ACADEMICS DO NOT contend to write the most entertaining research paper of the year. But Yu Tse Heng, now at the University of Virginia, Christopher Barnes of the University of Washington and Kai Chi Yam of the National University of Singapore should take a bow nonetheless. In a study published in 2022, the trio tested the widespread notion that cannabis increases creativity.

学者们并不会比赛看谁能写出年度最有意思的研究论文。不过，现在供职于弗吉尼亚大学的王育珍（音译）、华盛顿大学的克里斯托弗·巴恩斯（Christopher Barnes）和新加坡国立大学的任启智应该能获此殊荣。在2022年发表的一项研究中，三人检验了大麻能够提升创造力这一普遍观点。

The researchers recruited a bunch of Americans who take the drug recreationally, and asked them to take some standardised tests of creativity (from thinking of novel uses for a brick to coming up with money-spinning ideas for a music band). Some participants underwent the test immediately after taking cannabis; a control group only did so if 12 hours had elapsed since they last indulged. Independent evaluators assessed the innovativeness of their ideas.

研究人员招募了一群吸大麻做消遣的美国人，并让他们参加一些衡量创造力的标准化测试（从为一块砖找到新用途到为一支乐队想出赚钱的点子）。一些参与者在吸食大麻后立即接受测试，而对照组在上一次放纵过了12小时后才接受测试。独立评估者评估他们想法的创新性。