I spend a lot of time teaching adults how to use visual language and doodling in the workplace.

私自身のことをお話しします

And naturally, I encounter a lot of resistance, because it's considered to be anti-intellectual and counter to serious learning.

私は大人を対象に

But I have a problem with that belief, because I know that doodling has a profound impact on the way that we can process information and the way that we can solve problems.

視覚言語や落書きの

So I was curious about why there was a disconnect between the way that our society perceives doodling and the way that the reality is.

仕事への活用術を教えています

So I discovered some very interesting things.

そういうことに抵抗を持つ人がよくいます

For example, there's no such thing as a flattering definition of a doodle.

知的でなく 真剣な学習に

In the 17th century, a doodle was a simpleton or a fool, as in Yankee Doodle.

そぐわないと思われているのです

In the 18th century, it became a verb, and it meant to swindle or ridicule or to make fun of someone.

でも私はそうは思いません

In the 19th century, it was a corrupt politician.

落書きというのは 私たちの情報処理能力や

And today, we have what is perhaps our most offensive definition, at least to me, which is the following:

問題解決能力に対して

To doodle officially means to dawdle, to dilly dally, to monkey around, to make meaningless marks, to do something of little value, substance or import, and — my personal favorite — to do nothing.

大きな影響を与えるからです

No wonder people are averse to doodling at work.

落書きに対する社会の認識と現実との間に

Doing nothing at work is akin to masturbating at work; it's totally inappropriate.

なぜこんなズレがあるのか

Additionally, I've heard horror stories from people whose teachers scolded them, of course, for doodling in classrooms.

不思議に思いました

And they have bosses who scold them for doodling in the boardroom.

そして非常に興味深いことを発見しました

There is a powerful cultural norm against doodling in settings in which we are supposed to learn something.

実際“doodle”(落書き)という言葉ほど

And unfortunately, the press tends to reinforce this norm when they're reporting on a doodling scene — of an important person at a confirmation hearing and the like — they typically use words like "discovered" or "caught" or "found out," as if there's some sort of criminal act being committed.

ひどい意味を持たされてきた言葉もありません

And additionally, there is a psychological aversion to doodling — thank you, Freud.

17世紀には「マヌケ」「愚か者」の意味でした

In the 1930s, Freud told us all that you could analyze people's psyches based on their doodles.

ヤンキー・ドゥードゥルという歌がありますね

This is not accurate, but it did happen to Tony Blair at the Davos Forum in 2005, when his doodles were, of course, "discovered" and he was labeled the following things.

18世紀には動詞となり

Now it turned out to be Bill Gates' doodle.

「だまし取る」「笑いものにする」「からかう」といった意味でした

And Bill, if you're here, nobody thinks you're megalomaniacal.

19世紀には「汚職政治家」を表していました

But that does contribute to people not wanting to share their doodles.

そして今日では 史上最も不快な定義だと

And here is the real deal. Here's what I believe.

個人的には思えるのですが

I think that our culture is so intensely focused on verbal information that we're almost blinded to the value of doodling.

“doodle”の公式の定義は

And I'm not comfortable with that.

「無駄に時間を過ごす」「ぐずぐずする」

And so because of that belief that I think needs to be burst, I'm here to send us all hurtling back to the truth.

「ブラブラする」「無意味なことを描く」

And here's the truth: doodling is an incredibly powerful tool, and it is a tool that we need to remember and to re-learn.

「価値や実質のないことをする」

So here's a new definition for doodling.

といったことであり その中でも

And I hope there's someone in here from The Oxford English Dictionary, because I want to talk to you later.

私のお気に入りの定義は

Here's the real definition:

「何もしない」です

Doodling is really to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think.

そりゃみんな職場で“doodle”したくないわけです

That is why millions of people doodle.

職場で何もしないのは

Here's another interesting truth about the doodle:

職場でエッチするのと同様

People who doodle when they're exposed to verbal information retain more of that information than their non-doodling counterparts.

まったく不適切なことです (笑)

We think doodling is something you do when you lose focus, but in reality, it is a preemptive measure to stop you from losing focus.

また恐ろしい話も耳にします

Additionally, it has a profound effect on creative problem-solving and deep information processing.

教室で落書きすると先生に叱られ

There are 4 ways that learners intake information so that they can make decisions.

会議室での落書きは上司に叱られます

They are visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic.

学習の場において落書きすべきではないという

Now in order for us to really chew on information and do something with it, we have to engage at least two of those modalities, or we have to engage one of those modalities coupled with an emotional experience.

強い文化的規範があるのです

The incredible contribution of the doodle is that it engages all four learning modalities simultaneously with the possibility of an emotional experience.

残念ながらマスコミも

That is a pretty solid contribution for a behavior equated with doing nothing.

この規範を後押ししています

This is so nerdy, but this made me cry when I discovered this.

例えば公聴会で重要人物が

So they did anthropological research into the unfolding of artistic activity in children, and they found that, across space and time, all children exhibit the same evolution in visual logic as they grow.

落書きなどしていようものなら

In other words, they have a shared and growing complexity in visual language that happens in a predictable order.

マスコミはいつも「発見した」

And I think that is incredible.

「捉えた」「発覚した」などと

I think that means doodling is native to us and we simply are denying ourselves that instinct.

それが犯罪ででもあるかのように報道します

And finally, a lot a people aren't privy to this, but the doodle is a precursor to some of our greatest cultural assets.

心理学的にも落書きが嫌われる理由があります

This is but one: this is Frank Gehry the architect's precursor to the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi.

フロイトのおかげです

So here is my point:

1930年代にフロイトは

Under no circumstances should doodling be eradicated from a classroom or a boardroom or even the war room.

落書き内容から 精神分析が可能だと

On the contrary, doodling should be leveraged in precisely those situations where information density is very high and the need for processing that information is very high.

主張したのです

And I will go you one further.

これは正確ではありません

Because doodling is so universally accessible and it is not intimidating as an art form, it can be leveraged as a portal through which we move people into higher levels of visual literacy.

しかし2005年のダボス会議で

My friends, the doodle has never been the nemesis of intellectual thought.

ブレア首相の落書きが「発見」され

In reality, it is one of its greatest allies.

誇大妄想的などと分析されました

Thank you.

後にその落書きはビル･ゲイツのものだったと分かりました (笑)