The Influence of Ideas
观念的影响
When one idea is expressed,closely related ideas are simultaneously conveyed,logically and inescapably.In logic,this kinship is expressed by the term sequitur,Latin for "it follows".(The converse is non sequitur,"it does not follow.")
当表达一个想法的时候，与之密切相关的想法会同时传达出来，这是合乎逻辑和无法避免的。在逻辑上，这种两个想法之间的亲密关系在术语上的表达叫做“根据前提得出的符合逻辑的推论”，拉丁语叫做“it follows”。(反过来叫做“不合逻辑的推论”，"it does not follow.")
Consider,for example,the idea that many teachers and parents express to young children as a way of encouraging them:"If you believe in yourself,you can succeed at anything."From this it follows that nothing else but belief--neither talent nor hard work--is necessary for success.The reason the two ideas are equivalent is that their meanings are inseparably linked.
试想一个这样的例子，许多老师和父母都会表达一个观念作为一种鼓励年轻孩子的方法：“如果相信自己能行，那么你做任何事情都会成功。”按照这种理念可以推断出另外一种理念：天赋和努力都不是成功的必备条件，唯有信念才是。以上两个理念等同的原因在于他们的含义是那么地密不可分。
In addition to conveying ideas closely linked to it in meaning,an idea can imply other ideas.For example,the idea that there is no real difference between virue and vice implies that people should not feel bound by common moral standards.Samuel Johnson had this implication in mind when he said:"But if he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice,why,Sir,when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons"
除了在意义上传达与之密切相关的观念，也可以暗示其他的观点。例如，有一种观念认为美德与恶习之间不存在真正的差异，这意味着人们无需受到共同道德标准的束缚。当塞缪尔·约翰逊的脑海中闪过这种念头的时候说：“但是如果他真的认为美德和恶习之间没有区别，那么为什么当他离开我们的房子时让我们留一手？”
If we were fully aware of the closely linked meanings and implications of the ideas we encounter,we could easily sort out the sound ones from the unsound,the wise from the foolish,and the helpful from the harmful.But we are seldom fully aware.In many cases,we take ideas at face value and embrace them with little or no thought of their associated meanings and implications.In the course of time,our actions are shaped by those meanings and implications,whether we are aware of them or not.
如果我们可以充分察觉到密切相关的意义以及我们所听到的观念的含义，那么我们可以轻易地从无声之中辨别出有声，从愚蠢之中辨别出智慧，从不利之中辨别出有利。但是我们很少意识到这一点。在很多情况下，我们只是浮于表面，很少甚至根本没有获取到与其关联的更深层次意思和含义。随着时间的推移，无论我们是否意识到，这些意思和含义始终都在潜移默化中塑造我们的行为。
To appreciate the influence of ideas in people's lives,consider the series of events set in motion by an idea that was popular in psychology more than a century ago and whose influence continues to this day---the idea that "intelligence is genetically determined and cannot be increased."
为了体味观念对人们生活的影响，可以考虑一个多世纪以前在心理学领域开始受欢迎并持续影响至今的由某个观念所引发的一系列事件。这个观念是：智力是由先天基因决定的并且后天无法增加。
That idea led researchers to devise tests that measure intelligence.The most famous(badly flawed)test determined that the average mental age of white American adults was 13 and that,among immigrants,the average Russian's mental age was11.34;the average Italian's,11.01;the average Pole's,10.74;and the average mental age of 'Negroes",10.41.
这个想法促使研究人员设计出测量智力的测试。最著名的(严重缺陷)测试判定美国白人成年人的平均心里年龄是13岁，在移民当中，俄罗斯人的平均心理年龄是11.34岁，意大利人11.01岁，波兰人10.74岁，而黑人的平均心理年龄只有10.41岁。
Educators read the text results and thought,"Attempts to raise students' intelligence are pointless," so they replaced academic curricula with vocational curricula and embraced a methodology that taught students facts but not the process of judgment.
教育工作者阅读了测试结果后认为：“提高学生们的智力是毫无意义的”，因此他们用职业课程取代了学术课程并且采用了一种教授学生答案而不是判断过程的方法。
