这几天读的时候,在想作者为什么要怎样写?而不是那样写?虽然有些耗时,但真正掰开看思路,会受益匪浅,感受到作者在论证方面的缜密,对写作方面有所启示。
1、写作技巧方面:
本章Mental Representation为什么没有开篇就讲Mental Representation(以下简称MR)呢?试想如果开篇就讲MR定义特点,读者一定会一头雾水不知所云。所以作者采用由表及里、倒序推导的方式,由象棋大师盲战群雄的例子开场,瞬间“抓人”(get hooked),一来,故事开头更容易吸引读者注意力;二来循序渐进,层层推进,引导读者渐入佳境,引导至关键词“MR”。这对于写作的启示在于:论述比较抽象的理论时,与理论开场比较,这种故事开头、循序渐进,最后归纳的效果更好。推导的逻辑关系如下:
讲到这里,读者心头还有一个疑问,这和前面讲的“Adaptability”有什么关系?作者此时马上跳出来及时解惑,what exactly is being changed in the brain with deliberate practice?Adaptability是从生理结构的角度“challenging homeostasis”来论述刻意练习对大脑的影响,那么MR就是从宏观意义更进一步的说明:Adaptability所产生的就是这种高度专业化的MR。…Practice has changed the neural circuitry in their brains to produce highly specialized mental representations, which in turn make possible the incredible memory ……由此可见第三章MR是在第二章Adaptability基础上的进一步演绎。
2、一点感触
一个人对事物的理解能力到底取决于什么?是verbal ability吗?答案是Studies have shown that the key factor determining a person’s comprehension of a story about a football or baseball game is how much that person already understands about the sport.事实上,理解能力主要取决于你对该事物的了解程度,语言能力是次要因素。这点很有感触。比如翻译工作中,了解背景知识是多么多么多么重要!翻译中每个词都听明白了,但就是不知道什么意思;而有些具备某一专业领域知识的人,即使英语磕磕巴巴,或许中间好些词也没有听出来,但是却一点不影响他对于话题的理解。典型例子还有,听BBC时事新闻可以,但是一到体育新闻就完全懵圈!因为对体育不懂啊,这时听到的单词就是一串无意义的符号而已。所以说,学语言是一项苦差事!它意味着know everything of something and something of everything.但是话又说回来,在这样的学习过程中,又何尝不是一种乐趣呢?
字词:
1、学到两个表示“同样、同理”的表达:We couldn’t talk (ditto on the muscle movements) /Similarly, a chess player’s mental representation will give him no advantage over others...
2、They allow masters to zero in on the trees when necessary (多次出现,zeroin on=target )
3、He regularly played blindfold games, perhaps to handicap himself against his less-skilled opponents./ to handicap oneself against sb 让步于某人。
4、学到一组论述的连接词。P54
At first glance,it might seem nothingmore than an artifact…But if you look more closely,you find that thisconnection is actually a clue pointing toward ……Furthermore,the same sorts ofhighly developed mental processes are seen in expert performers in every field ….
5、Expertise sees the forest when everyone else sees only trees.