盖茨荐书：《人性中的善良天使》 2017-05-21

文章来源：http://fortune.com/2017/05/16/bill-gates-book-recommendations-amazon/?iid=sr-link1

by Kate Samuelson

date: May 16, 2017

As part of a string of tweets packed with useful advice for new college graduates, the philanthropist and former chief executive of Microsoft told his Twitter followers that if he could "give each of [them] a graduation present" he would give them copies of The Better Angels of Our Nature: A History of Violence and Humanity by Steven Pinker.

这周(2017-5-15)盖茨在Twitter上给新的大学毕业生提出一系列（14条）有用的建议，其中推荐了一本书——《人性中的善良天使》。

The book, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2012, an annual British prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language, is described as a history of violence and humanity. Pinker's publisher, Penguin, states on its website that the book "argues that, contrary to popular belief, humankind has become progressively less violent, over millennia and decades."

[Steven Pinker] shows how the world is getting better. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. This is the most peaceful time in human history," Gates wrote.

这本书是关于暴力与人性的历史，其出版商给出的评述：「（该书）认为，与当今大众观点相反，人类经过了成百上千年已经渐渐削减暴力。」盖茨评述：「（该书作者）Steven Pinker展现了世界正变得美好。虽然听起来很疯狂，但是这是真实的。人类正处于历史上最和平的年代。」

As well as recommending college graduates to read Pinker's bestseller, Gates advised them: "Surround yourself with people who challenge you, teach you, and push you to be your best self." ("As Melinda Gates does for me," he added.) He also revealed that if he was starting out today, he would work in artificial intelligence, energy, or biosciences, which he described as "promising fields where you can make a huge impact."

盖茨还说如果重新选择工作，他更愿意在人工智能、能源、生物科学方面工作，他认为这是十分有前景的领域。

（想起了狄更斯的经典语句：「这是最好的时代，这是最坏的时代，这是智慧的时代，这是愚蠢的时代；这是信仰的时期，这是怀疑的时期；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；这是希望之春，这是失望之冬；人们面前有着各样事物，人们面前一无所有；人们正在直登天堂；人们正在直下地狱。」暴力的减少确实是人类文明进步的重要体现，但是「硬暴力」的消减，不见得「软暴力」的削减，网络欺凌是新兴的一类。

而对于盖茨所说的那三个有前景的工作，我认为那并非短期就会「有钱景」，当然AI现在应该是一类，生物科学何时火起来还很难说）

相关链接

《人性中的善良天使》：https://book.douban.com/subject/26150549/