乔布斯传翻译笔记：灵魂伴侣艾弗的哲学：简即是美
英语课
在艾弗那儿，乔布斯终于找到了灵魂伴侣（soul mate)。艾弗懂得，乔布斯要的是真正意义上的简洁(in the quest for true)，而非表面功夫(rather than surface simplicity 1)。和大多数的设计师一样，艾弗也喜欢分析哲学（analyzing the philosophy)，一步步地深入思考(step-by-step thinking)直到形成最后的产品设计。有一次，艾弗在他的设计工作室(design studio)中，表达了他对简洁的看法：
【英语原文】
In Ive, Jobs met his soul mate in the quest for true rather than surface simplicity. Sitting in his design studio, Ive described his philosophy:
Why do we assume that simple is good? Because with physical products, we have to feel we can dominate them. As you bring order to complexity 2, you find a way to make the product defer 3 to you. Simplicity isn' t just a visual style. It's not just minimalism or the absence of clutter 4. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity.To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. For example, to have no screws on something, you can end up having a product that is so convoluted 5 and so complex. The better way is to go deeper with the simplicity, to understand everything about it and how it’s manufactured. You have to deeply understand the essence of a product in order to be able to get rid of the parts that are not essential.(Chapter 26 Design Principles: John Ive)
【译文】
乔布斯终于遇到了他的灵魂伴侣艾弗。艾弗懂得，乔布斯要的是真正意义上的简洁而非表面功夫。坐在他的设计室里，他这样描述着他的简洁观：为什么我们认为简单就是好？因为对于一个有形产品来说，我们喜欢那种控制它们的感觉。如果在复杂中有矩可循，你也可让产品听命于你。简洁不仅仅是视觉上的，也不仅仅是把杂乱无章的东西变少或抹掉，它意味着比复杂挖掘更深。如果你想达到真正的简洁，必须足够深入。打个比方，如果你因想避免麻烦而不在产品上装螺丝钉的话，最后的结果可能是造出一个极烦琐复杂的东西。最好的方法是更深刻理解“简洁”一词，理解产品的每个部分，以及它是如何制成的。你必须首先足够深刻地把握产品的精髓，从而判断可以拿掉哪些不重要的部分。
【翻译笔记】
1. soul mate:
精神伙伴、心灵伴侣、灵魂伴侣、即相爱，相知，相伴的人。所谓灵魂伴侣，起源于希腊神话。在柏拉图《会饮篇》中，阿伽松（Agathon）举行了一场别具一格的“会饮”：既不饮酒也不要吹笛女，“用讨论问题来作为今晚的消遣”，“从左到右，每个人都尽力赞美爱神”。阿里斯托芬（Aristophones） 讲了上古时代的一个神话故事：最初的人是球形的人，两个个体背靠背粘合在一起，有两张脸，八只手和脚。宙斯和众神担心人类过于强大，不敬神灵，于是把球形的人劈成两半，所以 “我们每个人都只是半个人”，“我们每个人都一直在寻求与自己相结合的另一半。
2.simplicity
n.简单；单纯；简朴
迁移词汇：
simple a.简单的；朴素的；单纯的；笨的
simplify v.简化；使简单
simplified a.简化的；简明的
simplification n.简化；简洁
He believes everything with childlike.
他以孩童般的单纯相信一切。
The monastic community generally lives life of simplicity.
僧侣界通常过着简朴的生活。
The beauty of the plan consists in its simplicity.
该计划的妙处在于简洁明了。
3. defer
vt.推迟；延期；使延期入伍
vi.顺从；把…委托给他人
Let's defer the decision for a few weeks.
我们推迟几个星期再作决定吧。
I shall defer replying till I hear from home.
我等接到家信以后再给你答复。
She has made up her mind to defer her departure for two days.
她决定将行程推迟两天。
4.essence
n.精髓；本质；要素；香精
Caution is the essence of that man's character.
谨慎是那人性格的本质。
The essence of all good strategy is simplicity.
一切优秀战略的精髓是简单。
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
- She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
- The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物
- Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
- The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从
- We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
- We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。
n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱
- The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
- We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。
adj.旋绕的；复杂的
- The snake slithered through a convoluted path.蛇在羊肠小道上爬行。
- The policy is so convoluted even college presidents are confused.这项政策太令人费解，甚至连大学校长们也是一头雾水。
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