ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Toby Shapshak - Technology writer
The publisher and editor of Stuff magazine, Toby Shapshak is a South African writer focusing on innovation — and the role it plays in Africa.

Why you should listen

Casual readers of Stuff magazine, with its smart and provocative gadget reviews, might not know the glossy comes from not London or New York but offices in South Africa. Toby Shapshak leads the magazine and news site; he's been called "the most high-profile technology journalist in the country" by GQ South Africa. Formerly a senior newspaper reporter covering everything from crime to politics, Shapshak shadowed Nelson Mandela when he was president, and covered the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the abolition of apartheid.  

He's been writing about innovation, telecommunications and the Internet — and the impact they have on people's lives — for more than 15 years. He's now working on a book about a passionately held belief: that in Africa, necessity is the mother of innovation. 

More profile about the speaker
Toby Shapshak | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2013

Toby Shapshak: You don't need an app for that

托比·夏普沙克: 你不需要应用程序

Filmed:
1,529,135 views

最简易的手机是最聪慧的吗?当世界其他地方的人们在智能手机上更新状态和玩游戏的时候,非洲的一群人正在开发新技术,使用短信服务来解决日常问题。新闻工作者托比·夏普沙克这样说道。在这个令人大开眼界的演说中,夏普沙克带领观众们探索了非洲最前沿的移动技术发明,他同时呼吁大家重新考虑我们对创新的臆想。
- Technology writer
The publisher and editor of Stuff magazine, Toby Shapshak is a South African writer focusing on innovation — and the role it plays in Africa. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Let me start开始 by asking you a
question, just with a show显示 of hands:
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在开始演说前,请让我问你们
一个问题,请举手回答:
00:15
Who has an iPhone苹果手机?
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谁有苹果手机?
00:17
Who has an AndroidAndroid的 phone电话?
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谁有安卓系统手机?
00:20
Who has a Blackberry黑莓?
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谁有黑莓手机?
00:22
Who will admit承认 in public上市 to having a Blackberry黑莓?
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谁会在公众面前承认自己有黑莓呢?
00:24
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:27
And let me guess猜测, how many许多 of you,
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让我猜猜,你们中有多少人
00:29
when you arrived到达 here, like me, went and bought
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在到达这里的时候,
像我一样,去购买了
00:31
a pay-as-you-go现收现付 SIMSIM卡 card? Yeah?
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预付费的手机卡?
00:35
I'll bet赌注 you didn't even know
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我敢打赌你甚至不知道
00:36
you're using运用 African非洲人 technology技术.
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你正在使用的这项技术来自非洲。
00:38
Pay-as-you-go现收现付 was a technology技术, or an idea理念,
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预付费手机卡这种技术,或者说这个创意
00:40
pioneered首创 in Africa非洲 by a company公司 called Vodacom沃达康
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是非洲的一个名为沃达康的公司
00:43
a good 15 years年份 ago,
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在 15 年前率先使用的,
00:46
and now, like franchising特许经营,
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现在,就像特许经营一样,
00:48
pay-as-you-go现收现付 is one of the most dominant优势 forces军队
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预付费是全球范围内
00:51
of economic经济 activity活动 in the world世界.
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最主导的经济活动。
00:53
So I'm going to talk about innovation革新 in Africa非洲,
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所以我想要谈一谈
在非洲的创新活动,
00:55
which哪一个 I think is the purest最纯净的 form形成,
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我认为这样的创新活动
是以一种最纯粹的方式在进行着,
00:57
innovation革新 out of necessity必要性.
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那就是因为要满足需求而创新。
00:59
But first, I'm going to ask you some other questions问题.
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但首先,我要问你一些问题。
01:02
You don't have to put your hands up.
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你不需要举手。
01:03
These are rhetorical修辞.
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这些都只是修辞。
01:06
Why did Nikola尼古拉 Tesla特斯拉 have to invent发明
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为什么尼古拉·特斯拉要发明
01:08
the alternating交替 current当前 that powers权力 the lights灯火
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能替代当前电力的能源
01:10
in this building建造 or the city that we're in?
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在我们居住的这栋楼或这个城市?
01:13
Why did Henry亨利 Ford have to
invent发明 the production生产 line线
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为什么亨利·福特
要发明生产流水线
01:15
to produce生产 these Fords福特 that came来了 in anything
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来制造这些东西,
01:18
as long as they were black黑色?
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顾客可以选择任何颜色,
只要是黑色的?(福特名言)
01:20
And why did Eric埃里克 Merrifield梅里菲尔德
have to invent发明 the dolosdolos?
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为什么艾瑞克·梅里菲尔德
要发明扭工字块体?
01:24
Blank空白 stares凝视. That is what a dolosdolos looks容貌 like,
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面无表情。
这就是扭工字块体的样子,
01:27
and in the background背景, you can see Robben罗本 Island.
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你可以看到背景中的是罗本岛。
01:30
This is a small dolosdolos, and Eric埃里克 Merrifield梅里菲尔德
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这是小的扭工字块体
和艾瑞克·梅里菲尔德
01:34
is the most famous著名 inventor发明者 you've never heard听说 of.
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是你没听说过的、最著名的发明家。
01:37
In 1963, a storm风暴 ripped撕开 up the harbor港口
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1963 年,一场暴风雨席卷港口
01:41
in a small South African非洲人 town called East London伦敦,
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在南非的一个名叫东伦敦的小镇,
01:43
and while he was watching观看 his kids孩子 playing播放
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当他看到孩子们玩着
01:46
with toys玩具 made制作 from oxen bones骨头 called dolossedolosse,
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用牛骨头制作的叫扭工字块的玩具,
01:49
he had the idea理念 for this.
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他有了灵感。
01:50
It's a bit like a huge巨大 jumping跳跃 jack插口,
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它有点像一个巨大的开合跳,
01:53
and they have used this in every一切 harbor港口 in the world世界
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世界上的每个港口都用这个来
01:56
as a breakwater.
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搭建防波堤。
01:58
The global全球 shipping运输 economy经济 would not be possible可能
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没有这样的非洲技术,
02:01
without African非洲人 technology技术 like this.
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全球航运经济就不可能实现。
02:04
So whenever每当 you talk about Africa非洲,
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所以每当你谈到非洲,
02:07
you have to put up this picture图片
of the world世界 from space空间,
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展示这张从太空拍摄的地球图片,
02:10
and people go, "Look, it's the Dark黑暗 Continent大陆."
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人们会说,"你看,那是黑暗的大陆"
02:14
Actually其实, it isn't.
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实际上,它不是。
02:16
What it is is a map地图 of innovation革新.
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这是一张创新地图。
02:18
And it's really easy简单 to see
where innovation's创新的 going on.
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你很容易就能看到
创新的地方在哪里,
02:21
All the places地方 with lots of electricity电力, it isn't.
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它并不是那些
电力充足的亮光之处。
02:25
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:28
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
02:33
And the reason原因 it isn't is because everybody's每个人的
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因为住在亮光之处的每个人
02:35
watching观看 television电视 or playing播放 Angry愤怒 Birds鸟类.
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都在看电视,或玩愤怒的小鸟。
02:39
(Laughter笑声) (Applause掌声)
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(笑声)(掌声)
02:42
So where it's happening事件 is in Africa非洲.
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创新的地方在非洲。
02:45
Now, this is real真实 innovation革新,
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这才是真正的创新,
02:47
not the way people have expropriated征用 the word
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不是人们征用“创新”这个词来
02:50
to talk about launching发射 new products制品.
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谈论推出的新产品。
02:52
This is real真实 innovation革新, and I
define确定 it as problem-solving解决问题.
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这是真正的创新,
我将它定义为解决问题的创新。
02:56
People are solving real真实 problems问题 in Africa非洲.
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在非洲,人们在解决真正的问题。
02:59
Why? Because we have to.
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为什么呢?因为我们必须这样做。
03:01
Because we have real真实 problems问题.
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因为我们有真正的麻烦。
03:03
And when we solve解决 real真实 problems问题 for people,
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当我们为人民
解决实际问题的时候,
03:05
we solve解决 them for the rest休息 of the world世界
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我们为世界其他地区的人们,
在同一时间
03:08
at the same相同 time.
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解决了同样的问题。
03:10
So in California加州, everybody's每个人的 really excited兴奋
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在加利福尼亚州,每个人都很兴奋于
03:13
about a little square广场 of plastic塑料
that you plug插头 into a phone电话
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一个可以插进电话的塑料小方块。
03:16
and you can swipe刷卡 your credit信用 card,
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你可以使用这个工具刷你的信用卡,
03:18
and people say, "We've我们已经 liberated解放 the credit信用 card
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人们说,"我们已经从销售终端
03:21
from the point of sale拍卖 terminal终奌站."
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解放了信用卡"。
03:23
Fantastic奇妙. Why do you even need a credit信用 card?
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很好。但为什么你还需要一张信用卡?
03:27
In Africa非洲, we've我们已经 been doing that for years年份,
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在非洲,我们做这个很多年了,
03:30
and we've我们已经 been doing it on phones手机 like this.
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并且我们在像这样的手机上使用它。
03:32
This is a picture图片 I took at a place地点 called KitengelaKitengela,
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这是我在基坦吉拉照的一张照片,
03:35
about an hour小时 south of Nairobi内罗毕,
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基坦吉拉位于内罗毕南部约一小时路途处,
03:37
and the thing that's so remarkable卓越
about the payment付款 system系统
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对支付系统做出举世瞩目贡献的
03:40
that's been pioneered首创 in Africa非洲 called M-PesaM-PESA
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是非洲率先使用的移动银行
03:42
is that it works作品 on phones手机 like this.
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移动银行可以在这样的手机上都可以使用。
03:45
It works作品 on every一切 single phone电话 possible可能,
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它适用于几乎每个电话,
03:48
because it uses使用 SMS短信.
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因为它适用短信服务。
03:50
You can pay工资 bills票据 with it,
you can buy购买 your groceries杂货,
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你可以用它支付账单,
你可以用它购买食品,
03:53
you can pay工资 your kids'孩子们 school学校 fees费用,
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你可以用它支付孩子的学费,
03:55
and I'm told you can even bribe贿赂 customs海关 officials官员.
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有人告诉我,你甚至
可以用它贿赂海关官员。
03:59
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:01
Something like 25 million百万 dollars美元 a day
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每天约有 2500 万美金
04:04
is transacted交易 through通过 M-PesaM-PESA.
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通过移动银行交易处理。
04:06
Forty四十 percent百分 of Kenya's肯尼亚 GDPGDP
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占肯尼亚国内生产总值的 40%,
04:08
moves移动 through通过 M-PesaM-PESA using运用 phones手机 like this.
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在这样的手机上,通过移动银行流动。
04:11
And you think this is just a feature特征 phone电话.
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你以为这只是一只功能手机。
04:13
Actually其实 it's the smartphone手机 of Africa非洲.
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实际上它是非洲的智慧型手机。
04:16
It's also a radio无线电, and it's also a torch火炬,
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它也是一台收音机,
它也是一个火把,
04:19
and more than anything else其他,
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最重要的是,
04:20
it has really superb高超 battery电池 life.
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它有超长的电池寿命。
04:23
Why? Because that's what we need.
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为什么呢?因为那是我们真正需要的。
04:25
We have really severe严重 energy能源 problems问题 in Africa非洲.
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在非洲我们有很严重的能源问题。
04:29
By the way, you can update更新 FacebookFacebook的
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顺便说一下,用这样的手机,
04:30
and send发送 GmailGmail的 from a phone电话 like this.
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你可以更新脸书,
从谷歌邮箱发送邮件。
04:34
So we have found发现 a way to use
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我们找到了一种方式
04:36
the available可得到 technology技术 to send发送 money via通过 M-PesaM-PESA,
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运用现有技术,通过移动银行汇钱,
04:39
which哪一个 is a bit like a check system系统
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这就有类似于移动时代的
04:41
for the mobile移动 age年龄.
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检测系统。
04:44
I come from Johannesburg约翰内斯堡, which哪一个 is a mining矿业 town.
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我来自约翰内斯堡,这是一个采矿小镇。
04:46
It's built内置 on gold.
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它建立于黄金开采上。
04:48
This is a picture图片 I InstagrammedInstagrammed earlier.
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这张照片是我较早前发布的照片分享。
04:50
And the difference区别 today今天 is that
the gold of today今天 is mobile移动.
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现如今,区别在于,移动设备是黄金。
04:55
If you think about the railroad铁路 system系统
in North America美国 and how that worked工作,
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如果你思考一下北美的铁路系统
以及它是如何运作的,
04:59
first came来了 the infrastructure基础设施,
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首先想到的是基础设施,
05:01
then came来了 the industry行业 around it, the brothels妓院 --
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然后是周边的工业,妓院--
05:05
it's a bit like the Internet互联网 today今天, right? —
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它有点像今天的互联网,对吗?--
05:07
and everything else其他 that worked工作 with it:
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同与它共事的一切:
05:09
bars酒吧, saloons轿车, etc等等.
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酒吧、会客厅等。
05:11
The gold of today今天 is mobile移动,
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今天的移动设备技术就是金子,
05:13
and mobile移动 is the enabler推动者
that makes品牌 all of this possible可能.
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移动技术使这一切成为可能。
05:16
So what are some of the
things that you can do with it?
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你可还能做什么事情呢?
05:18
Well, this is by a guy called
Bright Simons西蒙斯 from Ghana加纳,
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嗯,这是由来自加纳的
布莱特·西蒙斯所发明的东西,
05:22
and what you do is you take medication药物治疗,
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在你吃药之前,
05:24
something that some people might威力
spend their entire整个 month's一个月 salary薪水 on,
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对某些人来说,这些药
可能花费了他们整个月的工资,
05:28
and you scratch off the code,
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你刮掉代码,
05:30
and you send发送 that to an SMS短信 number,
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将代码用短信发送到一个号码,
05:32
and it tells告诉 you if that is legitimate合法
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它会回复告诉你这药品是否合法
05:34
or if it's expired过期.
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或者,是否过期。
05:36
Really simple简单, really effective有效, really life-saving救生.
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真的很简单,真的很有效,
真正能拯救生命。
05:40
In Kenya肯尼亚, there's a service服务 called iCowiCow,
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在肯尼亚,有一项服务名叫“iCow”,
05:42
which哪一个 just sends发送 you really important重要 information信息
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它给你发送关于如何饲养照顾奶牛
05:45
about how to look after your dairy乳制品.
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的重要信息。
05:47
The dairy乳制品 business商业 in Kenya肯尼亚
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在肯尼亚,乳品业
05:48
is a $463 million百万 business商业,
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是一个产值四亿六千三百万的行业,
05:51
and the difference区别 between之间 a subsistence生活 farmer农民
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区别一个勉强糊口的农民
05:54
and an abundance丰富 farmer农民
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和富裕农民的
05:55
is only a couple一对 of liters of milk牛奶 a day.
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只是一天多出产的几升牛奶。
05:58
And if you can do that,
you can rise上升 out of poverty贫穷.
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如果你能做到,你就可以摆脱贫困。
06:01
Really simple简单, using运用 a basic基本 phone电话.
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真的很简单,使用最基本的电话。
06:05
If you don't have electricity电力, no problem问题!
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即使你没有电也没问题!
06:08
We'll just make it out of old bicycle自行车 parts部分
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我们就使用旧自行车的零件制作它
06:10
using运用 a windmill风车, as William威廉 KamkwambaKamkwamba did.
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使用风车,就像威廉·凯门卡巴一样。
06:12
There's another另一个 great African非洲人 that you've heard听说
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你听说过的另一位伟大的非洲公民
06:14
that's busy disrupting妨害 the
automobile汽车 industry行业 in the world世界.
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忙于扰乱世界汽车行业。
06:18
He's also finding发现 a way to reinvent重塑 solar太阳能 power功率
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他也找到一种彻底改造北美太阳能
06:21
and the electricity电力 industry行业 in North America美国,
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和北电力工业的方法,
06:23
and if he's lucky幸运, he'll地狱 get us to Mars火星,
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如果他幸运的话,
他会帮我们到达火星,
06:26
hopefully希望 in my lifetime一生.
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希望那能在我有生之年完成。
06:28
He comes from Pretoria比勒陀利亚, the capital首都 of [South Africa非洲],
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他来自比勒陀利亚,[南非]的首都
06:31
about 50 kilometers公里 from where I live生活.
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距离我的住处约 50 公里。
06:34
So back to Joburg约堡, which哪一个 is sometimes有时 called Egoli埃戈利,
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回到约翰内斯堡的话题,
约翰内斯堡有时被称为 Egoli,
06:38
which哪一个 means手段 City of Gold.
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意为黄金城。
06:40
And not only is mobile移动 the gold of today今天,
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今天所指的黄金可不只限于移动技术,
06:44
I don't believe that the gold is under the ground地面.
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我不相信地面之下蕴藏黄金。
06:46
I believe we are the gold.
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我相信,我们就是黄金。
06:48
Like you've heard听说 the other economists经济学家 say,
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其他经济学家们说过,
06:51
we are at the point where China中国 was
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我们正处在中国经济腾飞
06:53
when its boom繁荣 years年份 began开始,
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伊始的那一刻,
06:55
and that's where we're going.
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而这正是我们前进的方向。
06:56
So, you hear the West西 talk
about innovation革新 at the edge边缘.
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你听到西方总在谈边缘创新。
07:01
Well, of course课程 it's happening事件 at the edge边缘,
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嗯,当然它发生在边缘,
07:03
because in the middle中间,
everybody's每个人的 updating更新 FacebookFacebook的,
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因为在中间的大伙都在更新脸书,
07:06
or worse更差 still, they're trying to understand理解
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或更糟糕的是,他们想了解
07:08
Facebook'sFacebook的 privacy隐私 settings设置.
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脸书的隐私设置。
07:10
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:12
This is not that catchy上口 catchphrase口号.
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这不是那朗朗上口的口号。
07:15
This is innovation革新 over the edge边缘.
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这是超越极限的创新。
07:19
So, people like to call Africa非洲 a mobile-first移动第一 continent大陆,
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因此,人们喜欢称非洲
为“移动先行大陆”
07:24
but actually其实 it's mobile-only仅移动,
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但实际上它是“只有移动”,
07:26
so while everybody每个人 else其他 is doing all of those things,
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所以当别人在做
所有这些事情的时候,
07:30
we're solving the world's世界 problems问题.
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我们在解决世界的问题。
07:31
So there's only one thing left to say.
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最后要说的是。
07:34
["You're welcome欢迎"] (Laughter笑声)
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["欢迎你"](笑声)
07:36
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Zhiting Chen
Reviewed by Geoff Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Toby Shapshak - Technology writer
The publisher and editor of Stuff magazine, Toby Shapshak is a South African writer focusing on innovation — and the role it plays in Africa.

Why you should listen

Casual readers of Stuff magazine, with its smart and provocative gadget reviews, might not know the glossy comes from not London or New York but offices in South Africa. Toby Shapshak leads the magazine and news site; he's been called "the most high-profile technology journalist in the country" by GQ South Africa. Formerly a senior newspaper reporter covering everything from crime to politics, Shapshak shadowed Nelson Mandela when he was president, and covered the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the abolition of apartheid.  

He's been writing about innovation, telecommunications and the Internet — and the impact they have on people's lives — for more than 15 years. He's now working on a book about a passionately held belief: that in Africa, necessity is the mother of innovation. 

More profile about the speaker
Toby Shapshak | Speaker | TED.com