第一篇:蓋茨在哈佛的演講(大全)
Speech given by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates at Harvard University on June 7, 2007 President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates: I've been waiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree.” I want to thank Harvard for this timely honour.I'll be changing my job next year...and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me “Harvard's most successful dropout.” I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class...I did the best of everyone who failed.But I also want to be recognised as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school.I'm a bad influence.That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me.Academic life was fascinating.I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn't even signed up for.And dorm life was terrific.I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House.There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn't worry about getting up in the morning.That's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group.We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.Radcliffe was a great place to live.There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types.That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean.This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn't guarantee success.One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world's first personal computers.I offered to sell them software.I worried that they would realise I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me.Instead they said: “We're not quite ready, come see us in a month,” which was a good thing, because we hadn't written the software yet.From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence.It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging.It was an amazing privilegethe appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics.I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveriesreducing inequity is the highest human achievement.I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country.And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.It took me decades to find out.You graduates came to Harvard at a different time.You know more about the world's inequities than the classes that came before.In your years here, I hope you've had a chance to think about howwe can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a causenone of them in the United States.We were shocked.We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them.But it did not.For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren't being delivered.If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not.We said to ourselves: “This can't be true.But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.” So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it.We asked: “How could the world let these children die?” The answer is simple, and harsh.The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidise it.So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.But you and I have both.We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalismbecause people just...don't...care.“ I completely disagree.I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothingand 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.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.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 actionand that makes it hard for their caring to matter.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 haveand the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behaviour.Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again.This is the pattern.The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and workingwhich is to surrender to complexity and quit.The final stepis to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts.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.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 workthen multiply that by millions....Yet this was the most boring panel I've ever been onbut why can't we generate even more excitement for saving lives? You can't get people excited unless you can help them see and feel the impact.And how you do thatthey can help us make the most of our caringbiotechnology, the computer, the Internetand that scales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.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.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 organisation, 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.Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.What for? 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? Let me make a request of the deans and the professorsyou will answer with your policies.My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted herein talent, privilege, and opportunitya 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.Don't let complexity stop you.Be activists.Take on the big inequities.It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.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.Knowing what you know, how could you not? 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.Good luck.goooder(2007-7-05 18:59:29)Dir Mr.Yan, Thank you very much for sharing this article for us.I would not be able to know Bill Gates has been graduated from Harvard if you did not post this.goooder(2007-7-05 19:00:24)比爾蓋茨哈佛大學畢業演講(轉帖)2007-06-14 http://cn.bbs.yahoo.com/message/read_overseas_483191.html 過去30年里,我一直在等待著說這樣一句話,“父親,我一直對您說我將拿到自己的學位。”。
我要感謝哈佛及時地授予我學位。我明年要換工作(注:指全力投入比爾及梅琳達基金會的慈善工作),有了學位我的簡歷看起來會更好一些。
祝賀今天的哈佛畢業生都直接獲得了學位。哈佛校報稱我為“哈佛歷史上最成功的輟學生”,這讓我感到非常高興。當我面對同一屆畢業生時,我可以對他們說,“是失敗者中最為成功的。”
眾所周知,當初史蒂夫 鮑爾默(Steve Ballmer)從哈佛商學院退學,我是作俑者。我并不是一個好榜樣,這也是我受邀在你們的畢業典禮上發表演講的原因。如果你們都像我一樣輟學,那今天就沒有人會坐在這里。
對我來說,在哈佛的經歷是一段難忘的體驗。校園生活總是讓人留戀,我曾經上了很多根本沒有注冊的課。當然,宿舍的生活并不太美好。當時我住在拉德克里夫學院,同一宿舍的很多人經常討論問題到深夜,因為他們都知道我并不擔心早上起不來床。正是在這樣的環境下,我成長為反社會集團的領導者。
拉德克里夫是一個適合生活的地方。那時候這里有很多女孩子,而且大多數男生都屬于較為死板的類型,因此我的機會很多,你們都知道我的意思。不過,正是在這里,我明白了擁有機會并不一定能獲得成功的道理。(笑)
微軟的起步
在哈佛的日子里,最令我難忘的一天是在1975年1月。當時我給Albuquerque的一家公司打了電話,這家公司已經開始生產全世界首批個人計算機,我希望向它們銷售軟件。最開始我忐忑不安,因為擔心這家公司會因為我是學生而掛斷電話。但幸運的是,它們沒有這樣做,而是對我說,“我們還沒有準備好,一個月內來我們公司看看吧。”這對我來說是一個好消息,因為我們當時還沒有完成軟件開發。從那一刻起,我夜以繼日地工作。這一項目雖然價值不大,但它標志著我大學生活的結束,以及微軟的起步。
哈佛給我留下印象最深的是所有人都活力十足,而且非常聰明。在哈佛的日子有快樂,也有失落,但總是充滿挑戰。盡管我很早離開了哈佛,但那幾年已經足以改變我。在這里,我結識了很多朋友,并想出了很多創意。
最大遺憾
認真回顧過去,我確實有著一大遺憾。
當我離開哈佛時,我并沒有意識到這個世界存在著可怕的不平等現象。人們享受的醫療、保健和機會嚴重不均,很多人生活在絕望的邊緣。
我在哈佛學到了很多東西,包括經濟和政治方面的新思想,但體會最深的還是科學的不斷進步。
可是,人類的最大進步并不體現在發現和發明上,而是如何利用它們來消除不平等。不管通過何種方式,民主、公共教育、醫療保健、或者是經濟合作,消除不平等才是人類的最大成就。
當我離開校園時,并不知道美國有數百萬的青少年享受不到受教育的機會,我也不知道在發展中國家有數百萬人生活在極度的貧困之中。
我用了數十年的時間才明白了這些。
你們和我完全不同,你們更了解這個世界上存在的不平等。我希望你們過去幾年都曾經認真想過,應當如何應對這樣的不平等,以及如何解決這些問題。
假如,如果你愿意付出每周幾小時時間和每月幾美元,希望這些時間和錢能拯救更多的人,改善更多人的生活。那么,你會將時間和錢花在哪里呢?
對于梅琳達(注:蓋茨之妻)和我來說,也存在著同樣的問題:應該怎樣做,才能讓我們擁有的資源給最多的人帶來好處呢?
在討論這一問題的過程中,梅琳達和我看到一篇關于疾病每年在發展中國家殺死數百萬兒童的新聞。這些疾病包括麻疹、瘧疾、肺炎、B型肝炎和黃熱病,它們在美國已經受到嚴密的控制。此外,一種我們從未聽說的疾病──輪狀病毒每年要殺死50萬兒童,但其中沒有一名美國兒童。
我們感到非常震驚。既然每年有如此多的兒童因為這些疾病而死,那么就應當將研發新藥、拯救生命放在首位,但事實并非如此。
人人生而平等
如果你們相信“人人生而平等”,當了解到人們認為有些生命值得拯救,而有些生命不值得時,也會感到震驚。我們會對自己說:“這并不是真的。但是,如果它是真的,我們就應當努力改變這種情況。”
因此,我們開始了這樣的工作,我們相信別人也會這樣做。有時我們會感到不解:這個世界為什么會允許那么多的孩子死亡呢?
答案很簡單,也很殘酷。拯救這些孩子的生命并不會帶來市場回報,政府也沒有為此提供補貼。這些孩子之所以會死亡,主要因為他們的父母沒有強大的市場力量,甚至沒有話語權。
但是我和你們都有。
我們今天坐在這里,就在這一時間,世界各地仍在上演著人間慘劇。這讓我們感到心碎,我們之所以沒有采取任何行動,并不是我們沒有同情心,而是因為我們不知道如何去做。
我們面臨的障礙并不是缺乏同情心,實際情況要復雜的多。
要將同情心轉化為行動,我們需要看到問題,找到解決方案,并了解最終結果。但實際情況是,我們很難做到這三點。
即使有了互聯網和24小時新聞播報,我們仍然很難真正地了解問題。如果一架飛機墜毀,官方會立即舉辦新聞發布會。他們將會承諾展開調查,確定事故原因,并保證今后不會出現同樣的情況。
但實際情況卻是,飛機失事死亡人數還不足全世界每天因可避免原因死亡人數的0.5%。
更嚴重的問題并不是飛機失事,而是全球數以百萬計的可避免死亡。
事實上,我們很難獲得同后者相關的消息。新聞媒體希望獲得新消息,而數以百萬計的人因貧窮和疾病死亡并不是新消息。因此,這樣的消息很難出現在媒體報道中,從而更容易被人們所忽略。另一方面,即使我們看到這樣的報道,也不太情愿仔細閱讀。因為情況過于復雜,我們不知道如何提供幫助。在這種情況下,我們大多數情況會將視線轉向其它方向。
看到問題只是第一步,我們要做的下一步是降低問題的復雜度,并找到解決方案。
如果我們想讓自己的同情心發揮作用,找到解決方案非常必要。因為只有這樣,我們才能確保同情心沒有被浪費。當然,由于大部分問題都很復雜,要找到解決方案并不容易。
那么,我們又應當如何降低復雜度,找到解決方案呢?我認為可以分為四個階段:確定一個目標、發現最有效的方式、為這種方式找到理想的技術、以及開發最優秀的應用,例如用于治病的藥品。
我們要做的最后一步就是衡量工作的成果,并與他人共享我們的成功與失敗。
第二篇:蓋茨哈佛演講譯文
President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:
校長博克,前任校長魯登斯坦,接任校長福斯特,校董事會的各位董事,校務監督委員會的各位委員,各位老師,各位家長,特別是,諸位畢業生:
I’ve been waiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my degree.”
我一直等了三十多年,現在終于可以說了:“爸,我老跟你說,我會回來拿到我的學位的!”
I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor.I’ll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.感謝哈佛及時地給我這個榮譽。明年,我就要換工作(譯者注:從微軟公司退休)??我終于可以在簡歷上寫我有一個大學學歷,這真是不錯啊。
I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I’m just happy that the Crimson has called me “Harvard’s most successful dropout.” I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.我為在座的各位畢業生而鼓掌,你們拿到學位可比我輕松多了。而我,之所以高興,是因為哈佛的校報稱我是“哈佛大學歷史上最成功的輟學生”。我想這大概使我有資格代表我這一類特殊的學生在此致辭——在所有的失敗者中,我做得最好。
But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school.I’m a bad influence.That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.同時,我也想讓大家也知道,我就是那個讓史蒂夫
All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do.If we had known how to help, we would have acted.此刻身處校園的我們,生命中總有這樣或那樣的時刻,目睹人類的悲劇,痛徹心扉,但是我們什么也沒做——并非我們無動于衷,而是因為我們不知道做什么和怎么做。如果我們知道要如何應對,我們將立即行動。
The barrier to change is not too little caring;it is too much complexity.需要我們去消除的屏障,并非人類的冷漠無情,而是世界的紛繁復雜。
To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact.But complexity blocks all three steps.要把關心轉為行動,我們需要發現問題,找到方法,評估后果。但是紛繁復雜的世界阻擋了我們的腳步,以上的三個步驟不能得以實施。
Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to get people to truly see the problems.When an airplane crashes, officials immediately call a press conference.They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similar crashes in the future.即使有了互聯網的出現和全天候的新聞播報,要讓人們發現問題的真實面貌,仍然是相當艱巨。如果有一架飛機墜毀,政府官員就會立刻召開新聞發布會,他們承諾進行調查,找到原因,防止將來再次發生類似的事故。
But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: “Of all the people in the world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent of them were on this plane.We’re determined to do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent.”
但是如果那些官員敢于說真話,他們就會說:“在今天,全世界死于可避免事故中的所有人,只有0.5%的人在這次飛機事故中罹難。我們決心盡一切努力,徹底調查這0.5%的死亡原因。”
The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable deaths.顯然,更重要的問題不是這次空難,而是其他幾百萬可避免的死亡事件。
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.對這些死亡事件,我們知之甚少。媒體總是報告新聞,但是幾百萬人將要死去并非新聞。新聞是在事件的幕后,這很容易被忽視。即使我們確實目睹了事件的真相或者看到了相關報道,我們也很難持續去關注這些事件。問題是如此之復雜,我們也束手無策,要直面這樣的災難就顯得相當困難,所以我們就對此視而不見,置若罔聞。
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.就算我們真正能發現問題,也不過是邁出了第一步,接著還有第二步:那就是,從這個復雜的世界中走出一條捷徑,找到解決問題的辦法。
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問題的方法。一旦我們有一個明確可行的方案,那么無論何時,當任何組織和個人來詢問“我該怎么提供幫助”的時候,我們就能采取行動。這樣,我們就充分發揮全世界人類對他人的關愛之情。但是,紛繁的世界使得我們很難找出一條適合每一位善者的行動方針,這樣一來,人類對他人的關愛往往很難奏效。
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.要從這個復雜的世界中走出一條捷徑,找到解決問題的辦法,可以分為以下四個步驟:確定目標,找到最高效的方法,發現適用于這個方法的最理想的技術,同時最聰明地利用現有的技術——不管這項技術是復雜如藥物,還是簡單如蚊帳。
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。其總目標,毫無疑問是消滅這種疾病。最高效的方法是預防。最理想的技術是發明一種疫苗,只要注射一次,就可終生免疫。所以,政府、制藥公司和基金會應該資助疫苗研究。但是,這樣的研究工作很可能需要十幾年,因此,與此同時,我們必須利用現有的技術——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.要實現讓人們避免危險行為這一目標,上述四步依然適用,可以再次循環。這是一種模式。關鍵問題是,我們永遠不要停止思考,永遠不能停止行動,永遠不能重蹈覆轍,犯下20世紀在應對瘧疾和肺結核時的同樣錯誤,那時我們臣服于這個復雜的社會,從而放棄了采取行動。
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.在發現問題并且找到解決方法之后,就剩下最后一步——評估工作結果,分享成敗經驗,這樣就可以讓你的努力去惠及他人。
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,你必須有一些統計數字。你必須讓他人知道,你的項目正為幾百萬兒童接種疫苗。你也必須讓他人知道,這種患病兒童的死亡人數下降了多少。這些都關鍵,不僅有利于改善項目效果,而且也有利于從商界和政府得到更多的資助。
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,如果你還想激勵其他人參加你的項目,你就必須拿出更多的統計數字;你必須展示你項目的人性因素,這樣就會讓其他人感受到,拯救一個生命,對那些身處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會議,會議的內容是討論如何挽救幾百萬條生命。天哪,是幾百萬!想想吧,拯救一個人的生命已經讓人何等激動,現在要把這種激動放大幾百萬倍??但是,不幸的是,這是我參加過的最最乏味的會議,乏味到我不想再聽下去。
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?
那次經歷之所以讓我難忘,是因為之前我們剛剛發布了一個軟件的第13個版本,當時有些人激動得又蹦又叫。我喜歡人們因為軟件而激動,那么我們為什么不能夠讓人們因為能夠拯救生命而感到更加激動呢?
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并且感受到行動的影響力,否則你無法讓他們激動。如何做到這一點,并非易事。
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.對此,我依然樂觀。沒錯,不平等現象一直存在,但是有一些新技術,能夠帶領我們走出世界的紛擾。這些新技術才剛剛出現,它可以幫助我們,將人類的關愛發揮到極至,這就是未來之所以有別于過去的原因所在。
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.當今世界,技術革新,不斷涌現——生物技術,計算機,互聯網——給我們展示出前所未有的機會,以消除赤貧,根除一些疾病導致的無謂的死亡。
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典禮上,宣布了一項計劃,幫助歐洲國家的戰后建設。他說:“我認為,困難在于這個問題太復雜,報紙和電臺源源不斷地向公眾提供各種事實,使得大街上的百姓難于清晰地判斷形勢。事實上,經過層層傳播,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.馬歇爾發表這個演講之后的三十年,我那一屆學生畢業,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、更透明、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.低成本個人電腦的出現,使得強大的互聯網有機會誕生,它為學習和交流提供了全新的機會。
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.網絡的神奇之處,不僅僅在于它跨越了距離,使得天涯猶若比鄰。它還匯聚了英才,為共同理想而一起奮斗——這就能促進革新,以驚人的速度發展。
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,世界上有條件上網的人,只是全部人口的六分之一。這意味著,還有許多具有創造性的人才不能參與討論——那些具有實踐經驗和相關經歷的杰出人才,卻沒有辦法磨礪他們的才智,發揮他們思想。
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.我們需要盡力讓更多的人有機會掌握這一新技術,因為這些進步會引發一場革命,人類將因此可以互相幫助。新技術不僅僅能夠讓政府,還能夠讓大學、公司、小機構、甚至個人發現問題、找到解決辦法、評估他們努力的結果,從而去解決那些馬歇爾早在六十年前就談到過的所有問題——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.在座的所有哈佛人,你們都是全世界的精英,今天匯集在此。
What for?
我們為什么而來?
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,哈佛的師生、哈佛的校友和哈佛的資助者已經盡力改善了在座各位的的生活,也改善了世界各地人們的生活。但是,我們還能夠再做什么呢?哈佛人能夠將他們的才智奉獻出來嗎?哈佛人能夠改善那些甚至沒有聞“哈佛”之名的人們的生活嗎?
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:
各位院長,各位教授,你們是哈佛知識分子的領袖,請允許我提出一個請求——當你們雇用新任教師、授予終身教職、評估全部課程、決定學位頒發標準的時候,請問你們自己如下的問題:
Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?
我們最優秀的人才是否在致力于解決最困難的問題?
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?
哈佛是否鼓勵其教師去解決世界上最嚴重的不平等問題?哈佛的學生是否了解全球性的貧困?是否了解世界性的饑荒?是否了解水資源的缺乏?是否了解輟學的女童?是否了解那些死于非惡性疾病的兒童?
Should the world’s most privileged people learn about the lives of the world’s least privileged?
那些養尊處優的人們,你們是否了解那些含辛茹苦的人民?
These are not rhetorical questions – you will answer with your policies.我并不是在設問,請用你行動的方針來做答。
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.”
在我被哈佛大學錄取的那一天,我母親倍感自豪,但她一直敦促我,要為他人謀取更多的福祉。在我結婚典禮的前幾天,她特意主持了一個儀式。在這個儀式上,她高聲朗讀了一封信,是寫給梅林達的,關于婚姻方面的問題。那時,我母親已經因癌癥而病入膏肓,但她還是抓住了一線機會,傳播她的信念。在信的結尾,她寫道:“天賦于斯,大任在肩,得到越多,期望更大。”
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.在座各位,請想一想吧,你們得到了什么——天才、特權、機遇——既如此,全世界的人都在期望,期望我們做出無窮無盡的貢獻。
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,我也要勉勵各位畢業生去解決一個問題,一個復雜的問題,那就是去解決這種明顯的社會不平等問題,然后把自己變成這方面的專家。如果你們能夠以此作為你職業的目標,你將脫穎而出。但是,你不可以僅僅為擴大影響而為。你可以一周花幾個小時,從日益壯大的互聯網上獲得信息,找到志同道合的朋友,發現困難之所在,找到解決困難的捷徑。
Don’t let complexity stop you.Be activists.Take on the big inequities.It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.不要讓這個復雜的世界阻礙了你前進的腳步。做一個行動主義者。將解決人類的不平等視為己任,它將成就你生命歷程中的最輝煌。
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.諸位畢業生,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,你們擁有了我們那時未曾擁有的技術,你們認識到了我們那時未曾認識的社會不平等現象。既然認識到了這個問題,如果你棄之不管,你可能就會受到良心的譴責,因為一點小小的努力,你就可以改變那些人的生活。既然你們比我們擁有更大的能力,你們就應該爭朝夕,謀長遠,持之以恒地做下去。
Knowing what you know, how could you not?
既知之,怎能無動于衷?
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,你們再到哈佛,回想你們用青春和才智換來的一切。我希望各位,在那個時候,你們不僅僅用自己專業成就來衡量自己;還要用你們如何為消除社會的不平等的努力來衡量自己;還要用你們如何善待那些遠隔千山萬水的世人來衡量自己;他們與你們,或許無一點相似,但他們都是人類。
Good luck.祝福好運。
第三篇:蓋茨在清華大學演講全文
蓋茨在清華大學演講全文
http://www.tmdps.cn 2007年04月19日 12:58 新浪科技
4月19日,微軟公司董事長比爾·蓋茨開始第二天的訪華行程。蓋茨當日上午在清華大學發表主題為《未來之路:在中國共同創新》的演講,并接受清華大學頒發的名譽博士學位證書。以下為演講全文:
尊敬的顧校長,清華大學的老師、同學們:
獲得清華大學這所世界一流大學的名譽博士學位,讓我感到非常榮幸。清華是一所有著百年歷史的名校,這里誕生了很多杰出的科學家、商業和政治領袖。
我上一次訪問清華是在1997年。當時,中國學生的才華、熱情和創造性給我留下了很深的印象。之后,我決定在中國設立微軟亞洲研究院。在沈向洋博士的領導下,在清華等大學優秀畢業生的協助下,微軟亞洲研究院取得了成功,為微軟公司作出了巨大貢獻。在各種國際會議上都可以見到他們的身影。他們也為微軟的新產品如Windows Vista的誕生,付出了辛勤的努力。在計算機科學迅速發展的今
天,身為清華的學生是件激動人心的事。
我們才剛剛開始接觸到軟件魔法帶來的奇妙體驗。全世界有十億計算機用戶,他們才剛剛開始分享信息。隨著
半導體、光纖技術的發展,軟件可以做更多的事情:
今天的電視還是被動的,在未來,你可以從因特網下載節目,電視將能和人交
流、互動;
昨天我參觀了中國農科院稻米研究所,看到那里的技術人員開始用軟件來區分不同的稻米,為其排序,以后還可以通過軟件的分析計算,用較少的農藥培育出高
產量的優良品種;
醫學界已經開始用軟件來管理數據庫;
今天的手機已經成為我們的“數字錢包”,可以顯示地圖,上網查找信息,未
來它還將可以和人交流;
平板電腦的出現,使得在教室可以無線上網,用電腦錄音、識別手寫的文字。這樣,學生無需課本就能實現更有效的學習,老師也可以看到世界各地的優秀教案。
當然,軟件的未來還面臨很多挑戰,比如:如何使得用戶更容易掌握?如何實現人工智能?但不管怎樣,就計算機科學而言,我們所處的都是最激動人心的時
代。
中國正在快速發展,對世界經濟、科技創新正在做出越來越大的貢獻。微軟公司愿意幫助中國公司的成長,幫助所有的中國公民享受到計算機科學進步所帶來的成果:
微軟已經開展項目,幫助中國的進城務工人員、殘疾人尤其是盲人享受科技成果;
微軟已經捐資設立了五所希望小學和五所網上希望小學;
微軟也同中國政府及大學合作,設立了很多學術交流項目,鼓勵優秀外國專家
來華講學;
有來自39所亞太地區大學的超過2000名學生曾在微軟亞洲研究院實習,并有120人獲得了研究資助,其中清華所占學生人數最多;
本學年,微軟亞洲研究院的研究人員將在清華開設一門課程:“計算機研究的熱門領域”。
我還想借此機會宣布,微軟公司將在清華設立“杰出訪問學者”項目。在該項目下,微軟亞洲研究院每年將邀請一位世界知名的計算機專家到姚期智教授領導的理論計算機科學研究所講學。第一位獲邀來訪的是美國麻省理工大學的弗朗斯·凱
斯霍德教授。
總之,我今天非常高興來到貴校,并在接受我的母校
哈佛大學頒給我名譽博士學位之前就成為清華的名譽博士。
剛才,我和大家分享了軟件領域在未來可能出現的一些突破,以及它們會給企業帶來的機會、為殘疾人和學生提供的幫助。我希望大家都能像我一樣樂觀:只要
可以上網,就能獲得平等的受教育機會。
微軟公司對于中國市場的專注是長期的。我們對于以學術嚴謹聞名的
清華大學有著很高的期望。讓我們攜手努力,共創信息技術未來的輝煌!
謝謝大家。
第四篇:比爾蓋茨哈佛演講 全文
比爾蓋茨哈佛演講 全文
Remarks of Bill Gates Harvard Commencement June 7, 2007
President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:
I’ve been waiting more than 30 years to say this: ―Dad, I always told you
I’d come back and get my degree.‖ I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor.I’ll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I’m just happy that the Crimson has called me ―Harvard’s most successful dropout.‖ I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school.I’m a bad influence.That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be
here today.Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me.Academic life was fascinating.I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn’t even signed up for.And dorm life was terrific.I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House.There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn’t worry about getting up in the morning.That’s how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group.We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.Radcliffe was a great place to live.There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types.That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean.This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn’t guarantee success.One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world’s first personal computers.I offered to sell them software.I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me.Instead they said: ―We’re not quite ready, come see usin a month,‖ which was a good thing, because we hadn’t written the software yet.From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey
with Microsoft.What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence.It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging.It was an amazing privilege – and though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I
made, and the ideas I worked on.But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret.I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn
millions of people to lives of despair.I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics.I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity –
reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country.And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing
countries.It took me decades to find out.You graduates came to Harvard at a different time.You know more about the world’s inequities than the classes that came before.In your years here, I hope you’ve had a chance to think about how – in this age of accelerating technology – we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives.Where would you spend it?
For Melinda and for me, the challenge is the same: how can we do the most good for the greatest number with the resources we have.During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this country.Measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever.One disease I had never even heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million kids each year – none of them in
the United States.We were shocked.We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them.But it did not.For under a
dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren’t being
delivered.If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not.We said to ourselves: ―This can’t be true.But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.‖
So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it.We asked: ―How could the world let these children die?‖
The answer is simple, and harsh.The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it.So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and
no voice in the system.But you and I have both.We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop amore creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities.We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the
people who pay the taxes.If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world.This task is open-ended.It can never be finished.But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change
the world.I am optimistic that we can do this, but I talk to skeptics who claim there is no hope.They say: ―Inequity has been with us since the beginning, and will be with us till the end – because people just …don’t … care.‖ I completely
disagree.I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do.If we had known how to help, we
would have acted.The barrier to change is not too little caring;it is too much complexity.To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact.But complexity blocks all three steps.Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to get people to truly see the problems.When an airplane crashes, officials immediately call a press conference.They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similar crashes in the future.But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: ―Of all the people in the world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent of them were on this plane.We’re determined to do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent.‖
The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable
deaths.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.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.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.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 bed net.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.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.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.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.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.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.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?
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.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.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.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.‖ 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.The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful network that has transformed opportunities for learning and communicating.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.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.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.Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.What for?
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? 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:
Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?
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?
Should the world’s most privileged people learn about the lives of the
world’s least privileged? These are not rhetorical questions – you will answer with your policies.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.‖ 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.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.Don’t let complexity stop you.Be activists.Take on the big inequities.It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.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.Knowing what you know, how could you not?
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.Good luck.過去30年里,我一直在等待著說這樣一句話,―父親,我一直對您說我將拿
到自己的學位。‖。
我要感謝哈佛及時地授予我學位。我明年要換工作(注:指全力投入比爾及梅琳達基金會的慈善工作),有了學位我的簡歷看起來會更好一些。
祝賀今天的哈佛畢業生都直接獲得了學位。哈佛校報稱我為―哈佛歷史上最成功的輟學生‖,這讓我感到非常高興。當我面對同一屆畢業生時,我可以對他們說,―我是失敗者中最為成功的。‖
眾所周知,當初史蒂夫·鮑爾默(Steve Ballmer)從哈佛商學院退學,我是始作俑者。我并不是一個好榜樣,這也是我受邀在你們的畢業典禮上發表演講的原因。如果你們都像我一樣輟學,那今天就沒有人會坐在這里。
對我來說,在哈佛的經歷是一段難忘的體驗。校園生活總是讓人留戀,我曾經上了很多根本沒有注冊的課。當然,宿舍的生活并不太美好。當時我住在拉德克里夫學院,同一宿舍的很多人經常討論問題到深夜,因為他們都知道我并不擔心早上起不來床。正是在這樣的環境下,我成長為反社會集團的領導者。
拉德克里夫是一個適合生活的地方。那時候這里有很多女孩子,而且大多數男生都屬于較為死板的類型,因此我的機會很多,你們都知道我的意思。不過,正是在這里,我明白了擁有機會并不一定能獲得成功的道理。(笑)
微軟的起步
在哈佛的日子里,最令我難忘的一天是在1975年1月。當時我給Albuquerque的一家公司打了電話,這家公司已經開始生產全世界首批個人計算
機,我希望向它們銷售軟件。
最開始我忐忑不安,因為擔心這家公司會因為我是學生而掛斷電話。但幸運的是,它們沒有這樣做,而是對我說,―我們還沒有準備好,一個月內來我們公司看看吧。‖這對我來說是一個好消息,因為我們當時還沒有完成軟件開發。從那一刻起,我夜以繼日地工作。這一項目雖然價值不大,但它標志著我大學生
活的結束,以及微軟的起步。
哈佛給我留下印象最深的是所有人都活力十足,而且非常聰明。在哈佛的日子有快樂,也有失落,但總是充滿挑戰。盡管我很早離開了哈佛,但那幾年已經足以改變我。在這里,我結識了很多朋友,并想出了很多創意。
最大遺憾
認真回顧過去,我確實有著一大遺憾。
當我離開哈佛時,我并沒有意識到這個世界存在著可怕的不平等現象。人們享受的醫療、保健和機會嚴重不均,很多人生活在絕望的邊緣。
我在哈佛學到了很多東西,包括經濟和政治方面的新思想,但體會最深的還是科學的不斷進步。
可是,人類的最大進步并不體現在發現和發明上,而是如何利用它們來消除不平等。不管通過何種方式,民主、公共教育、醫療保健、或者是經濟合作,消除不平等才是人類的最大成就。
當我離開校園時,并不知道美國有數百萬的青少年享受不到受教育的機會,我也不知道在發展中國家有數百萬人生活在極度的貧困之中。
我用了數十年的時間才明白了這些。
你們和我完全不同,你們更了解這個世界上存在的不平等。我希望你們過去幾年都曾經認真想過,應當如何應對這樣的不平等,以及如何解決這些問題。
假如,如果你愿意付出每周幾小時時間和每月幾美元,希望這些時間和錢能拯救更多的人,改善更多人的生活。那么,你會將時間和錢花在哪里呢?
對于梅琳達(注:蓋茨之妻)和我來說,也存在著同樣的問題:應該怎樣做,才能讓我們擁有的資源給最多的人帶來好處呢?
在討論這一問題的過程中,梅琳達和我看到一篇關于疾病每年在發展中國家殺死數百萬兒童的新聞。這些疾病包括麻疹、瘧疾、肺炎、B型肝炎和黃熱病,它們在美國已經受到嚴密的控制。此外,一種我們從未聽說的疾病——輪狀病毒每年要殺死50萬兒童,但其中沒有一名美國兒童。
我們感到非常震驚。既然每年有如此多的兒童因為這些疾病而死,那么就應當將研發新藥、拯救生命放在首位,但事實并非如此。
人人生而平等
如果你們相信―人人生而平等‖,當了解到人們認為有些生命值得拯救,而有些生命不值得時,也會感到震驚。我們會對自己說:―這并不是真的。但是,如果它是真的,我們就應當努力改變這種情況。‖
因此,我們開始了這樣的工作,我們相信別人也會這樣做。有時我們會感到不解:這個世界為什么會允許那么多的孩子死亡呢?
答案很簡單,也很殘酷。拯救這些孩子的生命并不會帶來市場回報,政府也沒有為此提供補貼。這些孩子之所以會死亡,主要因為他們的父母沒有強大的市場力量,甚至沒有話語權。
但是我和你們都有。
我們今天坐在這里,就在這一時間,世界各地仍在上演著人間慘劇。這讓我們感到心碎,我們之所以沒有采取任何行動,并不是我們沒有同情心,而是
因為我們不知道如何去做。
我們面臨的障礙并不是缺乏同情心,實際情況要復雜的多。
要將同情心轉化為行動,我們需要看到問題,找到解決方案,并了解最終結果。但實際情況是,我們很難做到這三點。
即使有了互聯網和24小時新聞播報,我們仍然很難真正地了解問題。如果一架飛機墜毀,官方會立即舉辦新聞發布會。他們將會承諾展開調查,確定事故原因,并保證今后不會出現同樣的情況。
但實際情況卻是,飛機失事死亡人數還不足全世界每天因可避免原因死
亡人數的0.5%。
更嚴重的問題并不是飛機失事,而是全球數以百萬計的可避免死亡。
事實上,我們很難獲得同后者相關的消息。新聞媒體希望獲得新消息,而數以百萬計的人因貧窮和疾病死亡并不是新消息。因此,這樣的消息很難出現在媒體報道中,從而更容易被人們所忽略。另一方面,即使我們看到這樣的報道,也不太情愿仔細閱讀。因為情況過于復雜,我們不知道如何提供幫助。在這種情況下,我們大多數情況會將視線轉向其它方向。
看到問題只是第一步,我們要做的下一步是降低問題的復雜度,并找到
解決方案。
如果我們想讓自己的同情心發揮作用,找到解決方案非常必要。因為只有這樣,我們才能確保同情心沒有被浪費。當然,由于大部分問題都很復雜,要
找到解決方案并不容易。
那么,我們又應當如何降低復雜度,找到解決方案呢?我認為可以分為四個階段:確定一個目標、發現最有效的方式、為這種方式找到理想的技術、以及開發最優秀的應用,例如用于治病的藥品。
我們要做的最后一步就是衡量工作的成果,并與他人共享我們的成功與失
敗。
第五篇:2014哈佛畢業典禮演講
感謝凱蒂,感謝佛斯特校長、哈佛大學部成員、監事會、還有迎接我回校園的所有教職員工、校友和學生!能來到這里我很激動,不僅是因為我能在哈佛大學每363屆畢業典禮上對優秀畢業生和校友講話,更因為我能站在歐普拉去年曾站的相同地方!omg!
下面開始進行我們的首要任務,為2014屆畢業生熱烈鼓掌,這是他們贏得的。
畢業生都很興奮,但這幾周同時肯定也讓他們有些精疲力竭。家長們,我指的不是期末考試,而是四年級運動會,最后一次舞會以及午夜巡游。總之,今年的校園很讓人激動。
哈佛橄欖球隊連續第七次擊敗耶魯,男子籃球隊連續兩年進入到了ncaa賽事第二輪,還有男子壁球隊獲得全國冠軍。誰會想哈佛竟然有這么強大的運動能力。不久,就會有人問,你們什么時候學術能力能夠超過體育能力?
我個人同哈佛的聯系開始于1964年,我從約翰霍普金斯大學畢業,被錄取到這里的商學院,你們感謝在想、或是正在同旁邊的人竊竊私語說:他怎么就進了哈佛的商學院,畢竟他的學術成績這么出色,總能成為班上排名位于前半部分的學生,我不知道,比我自己更驚訝的可能就演唱會有我的教授了。無論如何,今天我又回到了劍橋。
我注意到,這里同我當學生時有些變化,廣場附近我原來很喜歡的elise三文治餐廳現在成了一家墨西哥卷餅店,原來提供美味啤酒和香腸的wursthaus變成現在的工藝美味酒吧,我不知道這是什么玩意,原來的霍利奧克中心現在改名叫史密斯校園中心,你難道不討厭校友用自己的名字命名所有東西嗎?
不過也有好消息,哈佛保留了五十年前我剛進校時的優良傳統,仍然是美國最具聲望的大學,同其他偉大的大學樣,它位于美國民主實驗的心臟地帶,哈佛的目的不只是幸知識,還包括增進我們關于國家的理想。各種背景,各種信仰,探索各種問題的人都能在偉大的大學中自由開放的學習知識并探討想法。今天我想跟大家談談這種自由對于每個人而言是多么重要,無論我們多么強烈反對別人的觀點,對他人想法的容忍以及表達自身言論的自由是偉大大學中不可侵害的價值,兩者結合在一起構成了維持民主社會根基的神圣信賴。但我要告訴大家,這種信賴,是很脆弱的,特別是在君主、暴君、多數的專橫傾向下。
最近,這種傾向經常再現在我們的大學校園和社會中,這是個壞消息,而且很不幸的是,哈佛以及我自己的城市紐約也都見證過這種趨勢。首先,在紐約市你可能記得,幾年前有些人強烈反對在世貿中心的舊址幾個街區遠的專訪建 一座清真寺,這是一個情感的問題。民意調查顯示,超過2/3的美國人都反對在那里建清真寺,即使是反誹謗聯盟,這一被公認為全車宗教自由最熱情的捍衛者,也毫不掩飾對該項目表示反對,反對者進行著反對和示威遣責開發者,要求市政府停止這項工程這是他們的權利,我們保護他們的搞辯權,但他們的觀點絕對是錯誤的,我們拒絕屈從。政府如果單獨選 出某種宗教阻止,而且只阻止在特定地點建立宗教活動場所,這絕對是和偉大美國的道德原則背道而馳的,這應該是憲法保護所不允許的。
美國這個五十州聯邦依賴于兩大價值的結合:自由和寬容。正是這兩大價值的結合,讓一個不信神的國家,但事實上,沒有任何國家比美利堅合眾國更愿意保護人類的各種信仰和哲學,不過這種保護需要依賴于我們持續的警覺,我們傾向于認為政教分離的原則已經確立,實際上沒有而且永遠不會,我們需要堅決地擁護它,確保法律條文下規定的平等,對于每個人都是平等垢。
如果你希望按照自己希望的那樣進行宗教活動,按照希望的那樣發表言論,同希望的人結婚,你就必須寬容我像這樣的自由,我做事可能會冒犯你,你可能覺得我的行為不道德或是非正義,但你不能用自身沒有的限制方式來限制我的自由,否則這只會導致不公。我們在自己要
求權利的同時,不能否定其他人的相同權利,對于城市是這樣,對于大學也同樣是這樣。學術壓迫的勢力正在抬頭。自1950年以來,這是最為嚴重的。在我小時候,美國參議員,當然~你們可以鼓掌~~~在我小時候,美國參議員喬麥卡錫問:“你現在是不是,曾經是不是~~?”他試圖壓制和定罪,那些贊同哪怕在當時都已經很失敗的經濟體制的人,麥卡錫的紅色恐懼讓數以千計的人失去了生命,他害怕的是什么呢,是一種思想,也就是共產主義。
他和一些人認為這種思想很危險。不過他至少在一噗上是正確的,思想確實危險。思想能夠改變社會,思想能夠顛覆傳統,思想能夠開啟革命。這就是為什么歷史上,那些權貴要抑制思想、避免這些思想威脅到他們的權力、宗教、意識形態以及地位。蘇格拉底和伽利略是這樣,納爾遜曼德拉和瓦茨拉夫哈維爾是這樣,艾未來、造反貓咪樂隊以及在伊朗制作快樂視頻的孩子們也是這樣。壓抑自由言論表達是人類本性上的弱點,每次出現時我們都需要同它進行斗爭,結思想的不寬容,無論是自由還是保守派思想,都同個人權利和自由社會背道而馳的。以上這此自然也適用于偉大大學和項尖學者。大學校園正淬著一咱觀點,我想哈佛也不例外,認為學者只有在研究符合特定正義觀念的前提下,才應獲得資助。這種觀點可以用一個詞來概括:審查,這是麥卡錫主義的當代表現,想想這有多么諷剌。1950年代,右翼試圖掏左翼思想,而今天在很多大學校園自由派則開始抑制保守派思想。保守派教職員工甚至就快成為瀕危物種,這種情況尤其在常春藤盟校最為突出。2012年總統選舉中,根據聯邦選舉委員會數據,常春藤盟校教職員工有96%的捐贈都給了巴拉克奧巴馬,前蘇聯政治局的差異都比常春藤盟校捐贈大。這一統計數字發人深思。雖然我也支持奧巴馬總統的再次當選,但我認為任何派別都不應該壟斷真理,或讓上帝總站在它那一邊,96%常春藤盟校捐贈者偏向于某一位候選人,這就不得不讓人懷疑,這些大學中的學生是否獲得了他們應當獲得的觀點多樣性,性別、人種、取向多樣性都很重要。但一所大學還應當有政治多樣性,否則就稱不上偉大。實際上,為教授提供終生教職就是為保證他們能夠自由地進行研究,而不用害怕研究主題同學校政治和社會規范不一致。最初的終身教職如果要繼續存在,就必須保護同自由派規范相沖突的保守派思想,否則,大學研究和進行研究的教授就會失去信譽。
偉大的大學不應當戴有黨派的有色眼鏡,教育不應當成為自由主義的教育,大學的角色不應當是宣揚某一種意識形態而應當是為學者和學生提供問題研究和辯論的中立論壇,不讓天平朝任何一個方向傾斜,不抑制不受歡迎的觀點。因此,要求學者和畢業典禮發言者,遵循特定的政治標準會侵蝕整個大學的存在的意義。
今年春,很讓人不安的是,很多大學畢業典禮演講者都被撤銷了,甚至連邀請函都被撤回了,僅僅因為學生甚至資深教職團隊和管理者的反對。我很吃驚,學生姑且不論,其他人顯然應當更明事理一些。這發生在布蘭代斯、哈弗福德、羅格斯、史密斯等院校。去年,還發生在斯沃斯莫爾和約翰霍普金斯。我很遺憾,這些例子中,自由派都希望讓不喜歡的聲音無法發出,政治上不被其認同的人會被拒絕授予榮譽學位,這太讓人憤怒了。我們不應當讓它繼續發生,如果一所大學在邀請一位畢業典禮演講嘉賓時還要因為政治立場再三斟酌,審查和一致這些自由的死敵就會勝出,很悲哀的是,并不只有畢業季的演講嘉賓會被審查,去年秋天,我還在擔任市長的時候,市警察局長受邀到另一所常春藤盟校進行演講,結果他的演講卻因學生大專抗議而無法進行。比起讓討論沉默,大學的意義不應當是激起講座嗎?學生到底害怕聽到什么,為什么管理者不采取措施避免暴民干擾演講。難道其他想聽演講的學生,機會 就應當被這樣剝奪嗎?我敢肯定,今天畢業的學生肯定都讀過,約翰斯圖爾物密爾的——論自由。請允許我將其中的一小段讀給大家聽:強迫別人不能發表意見的邪惡及是對整個人類的掠奪,對后代人類的掠奪,對不同意于那個意見的人掠奪更多”,他繼續首“假如那意見是對的,那么他們是被剝奪了以錯誤換真理的機會;假如那意見是錯的,那么他們是
失掉了一個差不多同樣大的利益,那就是從真理與錯誤沖突中產一出來的對于真理的更加清楚的認識和更加生動的印象”,密爾如果知道大學學生強迫別不發表意見肯定會痛心疾首,密爾如果知道連教職團隊都通常成為畢業演講審查活動的一部分,肯定會更加痛心疾首。如果是終身教職教授強迫觀點同自己不一對致的發言者不發表言論,那就真的是莫大諷剌了。特別是發生在東北的那些抗議,自稱的自由寬容顯得尤為偽善。不過很高興的是,哈佛沒有陷入這些畢業典禮審查之中,否則的話,科羅拉多州參議員邁克爾約翰斯頓昨天就沒有機會在教育學院發表演講了。不少學生號召管理層撤回對約翰斯頓的邀請,因為他們反對他的一些教育政策。不過佛斯特校長和賴安院長都非常堅定,賴安院長寫信給這些學生說:“觀點存在分歧”在我看來,這引起分歧應當經過探討和辯論,受到挑戰和質疑,同時也應受到尊敬和慶賀。他完全是正確的,他以自身的言行為2014屆畢業生上最為寶貴的最后一課,作為約翰霍普金斯大學前任主席,我堅信一所大學的職責并不是教學生思考什么,而是教學生如何思考。這就需要傾聽不同意見,不帶偏見的衡量各種觀點,冷靜思考不同意見中是否也有可取的內容。如果教職員工做不到這一點,學校管理者就有責任介入儔解決這一問題,否則的話,學生畢業時就會封閉自己的耳朵和思維。大學也就辜負了學生和社會的信任。如果想知道這會導致什么,看看華盛頓就知道了。在華盛頓,我國面臨的所有重大問題,包括國家安全、經濟、環境、醫療等問題,兩黨在處理所有這些問題時,都沒有考慮協作,而是看誰聲音更大,以此壓倒對方,試圖抑制和破壞同自己意識形態不相符的調研結果。大學對這種模式模仿得越鑫,我們的社會就會變得越糟糕。我來舉一些例子,數十年來,國會都禁止養病控制中心進行槍支暴力的研究,最近,國會又對國立衛生研究院頒布禁令,你需要問問自己,他們在害怕什么。今年,參議院延遲對奧巴馬總統提名的衛生局局長佛內科醫師維維克莫西進行投票,原因僅僅是他竟敢說,槍支暴力是一大應當處理的公共衛生危機。他真是太大膽了。讓我們嚴肅一些。每天都86位美國人死于槍殺,槍擊事件也經常發生在校園中,包括上周發生在對巴巴拉的悲劇。但除此之外,再說什么估計都會被認為是醫療失當。在政治上也同很多大學校園中發生的一樣,人們不愿意聽到同自己意識形態相抵觸的事實,他們害怕它們,而且沒有什么比科學證據更他們害怕的了。今年早些時候,南卡羅來納州對公立學校彩了新標準,州議會竟然禁止人們提到自然選擇。這就像是教經常學,卻不講供需,還需要問那個問題。他們害怕什么?答案很顯然,同國會議員害怕數據破壞他們的意識形態一樣,這些州議會議員害怕科學證據破壞他們的宗教信念。想要證據的人可以考慮這個,南卡羅來納的一位八女孩給州議會議員寫一封信,請他們將犯犸象定為官方州化石,州議員們認為這個主意很好,因為猛犸象化石早在1725年就發現于州里,然后州參議遼通過的法案中卻將猛犸象定義為“創造于陸生動物創生的第六天”。這些東西不能胡編亂造。在二十一世紀的美國,教會和國家之間的壁壘仍在受到攻擊。這就需要我們來維持兩者的分離。很不幸的是,將意識形態和宗教觀念強加到檜和進化論的這些民選官員,大多也正是不愿承認氣候變化科學證據的那些人。別誤解我的意思,科學懷疑主義是有好外的,但是尋找更多的證據的科學懷疑主義同意識形態上拒絕科學證據的頑固不化是有本質判別的。我么多民選官員針對科學都是這種態度。聯邦政府沒能盡到自己的職責,在大學等機構投資科學研究也就毫不奇怪了。如今,gnp中用于研究和開發的聯邦支出百分比是五十余年間最低的,這讓世界其它國家有機會趕上,甚至超過美國的科學研究,聯邦政府在科學上是不及格的,就像很多州政府一樣。我們美國不應該背離科學,內部也不應該相互仇視。回到2014屆畢業生典禮上來,你們必須引領前路,每個問題上我們都應當遵循證據的指引、傾聽人們的意見。只要我們這樣做,就沒有什么問題解決不了,沒有解不開的死結,沒有談不妥的和解。思想交流越自由,政治多樣性就越強,我們就越健康,社會就會越強大。我知道,我并沒有按照傳統方式做畢業典禮演講。實際上,這甚至可能讓我在人文系的論文答辯上無法通過,不過講這些麻煩事時總不會輕松。畢業生們,在你們一生中,不要害怕說出自己認為正確的東西,無
論它有多么不受歡迎,特別是在捍衛他人權利的時候。捍衛他人權利,有時比捍衛自身權利更為重要。因為當人們尋求抑制其他人自由的時候,你可能會保持沉默。這樣你將會助長這種抑制,哪天你可能也會成為受害者。不要沆瀣一氣,不要人云亦云,大聲說出來,有力地回擊,我敢肯定,你會受到批評,我敢肯定,你還會失去一些朋友,樹立一些敵人,但歷史會站在你這一邊!我們的車家也會因此更加強盛!所有畢業生,都經過努力獲得了今天的成就,你們可以很自豪很感激!
今晚,在你們離開這所偉大的大學之前,可能會去香港餐廳來一大碗蝎子碗大雜燴,明天你們需要開始行動焉,讓我們的國家和世界對每個人都更自由并永遠自由下去!
上帝保佑你們!好運!篇二:雪莉 桑德伯格在哈佛2014年畢業典禮上的演講
雪莉 桑德伯格在哈佛2014年畢業典禮上的演講
祝賀所有人,你們做到了。我指的不是大學畢業,而你們成功出席今天的畢業典禮。如果我沒記錯,某些同學雖然昨晚在香港具廳喝了太多蝎子碗調酒,但今天還是來了。由于天氣,這種哈 佛還沒有弄清如何控制的現象,還胡同學正在溫暖的地方喝熱可可飲料。所以,你們有很多為今天出席畢業日活動感到自豪的理由。
祝賀你們的家長,你們花了很多錢,讓子女能夠說自己是從波士頓附近的這所“小學校”畢業的。還要感謝2014屆畢業生邀請我來到這次盛典。這對我價值巨大。看到過往演講者的名單讓人有些敬畏,我肯定沒有艾米波樂那么搞笑,但我至少比特雷薩修女更幽默。
25年前,一個當時還不認識,但以后成為我丈夫的男人戴夫,從在你們現在從的地方。23年前,我從在你們現在從的地方。戴夫和我這個周末,帶著可愛的子女回校,我們都有相同的三角:哈佛的籃球隊太棒了!
站在校園中,回憶泉涌。1987年的秋天,我從邁阿密來到這里,懷揣著偉大的夢想,還胡更夸張的發型。我被分配到哈佛偉大建筑的一座歷史豐碑~卡納迪樓,我是說真的,我當時穿著牛仔裙,白色暖褲襪套,運動鞋,還有一件弗羅里達羊毛衫。因為當時我的父母告訴我,所有人都會認為來自弗里達的人很酷。至少,我們那時沒有。
對我而言,哈佛給了我很多第一次,包括我的第一件冬裝,在邁阿密沒有人需要冬裝。我的第一份10頁的論文,高中沒有人會布置這么長的作業。我第一次得c,這之后,我的學監告訴我說,她在招生委員會,她招我進來不是因為我的學術潛能,而是因為我的品性。我在寄宿學校看到的第一個人,我就覺得這個人會是個大麻煩。我還碰到了第一個名字同整座建筑一樣的人,這個人名字叫做薩拉威格爾斯沃斯,她和那棟宿舍樓沒有關系,當時我很震驚,知道她和宿舍樓沒有關系后,我松了一口氣。之后,我還碰到了其他人,弗朗西斯斯特勞斯,詹姆斯威爾斯,杰西卡科學中心b。我第一們愛,第一們讓我心碎的人。我第一次認識到自己熱愛學習,第一次也是最后一次遇到有在讀拉丁文。
我畢業那年,我想好自己以后有什么計劃,我要進世界銀行,對抗全球貧窮,然后我要去法學院,然后我將非營利機構或政府工作,你們院長也講了,在明天
我對自己畢業后的數十年規劃其實并沒錯,計劃只錯在了一年后,就算我算到了自己會在私營企業工作,我肯定算不到自己會在臉譜,那時候沒有互聯網。那時候馬克扎克伯格還在讀小學,已經開始穿他的標志性帽衫了。沒有太早鎖死自己的道路,讓我有機會進入改變生活的全新領域。有些人可能認為我運氣好,我想說,卡納迪樓后,我又被安排到了設計院。
從你們所坐的地方到你們要去的地方是沒有直路的,不要嘗試畫這樣的直線,這不僅會出錯,還會錯失的大的機遇,例如像互聯網這樣。
職業不是梯子,那種時代一去不返了,職業更像是立體方格鐵架,不要只上下移動,不要只往上看,還要往回,往旁邊看,看轉角周圍。你的職業和生活會有始終,會有曲折,不要對未來的道路太過憂慮,因為生活中充滿了驚喜和機遇,你需要對各處可能性持開放態度。今天我要講的最重要的一點就是,對誠實保持開放的態度。相互之間說老實話,對自己誠實,也對我們所生活的世界誠實。看看身邊的孩子,你就知道他們有多誠實,我朋友貝琪懷孕后,她五歲的兒子山姆想知道寶寶在她身體里的什么地方。李問,媽媽,寶寶的胳膊在你的胳膊里嗎?她說,不是,整個寶寶在我的肚子里。他又問,媽媽,寶寶的腿在你的腿里嗎?她回答,不山姆,整個寶寶都在我肚子里。然后,山姆問道,那的屁股里有什么?
作為成年人,我們幾乎一直很誠實,這是很難得的好事。我懷孕的時候,我問我丈夫我的屁股有沒有變大,起初他說沒有,但我不斷施壓,最后,他說,好吧,有一點。我的小姑子一直說我丈夫,也是你們以后在生活中經常會聽到有說到的:“這家伙竟然是哈佛出來的。”
在人一旅途中,如果聽到一些真話會對我們很有幫助,我在你們這個年齡的時候,還沒有俯到這一點。在我畢業的時候,我對愛情生活的關心大于事業,我認識自己沒有什么時間了,必須趕緊找個好男人結婚,以免所有好男人都被別人搶走,或者我太老了。于是,我搬到哥倫比亞特區,在我24歲的時候結婚了。那個男人很不錯,但我倆似乎總相處不好,我變得不知道自己是住,也不知道未
來在哪里。一年不到,我的婚姻以失敗告終,當時我非常難堪,非常痛苦。很多朋友來安慰我,但毫無幫助,他們說:我就知道你們倆結婚是行不通的,我就知道你們倆不合適。沒有人在婚姻之前跟我說這些,事前告訴我這些肯定是會更有用。
我熬過了離婚后的這些痛苦的時光,我多希望他們原來有給過我建議,我多希望我曾經問過他們。而在我的職業生涯中,確實有人這無保留的地說出了實施。本科后,我和第一任老板是蘭特普得切特,肯尼迪學院授劉的一位經濟學家,他今天也在現場。我第二次考慮法學院時,蘭特跟我說,我不認為你應該去法學院,我也不認為你想去法學院。你認為自己應該去,大概只是你父母一直以來的要求。他注意到,我在談話中從未表現出對法律的任何興趣。我知道,相互之間坦誠相見有多么難,哪怕最親密的朋友,哪怕是在他們可能犯嚴重錯誤的時候,不過我敢打賭,在座的各位知道自己親密朋友的強項和弱項,知道他們可能掉落在哪個懸崖。我也敢打賭,大部分時候,你們并沒有告訴他們,他們也從沒問過。
去問這些問題,真相會越問越明。朋友誠實地回答時,你就知道他們是你真正的朋友了。
養成尋求反饋的習慣非常重要,特別是在離開學校系統,沒了考試和分數之后。很多工作中,如果你想知道自己干得怎么樣,你就需要去詢問,而且不要因為聽到不喜歡聽的而覺得受到冒犯。毫
無疑問,聽人批評絕對不會讓人高興,但我們只能在批評中進步。
幾年前,馬無扎克伯格決定要學中文。為了練習,他開始嘗試在一些工作會議中,同中文母語同事交流。你們估計可以想到,他有有限的中文水平,會讓談話很難正常進行。一天,他問一位女性,有臉譜工作怎么樣。她用了一個很長很復雜的句子回答。他說,請簡單些。她又說了一次。請再簡單些!經過幾次之后,她只好說了一句很簡單的話~我的經理很糟糕!扎克伯格這次真的聽懂了。
通常,真相都成了避免沖突的犧牲品。我們在講真相時,總喜歡使用很多修飾,很多委婉語,淹沒了真正要傳達的信息。我希望你們在向他詢問真相的時候,能用簡單明了的語言相互交流。講到自己的真相時,也應該使用簡單明了的語言。
同他人坦誠相見很困難,坦誠對待自己的想法甚至更難。我有了小孩子后,經常會和自己說,我對工作不感到內疚,哪怕沒有人問的時候。有人跟我說,雪
莉,今天過得如何。我會說,很棒,我對工作并不感到內疚。有人說,我需要一件羊毛衫嗎?我說,沒錯,外面很冷,我對荼工不感到內疚。我就像一只學舌的鸚鵡。
有天,我在跑步機上,正在讀社會學雜志上的論文。上面寫道,相比對他人撒謊,人們更喜歡對自己撒謊,而重復最多的那句話,通常就是謊言。
我臉上汗如雨下,心想,我重復最多的一句話是什么,我意識到了,我對工作感到內疚。我做了大量的研究,我同好友內爾斯克維爾花了一整年的時間,寫了一本書,講我的想法和感受。世界上很多女性都同它產生了共鳴,這讓我很欣慰。我的書名叫做《格雷的五十道陰影》,可見,你們很多人也都讀過這本書。
對于我們所生活的世界保持誠實,我們還有很多要做。我們并不總能看到真相,就算盾到了,我們經常也沒有大聲說出的勇氣。
我和同學們在讀大學時,認為性格平等的斗爭已經結束。沒錯,大部分待業的領袖都是男性,但改變應該只是時間的問題。那邊的拉蒙特圖書館,就在我們之前一代人的時間,不允許女性進入,但在我們畢業時,一切都平等了。哈佛和拉德克里夫完全統一了。
我們不需要婦權主義,因為我們已經得到了平等。我們錯了,我錯了,世界在那時并不平等,現在也不平等。我認為現如今,我們并不只是假裝沒看到真相,并對不平等視而不見,我們還在遭受低預期的踐踏。
在美國的上一個選舉周期,女性贏得了20%的參議院席位。所有報紙頭條都開始叫嚷,女性接管了參議院。我很想大聲回應說,等等,大伙,50%的人只占有了20%的席位,這不是接管,這是羞辱。
今年,就在幾個月前,硅谷一位很受人新生的知名商業經理人,邀請我到他的社交媒體俱樂部發表演講。幾個月之前,我去過這家俱樂部。一位朋友過生日邀我去的。建筑很漂亮,我在里面游蕩。欣賞她,找衛生間。結果一位員工很肯定的告訴我,女衛生間在那里,讓我務必不要上樓去,因為女性不允許進入這座建筑,我直到這時才意識到自己來到了一家全男性俱樂部。
剩下的整個晚上,我一直都納悶,自己來這里做什么,納悶其他人都在做什么,納悶舊金山會不會有朋友邀請我去一個不允許黑人、猶太人、亞洲人、或同
性戀者的俱樂部派對。被邀請到這家俱樂部做商業演講,就更讓人不爽了,因為這根本就不是單純的社交活動場所。
我首先想到的是,這是真的嗎?真的。《向前一步》出版后一年,這個家伙竟然認為邀請我到一家全男懷俱樂部做演講是一個好主意。他不是一個,很多備受尊敬的商務人士,都和他一起發出這份邀請。
轉述格魯馬克思的一句話,別擔心,我不打算模仿他的聲音。我不會去任何不愿加我為會員的俱樂部做演講。我拒絕了。我還做一件,也許5年前我不會做的事,我回了一長篇飽含激情的電子郵件,告訴他們應當改變這一做法。他們感謝了我的迅速回函,寫到?也許情況最終會有所改變。我們的期望值太代了,最終需要轉化為立刻才行。
我們需要看到真相,講出真相。我們容忍歧視,假裝機會是平等的。沒錯,我們選舉了一位非裔美國人總統。但各族主義仍然無處不在,不錯,確實有女性掌握著財富500強企業,準確的說是5%。但我們的道路上,充滿了母老虎、跋扈老女人這樣的惡語。而我們的男性同行卻被尊為俯視,被認為成就卓著。
非裔美國女性總需要證明自己沒有生氣,拉丁裔總被打上暴躁急性子的標簽。臉譜有一群亞裔男女,胸口帶著牌子說,我有可能不夠好。
沒錯,哈佛有一位女性校長,也許兩年后,美國也會迎來首位女總統。但要實現目標,希拉里克林頓需要克服兩 大重要障礙,一是未知,通常也未疲理解的性別偏見;二是,更糟的,從耶魯獲得的文憑而不是哈佛。
你們可以挑戰老一套的做法,在臉譜我們會貼海報激勵自己,完成重于完美,財富偏愛勇敢者,不要害怕,勇往直前。我最近又喜歡上一條,在臉譜沒有別人的問題。我希望你們也能這樣看問題,問題沒有別人 的問題。性別不平等對男性和女性都 沒有好處,各族主義對白人和少數族裔都是傷害,缺乏平等機會,讓我們所有人無法發揮自己的真正潛能。
在你們畢業的今天,我希望給你們一些壓力,讓你認識到,真相雖然有時難以接受,但很重要。不要逃避,碰到了就要勇于面對。感謝凱蒂,感謝福斯特校長、哈佛大學理事會成員、監事會成員,還有迎接我回校的所有教職員工、校友及同學們。
站在這里我非常激動,不僅是因為我能在哈佛大學第363屆畢業典禮上面對各位優秀的畢業生及校友講話,更是因為能站在去年奧普拉曾站過的地方。我的天啊。let me begin with the first order of business: let‘s have a big round of applause for the class of 2014.they‘ve earned it.下面讓我從最重要的環節開始:讓我們把最熱烈的掌聲送給2014屆畢業生們,這是他們贏得的。
as excited as the graduates are, they are probably even more exhausted after the past few weeks.and parents, i‘m not referring to their final exams.i‘m talking about the senior olympics, the last chance dance, and the booze cruise – i mean, the moonlight cruise.畢業生們都一樣的興奮,但同時這幾周或許也讓他們有些精疲力竭吧。各位家長,我指的可不是期末考試哦,我說的是高年級運動會、最后一次交際舞會和游輪酒宴——我指的是午夜巡游會。
anyway,this year has been exciting on campus:harvard beat yale for the seventh straight time in football.the men‘s basketball team went to the second round of the ncaa tournament for the second straight year.and the men‘s squash team won national championship.不管怎樣,今年的校園很令人振奮:哈佛橄欖球隊連續第七次擊敗耶魯,男子籃球隊連續兩年打入全國大學體育協會冠軍賽的第二輪,還有男子壁球隊則獲得了全國冠軍。
who‘d a thunk it: harvard, an athletic powerhouse!pretty soon they‘re going to be asking whether you have academics to go along with your athletic programs.誰會想到:哈佛,竟然有如此強大的運動天團!不久后,可能就會有人問,你們的學術水平是否能和體育水平相媲美?
my personal connection to harvard began in 1964, when i graduated from johns hopkins university in baltimore and matriculated here at the b-school.我個人與哈佛的關系緣起于1964年,當時我從巴爾地摩的約翰霍普金斯大學畢業并到這里的商學院就讀。you‘re probably asking yourself or maybe whispering to the person next to you: how did he ever get into harvard business school, particularly since his stellar academic record, where he always made the top half of the class possible? i have no idea.the only people more surprised than me were my professors.你們或許在想,或者和身旁的人竊竊私語:他是如何進入哈佛商學院的呢?尤其是他的學術成績總能排在全班前列?我不知道,比我自己更驚訝的可能只有我的教授了。
anyway, here i am again back in cambridge.and i have noticed that a few things have changed since i was a student here.elsie‘s – a sandwich spot i used to love near the square – is now a burrito shop.the wursthaus – which had great beer and sausage – is now an artisanal gastro-pub, whatever that is.and the old holyoke center is now named the smith campus center.總之,今天我又回到了劍橋[注:劍橋為哈佛大學所在地]。我注意到,這里跟我學生時代有了一些變化。廣場附近我曾經很喜歡的三文治售賣點愛爾詩,現在成了卷餅店。曾經提供美味啤酒和香腸的烏斯特豪斯,現在成了工藝美食酒吧,不知道這是啥。還有原來的霍利約克中心
現在改名為史密斯校園中心。don‘t you just hate it when alumni put their names all over everything? i was thinking about that this morning as i walked into the bloomberg center on the harvard business school campus across the river.but the good news is, harvard remains what it was when i first arrived on campus 50 years ago: america‘s most prestigious university.and, like other great universities, it lies at the heart of the american experiment in democracy.不過也有好消息,就是哈佛仍然秉承著50年前我剛入校時的優良傳統,依舊是美國最負盛名的大學。和其他頂尖的大學一樣,她處在美國民主實驗的核心位置。
這些頂尖大學的目的不僅是增長知識,還包括推進我們民族的理想。頂尖大學是讓各種背景、各種信仰、探尋各種問題的人,能到此自由開放地學習和探討想法的地方。
today, i‘d like to talk with you about how important it is for that freedom to exist for everyone, no matter how strongly we may disagree with another‘s viewpoint.今天我想跟大家聊聊,這種自由的存在對于每個人來說是多么的重要,無論我們多么不認同別人的觀點。
tolerance for other people‘s ideas, and the freedom to express your own, are inseparable values at great universities.joined together, they form a sacred trust that holds the basis of our democratic society.包容他人觀點,以及表達自身言論的自由,是頂尖大學不可分割的價值。兩者結合在一起,構成了支撐民主社會根基的一種神圣的信賴。
but let me tell you that trust is perpetually vulnerable to the tyrannical tendencies of monarchs, mobs, and majorities.and lately, we have seen those tendencies manifest themselves too often, both on college campuses and in our society.不過我要告訴大家,這種信賴在君主、暴民、多數派的專制傾向下是很脆弱的。最近,大家頻繁地看到這些傾向真實發生的事例,不管是在大學校園或社會。
that‘s the bad news – and unfortunately, i think both harvard, and my own city of new york, have been witnesses to this trend.這是個壞消息,而且很不幸的是,我認為哈佛以及我自己所在的城市紐約,也都目睹過這種傾向。
first, for new york city.several years ago, as you may remember, some people tried to stop the development of a mosque a few blocks from the world trade center site.首先,來談談紐約市。你們可能記得,幾年前有些人試圖阻止在世貿中心舊址幾個街區遠的地方建一座清真寺的計劃。
it was an emotional issue, and polls showed that two-thirds of americans were against a mosque being built there.even the anti-defamation league – widely regarded as the country‘s most ardent defender of religious freedom – declared its opposition to the project.這是個情感的議題,民意調查顯示超過2/3的美國人反對在該地修建清真寺。即便是反誹謗聯盟——這個被公認為全國宗教自由最狂熱的捍衛者,也公然反對該項計劃。the opponents held rallies and demonstrations.they denounced the developers,and they demanded that city government stop its construction.that was their right and we protected their right to protest.but they could not have been more wrong.and we refused to cave in to their demands.反對者發動集會和示威活動。他們譴責開發商,要求市政府終止這項工程。那是他們的權利,我們保障他們抗議的權利。但他們的觀點絕對是錯誤的,我們拒絕向他們的要求妥協。the idea that government would single out a particular religion, and block its believers – and only its believers – from building a house of worship in a particular area is diametrically opposed to the moral principles that gave rise to our great nation and the constitutional protections that have sustained it.要求政府單獨選出一個特定的宗教、阻止并且只阻止其信徒在特定區域建立其宗教活動場所的想法,這完全悖離偉大民族的道德原則,是憲法保護所不允許的。
our union of 50 states rests on the union of two values: freedom and tolerance.and it is that union of values that the terrorists who attacked us on september 11th, 2001 and on april 15th, 2013 found most threatening.我們這50州聯邦的建立取決兩大價值的結合:自由和包容。正是這兩大價值的結合,讓2001年9月11日和2013年4月15日襲擊我們的恐怖分子備感威脅。to them, we were a god-less country.在他們看來,我們是一個無神的國度。
but in fact, there is no country that protects the core of every faith and philosophy known to human kind – free will – more than the united states of america.that protection, however, rests upon our constant vigilance.但事實上,沒有任何一個國家,比美國更能保護人類各種信仰和哲學認識的核心——自由意志。不過,這種保護需要依賴于我們時刻的警覺。
we like to think that the principle of separation of church and state is settled.it is not.and it never will be.it is up to us to guard it fiercely and to ensure that equality under the law means equality under the law for everyone.我們會這么認為:政教分離的原則已經確立。實際上并沒有,而且永遠不會。我們需要堅決地擁護它,以確保法律條文下規定的人人平等,對每個人都是平等的。
if you want the freedom to worship as you wish, to speak as you wish, and to marry whom you wish, you must tolerate my freedom to do so or not do so as well.如果你希望你的信仰、言論和選擇配偶的自由,如你所愿,你就必須包容我這樣做或不這樣做的自由。