大人的初學者挑戰,現在開始!
「《Beginners》所講述的遠遠超過『學習』這件事──而是關於我們每個人潛藏的可能性。」──丹尼爾‧品克,《什麼時候是好時候》作者
為什麼當我們長大之後,就不再學習新東西了?是我們太害怕失敗嗎?為什麼我們忘了做為初學者的快樂?還是說,這僅僅是因為,我們不再像年輕時那樣,有能力學會新事物了?
受到女兒旺盛的好奇心和求知慾所啟發,《品味選擇題》作者湯姆‧范德比爾特展開了為期一年學習計畫,純粹為了享受學習新事物的樂趣。他挑戰了五個乍看之下難以輕鬆掌握、對他的職涯也沒什麼直接幫助的領域──棋藝、歌唱、衝浪、繪畫和雜耍。
在這個過程中,他沒有預料到自己會獲得在業餘合唱團中,熱唱辣妹合唱團的歌的歡樂體驗,還有在棋賽中敗給年僅八歲的對手、在哥斯大黎加的衝浪營中四處閃避蠍子。一路上,他訪問數十位專家,探索作為成年初學者的優點,其背後的科學和心理學知識。結合內容豐富的研究,和在這一年學習計畫中所獲得的令人驚喜的深刻見解,范德比爾特透過本書告訴我們,每個人都能從頭開始,還有,為什麼我們該踏出這讓人膽怯的第一步。范德比爾特分享了對事物的全新好奇心如何讓他獲得了巨大的快樂,讓他得以建立與周遭人們的連結,以及他做為新手的領悟:無論幾歲,任何微小的改變、嶄新的一步,都能讓生活充滿魔力。
(文/博客來編譯)
An insightful, joyful tour of the transformative powers of starting something new, no matter your age—from the bestselling author of Traffic and You May Also Like
“Vanderbilt elegantly and persuasively tackles one of the most pernicious of the lies we tells ourselves—that the pleasures of learning are reserved for the young.” —Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Outliers
Why do so many of us stop learning new skills as adults? Are we afraid to be bad at something? Have we forgotten the sheer pleasure of beginning from the ground up? Inspired by his young daughter’s insatiable curiosity, Tom Vanderbilt embarks on a yearlong quest of learning—purely for the sake of learning. Rapturously singing Spice Girls songs in an amateur choir, losing games of chess to eight-year-olds, and dodging scorpions at a surf camp in Costa Rica, Vanderbilt tackles five main skills but learns so much more. Along the way, he interviews dozens of experts about the fascinating psychology and science behind the benefits of becoming an adult beginner and shows how anyone can get better at beginning again—and, more important, why they should take those first awkward steps. Funny, uplifting, and delightfully informative, Beginners is about how small acts of reinvention, at any age, can make life seem magical.