One day in the fall of 1981, eight men in their 70s stepped out of a van in front of a converted monastery in New Hampshire. They shuffled forward, a few of them arthritically stooped, a couple with canes. Then they passed through the door and entered a time warp. Perry Como crooned on a vintage radio. Ed Sullivan welcomed guests on a black-and-white TV. Everything inside — including the books on the shelves and the magazines lying around — were designed to conjure 1959. This was to be the men’s home for five days as they participated in a radical experiment, cooked up by a young psychologist named Ellen Langer. 1981年秋季的一天,新罕布什尔州一座经改建的修道院前,八名70多岁的老年男子走下了面包车。他们步履蹒跚,其中一些人像关节炎患者一样弯腰驼背,还有两位拄着拐杖。他们进门后,就像进入了一条时间隧道。老式收音机里传来佩里·科莫(Perry Como,人称“C先生”,美国歌手、电视明星)的低声吟唱。黑白电视机上,埃德·沙利文(Ed Sullivan,美国娱乐作家和电视节目主持人)正向嘉宾们表示欢迎。这里的一切——包括书架上的书和四下里散落的杂志——都是为营造出1959年的氛围而设计和布置的。在五天的时间里,这里将成为这些老人暂时的家园。他们所参与的,是年轻的心理学家埃伦·兰格(Ellen Langer)精心策划的一项“激进实验”。 |