Brent Crane

There are plenty of things to be gained from going abroad: new friends, new experiences, new stories.

But living in another country may come with a less noticeable benefit, too: Some scientists say it can also make you more creative.

Writers and thinkers have long felt the creative benefits of international travel. Ernest Hemingway1. Ernest Hemingway: 歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威（1899—1961），美國作家和記者，被認(rèn)為是20世紀(jì)最著名的小說家之一。, for example,drew inspiration for much of his work from his time in Spain and France. Aldous Huxley, the author ofBrave New World, moved from the U.K. to the U.S. in his 40s to branch out into screenwriting.2. Aldous Huxley: 阿道司·赫胥黎（1894—1963），英國作家，以小說和大量散文聞名于世；Brave New World:《美麗新世界》，由阿道司·赫胥黎于1932年創(chuàng)作，是20世紀(jì)最經(jīng)典的“反烏托邦”文學(xué)之一；branch out: 擴(kuò)展范圍；screenwriting: 電影劇本創(chuàng)作。Mark Twain, who sailed around the coast of the Mediterranean in 1869, wrote in his travelogueInnocents Abroadthat travel is “fatal to prejudice, bigotry,and narrow-mindedness.”3. Mark Twain: 馬克·吐溫（1835—1910），美國著名作家和演說家，是美國批判現(xiàn)實(shí)主義文學(xué)的奠基人；the Mediterranean: 地中海；travelogue: 旅行見聞講演，游記；Innocents Abroad:《流浪漢在海外》；bigotry: 偏執(zhí)，頑固；narrow-mindedness: 目光短淺。

In recent years, psychologists and neuroscientists have begun examining more closely what many people have already learned anecdotally:4. neuroscientist: 神經(jīng)學(xué)家；anecdotally:軼事地。that spending time abroad may have the potential to affect mental change. In general,creativity is related to neuroplasticity5. neuroplasticity: 神經(jīng)可塑性，指由于經(jīng)驗(yàn)原因引起的大腦的結(jié)構(gòu)改變。這是近期的發(fā)現(xiàn)，過去的科學(xué)家一般認(rèn)為在嬰兒關(guān)鍵期后，大腦結(jié)構(gòu)不會發(fā)生變化。, or how the brain is wired. Neural pathways are influenced by environment and habit, meaning they’re also sensitive to change: New sounds, smells, language, tastes, sensations, and sights spark different synapses in the brain and may have the potential to revitalize the mind.6. 神經(jīng)通路會受到環(huán)境和習(xí)慣的影響。這就意味著它們會對變化敏感：新的聲音、氣味、語言、味道、情感以及景物會觸發(fā)大腦中的不同突觸，這有可能激發(fā)大腦的活力。neural pathway: [解剖]神經(jīng)通路；sights: 風(fēng)景，名勝；spark: 激發(fā)；synapse: [解剖]突觸；revitalize:使恢復(fù)生氣，注入新的活力。

如今，出國旅行屢見不鮮，特別是在像中國這樣一些經(jīng)濟(jì)快速發(fā)展、觀念日益開放的國家里，人們到國外去旅行已蔚然成風(fēng)。不少人都認(rèn)為出國旅行令人見多識廣，科學(xué)家們更指出這種經(jīng)歷有可能給人帶來心智上的變化。那么，出國旅行是如何讓人大開眼界、具有創(chuàng)新思維的呢？下面這篇文章將給我們一些答案。

“Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to make deep connections between disparate forms,” says Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School and the author of numerous studies on the connection between creativity and international travel.7. cognitive flexibility: 認(rèn)知靈活性；integrativeness: 綜合，集成；disparate: 不同的；numerous: 許多的，大量的。Cognitive flexibility is the mind’s ability to jump between different ideas, a key component of creativity. But it’s not just about being abroad, Galinsky says: “The key, critical process is multicultural engagement, immersion8. immersion: 沉浸，投入。, and adaptation. Someone who lives abroad and doesn’t engage with the local culture will likely get less of a creative boost than someone who travels abroad and really engages in the local environment.”9. 相對于那些去國外旅行并且主動(dòng)融入當(dāng)?shù)丨h(huán)境的人而言，那些居住在國外、卻不主動(dòng)融入當(dāng)?shù)丨h(huán)境的人更難提高創(chuàng)造力。boost: 提高，改善。In other words, going to Cancun10. Cancun: 坎昆，是墨西哥東南部一個(gè)城市，位于加勒比海沿岸，是世界著名的度假勝地。for a week on spring break probably won’t make a person any more creative. But going to Cancun and living with local fishermen might.

Cultural distance, or how different a foreign culture is from one’s own, may also play a role: Surprisingly, Galinsky and his colleagues found that living someplace with a larger cultural distance was often associated with lower creativity than living in a more familiar culture. The reason for that, they hypothesized, was that an especially different culture might come with a bigger intimidation factor, which may discourage people from immersing themselves in it11. hypothesize: 假設(shè)，猜測；intimidation:恐嚇，威脅；discourage: 阻止，使氣餒。—and no immersion, they explained, could mean none of the cognitive changes associated with living in another country.

Traveling may have other brain benefits, too.Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, an associate professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California, says that crosscultural12. cross-cultural: 跨文化的。experiences have the potential to strengthen a person’s sense of self. “What a lot of psychological research has shown now is that the ability to engage with people from different backgrounds than yourself, and the ability to get out of your own social comfort zone, is helping you to build a strong and acculturated sense of your own self,” she says.13. 她說道：“諸多心理學(xué)研究顯示，能夠與不同文化背景的人打成一片，并走出心理上的社交舒適區(qū)，將有助你形成一種強(qiáng)有力的內(nèi)在文化適應(yīng)力?！盿cculturated: 適應(yīng)新的文化習(xí)俗的?！癘ur ability to differentiate our own beliefs and values is tied up in the richness of the cultural experiences that we have had.”14. differentiate: 區(qū)分，區(qū)別；tie up: 與……有密切聯(lián)系。

Cross-cultural experiences have the potential to pull people out of their cultural bubbles, and in doing so, can increase their sense of connection with people from backgrounds different than their own.“We found that when people had experiences traveling to other countries it increased what’s called generalized15. generalized: 廣義的，普遍的。trust, or their general faith in humanity,” Galinsky says. “When we engage in other cultures,we start to have experience with different people and recognize that most people treat you in similar ways. That produces an increase in trust.”

Of course, although a new country is an easy way to leave a “social comfort zone,” the cultural engagement associated with cognitive change doesn’t have to happen abroad. If a plane ticket isn’t an option,maybe try taking the subway to a new neighborhood. Sometimes,the research suggests, all that’s needed for a creative boost is a fresh cultural scene.