爲什麼你的桌子一團亂意味着你可能是個天才?

We all know at least one person with an insanely clean desk. Their stationery is colour-coded and their paperwork filed with neat, military-like precision. Their plants are alive and flourishing and they never have to battle for leg space against an unruly mountain of shoes.

我們身邊肯定至少有一個桌子極爲乾淨的人。他們的文具有不同的顏色，他們的文件也都放在文件夾中整整齊齊，像部隊裏的那般精準。他們的植物生長旺盛、他們的桌底下也不會放滿一堆鞋子，因此他們的腿想伸哪兒就伸哪兒。

It's easy to envy this woman - but pause your resentment because a study has found that employees with untidy and disorganised desks could, in fact, be unsung geniuses.

嫉妒這樣的女人非常容易--但請先別怨恨，因爲一項研究發現：事實上，辦公桌一團糟的員工可能是個無名天才。

Researchers from the University of Minnesota discovered there are "really valuable outcomes from being in a messy setting". In the study published in Psychological Science, two sets of participants were asked to complete a series of tasks. They were either based in a clean and orderly office, or one that was unkempt and cluttered, with papers strewn everywhere.

明尼蘇達大學的研究員們發現："人們在亂糟糟的環境中可能會得出真正有價值的成果"。在《心理科學》期刊上發表的研究中，研究員們要求兩組受試者完成一系列的任務。其中一組的辦公室乾淨有序，而另一組的辦公室則凌亂不堪、到處都是紙。

In one experiment, they were asked to come up with new uses for ping pong balls. The volunteers situated in the messy environment came up with the same amount of ideas as their clean-based counterparts - but their ideas were rated as more innovative and interesting when assessed by a panel of independent judges.

在其中一項實驗中，研究員們要求受試者想出乒乓球的新用處。處於亂糟糟環境下的志願者和處於乾淨環境中的同伴想出的主意量相同--但獨立評判小組卻認爲前者的想法更具創新性、也更有趣。

"Being in a messy room led to something that firms, industries, and societies want more of: creativity," explains psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs, who lead the study.

"處於亂糟糟的房間會產生公司、行業和社會想要的東西：創造性，"心理科學家、本研究的首席研究員Kathleen Vohs解釋道。

In another experiment, participants were given a choice between new or established products. Those in the messy setting plumped for the novel product, while people surrounded by tidiness opted for the tried-and-tested product. This suggests a disorderly surrounding can stimulate a release from convention, triggering a more open-minded approach.

在另一項研究中，研究員給了受試者兩個選擇：新產品和舊產品。亂糟糟環境下的受試者選擇了新穎產品，而整潔環境下的受試者則選擇了已經過驗證的產品。這表明無序的環境會刺激人們打破傳統、激發更開放的想法。

"Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights," Kathleen says. "Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe."

"無序的環境似乎能激發人們打破傳統、產生更新鮮的見解，"凱瑟琳說道。"相反，有序的環境會鼓勵傳統、保守行事。"

The problem is, most of us are so conditioned to think of neatness as a default good thing that it's difficult to see beyond that and appreciate the value of mess.

但問題來了，大多數的人都會把整潔默認爲一件好事，因此很難看清並欣賞雜亂的價值。

So, the next time you recoil in horror at your crumb-encrusted keyboard - take comfort. It's merely a symbol of your mighty creative prowess. You can't help it if you're a genius, can you?

所以，下一次當你的麪包屑掉到鍵盤上而使你驚慌的反彈時--請鎮定。這只是你無窮無盡創造力的象徵，畢竟你是天才，你能怎麼辦呢，對不？