The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles

世上从不缺少答案，但缺少的是能真正问对问题的人。我们人类正是通过不断的提问，才能确保将有限的时间花费在最重要的事情上。提问，是一门艺术，因为这是一个自我反思的过程。爱因斯坦曾经说：问题的提出经常比解决更重要。因为问题的提出反应了你看待问题的视野和角度，如果能站在合时宜的角度提出正确的问题，解决方案也就自然而然出来了。

今天分享一篇很棒的书摘Asking The Right Questions-A Guide to Critical Thinking.这本书的中文译名叫做《学会提问》，作者是美国的尼尔.布朗和斯图尔特.基利。这篇书摘的关键词就是The Sponge Thinking Style & Panning for Gold Thinking Style(海绵式思维和淘金式思维)，作者意在通过对比这两种思维方式所产生的影响，从我们接受信息的维度让我们更加深刻认清自己思维和学习的方式。

New Words:

puppet n. 木偶；傀儡；
imagery n.意象；比喻；
pan vi. 淘金；在淘洗中收获金子
gravel n. 碎石；砂砾
underline vt. 强调；在…下面划线；
evaluate vt. 评价；估价；

Absorbing information provides a productive start toward becoming a thoughtful person, the sponge approach has a serious disadvantage: It provides no method for deciding which information and opinions to believe and which to reject. If a reader relied on the sponge approach all the time, he would believe whatever he read last. The idea of being the mental puppet of whomever one happens to encounter is horrible imagery for a person and a community. Decisions become accidents of association, instead of reflective judgments.
要成为一个有思想的人，被动吸收外部世界的信息确实为你提供了一个富有成效的起点，但海绵式思维却有个极严重，极致命的缺点，对各种纷至沓来的信息和观点如何做出取舍，它提供不了任何方法。如果读者始终以来海绵式思维方式，他就会对自己最新读到的一切深信不疑。

We think you would rather choose for yourself what to absorb and what to ignore. To make this choice, you must read with a special attitude—a question-asking attitude. Such a thinking style requires active participation. The writer is trying to speak to you, and you should try to talk back to him, even though he is not present.
我们认为，你一定要愿意自己掌握主动权，选择该相信什么忽略什么。要做出决定和取舍，就要带着一定的态度去读书，即带着问题去读书。这种思维方式需要你积极主动的参与进来。作者在向你细说原委，而你则随时准备与之辩驳，虽然作者本人并不在场。

We call this interactive approach the panning-for-gold style of thinking. The process of panning for gold provides a model for active readers and listeners as they try to determine the worth of what they read and hear. The task is challenging and sometimes tedious, but the reward can be tremendous. To distinguish the gold from the gravel in a conversation requires you to ask frequent questions and to reflect on the answers.
我们把这种互动方式称之为淘金式思维。淘金的过程为积极主动的读者和听众提供了一种可效仿的模式，他们得尽快决定自己的所见所闻到底价值几何。在一场互动的对话中披沙拣金，需要你不断地提问并思考问题的答案。

Let us examine more closely how the two approaches lead to different behavior.
我们不妨进一步，检视一下这两种思维方式会导致怎样不同的行为。

What does the individual who takes the sponge approach do when he reads material? He reads sentences carefully, trying to remember as much as he can. He may underline or highlight key words and sentences. He may take notes summarizing the major topics and major points. He checks his underlining or notes to be sure that he is not forgetting anything important. His mission is to find and understand what the author has to say. He memorizes the reasoning, but doesn't evaluate it.
采取海绵式思维的读者通常会怎样读书呢？他逐字逐句的细读，竭尽地记住所读的材料，他可能做笔记来概括主题和要点，他不时复习书本上划线部分或是重温笔记。确保自己没有遗忘任何重要的知识点。他的主要任务就是找出作者的观点并充分加以理解。他记住作者说理辩论的全部过程，但不对其做任何评价。

What does the reader who takes the panning-for-gold approach do? Like the person using the sponge approach, he approaches his reading with the hope that he will acquire new knowledge. There the similarity ends. The panning-for-gold approach requires that the reader asks himself a number of questions designed to uncover the best available decisions or beliefs. The reader who uses the panning-for-gold approach frequently questions why the author makes various claims. He writes notes to himself in the margins indicating problems with the reasoning. He continually interacts with the material. His intent is to critically evaluate the material and formulate personal conclusions based on the evaluation.
采取淘金式思维的读者又会怎么做呢？像采用海绵式思维的读者一样，他也希望在阅读的过程中获取新知识，但是两者间的相处之处仅此而已。淘金式思维要求读者文自己一系列既定的问题，旨在找出最佳判断或是最合理的看法。淘金式思维的读者常常质疑作者为何要提出各种各样的主张。他在书本的页面写批注，提醒自己注意作者推理和论述中存在的问题。他无时不刻在和自己的阅读材料互动，目的是批判性地评价所读的材料，在客观评价的基础上得出自己的结论。

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