今天推薦的演講者是：Zachary Wood，發(fā)布于2018年的TED演講大會(huì)！在對(duì)待同一件事情的時(shí)候，每個(gè)人都有自己的思維和想法，那么我們還需要與意見不同的人交流嗎？為什么呢？通過和與我們意見不同的人交流想法，會(huì)令我們變得更強(qiáng)大，而非更脆弱！

Why it's worth listening to people you disagree with

Zachary WoodIn 1994, Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein coauthored "The Bell Curve," an extremely controversial book which claims that on average, some races are smarter and more likely to succeed than others.

1994年，查爾斯?默里與理查德?赫恩斯坦合著了《鐘形曲線》，一本非常具有爭議性的書，書中聲稱，平均來說，有些種族比其他種族更聰明，更容易取得成功。

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Murray and Herrnstein also suggest that a lack of critical intelligence explains the prominence of violent crime in poor African-American communities. But Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein are not the only people who think this.

默里和赫恩斯坦也提出，缺乏批判性的智慧，是貧窮的非裔美國人社區(qū)中的暴力犯罪頻繁發(fā)生的根源。他們并不是唯一持有這種想法的人。

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In 2012, a writer, journalist and political commentator named John Derbyshire wrote an article that was supposed to be a non-black version of the talk that many black parents feel they have to give their kids today: advice on how to stay safe.

2012年，身兼作家、記者和政治評(píng)論員的約翰?德比希爾，寫了一篇原本面向非黑人族群的文章，而如今，該文章也成為黑人父母建議孩子們?nèi)绾伪ＷC自身安全的忠告。

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In it, he offered suggestions such as: "Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks," "Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods" and "Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in distress."

在文章中，他提出了如下建議：“不要參加可能會(huì)吸引很多黑人的活動(dòng)”，“遠(yuǎn)離有大量黑人的社區(qū)”，和“別太樂善好施，主動(dòng)幫助困境中的黑人”。

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And yet, in 2016, I invited John Derbyshire as well as Charles Murray to speak at my school, knowing full well that I would be giving them a platform and attention for ideas that I despised and rejected. But this is just a further evolution of a journey of uncomfortable learning throughout my life.

而在2016年，我邀請(qǐng)了約翰?德比希爾，還有查爾斯?默里來我的學(xué)校演講，他們完全清楚，我會(huì)提供他們一個(gè)平臺(tái)和關(guān)注度，去表達(dá)他們那些令我鄙視和排斥的想法。這只是令人不舒服的人生成長之旅的一個(gè)新篇章。

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When I was 10 years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental illness characterized by mood swings and paranoid delusions. Throughout my life, my mother's rage would turn our small house into a minefield.

我10歲時(shí)，母親被診斷患有精神分裂癥，一種以情緒波動(dòng)和偏執(zhí)妄想為特征的精神疾病。在我的整個(gè)生活中，母親的憤怒會(huì)讓我們的小房子變成一個(gè)雷區(qū)。盡管我每天都在恐懼她的憤怒，

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Yet, though I feared her rage on a daily basis, I also learned so much from her. Our relationship was complicated and challenging, and at the age of 14, it was decided that I needed to live apart from her.

但也從她那里學(xué)到了很多東西。我們的關(guān)系既復(fù)雜又富挑戰(zhàn)性，在14歲時(shí)，我決定離開她獨(dú)自生活。

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But over the years, I've come to appreciate some of the important lessons my mother taught me about life. She was the first person who spoke to me about learning from the other side. And she, like me, was born and raised in a family of committed liberal democrats. Yet, she encouraged me to see the world and the issues our world faces as complex, controversial and ever-changing.

但這些年來，我變得開始感激母親給予我的關(guān)于人生的教訓(xùn)。她是第一個(gè)教我從對(duì)立方那里學(xué)習(xí)的人。和我一樣，她出生并長大在一個(gè)自由的民主黨家庭之中。她鼓勵(lì)我去認(rèn)識(shí)到世界是復(fù)雜的，充滿爭議和不斷變化的。

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One day, I came across the phrase "affirmative action" in a book I was reading. And when I asked her what the term meant, she spent what felt like an hour giving me a thorough and thoughtful explanation that would make sense to a small child. She even made the topic sound at least as interesting as any of my professors have.

有一天，我在一本書中看到了“平權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)”一詞。當(dāng)我問她是什么意思時(shí)，她居然花了一小時(shí)做出了一個(gè)徹底的，深思熟慮的解釋，而且對(duì)一個(gè)小孩來說并不難理解。她甚至讓這個(gè)話題聽起來很有趣，不亞于學(xué)校教授的講解。

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She explained the many reasons why people of various political views challenge and support affirmative action, stressing that, while she strongly supported it herself, it was important for me to view the issue as a controversial one with a long history, a questionable future and a host of complicating factors.

她解釋了持有不同政治觀點(diǎn)的人們挑戰(zhàn)和支持平權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)的各種原因，她強(qiáng)調(diào)自己強(qiáng)烈支持平權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)，意識(shí)到這個(gè)具有爭議的問題對(duì)我來說是很重要的，它有著悠久的歷史，充滿疑點(diǎn)未來，和一系列復(fù)雜的因素。

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While affirmative action can increase the presence of minorities at elite educational institutions, she felt that it could also disadvantage hardworking people of different races from more affluent backgrounds. My mom wanted me to understand that I should never just write off opinions that I disagreed with or disliked, because there was always something to learn from the perspectives of others, even when doing so might be difficult.

平權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)可以增加少數(shù)族裔在精英教育機(jī)構(gòu)學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會(huì)，也可能不利于來自富裕家庭的那些努力學(xué)習(xí)的不同族裔的人。媽媽想讓我明白絕不該簡單忽視不喜歡或不贊同的意見，因?yàn)檎驹趧e人的角度，總能學(xué)到新的東西，盡管很難做到這一點(diǎn)。

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But life at home with my mom was not the only aspect of my journey that has been formative and uncomfortable. In fourth grade, she decided that I should attend a private school in order to receive the best education possible. As a black student attending predominantly white private schools, I've encountered attitudes and behaviors that reflected racial stereotypes.

單與媽媽在家的生活并不是我人生旅途中的唯一塑造性的，讓我感到不適的方面。四年級(jí)時(shí)，她決定要我上私立學(xué)校，以盡可能接受更好的教育。作為就讀于以白人為主的私立學(xué)校中的黑人學(xué)生，我遇到了帶有種族偏見的態(tài)度和行為。

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Several of my friends' parents assumed within minutes of meeting me that my best skill was playing basketball. And it really upset me to think that my race made it harder for them to see me as a student who loved reading, writing and speaking. Experiences like this motivated me to work tirelessly to disprove what I knew people had assumed.

學(xué)校里幾位朋友的父母在見到我?guī)追昼娭缶驼J(rèn)定我最好的本領(lǐng)只是打籃球。讓我不安的是，種族偏見使他們很難把我看作是一個(gè)喜愛閱讀，寫作和演講的學(xué)生。像這樣的經(jīng)歷，激勵(lì)著我孜孜不倦地工作，來反駁對(duì)我錯(cuò)誤的假設(shè)。

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My mother even said that, in order to put my best foot forward, I had to be patient, alert and excruciatingly well-mannered. To prove that I belonged, I had to show poise and confidence, the ability to speak well and listen closely. Only then would my peers see that I deserved to be there as much as they did.

母親甚至說，如果想要給人留下良好的印象，我必須耐心，警惕，而且要異常的彬彬有禮。為了證明我的能力，我必須表現(xiàn)出平和與自信，有較強(qiáng)的表達(dá)能力，并善于傾聽。只有到那時(shí)，我的同齡人才會(huì)看到我與他們并沒有分別。

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Despite this racial stereotyping and the discomfort I often felt, the learning I gained from other aspects of being at an elite private school were incredibly valuable. I was encouraged by my teachers to explore my curiosity, to challenge myself in new ways and to deepen my understanding of subjects that fascinated me the most.

盡管我經(jīng)常感到種族偏見和對(duì)環(huán)境的不適應(yīng)，但我卻從私立精英學(xué)校的其他方面學(xué)到了非常有價(jià)值的東西。老師鼓勵(lì)我開發(fā)內(nèi)在的好奇心，以新的方式挑戰(zhàn)自己，努力探究令我著迷的主題。

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And going to college was the next step. I was excited to take my intellectual drive and interest in the world of ideas to the next level. I was eager to engage in lively debate with peers and professors and with outside speakers; to listen, to learn and gain a deeper understanding of myself and of others.

下一步是大學(xué)。我很高興能夠把對(duì)待各種想法的動(dòng)力和興趣帶到更高的層次。我很渴望能與同學(xué)，教授和外部發(fā)言人進(jìn)行熱烈的辯論；傾聽、學(xué)習(xí)并對(duì)自己和其他人有更深入的理解。

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While I was fortunate to meet peers and professors who were interested in doing the same thing, my desire to engage with difficult ideas was also met with resistance.

雖然我有幸遇到了有相同興趣的同學(xué)和教授，我渴望參與爭議性課題的渴望卻遭遇了阻力。

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To prepare myself to engage with controversy in the real world, I joined a group that brought controversial speakers to campus. But many people fiercely opposed this group, and I received significant pushback from students, faculty and my administration. For many, it was difficult to see how bringing controversial speakers to campus could be valuable, when they caused harm.

為了準(zhǔn)備在現(xiàn)實(shí)世界中與爭議進(jìn)行對(duì)抗，我加入了一個(gè)將有爭議的演講人帶入校園的小組。但很多人強(qiáng)烈的反對(duì)這個(gè)團(tuán)體，我遇到了來自學(xué)生，教師和校方行政部門方面的巨大阻力。對(duì)很多人來說，遇到?jīng)_突時(shí)，很難認(rèn)識(shí)到將有爭議的演講者帶進(jìn)校園，其實(shí)是利大于弊。

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And it was disappointing to me facing personal attacks, having my administration cancel speakers and hearing my intentions distorted by those around me. My work also hurt the feelings of many, and I understood that.

當(dāng)面對(duì)個(gè)人攻擊，當(dāng)校方取消了對(duì)演講人的邀請(qǐng)，當(dāng)我的意圖被周圍的人扭曲，這一切都讓我倍感失望。我明白自己做的事情傷害了很多人的感受。

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Of course, no one likes being offended, and I certainly don't like hearing controversial speakers argue that feminism has become a war against men or that blacks have lower IQs than whites. I also understand that some people have experienced traumatic experiences in their lives.

當(dāng)然，沒有人喜歡被冒犯，我當(dāng)然也不喜歡聽到有爭議的演講者認(rèn)為女性主義是一場對(duì)男性的戰(zhàn)爭，或者黑人的智商比白人低。我也明白有些人在生活中經(jīng)歷了巨大的創(chuàng)傷。

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And for some, listening to offensive views can be like reliving the very traumas that they've worked so hard to overcome. Many argue that by giving these people a platform, you're doing more harm than good, and I'm reminded of this every time I listen to these points of view and feel my stomach turn.

聽到這些冒犯的觀點(diǎn)，就如同重溫曾經(jīng)努力克服的創(chuàng)傷。許多人認(rèn)為給極具爭議的人提供平臺(tái)來發(fā)聲，是弊大于利的，但每次我聽到這樣的提醒，都感到很痛心。

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Yet, tuning out opposing viewpoints doesn't make them go away, because millions of people agree with them. In order to understand the potential of society to progress forward, we need to understand the counterforces.

壓制反對(duì)觀點(diǎn)并不會(huì)讓意見消失，因?yàn)樗鼈儽澈笕杂袛?shù)百萬的支持者。為了了解社會(huì)向前邁進(jìn)的潛力，我們需要了解反面的力量。

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By engaging with controversial and offensive ideas, I believe that we can find common ground, if not with the speakers themselves, then with the audiences they may attract or indoctrinate.

通過參與帶有爭議和冒犯的想法，我相信我們可以找到共同的基礎(chǔ)，如果不來自演講者本身，就會(huì)來自被他們所吸引或感化的觀眾。

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Through engaging, I believe that we may reach a better understanding, a deeper understanding, of our own beliefs and preserve the ability to solve problems, which we can't do if we don't talk to each other and make an effort to be good listeners.

通過積極參與，我相信我們彼此間可以達(dá)成更好的理解，更深入地了解各自的信仰，并保留解決問題的能力，如果我們彼此間不能坦誠交流，不能耐心地傾聽他人，就沒法做到這一點(diǎn)。

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But soon after I announced that John Derbyshire would be speaking on campus, student backlash erupted on social media. The tide of resistance, in fact, was so intense, that my college president rescinded the invitation.

但在我宣布約翰?德比希爾將在校園發(fā)表演講后不久，社交媒體上就出現(xiàn)了學(xué)生們鋪天蓋地的反對(duì)之聲。抵制的情緒如此激烈，我們大學(xué)的校長不得不取消了這次邀請(qǐng)。

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I was deeply disappointed by this because, as I saw it, there would be nothing that any of my peers or I could do to silence someone who agreed with him in the office environment of our future employers.

我為此深感失望，因?yàn)檫@樣一來，我和我的任何同學(xué)都無法做到在未來的工作環(huán)境中讓贊同他的人保持沉默。

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I look out at what's happening on college campuses, and I see the anger. And I get it. But what I wish I could tell people is that it's worth the discomfort, it's worth listening, and that we're stronger, not weaker, because of it.

我在大學(xué)校園發(fā)生的事情中看到了憤怒。我非常理解。但我希望告訴人們的是，這種令人不適的體驗(yàn)是值得的，去聆聽是有意義的，這樣并不會(huì)削弱我們的力量，反而會(huì)讓我們更強(qiáng)大。

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When I think about my experiences with uncomfortable learning, and I reflect upon them, I've found that it's been very difficult to change the values of the intellectual community that I've been a part of.

當(dāng)我想到過去那些不愉快的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷時(shí)，我認(rèn)真進(jìn)行了反思，發(fā)現(xiàn)要改變自己身處的知識(shí)界存在的偏見，是非常困難的。但我感到還有希望。

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But I do feel a sense of hope when I think about the individual interactions that I've been able to have with students who both support the work that I'm doing and who feel challenged by it and who do not support it. What I've found is that, while it can be difficult to change the values of a community, we can gain a lot from individual interactions.

當(dāng)我想到跟學(xué)生的個(gè)人互動(dòng)時(shí)，他們有的支持，有的拿不定主意，還有的表示了反對(duì)。我發(fā)現(xiàn)，盡管很難去改變整個(gè)社區(qū)的價(jià)值觀，但個(gè)人互動(dòng)可以讓我們受益匪淺。

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While I didn't get to engage with John Derbyshire due to my president's disinvitation, I was able to have dinner with Charles Murray before his talk. I knew the conversation would be difficult. And I didn't expect it to be pleasant.

由于校長取消了我的邀請(qǐng)，我無緣與約翰?德比希爾會(huì)面，但在查爾斯?默里的演講之前，我可以和他共進(jìn)晚餐。我知道這個(gè)談話會(huì)很困難，也沒奢望這個(gè)過程會(huì)是愉快的。

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But it was cordial, and I did gain a deeper understanding of his arguments. I found that he, like me, believed in creating a more just society. The thing is, his understanding of what justice entailed was very different from my own. The way in which he wanted to understand the issue, the way in which he wanted to approach the issue of inequality also differed from my own.

但事實(shí)上，談話的氣氛非常熱情友好，我對(duì)他的論點(diǎn)也有了更深入的理解。我發(fā)現(xiàn)他和我一樣，想建立一個(gè)更加公正的社會(huì)。問題是，他理解的正義與我自己的理解非常不同。他看問題的方式，解決不平等問題的方式也與我不同。

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And I found that his understanding of issues like welfare and affirmative action was tied and deeply rooted in his understanding of various libertarian and conservative beliefs, what diminishes and increases their presence in our society. While he expressed his viewpoints eloquently, I remained thoroughly unconvinced. But I did walk away with a deeper understanding.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)他對(duì)福利等問題和平權(quán)行動(dòng)的理解，深深根植并被束縛于他的自由主義和保守的信仰中，什么因素會(huì)減少和增加他們?cè)谏鐣?huì)中的存在感。雖然他雄辯地表達(dá)了自己的觀點(diǎn)，我卻始終不敢茍同。但對(duì)此我的確有了更深的了解。

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It's my belief that to achieve progress in the face of adversity, we need a genuine commitment to gaining a deeper understanding of humanity. I'd like to see a world with more leaders who are familiar with the depths of the views of those they deeply disagree with, so that they can understand the nuances of everyone they're representing.

這是我的信念，為了在逆境中取得進(jìn)步，我們需要一個(gè)真正的承諾，深入了解人性。我希望可以看到一個(gè)有更多領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者能深度了解對(duì)立群體的意見的世界。這樣他們就能夠理解所代表的每個(gè)人的細(xì)微差別。

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I see this as an ongoing process involving constant learning, and I'm confident that I'll be able to add value down the line if I continue building empathy and understanding through engaging with unfamiliar perspectives. Thank you.

這是一個(gè)持續(xù)不斷的學(xué)習(xí)過程，而我相信，如果繼續(xù)構(gòu)建我的同理心和理解，并投身學(xué)習(xí)自己所不了解的那些觀點(diǎn)，我就能夠?yàn)榇素暙I(xiàn)自己的一份力量。謝謝