On a daily basis, you spend between a third and half your waking hours daydreaming. That may sound like a huge waste of time, but scientists think it must have some purpose, or humans wouldn’t have evolved to do so much of it. So to figure out what's going on here, let’s take a closer look at the mind-wanderer in chief: the bored teenager.
每天你醒著時,會有三分之一 到一半的時間都在做白日夢。 這聽起來像是浪費了大好光陰, 但科學家們認為這必有其道理, 不然人類的進化過程中, 不會花這麼多時間來做白日夢。 為了找出其中的道理, 讓我們來一探心神漫遊的專家: 常感到無聊的青少年。
Wouldn’t it be cool to discover something, anything. Like even this plant. Just to be one of those explorers who sails around drawing stuff for years on end and everyone thinks they’re a genius. But does anyone even do that anymore? Is there anything left to discover? And would I be tough enough to deal with the dysentery or scurvy or piranhas or whatever? I barely have the endurance to make it through track practice... but I will. Any day now, I’ll have the discipline to show up before sunrise and practice. I’ll win all my races. Winning will become so easy, I’ll pick up other events just for fun. And once I'm in the Olympics, they’ll have no choice but to crown me team captain, which I will graciously accept. And will I be nasty to the teammate who yelled at me? No. I’ll just calmly say, “hope you’re in a better mood.”
如果能發現任何東西,應該很酷吧。 甚至像是這棵植物。 成為一名大家公認的天才探險家, 長年到處航行、畫下所見。 但是現在還有人這樣做嗎? 還有事情沒被探索過嗎? 我是否能夠承受痢疾或壞血病, 食人魚攻擊或其他的危險? 光是田徑練習,就幾乎 將我的耐力消耗殆盡...... 但我可以的。 從今天開始,我會有紀律地 在每天太陽升起前 開始訓練。 我會贏得所有比賽。 贏得比賽易如反掌, 我還會為了好玩而去參加其他項目。 當我進軍奧運時, 他們將不得不加冕我為隊長, 而我將欣然接受。 我會討厭那些對我大吼大叫的隊友嗎? 不。我不會。 我只會淡淡地說一句: 「希望你心情有好一點。」
Okay. Yours and other people's daydreams might sound or feel something like that. Let's see what was going on. To see what parts of the brain are active when you’re doing a task, or thinking, or daydreaming, scientists use brain imaging techniques that show increased blood flow and energy expenditure in those areas.
好吧。你和其他人的白日夢 大都類似這樣。 讓我們來看看剛才發生了什麼事。 為了瞭解大腦的哪個區塊 會在你工作、思考 和做白日夢時活躍起來, 科學家使用腦部顯影技術 來呈現血流量增加和能量消耗的區塊。
These brain areas are active, working together and communicating with each other. Taken together, they're called the executive network. When your mind starts to wander, a different set of brain areas becomes active. These areas make up the default mode network. The name default mode makes it sound like nothing is going on. And in fact, for many years, scientists associated this pattern of activity with rest. But a closer look reveals that these are the brain areas involved when we revisit a memory, when we think about our plans and hopes, and yes, when our minds are wandering off on a wild daydream. The mind can wander to unproductive or distressing places and brood over negative past events, like an argument. It can also wander to neutral, everyday matters, like planning out the rest of one's afternoon. But where mind-wandering really gets interesting is when it crosses into the realm of free-moving associative thought that you aren’t consciously directing. This kind of mind-wandering is associated with increases in both ideas and positive emotions, and the evidence suggests that daydreaming can help people envision ways to reach their goals and navigate relationships and social situations.
這些腦部區塊會活躍起來 並互相溝通與合作。 這些區塊被統稱為執行網路。 當你開始神遊時, 另一組區塊則開始活躍起來。 這些區塊組成了預設模式網路。 「預設模式」 聽起來像沒有在執行任何功能。 事實上,許多年來, 科學家都認為這個迴路與休息有關。 但經過更深入的了解, 我們發現這個區塊 和回憶、計畫、盼望 及我們奇幻的白日夢世界息息相關。 我們的思緒可以神遊到 無用或讓人苦惱的地方, 進而沉浸在過往的負面事件中, 譬如爭執吵架。 它也可神遊到中性、日常的事物上, 像是計畫下午的行程。 但遊走的思緒有趣的地方, 在於當它進入不受意識所拘束的 自由聯想領域。 這樣的心神漫遊與新點子 和正向情緒的產生有關。 相關證據也顯示, 做白日夢能夠幫助人們 構想達成目標的方法 和處理人際關係與應對社交場合。
Scientists think there may be two essential parts to this process: a generative phase of free-flowing ideas and spontaneous thoughts, courtesy of the default mode network, followed by a process of selecting, developing, and pursuing the best ideas from that generative burst, driven by logical thinking thanks to the executive network. A host of imaging studies suggest that these two networks working in sync is a crucial condition for creative thinking. Taken together, the evidence clearly suggests the logical realm of the executive network and the imaginative realm of the default mode network are closely related. And as you can see, the executive network is still playing a role when the default mode network is doing its thing during daydreaming.
科學家認為大腦中可能 有兩個重要部分和這運作過程有關: 拜預設模式網路之賜, 自由洋溢的點子 和即興的想法產生之後, 在邏輯思維的驅動下, 大腦會從中去選擇、發展 並找出最佳的想法與點子, 而這部分是由執行網路所處理的。 大量的腦部顯影研究顯示, 這兩個系統同步合作無間 是創意思考的必要條件。 綜上所述,證據表明 負責邏輯領域的執行網路 與負責想像力的預設模式網路 高度相關。 且如你所見,即便預設模式網路 在處理白日夢的事情時, 執行網路依然發揮其作用。
In teenagers, the prefrontal cortex and other areas involved in executive function are still developing, but teens are perfectly capable of thinking through their problems and goals, especially when given space to do so on their own.
對青少年來說, 他們的前額葉皮質 和其他牽涉到執行功能的部分 仍在發展當中, 但他們完全具有思考問題 與目標的能力, 尤其是給與他們空間自己這樣做時。