How can we become more intelligent?

如何才能变得更有智慧？

How can we become more intelligent?

 

（Claudia Hammond）

 

智慧难以界定，但不知何故，当我们看到它时却能够知道这就是智慧。智者在危机中能够保持冷静。他们可以退后一步，统观全局。他们深思熟虑，自我反省。他们认可自己知识的局限，考虑替代的观点，并牢记世界总在变化。

Wisdom is difficult to define, but somehow, when we see it, we can know that this is wisdom. The wise men can stay calm in the crisis. They can take a step back and look at the overall situation. They are thoughtful and self-examination. They recognize the limits of their knowledge, consider alternative ideas, and keep in mind that the world is always changing. 

 

智慧不能与智力混为一谈。虽然智力确实有益，但你可以聪明而并不智慧。智者容忍不确定性，并保持乐观，即使棘手的问题也能找到解决办法。他们可以判断什么是真实或正确的。这实在是卓越的品质。

Wisdom cannot be confused with intelligence. Although intelligence is good, you can be smart, but not intelligence. The wise person tolerates uncertainty and stays optimistic. Even tough problems, they still can find out solutions. They can judge what is true or correct. This is the really excellent quality. 

 

那么，人如何能变得更智慧？心理学家们已经研究智慧几十年了，他们有好消息给我们。我们都可以努力变得更有智慧，甚至可能成功。

How can people become more intelligent? Psychologists have studied wisdom for decades and they have good news for us. We can all strive to become more intelligent and may even succeed.

 

我们之所以愿意听从他们的建议，不单单是获得智慧能够做出明智的决定这一明显的益处。根据加拿大滑铁卢大学（University of Waterloo）的伊戈尔·格罗斯曼（Igor Grossman）的观点，明智的思考带来很多积极作用：更高的生活满意度，较少的消极情绪，更好的人际关系和更少的抑郁沉思，他和他的同事们甚至发现最有智慧的人会活得更长的证据。人越有智慧，幸福水平就越高，尤其是当他们年纪渐长时。智力对幸福感没有影响，可能是因为智商水平不能反映一个人在日常生活中培养良好关系或做出决定的能力。

The reason why we are willing to listen to their suggestions is not just to gain the obvious benefit of being able to make intelligent decisions. According to Igor Grossman of the University of Waterloo in Canada, wise thinking brings many positive effects: higher life satisfaction, less negative emotions, better interpersonal relationships and less depressive contemplation, he and his colleagues even found evidence that the most wise people would live longer. The more people have wisdom, the higher the level of happiness, especially when they grow older. Intelligence has no effect on happiness. It may be because IQ does not reflect a person’s ability to cultivate good relationships or make decisions in daily life.

 

回想一下昨天。你一天中面临的最具挑战性的情况是什么？你是怎么找出对策的？格罗斯曼在最近的研究中向参与者提出了这样的问题。人们写的是因为交通原因而导致会议迟到，或者与家人和同事的争论。研究人员检查他们的推理方式，以评估他们的智慧水平。他们是否认识到他们的知识是有限的？他们是否在表面看似被动的形势下看到积极的方面？他发现有些人在一种情况下似乎很明智，但在另一种情况下却并非如此。

Recall yesterday. What is the most challenging situation you face in the day? How did you find out the countermeasures? Grossman proposed this to participants in a recent study. What people write is because of traffic reasons that cause the meeting to be late or dispute with family members and colleagues. Researchers examine their reasoning methods to assess their level of intelligence. Do they realize that their knowledge is limited? Are they seeing positive aspects in a passive situation? He found that some people seem sensible in one situation, but not in another.

 

那么，为什么在不同的情况下会有差异？人们和朋友在一起时更有智慧。这使得他们更有可能考虑全局，思考其它观点，认识到自己知识的局限性。当人们独处时，他们似乎陷入了一种他们根本不考虑其它方案的局面。

So why are there differences in different situations? People are more intelligent when they are with friends. This makes them more likely to consider the overall situation, think about other ideas, and recognize the limitations of their own knowledge. When people are alone, they seem to be in a situation where they do not consider other options at all.

 

这意味着智慧可能比我们想象的更为普遍。"我们都可能拥有智慧的某些方面。只是不是所有时候都有智慧，"格罗斯曼说。

This means that wisdom may be more common than we think. "We may all have certain aspects of wisdom. But, it's not always smart," Grossman said.

 

有些人仍然表现出比别人有更多的智慧，有些人更愚蠢，但不是在所有的情况下。这给人以希望。如果我们有时有智慧，也许我们可以学会更经常有智慧。明智的思考随着年龄的增长而不断改进，这一发现表明我们可以变得更好。

Some people still show more wisdom than others, and some people are more stupid, but not in all situations. This gives hope. If we sometimes have wisdom, perhaps we can learn to be more wise. The wise thinking continues to improve as we age, a finding that we can get better.