原文标题：
Bartleby
Paper traits
The enduring value of an analogue technology
巴特比
纸张特性
模拟技术的持久价值
When paper beats the screen
纸张击败屏幕时
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THIS IS THE digital age, and the advice to executives is clear.
我们身处数字时代，这时候给高管们的有用建议十分明了。
Managers need to have a digital mindset; the organisations they run must embrace digital transformation.
管理者需要有数字化思维，而他们经营的企业也必须接受数字化转型。
If you don’t know what ChatGPT is, think of Dan Brown when you hear the word “code” or dislike the idea of working with a cobot, enjoy your retirement.
如果你不了解Chat GPT，听到“code”只想到丹·布朗，或你不喜欢与协作机器人合作，那你就提前退休吧。
So what present should you be getting the executive in your life this festive season?
那么今年圣诞季，你应该给你的领导送什么礼物呢?
Answer: anything made of paper.
回答是：纸做的东西。
Even if the recipient of your gift never uses it, it can still serve as a useful reminder of where the digital world’s limitations lie.
即使你的礼物接收者从未使用过它，它仍可以有效地提醒人们数字世界的局限性。
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Recent research underscores the enduring value of this ancient technology, whether in making decisions, enhancing productivity or winning over customers.
最新研究强调，无论是在增强决策的效力，还是提高生产力，又或是赢得更多的客户方面，造纸这项技术的价值都经久不衰。
Start with decision-making, and a study from Maferima Touré-Tillery of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Lili Wang of Zhejiang University.
西北大学凯洛格管理学院的马弗里玛·图雷-蒂勒里和浙江大学的王丽丽共同做了一项关于“纸与决策”的调查研究。
In one part of their study, the researchers approached strangers and asked them to take a made-up survey.
在研究过程中，研究人员请陌生人填写一份预制好的调查问卷。
Half the respondents were given a pen and paper to fill out the form; the other half were handed an iPad.
一半的受访者用纸和笔来填写表格；另一半则用iPad填写表格。
At the end of the exercise, respondents were asked if they wanted to give their email address to receive information on how to donate to a charity.
问卷结束时，受访者被问及是否愿意提供自己的电子邮件地址，用以接收如何向慈善机构捐款的信息。
Those who used paper were much likelier to provide their email addresses.
那些使用纸张的受访者更愿意提供自己的电子邮件地址。
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The researchers also saw differences in behaviour when they showed Chinese university students an ad for a bookseller at the end of the survey, and then asked them to select some of the books that were being promoted.
研究人员还发现，在调查结束之际，他们向大学生展示了一家书商的广告，然后让他们选择一些可以推广的书时，大学生的行为也有所不同。
Those using paper to fill out the questionnaire chose more highbrow books on average than those using the tablet.
使用纸张填写问卷的人选择高雅书籍的量多于使用平板电脑的人。
The researchers speculate that people make more virtuous decisions on paper because it feels more consequential than a pixelated screen.
研究人员推测，人们在纸上做出的决定更具效力，因为这比在屏幕上感觉更庄重。
When asked, paper-and-pen respondents were indeed more likely than iPad users to think their choices were more indicative of their characters.
在调查中，纸笔受访者确实比iPad受访者更倾向于认为他们的选择更能揭示他们的性格。
The nib is the nub.
笔尖即内核。
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Next, in the right circumstances paper can improve productivity.
其次，在适当的情况下，纸张可以提高生产力。
A study from Vicky Morwitz of Columbia Business School, Yanliu Huang of Drexel University and Zhen Yang of California State University, Fullerton, finds that paper calendars provoke different behaviours from digital calendars.
哥伦比亚商学院的维姬•莫维茨、德雷克塞尔大学的黄燕柳和加州州立大学富尔顿分校的杨震的一项研究发现，纸质日历与数字日历会引发不同的行为。
Users of old-fashioned calendars made more detailed project plans than those looking at an app, and they were more likely to stick to those plans.
使用传统纸质日历的用户比使用应用程序的用户制定的项目计划更为详细，而且他们按计划行事的可能性更大。
Simple dimensions seem to count.
（纸质日历的）简单板式似乎也起作用。
The ability to see lots of days at once on a paper calendar matters, the researchers reckon; mobile-calendar users kept to their plans more if they used a “multi-day view” on their devices.
研究人员认为，纸质日历上可以同时看到数日，这一特点很重要；如果移动数字日历用户使用“多日视图”模式，他们也会更加遵照计划行事。
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Third, paper appeals to customers.
第三，纸张更吸引顾客。
In a study from 2017 researchers found that people assigned a greater value to the physical version of a product than its digital instantiation.
2017年的一项研究发现，人们认为实物产品比数字化替代品的价值更高。
Shoppers were willing to pay more for books and films they could hold than ones they could only download.
比起只能下载的书籍和电影，消费者愿意花更多的钱来购买他们可以携带的实体书籍和电影。
Even the sight of someone handling something can help online sales, according to a study last year by Andrea Webb Luangrath of the University of Iowa and co-authors.
据爱荷华大学的安德里亚·韦伯·卢安格拉特及合著者去年进行的一项研究表明，即使是看到有人在触摸某个物品也能帮助提高线上销量。
They found that Instagram posts showing hands touching products like cups of coffee or smartphones got more likes than those that were not being pawed.
并且他们发现，Instagram上手触摸咖啡杯或智能手机等产品的帖子比那些没有触摸的帖子获赞更多。
Similarly, people browsing in a virtual-reality shop were more willing to buy a T-shirt if they saw their own simulated hand touch it.
同样，人们在逛虚拟现实商店时，如果看到自己虚拟的手触摸到一件T恤，这会增加他们的购买欲。
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All of which helps explain why retail catalogues continue to thud onto doormats and jam mailboxes.
这也就解释了为什么商品广告册会纷至沓来堆满门垫，塞满邮箱。
In a new study Jonathan Zhang of Colorado State University confirmed previous findings that consumers who receive paper catalogues as well as emails spend more than those who receive only digital marketing.
在一项新的研究中，科罗拉多州立大学的乔纳森·张证实了之前的研究结果，即收到纸质目录和电子邮件的人群比那些只接受数字营销的人群消费更多。
Mr Zhang also delved into when these catalogues work best—as it turns out, when they are selling pricier, less functional products, and targeting consumers who do more of their shopping offline.
张先生还深入研究了广告册在在什么时候最有效--事实证明，当商家售卖价格更高、功能更少的产品，目标客户是线下购物消费者时最有效。
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Technology can close the gap between paper and screen, but not entirely.
科技可以缩小纸张和屏幕之间的差距，但不能完全弥合。
Typing will never be as distinctive as handwriting.
打字永远不会像手写那样独具一格。
Doodling on a phone is just not as satisfying.
手机上涂写的效果不尽如人意。
And some of the attractions of the analogue become even clearer as digital technology becomes more pervasive and powerful.
随着数字技术变得更加普及和强大，数字模拟技术的一些吸引力也愈发突出。
Catalogues do not have to be checked for viruses (however obsessively people wiped them down in the early days of covid-19).
广告目录册不需要检查是否携带病毒。（虽然在新冠早期，人们通常会给它来个全身消毒。）
As machines get better at generating text, more exams and interview tests may be conducted with pen and paper, just to be sure.
随着机器生成文本的能力越来越强，为安全起见（防止作弊），更多的考试和面试可能会用笔和纸来进行。
Mastery of digital technologies is vital.
掌握数字技术虽然至关重要。
But a sense of touch, authenticity and humanity still matter—and not just on paper.
但是触感、真实性和人性更为重要--不仅仅体现在纸上。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量744左右）
原文出自：2022年12月17日《The Economist》Business版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Maree
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）
Dan Brown丹·布朗，美国作家。1964年，丹·布朗出生于美国新罕布夏州，1996年，出于对密码破译和秘密情报机构的兴趣，丹·布朗创作了他的第一部小说《数字堡垒》，随后创作出版了《骗局》、《天使与魔鬼》、《达·芬奇密码》。
触碰研究：爱荷华大学的Andrea Webb Luangrath、威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的Joann Peck和BI挪威商学院的Anders Gustafsson研究发现，对于触摸发起者而言，他们往往会低估触摸互动的作用，倾向于认为接受者对触摸的评价是消极的。通过仿真实验模拟了一个销售场景中的互动，来探究当被试被要求发起触摸时，是否会导致他们对这一互动的评价更为负面。被试来自于295名本科生，并且被随机分配为“被指示进行触碰”和“不触碰”两种情况。实验结果表明触摸能带来很多积极的影响，例如在饭店中被触摸的客户会给服务员更高的小费，且产生更积极的评价反馈，并倾向于参与财务冒险活动。此外当一个请求与触摸相结合时，消费者也会更容易接受该请求，无论这个请求是关于帮助购买产品、让其他顾客插队或者是按处方服用药物。
【重点句子】（3 个）
Recent research underscores the enduring value of this ancient technology, whether in making decisions, enhancing productivity or winning over customers.
最新研究强调，无论是在决策的效力，还是提高生产力，又或是争取客户方面，造纸这项技术的价值都经久不衰。
The researchers speculate that people make more virtuous decisions on paper because it feels more consequential than a pixelated screen.
研究人员推测，人们在纸上做出的决定更具效力，因为这比在屏幕上感觉更庄重。
Technology can close the gap between paper and screen, but not entirely.
技术可以缩小纸张和屏幕之间的差距，但不能完全弥合。
自由英语之路
标签： 纸张会被取代吗 电子纸显示器技术上市公司 纸张会被淘汰吗 取代
