們所說的是情緒智商，

which exists or not in every strata and nook of society. 文法

它存在或不存在於社會的每個階層和角落。

Emotional intelligence means a capacity for self-honesty and self-observation.

情緒智商意味著擁有自我誠實和自我觀察的能力。

It means a knack for opening oneself up to the stranger, 講解

它意味著一種訣竅，能向更加陌生、

more exciting, less easily admissible aspects of oneself.

更加令人興奮、卻不那麼容易被接受的自我層面敞開心扉。

And at the same time,

與此同時，

for noticing the many beautiful, peculiar, and profound experiences and sensations passing through consciousness.

能夠察覺意識中閃過的許多美麗、奇特而深刻的體驗和感覺。

We 're not really used to doing this. 文法

我們其實並不習慣這樣做。

We cleave tightly to reassuring notions of what normal people are like, 用詞

我們緊緊抓住那些關於「正常人是怎樣的」讓人安心的觀念，

which means we exclude a lot,

這意味著我們排斥了很多東西，

often the richest bit,

通常是最豐富的那部分，

of what we truly feel, want, and think.

即我們真實的感受、渴望和想法。

We edit out our more generous, wilder, more impatient, more terrifying sides, 片語動詞

我們將自己更慷慨、更狂野、更急躁、更可怕的一面剪輯掉，

leaving only the socially admissible husk that we artfully pretend is who we are. 慣用語

只留下社會認可的軀殼，並巧妙地偽裝這就是真實的我們。

And simultaneously,

同時，

we ensure that we're never far from something that can take us powerfully away from ourselves. 慣用語

我們確保自己永遠不會遠離那些能讓我們強烈分心的事物。

And so we miss out on the troubling wonders that streak across the mental horizon at every instant. 講解

因此，我們錯過了那些每時每刻在精神地平線上劃過的令人不安的奇蹟。

Most of what is in our minds remains unfelt and unseen,

我們腦海中的大部分內容仍然未被感知和看到，

troubling us only in the small hours. 慣用語

只有在深夜才會困擾我們。

Insomnia is the revenge for all that we tried so hard not to notice in the daylight. 慣用語

失眠是對我們在白天拚命忽視的一切所進行的報復。

In this context,

在這種背景下，

emotional intelligence emerges as a species of courage directed at vanquishing not an external enemy, 講解

情緒智商表現為一種勇氣，其目的不是為了戰勝外部敵人，

but a fear of being weird or of going mad.

而是為了克服對變得怪異或發瘋的恐懼。

A certain sort of intelligent person is above all else a superior and more committed reporter of their inner states. 講解

某種聰慧的人，首先是他們內心狀態更卓越、更投入的報告者。

Or as Emerson once put it, 表達脈絡

或者正如愛默生曾經說過的，

"In the minds of geniuses,

「在天才的頭腦中，

we find once more our own neglected thoughts."

我們再次找到了自己曾被忽視的想法。」

It's almost certain that people who have devoted themselves to self-honesty and self-observation 片語搭配

幾乎可以肯定的是，那些致力於自我誠實和自我觀察的人，

have an above-average chance of meeting with incomprehension, 片語搭配

遇到不被理解的機率高於常人，

irritation, censorship, or boredom

甚至會遭遇惱怒、審查或厭煩，

when they attempt to share the data from their own minds frankly in company. 用詞

當他們試圖在人前坦率地分享自己腦海中的數據時。

Their thoughts,

他們的想法，

it might be on politics or architecture, family life or sexuality,

可能是關於政治或建築、家庭生活或性取向，

will sound more threatening, more intense, oblique, or tender than is allowed. 文法

聽起來會比允許的尺度更具威脅性、更強烈、更隱晦或更柔軟。

That feels lonely if one's in the mood to frame things like this. 用詞

如果你有心情這樣去想，這會讓人感到孤獨。

There are simply fewer people at large committed to self-honesty and self-observation 用詞

致力於自我誠實和自我觀察的人，在人群中本來就比較少，

and therefore up for exchanging notes on what it's truly like to be alive. 講解

因此，願意交流生而為人的真實感受的人也就更少。

Yet,

然而，

there is one resource that is exceptionally well suited to addressing the feelings of disconnection 片語搭配

有一種資源極其適合解決這種脫節感，

liable to be felt by the emotionally intelligent. 用詞

這種高情商者容易產生的脫節感。

Art. 表達脈絡

那就是藝術。

Works of art are humanity's secret diary, 慣用語

藝術品是人類的秘密日記，

records of all that could not be said in regular social contexts,

記錄了在常規社交場合中無法說出的所有事情，

but which have found a home in the more intimate, 慣用語

但它們在更私密的、

honest communication that can take place between an art work and its audience.

在藝術品與其受眾之間進行的誠實交流中找到了歸宿。

The libraries, cinemas, and galleries

世界各地的圖書館、電影院和畫廊，

of the world are repositories for all the sensations 慣用語

是所有那些感覺的儲藏室，

that didn't easily make it into standard interactions 片語動詞

那些感覺很難進入標準的互動中，

and that contain what we need to state and crave to hear as audiences

且包含著我們作為受眾需要表達和渴望聽到的東西，

in our lonely states.

在我們孤獨的狀態下。

Therefore,

因此，

while emotionally intelligent people may have an uncommonly hard time not being lonely with a person, 文法

儘管高情商的人可能在與人相處時不感到孤獨是一件異常困難的事，

they have an unusually easy time finding company with people who are not in the room, 慣用語

但他們卻極其容易與那些不在場的人找到共鳴，

the fancy term for what we call art.

這是對我們稱之為「藝術」的一種華麗說法。

We've perhaps over-privileged certain standard notions of friendship. 用詞

我們或許過度看重了某些關於友誼的標準觀念。

We may just have to accept that our best friends could have died 250 years ago 慣用語

我們可能只需要接受，我們最好的朋友可能在 250 年前就已經去世了，

and be chatting to us via dabs of paint or within rhyming pentameters.

並且正在透過幾抹顏料或押韻的五步詩與我們交談。

That said, 表達脈絡

話雖如此，

the goal shouldn't be a society where art is ever more prevalent 文法

我們的目標不應該是一個藝術越來越普遍的社會，

and more available when loneliness strikes. 慣用語

在孤獨襲來時更容易獲得藝術。

It's perhaps a society

也許應該是一個

where art is ever less necessary

藝術越來越沒必要的社會，

because we have grown better at knowing how to share

因為我們變得更加懂得如何分享

more of who we are in the ordinary moments of our lives,

更多我們在生活平凡時刻中的真實自我，

where we have found a more direct and reliable path out from our loneliness. 慣用語

在那裡我們找到了更直接、更可靠的走出孤獨的途徑。

If you liked this film,

如果你喜歡這部影片，

please subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon to turn on notifications.

請訂閱我們的頻道並點擊小鈴鐺圖示開啟通知。

Most books that want to change us seek to make us richer or thinner.

大多數想改變我們的書，都試圖讓我們變得更富有或更苗條。

This book wants to help us to be nicer,

這本書想幫助我們變得更友善、

less irritable,

脾氣更好、

readier to listen,

更樂意傾聽、

warmer people.

成為更溫暖的人。