英文来源| NPR 翻译| 王大发财@煎蛋网
Studying? Take A Break And Embrace Your Distractions
想要学习好，先学会正确开小差和休息
School is starting, and students across the country are about to spend a lot of time in the classroom and in the library. And as they crack their textbooks open, they're going to hear a lot of familiar advice about how to study right.
马上又要开学了，全国的学生们又要投入学习之中，学生们会将大量的时间会花在课堂和图书馆里，只要他们打开教科书，各种熟悉的正确学习建议就会出现在眼前。
Sit still, in a quiet place. Avoid distractions. Keep your focus on the book. Put away your devices. Study in the same place every day. Practice discipline and make studying into a routine.
其中一条是学习应该在安静的地方进行，坐姿端正，避免分心，将注意力全部集中于书本。学习的时候远离任何设备，每天都要在同一个地方学习。学习的时候要守规矩，每天的学习过程都要按照相同的套路进行。
But that's not the only way to learn, and brain science is increasingly suggesting alternatives.
但是，学习的方法不止一种，而且越来越多对人类大脑进行的研究表明我们应该经常更换学习方式。
Benedict Carey, who covers medicine and science for the The New York Times, is the author of How We Learn. He says that many of the old adages about studying and focus are outdated.
《我们如何学习》的作者Benedict Carey平时也为《纽约时报》撰写一些医学和科学方面的文章，他说那些关于学习和专心的老旧格言，很多都过时了。
Take the idea of studying in the same place every day. "You don't have to have the same chair, the same cubicle, the same room, to do your memorization," Carey tells Tess Vigeland, guest host on weekends on All Things Considered. In fact, he says, "Changing context, changing environment aids retention."
就拿每天在同一个地方学习来说。“你不需要每天都坐同一把椅子，待在同一间小房间才能记住东西，”Carey对All Things Considered栏目的周末嘉宾主持Tess Vigeland说，“换个布置，换个环境能够帮助你记住东西。”
Carey tells Vigeland that science suggests distractions aren't the enemy, and discipline isn't the key component of effective learning.
Carey说科学观点认为分心并不是什么坏事，纪律也不是保持学习高效的关键因素。
On discipline and learning
关于纪律和学习
A lot of people think learning is all discipline. I know I believed it. And it turns out scientists have discovered, through a whole lot of different ways, that it doesn't work that way. The brain is a foraging instrument. You know, it's a scavenger, just like humans were for so much of their existence. And once you appreciate that, you're able to take some pressure off yourself to not worry that you're doing things right all the time and to have a tactical plan when you study for something.
很多人认为学习的全部就是要守规矩，我知道我自己也信这套。但是科学家通过使用大量不同方法发现事实并非如此。人类大脑是一台觅食工具，其实就是一个清道夫。认识到这点，就能放下压力，不用时时刻刻都做与学习有关的事情，你应该劳逸结合才能学进去。
On how we typically study vs. how we learn life skills
传统学习方式VS生活技能学习方式
We know that quiet study, ritual, all those things we assume to be true, assume to be self-evident, those are only one way to study. A lot of things we've learned, whether it's to cook or ride a bicycle or socialize, we've done those piecemeal. The brain is very good at learning on the fly during daily life.
我们以往所了解的那种安静、固定的学习方式虽然不证自明，但只是学习方式的其中一种。我们现在对学习已经有很多了解，在学做菜、学汽车和学交际的过程中，我们的大脑已经在逐渐学习，要知道每天日常生活中大脑都在飞快地学习。
On the value of distractions — including digital ones
分心的价值——包括玩数码产品
Distraction is one of those things everybody is worried about — certainly every parent, with the iPhones and people jumping on Facebook and so on. And of course if you're spending your entire time tooling around on Facebook, you're not studying, so that's a problem.
每个人都担心分心，尤其是孩子家长，只要身边有iPhone或者Facebook之类的东西，大家往往就忘了学习。当然如果你把所有时间都花在Facebook上，你就根本没有学习，所以这是个问题。
However, there's a whole bunch of science looking at problem-solving. In problem-solving, when you get stuck, you've run out of ideas, distraction is really your best friend. You need to stand up, let it go — walk around the block, go to the cafe, drink a beer, whatever it is — and that is really your best shot at loosening the gears a little bit and allowing yourself to take a different and more creative approach to the problem.
不过许多科学研究表明，如果你在解决难题卡住了，才思枯竭了，分心其实是最好的。这个时候你要站起来，把困难撇在脑后——在街区里到处逛逛，喝杯咖啡，来杯酒(成年才可以)，或干点其他事情——这样可以最大程度舒缓神经，再次面对难题时，你就有不同的思路和创造性的解法了。
On testing as a study tool, not just an evaluation
做个卷子帮助自己巩固，不只是评估一下自己的学习
There's a lot of interesting research now looking at using testing as a study tool … self-examination, or even doing tests before a course starts, are both very intriguing, interesting and possibly sort of revolutionary approaches to learning.
研究表明，许多人喜欢做个测验来帮助自己学习。有的人是为了自我检查，有的人甚至还没学到那里就开始做试题，其实两种方法都是很有趣，也许能给学习带来变革。
