我们每天都要作出各种各样的决定，有些决定至关重要，有些则无关紧要。聪明的人就一定会作出最明智的选择吗？本期节目讨论阻碍人们作出正确决定的因素。

词汇：making decisions 作决定

Life is full of choices, some inconsequential, some really significant. But sometimes it can be hard to make the correct one. What are the obstacles that stand between us and a good outcome?

Some of us just find it hard to decide. Alice Boyes, writing for Harvard Business Review, tells us this can be connected to perfectionism, where people attempt to find a perfect solution to any problem and are unable to move forward when they can't find one. It might seem that being indecisive would stop us making the right decision, but in fact it could actually help us make the correct ones.

Susan Krauss in Psychology Today reminds us that people often make bad decisions because they base them on preconceptions rather than the context in which things happen. She highlights a paper by researcher Iris Schneider which finds that indecisive people are more likely to look at different perspectives and use them to come to a better decision. So, it could be that a more significant barrier to making the best choice is our cognitive biases.

David Robson, speaking to the BBC's Crowd Science, tells us that intelligence can sometimes stop people making the right decision. People sometimes use intelligence to invent justifications for irrational beliefs. He believes that humility is key to making a good decision. People who can accept that they might be wrong are more likely to consider different viewpoints. He is backed up on this by Jeff Bezos. Tech CEO Jason Fried recalls the Amazon founder saying how the people who were right a lot of the time were the people who often changed their minds.

So, maybe rather than indecision, it might be intelligence and decisiveness, backed up by our biases that actually stop us making good choices. While humility and indecisiveness could help us pick the best option.

词汇表

choice 选择
inconsequential 无关紧要的
significant 重要的
good outcome 好的结果
decide 作决定
perfectionism 完美主义
perfect solution 完美的解决办法
indecisive 犹豫不决的
preconception 先入之见，成见
perspective （思考问题的）角度，观点
come to a decision 作出一个决定
barrier 障碍
cognitive bias 认知偏差
justification 辩解，正当理由
irrational belief 非理性的看法
humility 谦逊
change one's mind 改变主意
indecisiveness 犹豫不决

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What other personality trait is linked to indecisiveness?

2. True or false? Indecisiveness can make us happier.

3. According to Schneider, what are indecisive people more likely to consider?

4. How can intelligence stop us making good decisions?

5. According to Jeff Bezos, what characteristic makes people right a lot of the time?

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. It's important to get _______ decisions correct.

inconsequential            significant               decisive                       perfectionist

2. Indecisiveness is a personality _______.

choice                           justification             trait                              perspective

3. It's good to be able to _______ your mind.

decide                           choose                    justify                          change

4. It's not always easy to _______ to a decision.

go                                  reach                      come                           choose

5. Looking at things from different _______ can help us make good decisions.

outcomes                       traits                       preconceptions           perspectives

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 

1. What other personality trait is linked to indecisiveness?

Indecisiveness is linked to perfectionism.

2. True or false? Indecisiveness can make us happier.

False. According to Eric Rassin, it is linked to lower life satisfaction.

3. According to Schneider, what are indecisive people more likely to consider?

Schneider found that indecisive people are more likely to consider different perspectives.

4. How can intelligence stop us making good decisions?

David Robson tells us that intelligent people sometimes use their intelligence to invent justifications for irrational beliefs.

5. According to Jeff Bezos, what characteristic makes people right a lot of the time?

According to Jeff Bezos, people who often change their mind tend to be right a lot of the time.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. It's important to get significant decisions correct.

2. Indecisiveness is a personality trait.

3. It's good to be able to change your mind.

4. It's not always easy to come to a decision.

5. Looking at things from different perspectives can help us make good decisions.