今天读《决断2秒间》第4章。有别传统教导的「深思熟虑」，这章作者阐述了「三思而行的危险」。

It wasn’t that Van Riper hated all rational analysis. It’s that he thought it was inappropriate in the midst of battle, where the uncertainties of war and the pressures of time made it impossible to compare options carefully and calmly.

2000年的时候，国防部的高官找到退休的Paul Van Riper里佩尔，请他担任一场千年挑战演习(Millennium Challenge)的红军总指挥，作为波斯湾美军政权叛军，来模拟对抗蓝军，就是美军及其同盟军。

蓝军拥有了史上任何军队都无法匹敌的战略资源，但蓝军却被红军打得措手不及。因为当蓝军还在召开会议、分析数据、研究方案时，红军已经凭借快速反应，出奇制胜了。

这个故事解释，额外的信息有时不但不能成为一种优势，反而会误导我们：如果你的部队被困在敌人的机枪火力下动弹不得，而你的连长却召集大家说要等上级指示，这就荒谬透顶了。

过多的选择反而有害

When we talk about analytic versus intuitive decision making, neither is good or bad. What is bad is if you use either of them in an inappropriate circumstance.

不是说读完这章，我们就不要「深思熟虑」了。理性分析和直觉判断没有什么可比性，二者并无好坏之分，我们应该在在不同的情境下，运用不同的能力。深思熟虑的前提是有充足的时间。但很多时候人们根本没有深思熟虑的机会，比如消防员、医生等职业更多是要求他们在高压条件下，依据专业和经验快速做决定。这也提醒我们平时作好预备的重要性。好的瞬时决策，并不是拍拍脑袋就能形成的，而是需要多年经验和素养的累积的反应。如果有认真参加消防演习，出事时比较能正确反应；没有任何背景常识，火灾来时恐怕只会陷入慌乱。

此外，本章主要想强调「少即是多」这个看似矛盾的道理。过多的信息，反而会给我们大脑造成负担，而无从判断。当我们面对过多选择反而不知如何选择的时后，就需要化繁为简的能力。因此，不是看原文书每个单字都要抄、都要记，太多细节和功夫，反而打断读书的节奏，导致无法获取信息，适当选择关键词查阅，才能享受读原文书的乐趣。

Words & Phrases

dawn

To begin to be perceived or understood

It had never dawned on me as a young lieutenant that we would do PT in the bush. But we did.

Realization of the danger soon dawned on us

get somebody off your back

(slang) to rid yourself of someone who is annoying you

The danger in calling is that they’ll tell you anything to get you off their backs, and if you act on that and take it at face value, you could make a mistake

I was willing to do almost anything to get her off my back.

take something at face value 

to accept that something is exactly what it appears to be

The danger in calling is that they’ll tell you anything to get you off their backs, and if you act on that and take it at face value, you could make a mistake

You have to understand that you cannot take gossip at its face value.

plush

richly luxurious and expensive.

He wasn’t back at Dartmouth or over in one of the plush private hospitals on Chicago’s north side, where money wasn’t an issue.

on a shoestring

Fig. with a very small amount of money.

He was running the Department of Medicine on a shoestring.

We lived on a shoestring for years before I got a good-paying job.

turn back the clock (roll back the clock)

to make things the same as they were at an earlier time

I cannot vote for someone who promises to turn back the clock to better days because that's impossible.