How did it come to this ending? Is it because the bees’ flying ability is too poor? No; is it because the bees’ eyesight is not good? Also not. We all know that the eyes of bees and flies are made up of many individual small eyes closely arranged, which people call compound eyes. The construction of compound eyes is intricate and their function is amazing, they can discern the position of the sun at any time and determine the direction of movement. Bees rely on their compound eyes to accurately and precisely find honey and return to the beehive. Based on the structural characteristics and the working principle of the compound eyes of bees, people have created a navigation tool called the “polarized astronomical compass”. With this compass, no matter if the sun has not yet risen at dawn or the sky is heavily overcast at dusk, the ships will not lose their direction.
这个结局是怎么来的?是因为蜜蜂的飞行能力太差了吗?不;是因为蜜蜂的视力不好吗?也不是。我们都知道,蜜蜂和苍蝇的眼睛是由许多紧密排列的小眼睛组成的,人们称之为复眼。复眼的构造错综复杂,功能惊人,可以随时辨别太阳的位置,确定运动方向。蜜蜂依靠它们的复眼准确而精确地找到蜂蜜并返回蜂箱。根据蜜蜂复眼的结构特点和工作原理,人们创造了一种名为“偏振天文罗盘”的导航工具。有了这个指南针,无论黎明时太阳还没有升起,还是黄昏时天空阴沉沉的,船只都不会迷失方向。
The problem obviously does not lie with the eyes. Because the bottom of the bottle faces the window, the bees keep looking for an exit in the bright spot but keep hitting the glass, unable to understand the concept of the glass and persistently refusing to go to the bottle mouth—the dark exit. Yes, how could darkness and exit be related? But the flies do not care about light and dark, they fly around in disorder, and the bottle is so small that there are plenty of opportunities to come across the bottle mouth, so a group of simple-minded and seemingly aimless flies thus gain their freedom.
问题显然不在于眼睛。因为瓶子的底部朝向窗户,蜜蜂一直在明亮的地方寻找出口,但不断撞到玻璃上,无法理解玻璃的概念,并坚持不肯去瓶口——黑暗的出口。是的,黑暗和出口有什么关系呢?但苍蝇不在乎明暗,它们乱飞来飞去,瓶子太小了,碰到瓶口的机会很多,于是一群头脑简单、看似漫无目的的苍蝇就这样获得了自由。
Karl Weick’s conclusion is as follows: “This incident shows that experiments, perseverance, trial and error, taking risks, improvisation, the best approach, detours, chaos, rigid thinking, and random adaptability all help in dealing with change.”
卡尔·韦克(Karl Weick)的结论如下:“这一事件表明,实验、毅力、试错、冒险、即兴创作、最佳方法、弯路、混乱、僵化思维和随机适应性都有助于应对变化。
However, other than that, what I see more is something else. In this situation, the bees appear to be too single-minded, which is why they lose out. Relative to the bees, the flies are neither smarter nor dumber, perhaps the flies also have a single-minded focus, but the current situation is more favorable for the flies’ behavioral pattern.
然而,除此之外,我看到的更多是别的东西。在这种情况下,蜜蜂似乎过于专一,这就是它们失败的原因。相对于蜜蜂,苍蝇既不聪明也不笨,也许苍蝇也有一心一意的专注,但目前的情况更有利于苍蝇的行为模式。
Let’s imagine this: Instead of using a transparent bottle with the bottom facing the window, let’s make a dark box with only a small hole letting in a dim light. What would happen if we put the flies and bees inside? Surely the bees would be the first to fly out along the light’s direction, and what about the flies flying aimlessly and chaotically? There will probably be some that tire themselves to death inside, because the probability of hitting that small hole while flying around chaotically is actually not high, even very low… The larger the box, the lower the probability of a fly being able to fly out. So, my conclusion is this: no matter who, if they are single-minded, they will eventually meet with misfortune.
让我们想象一下:与其使用底部朝向窗户的透明瓶子,不如制作一个只有一个小孔的黑盒子,让昏暗的光线进入。如果我们把苍蝇和蜜蜂放进去会发生什么?当然,蜜蜂会是第一个沿着光的方向飞出去的,而苍蝇漫无目的地、混乱地飞翔呢?里面大概会有一些人累死的,因为在乱飞的时候撞到那个小洞的概率其实并不高,甚至很低……盒子越大,苍蝇飞出去的概率就越低。所以,我的结论是:不管是谁,如果一心一意,最终都会遭遇不幸。
This is what independence of thought means. Actually, this experiment has been widely circulated, yet you seldom see my point of view. It’s difficult to think independently, because the majority of people simply believe whatever is told to them, they don’t even think, let alone think independently; to put it simply, think about things for a bit longer. Once you begin to think, you might arrive at a different conclusion; after gaining many insights, when encountering important matters, you usually don’t want to think—knowing that not thinking more will lead to loss.
这就是思想独立的意义所在。其实,这个实验已经广为流传,但你很少看到我的观点。独立思考是很困难的,因为大多数人只是相信告诉他们的任何事情,他们甚至不思考,更不用说独立思考了;简单地说,把事情想得更久一点。一旦你开始思考,你可能会得出不同的结论;在获得很多感悟之后,遇到重要的事情时,你通常不想去想——知道不多想会导致损失。
For many years, I have constantly “crossed boundaries”: I didn’t learn accounting at university, so after graduating, I could only start with what anyone could do – sales… Then from sales to teaching, from an English teacher to an author of time management books, from the field of overseas study training to internet entrepreneurship, from e-commerce channeling to Bitcoin, from Bitcoin to early stage investment in internet entrepreneurship projects, and now circling back to online education…
多年来,我一直在“越界”:大学里没有学会计,所以毕业后,我只能从任何人都能做的事情开始——销售……然后从销售到教学,从英语老师到时间管理书籍的作者,从海外留学培训领域到互联网创业,从电子商务渠道到比特币,从比特币到互联网创业项目的早期投资,再到现在的在线教育……
Want to know my secret? It’s simple, I am not a “single-minded person”. Was I one in the past? When I first started, I might have been even more single-minded, or perhaps not even single-minded at all? But after contemplating the predicament of single-mindedness, how could I still be a single-minded person? Knowledge acquisition is irreversible.
想知道我的秘密吗?很简单,我不是一个“一心一意的人”。我过去是其中之一吗?刚开始的时候,我可能更专一,甚至根本不一心一意?可是经过一心一意的窘境,我怎么可能还是一个一心一意的人呢?知识的获取是不可逆的。
When I first break into a new field, I adjust myself to the “fly mode”. I know that I have not yet established the “correct sensitivity” – if “light” could guide “direction” in this new world, then I know that I’ve just rushed in, and don’t even know what “light” is, and don’t know where “light” is… I also don’t know who is with me, flying around here; who is a fly, who is a bee, in fact, they all look quite similar… So, before I find the “trick”, I’m just a fly, and actually being disruptive and chaotic is the best choice, the best strategy.
当我第一次闯入一个新领域时,我会将自己调整为“飞行模式”。我知道我还没有建立起“正确的敏感度”——如果“光”可以引导这个新世界的“方向”,那么我知道我只是匆匆忙忙,甚至不知道“光”是什么,也不知道“光”在哪里……我也不知道谁和我在一起,在这里飞来飞去;谁是苍蝇,谁是蜜蜂,其实它们看起来都挺相似的……所以,在我找到“诀窍”之前,我只是一只苍蝇,实际上破坏和混乱是最好的选择,最好的策略。
“In education, you quickly realize that setting an example is very important. In providing consulting for studying abroad, you quickly realize that the parents are the customers. In e-commerce traffic guidance, you quickly realize that reverse screening of customers is very important. In Bitcoin, you quickly realize that buying and holding is the most important. In early-stage investment in Internet entrepreneurship projects, you quickly realize that conducting research is most important…
“在教育中,你很快就会意识到树立榜样非常重要。在为出国留学提供咨询时,您很快就会意识到父母就是客户。在电商流量引导中,您很快意识到对客户的反向筛选非常重要。在比特币中,您很快就会意识到购买和持有是最重要的。在互联网创业项目的早期投资中,你很快就会意识到进行研究是最重要的……
Now that I have returned to online education, what do I find most important? I won’t tell you. I will talk about it after I have completed and done it well. Otherwise, it is pointless to say it.
现在我已经回到了在线教育,我发现最重要的是什么?我不会告诉你的。等我完成并做好了再谈。否则,说出来是没有意义的。
What to do after finding the right way? I will immediately switch to another mode, the “bee mode.” Since I already have the right sensitivity, I should constantly refine that sensitivity, let that sensitivity be used for oneself, and let myself fly further and higher. This does not exclude another possibility because I have already “flown out”; it won’t be long before I may be in a new field again…
找到正确的方法后该怎么办?我将立即切换到另一种模式,即“蜜蜂模式”。既然我已经有了正确的敏感度,我就应该不断完善这种敏感度,让这种敏感度为自己所用,让自己飞得越飞越高。这并不排除另一种可能性,因为我已经“飞出去”了;用不了多久,我可能会再次进入一个新的领域……
So, when I bump into something and feel dizzy, a mechanism is triggered, and I will remind myself, asking, ‘What is this place? What’s wrong? Could this be a completely different field?’ If the answer is affirmative, I will switch to the “fly mode”…
所以,当我撞到什么东西并感到头晕时,会触发一个机制,我会提醒自己,问:“这是什么地方?怎么了?这会是一个完全不同的领域吗?如果答案是肯定的,我会切换到“飞行模式”……
After such polishing, my operating system must have been upgraded—at least, I have a two-mode operating system, don’t I? How can a multitasking, multi-mode operating system be compared to a single-minded operating system? (Reference: the 7th suggestion in ‘The Definition of Surprise and the Methodology of Creating Surprise’ – ‘Do everything at the same time and make progress together’; you must turn yourself into a multitasking operating system…)”
经过这样的打磨,我的操作系统一定已经升级了——至少,我有一个双模式操作系统,不是吗?如何将多任务、多模式的操作系统与一心一意的操作系统进行比较?(参考:《惊喜的定义与创造惊喜的方法》中的第7条建议——“同时做所有事情,一起进步”;你必须把自己变成一个多任务操作系统……)”