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弗里德曼关于谷歌（Google）与中国的先见之明
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《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《纽约时报》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.
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？
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-45671-305673.html
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