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
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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。
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. Full bio
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 by asking you a
question, just with a show of hands:
question, just with a show 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：
一个问题，请举手回答：
00:15
Who has an iPhone?
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谁有苹果手机？
00:17
Who has an Android phone?
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谁有安卓系统手机？
00:20
Who has a Blackberry?
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谁有黑莓手机？
00:22
Who will admit in public to having a Blackberry?
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谁会在公众面前承认自己有黑莓呢？
00:24
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
00:27
And let me guess, how many of you,
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让我猜猜，你们中有多少人
00:29
when you arrived 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
像我一样，去购买了
00:31
a pay-as-you-go SIM card? Yeah?
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预付费的手机卡？
00:35
I'll bet you didn't even know
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我敢打赌你甚至不知道
00:36
you're using African technology.
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你正在使用的这项技术来自非洲。
00:38
Pay-as-you-go was a technology, or an idea,
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预付费手机卡这种技术，或者说这个创意
00:40
pioneered in Africa by a company called Vodacom
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是非洲的一个名为沃达康的公司
00:43
a good 15 years ago,
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在 15 年前率先使用的，
00:46
and now, like franchising,
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现在，就像特许经营一样，
00:48
pay-as-you-go is one of the most dominant forces
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预付费是全球范围内
00:51
of economic activity in the world.
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最主导的经济活动。
00:53
So I'm going to talk about innovation in Africa,
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所以我想要谈一谈
在非洲的创新活动，
在非洲的创新活动，
00:55
which I think is the purest form,
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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，
是以一种最纯粹的方式在进行着，
00:57
innovation out of necessity.
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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.
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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.
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这些都只是修辞。
01:06
Why did Nikola Tesla have to invent
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为什么尼古拉·特斯拉要发明
01:08
the alternating current that powers the lights
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能替代当前电力的能源
01:10
in this building 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 Ford have to
invent the production line
invent the production line
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为什么亨利·福特
要发明生产流水线
要发明生产流水线
01:15
to produce these Fords that came in anything
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来制造这些东西，
01:18
as long as they were black?
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顾客可以选择任何颜色，
只要是黑色的？（福特名言）
只要是黑色的？（福特名言）
01:20
And why did Eric Merrifield
have to invent the dolos?
have to invent the dolos?
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为什么艾瑞克·梅里菲尔德
要发明扭工字块体？
要发明扭工字块体？
01:24
Blank stares. That is what a dolos looks like,
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面无表情。
这就是扭工字块体的样子，
这就是扭工字块体的样子，
01:27
and in the background, you can see Robben Island.
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你可以看到背景中的是罗本岛。
01:30
This is a small dolos, and Eric Merrifield
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这是小的扭工字块体
和艾瑞克·梅里菲尔德
和艾瑞克·梅里菲尔德
01:34
is the most famous inventor you've never heard 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 ripped up the harbor
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1963 年，一场暴风雨席卷港口
01:41
in a small South African town called East London,
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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 his kids playing
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当他看到孩子们玩着
01:46
with toys made from oxen bones called dolosse,
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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 for this.
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他有了灵感。
01:50
It's a bit like a huge jumping jack,
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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 harbor in the world
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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 shipping economy would not be possible
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没有这样的非洲技术，
02:01
without African technology like this.
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全球航运经济就不可能实现。
02:04
So whenever you talk about Africa,
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所以每当你谈到非洲，
02:07
you have to put up this picture
of the world from space,
of the world from space,
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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 Continent."
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人们会说，"你看，那是黑暗的大陆"
02:14
Actually, it isn't.
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实际上，它不是。
02:16
What it is is a map of innovation.
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这是一张创新地图。
02:18
And it's really easy to see
where innovation's going on.
where innovation's going on.
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你很容易就能看到
创新的地方在哪里，
创新的地方在哪里，
02:21
All the places with lots of electricity, it isn't.
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它并不是那些
电力充足的亮光之处。
电力充足的亮光之处。
02:25
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
02:28
(Applause)
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（掌声）
02:33
And the reason it isn't is because everybody's
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因为住在亮光之处的每个人
02:35
watching television or playing Angry Birds.
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都在看电视，或玩愤怒的小鸟。
02:39
(Laughter) (Applause)
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（笑声）（掌声）
02:42
So where it's happening is in Africa.
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创新的地方在非洲。
02:45
Now, this is real innovation,
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这才是真正的创新，
02:47
not the way people have expropriated the word
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不是人们征用“创新”这个词来
02:50
to talk about launching new products.
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谈论推出的新产品。
02:52
This is real innovation, and I
define it as problem-solving.
define it as problem-solving.
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这是真正的创新，
我将它定义为解决问题的创新。
我将它定义为解决问题的创新。
02:56
People are solving real problems in Africa.
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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 problems.
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因为我们有真正的麻烦。
03:03
And when we solve real problems for people,
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当我们为人民
解决实际问题的时候，
解决实际问题的时候，
03:05
we solve them for the rest of the world
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我们为世界其他地区的人们，
在同一时间
在同一时间
03:08
at the same time.
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解决了同样的问题。
03:10
So in California, everybody's really excited
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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 of plastic
that you plug into a phone
that you plug into a phone
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一个可以插进电话的塑料小方块。
03:16
and you can swipe your credit 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 liberated the credit card
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人们说，"我们已经从销售终端
03:21
from the point of sale terminal."
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解放了信用卡"。
03:23
Fantastic. Why do you even need a credit card?
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很好。但为什么你还需要一张信用卡？
03:27
In Africa, we've been doing that for years,
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在非洲，我们做这个很多年了，
03:30
and we've been doing it on phones 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 I took at a place called Kitengela,
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这是我在基坦吉拉照的一张照片，
03:35
about an hour south of Nairobi,
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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
about the payment system
about the payment system
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对支付系统做出举世瞩目贡献的
03:40
that's been pioneered in Africa called M-Pesa
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是非洲率先使用的移动银行
03:42
is that it works on phones 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 on every single phone possible,
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它适用于几乎每个电话，
03:48
because it uses SMS.
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因为它适用短信服务。
03:50
You can pay bills with it,
you can buy your groceries,
you can buy your groceries,
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你可以用它支付账单，
你可以用它购买食品，
你可以用它购买食品，
03:53
you can pay your kids' school fees,
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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 customs officials.
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有人告诉我，你甚至
可以用它贿赂海关官员。
可以用它贿赂海关官员。
03:59
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:01
Something like 25 million dollars a day
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每天约有 2500 万美金
04:04
is transacted through M-Pesa.
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通过移动银行交易处理。
04:06
Forty percent of Kenya's GDP
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占肯尼亚国内生产总值的 40%，
04:08
moves through M-Pesa using phones 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 phone.
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你以为这只是一只功能手机。
04:13
Actually it's the smartphone of Africa.
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实际上它是非洲的智慧型手机。
04:16
It's also a radio, and it's also a torch,
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它也是一台收音机，
它也是一个火把，
它也是一个火把，
04:19
and more than anything else,
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最重要的是，
04:20
it has really superb battery 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 energy problems in Africa.
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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 Facebook
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顺便说一下，用这样的手机，
04:30
and send Gmail from a phone like this.
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你可以更新脸书，
从谷歌邮箱发送邮件。
从谷歌邮箱发送邮件。
04:34
So we have found a way to use
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我们找到了一种方式
04:36
the available technology to send money via M-Pesa,
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运用现有技术，通过移动银行汇钱，
04:39
which is a bit like a check system
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这就有类似于移动时代的
04:41
for the mobile age.
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检测系统。
04:44
I come from Johannesburg, which is a mining 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 on gold.
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它建立于黄金开采上。
04:48
This is a picture I Instagrammed 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 today is that
the gold of today is mobile.
the gold of today is mobile.
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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 system
in North America and how that worked,
in North America and how that worked,
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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，
以及它是如何运作的，
04:59
first came the infrastructure,
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首先想到的是基础设施，
05:01
then came the industry around it, the brothels --
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然后是周边的工业，妓院--
05:05
it's a bit like the Internet today, right? —
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它有点像今天的互联网，对吗？--
05:07
and everything else that worked with it:
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同与它共事的一切：
05:09
bars, saloons, etc.
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酒吧、会客厅等。
05:11
The gold of today is mobile,
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今天的移动设备技术就是金子，
05:13
and mobile is the enabler
that makes all of this possible.
that makes all of this possible.
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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?
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 from Ghana,
Bright Simons from Ghana,
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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，
布莱特·西蒙斯所发明的东西，
05:22
and what you do is you take medication,
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在你吃药之前，
05:24
something that some people might
spend their entire month's salary on,
spend their entire month's salary 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，
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 that to an SMS number,
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将代码用短信发送到一个号码，
05:32
and it tells you if that is legitimate
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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.
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或者，是否过期。
05:36
Really simple, really effective, really life-saving.
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真的很简单，真的很有效，
真正能拯救生命。
真正能拯救生命。
05:40
In Kenya, there's a service called iCow,
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在肯尼亚，有一项服务名叫“iCow”，
05:42
which just sends you really important information
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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.
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的重要信息。
05:47
The dairy business in Kenya
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在肯尼亚，乳品业
05:48
is a $463 million business,
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是一个产值四亿六千三百万的行业，
05:51
and the difference between a subsistence farmer
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区别一个勉强糊口的农民
05:54
and an abundance farmer
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和富裕农民的
05:55
is only a couple of liters of milk 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 out of poverty.
you can rise out of poverty.
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如果你能做到，你就可以摆脱贫困。
06:01
Really simple, using a basic phone.
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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, no problem!
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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 parts
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我们就使用旧自行车的零件制作它
06:10
using a windmill, as William Kamkwamba did.
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使用风车，就像威廉·凯门卡巴一样。
06:12
There's another great African that you've heard
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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 the
automobile industry in the world.
automobile industry in the world.
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忙于扰乱世界汽车行业。
06:18
He's also finding a way to reinvent solar power
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他也找到一种彻底改造北美太阳能
06:21
and the electricity industry in North America,
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和北电力工业的方法，
06:23
and if he's lucky, he'll get us to Mars,
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如果他幸运的话，
他会帮我们到达火星，
他会帮我们到达火星，
06:26
hopefully in my lifetime.
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希望那能在我有生之年完成。
06:28
He comes from Pretoria, the capital of [South Africa],
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他来自比勒陀利亚，[南非]的首都
06:31
about 50 kilometers from where I live.
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距离我的住处约 50 公里。
06:34
So back to Joburg, which is sometimes called Egoli,
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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，
约翰内斯堡有时被称为 Egoli，
06:38
which means City of Gold.
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意为黄金城。
06:40
And not only is mobile the gold of today,
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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.
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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 the other economists say,
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其他经济学家们说过，
06:51
we are at the point where China was
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我们正处在中国经济腾飞
06:53
when its boom years began,
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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 talk
about innovation at the edge.
about innovation at the edge.
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你听到西方总在谈边缘创新。
07:01
Well, of course it's happening at the edge,
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嗯，当然它发生在边缘，
07:03
because in the middle,
everybody's updating Facebook,
everybody's updating Facebook,
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因为在中间的大伙都在更新脸书，
07:06
or worse still, they're trying to understand
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或更糟糕的是，他们想了解
07:08
Facebook's privacy settings.
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脸书的隐私设置。
07:10
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
07:12
This is not that catchy catchphrase.
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这不是那朗朗上口的口号。
07:15
This is innovation over the edge.
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这是超越极限的创新。
07:19
So, people like to call Africa a mobile-first continent,
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因此，人们喜欢称非洲
为“移动先行大陆”
为“移动先行大陆”
07:24
but actually it's mobile-only,
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但实际上它是“只有移动”，
07:26
so while everybody else 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，
所有这些事情的时候，
07:30
we're solving the world's problems.
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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"] (Laughter)
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["欢迎你"]（笑声）
07:36
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Toby Shapshak - Technology writerThe 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.
Toby Shapshak | Speaker | TED.com