周末双语学习 | 原来这些常见按钮都是摆设，只是为了满足我们的控制欲

When we find ourselves at an intersection, waiting for a light to change, we tap the button, sometimes more than once. Most people believe these buttons are connected to some master control box that will signal the light to change so we can cross the street. In truth, these buttons often do nothing.

你们是否遇到过如下场景：站在十字路口等红灯时，时不时地按下步行按钮。（Biu..Biu..）很多人以为这些按钮连接着总控箱，能够改变红绿灯的信号，帮我们尽快过马路。但事实上，很多十字路口设置的步行按钮并无实际意义。

Many walk buttons at pedestrian crossings were once functional in New York City, but now serve as placebo buttons. 

纽约市人行横道的很多步行按钮之前曾经有作用，但如今只是安慰按钮。

The crosswalk button is a relic of the age before computer-controlled traffic signals. In New York City, for instance, “the city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago,” a New York Times article reported in 2004. Of the 3,250 walk buttons in the city at the time, some 2,500 were not functional. And yet, the Times noted, when faced with the buttons, “an unwitting public continued to push.”

步行按钮是前交通信号智能时代的遗迹了。据2004年一份《纽约时报》报道解释，“纽约市政早已关闭了城市大部分的步行按钮”。当时纽约3250个步行按钮中，约2500个是不能使用的。据称，尽管如此，当人们看到按钮时，“还是会不自觉地按下按钮”。

Then there are elevator buttons. Once inside the elevator, you may notice a hurried passenger pressing the close door button repeatedly, in hopes of speeding things along.

此外还有电梯上的按钮。在电梯里，你可能遇见过急匆匆的乘客反复按下关门按钮，着急着要乘电梯。

But the button is another example of placebo buttons. According to a 2008 article in the New Yorker, the close door buttons included in most elevators since the 1990s do not actually work the way passengers think. The buttons are installed for emergency personnel, not for the general public. Firefighters use the buttons to open and close doors between flights, but they can do so only with a key or other special instructions.

但这些按钮其实也是安慰按钮。据2008年《纽约客》一篇报道，自90年代开始，大部分电梯里的关门按钮并不像我们想象的一样“听话”。关门按钮仅是为急救人员设置的，消防员在电梯运行过程中需要开关门时只有借助特殊的钥匙或工具才能使用，而普通乘客是无法使用的。

It has been reported that the temperature set point adjustment on thermostats in many office buildings in the United States is non-functional, installed to give tenants' employees a similar illusion of control.

据报道，很多美国办公楼中温度控制器的设置按钮也是无效的，安装按钮只是为了给其中办公的员工带来类似的控制错觉。

A placebo button is a push-button with apparent functionality that actually has no effect when pressed. Such buttons can be psychologically rewarding to pressers by giving an illusion of control. 

安慰按钮指的是表面上看具备某种功能，但实际按下去却没有效果的按钮。这类按钮能给使用者带来心理上的收获，让人产生控制感。

We feel stress, we push a button, we experience some relief; something occurs after we push the button, and even if there’s no way to know whether it’s a direct response to our actions, we continue to feel relief.

在我们感觉紧张时，会不自觉地按下按钮，并由此获得一点宽慰；按下按钮后情况会有所改变，即便我们无从得知这与我们的动作有何直接联系，我们仍然会感到宽慰。

They are commonly placed in situations where it would have once been useful to have such a button but the system now proceeds automatically. 

安慰按钮常出现在过去有用，但后来系统实现了自动化的地方。

In some cases the button may have been functional, but may have failed or been disabled during installation or maintenance or was, in a relatively small number of cases, installed to keep people contented, much in the same way as placebos. 

一些情况下这些按钮可能本来在使用状态，但由于安装或维修致使他们失去了功能；在其他例子中，安装这种按钮只是为了让人们满意，类似于安慰剂作用。