You know one of the most important chapters in establishing our present existence
你知道 网络是我们目前生活中最重要的组成部分之一
so to speak, our present media existence was the realization of the power of the check-in.
或者说多媒体生活最重要的组成部分之一 就是多次查看社交软件
That is that urge, maybe you’ve felt it, I’ve got to check my email
也许你已经感受到了那种焦虑比如我必须要看一下我的邮箱或者
or maybe I should see what’s going on in my Twitter stream or it’s time to go to Facebook.
或者你可能该查看一下推特动态或者打开脸书看看都有什么新鲜事儿发生了
That’s kind of an unusual thing.
这种现象很不正常

I don’t know how you’d explain it to another generation but it’s kind of almost like a biological feeling that you need to check-in.
我不知道你会如何向另一辈解释 但它很像 一种生理反应——你想要上网看看
I would say it was invented sometime in the 1970’s with email, the first emails.
它是在20世纪70年代伴随着第一批电子邮件出现的
In fact, the first email addict in my reading was a man named Stephen Lukasik
事实上 我所知的第一起邮件上瘾事件是一个名为史蒂芬 卢卡斯克的人
who was the head of the ARPA agency in the Pentagon in the early 1970’s.
他是20世纪70年代早期美国五角大楼国防部高级研究计划署的领导人
And he was an interesting guy because he carried around what was then a portable computer in70's
同时他是一个有趣的家伙 因为在70年代 他会随身带一台便携式计算机
This huge terminal and he would plug it in everywhere he went and he would check his email.
这样巨大的一个终端 无论他走到哪里他都会插上电源打开电脑 然后查看一下邮件
And he insisted everyone do it and he was the first guy who had what many of us have right now
并且 他支持每一个人都这样做 他最早拥有我们现在都有的这个东西
which is just this almost addiction to checking in.
那就是沉溺于查看社交软件
Now the psychology behind it is interesting.
其背后的心理现象很有趣
It is very reminiscent of what B.F. skinner described as operant conditioning
这不禁让我们想起了斯金纳所说的操作性条件反射
That is to say that the tendency of all creatures, not just humans but pigeons and other animals
那时就说所有生物都会具有的一种倾向 不光是人类 鸽子和其他动物也有这种倾向
to take actions that will lead to rewards
那就是它们都会倾向于去做能够得到奖赏的事
you know, pecking at a little button to get a little snack
就像啄一个小按钮就能得到食物
But one of the things that Skinner noticed that I think is very relevant for our lives
我认为斯金纳发现的一件事跟我们的生活息息相关
is the most addictive forms of rewards are those that are unpredictable.
奖赏的不确定性是最让我们着迷的
And so, for example, if you peck every time and outcomes a little prize that’s not that interesting.
就比如说 如果你每次按按钮都能得到一点奖励的话 那这就不是很有趣了
It’s the things that you can’t predict whether they’re slot machines
让人着迷的是无法预测的事 即使只是投币游戏机
whether it’s fishing, whether it’s playing golf.
钓鱼或是打高尔夫
All the things that like actually really capture our interest are things where the reward payout is quite unpredictable.
让我们非常着迷的都是那些 可获得非常不确定的奖励的事
And email obviously has that quality. So does Facebook.
很明显脸书和邮箱都具有那种特质
Most of the time you show up there’s nothing much there.
大多数时候 你上线什么信息也收不到
But occasionally you might see something extraordinary in email with great news or maybe a very meaningful message.
但偶然你可能会通过邮箱收到一些好消或一条意义重大的消息
You know you log into social media, most of the time it’s kind of a bore but occasionally something quite profound is there.
大多数时候你登录社交媒体都觉得很无聊 但有时会发现十分有意义的事
And this turns out to be the most addictive kind of thing, these unpredictable reward schemes
这就说明最吸引人的是那些让人无法预测奖励的东西
And I think there’s a sense in which we’re little pigeons sitting inside our boxes pecking away
有时候我觉得我们就像那些小鸽子 在我们的盒子里啄那个按钮
I mean this is not the most inspiring model of humanity but sometimes it all like that.
我不是说这是人性中最给人启发的的一面 但有时的确是这样
Pecking away and waiting to see what rewards come to us and that has proven to be a very
啄那个按钮 然后等着看会得到什么 已经证明这很让人上瘾
addictive – I don’t know if that’s the right word but very compelling scheme and one which I think many of us have gotten involved in.
我不知道我说的是不是完全正确 但是那是很诱人的 并且我想很多人已经上瘾了