Thinking in New Ways
演讲人：Peter Salovey彼得·沙洛维
So，men and women of 2010，all of us know that this is a big moment for you，the start of a tremendous adventure，one that has been a part of the tradition of young people since the academies of Greece and Rome and the great libraries at Alexandria and Ephesus.As it happens，about two months ago，forty Yale alumni，my wife，Marta，and I stood in front of the magnificent ruins of the ancient library of Ephesus，a Roman city unearthed near Izmir，Turkey，gazing at what was essentially the Sterling Memorial Library of the second century.
The library of Ephesus housed more than twelve thousand scrolls，our libraries contain about twelve million books and journals.But to be frank，it is our library on Cross Campus-I"m sure you have seen it-rather than Ephesus that right now looks more like the site of an historical excavation！
Your experience here，linked to this past，maychange who you are，as similar experiences have changed the lives of students for thousands of years.And it all begins for you right here，right now.Over the next four years，we will come to know you，not just you in general，but you in particular，from Aaron （all five of them），Abby，and Abra to Zharng，Zoe，and Zoelle.We will，like your families up in the balcony，and the families already missing you in homes around the world，come to know your faces，your voices，your talents，your humor，your quirks and eccentricities， your special geniuses.
You will change our lives as we will change yours.This is the beginning of the building of a new and special family，one put together to foster the strength of this community for one primary reason-so that you can develop yourselves to your greatest potential.
And now to welcome you properly this morning，I am going to ask a simple question and draw upon the discipline of psychology，my field of study，for answers.Here is the question：Is your college education made better by the fact that we seek to draw to Yale students from the four corners of the earth and from all parts of this country？In the Class of 2010，for example，we have freshmen from all fifty states and fifty countries of the world.You are a group of students representing numerous different cultures，traditions，and accomplishments；you have had many different kinds of experiences in your lives.
It seems obvious that casting a wide net helps us to achieve our goal of providing all outstanding education to the very best students，regardless of familycircumstances，from anywhere in the world，who can benefit the most from being here.If we use a broad net，we are more likely to catch some big fish.We want the world"s best students at Yale，and we work very hard to convince you to come here.But why？
I believe-and I suspect you will discover-that the educational experience in the classroom，1aboratory，and studio is enhanced by the presence of people who-no matter who you are-have had different life experiences than you，who do not share the same learning history and cultural experiences.It goes without saying that we all share a common humanity，we are all citizens of the earth，and there are many ways in which we are very much alike.
But，there are also ways in which our family backgrounds，upbringings，and schooling have taught us to notice different things，to reason differently，and to solve problems in different ways.The glory of Yale is that at a critical moment in your lives you will be exposed to so many people with different histories who have grown up with varied ways of interpreting experience.
From them you will learn by discussion，argument，and even osmosis how to approach a problem or task from multiple vantage points，argue various sides to an issue，and generate better solutions.Of course many of you have had some of this kind of experience before in your lives.The difference now is that you will be living so close togetherand in such an intense intellectual and extracurricular environment.In your livesso far，I am sure you"ve encountered people with different thinking styles.Some of your friends are extremely verbal and analytic.Others are more visual and imaginative.My former Yale colleague，Robert Sternberg，now the dean at Tufts University，suggests that some individuals are executive thinkers（they like to follow guidelines developed by others）；some are legislative thinkers （they generate ideas and do things their own way）；and others are judicial thinkers （they enjoy evaluating ideas）.Further，educational systems throughout the world may emphasize the learning of different ways of thinking.Here"s an example that I think you will find intriguing.
Richard Nisbett is a University of Michigan social psychologist who began his career on the Yale faculty in the 1960s and 70s.Through careful laboratory experimentation，he has demonstrated that individuals who grew up in the countries of East Asia actually learn ways of thinking with different emphases than individuals who grew up in the countries of Western Europe or North America.
Neither Professor Nisbett nor I intend to imply that all East Asians or a11North Americans and Western Europeans are alike.Of course there is considerable diversity within each group of individuals.
But family background，schooling，and experience help determine the wonderful differences among human beings，and Professor Nisbett"s research provides a fascinating window into one way that this is so.So let me tell you about the kinds of psychology experiments that Professor Nisbett conducts.
In one，he and Taka Masuda showed students who had lived in Japanand students who were raised in the United States various underwater scenes including fish swimming around in the foregroundwith rocks，plants，snails，bubbles，and the like in the background.The fish were the focal point of the scene.After studying these scenes for twenty seconds，the students were asked to report what they could remember.