TEDGlobal 2013
Toby Shapshak: You don't need an app for that
托比．薩皮薩克: 最簡單的智慧手機
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最簡單的手機是最智慧的手機？托比．薩皮薩克說，當世界其他地方在用手機忙著更新狀態或玩遊戲的時候，非洲人在忙著開發以 SMS 為基礎的方案來適應日常需求。在這個大開眼界的演講裡，薩皮薩克探討了非洲手機創新的新應用，讓我們重新衡量自己那先入為主的關於創新的看法。
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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讓我先開始問你們一個問題，舉手就可以，
00:15
Who has an iPhone?
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誰有iPhone?
00:17
Who has an Android phone?
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誰有安卓手機？
00:20
Who has a Blackberry?
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誰有黑莓手機？
00:22
Who will admit in public to having a Blackberry?
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誰會想要公開承認
想有個黑莓手機啊？
想有個黑莓手機啊？
00:24
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
00:27
And let me guess, how many of you,
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讓我猜猜，你們中多少人，
00:29
when you arrived here, like me, went and bought
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你們來這兒的時候，像我一樣，會去買
00:31
a pay-as-you-go SIM card? Yeah?
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充值Sim卡？啊？
00:35
I'll bet you didn't even know
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我想你們可能都不知道，
00:36
you're using African technology.
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你們用的是來自非洲的技術。
00:38
Pay-as-you-go was a technology, or an idea,
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充值是一項科技，或者說一個創意，
00:40
pioneered in Africa by a company called Vodacom
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由一個叫Vodacom的非洲公司最先開始的
00:43
a good 15 years ago,
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在15年前，
00:46
and now, like franchising,
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現在，像特許經營，
00:48
pay-as-you-go is one of the most dominant forces
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充值方法是
在世界的經濟活動中
在世界的經濟活動中
00:51
of economic activity in the world.
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最主要的動力。
00:53
So I'm going to talk about innovation in Africa,
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我這裡要講的就是來自非洲的創新，
00:55
which I think is the purest form,
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我認為是最純粹的，
00:57
innovation out of necessity.
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建立在需要上的創新。
00:59
But first, I'm going to ask you some other questions.
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但首先，我要問你們其他幾個問題。
01:02
You don't have to put your hands up.
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你們不需要舉手，
01:03
These are rhetorical.
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這只是些設問。
01:06
Why did Nikola Tesla have to invent
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為甚麼尼古拉．特斯拉要發明
01:08
the alternating current that powers the lights
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點亮燈泡的另一種電流？
01:10
in this building or the city that we're in?
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在這個大樓裡，或者說
我們所在的這個城市裡？
我們所在的這個城市裡？
01:13
Why did Henry Ford have to
invent the production line
invent the production line
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為甚麼亨利．·福特要發明生產線，
01:15
to produce these Fords that came in anything
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生產這些福特車？
01:18
as long as they were black?
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黑色的福特車？
01:20
And why did Eric Merrifield
have to invent the dolos?
have to invent the dolos?
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為甚麼埃里克．麥瑞菲爾德
要發明（防波堤護面用的）扭工字塊?
要發明（防波堤護面用的）扭工字塊?
01:24
Blank stares. That is what a dolos looks like,
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一臉茫然。這就是扭工字塊的樣子，
01:27
and in the background, you can see Robben Island.
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在背景畫面，你可以看到羅本島。
01:30
This is a small dolos, and Eric Merrifield
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這是一個小的扭工字塊，
而埃里克．麥瑞菲爾德
而埃里克．麥瑞菲爾德
01:34
is the most famous inventor you've never heard of.
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是你所沒聽過的最著名的發明家。
01:37
In 1963, a storm ripped up the harbor
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在1963年，暴風雨拍打著港口，
01:41
in a small South African town called East London,
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在南非一個叫東倫敦的小鎮，
01:43
and while he was watching his kids playing
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當他看著他的孩子們在玩
01:46
with toys made from oxen bones called dolosse,
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牛骨頭做的叫扭工字塊的玩具，
01:49
he had the idea for this.
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他就是從這裡得到了靈感。
01:50
It's a bit like a huge jumping jack,
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它有些像巨大的跳娃娃，
01:53
and they have used this in every harbor in the world
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現在他們廣泛用於世界上的每個港口
01:56
as a breakwater.
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用作防波堤。
01:58
The global shipping economy would not be possible
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世界航運經濟離不開
02:01
without African technology like this.
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這樣的非洲科技。
02:04
So whenever you talk about Africa,
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一般你們在談論非洲時，
02:07
you have to put up this picture
of the world from space,
of the world from space,
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你會從外層空間來的世界照片，
02:10
and people go, "Look, it's the Dark Continent."
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然後人們說，“看，這是個黑暗的大陸！”
02:14
Actually, it isn't.
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實際上，它不是。
02:16
What it is is a map of innovation.
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這是一個發明創新的地圖。
02:18
And it's really easy to see
where innovation's going on.
where innovation's going on.
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很容易看出來在有發明創新的地方，
02:21
All the places with lots of electricity, it isn't.
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是那些燈亮的地方麼，不是。
02:25
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
02:28
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
02:33
And the reason it isn't is because everybody's
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它不是創新的地方是因為每個人
02:35
watching television or playing Angry Birds.
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都在看電視或者玩憤怒的小鳥。
02:39
(Laughter) (Applause)
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（笑聲）（掌聲）
02:42
So where it's happening is in Africa.
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所以非洲才有發明創造。
02:45
Now, this is real innovation,
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這是真的創新，
02:47
not the way people have expropriated the word
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不是人們徵用來的詞
02:50
to talk about launching new products.
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當談論推出新產品時。
02:52
This is real innovation, and I
define it as problem-solving.
define it as problem-solving.
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這是真正的創新，
我把它定義為問題解決方案。
我把它定義為問題解決方案。
02:56
People are solving real problems in Africa.
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在非洲人們在解決真正的問題。
02:59
Why? Because we have to.
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為甚麼？因為我們必須這樣。
03:01
Because we have real problems.
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因為我們有真正的問題。
03:03
And when we solve real problems for people,
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當我們為人們解決真正的問題時，
03:05
we solve them for the rest of the world
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我們同時為全世界
03:08
at the same time.
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解決了問題。
03:10
So in California, everybody's really excited
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在加州，每個人都為
03:13
about a little square of plastic
that you plug into a phone
that you plug into a phone
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一個插進手機的小方塊而興奮
03:16
and you can swipe your credit card,
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你可以用手機刷卡購物，
03:18
and people say, "We've liberated the credit card
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人們說，
“我們從銷售終端解放了信用卡。”
03:21
from the point of sale terminal."
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03:23
Fantastic. Why do you even need a credit card?
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棒極了！為甚麼非得需要信用卡？
03:27
In Africa, we've been doing that for years,
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在非洲，我們早就這樣做了，
03:30
and we've been doing it on phones like this.
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我們一直這樣用手機。
03:32
This is a picture I took at a place called Kitengela,
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這張圖片是我在一個
叫基騰格拉的地方拍的，
叫基騰格拉的地方拍的，
03:35
about an hour south of Nairobi,
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在奈洛比南面一小時車程的地方，
03:37
and the thing that's so remarkable
about the payment system
about the payment system
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有種支付系統非常了不起
03:40
that's been pioneered in Africa called M-Pesa
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是非洲支付系統的先驅，叫M-Pesa
03:42
is that it works on phones like this.
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它可以在這樣的手機上使用。
03:45
It works on every single phone possible,
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它可以在幾乎每個手機上使用，
03:48
because it uses SMS.
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因為它採用SMS系統。
03:50
You can pay bills with it,
you can buy your groceries,
you can buy your groceries,
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你可以用它付錢，賣雜貨，
03:53
you can pay your kids' school fees,
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可以付學費，
03:55
and I'm told you can even bribe customs officials.
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我告訴你，你甚至可以
用它賄賂海關官員。
用它賄賂海關官員。
03:59
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
04:01
Something like 25 million dollars a day
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一天大約有2千5百萬美金
04:04
is transacted through M-Pesa.
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通過M-Pesa轉賬。
04:06
Forty percent of Kenya's GDP
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肯亞GDP的4％的份額
04:08
moves through M-Pesa using phones like this.
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是用手機通過M-Pesa實現的。
04:11
And you think this is just a feature phone.
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你覺得這只是個功能性手機，
04:13
Actually it's the smartphone of Africa.
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實際上它是非洲的智慧型手機。
04:16
It's also a radio, and it's also a torch,
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它還是廣播，是照明器，
04:19
and more than anything else,
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以及更多的用途。
04:20
it has really superb battery life.
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它的電池壽命非常長。
04:23
Why? Because that's what we need.
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為甚麼？因為我們需要這樣，
04:25
We have really severe energy problems in Africa.
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非洲有很嚴重的能源問題
04:29
By the way, you can update Facebook
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順便說一句，你可以
用這樣的手機更新臉書、
用這樣的手機更新臉書、
04:30
and send Gmail from a phone like this.
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發送電郵。
04:34
So we have found a way to use
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我們已經發現一種
04:36
the available technology to send money via M-Pesa,
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可行的科技來通過M-Pesa來轉賬，
04:39
which is a bit like a check system
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有些像移動時代的
04:41
for the mobile age.
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支票付款系統。
04:44
I come from Johannesburg, which is a mining town.
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我來自約翰尼斯堡，一個採礦的城市，
04:46
It's built on gold.
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它建在金礦上。
04:48
This is a picture I Instagrammed earlier.
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這是一張我以前放在Instagram上的照片，
04:50
And the difference today is that
the gold of today is mobile.
the gold of today is mobile.
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不同的是現在的金礦是移動通訊。
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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如果你想想北美的
鐵路系統以及它的運作，
鐵路系統以及它的運作，
04:59
first came the infrastructure,
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首先想到它是基礎設施，
05:01
then came the industry around it, the brothels --
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然後想到於它有關的行業，妓院甚麼的，
05:05
it's a bit like the Internet today, right? —
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有點像今天的網路，對吧？
05:07
and everything else that worked with it:
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所有和它有關的
05:09
bars, saloons, etc.
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酒吧、沙龍等等。
05:11
The gold of today is mobile,
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現在的金礦是移動通訊，
05:13
and mobile is the enabler
that makes all of this possible.
that makes all of this possible.
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手機可以使這些成為可能，
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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所以你可以用它做一些事情。
05:18
Well, this is by a guy called
Bright Simons from Ghana,
Bright Simons from Ghana,
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這是加納的一個
叫布萊特·西門子的朋友，
叫布萊特·西門子的朋友，
05:22
and what you do is you take medication,
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你在服用一種
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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有些人要用整月工資才能買到的藥物。
05:28
and you scratch off the code,
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你刮出號碼，
05:30
and you send that to an SMS number,
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你用一個SMS號碼發送出去，
05:32
and it tells you if that is legitimate
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你就會知道這藥是否合法，
05:34
or if it's expired.
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或者它有沒有過期。
05:36
Really simple, really effective, really life-saving.
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非常簡單、非常方便、可以挽救生命。
05:40
In Kenya, there's a service called iCow,
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在肯亞，有種服務叫iCow，
05:42
which just sends you really important information
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你可以發送非常重要的資訊，
05:45
about how to look after your dairy.
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關於你每天的日程。
05:47
The dairy business in Kenya
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肯亞的日常管理業務，
05:48
is a $463 million business,
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是個4億6千3百萬的業務。
05:51
and the difference between a subsistence farmer
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自給自足的農民
05:54
and an abundance farmer
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和富農的區別
05:55
is only a couple of liters of milk a day.
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就在於每天的兩升牛奶。
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，你就可以脫貧。
06:01
Really simple, using a basic phone.
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非常簡單，使用最基本的手機。
06:05
If you don't have electricity, no problem!
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如果你沒有電，沒問題！
06:08
We'll just make it out of old bicycle parts
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我們可以拆掉舊自行車零件，
06:10
using a windmill, as William Kamkwamba did.
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用風車發電，就像威廉·堪姆萬巴那樣。
06:12
There's another great African that you've heard
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另外一個你們聽過的了不起的非洲人，
06:14
that's busy disrupting the
automobile industry in the world.
automobile industry in the world.
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正忙著打亂世界汽車產業。
06:18
He's also finding a way to reinvent solar power
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他發現了重新用太陽能發電的方法，
06:21
and the electricity industry in North America,
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改變北美的電力行業。
06:23
and if he's lucky, he'll get us to Mars,
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如果他幸運，他要帶我們去火星，
06:26
hopefully in my lifetime.
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希望是我在世的時候。
06:28
He comes from Pretoria, the capital of [South Africa],
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他來自普利托里亞，南非的首都。
06:31
about 50 kilometers from where I live.
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離我住的地方有50公里。
06:34
So back to Joburg, which is sometimes called Egoli,
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約翰内斯堡，有時被叫做Egoli，
06:38
which means City of Gold.
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是黃金之都的意思。
06:40
And not only is mobile the gold of today,
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不僅移動通訊是現在的黃金，
06:44
I don't believe that the gold is under the ground.
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我不相信黃金一定來自地下，
06:46
I believe we are the gold.
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我相信我們就是黃金。
06:48
Like you've heard the other economists say,
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你聽過其他經濟學家的話，
06:51
we are at the point where China was
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我們到了一個中國
06:53
when its boom years began,
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開始大發展的時代，
06:55
and that's where we're going.
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就是這樣的時代。
06:56
So, you hear the West talk
about innovation at the edge.
about innovation at the edge.
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所以你聽西方人
談論邊緣地區的創新，
談論邊緣地區的創新，
07:01
Well, of course it's happening at the edge,
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當然它會發生在邊緣地區！
07:03
because in the middle,
everybody's updating Facebook,
everybody's updating Facebook,
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因為在其間，人們在忙著更新臉書，
07:06
or worse still, they're trying to understand
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更糟的是，他們在試圖弄明白
07:08
Facebook's privacy settings.
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臉書的隱私設置。
07:10
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
07:12
This is not that catchy catchphrase.
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這不管是口號，
07:15
This is innovation over the edge.
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在邊緣地區的創新，
07:19
So, people like to call Africa a mobile-first continent,
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人們喜歡把非洲
說成是手機第一的大陸，
說成是手機第一的大陸，
07:24
but actually it's mobile-only,
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實際上是只有手機的大陸。
07:26
so while everybody else is doing all of those things,
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所以每個人都在做於手機有關的事，
07:30
we're solving the world's problems.
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我們在解決世界的問題。
07:31
So there's only one thing left to say.
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所以我只剩一句話要說：
07:34
["You're welcome"] (Laughter)
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“不客氣” （笑聲）
07:36
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
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