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We all know the feeling. You have a big, difficult task to complete, but your phone is on the desk next to you, teasing you with endless distraction opportunities. What's happening on social media? What's going on in the news? Who's messaging me? This constant bombardment of information through our screens, coupled with a tendency to outsource even basic tasks to technology, might be making us unhappier and more resistant to difficult tasks. Is 'friction-maxxing' the answer?
我们都知道这种感觉。 你有一项艰巨的任务要完成，但你的手机就放在你旁边的桌子上，给你带来无尽的分心机会。 社交媒体上发生了什么？ 新闻里发生了什么？ 谁给我发消息？ 这种通过屏幕不断轰炸的信息，加上甚至将基本任务外包给技术的趋势，可能会让我们更加不快乐，并且更加抵制困难的任务。 “最大摩擦力”是答案吗？

Humans like to choosethe path of least resistance to conserve energy, but actually, tasks that require more effort often feel more meaningful. Friction-maxxing is a new trend which aims to rebuild our tolerance for inconvenience. In a basic sense, this involves adding more 'friction' to tasks so that they require more time, effort or patience, which, in theory, leads to greater feelings of satisfaction and reward. A series of experiments carried out in 2012 by researchers Norton, Mochon and Ariely found that when people built their own furniture, they had a greater sense of their own competence and pride in their creations.
人类喜欢选择阻力最小的路径来节省能量，但实际上，需要付出更多努力的任务往往感觉更有意义。 最大摩擦是一种新趋势，旨在重建我们对不便的容忍度。 从基本意义上讲，这涉及给任务增加更多的“摩擦”，从而需要更多的时间、精力或耐心，从理论上讲，这会带来更大的满足感和奖励感。 2012 年，研究人员 Norton、Mochon 和 Ariely 进行了一系列实验，结果发现，当人们自己制作家具时，他们对自己的能力和创作的自豪感会更强。

Our brains operate on a 'use it or lose it' principle, says Gloria Mark, psychologist and author of book 'Attention Span'. To keep new brain neurons alive, we must keep using them by continuing to do effortful tasks. If we rely too much on technology, we risk weakening our mental skills. Many of us use GPS apps to direct us around a city, but overusing these apps appears to be reducing our natural sense of direction, according to a study published in the Scientific Reports journal by Dahmani and Bohbot. On the other hand, studies show that cognitively stimulating activities which require more patience, like reading, doing puzzles and learning an instrument, can preserve our brain function as we age.
心理学家、《注意力广度》一书的作者格洛丽亚·马克 (Gloria Mark) 表示，我们的大脑遵循“使用它或失去它”的原则。 为了让新的大脑神经元保持活力，我们必须通过继续完成艰苦的任务来继续使用它们。 如果我们过度依赖技术，我们的心理技能就有可能被削弱。 根据 Dahmani 和 Bohbot 在《科学报告》杂志上发表的一项研究，我们中的许多人都使用 GPS 应用程序在城市中导航，但过度使用这些应用程序似乎会降低我们自然的方向感。 另一方面，研究表明，需要更多耐心的认知刺激活动，如阅读、做谜题和学习乐器，可以随着年龄的增长保护我们的大脑功能。

Some are unconvinced by the 'friction-maxxing' trend. Psychologist and author of 'The Distracted Mind', Larry Rosen, believes it's too hard to resist the convenience technology provides. The trend doesn't hurt, says Gloria Mark. "If people are putting in effort, it makes them more intentional and thoughtful." Perhaps by taking the easy route, we're missing out on some of life's enjoyment.
有些人对“最大摩擦”趋势不相信。 心理学家、《分心的思维》一书的作者拉里·罗森认为，人们很难抗拒科技带来的便利。 格洛丽亚·马克 (Gloria Mark) 表示，这种趋势并没有什么坏处。 “如果人们付出努力，他们就会变得更加有意和周到。” 也许因为走捷径，我们会错过一些生活的乐趣。

Mornings for Khris Teri of Halo Doughnut means it's time to hand make sweet treats, with flavors such as lemon pop, cinnamon affair along with burnt salty. Everything is made from scratch.
对于光环甜甜圈店的克里斯·特里（Khris Teri）来说，早晨是手工制作美味甜点的时间，有柠檬汽水味、肉桂味以及焦盐等口味。所有产品都是从头开始制作的。

So the financial downturn helped me revisit my passion.
经济低迷期帮助我重燃激情。

Unemployed in March, this former video producer with a zeal for cooking, started making doughnuts for friends.
三月份失业后，这位热衷于烹饪的前视频制片人开始为朋友制作甜甜圈。

So one of my best friends said now Khris I think you should sell this, I think you should make this into a business.
我的一个好朋友说：克里斯，我认为你应该卖甜甜圈，你应该把这个做成生意。

Teri started out at her mother's kitchen, but quickly outgrew it. So now she rents space in a shared commercial kitchen.
特里一开始在母亲的厨房制作，但生意很快就发展壮大了。现在她在一个共享商用厨房里租了场地。

It only costs about $400 a month, and includes all the pots and pans which keeps the expenses down.
每月只需花费约400美元，而且包含所有锅碗瓢盆，这大大降低了开销。

We started it in a shared kitchen because it's low risk and it's low investment. I think it's the perfect way to start a business.
我们之所以选择在共享厨房起步，是因为它风险低且投入少。我认为这是创业的绝佳方式。

While various new businesses have different back stories, Teri's situation fits a trend that shows a rapidly growing number of micro businesses in Malaysia,
虽然各种新企业的背景不同，但特里的情况符合马来西亚微型企业数量迅速增长的趋势：

businesses that are starting up from even the garage or their house to kitchen, their home kitchen.
从车库或家庭厨房起步。

Raymond Woo of the Malaysia Retail Chain Association says, there are easily tens of thousands of micro businesses that have started up in the country since the economic downturn started in March.
马来西亚零售连锁店协会的雷蒙德·吴（Raymond Woo）表示， 自三月份经济低迷以来，该国很容易就有数万家微型企业发展起来。

The people behind them often need a low-risk way of earning income, after being laid off or forced to take a pay cut.
背后的创业者在被解雇或被迫减薪后，往往需要一种低风险的收入方式。

It could be doing marketing advisory businesses, website photography, services that they actually know as a hobby, and then moving that hobby and monetizing it.
他们可以从事营销咨询业务、网站摄影，或是将原本作为爱好的服务转化为职业，进而将这一爱好变现。

At a recent pop-up event, customers sunk their teeth into Teri's doughnuts at prices, ranging from one to two dollars each depending on the flavor.
在最近的一次活动中，顾客们狼吞虎咽地吃着特里的甜甜圈，价格从一美元到两美元不等，具体取决于口味。

One thing is the fluffiness of the doughnut and the flavor is always something out of the ordinary.
甜甜圈很松软，味道与众不同。

Halo Doughnut has not quite reached the break-even point yet.
光环甜甜圈店尚未达到收支平衡点。

But Teri expects to turn this into a profitable business within a few months.
但特里预计在几个月内将其转变为盈利业务。

She currently has one part-time kitchen worker but plans on hiring more soon.
她目前有一名兼职厨房员工，但计划很快招聘更多人手。

Though it appears to have marched straight out of a superhero movie, the Guardian Exoskeleton is ready for work in the real world.
虽然它看起来像是直接从超级英雄电影中走出来的，但“守护者”外骨骼设备已准备好在现实世界中投入使用。

It's a wearable robot that amplifies its user's strength.
这是一款可穿戴机器人，可以增强用户的力量。

Anybody who's wearing the Guardian Exo can lift up to 200 pounds.
任何穿着“守护者”外骨骼设备的人都可以举起两百磅的重量。

It really augments your strength, your performance. You move the way you normally would move.
它确实能增强你的力量。你可以像平时一样活动。

So if you were to go to grab something to lift it, that responds to your movement and gives you that strength to do that activity.
如果你要去拿东西并把它举起来，它会响应你的动作并赋予你完成这项活动的力量。

The Exo carries all the weight and transfers it through its legs to the ground, making 90 kilos feel like only 4.5.
外骨骼承载所有重量并通过其腿部传递至地面，让90公斤感觉仅如4.5公斤。

Whether you're big, strong, small, man or woman, you can do the same task.
不管你是高大还是瘦小，也不论你是男是女，你都可以完成同样的任务。

At a recent demonstration, audience members experienced how an Exo arm gives them super strength.
在最近的一次演示中，观众亲身体验了外骨骼手臂如何赋予他们超强力量。

Strapping in takes only a few minutes and once on board, the Exoskeleton responds to the user's body movements.
穿戴只需几分钟，一旦佩戴齐全，外骨骼就会对使用者的身体动作做出反应。

So this robot is very intuitive. It follows me, does what I do, I don't have to think about it. We have something we call get out of the way control.
这个机器人非常直观。它跟着我，模仿我的动作，我都不用去想。我们有一种叫做让路控制的东西。

What this allows is any operator to jump in and actually just move the way they normally would, and the robot is constantly getting out of their way.
这样做能让任何操作人员直接上手，像平常一样自如移动，而机器人则会不断避让。

The first Exos will find work in the military and the airline and construction industries.
首批外骨骼将应用于军事、航空和建筑行业。

The second most common reason for someone in this work is package.
第二个最常见的应用行业是搬运。

They're getting injured while they're lifting heavy equipment, while they're doing repetitive tasks,
他们在搬运重型设备、进行重复性任务时会受伤，

and the Exoskeleton can take the burden from the operator through the Exoskeleton and eliminate that injury.
而外骨骼可以为操作人员减轻负担，避免受伤。

Though the Guardian Exo would be useful for chores around the home,
尽管守护者外骨骼在家务劳动中会很有用，

for now it will be going to industries that can afford the $100,000 per year rental fee.
但目前它将进入那些能负担每年10万美元租金的行业。

Farmers in Turkana Kenya face an existential crisis.
肯尼亚图尔卡纳的农民面临着生存危机。

For much of the past year out-of-control swarms of locusts have rampaged through this impoverished region,
过去一年的大部分时间里，失控的蝗虫群在这片贫困地区肆虐，啃食大片庄稼，

eating fields of crops and leaving little to sell or feed the farm animals.
几乎没留下什么可以出售或喂养家畜的东西。

Our elders talked about desert locusts, but this is the first time I've seen them.
我们的长辈们谈论过沙漠蝗虫，但这是我第一次见到它们。

A mother of seven Anna Amurai says locusts deprive animals of the food they need to produce the milk she serves to her family.
七个孩子的母亲Anna Amurai说，蝗虫夺走了牲畜产奶所需的食物，而她正是用这些奶来供养家人的。

It takes several days and we add water to the milk to make enough for the children.
有好几天，我们在牛奶里加水，才够孩子们喝。

Locusts have so far eaten as much as 20 percent of the crops in this region,
截至目前，蝗虫已吃掉该地区多达20%的农作物，

prompting the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to train local youth to monitor and report on locust migrations.
促使联合国粮食及农业组织培训当地青年监测和汇报蝗虫的迁徙情况。

Pastor and local livestock organization member Moses Areng cautiously puts hope in faith.
牧师和当地家畜组织成员Moses Areng谨慎地将希望寄托于信仰。

I know if the desert locusts disappear, and God gives us a little bit of rain, the pasture will return.
如果沙漠蝗虫消失了，上天再降下一点雨水，牧场就会恢复生机。

But if it doesn't rain for a month and the hoppers finish the pasture, the livestock will suffer and die from hunger and disease.
但如果一个月不下雨，蝗虫吃光牧场，牲畜就会受苦受难，死于饥饿和疾病。

Local agriculture officials say farmers alone cannot solve the locust infestation.
当地农业官员说，仅靠农民无法解决蝗灾问题。

They're calling for aid from the government and non-profit groups.
他们呼吁政府和非营利组织提供援助。

If more isn't done fast, experts say the people in East Africa could face food insecurity by December.
专家说，如果不尽快采取更多措施，东非人民将在十二月面临粮食短缺问题。

At this fitness clinic, a small group of Malaysians try to shed some excess weight.
在这个健身诊所， 一小群马来西亚人试图减肥。

Sarah Baharudin is 35 years old, 165 centimeters tall, and weighs 110 kilos.
莎拉·巴哈鲁丁35岁了，身高165厘米，体重110公斤。

I eat traditional Malay food, and it's high in fat and calorie. And then on top of that, I did not go for any you know active. I was not active.
我吃传统的马来食物，它的脂肪和热量很高。除此之外，我没有进行任何锻炼。我不爱运动。

I was not living an active lifestyle. I did not exercise. So you know, years after years of doing that and becomes obesity.
我不锻炼。年复一年这样做就导致了肥胖。

Her story is all too common across Malaysia. About half of the country's adults are overweight or obese.
她的故事在马来西亚非常普遍。约一半的马来西亚成年人超重或肥胖。

Dr. Noradhiah Tumirin, a physician and fitness trainer, says the country's obesity crisis is a key reason why the number of non-communicable diseases is growing.
医生兼健身教练诺拉迪娅·图米林博士表示，该国的肥胖危机是非传染性疾病数量增加的关键原因。

This obesity will lead to multiple illnesses such as hypertension, high cholesterol, heart illnesses, and diabetes.
肥胖会导致多种疾病，如高血压、高胆固醇、心脏病和糖尿病。

Kevin Zahri is one of Malaysia's leading fitness influencers. He founded a local weight loss movement called Jom Kurus, which translates to let's get thin or let's lose weight.
凯文·扎赫里是马来西亚顶尖的健身网红之一。他发起了一项名为“Jom Kurus”的当地减肥活动，翻译过来就是“让我们变瘦”或“让我们减肥”。

To help somebody not feel alone and jump on the bandwagon with a group of people who are of similar physical stature and of similar physical objectives, goals and desires.
帮助某人不感到孤独，并加入一群身材相似、身体目标、愿望和渴望相似的人的行列。

Every year thousands of Malaysians across the country join six-week-long Jom Kurus fitness camps.
每年，全国成千上万的马来西亚人参加为期六周的Jom Kurus健身营。

They meet several times a week for exercises and lessons on nutrition. Plus there are social media support groups.
他们每周碰面几次，一起锻炼并学习营养知识。此外，还有社交媒体互助小组。

Zahri says the average participant loses 4 to 5 kilos during the 6-week program, but the real goal is to get them to lead healthy lifestyles long after.
扎赫里说，参与者在为期6周的项目中平均减重4到5公斤，但真正的目标是让他们在项目结束后长期保持健康的生活方式。

We are hoping that the 6-week program can become the kick-start in the longevity of their journey.
我们希望这个为期六周的项目能成为他们漫长旅程的开端。

That's what Sarah Baharudin is pushing for by getting on a regular exercise routine and improving her diet. I have decided to change my lifestyle into a healthier one.
这就是莎拉·巴哈鲁丁通过坚持规律锻炼和改善饮食所追求的目标。我决定将自己的生活方式转变为更健康的方式。

But while Jom Kurus and other fitness programs are helping Malaysians change their lifestyles, it's clear they're just scratching the surface of this nation's obesity crisis.
但尽管Jom Kurus等健身计划正在帮助马来西亚人改变生活方式，显然这些举措只是触及了该国肥胖危机的表面问题。

All said and done, the amount of people that we've targeted in comparison to the number of the population which are obese is still very very small.
总而言之，与肥胖人群的数量相比，我们锁定的目标人群数量仍然非常非常少。

Baharudin acknowledges changing lifelong habits is not easy, but says she's determined to make this the beginning of a new way of living.
巴哈鲁丁承认改变一生的习惯并不容易，但她说她决心让这成为一种新生活方式的开端。