比爾蓋茨在哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講稿

比爾蓋茨在哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講稿（英）2011-06-1900:47:16標(biāo)簽：比爾蓋茨

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演講

比爾蓋茨哈佛演講

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PresidentBok,formerPresidentRudenstine,incomingPresidentFaust,membersoftheHarvard

CorporationandtheBoardofOverseers,membersofthefaculty,parents,andespecially,the

graduates:

I'vebeenwaitingmorethan30yearstosaythis:Dad,IalwaystoldyouI'dcomebackandgetmy

degree.

IwanttothankHarvardforthistimelyhonor.I'llbechangingmyjobnextyear...anditwillbeniceto

finallyhaveacollegedegreeonmyresume.

Iapplaudthegraduatestodayfortakingamuchmoredirectroutetoyourdegrees.Formypart,I'mjust

happythattheCrimsonhascalledmeHarvard'smostsuccessfuldropout.Iguessthatmakesme

valedictorianofmyownspecialclass...Ididthebestofeveryonewhofailed.

ButIalsowanttoberecognizedastheguywhogotSteveBallmertodropoutofbusinessschool.I'ma

badinfluence.That'swhyIwasinvitedtospeakatyourgraduation.IfIhadspokenatyourorientation,

fewerofyoumightbeheretoday.

Harvardwasjustaphenomenalexperienceforme.Academiclifewasfascinating.Iusedtositinonlots

ofclassesIhadn'tevensignedupfor.Anddormlifewasterrific.IlivedupatRadcliffe,inCurrierHouse.Therewerealwayslotsofpeopleinmydormroomlateatnightdiscussingthings,becauseeveryone

knewIdidn'tworryaboutgettingupinthemorning.That'showIcametobetheleaderoftheanti-socialgroup.Weclungtoeachotherasawayofvalidatingourrejectionofallthosesocialpeople.

Radcilffewasagreatplacetolive.Thereweremorewomenupthere,andmostoftheguyswere

science-mathtypes.Thatcombinationofferedmethebestodds,ifyouknowwhatImean.Thisiswhere

Ilearnedthesadlessonthatimprovingyouroddsdoesn'tguaranteesuccess.

OneofmybiggestmemoriesofHarvardcameinJanuary1975,whenImadeacallfromCurrierHouseto

acompanyinAlbuquerquethathadbegunmakingtheworld'sfirstpersonalcomputer.Iofferedtosell

themsoftware.

IworriedthattheywouldrealizeIwasjustastudentinadormandhanguponme.Insteadtheysaid:We'renotquiteready,comeseeusinamonth,whichwasagoodthing,becausewehadn'twrittenthe

softwareyet.Fromthatmoment,Iworkeddayandnightonthislittleextracreditprojecttthatmarked

theendofmycollegeeducationandthebeginningofaremarkablejourneywithmicrosoft.

WhatIrememberaboveallaboutHarvardwasbeinginthemidstofsomuchenergyandIntelligence.It

couldbeexhilarating,intimidating,sometimesevendiscouraging,butalwayschallenging.Itwasan

amazingprivilege-andthoughIleftearly,IwastransformedbymyyearsatHarvard,thefriendshipsI

made,andtheideasIworkedon.

Buttakingaseriouslookback...Idohaveonebigregret.

IleftHarvardwithnorealawarenessoftheawfulinequitiesintheworld-theappallingdisparitiesof

health,andwealth,andopportunitythatcondemnmillionsofpeopletolivesofdespair.

IlearnedalothereatHarvardaboutnewideasineconomicsandpolitics.Igotgreatexposuretothe

advancesbeingmadeinthesciences.

Buthumanity'sgreatestadvancesarenotinitsdiscoveries-butinhowthosediscoveriesareappliedto

reduceinequity.Whetherthroughdemocracy,strongpubliceducation,qualityhealthcare,orbroad

economicopportunity-reducinginequityisthehighesthumanachievement.

Ileftcampusknowinglittleaboutthemillionsofyoungpeoplecheatedoutofeducationalopportunities

hereinthiscountry.AndIknewnothingaboutthemillionsofpeoplelivinginunspeakablepovertyand

diseaseindevelopingcountries.

Ittookmedecadestofindout.

YougraduatescametoHarvardatadifferenttime.Youknowmoreabouttheworld'sinequitiesthanthe

classesthatcamebefore.Inyouryearshere,Ihopeyou'vehadachancetothinkabouthow-inthis

ageofacceleratingtechnology-wecanfinallytakeontheseinequities,andwecansolvethem.

Imagine,justforthesakeofdiscussion,thatyouhadafewhoursaweekandafewdollarsamonthto

donatetoacause-andyouwantedtospendthattimeandmoneywhereitwouldhavethegreatest

impactinsavingandimprovinglives.Wherewouldyouspendit?

ForMelindaandforme,thechallengeisthesame:howcanwedothemostgoodforthegreatest

numberwiththeresourceswehave.

Duringourdiscussionsonthisquestion,MelindaandIreadanarticleaboutthemillionsofchildrenwho

weredyingeveryyearinpoorcountriesfromdiseasesthatwehadlongagomadeharmlessinthis

country.Measles,malaria,pneumonia,hepatitisB,yellowfever.OnediseaseIhadneverevenheardof,

rotavirus,waskillinghalfamillionkidseachyear-noneofthemintheUnitedStates.

Wewereshocked.Wehadjustassumedthatifmillionsofchildrenweredyingandtheycouldbesaved,

theworldwouldmakeitaprioritytodiscoveranddeliverthemedicinestosavethem.Butisdidnot.For

underadollar,therewereinterventionsthatcouldsavelivesthatjustweren'tbeingdelivered.

Ifyoubelievethateverylifehasequalvalue,it'srevoltingtolearnthatsomelivesareseenasworth

savingandothersarenot.Wesaidtoourselves:Thiscan'tbetrue.Butifitistrue,itdeservestobethe

priorityofourgiving.

Sowebeganourworkinthesamewayanyoneherewouldbeginit.Weasked:Howcouldtheworld

letthesechildrendie?

Theanswerissimple,andharsh.Themarketdidnotrewardsavingthelivesofthesechildren,and

governmentsdidnotsubsidizeit.Sothechildrendiedbecausetheirmothersandtheirfathershadno

powerinthemarketandnovoiceinthesystem.

ButyouandIhaveboth.

Wecanmakemarketforcesworkbetterforthepoorifwecandevelopamorecreativecapitalism-if

wecanstretchthereachofmarketforcessothatmorepeoplecanmakeaprofit,oratleastmakea

living,servingpeoplewhoaresufferingfromtheworstinequities.Wealsocanpressgovernments

aroundtheworldtospendtaxpayermoneyinwaysthatbetterreflectthevaluesofthepeoplewhopay

thetaxes.

Ifwecanfindapproachesthatmeettheneedsofthepoorinwaysthatgenerateprofitsforbusiness

andvotesforpoliticians,wewillhavefoundasustainablewaytoreduceinequityintheworld.Thistask

isopen-ended.Itcanneverbefinished.Butaconsciousefforttoanswerthischallengewillchangethe

world.

Iamoptimisticthatwecandothis,butItalktoskepticswhoclaimthereisnohope.Theysay:Inequityhasbeenwithussincethebeginning,andwillbewithustilltheend-becausepeoplejust...don't...care.Icompletelydisagree.

Ibelievewehavemorecaringthanweknowwhattodowith.

AllofushereinthisYard,atonetimeoranother,haveseenhumantragediesthatbrokeourhearts,

andyetwedidnothing-notbecausewedidn'tcare,butbecausewedidn'tknowwhattodo.Ifwehad

knownhowtohelp,wewouldhaveacted.

Thebarriertochangeisnottoolittlecaring;itistoomuchcomplexity.

Toturncaringintoaction,weneedtoseeaproblem,seeasolution,andseetheimpact.But

complexityblocksallthreesteps.

EvenwiththeadventoftheInternetand24-hournews,itisstillacomplexenterprisetogetpeople

totrulyseetheproblems.Whenanairplanecrashes,officialsimmediatelycallapressconference.They

promisetoinvestigate,determinethecause,andpreventsimilarcrashesinthefuture.

Butiftheofficialswerebrutallyhonest,theywouldsay:Ofallthepeopleintheworldwhodiedtoday

frompreventablecauses,onehalfofthepercentofthemwereonthisplane.We'redeterminedtodo

everythingpossibletosolvetheproblemthattookthelivesoftheonehalfofonepercent.

Thebiggerproblemisnottheplanecrash,butthemillionsofpreventabledeaths.

Wedon'treadmuchaboutthesedeaths.Themediacoverswhat'snew-andmillionsofpeopledying

isnothingnew.Soitstaysinthebackground,whereit'seasiertoignore.Butevenwhenwedoseeitor

readaboutit,it'sdifficulttokeepoureyesontheproblem.It'shardtolookatsufferingifthesituationis

socomplexthatwedon'tknowhowtohelp.Andsowelookaway.

Ifwecanreallyseeaproblem,whichisthefirststep,wecometothesecondstep:cuttingthrough

thecomplexitytofindasolution.

Findingsolutionsisessentialifwewanttomakethemostofourcaring.Ifwehaveclearandproven

answersanytimeanorganizationorindividualasksHowcanIhelp?,thenwegetaction-andwe

canmakesurethatnoneofthecaringintheworldiswasted.Butcomplexitymakesithardtomarka

pathofactionforeveryonewhocares-andthatmakesithardfortheircaringtomatter.

Cuttingthroughcomplexitytofindasolutionrunsthroughfourpredictablestages:determineagoal,

findthehighest-leverageapproach,discovertheidealtechnologyforthatapproach,andinthe

meantime,makethesmartestapplicationofthetechnologythatyoualreadyhave-whetherit's

somethingsophisticated,likeadrug,orsomethingsimpler,likeabednet.

TheAIDSepidemicoffersanexample.Thebroadgoal,ofcourse,istoendthedisease.Thehighest-leverageapproachisprevention.Theidealtechnologywouldbeavaccinethatgiveslifetimeimmunity

withasingledose.Sogovernments,drugcompanies,andfoundationsfundvaccineresearch.Buttheir

workislikelytotakemorethanadecade,sointhemeantime,wehavetoworkwithwhatwehavein

hand-andthebestpreventionapproachwehavenowisgettingpeopletoavoidriskybehavior.

Pursuingthatgoalstartsthefour-stepcycleagain.Thisisthepattern.Thecrucialthingistonever

stopthinkingandworking-andneverdowhatwedidwithmalariaandtuberculosisinthe20thcentury

-whichistosurrendertocomplexityandquit.

Thefinalstep-afterseeingtheproblemandfindinganapproach-istomeasuretheimpactofyour

workandshareyoursuccessesandfailuressothatotherslearnfromyourefforts.

Youhavetohavethestatistics,ofcourse.Youhavetobeabletoshowthataprogramisvaccinating

millionsmorechildren.Youhavetobeabletoshowadeclineinthenumberofchildrendyingfromthese

diseases.Thisisessentialnotjusttoimprovetheprogram,butalsotohelpdrawmoreinvestmentfrom

businessandgovernment.

Butifyouwanttoinspirepeopletoparticipate,youhavetoshowmorethannumbers;youhaveto

conveythehumanimpactofthework-sopeoplecanfeelwhatsavingalifemeanstothefamilies

affected.

IremembergoingtoDavossomeyearsbackandsittingonaglobalhealthpanelthatwasdisscussing

waystosavemillionsoflives.Millions!Thinkofthethrillofsavingjustoneperson'slife-thenmultiply

thatbymillions....YetthiswaysthemostboringpanelI'veeverbeenon-ever.SoboringevenIcouldn't

bearit.

WhatmadethatexperienceespeciallystrikingwasthatIhadjustcomefromaneventwherewe

wereintroducingversion13ofsomepieceofsoftware,andwehadpeoplejumpingandshoutingwith

excitement.Ilovegettingpeopleexcitedaboutsoftware-butwhycan'twegenerateevenmore

excitementforsavinglives?

Youcan'tgetpeopleexcitedunlessyoucanhelpthemseeandfeeltheimpact.Andhowyoudothat

-isacomplexquestion.

Still,I'moptimistic.Yes,inequityhasbeenwithusforever,butthenewtoolswehavetocutthrough

complexityhavenotbeenwithusforever.Theyarenew-theycanhelpusmakethemostofourcaring

-andthat'swhythefuturecanbedifferentfromthepast.

Thedefiningandongoinginnovationsofthisage-biotechnology,thecomputer,theInternet-give

usachancewe'veneverhadbeforetoendextremeprovertyandenddeathfrompreventabledisease.

Sixtyyearsago,GeorgeMarshallcametothiscommencementandannouncedaplantoassistthe

nationsofpost-warEurope.Hesaid:Ithinkonedifficultyisthattheproblemisoneofsuchenormous

complexitythattheverymassoffactspresentedtothepublicbypressandradiomakeitexceedingly

difficultforthemaninthestreettoreachaclearappraisementofthesituation.Itisvirtuallyimpossible

atthisdistancetograspatalltherealsignificanceofthesituation.

ThirtyyearsafterMarshallmadehisaddress,asmyclassgraduatedwithoutme,technologywas

emergingthatwouldmaketheworldsmaller,moreopen,morevisible,lessdistant.

Theemergenceoflow-costpersonalcomputersgaverisetoapowerfulnetworkthathastransformed

opportunitiesforlearningandcommunicating.

Themagicalthingaboutthisnetworkisnotjustthatitcollapsesdistanceandmakeseveryoneyour

neighbor.Italsodramaticallyincreasesthenumberofbrilliantmindswecanhaveworkingtogetheron

thesameproblem-andthatscalesuptherateofinnovationtoastaggeringdegree.

Atthesametime,foreverypersonintheworldwhohasaccesstothistechnology,fivepeopledon't.Thatmeansmanycreativemindsareleftoutofthisdiscussion--smartpeoplewithpractialintelligence

andrelevantexperiencewhodon'thavethetechnologytohonetheirtalentsorcontributetheirideasto

theworld.

Weneedasmanypeopleaspossibletohaveaccesstothistechnology,becausetheseadvancesare

triggeringarevolutioninwhathumanbeingscandoforoneanother.Theyaremakingitpossiblenot

justfornationalgovernments,butforuniversities,corporations,smallerorganizations,andeven

individualstoseeproblems,seeapproaches,andmeasuretheimpactoftheireffortstoaddressthe

hunger,poverty,anddesperationGeorgeMarshallspokeof60yearsago.

MembersoftheHarvardFamily:HereintheYardisoneofthegreatcollectionsofintellectualtalentin

theworld.

Whatfor?

Thereisnoquestionthatthefaculty,thealumni,thestudents,andthebenefactorsofHarvardhave

usedtheir