当我们在一个剧场看演出时，如果有一个人因为被前排的人挡住视野突然站起来看，这样一来他看得清楚了，但后面坐着的人被挡住了，如果经过劝说那个人还是不坐下去，那么后面的人没办法也站起来看，然后所有的人都站起来了。甚至可能有人干脆就站到椅子上去，然后所有的人都站在椅子上观看。除了第一排的人，但是他们的利益只是暂时的，因为一旦秩序失控后，自然有人会走到第一排的前面去看。最终所有的人得到的是和没站起来时一样的观影效果甚至更糟糕，这是一种典型的负和博弈的悲剧。
When we enjoy in a theater performance, if there is a person suddenly stand up because of blocking vision by the front person, then he see it clearly, but block the man sitting behind, if after persuading the people still don't sit down, so the people behind has no choice but stand up too, and then all the people stand up. One might even just stand on the chair and everyone would stand and watch. Except for the people sit in the first row, while their interests are only temporary, because once the order is out of control, naturally someone will go to the front of the first row. In the end, all people will get the same or even worse effect of watching movies as they did when they didn't stand up. This is a typical negative sum game tragedy.
教育是剧场效应的重灾区，莘莘学子前脚出了校门后脚就进补习机构，上床睡觉的时间与起床时间在同一天的比比皆是。尽管鸿儒硕学大谈人生是一场马拉松，即便这是对的，那么我们具体来看看马拉松的规则。马拉松比赛的起跑顺序是按照历史成绩来确定的，排在最前的选手和最后的选手至少有数百米的距离差距，至于由此造成的时间差距绝不是正常跑数百米而已。这一点很容易理解，试想一下你驾车等红绿灯，假设你排在第五位，与排在最前的第一辆车相距不过二十米，当绿灯跳起，等你的车通过停车等候线时，第一辆车至少也在一百米开外了！所以大家拼命地让孩子补课，唯恐输在起跑线上，实在也是不得已而为之啊！
Education is a disaster area of theater effect. Almost all students walk out of school then enter the tutorial organizations to keep studying, it’s so common that they go to bed and wake up within the same day. Though experts claim that life is a marathon. Let’s say this is true then we study the marathon rules in details: The starting order of the marathon is determined according to the historical results. The distance between the top runner and the last runner is at least hundreds of meters. While the time difference is not as small as you run several hundred meters normally. This is easy to understand. Imagine you're driving and waiting at a traffic light. Let's say you're in fifth place, it’s only about 20 meters of the first car in front of you. After the green traffic light is on, the first car should be already at least 100 meters away while you driving through the waiting line. So everybody tries hard to let the child make up for lessons, lest lose on the starting line, also really is to have to do it.
剧场效应看似无解，实则不然。作为一种管理问题，肯定是有解决之道的。可以从被管理者与管理者两方面着手。剧场的观众要提高认识，明白个体利益不能凌驾于集体利益之上，否则就是互相伤害了。剧场的管理者要真正负起责任。《宋书·吴喜传》：“且欲防微杜渐，忧在未萌。”譬如，当第一个人破坏公序良俗站起来观影的时候，就要及时制止，甚至不惜暂停演出，这样是不是能有效遏制剧场效应的发酵呢？
The theater effect may seem unsolvable, but it is not. As a kind of management issue, there must be a solution. You can start with both the managed and the manager. The audience of the theater should improve their understanding that the individual interests should not be above the collective interests, otherwise they will hurt each other. The manager of the theatre has to take real responsibility. Song Shu • Wu Xi biography: “Prevention first, stop it at the first place.” For example, when the first person destroys the public order and good customs to stand up and watch the movie, the theater manager should stop him immediately, even stop the performance at any cost. Can this effectively curb the phenomenon of theater effect?
