SEtalk: The Myth of the Lone Genius

Close your eyes for a moment and picture a genius.

請閉上眼睛一下，想像一位天才的樣子。

I'd bet most of you see the same image.

我敢打賭，你們大多數人腦中浮現的都是同一個畫面。

A lone figure, hunched over a desk at midnight,

一個孤單的身影，半夜趴在書桌前，

struck by a flash of brilliance that changes the world!

突然靈光乍現，改變了整個世界！

It's a wonderful story. It's also almost always wrong.

這是個美好的故事。但它幾乎總是錯的。

Take Thomas Edison, the patron saint of lone geniuses.

就拿Thomas Edison來說吧，他可說是孤獨天才的代名詞。

Edison didn't invent alone. He ran an invention factory.

Edison並不是獨自發明的。他經營的是一座發明工廠。

His lab in New Jersey employed dozens of skilled assistants:

他在New Jersey的實驗室僱用了數十名技術純熟的助手：

machinists, chemists, and glassblowers, all building on each other's work.

機械技師、化學家和玻璃工匠，每個人都在彼此的成果上繼續往前推進。

Or consider the telephone.

或者，想想電話的例子。

On the very same day in 1876,

就在1876年的同一天，

two different inventors filed papers for almost the same device!

2位不同的發明家，為幾乎一模一樣的裝置遞交了文件！

Historians call this multiple discovery, and it's remarkably common.

歷史學家稱之為「多重發現」，而且這種情況出乎意料地常見。

Calculus, evolution, even the light bulb: each had several parents.

微積分、演化論，甚至是電燈泡：每一樣都有好幾位「生父」。

Why does this keep happening?

為什麼這種事會一再發生？

Because ideas aren't lightning bolts. They're more like ripe fruit.

因為點子不是閃電。它們比較像成熟的果實。

When enough knowledge piles up, several people reach for it at once.

當知識累積到一定程度，就會有好幾個人同時伸手去摘。

Even Isaac Newton admitted he'd stood on the shoulders of giants.

就連Isaac Newton也承認，他是站在巨人的肩膀上。

Today, the pattern is even clearer.

到了今天，這個模式更加明顯。

Most important research is now done by teams, not individuals.

現在，大多數重要的研究都是由團隊完成，而不是個人。

And papers written by teams tend to have far greater impact.

而且由團隊撰寫的論文，影響力往往大得多。

The genius, it turns out, is usually a crowd!

原來，所謂的天才，通常是一群人！

So why does this matter to the rest of us?

那麼，這對我們其他人來說，又有什麼意義呢？

Because the myth does real damage.

因為這個迷思會造成實實在在的傷害。

As a young researcher, I hid my unfinished ideas from everyone.

我還是年輕研究員的時候，總把還沒想完整的點子藏起來，誰都不讓知道。

I thought asking for help meant I wasn't clever enough.

我以為開口求助，就代表我不夠聰明。

I wasted two years working entirely on my own.

我白白浪費了2年，完全一個人悶著頭做。

So here's what I wish someone had told me.

所以，以下是我真希望當年有人告訴我的話。

Share your half-finished ideas. Borrow generously. Give credit loudly.

分享你們還沒完成的想法。大方地借用。大聲地把功勞歸給別人。

Your best idea may be sitting in someone else's head,

你們最好的點子，也許就藏在別人的腦袋裡，

just waiting for yours to meet it.

就等著和你們的想法相遇。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。