无聊与想象力

Hannah+Richardson+杨淑媛

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

孩子们需要时间驻足凝视。为了让他们能够发展他们的创新能力，应当准许他们感到无聊。

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.

孩子们的父母希望他们一直看课本。然而，研究表明，这可能会妨碍他们想象力的发展，而无聊则可以给他们机会来发展创造力。

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.

无聊常和孤独联系在一起，但作家梅拉·沙尔说无聊成功帮助她开发了她的头脑。她向研究人員讲述了她的童年。由于几乎没有什么事情可以做，沙尔会经常和她的邻居们聊天。她也会尝试去做一些事情，比如学习烤蛋糕。沙尔说：“但重要的是，由于无聊，我大量地思考与写作。”她坚持写日记，通过创作一些短篇小说和诗歌来打发时间。

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.

艺术家格雷森·佩里是在一个贫困家庭长大的。他通过写故事，为自己的故事画插图，在图书馆里读书来自娱自乐。

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.

虽说无聊，但是清闲。他可以花几个小时观察窗外的景色，看着不断变化的云彩和季节的更替。佩里在他的闲暇时光做自己喜欢做的事情。他变得有创造性，因为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.”

贝尔顿博士是研究“情绪对学习的影响”的专家。她说：“无聊可能是一种不舒服的感觉，但有些年轻人无法创造性地应对这种无聊。所以有时他们可能会打破教室的一扇窗户，或开车出去来场疯狂的比赛。”

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.

通常情况下，当孩子们无所事事的时候，他们会打开电视、电脑或手机。他们花在这些事情上的时间增加了，但是他们需要时间来思考一下他们在玩耍或者观察周围的世界时的体验。

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.”

正是这种思考才能够激发他们的想象力。另一方面，电视或电话可能会缩短这种思考的过程。这对创造力的发展是有害的。贝尔顿博士建议说：“为了培养创新的能力，我们也许需要有时间去驻足观察，偶尔关掉电视、电脑或手机。”