TED演讲:经验与记忆之谜(11)

 　　We know something about what controls satisfaction of the happiness self. 我们知道什么能够让人的快乐得到满足。

　　We know that money is very important, goals are very important. 我们知道钱是很重要的，目标也非常重要。

　　We know that happiness is mainly being satisfied with people that we like, 我们知道要快乐是需要通过我们所喜爱的人来满足，

　　spending time with people that we like.  是需要花时间和他们待在一起来满足。

　　There are other pleasures, but this is dominant¹.  虽然还有其它因素，但这是主要因素。

　　So if you want to maximize the happiness of the two selves,  所以假若你想让两个自我都快乐，

　　you are going to end up doing very different things. 你必须抛弃旧习且要做些与众不同的事。

　　The bottom line of what I've said here  我说的是，我们至少

　　is that we really should not think of happiness as a substitute² for well-being³. 不应把快乐当成活得好的代名词。

　　It is a completely different notion⁴.  这两者是天壤之别的。

　　Now, very quickly, another reason we cannot think straight about happiness 现在，很快地讨论下另一个我们不能理解快乐本质的原因，

　　is that we do not attend to the same things when we think about life, and we actually live. 那就是我们怎么看生活和我们怎么过生活是不一样的。

　　So, if you ask the simple question of how happy people are in California,  所以，当你问加州的人有多快乐时，

　　you are not going to get to the correct answer.  你将无法得到正确答案。

　　When you ask that question, you think people must be happier in California if, say, you live in Ohio. 因为当你这样问时，你认为加州人一定过得比较快乐，而你则住在俄亥俄州。

　　And what happens is when you think about living in California, 当你在想住在加州有多快乐时，

　　you are thinking of the contrast between California and other places, and that contrast, say, is in climate. 你会想到加州和其他州域之间的差异性，譬如气候。

　　Well, it turns out that climate is not very important to the experiencing self 事实证明气候条件对于经验自我并非很重要

　　and it's not even very important to the reflective self that decides how happy people are. 而且对于思考自我衡量自己有多快乐也不太重要。

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 substitute   

n.代理，代理人，代用品，代替物；vt.代替；vi.替代，取代

参考例句：

• Can you substitute for the singer who is ill?你能替一下那位得了病的歌手吗？
• Yogurt is a perfectly acceptable substitute for cream in cooking.酸奶是烹饪用的特别受欢迎的奶油替代品。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 notion   

n.概念，意念，看法

参考例句：

• One common Chinese notion is that the elders ought to be respected.中国人共有的一种观念是长者应受到尊敬。
• He had a sudden notion to visit all his relatives.他心血来潮，突然想去拜访他所有的亲戚。