上帝與科技的恩賜 谷歌風靡的七宗罪

Google is a godsend for all of us, from those who stutter and stumble through life to even the most knowledgeable of folks looking to confirm their facts and figures.

谷歌（Google）是上天給我們所有人的恩賜。有了它，無論文化程度高低，都可以在谷歌上了解自己不懂的東西。

A well-placed nugget of information courtesy of Google GOOG 0.22% (or Yahoo, sure, or Bing, but come on—you use Google) can prepare you for a challenging conversation or nervy meeting, and it can display for you, stripped bare, any person’s minor errors and major accomplishments.

如果善用谷歌提供的知識寶庫【當然還有雅虎（Yahoo），或者必應（Bing），但是相比於谷歌，你懂的】，你就能從容應對一次有挑戰的談話或會議。但同時谷歌的“人肉”能力也會把你剝得乾乾淨淨，展示在人前，無論你有多小的錯誤或多大的成就。俗話說，能力越大，責任越大，但是谷歌有的時候也會把我們引上邪路。就在本週，《紐約》（New York）雜誌寫道，拒絕用谷歌“約炮”已經形成了一場“新禁慾活動”。下面謹列出過於依賴谷歌所導致的“七宗罪”。

But with great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes Google leads us astray. Just this week, New York magazine wrote that resisting from Googling a potential date is “the new abstinence.” Here are the seven deadly sins that come along with relying too heavily on the G-force.

貪婪：對知識的渴求導致犯錯

Greed: When your thirst for knowledge leads to errors

人們常說，機會總是青睞有準備的人，然而《財富》雜誌（Fortune）總編輯蘇安迪卻因爲準備得太充分而吃了個大虧。當時他正與雪佛龍（Chevron）公司的CEO約翰o沃特森一起用餐，蘇安迪問沃特森在聖迪亞哥教士隊的董事會中扮演了怎樣的角色。事實上蘇安迪是在吃這頓飯之前用谷歌搜索了一下約翰o沃特森的名字，然後在維基百科的一個頁面上發現這支球隊的董事會裏赫然列着約翰o沃特森的名字。但事實上，這兩個人只是重名，擔任球隊董事的是另一個約翰o沃特森。

They say fortune favors the well prepared, but whenFortune managing editor Andy Serwer sat down to dinner with Chevron CVX -0.43% CEO John Watson, preparation backfired. Serwer asked Watson about his position on the board of the San Diego Padres, a factoid he’d picked up doing pre-dinner research on Wikipedia, a page he had been directed to through The Big G. Turns out that’s another John Watson. Oops.

沃特森的屬下馬上去追查了這個消息的原始來源，現在維基百科上的這個詞條已經被修改了過來。但在《財富》雜誌社卻始終有一種淡淡的背叛感揮之不去。畢竟記者們如果沒了谷歌還能幹什麼呢？但是谷歌總是愛把維基百科的搜索結果排在前面。現在我們對維基的信任已經動搖了——或者說至少蘇安迪對維基的信任動搖了。

Watson’s team at Chevron has hunted down the original source and the Wiki entry has since been changed, but here at Fortune, a vague feeling of betrayal lingers in the air. After all, where would reporters be without Google? But Google gives preference to Wikipedia, and Wiki now hath poisoned our trust. Or at least Serwer’s.

暴食：知道得太多了

Gluttony: When you gather too much information

有時，大家可能會發瘋似地谷歌任何東西，比如你的朋友、你的老闆、你老闆的小三、你老闆的老闆、你朋友的老闆的小三的老闆的狗（並不是說我們真的這樣做過）……有時你希望瞭解的事情未必是你需要知道的，有時有些事情你本不該知道，但一旦知道了又忘不掉。這就是所謂的“信息消化不良”。比如《財富》的一個實習生曾經在谷歌裏“人肉”很多人的名字，最後竟然發現他一個大學同學的父親是個登記在案的性侵犯者。

Sometimes, you might go on a rampage and Google everything. Your friends. Your boss. Your boss’s significant other. Their boss. Your friend’s boss’s significant other’s boss’s dog (not that we’ve ever done such a thing). Sometimes you learn things you really didn’t need to know—things you, perhaps, shouldn’t know, but can never quite forget. It’s TMI. It’s a little like the time a Fortune summer intern started to dump names into the Googlesphere only to find out that a college friend’s father was a registered sex offender.

色慾：網絡激情氾濫

Lust: When researching a romantic interest gets creepy

如果你還單身的話，那麼大多數時候，你抱着認識別人的目的上谷歌，肯定是爲了幹一些羞羞的事。比如瘋狂在Facebook上看異性的照片，一條一條地查看十來頁的搜索結果，或是偷看一下別人的Instagram賬戶（如果是公開的）。但是如果你真的交了好運，與你搜到的網友見了面，你又會遇到一個兩難問題：當對方告訴你她的一些隱私時，你是該假裝驚訝，還是承認你已經知道了？因爲在谷歌的幫助下，你已經知道了她的大學校友，她喜歡的顏色，她的家庭住址，她家車庫門口的小路鋪的是什麼樣的石子（這要感謝街景地圖）……我們暫時說到這兒。

Sloth: When you lazily rely on the opinions of others

懶惰：失去自主思考的能力

Sometimes Google impressions trump first impressions. In a piece on , author Steve Friedman writes that he once went out with a sex-columnist who decided to cancel their second date after her post-date Google search turned up some of his articles, even though she thought he was sweet and funny in person.

有時谷歌帶給你的印象會打敗你的第一印象。比如作家史蒂夫o弗裏德曼在的一篇文章中寫道，他有次與一名兩性專欄作家一起約會，後來那位女作家第二天在網上搜索了一下弗裏德曼的文章，就取消了他們原定好的第二次約會——儘管她原本覺得他本人非常幽默體貼。

Worse yet, sometimes there is no chance for a first impression. People are relying more and more on online reviews, and as a result, companies or products with low reviews or simply not a large total of reviews don’t get business. Michael Luca, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, released a 2011 working paper that found that a one-star increase on Yelp leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue for restaurants. But what happens to new restaurants that haven’t been reviewed much yet, or restaurants that hire a new chef and up their game? Sometimes, there’s more to reality than what Google can tell you.

更糟糕的是，有時候你根本沒有時間來形成第一印象。現在人們已經越來越依賴在線評論，因此那些正面評價少的產品或者僅僅是總體評價不多的企業或產品就會沒生意。哈佛商學院（Harvard Business School）副教授邁克爾o盧卡2011年發表的一篇論文稱，一家餐館在點評網站Yelp上的排名每增加一顆星，收入就會提高5%到9%。但是如果一家新開的餐館評價還不多，或者是那些餐館換了大廚，是否也不值得去嘗一嘗呢？有些時候，有些事實是谷歌無法告訴你的。

Wrath: When you tamper with Google results

暴怒：操弄歌搜索結果

Wikipedia is notorious for allowing users to change the text—and, what do you know?—sometimes they do it to suit their own purposes. After Chile beat Spain two-nil in this year’s World Cup, the Wikipedia entry for the Chile National Soccer Team’s page was changed to say, “Dear Spain, LOL. Say bye to the World Cup…… From Chile.” Or take the change from mid-May, when the New York Rangers came back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A few days later, the Pens’ Wiki page listed the Rangers as the owner of the team. Malicious, yet creative.

維基最著名的一點是允許用戶修改詞條，有些時候人們會出於個人意圖對詞條進行胡亂修改。本屆世界盃智利2：1戰勝西班牙以後，維基百科上智利足球國家隊的主頁被改成了：“親愛的西班牙，哈哈哈，跟世界盃說再見吧——智利。”另一個例子是今年五月中旬的斯坦利杯季後賽期間，紐約遊騎兵隊以3：1領先匹茲堡企鵝隊。幾天後，維基百科的企鵝隊頁面資料顯示，企鵝隊的擁有者是遊騎兵隊。雖然惡毒，但是不得不說還挺有創意。

Envy: When you’re jealous of someone else’s Google results

嫉妒：見不得別人“曬幸福”

Social media can lead to envy. It can lead, possibly, to depression. In a 2013 study, University of Michigan researchers Ethan Kross and Philippe Verduyn texted people while they were using Facebook, and found that as time on Facebook increased, a person’s mood and overall satisfaction with their lives declined. In other words, Facebook can make you jealous. It can make you feel more alone than connected. Kross and Verduyn didn’t look at other social media networks, but it’s fair to say that looking through lists of other people’s accolades, impressive resumes, and social media clout can just as easily turn you green around the ears.

社交媒體可能導致嫉妒，甚至有可能導致抑鬱。在2013年的一份研究中，密歇根大學（University of Michigan）的研究員伊森o克勞斯和菲利普o凡爾頓發現，隨着人們花在Facebook上的時間越來越長，他的情緒和對生活的總體滿意度就會下降。換句話說，Facebook可以讓你產生嫉妒心，讓你覺得自己變得更孤獨，而不是更合羣。克勞斯和凡爾頓沒有調查其它社交媒體網絡，但是我們可以想象，當你打開一個人的社交網絡頁面，看着其他人留下的一串串讚美和祝福，再看看他光鮮的履歷，估計很容易就會讓一個不如意的人黯然神傷。

Pride: When you expect other people to have Googled you

傲慢：希望別人在谷歌上搜索自己

Sure, we live in a world where Googling someone has become more than common courtesy—it’s practically basic hygiene. Business meetings, dinner dates, job interviews: Google, Google, Google them. But when you sit down with someone and find out that theyhaven’t Googled you, and they have no idea who you are, what you’ve done? Painful. But it shouldn’t be.

當然，當今社會，在谷歌上搜索某個人的背景已經成了很正常的事，就跟飯前要洗手一樣普通。無論是商務會議、請客吃飯、招聘求職，都要先把對方在谷歌上“人肉”幾遍。但是如果你和某個人坐在一起，發現對方根本沒有在谷歌上搜索過你，他們也不知道你是誰，你是什麼感覺？估計會有些傷自尊，但是完全沒必要。

Fortune (and Fortune!) favors the bold. Mind your sins. Go forth and Google, sparingly.

《財富》（和真正的財富）都喜歡大膽的人。小心這些“原罪”時不時出來作祟，但你完全可以繼續使用谷歌，只是要注意節制。