《乔布斯传》翻译笔记：乔布斯与比尔盖茨的华山论剑

第十六章中，个人电脑时代的双子星（binary star）乔布斯和比尔盖茨开始有了正式交集，他们在麦金塔电脑项目中建立了合作关系。不过同出生1955年、同样有着辍学经历（college dropouts）的这两个人，对对方却颇有些看不过眼（each one thought he was smarter than the other one）。他们就麦金塔电脑中的Excel软件项目达成秘密协议，但不久又因图形用户界面（graphical user interface）展开了争斗。1983年11月（先于麦金塔电脑上市），微软宣布为IBM个人电脑开发Windows系统，这种类似于偷窃概念的行为让乔布斯大为火光，自此后对比尔盖茨耿耿于怀，多年后仍是大为批判。虽然微软的复制品并不成功看似也很粗制滥造，但微软还是赢了操作系统之争（end up winning the war of operating systems）。乔布斯和比尔盖茨，他们到底有什么不同？

【英语原文】

Gates was good at computer coding, unlike Jobs, and his mind was more practical, disciplined, and abundant in analytic processing power. Jobs was more intuitive and romantic and had a greater instinct for making technology usable, design delightful, and interfaces friendly. He had a passion for perfection, which made him fiercely demanding, and he managed by charisma and scattershot intensity. Gates was more methodical; he held tightly scheduled product review meetings where he would cut to the heart of issues with lapidary skill. Both could be rude, but with Gates—who early in his career seemed to have a typical geek’s flirtation with the fringes of the Asperger’s scale—the cutting behavior tended to be less personal, based more on intellectual incisiveness than emotional callousness. Jobs would stare at people with a burning, wounding intensity; Gates sometimes had trouble making eye contact, but he was fundamentally humane. (Chapter 16 Gates and Jobs: The Macintosh Partnership)

【译文】

比尔·盖茨擅长电脑编程。和乔布斯不同的是，他为人更务实、更为自律，分析处理的能力也更强。乔布斯则更喜欢凭直觉，个性更浪漫，在科技的实用性、设计的愉悦感和界面的友好化方面有着更高的天分。他对完美主义有着狂热的追求，这使得他为人特别苛刻。他的管理主要是依靠自身的个人魅力和对各方面的高要求。盖茨的管理哲学则更为条理系统。他紧密安排每次的产品测评会议，在会上总是能有技巧地准确切入问题的核心。他们两人的方式其实都很粗鲁，但因为在职业生涯初期有着典型极客的阿斯伯格综合症倾向，盖茨的刻薄举止并非针对个人。他的判断主要是基于对技术知识的深刻了解，而并非是因为情感上的麻木不仁。乔布斯会用灼热伤人的眼神死盯着别人看，盖茨有时候无法与别人进行眼神沟通，但他其实更有人情味。

【翻译笔记】

1. intensity：强度，亮度，集中程度。这个单词来源自形容词intensive， 意为集中的，加强的，透彻的。intensive这个单词组成的短语用于很多不同的领域：intensive care 重症特别护理，特护病房的缩写ICU就是intensive care unit；intensive agriculture 指的是高密集的集约型农业；intensive management 集约化管理；intensive reading 指的是英语专业的精读课程。intensive 还表示（语法）中加强语气的，an intensive adverb 就表示强调性副词。注意区分intensive和intense：intense表示热情的，强烈的，非常的。

But the intensity of the necessary correction is going to be a tough test for the authorities. 但是，经济调控措施该有有什么样的强度，将成为对权力部门的一大考验。

This solves at a stroke the difficulty matching the Indians in labour-intensive outsourcing. 这一举措解决了印度劳动密集型的外包行业所面临的困境。

This is why we should make intensive reading as well as extensive reading, and at the same time make listening practice in large quantity. 这就是为什么除了精读外还需要进行泛读的训练，同时需要进行大量听力的训练。

2. Asperger Syndrome： 阿斯伯格综合症

阿斯伯格综合症的患者主要有社交困难（social deficit）、沟通困难（communication deficit），和固执或兴趣狭窄（rigidity or restricted interest）等三种典型症状。患者对突如其来的转变感到不安，甚至出现不稳定的情绪，一般会对一种或多种异常强烈的兴趣模式产生执着的态度。不过阿斯伯格综合症患者智力正常，甚至有些是资优生，与自闭症（autism）有所不同。

In fact, some children who are diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome have extraordinary language and reading skills. 事实上，一些谁被诊断为阿斯伯格综合症的孩子就具有不同寻常的语言和阅读技能。

3. 比尔·盖茨的经典反驳

得知微软要开发Windows 操作系统，乔布斯怒气冲天的要求与比尔·盖茨当面对质。在苹果的会议室，面对乔布斯的指责，盖茨很淡定很冷静的抛出了下面这句经典的反驳（classic zinger）：

 “Well, Steve, I think there’s more than one way of looking at it. I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.” “好吧，史蒂夫，我觉得我们可以换个角度来看待这个问题。对于我来说，我觉得目前的情况更像是这样：我们有个共同的有钱邻居施乐，我闯进他们家想偷走电视机，结果发现已经被你先偷走了”。