主觀信念．發現．創造

一個人的主觀思想的形成，在當代文明社會裡，除了先天上的個性固然相關，而在加上後天由父母的家庭教育，及學校的知識教育後，隨著年歲的增長，可以看見的是，年紀越年長的人會趨向兩極發展，不是越來越開通明理，就是越來越頑固死板。

不諱言地說，我個人是在留美求學期間，經驗了美國的某教育機構所開設的個人成長課程後，啟動了我開始以自我觀照和親身實證的行事作風，學習如何建立起獨立的思考判斷的同時，儘量不流於過度的主觀。我依舊還記得在該課程裡，時時會聽到的一句銘言：「You don't listen. You never listen. You never will.」翻譯做中文，全然地說來，就是我們從不張開內心的耳朵去傾聽外在的世界。腦袋瓜裡裝的是自己的想像，與外在實體世界的認知差距，需要用盡整個生命去撫觸和體認，才能夠儘可能地所小個人內在世界與實體外在世界間的距離。

在其中，有一個最經典的課堂練習，我當時被問到，「你的車子現在在哪裡？」我相信我和大多數的人一樣，我很自然地回答：「我的車子停在停車場。」，對方會再更深入一層地問我，「你確定嗎？」接著又補充了一句：「你確定沒有被偷走，或是被拖車吊走？」，漸漸地，在這段對話的過程當中，我才慢慢地自覺到，其實課程裡要傳遞給我們的「訊息」，是我得親身走到我的車子旁邊，才能夠很信心滿滿地說：「我的車子在停車場。」以如此實證的精神，讓我們的主觀認知與客觀世界時時做好補償性的修正。

在創造發明的過程裡，最難得的就是要如何能夠從已知的知識與經驗中，跳躍到那一個未知的發現、發明，從已知進入未知，從未知跳昇至發現，每一個「心」的發現，彷彿就像禪宗當頭棒喝式的開悟。生活在當今的廿一世紀裡，明日的科技將會往哪個方向發展？掌握到趨勢，自然就掌握到明天。

於今日的物質科學裡，人類已經有許多的創造發明，提升了我們物質上的生活品質。從懂得用火，到懂得用電，竟花了人類幾千年的時間，時至今日，宇宙間蘊藏著許多當今科學所未能解釋的許多現象，引導著科學家們，把研究的方向，從對物質的研究，延伸到未知的心靈力量領域。

我以為，「人定勝天」的時代已經過去，尤其在最近發生的許多天災中，我更深深地體認到人類在宇宙中的渺小。反倒是回歸到過去中國人常說的「天人合一」，或許是個出路，人類師法自然，在人類破壞了大自然以後，學習如何能夠融入這個宇宙自然運行的原則，我們這一代，才不會成為人類的最後一代。¶

平常心

平常意味著不突出、不特別。

可是，當遇到某些事情很特別時，還要保持一顆平常的心來看待一切，如此的平常心纔是難能可貴！

此刻的我，情緒早已激昂，你可曾經驗過哽咽到說不出話來？還好，用手敲電腦的鍵盤，你看不到我刻意去撫平這份激揚、哽咽、更帶著許多地瘋狂！

有許多的親身體會，我感覺到一片真，也是一份真誠。我害怕我會寫太多；我努力地想要儘可能地縮短篇幅。

「一切的一切都在一切」這是文藝復興人李奧納多．達文西在他的筆記中所記錄過的一段話。這句話聽起來很籠統，如果你願意細細地去咀嚼其箇中真諦，它其實是帶著一份深遠的涵義⋯⋯

你聽過「蝴蝶效應」這個理論嗎？此ㄧ效應所指出的一個現象是，某地的一隻蝴蝶拍動其翅膀，那是如此地稀鬆平常。令人驚訝的是，隨風飛舞的蝴蝶，若無其事地飛翔，而它舞動翅膀所產生的力，在經過一系列的連鎖反應後，它竟成為遙遠他地的句大風暴。（我忽然聯想到最近發生在紐奧爾良的颶風，不知道造成它的元兇會不會是哪一隻蝴蝶？）

這個世界裡，有些看似風馬牛不相干的事，其實是帶著一份潛在的關連，需要用心去探索。

生活中有許許多多微不足道的事情，如果你仔細去觀察，從這看似最平凡不過的事，放開你的視野，拉開時空的範圍，也許你也會看到一份驚奇！一份喜悅！一份美好！一份含蓄！

含蓄之美，是東方傳統的美⋯⋯¶

Simplicity Lesson One––Time Management

"輕．重．緩．急" the four characters form a Chinese phrase which is a very common expression¹, but there are less people who can really "deeply" understand its meaning and practice it. Especially, as the modern people living in such a stressful society, many people are pushed by things, but rather than people are conducting things.

The human beings are the kind of creature living in Time. It takes time to accomplish a mission, or to produce something. Use your time wisely. At the right time, do the right thing, and eventually, things would not screw up so easily. When we spend too much time in hesitating and making decision, time are wasted in transparent. Things will turn out to be making no progress! Since I experienced something, for these four characters, I have realized how to practice it. I rearranged this phrase's order to be "急．重．緩．輕"

"急" means things in hurry and urgent. In a way, I acknowledge it as routines that we do not need so much effort and can finish it right away. (I used to think routines are not hurry.) For those high priority things, of course they fit in this category. While for routines, because they are repeating periodically, if we do not finish them immediately, they will accumulate, and we might spend the same amount of time or even longer to accomplish them.

"重" means important in Chinese. I acknowledge it as something takes longer time to be done, yet it needs to be finished as soon as possible. More often, it is usually an inevitable procedure within a project. No matter how much time, and how much effort it takes, it is a critical must to be completed. When things like this are stalemated, except to insist on its completion, sometimes it's a good idea to step back and keep an eye on it. Have time to solve this problem for you, and we can arrange time to next important thing.

"緩" means things are not so hurry, but also less important. Indeed, they could be the affairs to step back and watch as mentioned in the previous paragraph. As time goes by, situation will change. This best solution for this sort of things are keep waiting! Lots of time, some things seem to be urgent in their appearance; however, when it is technically unable to accomplish after all, we can only use alternative solutions to solve the problem in a temporary aspect as in a way things appear to be urgent. For example, before the electronic microscope was being invented, some contagious disease virus such as yellow fever was not able to be observed with optical microscope.
Mr. Hideyo Noguchi (the discoverer of venin and syphilis treatments) mistakenly recognized Weils
disease spirochaete as the yellow fever virus. Noguchi died in yellow fever finally, while the electronic microscope was invented four years after his death (in 1932).

About "輕" I need to address more on this. What things should fit in this category as we live in the modern busy society? In Chinese it can be translated as less important relatively, even it can be done after "緩" and need not to worry too much. However, in a certain aspect, "輕" may be implied as a kind of future goals or ultimate purposes. Yet, people usually THINK the troublesome routines as unimportant things and ignore them, finally the accumulated small things would turn out to be something urgent.

In conclusion, the mentioned points above are a general sorting priority idea. As time changes, things will also usually change to a higher execution priority order, and we will see the unsorted, complicated, and stressful things have changed to a simple liner sequence. Actually, the multitask design in computer operating system is also applying this logic. When all sorts of different tasks are well managed, the CPU is able to process many things together in a certain period of time. For example, we can command computers to download file in web browser and play CD music in background, at the same time, we can type report with a word processor program in the foreground.

As I used to be aiming to high, and now realized the kind of mistakes I made in the past, smoothly I tried to alter this sort of bad habit. Although my intention was to be doing good, the final situation turned out to be a mass, and this has make me feel so much pressure, busy, and powerless. I learned to tell myself to work with a calm and clear brain with a simple heart. Things are not only finished smoothly, stresses are but also disappeared!¶

^1. The four character phrase is a common expression in Chinese. Most people acknowledge it as an idea to manage time. I knew about it, but I did not know how to do it.

Apple Pixar Mania

This book reveals the growing background of Steve Jobs behind his bold living style. We learned how he was influence by his foster parents, his teacher, and his friends when he was a young kid. His foster father taught him to dissemble and assemble many things so that he understand how things work. The formal school education was a nightmare to him, while he was so lucky to meet a precious teacher who helped him to get away from making troubles, and even to skip a grade. His H.P. engineer neighbor is also praiseworthy who taught him how most electronic products were designed.

At his older age, Steve was fascinating on the Indian Buddhism. He even traveled India to experience and practice the Buddha's teaching. After he returned to the U.S. from India, he concludes that science and new technologies would be the major key to improve human's living. It is not enough to only count on religions. Even so, this special growing experiences might be possible to form his hippy style.

Graphical user interface, object-oriented language, and networking, these three technologies he learned during his visit at PARC. He dug into the research and development afterwards. That was also something helped him to build up the first web site ever on a NeXT computer, the second computer company Steve founded after Apple.

As regards of Pixar, the third company he found, Steve mentioned the critical major three points to make Pixar so successful. The first is creativity. The next is technology, and finally the third is creativity plus technology. To achieve such kind of competition gap, they have spent ten years.

Until now, Apple's Mac OS X, iPod, and iTunes Music Store are still very hot on the market. While looking backwards, that was not an easy path for him. He had encountered so many obstacles during the developing process; however, that was also an inevitable process to walk on the creative path. The path to success is about accumulating the positive experiences consistently. We can learn this lesson from Steve's stories.¶

Book Information
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Full Title: Apple Pixar Mania: iPod-iTunes-Nemo-The Incredibles - 20 ans du Mac... I'anne Steve Jobs
Author: Cryil Fievet
Language: French
ISBN: 2708131052
Publisher: 2004 Editions d'Organisation