从硅谷看外面的世界，震惊~ ——Quora问答

译者 大力姑娘

46 Answers

如果你是硅谷人，那么硅谷之外对你来说是一整个另一个世界，以下事实可能会令你感到震惊：

Susan Wu, I live in SF, Paris and Australia.

1020 votes by Raghav Aggarwal, Kamil Altintasoglu, Eeshan Malhotra, (more)

1. 50 Shades of Grey grew to 35 million 'users' more quickly than Instagram did.

1. 小说《五十度灰》达到三千五百万“用户”的速度比Instagram还快。

2. Most of Silicon Valley is focused on building products for the top 1% of the world's population. Most of the world needs solutions to problems we rarely talk about, in areas like health care, agricultural production, sustainable construction, citizen activism and empowerment, childhood education, affordable transportation, supply chain optimization, community solidarity and efficacy, etc. And I'm not solely referring to base of the pyramid topics (like clean water access), either. The average "middle class" citizen outside the US doesn't have as much luxury to indulge in existential crisis and loneliness.

2. 硅谷中绝大部分人都只专注于为世界1%的人口提供服务的产品。 而真正世界上绝大多数人都面临的问题我们却从不谈论，例如卫生保健，农业生产，可持续建设，公民积极性和赋权，儿童教育，负担得起的交通，供应链优化，社区团结和功效，等等。我指的也不单单是金字塔最底层人面临的问题（比如说清洁水供应）。就连美国以外的所谓“中产阶级”其实也什么机会享受存在危机，享受孤独吧。

3. Most of the world is not 16-29 year old males. There's a whole range of perspectives that go underrepresented in Silicon Valley. There are a lot of women out there. Older folks. Also, it might be hard to imagine, but there are a lot of kids not growing up on video games.

3. 世界上除了16-29岁之间的男性以外还有其它人类的好吗？硅谷也不能代表全世界啊。硅谷之外还有女人啊，老人啊这些生物的。再说，也许你很难想象，不过还是有挺多小孩不是伴随电脑游戏成长的。

4. Given the above two points, the emergent 'morality' of the products Silicon Valley creates can be limited and not particulalry reflective of much of the world's compass. All products inherit the values of their creators and have a sort of corresponding 'morality.' When you create an algorithm, it's optimizing for something -- it might be that you think "saving time" is a value worth optimizing for. Or it could be that what you're trying to optimize for is quantity (quantity of access, of distribution), which can often come at the cost of quality and depth of interaction. Or like most of us who are successful Americans, we automatically assume that our stance on individual rights and belief in the individualistic survival of the fittest / the elite will rise are "ideal" or "optimal.". Another example is our cultural bias towards the "cult of the celebrity.". And we tend to measure success by economic output.

4. 基于以上两点，硅谷创造的产品从道义上讲用途极其有限，而且没有反应全世界人民的需要。所有产品都带有创造者的烙印，只具有相应的“道义”。当你创造了一种算法，它会优化某种东西——也许只是你认为“节省时间”是一件值得优化的事。也可能你想要优化的实际上是质量（供应质量，或分配质量），但是这通常以数量和交互的深度为代价。也许我们跟大多数所谓成功的美国人一样，自动地认为个人权利，适者生存的想法是理想的，优化的。另一个例子是社会对“名人崇拜”的偏见。而且我们总是以经济地位来衡量一个人的成功。

These assumptions aren't necessarily true or as relevant or perhaps ideal for a large part of the world, yet we often imbue the products we create with these values.

对于世界上大多数人来说，这些想法未必全然正确，但我们经常在自己的产品中注入了这种价值观。

I'm not saying any of this is good or bad, it's just worth thinking about. What are the values you are imbuing your product with? Do they fit into your vision of the future? Be thoughtful not only about all of the stuff we talk about openly (design, business model, user interaction, hiring and culture) but also be thoughtful about this stuff too.

我并没有说这一定是好事还是坏事，只不过值得我们思考。我们要在产品中注入什么样的价值观？它与我们对未来的看法是否一致？不要仅仅考虑公开讨论的事情（设计，商业形式，用户交互，雇佣和文化），也要想想这些东西。

5. And what other people say here is true:

5.这些人说的很对：

Houses that cost over $1 million are rare, even in other wealthy countries. Most people's friends are not millionaires. Most people don't know people who have retired at age 35.

超过100万的房子是很少的，即使是在其他富裕的国家也是一样。多数人的朋友都不是百万富翁。大多数人也不认识35岁就退休了的人。

Most people have never heard of Instagram, Square, Dropbox, AirBnB.

大多数人从未听说过Instagram（图片分享应用）,Square（移动支付）, Dropbox（在线存储应用）,AirBnB(旅行房屋租赁社区，被称为住房中的Ebay).

Most people don't live on Coke or organic green tea drinks.

多数人不是以可乐或有机绿茶饮料为生的。

Most people don't "calendar in" their friends.

多数人不使用Calendar in（状态栏日历）应用。

Most people don't follow the stock performance of Zynga/Facebook and pepper their daily conversations with who has raised what, or how much startup X was acquired for. Probably they are too busy following cricket scores!

多数人并不关注Zynga/Facebook的股票，也不会经常谈论谁增持了什么，或谁融资了多少，他们说的大概都是某某人看板球入迷了之类的吧。

The models for success are not solely limited to being a college dropout genius or being an MIT/Stanford grad.

成功的诀窍并不是成为辍学生或MIT/斯坦福毕业生。

Most people don't feel inadequate if they don't know how to code.

多数人不懂编码，但也活的很好。

Being emotionally expressive or emotionally sensitive is a virtue in some parts of the world.

善于表达情绪和对情绪敏感在某些地方还是好事咧。

41+ Comments • Post (45) • Thank • 2 Aug

Anon User

301 votes by Kirtika Ruchandani, Ben Roth, Wray Rives, (more)

Women are about half the population.

世界上一半人口是女性。

7+ Comments • Post (1) • Thank • 1 Aug

Wray Rives, CPA CGMA

89 votes by Lancelot Lachartre, Liz Altmaier, Eeshan Malhotra, (more)

In the US there are over 9 non-tech related old school startup businesses for every tech startup.

在美国，非科技老式创业企业是科技创业企业的九倍多。

1+ Comments • Post • Thank • 1 Aug

Anon User

70 votes by Ryutaro Yokoyama, Elliott Hanks, Delos Chang, (more)

Talking about Quora largely results in confused glances (it is sort of a Silicon Valley Fight Club)

一提到Quora，大家都很迷惑的样子。。。（就像硅谷搏击俱乐部）

Same for reddit, Digg, etc.

reddit（社交新闻网站）和Digg（新闻聚合网站）也一样。

Big Data Borat is not the new Dilbert.

Big Data Borat不是新的呆伯特。

You will receive looks of confusion rather than awe when talking about your participation in Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Thiel Fellowship, etc.

当你说起你参与了Y combinator, 500 startups, Thiel Fellowship（都是风险投资公司和创业孵化器）什么什么的时候，人们的表情更多的是迷茫，而不是赞叹。

People will start asking about the basis for growth rather than getting tremendously souped about your claims of 1000000% YoY

当你提起1000000%的同比增长，人们开始问起增长依据，而不是陶醉。

Snack Food, Candy, and Sodas are seldom free

零食，糖果，饮料都不是免费滴。

While folks read the Steve Jobs bio, they largely haven't tried to embody/imitate it to reconstruct their persona to mirror Isaacson's Steve Jobs

当人们读到斯蒂夫乔布斯的简介的时候，他们不会将其与Isaacson所写的乔布斯传中的斯蒂夫乔布斯联系起来。

"Design" is on a significantly lower pedestal.

所谓的“设计‘，一般是一个比较低级的平台。

Uhhh, What on Rails – never seen that!

矮油，Rails（web开发框架）上写的？少见哈

3 Comments • Post • Thank • 1 Aug

Amanda Fristrom, anthropologist gone writer

72 votes by Bill McDonald, Eddie Xue, Eeshan Malhotra, (more)

If you say "Y Combinator" to anyone in the real world, they would think you are talking about something odd from a sci-fi show.

你跟人说Y combinator（风险投资公司）, 多数人会觉得哦这是科幻电影里的什么东西吧。

A lot of people don't mind having a boss.

许多人并不介意有个老板。

No one knows who "Rovio" is, but everyone knows about Angry Birds.

没人知道Rovio（芬兰手机游戏开发商）是谁，但是他们都知道愤怒的小鸟。

Angels are heavenly beings who bring messages from God. Not capital.

天使是替上帝送信的人，不是替上帝送钱的。。。

Life will, in fact, continue without a single additional Social Media platform. People are OK with this.

实际上，就算没有每天多一个社交平台，生活还是会继续的。而且大家都活的挺好。

No one knows how to spell "Entrepreneur"

没人知道企业家这个单词怎么拼。

"Traffic" in most of the rest of the world means you have to wait through a stoplight two rounds. Not that it takes you 4 hours to go 20 miles on a freeway.

在世界上多数地方，交通，指的是等红绿灯亮过两遍，而不是在高速上四个小时走20英里。

Pitching can also refer to Baseball.

Pitching （高尔夫）也可以指垒球。

You can be social without collecting Business Cards. Really, I promise. I know it's hard. But you can do it.

不收集名牌也能社交，真的，虽然很难，但你能做到。

Outside of business, people think Silicon Valley has something to do withPlastic Surgery (silicon ... silicone ...), especially after finding out it's inCalifornia.

圈儿外人总觉得硅谷跟整容手术有点儿什么关系，硅谷，硅胶。。。，特别是发现这个地方在加州之后。。。

Seed stage means you will get a real plant after some sun and water.

种子阶段的意思是，给予阳光和水，就真的能长出真的植物来。

Many think entrepreneurs are "crazy" and are going through a "phase" in life they will "snap out of"

许多人认为所谓”企业家“都是疯子，他们在经历一个特殊”阶段“，总有一天会”觉悟“的。

4+ Comments • Post • Thank • 2 Aug

Ben Daniel, Ahhhh you know

52 votes by Amanda Fristrom, Wray Rives, Eva Glasrud, (more)

Companies outside the valley actually make money.

硅谷之外的公司其实也赚钱的。。。

Comment • Post • Thank • 2 Aug

Venkatesh Rao, civilized person

41 votes by Meredy Amyx, Alex Silverman, Terrence Yang, (more)

Wow, this question is breaking all sorts of records for being a snark and ironic self-flagellation magnet. Almost by definition, all answers are from SV or people like me who might as well be from SV, since non-SV people don't Quora much.

矮油，这个问题破纪录了哈，有点自我鞭策的意思哈。答题的人也都硅谷的吧，硅谷之外的人也不上Quora呀。

So my candidate answer (speculative of course, but I think a good guess since I nominally live outside SV and meet humans every day): non Silicon Valley people are NOT snarky about Silicon Valley, and generally appreciate the region for what it contributes to the world, more than the residents themselves do.

我的回答是（其实我不住在硅谷而且日常也跟蛮多正常人打交道的），硅谷之外的人对硅谷并没什么特别的感觉，他们只不过知道这个地方给世界做出过特别贡献，而不是特别对其中居住的人有感觉。

Self-absorption does not imply self-importance. Most SV types I know are far more anxious and cynical about their value than they need to be. Relax guys (and gals... all 7.2 of you): you aren't entirely useless. You're NOT just solving first-world problems. Your bubble ISN'T that bad (NYC is far worse).

聚精会神并不意味着自我中心。我认识的多数硅谷人都对自己的价值过于紧张或愤青了。放松点吗小伙子们（哦还有那7.2个姑娘们），你们也不是完全没用滴。你们也不是只顾着解决第一世界的问题。你们的活力比纽约市还是要强很多滴。

You're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, non-SV people LIKE you.

你很好，很聪明，喵喵咪呀，硅谷外的人都耐乃们。

4+ Comments • Post • Thank • Sat

Anon User

37 votes by Lancelot Lachartre, Phil Darnowsky, Russell Barber, (more)

Most people use Internet Explorer and are afraid of updating it because they are sure it will break what they are used to.

许多人仍然在用IE，而且不敢升级，因为他们觉得升级之后用不惯。

A Business Model is not a luxury.

原来商业模式不是奢侈品。

3 Comments • Post • Thank • 1 Aug

Amir Memon

42 votes by Anon User, Adisa Nicholson, Aneesa Memon, (more)

Software engineers are seen as fully replaceable commodities outside of SV. "just hire a guy from India" they say.

硅谷之外，软件工程师被视为可替代产品。“雇个印度阿三就成”这样。。。

The outside world thinks amazon.com, Facebook, google, etc are "just websites"

外面的人觉得亚马逊啊，脸书啊，谷歌啊什么，“就是网站呗”。

Microsoft is still glamorous.

微软仍然很光辉。

A Mac is a toy.

Mac本是玩具。

1 Comment • Post (1) • Thank • 3 Aug

Anon User

27 votes by Pranav Jawale, Wray Rives, Maia Bittner, (more)

Being polite and having good manners can be more important than being smart.

礼貌和有教养比聪明更重要，有时候。

In tech social circles, being rude or arrogant is more acceptable than other places.

在技术圈里，比在别处更能容忍粗鲁自大。

Comment • Post • Thank • 2 Aug

Flo Menevis, Entrepreneur gone insane

25 votes by Wray Rives, Rodrigo Tello, Bill McDonald, (more)

Entrepreneurs outside Silicon Valley don't start companies with 1 Million of cash. They exit at that price.

硅谷之外的企业家公司起步的时候都没有100万现金，当有了的时候他们就把公司关了。

1+ Comments • Post • Thank • 2 Aug

Daniel Sharp, former hero

18 votes by Terrence Yang, Amanda Fristrom, Eva Glasrud, (more)

Outside SV:

A huge number of functioning people are over thirty.

年过三十依然健康的人一大把。

Sushi is exotic.

寿司是外国货。

Few houses cost > $1 million.

极少房子值100万+.

2 Comments • Post • Thank • 2 Aug

Vi Tran, I love startups

16 votes by Anon User, Phil Larson, Icaro Vazquez, (more)

Some people have never heard of Airbnb

有些人根本没听说过AirBnB（旅行租房社区）.

4+ Comments • Post • Thank • 1 Aug

Liz Pullen, Sociologist, Ethnographer

20 votes by Anon User, Kartik Talwar, Bill McDonald, (more)

Some people have jobs that are only 40 hours a week. They arrive at work early in the morning and leave before dinner.

有些人的工作一周只做40小时，他们早上上班，晚饭前下班。

1+ Comments • Post • Thank • 3 Aug

Jeff Kibuule, Mobile App Developer

18 votes by Anon User, Adisa Nicholson, Kat Tanaka Okopnik, (more)