非文青同学， 有没有砖头？欢迎大家一起来扔砖头。

Every Person Deserves Respect

 

Vint Cerf

 

Once I was being driven by limo to a hotel in Palm Springs to give a speech. The driver appeared to be in his 60s and I remember thinking how sad that he has to keep working at this menial job. It turned out, though, that he was the retired CFO of a major Chicago-based corporation who had gotten bored with golf. He took a part-time job driving the hotel’s limo, so he could meet people and stay in touch with the world. He even ended up giving some good advice to me, a financially naïve engineer.

I believe that every person deserves respect, and that I can learn something new from everyone.

Now, I make a point of asking people about their stories. From taxi cab drivers to cleaning crews, each person gives me a chance to vicariously visit a place or do a thing that I might never experience on my own. I’ve found most people are patient with me if I show an interest and respect for what they have to say.

Respect doesn’t mean we have to agree, but we should disagree in a civil fashion. My work is in high-speed electronic communication, where miscues are common and can lead to serious disputes rooted in misunderstanding and distrust.

Even though it’s impossible to assure civility in all situations, I can’t recall a time when I have been proud of an online conversation that ended in an email nasty-gram. After the heat of the exchange wears off, I feel awkward, embarrassed that I allowed myself to be offensive.

Some people think the Internet isolates and dehumanizes us. I don’t agree. The net is simply a vehicle for people to communicate. When an online discussion becomes testy, many of us have learned to move the discussion to face-to-face or at least the telephone so that better social cues can moderate an increasingly angry exchange. Reading words often invites the worst possible interpretation. Understanding this is key to the world of the Web.

Whether it’s on the web or in person, when I meet new people, if I am open, curious and civil, I can learn new things. I believe it’s imperative — even selfish, you might say — to treat every person with respect.

Google Vice President Vint Cerf is called the “Father of the Internet" for helping to design the Internet’s early architecture. He got hooked on technology as a high school student in the 1950s when he saw a tube-based computer weighing 275 tons.

所有跟帖： 

• I really have to go now, study for finals....sorry, good night a -雨打兔子窝- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 20:08:52

• Good luck on the finals. Thanks for listening. -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 20:21:10

• 正哄娃睡觉，一会儿去砖窑。 -非文学青年- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 20:30:24

• 真能干：）. 刚听了两个你的广播，精彩, haha -cicila- ♀ (142 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 21:27:32

• 恩，山东银啊。谢谢mm喜欢，俺需要练语调，先纠好音，给俺多拍砖吧。 -非文学青年- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:13:09

• 好。其实你的英语非常好。那种不留雕啄痕迹的英语是我们第一代移民很难到达的境界。当然，纠音是走向完美的不可少的重要一步。 -cicila- ♀ (125 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:25:58

• 回复：好。其实你的英语非常好。那种不留雕啄痕迹的英语是我们第一代移民很难到达的境界。当然，纠音是走向完美的不可少的重要一步。 -beautifulwind- ♀ (89 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:49:34

• 呵呵，英语好的人太多，这里高人都潜水。 -非文学青年- ♀ (99 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:51:16

• 你的英语真不错。那个acceptance speech写的很地道。那个＂lose face＂段很有意思 -simplex- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 23:09:53

• 回复：呵呵，英语好的人太多，这里高人都潜水。 -beautifulwind- ♀ (375 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 23:14:49

• 谢谢，这周有时间的时候会弄一个出来。 -非文学青年- ♀ (0 bytes) () 04/25/2011 postreply 07:26:02

• 同意， 高人都潜水。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 23:28:55

• 京北读得真好听！小砖头商议。 -非文学青年- ♀ (4537 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 20:57:40

• Sharp ears. 说的太对了， 谢谢。这几个单词读的时候就觉得不对劲。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (147 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 21:56:40

• 好听。声音语气语调很亲和。我没看文本，听到说situations时候，我觉得有异样。 整体感上，可以更流利。 -cicila- ♀ (115 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 21:39:30

• 谢谢。“ Situation” is a tough word， definitely needs more work on m -jingbeiboy- ♂ (197 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:01:37

• 如果再非要我拍砖的话，我觉得 -cicila- ♀ (145 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:33:54

• 回复：如果再非要我拍砖的话，我觉得 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (38 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 23:39:46

• 回复：非文青同学， 有没有砖头？欢迎大家一起来扔砖头。 -galiya- ♀ (27 bytes) () 04/24/2011 postreply 22:42:27