The need for balance is especially important when it comes to creativity and productivity. When psychologists look at the lives of the most creative people, they almost always find a serious streak (个性特征) of introversion because solitude is a crucial ingredient for creativity.

在创造力和生产力的问题上，内向和外向的平衡尤其重要。当心理学家在审视最富创造力的一些人的生活时，他们几乎总能发现内向性格的重要特征，因为独处是创造力的一个关键要素。

Charles Darwin took long walks alone in the woods and emphatically (断然地) turned down dinner party invitations. Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, dreamed up his creations in a private bell tower in the back of his house in La Jolla. Steve Wozniak invented the first Apple computer alone in his cubicle at Hewlett Packard.

查尔斯•达尔文曾断然拒绝一次又一次的晚宴邀请，长时间独自一人在树林里漫步。常被人称作瑟斯博士的西奥多•盖泽尔在其位于拉荷亚的房舍后面的一座僻静钟楼里构思出了他的作品。史蒂夫•沃兹尼亚克独自在惠普公司的小隔间里创造出了第一台苹果电脑。

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we should stop collaborating with each other—witness Wozniak teaming up with Steve Jobs to form Apple. But it does mean that solitude matters. And for some people it’s the air they breathe.

当然，这并不意味着我们应该停止相互合作——沃兹尼亚克就是和史蒂夫•乔布斯合作才成立了苹果公司。但这的确说明了独处的重要性。对某些人来说，独处就是他们呼吸的空气。

In fact, we’ve known about the transcendent power of solitude for centuries; it’s only recently that we’ve forgotten it. Our major religions all tell the story of seekers—Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha—who go off alone, to the wilderness, and bring profound revelations back to the community. No wilderness, no revelations.

事实上，数百年来，我们都深知独处具有超凡之力，只是在最近我们才忘记了这一点。人类主要的宗教都流传着探寻者的故事——摩西、耶稣、穆罕默德、佛陀——他们孑然一身，深入荒野之境，将深奥的启示带回给人类。不入荒野，焉得启示。