第1段

In the last decade a revolution has occurred in the way that scientists think about the brain. We now know that the decisions humans make can be traced to the firing patterns of neurons in specific parts of the brain. These discoveries have led to the field known as , which studies the brain’s secrets to success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors. A brain that can do this is an iconoclastic one. Briefly, an  is a person who does something that others say can’t be done.

    在过去的十年里，科学家们对大脑的思考方式发生了一场革命。我们现在知道，人类所做出的决策可以追溯到特定脑部神经元的放电模式。这些发现导致了被称为“神经经济学”的领域的产生，在这个要求创新和与竞争对手不同的经济环境中，研究大脑成功的秘诀。一个能够做到这一点的大脑是一个反传统的大脑。简而言之，一个反传统者是指一个做着其他人认为不可能做到的事情的人。

第2段

This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is the brains that are different in three distinct ways: perception, fear response, and social intelligence. Each of these three functions utilizes a different circuit in the brain. Naysayers might suggest that the brain is irrelevant that thinking in an original, even revolutionary, way is more a matter of personality than brain function. But the field of neuroeconomics was born out of the realization that the physical working of the brain place limitations on the way we make decisions. By understanding these constraints, we begin to understand why some people march to a different drumbeat.

这个定义意味着反传统者与其他人不同，但更确切地说，大脑在感知、恐惧反应和社会智能方面存在三种不同的方式。这三个功能各自利用大脑中的不同回路。怀疑论者可能认为大脑无关紧要，认为以原创、甚至革命性的方式思考更多是个性而非大脑功能的问题。但是，神经经济学领域的产生正是源于意识到大脑的物理运作对我们做出决策方式有所限制。通过理解这些限制，我们开始了解为什么有些人与众不同。

第3段

The first thing to realize is that the brain suffers from limited resources. It has a fixed energy budget, about the same as a 40 watt light bulb, so it has evolved to work as efficiently as possible. This is where most people are impeded from being an iconoclast. For example, when confronted with information streaming from the eyes, the brain will interpret this information in the quickest way possible. Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is seeing. This happens all the time. The brain takes shortcuts that work so well we hardly ever aware of them. We think our perceptions of the world are real, but they are only biological and electrical rumblings. Perception is not simply a product of what your eyes or ears transmit to your brain. More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is a product of the brain.

首先要意识到的是，大脑资源有限。它有一个固定的能源预算，与一个40瓦的灯泡差不多，所以它进化成了尽可能高效地工作。这就是大多数人无法成为反传统者的地方。例如，当面对从眼睛输入的信息时，大脑会以最快的方式对这些信息进行解释。因此，它会利用过去的经验和其他任何信息来源（如其他人说的话）来理解它所看到的东西。这种情况经常发生。大脑采用了工作得非常好的捷径，我们几乎意识不到它们的存在。我们认为自己对世界的感知是真实的，但实际上它们只是生物和电子的反应。感知并不仅仅取决于眼睛或耳朵传输给大脑的物理现实。感知更多地是大脑的产物。

第4段

Perception is central to iconoclasm. Iconoclasts see things differently to other people. Their brains do not fail into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person’s brain. Iconoclasts, either because they were born that way or through learning, have found ways to work around the perceptual shortcut that plague most people. Perception is not something that is hardwired into the brain. It is a learned process, which is both a curse and an opportunity for change. The brain faces the fundamental problem of interpreting physical stimuli from the sense. Everything the brain sees, hears, or touches has multiple interpretations. The one that is ultimately chosen is simply the brain’s best theory. In technical terms, these conjectures have their basis in the statistical likelihood of one interpretation over another and are heavily influenced by past experience and, importantly for potential iconoclasts, what other people say.

感知对于反传统至关重要。反传统者与其他人看事物的方式不同。他们的大脑没有像普通人的大脑那样陷入效率陷阱。反传统者，无论是因为天生如此还是通过学习，都找到了绕过困扰大多数人的感知捷径的方法。感知不是一种内在于大脑的东西。它是一个学习过程，既是一种诅咒，也是一种改变的机会。大脑面临的根本问题是从感觉中解释物理刺激。大脑看到、听到或触摸的一切都有多种解释。最终选择的解释只是大脑最好的理论。从技术角度来说，这些猜测是基于一种解释比另一种解释更有统计可能性的基础，并且受到过去经验的重大影响，对于潜在的反传统者来说，还受到其他人说的话的重要影响。

第5段

The best way to see things differently to other people is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments. Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different. Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while most people avoid things that are different.

以与其他人看事物有所不同的方式来思考的最佳方法是给大脑提供从未遇到过的事物。新奇性使感知过程摆脱过去经验的束缚，迫使大脑做出新的判断。成功的反传统者对被曝光于新鲜和不同之物有着非凡的意愿。观察反传统者表明，他们拥抱新奇性，而大多数人则回避不同的事物。

第6段

The problem with novelty, however, is that it tends to trigger the brain’s fear system. Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person in his tracks. There are many types of fear, but the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are These may seem like trivial phobia. But fear of public speaking, which everyone must do from time to time, afflicts one-third of the population. This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions.

然而，新奇性存在一个问题，它容易触发大脑的恐惧系统。恐惧是阻碍像反传统者思考的一个重要障碍，它让普通人停滞不前。有很多种类型的恐惧，但是对于阻碍反传统思维和人们普遍难以应对的两种恐惧是... 这些可能看起来像是微不足道的恐惧。但是，公众演讲恐惧（每个人都必须时不时地进行）影响了三分之一的人口。这使它不太常见，无法被视为一种心理障碍。它只是人类本性的一种普遍变体，而反传统者则不会让它限制他们的反应。

第7段

Finally, to be successful iconoclasts, individuals must sell their ideas to other people. This is where social  comes in. Social intelligence is the ability to understand and manage people in a business setting. In the last decade there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain and how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making. Neuroscience has revealed which brain circuits are responsible for functions like understanding what other people think, empathy, fairness, and social identity. These brain regions play key roles in whether people convince others of their ideas. Perception is important in social cognition too. The perception of someone’s enthusiasm, or reputation, can make or break a deal. Understanding how perception becomes interviewed with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.

最后，要成为成功的反传统者，个人必须向其他人推销自己的想法。这就是社交智能的作用。社交智能是在商业环境中理解和管理人员的能力。在过去的十年里，有关社交大脑以及团队如何协调决策制定的知识爆炸式增长。神经科学揭示了哪些大脑回路负责诸如理解他人思维、同理心、公平和社会认同等功能。这些大脑区域在个人是否能够说服其他人接受自己的想法方面起着关键作用。感知在社交认知中也很重要。对某人热情或声誉的感知可能会成败决定。了解感知如何与社交决策相互作用，就能够理解为什么成功的反传统者如此罕见。

第8段

Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business. They supply creativity and innovation not easily accomplished by committees. Rules aren’t important to them. Iconoclasts face alienation and failure, but can also be a major asset to any organization. It is crucial for success in any field to understand how the iconoclastic mind works.