← 一覧B2 · 1 min · 192 words

The Quiet Power of Lists

リスト作りは怠惰ではなく、不安に対する古い処方 — そう論じる短いエッセイ。

本文を読んでから訳を確認するのがおすすめ。
Lists are easy to dismiss. They are short, ugly, fragmentary; they do not impress at dinner parties. But the people who get the most done — surgeons, pilots, novelists, ordinary parents — quietly rely on them. Atul Gawande's book on checklists in operating rooms showed that something as simple as a printed five-step list could cut surgical complications by a third. Pilots have used checklists since the 1930s, ever since a Boeing prototype crashed because its experienced pilot forgot a single switch. Why are lists so disproportionately powerful? Part of the answer is cognitive: working memory is small, somewhere between four and seven items at a time, and a list externalizes the load. But there is something else, less measurable. A list is a small decision made in advance, freeing the future self from having to choose under pressure. Writing "buy milk" is not just about milk. It is about not having to decide, at six p.m. on a tired Tuesday, whether milk is worth the detour. The list, in this sense, is a kind of letter from a calmer self to a more harried one — a quiet act of kindness.

重要表現と解説

この記事で押さえたい表現。タップで単語帳に追加でき、復習時に出てきます。

  • Lists are easy to dismiss.文法

    リストは軽く扱われやすい。

    〈easy to + 動詞〉= 『〜しやすい』、形容詞 + to不定詞の評価構文。〈dismiss〉= 『軽視する/退ける』。

  • They are short, ugly, fragmentary文法

    短くて、見栄えがしなくて、断片的で

    形容詞の3つ並列 (rule of three)。エッセイのリズム作り。

  • the people who get the most done表現

    最も多くを成し遂げる人々

    〈get + the most + 過去分詞〉= 『最も多くを〜する』。〈get done〉= 受動的に物事を片付ける。

  • as simple as a printed five-step list could cut surgical complications by a third文法

    印刷された5ステップのリストのような単純なものが、手術合併症を3分の1減らせる

    〈as simple as X〉= 『X くらいに単純な』。〈cut + 名詞 + by + 数量〉= 『〜を〜だけ削る』。

  • ever since a Boeing prototype crashed表現

    ボーイングの試作機が墜落して以来

    〈ever since + 過去〉= 『〜以来ずっと』、開始時点を明示する継続表現。

  • Why are lists so disproportionately powerful?語彙

    なぜリストはこれほど不釣り合いに強力なのか?

    〈disproportionately〉= 『不釣り合いに、過剰に』、形容詞・副詞の高度語彙。

  • working memory is small, somewhere between four and seven items at a time語彙

    作業記憶は小さく、一度に4〜7項目の間で

    〈working memory〉= 『作業記憶』、認知心理学の用語。〈between A and B〉+ 〈at a time〉。

  • a list externalizes the load語彙

    リストはその負荷を外部化する

    〈externalize〉= 『外部化する』、内的なものを外側に出す動詞。〈the load〉= 『その負荷』、認知科学的比喩。

  • freeing the future self from having to choose under pressure文法

    未来の自分をプレッシャーの下で選ぶ必要から解放する

    現在分詞 freeing が分詞構文。〈free X from Y〉= 『X を Y から解放する』。〈having to + 動詞〉= 動名詞の義務形 (〜しなければならないこと)。

  • a kind of letter from a calmer self to a more harried one表現

    より落ち着いた自分から、より追い詰められた自分への手紙の一種

    〈a kind of letter from A to B〉= メタファー。比較級 calmer / more harried で『現在と未来の自分』を対比。

次: My Cat Will Not Move →