Are you the kind of person who hated school? Or are you more like Michael Nicholson, who can't stop learning? He currently has 30 degrees including 22 master's and a doctorate! If you're also passionate about studying, you might be a philomath – a person who loves to learn and study. The word comes from Greek with 'phil' meaning 'a lover of' and 'math' meaning 'learning'.

你是那种讨厌上学的人吗？或者你更像 Michael Nicholson，无法停止学习？目前拥有30个学位，包括22个硕士和博士学位！如果您也热衷于学习，那么您可能是一个哲学家——一个热爱学习和学习的人。这个词来自希腊语，“phil”的意思是“爱人”，“math”的意思是“学习”。

Humans are all philomaths to an extent – our brain is hardwired to be curious. We want to learn and understand, partly to make sense of the world but also because of something called neoteny. This is a term that refers to the juvenile characteristics of some animals, including humans, being retained into adulthood. One of these traits is neuroplasticity, which helps our brains stay flexible – this gives us the ability to learn throughout our lives. Many creatures which are genetically close to us, like primates, can't do this and only learn during their adolescence.

人类在某种程度上都是哲学家——我们的大脑天生就好奇。我们想要学习和理解，部分原因是为了理解这个世界，但也因为一种叫做幼稚的东西。这个术语指的是一些动物（包括人类）的幼年特征被保留到成年期。这些特征之一是神经可塑性，它可以帮助我们的大脑保持灵活——这使我们能够终生学习。许多与我们基因接近的生物，如灵长类动物，无法做到这一点，只能在青春期学习。

But for every person who loves learning, there are plenty who can't stand it. Lots of people remember their school days as being boring or even pointless.Why is this? Educational anthropologists have suggested that if a concept or idea is too complex or dull, it becomes harder to link old and new ideas together. If that's the case, we lose motivation and absorb less information. This negative experience of education at school may lead to people avoiding learning opportunities in later life.  ­

但是对于每一个热爱学习的人来说，受不了的大有人在。很多人记得他们的学生时代很无聊甚至毫无意义。这是为什么？教育人类学家建议，如果一个概念或想法太复杂或太乏味，就很难将新旧想法联系在一起。如果是这样，我们就会失去动力并吸收更少的信息。这种在学校接受教育的负面经历可能会导致人们在以后的生活中避免学习机会。 ­

So, don't let a bad educational experience prevent you learning something new as an adult. Evolution has made us lifelong learners, so take advantage of your biology and discover your inner philomath. Who knows what you could achieve?

所以，不要让糟糕的教育经历阻碍你成年后学习新东西。进化使我们成为终身学习者，所以利用你的生物学优势，发现你内心的哲学。谁知道你能取得什么成就

词汇表

master's 硕士学位
doctorate 博士学位
hardwired 天生的，本能的
curious 好奇的
neoteny 幼态持续
juvenile characteristics 幼年特征
retain 保留
trait 特征
neuroplasticity 神经可塑性
genetically close 基因相近的
primate 灵长类动物
adolescence 青春期
educational anthropologist 教育人类学家
concept 概念
complex 复杂的
motivation 积极性，动力
absorb 掌握
evolution 进化
lifelong learner 终身学习者