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. “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。” But that's not the only way to learn, and brain science is increasingly suggesting alternatives。

又到了開(kāi)學(xué)季，全國(guó)各地的學(xué)生們很多時(shí)間都花費(fèi)在教室和圖書(shū)館里。當(dāng)他們打開(kāi)教科書(shū)時(shí)，就又將聽(tīng)到一套關(guān)于如何學(xué)習(xí)的不能再熟悉的理論。“要坐得住，環(huán)境要清幽，不能分心，專注于你的書(shū)本，把電子設(shè)備拿開(kāi)，每天在同樣的地方學(xué)習(xí)，有規(guī)律地學(xué)習(xí)。”但是這并不是學(xué)習(xí)的唯一之路，而且我們的大腦總是會(huì)給出與之相左的建議。

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 He says that many of the old adages about studying and focus are outdated.Take the idea of studying in the same place every day.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 says, "Changing context, changing environment aids retention."

為紐約時(shí)報(bào)藥物與科學(xué)采訪撰稿的本尼迪克特· 凱里是《如何學(xué)習(xí)》的作者。她說(shuō)，很多關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)和專注的理論都已經(jīng)過(guò)時(shí)了。就拿每天要在同樣的地方學(xué)習(xí)這一條來(lái)說(shuō)，“輔助記憶的話，沒(méi)必要非得坐同一張椅子，同一個(gè)隔間，同一個(gè)房間。”凱里這樣說(shuō)，“換個(gè)環(huán)境反倒會(huì)有助于記憶。”

Interview Highlights

采訪要點(diǎn)

On discipline and learning

關(guān)于自律和學(xué)習(xí)

A lot of people think learning is all discipline. And it turns out scientists have discovered, that it doesn't work that way. The brain is a foraging instrument. 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。

很多人認(rèn)為學(xué)習(xí)需要自律。但是科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)事實(shí)并非如此。大腦是一個(gè)采集工具。如果你意識(shí)到這點(diǎn)，就能放松許多而不是總?cè)��?dān)心是否做對(duì)了某件事，或者是否采取了正確的學(xué)習(xí)策略。

On how we typically study vs. how we learn life skills

關(guān)于我們?nèi)绾螌W(xué)習(xí)以及如何習(xí)得生活技能

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。

我們習(xí)慣于安靜地學(xué)習(xí)，我們假設(shè)這種方法是正確的，是不言而明的，但它們只是學(xué)習(xí)的方法之一。在我們學(xué)習(xí)烹飪、騎自行車(chē)或者社交時(shí)，都是一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)學(xué)會(huì)的。大腦非常擅長(zhǎng)在日常生活中學(xué)到新東西。

On the value of distractions — including digital ones

關(guān)于分散注意力的價(jià)值——包括電子設(shè)備

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。

大家都在擔(dān)心自己會(huì)注意力不集中，尤其是家長(zhǎng)[微博]們，或者拿著Iphone總是刷Facebook的人們。而且如果你總是刷Facebook的話，你也不會(huì)是在學(xué)習(xí)了，這的確是個(gè)問(wèn)題。

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。

然而，有很多解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題的辦法。在學(xué)習(xí)中，如果你遇到了瓶頸而無(wú)計(jì)可施時(shí)，適當(dāng)?shù)胤中臒o(wú)疑是很好的選擇。站起來(lái)先不去想它，走一走，喝杯咖啡，來(lái)瓶啤酒都可以。這會(huì)讓你適當(dāng)放松并且能對(duì)遇到的問(wèn)題有不同的、更有創(chuàng)意的想法。

On testing as a study tool, not just an evaluation

關(guān)于將考試作為學(xué)習(xí)方法，而不是考核標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

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。

現(xiàn)在很多有意思的調(diào)查都將考試視作一種學(xué)習(xí)方法。自我檢測(cè)，或者在課程開(kāi)始之前就考一次試，這些都是很有趣的，并且可能成為某種改革學(xué)習(xí)的方式。