这是一篇旧文。这几天科学网上对上Google难于上青天,俺将它翻出来晒晒。
《扭腰时报》(The New York Times)专栏作家托马斯•弗里德曼(Thomas L. Friedman)对中国十分友好,他的近作《世界是平的》(The World Is Flat)和《炎热、平坦、拥挤的地球》(Hot, Flat and Crowded)和专栏,不乏对中国近年来的进步的溢美之词。
弗氏不是“中国通”,对中国发生的某些事情百思不得其解是可以理解的,但这并不妨碍他的真知灼见和先见之明。
比如,他在2006年12月13日的《扭腰时报》专栏中是这么描述如果中国失去了谷歌谁将成为赢家的情景的:
No question, China has been able to command an impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to produce a culture of innovation in a country that censors Google -- which for me is a proxy for curtailing people's ability to imagine and try anything they want. You can command K-12 education. But you can't command innovation. Rigor and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far. China will have to find a way to loosen up, without losing control, if it wants to be a truly innovative nation.
译成中文大概意思是:
“毫无疑问,中国消除了文盲,大大增加了高中毕业生和新大学的数量,这些努力给人以深刻的印象。但我仍然认为,一个对谷歌实施审查的国家,是很难孕育出创新文化的,因为在我看来,这意味着限制人们想象和尝试新鲜事物的能力。你可以命令从幼儿园到高中教什么;但你不能命令创新怎么搞。没有自由,中国活力和能力也仅此而已。中国如果想成为一个真正的创新国家,必须寻找出一种既不失其控制而又宽松的方法。”
他说得还不够明白吗?