介绍： As I started to trace back our love of color, I found that some researchers see a connection to our evolution. Color, in a very primal way, is a sign of life, a sign of energy. And the same is true of abundance. We evolved in a world where scarcity is dangerous, and abundance meant survival. So, one confetto ...

介绍： As I started to trace back our love of color, I found that some researchers see a connection to our evolution. Color, in a very primal way, is a sign of life, a sign of energy. And the same is true of abundance. We evolved in a world where scarcity is dangerous, and abundance meant survival. So, one confetto isn't very joyful, but multiply it, and you have a handful of one of the most joyful substances on the planet. And what about all those round things I noticed? Well, it turns out neuroscientists have studied this, too. They put people into fMRI machines, and they showed them pictures of angular objects and round ones. And what they found is that the amygdala, a part of the brain associated in part with fear and anxiety, lit up when people looked at angular objects, but not when they looked at the round ones. They speculate that because angles in nature are often associated with objects that might be dangerous to us, that we evolved an unconscious sense of caution around these shapes, whereas curves set us at ease.
scarcity /'skeəsɪtɪ/ n. 缺乏，稀少
associate /ə'səʊʃɪeɪt/ v. 和…联系在一起；关联
speculate /ˈspɛkjʊˌleɪt/ v. 猜测，推测
caution /'kɔːʃ(ə)n/ n. 谨慎
我开始回顾我们对色彩的喜爱， 我发现，有些研究者认为这跟我们的进化有关。 颜色，从最原始的角度来看，象征着生命和活力。同时也象征着真正的富足。在我们生存的世界，匮乏是危险的，而富足意味着生存。所以，一片小纸屑 （confetto）并不那么有趣，但如果是很多纸屑，你就拥有了这个星球上最有趣的东西。关于圆形的东西，我有什么发现呢？神经学家已经做过研究。他们把人放进功能性磁共振成像机，分别给他们看带尖角的和圆形的物体。他们发现杏仁核，就是大脑中与恐惧和焦虑有关的部分，会在看向尖锐物体的时候被点亮，而看向圆形物体的时候则没有。他们推测因为自然界中的尖角，往往跟危险的东西有关，于是看到尖锐的物体，我们会下意识地变得警觉，而曲线会让我们放松。

Each moment of joy is small, but over time, they add up to more than the sum of their parts. And so maybe instead of chasing after happiness, what we should be doing is embracing joy and finding ways to put ourselves in the path of it more often. Deep within us, we all have this impulse to seek out joy in our surroundings. And we have it for a reason. Joy isn't some superfluous extra. It's directly connected to our fundamental instinct for survival. On the most basic level, the drive toward joy is the drive toward life.
superfluous /suː'pɜːflʊəs/ adj. 多余的
instinct /ˈɪnstɪŋkt/ n. 本能
每一刻的快乐都不值一提，但随着时间推移，这些快乐会叠加出更明显的效果。所以与其去追求幸福，其实我们更应该拥抱快乐，想办法让自己在快乐的路上停留更久。因为在内心深处，我们都想在自己周围寻找快乐。这是有原因的。快乐并不是锦上添花的事情。它直接与我们的生存本能相关联。从最基本的层面来说， 追求快乐，就是追求生命。