199. "Truly innovative ideas do not arise from groups of people, but from individuals. When groups try to be creative, the members force each other to compromise and, as a result, creative ideas tend to be weakened and made more conventional. Most original ideas arise from individuals working alone."

真正有创意的想法并非来自于群体而是来自于个人。当群体试图创新的时候，它的成员之间会被迫相互妥协，结果就是新想法趋于弱化而更接近于传统。大部分新想法都是来自于独立工作的个人。

少数和多数之新创意

Original ideas may arise from individuals working alone as well as from groups of people working together.

1. It is true that individual thinkers or scientists working alone formulated many original ideas in history.

2. However, one should see that those great individuals actually benefited a lot from the work either of his contemporaries or of the people before their time.

3. While members of a group might force each other to compromise, it is also true that they may inspire and enlighten each other.

206. "People are too quick to take action; instead they should stop to think of the possible consequences of what they might do."

人们现在太急于采取行动，实际上人们应该先停下来考虑一下他们这么做可能导致的结果。

It is always wise to think twice before you act.

1. More haste, less speed.

2. It might not be too difficult to persuade people to consider the possible impacts of their actions on themselves.

3. People should also think of the impacts of their actions on other people.

现在和将来之思维和行动

208. "The way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about a society’s ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people."

人们的眼神、穿着和动作都揭示了他们的态度和兴趣。你可以透过观察一个社会中人们的外貌和举止来认识该社会的理念和价值观。

1. Turning first to the way people look and dress, certain aspects of the outward appearance of a culture’s people do inform us of their ideas, attitudes and values.

2. The habits, rituals and lifestyles of a culture often do provide accurate signals about its values.

3. Finally, the statement overlooks a crucial distinction between free societies and oppressed ones.

以小见大