ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Daniel Engber - Journalist
Daniel Engber explores science and culture as an award-winning journalist for Radiolab, the New York Times, Slate and Wired, among others.

Why you should listen

Daniel Engber's scientific method of distracting free-throw shooters in the NBA appeared in the New York Times Magazine's "Year in Ideas" and his viral website, Crying While Eating, earned spots on "The Tonight Show," VH1 and National Public Radio. He studied literature at Harvard College and neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco and has won several awards for his writing, including the National Academies of Science Communication Award in 2012.

More profile about the speaker
Daniel Engber | Speaker | TED.com
Small Thing Big Idea

Daniel Engber: How the progress bar keeps you sane

丹尼爾恩伯: 進度條如何讓你保持理智

Filmed:
605,473 views

進度條讓等候變得更讓人興奮…且它能減輕我們對死亡的恐懼。記者丹尼爾恩伯探究了它如何被發明出來。
- Journalist
Daniel Engber explores science and culture as an award-winning journalist for Radiolab, the New York Times, Slate and Wired, among others. Full bio

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

00:12
How many許多 people are bored無聊 at their desk
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有多少人在桌前感到無聊,
00:14
for how many許多 hours小時 every一切 day
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一天有幾個小時、
00:16
and how many許多 days a week
and how many許多 weeks a year
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一週有幾天、一年有幾週、
00:18
for how many許多 years年份 in their life?
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一生有幾年是感到無聊的?
00:20
[Small thing. Big idea理念.]
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〔小東西。大點子。〕
00:22
[Daniel丹尼爾 Engber恩貝 on
the Progress進展 Bar酒吧]
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〔丹尼爾恩伯談進度條〕
00:25
The progress進展 bar酒吧 is just
an indicator指示符 on a computer電腦
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進度條只是電腦上的一個指標,
00:27
that something's什麼是 happening事件
inside the device設備.
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表示在該裝置中有事情在發生。
00:31
The classic經典 one that's been used
for years年份 is a horizontal bar酒吧.
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多年來最經典的進度條
就是水平的橫條。
00:36
I mean, this goes back
to pre-computer預計算機 versions版本 of this
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這要追溯回在電腦出現之前的版本,
00:40
on ledgers分類帳, where people would fill in
a horizontal bar酒吧 from left to right
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在帳簿上,人們會由左至右
將水平橫條給塗滿,
00:44
to show顯示 how much of a task任務
they had completed完成 at a factory.
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來顯示在工廠中的一項
工作任務已經完成了多少。
00:47
This is just the same相同 thing on a screen屏幕.
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這和螢幕上的進度條是一樣的。
00:50
Something happened發生 in the 70s
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七○年代時,
00:52
that is sometimes有時 referred簡稱
to as "the software軟件 crisis危機,"
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所謂的「軟體危機」發生了,
00:54
where suddenly突然, computers電腦
were getting得到 more complicated複雜
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突然間,電腦變得更複雜,
00:57
more quickly很快 than anyone任何人
had been prepared準備 for,
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也更快速,從設計的觀點來說,
01:01
from a design設計 perspective透視.
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大家都沒準備好。
01:02
People were using運用 percent-done完成百分比
indicators指標 in different不同 ways方法.
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人們會用不同的方式
來使用完成百分比指標。
01:07
So you might威力 have a graphical圖形
countdown倒數 clock時鐘,
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可能會有圖像式的倒數時鐘,
01:09
or they would have a line of asterisks星號
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或是有一排星號
01:12
that would fill out
from left to right on a screen屏幕.
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從左向右漸漸填滿螢幕。
01:15
But no one had doneDONE
a systematic系統的 survey調查 of these things
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但沒有人對這些東西
做過系統性的調查
01:18
and tried試著 to figure數字 out:
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來試著了解:
01:19
How do they actually其實 affect影響
the user's用戶 experience經驗
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它們究意對電腦前的使用者
有什麼體驗上的影響?
01:23
of sitting坐在 at the computer電腦?
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01:24
This graduate畢業 student學生 named命名 Brad布拉德 Myers邁爾斯,
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這位研究生布萊德米爾斯
01:26
in 1985, decided決定 he would study研究 this.
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在 1985 年決定研究這個主題。
01:29
He found發現 that it didn't really matter
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他發現,完成度百分比指標
01:31
if the percent-done完成百分比 indicator指示符
was giving you the accurate準確 percent百分 doneDONE.
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是否有給予你正確的完成度百分比
其實不重要。
01:36
What mattered要緊 was
that it was there at all.
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重要的是,是否有這個指標。
01:39
Just seeing眼看 it there
made製作 people feel better,
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看到它在那裡,
就能讓人感覺比較好,
01:42
and that was the most surprising奇怪 thing.
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那是最讓人驚訝的發現。
01:44
He has all these ideas思路
about what this thing could do.
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他對這種指標用途有很多想法。
01:47
Maybe it could make people
relax放鬆 effectively有效.
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也許,它能很有效地讓人放鬆。
01:51
Maybe it would allow允許 people
to turn away from their machine
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也許,它能讓人離開他們的機器,
01:56
and do something else其他
of exactly究竟 the right duration持續時間.
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在這段等候時間內去做些其他的事。
01:59
They would look and say,
"Oh, the progress進展 bar酒吧 is half doneDONE.
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他們會看一眼並說:
「喔,進度條完成了一半。
02:02
That took five minutes分鐘.
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還要花五分鐘。
02:03
So now I have five minutes分鐘
to send發送 this fax傳真,"
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所以現在我還有
五分鐘可以去傳真。」
02:07
or whatever隨你 people were doing in 1985.
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或是去做其他
1985 年的人會做的事。
02:10
Both of those things are wrong錯誤.
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以上兩點都不對。
02:11
Like, when you see that progress進展 bar酒吧,
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當你看見進度條時,
02:13
it sort分類 of locks your attention注意
in a tractor拖拉機 beam光束,
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它會像牽引波束一樣
鎖住你的注意力,
02:16
and it turns the experience經驗 of waiting等候
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它會把等候的體驗轉變成
02:18
into this exciting扣人心弦 narrative敘述
that you're seeing眼看 unfold展開 in front面前 of you:
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你看到你面前有個
讓人興奮的故事正在展開:
02:24
that somehow不知何故, this time you've spent花費
waiting等候 in frustration挫折
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不知怎麼的,那些你很挫折地
花費在等候電腦做事的時間,
02:27
for the computer電腦 to do something,
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02:29
has been reconceptualizedreconceptualized as:
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被重新概念化,成為:
02:31
"Progress進展! Oh! Great stuff東東 is happening事件!"
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「有進度!喔!有大事在發生!」
02:33
[Progress進展...]
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〔進度…〕
02:36
But once一旦 you start開始 thinking思維
about the progress進展 bar酒吧
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但,一旦你把進度條想成是
02:39
as something that's more
about dulling消 光 the pain疼痛 of waiting等候,
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用來減輕等候痛苦的東西,
02:42
well, then you can start開始 fiddling擺弄
around with the psychology心理學.
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那麼你就可以開始玩些
心理學上的小把戲了。
02:46
So if you have a progress進展 bar酒吧
that just moves移動 at a constant不變 rate --
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如果你的進度條是等速的-
02:50
let's say, that's really
what's happening事件 in the computer電腦 --
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假設那真的是在電腦中發生的狀況-
02:53
that will feel to people
like it's slowing減緩 down.
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人的感受會是:它在變慢。
02:57
We get bored無聊.
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我們會感到無聊。
03:00
Well, now you can start開始
trying to enhance提高 it
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現在,你可以開始加快它,
03:02
and make it appear出現 to move移動
more quickly很快 than it really is,
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讓它顯得比實際上移動得更快,
03:04
make it move移動 faster更快 at the beginning開始,
like a burst爆裂 of speed速度.
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讓它在一開始移動得
比較快,像爆衝的速度。
03:08
That's exciting扣人心弦, people feel like,
"Oh! Something's出了點 really happening事件!"
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那讓人興奮,會覺得:
「喔!真的有什麼事在發生了!」
03:12
Then you can move移動 back into a more
naturalistic自然 growth發展 of the progress進展 bar酒吧
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接著在過程中再換回
速度自然增加的進度條,
03:16
as you go along沿.
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03:17
You're assuming假設 that people are focusing調焦
on the passage通道 of time --
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你假設人會把焦點放在
時間一分一秒過去-
03:20
they're trying to watch grass grow增長,
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他們試圖看著草在生長,
03:22
they're trying to watch a pot of water,
waiting等候 for it to boil,
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他們試圖看著一鍋水,等著水滾,
03:25
and you're just trying
to make that less boring無聊,
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而你只是試著讓那過程
在和以前相比時
03:27
less painful痛苦 and less frustrating洩氣
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能比較不無聊、比較不痛苦、
03:30
than it was before.
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比較不讓人挫折。
03:31
So the progress進展 bar酒吧 at least最小 gives you
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所以,進度條至少能給予你
03:34
the vision視力 of a beginning開始 and an end結束,
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開始與結束的視覺化呈現,
03:36
and you're working加工 towards a goal目標.
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表示你在朝一個目標前進。
03:38
I think in some ways方法,
it mitigates減輕 the fear恐懼 of death死亡.
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我想,在某些意義上,
它減輕了對死亡的恐懼。
03:44
Too much?
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這樣說太過頭了?
Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by Dawson Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Daniel Engber - Journalist
Daniel Engber explores science and culture as an award-winning journalist for Radiolab, the New York Times, Slate and Wired, among others.

Why you should listen

Daniel Engber's scientific method of distracting free-throw shooters in the NBA appeared in the New York Times Magazine's "Year in Ideas" and his viral website, Crying While Eating, earned spots on "The Tonight Show," VH1 and National Public Radio. He studied literature at Harvard College and neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco and has won several awards for his writing, including the National Academies of Science Communication Award in 2012.

More profile about the speaker
Daniel Engber | Speaker | TED.com