ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tom Wujec - Designer
Tom Wujec studies how we share and absorb information. He's an innovative practitioner of business visualization -- using design and technology to help groups solve problems and understand ideas. He is a Fellow at Autodesk.

Why you should listen

Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the makers of design software for engineers, filmmakers, designers. At Autodesk, he has worked on software including SketchBook Pro, PortfolioWall and Maya (which won an Academy Award for its contribution to the film industry). As a Fellow, he helps companies work in the emerging field of business visualization, the art of using images, sketches and infographics to help teams solve complex problems as a group.

He's the author of several books, including Five-Star Mind: Games and Puzzles to Stimulate Your Creativity and Imagination.

More profile about the speaker
Tom Wujec | Speaker | TED.com
TED2010

Tom Wujec: Build a tower, build a team

Tom Wujec: 搭一个塔,建一个团队

Filmed:
6,113,394 views

在这段演讲中, Tom Wujec 出人意料地对“棉花糖问题”做了深入的研究。 这个简单的团队建设练习要求参与者用干意大利面条,一码胶带和一块棉花糖等材料来建一个他们能搭建的最高的塔。而为什么有一个团队总是可以出乎意外地取胜呢?
- Designer
Tom Wujec studies how we share and absorb information. He's an innovative practitioner of business visualization -- using design and technology to help groups solve problems and understand ideas. He is a Fellow at Autodesk. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
Several一些 years年份 ago here at TEDTED, Peter彼得 Skillman斯基尔曼
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几年前,在TED大会上, Peter Skillman
00:18
introduced介绍 a design设计 challenge挑战
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介绍了一个设计挑战
00:20
called the marshmallow棉花糖 challenge挑战.
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叫做“棉花糖挑战”
00:22
And the idea's思想的 pretty漂亮 simple简单:
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是个非常简单的主意
00:24
Teams小组 of four have to build建立 the tallest最高 free-standing自由站立 structure结构体
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要求一组四人的团队搭建一个独立的最高建筑
00:26
out of 20 sticks of spaghetti意大利面,
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材料是20根意大利面条
00:28
one yard of tape胶带, one yard of string
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一段胶带,一段绳子
00:30
and a marshmallow棉花糖.
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一块棉花糖
00:32
The marshmallow棉花糖 has to be on top最佳.
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棉花糖必须放在最上面
00:34
And, though虽然 it seems似乎 really simple简单, it's actually其实 pretty漂亮 hard
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这虽然看似简单,其实并不容易
00:37
because it forces军队 people
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因为它要求人们
00:39
to collaborate合作 very quickly很快.
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迅速地合作
00:41
And so, I thought this was an interesting有趣 idea理念,
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我觉得这是个有趣的主意
00:43
and I incorporated合并 it into a design设计 workshop作坊.
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我把它放到了设计专题讨论会上
00:46
And it was a huge巨大 success成功.
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结果非常成功
00:48
And since以来 then, I've conducted进行
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从那以后, 我在全球
00:50
about 70 design设计 workshops研讨会 across横过 the world世界
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70多个设计专题讨论活动中
00:52
with students学生们 and designers设计师 and architects建筑师,
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让学生们和设计者,建筑师
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even the CTOs首席技术官 of the Fortune幸运 50,
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甚至财富50强的首席技术官
00:57
and there's something about this exercise行使
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这个练习在很多方面给了我们
00:59
that reveals揭示 very deep lessons教训
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深刻的启迪
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about the nature性质 of collaboration合作,
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教会我们合作的特性
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and I'd like to share分享 some of them with you.
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在这里我跟你们分享一些
01:05
So, normally一般, most people begin开始
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通常, 人们总是从
01:08
by orienting定向 themselves他们自己 to the task任务.
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讨论开始着手完成这个任务
01:11
They talk about it, they figure数字 out what it's going to look like,
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他们讨论一阵, 勾勒出结果会是什么样子
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they jockey骑师 for power功率.
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他们互相争论一番对错
01:16
Then they spend some time planning规划, organizing组织,
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然后花费点时间计划,组织
01:18
they sketch草图 and they lay铺设 out spaghetti意大利面.
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他们画一下图纸然后拿出意大利面条
01:21
They spend the majority多数 of their time
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他们用了大量的时间
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assembling组装 the sticks into ever-growing不断增长 structures结构.
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把意大利面条组装得越来越高
01:26
And then finally最后, just as they're running赛跑 out of time,
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然后最后,时间快要用完了
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someone有人 takes out the marshmallow棉花糖,
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他们拿出棉花糖
01:31
and then they gingerly小心翼翼 put it on top最佳,
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小心翼翼地将棉花糖放到最上面
01:34
and then they stand back, and -- ta-da当当! --
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然后他们后退一步,哈哈
01:37
they admire欣赏 their work.
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他们欣赏着他们的成果
01:39
But what really happens发生, most of the time,
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但是绝大多数时候,真正发生的是
01:41
is that the "ta-da当当" turns into an "uh-oh嗯,哦,"
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“哈哈” 变成了“糟了”
01:44
because the weight重量 of the marshmallow棉花糖 causes原因 the entire整个 structure结构体
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因为棉花糖的重量把整个结构
01:46
to buckle and to collapse坍方.
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给压散架了
01:48
So there are a number of people
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有那么一些人
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who have a lot more "uh-oh嗯,哦" moments瞬间 than others其他,
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他们的“糟了”时刻比其他人多
01:53
and among其中 the worst最差 are recent最近 graduates毕业生 of business商业 school学校.
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其中最糟的是新毕业的商学院学生
01:56
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
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They lie谎言, they cheat作弊, they get distracted分心
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他们说谎,他们欺骗,很容易受干扰
02:02
and they produce生产 really lame structures结构.
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他们的建筑构造非常蹩脚
02:04
And of course课程 there are teams球队
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当然也有一些团队
02:06
that have a lot more "ta-da当当" structures结构,
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他们创造了更多的“哈哈”时刻
02:08
and among其中 the best最好 are recent最近 graduates毕业生 of kindergarten幼儿园.
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其中最好的,就是新毕业的幼儿园小朋友
02:11
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:13
And it's pretty漂亮 amazing惊人.
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这个真是很神奇
02:15
As Peter彼得 tells告诉 us,
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正如PETER告诉我们的
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not only do they produce生产 the tallest最高 structures结构,
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他们不但造出了最高的建筑
02:19
but they're the most interesting有趣 structures结构 of them all.
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而且他们搭建的结构也是最有趣的
02:22
So the question you want to ask is:
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所以你会问
02:24
How come? Why? What is it about them?
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这是怎么回事?他们到底有什么特点?
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And Peter彼得 likes喜欢 to say that
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Peter喜欢这样说:
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none没有 of the kids孩子 spend any time
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“因为没有任何孩子企图做
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trying to be CEOCEO of Spaghetti意大利面, Inc公司. Right?
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意大利面条公司的总裁。” 是的
02:33
They don't spend time jockeying争夺 for power功率.
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他们没在争夺权力上花任何时间
02:35
But there's another另一个 reason原因 as well.
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但是其中还有另一个原因
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And the reason原因 is that business商业 students学生们 are trained熟练
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因为商学院的学生受过的专业训练是
02:39
to find the single right plan计划, right?
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去寻找一个正确的计划
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And then they execute执行 on it.
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然后他们按照计划执行
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And then what happens发生 is, when they put the marshmallow棉花糖 on the top最佳,
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然而事实是, 当他们把棉花糖放到顶部时
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they run out of time and what happens发生?
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他们用完了有限的时间,然后呢
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It's a crisis危机.
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危机就降临了
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Sound声音 familiar? Right.
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听着很熟悉吧?是的。
02:53
What kindergarteners幼儿园 do differently不同
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幼儿园的孩子的做法不一样
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is that they start开始 with the marshmallow棉花糖,
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他们从棉花糖开始
02:57
and they build建立 prototypes原型, successive连续 prototypes原型,
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他们先建一个样板模型, 然后不断在模型上加建,
03:00
always keeping保持 the marshmallow棉花糖 on top最佳,
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其间总是让棉花糖保持在最上面(不倒下来)
03:02
so they have multiple times to fix固定 when they build建立 prototypes原型 along沿 the way.
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所以他们一直有很多机会去不断修正样板模型
03:05
Designers设计师 recognize认识 this type类型 of collaboration合作
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于是设计者认识到这种合作是
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as the essence本质 of the iterative迭代 process处理.
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这个互动过程中的重要因素
03:11
And with each version, kids孩子 get instant瞬间 feedback反馈
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对每个版本,孩子都会迅速地得到反馈
03:13
about what works作品 and what doesn't work.
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他们知道什么行,什么不行
03:16
So the capacity容量 to play in prototype原型 is really essential必要,
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所以把握雏形的能力是真正的关键
03:19
but let's look at how different不同 teams球队 perform演出.
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让我们来看看不同的队伍是怎样表现的
03:22
So the average平均 for most people is around 20 inches英寸;
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大多数人建的塔的平均高度是20英尺
03:25
business商业 schools学校 students学生们, about half of that;
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商学院学生, 大概是一半
03:27
lawyers律师, a little better, but not much better than that,
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律师好一些, 但也好不到哪里去
03:30
kindergarteners幼儿园, better than most adults成年人.
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幼儿园的孩子,比大多数的成年人要好
03:32
Who does the very best最好?
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谁做得最好呢?
03:34
Architects建筑师 and engineers工程师, thankfully感激地.
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建筑师和工程师,谢天谢地。
03:37
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:42
Thirty-nine三十九 inches英寸 is the tallest最高 structure结构体 I've seen看到.
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我见过的最高的塔是39英寸
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And why is it? Because they understand理解 triangles三角形
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为什么呢?因为他们懂得三角形
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and self-reinforcing自我强化 geometrical几何 patterns模式
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和自我巩固的几何模式
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are the key to building建造
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是建筑
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stable稳定 structures结构.
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稳定结构的关键
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So CEOs老总, a little bit better than average平均,
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总裁们比平均水平稍好一些
03:57
but here's这里的 where it gets得到 interesting有趣.
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但是有趣的是
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If you put you put an executive行政人员 admin管理. on the team球队,
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如果你在他们的小组里加一个行政助理
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they get significantly显著 better.
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他们的成绩马上变得好很多
04:03
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:06
It's incredible难以置信. You know, you look around, you go, "Oh, that team's球队的 going to win赢得."
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这真是令人难以置信, 你四处看看, 你说:“那个小组会赢。”
04:08
You can just tell beforehand预先. And why is that?
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你很早就知道, 为什么呢?
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Because they have special特别 skills技能
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因为他们有特殊的
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of facilitation便利.
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简化技巧
04:14
They manage管理 the process处理, they understand理解 the process处理.
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他们管理流程, 他们懂得流程
04:16
And any team球队 who manages管理
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总之,任何一个小组积极管理并
04:18
and pays支付 close attention注意 to work
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专注于工作本身的话
04:21
will significantly显著 improve提高 the team's球队的 performance性能.
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小组的表现就有显著的提高
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Specialized专门 skills技能 and facilitation便利 skills技能
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特殊技能以及善于使用简便的手法
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are the combination组合 that leads引线 to strong强大 success成功.
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两者的结合带来了成功
04:30
If you have 10 teams球队 that typically一般 perform演出,
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如果你有10个队参加这个活动
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you'll你会 get maybe six or so that have standing常设 structures结构.
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其中大概有6个队可以搭建可以直立的结构
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And I tried试着 something interesting有趣.
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我做了一个有趣的尝试
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I thought, let's up the ante赌注, once一旦.
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我想, 我们不妨来赌一次
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So I offered提供 a 10,000 dollar美元 prize of software软件 to the winning胜利 team球队.
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所以我就提供了价值10万美元的软件给得胜的小组
04:42
So what do you think happened发生 to these design设计 students学生们?
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你猜猜那些学设计的学生们会有什么样的反应?
04:45
What was the result结果?
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结果如何?
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Here's这里的 what happened发生:
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这就是结果
04:50
Not one team球队 had a standing常设 structure结构体.
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没有一个小组完成了一个站立的建筑
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If anyone任何人 had built内置, say, a one inch英寸 structure结构体,
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哪怕任何一个小组完成一个一英寸的建筑
04:57
they would have taken采取 home the prize.
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他们就可以把奖杯捧回去
04:59
So, isn't that interesting有趣? That high stakes赌注
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所以,很有意思的是
05:01
have a strong强大 impact碰撞.
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高额奖金会有很大的影响。
05:03
We did the exercise行使 again with the same相同 students学生们.
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之后我们在同样的学生中又重复了这个活动
05:05
What do you think happened发生 then?
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你猜猜结果怎样?
05:07
So now they understand理解 the value of prototyping原型.
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这回他们知道了做样版模型的价值
05:13
So the same相同 team球队 went from being存在 the very worst最差
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所以最差的那个小组
05:15
to being存在 among其中 the very best最好.
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成为了最好的小组
05:17
They produced生成 the tallest最高 structures结构 in the least最小 amount of time.
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他们用最少的时间完成了最高的建筑
05:20
So there's deep lessons教训 for us
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这些对我们都有很深的教育意义
05:22
about the nature性质 of incentives奖励 and success成功.
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揭示了奖励和成功的本质
05:25
So, you might威力 ask: Why would anyone任何人
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所以,你也许会问:怎么会有人
05:27
actually其实 spend time writing写作 a marshmallow棉花糖 challenge挑战?
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花时间写这么一个棉花糖的挑战
05:30
And the reason原因 is, I help create创建
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原因是我可以用
05:32
digital数字 tools工具 and processes流程
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电子工具和流程
05:34
to help teams球队 build建立 cars汽车 and video视频 games游戏
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来帮助人们造汽车,电子游戏
05:36
and visual视觉 effects效果.
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和模拟视觉效果
05:38
And what the marshmallow棉花糖 challenge挑战 does
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而棉花糖的挑战教会我们
05:40
is it helps帮助 them identify鉴定 the hidden assumptions假设.
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识别隐藏着的一些假设
05:43
Because, frankly坦率地说,
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因为, 坦白说
05:45
every一切 project项目 has its own拥有 marshmallow棉花糖, doesn't it?
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每个项目都有它们自己的棉花糖
05:48
The challenge挑战 provides提供 a shared共享 experience经验,
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这个挑战提供了可以分享的经验
05:50
a common共同 language语言,
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一种共同的语言
05:52
a common共同 stance姿态 to build建立 the right prototype原型.
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处理问题的通用方法
05:54
And so, this is the value of the experience经验,
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就是这个简单的练习
05:56
of this so simple简单 exercise行使.
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可以给我们提供的有价值的经验
05:58
And those of you who are interested有兴趣
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你们如果有兴趣
06:00
may可能 want to go to MarshmallowChallengeMarshmallowChallenge.comCOM.
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可以去marshmallowchallenge.com网站
06:02
It's a blog博客 that you can look at
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这是一个你可以阅读的博客
06:04
how to build建立 the marshmallows棉花糖.
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告诉你怎样搭建棉花糖建筑
06:06
There's step-by-step一步步 instructions说明 on this.
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那里有具体的步骤说明
06:08
There are crazy examples例子 from around the world世界
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还有来自世界各地的稀奇古怪的例子
06:11
of how people tweak and adjust调整 the system系统.
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人们怎样调整系统
06:13
There's world世界 records记录 that are on this as well.
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那里有世界记录
06:15
And the fundamental基本的 lesson, I believe,
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而我相信, 最根本的教意是:
06:17
is that design设计 truly is
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设计其实是
06:19
a contact联系 sport运动.
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一种交流运动
06:21
It demands需要 that we bring带来 all of our senses感官 to the task任务,
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它要求我们把我们所有的神志都放到任务中
06:24
and that we apply应用 the very best最好 of our thinking思维,
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要求我们运用最佳的思维状态
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our feeling感觉 and our doing
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我们的感知我们的行动
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to the challenge挑战 that we have at hand.
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来迎接我们面对的挑战
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And sometimes有时, a little prototype原型 of this experience经验
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而有的时候, 一个小小的样板模型的经验
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is all that it takes to turn us
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会帮助我们
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from an "uh-oh嗯,哦" moment时刻 to a "ta-da当当" moment时刻.
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将“糟了” 的那一刻变成了“”哈哈”的一刻
06:38
And that can make a big difference区别.
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那造成的结果是大不同的
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Thank you very much.
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谢谢你们
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(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Jenny Yang
Reviewed by Daisy Yang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tom Wujec - Designer
Tom Wujec studies how we share and absorb information. He's an innovative practitioner of business visualization -- using design and technology to help groups solve problems and understand ideas. He is a Fellow at Autodesk.

Why you should listen

Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the makers of design software for engineers, filmmakers, designers. At Autodesk, he has worked on software including SketchBook Pro, PortfolioWall and Maya (which won an Academy Award for its contribution to the film industry). As a Fellow, he helps companies work in the emerging field of business visualization, the art of using images, sketches and infographics to help teams solve complex problems as a group.

He's the author of several books, including Five-Star Mind: Games and Puzzles to Stimulate Your Creativity and Imagination.

More profile about the speaker
Tom Wujec | Speaker | TED.com