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Thanks to modern aviation, we can now move through space at an inhuman speed. For the first time in human history, we can outrun the sun and move from one hemisphere to another in a single day. Of course, it's not enough to simply get on a plane. If we want to realize the creative benefits of travel, then we have to re-think its overall purpose. Most people, after all, escape to Paris so they don't have to think about those troubles they left behind. But here's the irony: Our mind is most likely to solve our most stubborn problems while we are sitting in luxury in a Left Bank cafe. So, instead of contemplating that buttery dessert, we should be conscious of those domestic issues we just can't solve.
多亏了现代航空技术，我们现在可以以非凡的速度在空中穿梭。在人类历史中，这是我们第一次超过太阳——在短短一天中从一个半球到达另一个半球。当然，仅仅往飞机上一坐是不够的。我们要想认识到旅行在提高创新力方面的价值，还得再全面考虑其目的。毕竟，大多数人逃到巴黎，是因为这样他们就可以不必考虑家里的那些烦心事。但是，具有讽刺意味的是，当我们坐在豪华的左岸咖啡馆时，我们的脑子极有可能能解决那些最棘手的问题。因此，我们应该考虑那些在家里解决不了的问题，而不是琢磨那些奶油甜点。
The larger lesson, though, is that our thoughts are saturated with the familiar. The brain is a space of near infinite possibility, which means that it spends a lot of time and energy choosing what not to notice. As a result, creativity is traded away for efficiency; we think in finite, literal prose, not symbolic verse. A bit of distance, however, helps loosen the cognitive chains that imprison us, making it easier to mingle the new with the old; the mundane is grasped from a slightly more abstract perspective. According to research, the experience of an exotic culture endows us with a valuable open-mindedness, making it easier to realize that even a trivial thing can have multiple meanings. Consider the act of leaving food on the plate: In China, this is often seen as a compliment, a signal that the host has provided enough to eat. But in America the same act is a subtle insult, an indication that the food wasn't good enough to finish.
但更应该知道的是我们的思想被熟悉的东西所充满。大脑是一个几乎具有无限可能性的空间，这就意味着它花了大量的时间和精力选择不去注意什么。因此，我们牺牲创造力来换取效率。我们以字义明确的散文方式思考，而非以具有象征意义的诗歌方式思考。然而，一点的距离就可以帮助我们放松禁锢我们认知的链条，使新旧思想的结合更容易，对平淡无奇的事情可从更抽象的角度加以认知。有研究指出，体验异国文化可以赋予我们宝贵的开放性思维，使我们更容易明白即使是微不足道的事物也可以有多种意义。想一想把食物剩在盘子里这个行为：在中国，这通常被看成是一种赞美，说明主人提供了足够的食物。但是在美国，同样的行为却暗含侮辱，表明食物不够好，人们不愿意吃完。
