泼冷水的艺术

字幕原文

I once had a friend who, whenever he saw something new, 我以前有个朋友，每次只要看到什么新鲜事物，

a strange-looking ship or a bold new building, 比如一艘样子奇特的船，或是一栋设计大胆的新建筑，

would shake his head and say, 他都会摇摇头说：

"Imagine how much cold water somebody poured down that poor man's back." “你都想象不到，那个可怜人背后被浇了多少冷水。”

He was talking about the cold-water pourers: 他说的就是那些爱泼冷水的人：

people whose only talent is discouraging others. 那些唯一的本事就是打击别人的人。

He loved to imagine the very first man who invented the wheel, 他特别喜欢去设想第一个发明轮子的人，

and the friend he unwisely told about it. 以及那人不长心眼、跑去分享成果的朋友。

"We've managed without a rolling thing for thousands of years. “几千年来没有这个滚来滚去的东西，咱们不也过得好好的？

Your father carried loads on his back; 你爹当年都是用背扛东西的；

wasn't that good enough for him? 难道那样还不够好吗？

And how will it go uphill? 再说了，这玩意儿怎么上坡啊？

You've failed before, you know. 你以前又不是没搞砸过，你自己心里有数。

Meanwhile, your yams are only half planted. 而且你地里的山药可才种了一半呢。

I'm only saying this as a friend." 我可全是为了你好，拿你当朋友才这么说的。”

Every inventor, my friend claimed, had one of these people close by. 我朋友坚信，每一个发明家身边，都有这么号人物。

And they're still around. 而且如今这种人依然随处可见。

Tell them your plan, and they'll list everything that could go wrong. 你只要跟他们聊聊你的计划，他们就能列出一大堆可能出岔子的地方。

Succeed anyway, and they'll point out the tiny crack nobody else noticed. 哪怕你最后成功了，他们也能挑出谁都没注意到的微小瑕疵。

Here's the thing: they're rarely villains. 但问题就在于：他们通常并不是坏人。

Most of them honestly believe they're protecting you. 他们大多数人真心觉得这是在保护你。

But there's a real difference between someone who helps you see the risks and someone who just wants you to stay where you are. 但帮你认清风险的人，和只想让你原地踏步的人，两者之间有着天壤之别。

It's worth knowing which kind of friend you're talking to. 分清你面对的到底是哪种朋友，非常重要。