無聊與想象力

Hannah+Richardson+楊淑媛

Children need time to stand and stare. They should be allowed to get bored so that they can develop their ability to be creative.

孩子們需要時間駐足凝視。為了讓他們能夠發展他們的創新能力，應當準許他們感到無聊。

Children are expected by their parents to be reading a textbook all the time. However， research shows that it may hamper3 the development of their imagination， while boredom can give them opportunities to develop creativity.

孩子們的父母希望他們一直看課本。然而，研究表明，這可能會妨礙他們想象力的發展，而無聊則可以給他們機會來發展創造力。

Boredom is often linked with loneliness， but a writer named Meera Syal said boredom had helped her in developing her mind. She told researchers about her childhood. Having few things to do， Syal often talked with her neighbors. She also tried to do things like learning to bake cakes. “But importantly， I thought and wrote a lot， because I was bored，” Syal said. She kept a diary， filling her time with short stories and poems she made up.

無聊常和孤獨聯系在一起，但作家梅拉·沙爾說無聊成功幫助她開發了她的頭腦。她向研究人員講述了她的童年。由于幾乎沒有什么事情可以做，沙爾會經常和她的鄰居們聊天。她也會嘗試去做一些事情，比如學習烤蛋糕。沙爾說：“但重要的是，由于無聊，我大量地思考與寫作。”她堅持寫日記，通過創作一些短篇小說和詩歌來打發時間。

Grayson Perry， an artist， grew up in a family with little money. He enjoyed himself by making up stories， drawing pictures for his stories and reading many books in the library.

藝術家格雷森·佩里是在一個貧困家庭長大的。他通過寫故事，為自己的故事畫插圖，在圖書館里讀書來自娛自樂。

Bored but free， he spent hours looking out of the window， watching the changing clouds and seasons. Perry filled up his free time with what he liked. He became creative， because he could think freely.

雖說無聊，但是清閑。他可以花幾個小時觀察窗外的景色，看著不斷變化的云彩和季節的更替。佩里在他的閑暇時光做自己喜歡做的事情。他變得有創造性，因為他可以自由自在地思考。

Dr. Belton is an expert on the effects of emotions on learning. “Boredom could be an uncomfortable feeling，” she said. “But some young people cannot deal with that boredom creatively. So sometimes they may break a classroom window， or drive a car out for a mad race.”

貝爾頓博士是研究“情緒對學習的影響”的專家。她說：“無聊可能是一種不舒服的感覺，但有些年輕人無法創造性地應對這種無聊。所以有時他們可能會打破教室的一扇窗戶，或開車出去來場瘋狂的比賽。”

Usually， when children have nothing to do， they would turn on the TV， the computer， or the phone. Their time on these things has increased， yet they need to have time to think about their experiences through play or just watching the world around them.

通常情況下，當孩子們無所事事的時候，他們會打開電視、電腦或手機。他們花在這些事情上的時間增加了，但是他們需要時間來思考一下他們在玩耍或者觀察周圍的世界時的體驗。

It is this kind of thinking that can inspire4 the imagination. On the other hand， the TV or phone may cut short the thinking process. That can be harmful to the development of creativity. “For developing the ability to be creative，” Dr. Belton advised， “perhaps we need to stand and stare， and stay offline from time to time.”

正是這種思考才能夠激發他們的想象力。另一方面，電視或電話可能會縮短這種思考的過程。這對創造力的發展是有害的。貝爾頓博士建議說：“為了培養創新的能力，我們也許需要有時間去駐足觀察，偶爾關掉電視、電腦或手機。”