No.08
Now, there are two conditions in this experiment. In one case, the students are told, “But you know, if you want to change your mind, I’ll always have the other one here, and in the next four days, before I actually mail it to headquarters,” — yeah, “headquarters” — “I’ll be glad to swap it out with you. In fact, I’ll come to your dorm room, just give me an email. Better yet, I’ll check with you. You ever want to change your mind, it’s totally returnable.” The other half of the students are told exactly the opposite: “Make your choice, and by the way, the mail is going out, gosh, in two minutes, to England. Your picture will be winging its way over the Atlantic. You will never see it again.” Half of the students in each of these conditions are asked to make predictions about how much they’re going to come to like the picture that they keep and the picture they leave behind. Other students are just sent back to their little dorm rooms and they are measured over the next three to six days on their liking, satisfaction with the pictures. And look at what we find.
First of all, here’s what students think is going to happen. They think they’re going to maybe come to like the picture they chose a little more than the one they left behind, but these are not statistically significant differences. It’s a very small increase, and it doesn’t much matter whether they were in the reversible or irreversible condition.
Wrong-o. Bad simulators. Because here’s what’s really happening. Both right before the swap and five days later, people who are stuck with that picture, who have no choice, who can never change their mind, like it a lot! And people who are deliberating — “Should I return it? Have I gotten the right one? Maybe this isn’t the good one? Maybe I left the good one?” — have killed themselves. They don’t like their picture, and in fact even after the opportunity to swap has expired, they still don’t like their picture. Why? Because the irreversible condition is not conducive to the synthesis of happiness.
ボキャブラリー
condition: n. 条件；状況、事情
experiment: n. 実験；試み
mail: vt. 〜を郵送する
headquarters: n. 本部、司令部
swap: vt. 〈物など〉を交換する, 換える(over);〈物など〉を取り替える(out) «for/with»
dorm room: 寮の部屋（解説）
email: n. 電子メール、Eメール
better yet: できたら、さらに良いのは；それならばいっそ、むしろ
check: vi. 点検する、調べる、検査する；確かめる、相談する
returnable: a. 返品可能な、返却できる、回収可能な
exactly: adv. 正確に、厳密に、ちょうど、まさしく、きっかり
opposite: n. 反対、正反対のこと
by the way: ところで、それはそうと
gosh: exclam. おや、大変、まあ、えっ（Godの婉曲語で、驚きや失望などを表す）
wing one’s way: 飛ぶ
Atlantic: n. 《the ~》大西洋
condition: n. 条件、事情、状態、様子
prediction: n. 予言、予想、予報、予測
leave behind: 〜を置き去りにする、忘れてくる、残す
send back: 送り返す、返送する、返信する
measure: vt. 〜を測る、測定する、評価する、査定する
satisfaction: n. 満足（感）、充足、達成
statistically: adv. 統計的に
significant: a. 重要な、意味のある、大きな影響を与える
increase: n. 増加、増大、増進
reversible: a. 元に戻せる、逆にできる
irreversible: a. 元に戻せない、逆にできない、取り消せない、撤回できない
simulator: n. 模擬実験、シミュレーター
stuck: a. 行き詰まった、手も足も出ない、抜け出せない
deliberate: vi. 熟考する、熟慮する、審議する
opportunity: n. 機会、好機、チャンス
expire: vi. 期限が切れる、満了する、満期になる
conducive: a. 資する、貢献する、（良い結果をもたらす）助けとなる
解説
dorm room:
一般的な学生寮の部屋
