比爾蓋茨在哈佛大學的演講(雙語版)(2)
We don’t read much about these deaths. The media covers what’s new – and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in the background, where it’s easier to ignore. But even when we do see it or read about it, it’s difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. It’s hard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we don’t know how to help. And so we look away.
我們并沒有很多機會了解那些死亡事件。媒體總是報告新聞,幾百萬人將要死去并非新聞。如果沒有人報道,那么這些事件就很容易被忽視。另一方面,即使 我們確實目睹了事件本身或者看到了相關報道,我們也很難持續(xù)關注這些事件??粗耸芸嗍橇钊送纯嗟?,何況問題又如此復雜,我們根本不知道如何去幫助他 人。所以我們會將臉轉過去。
If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.
就算我們真正發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題所在,也不過是邁出了第一步,接著還有第二步:那就是從復雜的事件中找到解決辦法。
Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks "How can I help?," then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.
如果我們要讓關心落到實處,我們就必須找到解決辦法。如果我們有一個清晰的和可靠的答案,那么當任何組織和個人發(fā)出疑問“如何我能提供幫助”的時 候,我們就能采取行動。我們就能夠保證不浪費一丁點全世界人類對他人的關心。但是,世界的復雜性使得很難找到對全世界每一個有愛心的人都有效的行動方法, 因此人類對他人的關心往往很難產(chǎn)生實際效果。
Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.
從這個復雜的世界中找到解決辦法,可以分為四個步驟:確定目標,找到最高效的方法,發(fā)現(xiàn)適用于這個方法的新技術,同時最聰明地利用現(xiàn)有的技術,不管它是復雜的藥物,還是最簡單的蚊帳。
The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.
艾滋病就是一個例子。總的目標,毫無疑問是消滅這種疾病。最高效的方法是預防。最理想的技術是發(fā)明一種疫苗,只要注射一次,就可以終生免疫。所以, 政府、制藥公司、基金會應該資助疫苗研究。但是,這樣研究工作很可能十年之內都無法完成。因此,與此同時,我們必須使用現(xiàn)有的技術,目前最有效的預防方法 就是設法讓人們避免那些危險的行為。
Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which is to surrender to complexity and quit.
要實現(xiàn)這個新的目標,又可以采用新的四步循環(huán)。這是一種模式。關鍵的東西是永遠不要停止思考和行動。我們千萬不能再犯上個世紀在瘧疾和肺結核上犯過的錯誤,那時我們因為它們太復雜,而放棄了采取行動。
The final step – after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts.
在發(fā)現(xiàn)問題和找到解決方法之后,就是最后一步——評估工作結果,將你的成功經(jīng)驗或者失敗經(jīng)驗傳播出去,這樣其他人就可以從你的努力中有所收獲。
You have to have the statistics, of course. You have to be able to show that a program is vaccinating millions more children. You have to be able to show a decline in the number of children dying from these diseases. This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government.
當然,你必須有一些統(tǒng)計數(shù)字。你必須讓他人知道,你的項目為幾百萬兒童新接種了疫苗。你也必須讓他人知道,兒童死亡人數(shù)下降了多少。這些都是很關鍵的,不僅有利于改善項目效果,也有利于從商界和政府得到更多的幫助。
But if you want to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; you have to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what saving a life means to the families affected.
但是,這些還不夠,如果你想激勵其他人參加你的項目,你就必須拿出更多的統(tǒng)計數(shù)字;你必須展示你的項目的人性因素,這樣其他人就會感到拯救一個生命,對那些處在困境中的家庭到底意味著什么。
I remember going to Davos some years back and sitting on a global health panel that was discussing ways to save millions of lives. Millions! Think of the thrill of saving just one person’s life – then multiply that by millions. … Yet this was the most boring panel I’ve ever been on – ever. So boring even I couldn’t bear it.
幾年前,我去瑞士達沃斯旁聽一個全球健康問題論壇,會議的內容有關于如何拯救幾百萬條生命。天哪,是幾百萬!想一想吧,拯救一個人的生命已經(jīng)讓人何等激動,現(xiàn)在你要把這種激動再乘上幾百萬倍……但是,不幸的是,這是我參加過的最最乏味的論壇,乏味到我無法強迫自己聽下去。
What made that experience especially striking was that I had just come from an event where we were introducing version 13 of some piece of software, and we had people jumping and shouting with excitement. I love getting people excited about software – but why can’t we generate even more excitement for saving lives?
那次經(jīng)歷之所以讓我難忘,是因為之前我們剛剛發(fā)布了一個軟件的第13個版本,我們讓觀眾激動得跳了起來,喊出了聲。我喜歡人們因為軟件而感到激動,那么我們?yōu)槭裁床荒軌蜃屓藗円驗槟軌蛘壬械礁蛹幽?
You can’t get people excited unless you can help them see and feel the impact. And how you do that – is a complex question.
除非你能夠讓人們看到或者感受到行動的影響力,否則你無法讓人們激動。如何做到這一點,并不是一件簡單的事。
Still, I’m optimistic. Yes, inequity has been with us forever, but the new tools we have to cut through complexity have not been with us forever. They are new – they can help us make the most of our caring – and that’s why the future can be different from the past.
同前面一樣,在這個問題上,我依然是樂觀的。不錯,人類的不平等有史以來一直存在,但是那些能夠化繁為簡的新工具,卻是最近才出現(xiàn)的。這些新工具可以幫助我們,將人類的同情心發(fā)揮最大的作用,這就是為什么將來同過去是不一樣的。
The defining and ongoing innovations of this age – biotechnology, the computer, the Internet – give us a chance we’ve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.
這個時代無時無刻不在涌現(xiàn)出新的革新——生物技術,計算機,互聯(lián)網(wǎng)——它們給了我們一個從未有過的機會,去終結那些極端的貧窮和非惡性疾病的死亡。
Sixty years ago, George Marshall came to this commencement and announced a plan to assist the nations of post-war Europe. He said: "I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement of the situation. It is virtually impossible at this distance to grasp at all the real significance of the situation."
六十年前,喬治•馬歇爾也是在這個地方的畢業(yè)典禮上,宣布了一個計劃,幫助那些歐洲國家的戰(zhàn)后建設。他說:“我認為,困難的一點是這個問題太復雜, 報紙和電臺向公眾源源不斷地提供各種事實,使得大街上的普通人極端難于清晰地判斷形勢。事實上,經(jīng)過層層傳播,想要真正地把握形勢,是根本不可能的。”
Thirty years after Marshall made his address, as my class graduated without me, technology was emerging that would make the world smaller, more open, more visible, less distant.
馬歇爾發(fā)表這個演講之后的三十年,我那一屆學生畢業(yè),當然我不在其中。那時,新技術剛剛開始萌芽,它們將使得這個世界變得更小、更開放、更容易看到、距離更近。
The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful network that has transformed opportunities for learning and communicating.
低成本的個人電腦的出現(xiàn),使得一個強大的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)有機會誕生,它為學習和交流提供了巨大的機會。
The magical thing about this network is not just that it collapses distance and makes everyone your neighbor. It also dramatically increases the number of brilliant minds we can have working together on the same problem – and that scales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.
網(wǎng)絡的神奇之處,不僅僅是它縮短了物理距離,使得天涯若比鄰。它還極大地增加了懷有共同想法的人們聚集在一起的機會,我們可以為了解決同一個問題,一起共同工作。這就大大加快了革新的進程,發(fā)展速度簡直快得讓人震驚。
At the same time, for every person in the world who has access to this technology, five people don’t. That means many creative minds are left out of this discussion --- smart people with practical intelligence and relevant experience who don’t have the technology to hone their talents or contribute their ideas to the world.
與此同時,世界上有條件上網(wǎng)的人,只是全部人口的六分之一。這意味著,還有許多具有創(chuàng)造性的人們,沒有加入到我們的討論中來。那些有著實際的操作經(jīng)驗和相關經(jīng)歷的聰明人,卻沒有技術來幫助他們,將他們的天賦或者想法與全世界分享。
We need as many people as possible to have access to this technology, because these advances are triggering a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, corporations, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches, and measure the impact of their efforts to address the hunger, poverty, and desperation George Marshall spoke of 60 years ago.
我們需要盡可能地讓更多的人有機會使用新技術,因為這些新技術正在引發(fā)一場革命,人類將因此可以互相幫助。新技術正在創(chuàng)造一種可能,不僅是政府,還 包括大學、公司、小機構、甚至個人,能夠發(fā)現(xiàn)問題所在、能夠找到解決辦法、能夠評估他們努力的效果,去改變那些馬歇爾六十年前就說到過的問題——饑餓、貧 窮和絕望。
Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.
哈佛是一個大家庭。這個院子里在場的人們,是全世界最有智力的人類群體之一。
What for?
我們可以做些什么?
There is no question that the faculty, the alumni, the students, and the benefactors of Harvard have used their power to improve the lives of people here and around the world. But can we do more? Can Harvard dedicate its intellect to improving the lives of people who will never even hear its name?
毫無疑問,哈佛的老師、校友、學生和資助者,已經(jīng)用他們的能力改善了全世界各地人們的生活。但是,我們還能夠再做什么呢?有沒有可能,哈佛的人們可以將他們的智慧,用來幫助那些甚至從來沒有聽到過“哈佛”這個名字的人?
Let me make a request of the deans and the professors – the intellectual leaders here at Harvard: As you hire new faculty, award tenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves:
請允許我向各位院長和教授,提出一個請求——你們是哈佛的智力領袖,當你們雇用新的老師、授予終身教職、評估課程、決定學位頒發(fā)標準的時候,請問你們自己如下的問題:
Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?
我們最優(yōu)秀的人才是否在致力于解決我們最大的問題?
Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the world’s worst inequities? Should Harvard students learn about the depth of global poverty … the prevalence of world hunger … the scarcity of clean water …the girls kept out of school … the children who die from diseases we can cure?
哈佛是否鼓勵她的老師去研究解決世界上最嚴重的不平等?哈佛的學生是否從全球那些極端的貧窮中學到了什么……世界性的饑荒……清潔的水資源的缺乏……無法上學的女童……死于非惡性疾病的兒童……哈佛的學生有沒有從中學到東西?
Should the world’s most privileged people learn about the lives of the world’s least privileged?
那些世界上過著最優(yōu)越生活的人們,有沒有從那些最困難的人們身上學到東西?
These are not rhetorical questions – you will answer with your policies.
這些問題并非語言上的修辭。你必須用自己的行動來回答它們。
My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted here – never stopped pressing me to do more for others. A few days before my wedding, she hosted a bridal event, at which she read aloud a letter about marriage that she had written to Melinda. My mother was very ill with cancer at the time, but she saw one more opportunity to deliver her message, and at the close of the letter she said: "From those to whom much is given, much is expected."
我的母親在我被哈佛大學錄取的那一天,曾經(jīng)感到非常驕傲。她從沒有停止督促我,去為他人做更多的事情。在我結婚的前幾天,她主持了一個新娘進我家的 儀式。在這個儀式上,她高聲朗讀了一封關于婚姻的信,這是她寫給Melinda的。那時,我的母親已經(jīng)因為癌癥病入膏肓,但是她還是認為這是又一個傳播她 的信念的機會。在那封信的結尾,她寫道:“對于那些接受了許多幫助的人們,他們還在期待更多的幫助。”
When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.
想一想吧,我們在這個院子里的這些人,被給予過什么——天賦、特權、機遇——那么可以這樣說,全世界的人們幾乎有無限的權力,期待我們做出貢獻。
In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on an issue – a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it the focus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you don’t have to do that to make an impact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to get informed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut through them.
同這個時代的期望一樣,我也要向今天各位畢業(yè)的同學提出一個忠告:你們要選擇一個問題,一個復雜的問題,一個有關于人類深刻的不平等的問題,然后你 們要變成這個問題的專家。如果你們能夠使得這個問題成為你們職業(yè)的核心,那么你們就會非常杰出。但是,你們不必一定要去做那些大事。每個星期只用幾個小 時,你就可以通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)得到信息,找到志同道合的朋友,發(fā)現(xiàn)困難所在,找到解決它們的途徑。
Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.
不要讓這個世界的復雜性阻礙你前進。要成為一個行動主義者。將解決人類的不平等視為己任。它將成為你生命中最重要的經(jīng)歷之一。
You graduates are coming of age in an amazing time. As you leave Harvard, you have technology that members of my class never had. You have awareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you likely also have an informed conscience that will torment you if you abandon these people whose lives you could change with very little effort. You have more than we had; you must start sooner, and carry on longer.
在座的各位畢業(yè)的同學,你們所處的時代是一個神奇的時代。當你們離開哈佛的時候,你們擁有的技術,是我們那一屆學生所沒有的。你們已經(jīng)了解到了世界 上的不平等,我們那時還不知道這些。有了這樣的了解之后,要是你再棄那些你可以幫助的人們于不顧,就將受到良心的譴責,只需一點小小的努力,你就可以改變 那些人們的生活。你們比我們擁有更大的能力;你們必須盡早開始,盡可能長時期堅持下去。
Knowing what you know, how could you not?
知道了你們所知道的一切,你們怎么可能不采取行動呢?
And I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.
我希望,30年后你們還會再回到哈佛,想起你們用自己的天賦和能力所做出的一切。我希望,在那個時候,你們用來評價自己的標準,不僅僅是你們的專業(yè) 成就,而包括你們?yōu)楦淖冞@個世界深刻的不平等所做出的努力,以及你們如何善待那些遠隔千山萬水、與你們毫不涉及的人們,你們與他們唯一的共同點就是同為人 類。
Good luck.
最后,祝各位同學好運。
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