比尔盖茨在哈佛典礼演讲稿

Bok,formerRudenstine, ingFaust,membersoftheHarvardCorporationandtheBoardofOverseers,membersofthefaculty,parents,andespecially,thegraduates:I'vebeenwaitingmorethan30yearstosaythis:"Dad,IalwaystoldyouI'dcomebackandgetmydegree." IwanttothankHarvardforthistimelyhonor.I'llbechangingmyjobyear…anditwillbenicetofinallyhaveacollegedegreeonmy Iapudthegraduatestodayfortakingamuchmoredirectroutetoyourdegrees.Formypart,I'mjusthappythattheCrimsonhascalledme"Harvard'smostsuccessfuldropout."Iguessthatmakesmevaledictorianofmyownspecialclass…Ididthebestofeveryonewho ButIalsowanttoberecognizedastheguywhogotSteveBallmertodropoutgraduation.IfIhadspokenatyourorientation,fewerofyoumightbehereHarvardwasjustaphenomenalexperienceforme.Academiclifewasfascinating.IusedtositinonlotsofclassesIhadn'tevensignedupfor.Andlotsofpeopleinmydormroomlateatnightdiscussingthings,becauseeveryoneknewIdidn'tworryaboutgettingupinthemorning.That'showIcametobetheleaderoftheanti-socialgroup.Weclungtoeachotherasawayofvalidatingourrejectionofallthosesocialpeople.Radcliffewasagreatcetolive.Thereweremorewomenupthere,andmostoftheguyswerescience-mathtypes.Thatcombinationofferedmethebestodds,ifyouknowwhatImean.ThisisWhereIlearnedthesadlessonthatimprovingyouroddsdoesn'tguaranteesuccess.OneofmybiggestmemoriesofHarvardcameinJanuary1975,whenImadecallFromCurrierHousetoainAlbuquerquethathadbegunmakingtheworld'sfirstalcomputers.Iofferedtosellthemsoftware.我在哈佛最难忘的回忆之一，发生在1975年1月。那时，我从宿舍楼里给位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一个 IworriedthattheywouldrealizeIwasjustastudentinadormandhanguponme.Insteadtheysaid:"We'renotquiteready,comeseeusinamonth,"whichwasagoodthing,becausewehadn'twrittenthesoftwareyet.Fromthatmoment,Iworkeddayandnightonthislittleextracreditprojectthatmarked. WhatIrememberaboveallaboutHarvardwasbeinginthemidstofsomuchenergyandinligence.Itcouldbeexhilarating,intimidating,sometimesevendiscouraging,butalwayschallenging.Itwasanamazingprivilege…andthoughIleftearly,IwastransformedbymyyearsatHarvard,thefriendshipsImade,andtheideasIworkedon.Buttakingaseriouslookback…IdohaveonebigIleftHarvardwithnorealawarenessoftheawfulinequitiesintheworld--theappallingdisparitiesofhealth,andwealth,andopportunitythatcondemnmillionsofpeopletolivesofdespair.Ileftcampusknowinglittleaboutthemillionsofyoungpeoplecheatedoutofeducationalopportunitieshereinthiscountry.AndIknewnothingaboutthemillionsofpeoplelivinginunspeakablepovertyanddiseaseindeveloIttookmedecadestofindYougraduatescametoHarvardatadifferenttime.Youknowmoreabouttheworld'sinequitiesthantheclassesthatcamebefore.Inyouryearshere,Ihopeyou'vehadachancetothinkabouthow--inthisageofacceleratingtechnology--wecanfinallytakeontheseinequities,andwecansolvethem.Imagine,justforthesakeofdiscussion,thatyouhadafewhoursaweekandafewdollarsamonthtodonatetoacause--andyouwantedtospendthatandmoneyWhereitwouldhavethegreatestimpactinsavingandimprovinglives.Wherewouldyouspendit?ForMelindaandforme,thechallengeisthesame:howcanwedothemostgoodforthegreatestnumberwiththeresourceswehave.Duringourdiscussionsonthisquestion,MelindaandIreadanarticleaboutthemillionsofchildrenwhoweredyingeveryyearinpoorcountriesFromdiseasesthatwehadlongagomadeharmlessinthiscountry.Measles,malaria,ponia,hepatitisB,yellowfever.OnediseaseIhadneverevenheardof,rota,waskillinghalfamillionkidseachyear?noneofthemintheUnited在讨论过程中，Melinda和我读到了一篇文章，里面说在那些贫穷的国家，每年有数Wewereshocked.Wehadjustassumedthatifmillionsofchildrenweredyingandtheycouldbesaved,theworldwouldmakeitaprioritytodiscoverandinterventionsthatcouldsavelivesthatjustweren'tbeingdelivered.Ifyoubelievethateverylifehasequalvalue,it'srevoltingtolearnthatsomelivesareseenasworthsavingandothersarenot.Wesaidtoourselves:"Thiscan'tbetrue.Butifitistrue,itdeservestobethepriorityofourgiving."Sowebeganourworkinthesamewayanyoneherewouldbeginit.Weasked:"Howcouldtheworldletthesechildrendie?"Theanswerissimple,andharsh.Themarketdidnotrewardsavingthelivesofthesechildren,andernmentsdidnotsubsidizeit.Sothechildrendiedbecausetheirmothersandtheirfathershadnopowerinthemarketandnovoiceinthesystem.ButyouandIhaveWecanmakemarketsworkbetterforthepoorifwecandevelopamorecreativecapitalism?ifwecanstretchthereachofmarketssothatmorepeoplecanmakeaprofit,oratleastmakealiving,servingpeoplewhoaresufferingFromtheworstinequities.Wfitsforbusinessandvotesforpoliticians,wewillhavefoundasustainablewaytoreduceinequityintheworld.Thistaskisopen-ended.Itcanneverbefinished.Butaconsciousefforttoanswerthischallengewillchangetheworld.Iamoptimisticthatwecandothis,butItalktoskepticswhoclaimthereisnohope.Theysay:"Inequityhasbeenwithussincethebeginning,andwillbewithustilltheend?becausepeoplejust…don't…care."Icompleydisagree.IbelievewehavemorecaringthanweknowwhattodoAllofushereinthisYard,atonetimeoranother,haveseenhumantragediesthatbrokeourhearts,andyetwedidnothing--notbecausewedidn'tcare,butbecausewedidn'tknowwhattodo.Ifwehadknownhowtohelp,wewouldhaveacted.Thebarriertochangeisnottoolittlecaring;itistoomuchimpact.Butcomplexityblocksallthreesteps.Ifwecanreallyseeaproblem,whichisthefirststep,wecometothesecondstep:cuttingthroughthecomplexitytofindasolution.Findingsolutionsisessentialifwewanttomakethemostofourcaring.IfwecanIhelp?,"thenwecangetaction--andwecanmakesurethatnoneofthecaringintheworldiswasted.Butcomplexitymakesithardtomarkapathofactionforeveryonewhocares--andthatmakesithardfortheircaringtoCuttingthroughcomplexitytofindasolutionrunsthroughfourpredictabletechnologyforthatapproach,andintheme,makethesmartestapplicationofthetechnologythatyoualreadyhave--whetherit'ssomethingsophisticated,likeadrug,orsomethingsimpler,likeabednet.TheAIDSepidemicoffersanexample.Thebroadgoal,ofcourse,istoendthedisease.Thehighest-leverageapproachisprevention.Theidealtechnologywouldbeavaccinethatgiveslifetimeimmunitywithasingledose.Soernments,drugcompanies,andfoundationsfundvaccineresearch.Buttheirworkislikelytotakemorethanadecade,sointheme,wehavetoworkwithwhatwehaveinhand--andthebestpreventionapproachwehavenowisgettingpeopletoavoidriskybehavior.Pursuingthatgoalstartsthefour-stepcycleagain.Thisisthepattern.Thecrucialthingistoneverstopthinkingandworking--andneverdowhatwedidwithmalariaandtuberculosisinthe20thcentury--whichistosurrendertocomplexityandquit.theimpactofyourworkandshareyoursuccessesandfailuressothatotherslearnFromyourefforts.Youhavetohavethestatistics,ofcourse.Youhavetobeabletoshowthataprogramisvaccinatingmillionsmorechildren.YouhavetobeabletoshowadeclineinthenumberofchildrendyingFromthesediseases.Thisisessentialnotjusttoimprovetheprogram,butalsotohelpdrawmoreinvestmentFrombusinessandernment.Butifyouwanttoinspirepeopletoparticipate,youhavetoshowmorethanwhatsavingalifemeanstothefamiliesaffected.theInternet--giveusachancewe'veneverhadbeforetoendextremepovertyandenddeathFrompreventabledisease.Theemergenceoflow-costalcomputersgaverisetoapowerfulnetworkthathastransformedopportunitiesforlearningandcommunicating.Themagicalthingaboutthisnetworkisnotjustthatitcollapsesdistanceandmakeseveryoneyourneighbor.Italsodramaticallyincreasesthenumberofbrilliantmindswecanhaveworkingtogetheronthesameproblem--andthatscalesuptherateofinnovationtoastaggeringdegree.Atthesametime,foreveryintheworldwhohasaccesstothistechnology,fivepeopledon't.Thatmeansmanycreativemindsareleftoutofthisdiscussion--smartpeoplewithpracticalinligenceandrelevantexperiencewhodon'thavethetechnologytohonetheirtalentsorcontributetheirideastotheworld.theseadvancesaretriggeringarevolutioninwhathumanbeingscandoforoneanother.Theyaremakingitpossiblenotjustfornationalernments,butforuniversities,corporations,smallerorganizations,andevenindividualstoseeproblems,seeapproaches,andmeasuretheimpactoftheireffortstoaddressthehunger,poverty,anddesperationGeorgeMarshallspokeof60yearsMembersoftheHarvardFamily:HereintheYardisoneofthegreatcollectionsofinlectualtalentintheworld.WhatThereisnoquestionthatthefaculty,thealumni,thestudents,andthebenefactorsofHarvardhaveusedtheirpowertoimprovethelivesofpeoplehereandaroundtheworld.Butcanwedomore?CanHarvarddedicateitsinlecttoimprovingthelivesofpeoplewhowillneverevenhearitsname?Letmemakearequestofthedeansandtheprofessors--theinlectualleadershereatHarvard:Asyouhirenewfaculty,awardtenure,reviewcurriculum,anddeterminedegreerequirements,pleaseaskyourselves: ShouldourbestmindsbededicatedtosolvingourbiggestShouldHarvardencourageitsfacultytotakeontheworld'sworstinequities?ShouldHarvardstudentslearnaboutthedepthofglobalpoverty…theprevalenceofworldhunger…thescarcityofcleanwater…thegirlskeptoutofschool…thechildrenwhodieFromdiseaseswecancure?Shouldtheworld'smostprivilegedpeoplelearnaboutthelivesoftheworld'sleastprivileged?Thesearenotrhetoricalquestions--youwillanswerwithyourWhenyouconsiderwhatthoseofushereinthisYardhavebeengiven--intalent,privilege,andopportunity--thereisalmostnolimittowhattheworldhasarighttoexpectFromus.Inlinewiththepromiseofthisage,Iwanttoexhorteachofthegraduatesheretotakeonanissue--acomp