We don’t read much about these deaths. The media covers what’s new – and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in the background, where it’s easier to ignore. But even when we do see it or read about it, it’s difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. It’s hard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we don’t know how to help. And so we look away.

我們并沒有很多機(jī)會(huì)了解那些死亡事件。媒體總是報(bào)告新聞，幾百萬人將要死去并非新聞。如果沒有人報(bào)道，那么這些事件就很容易被忽視。另一方面，即使 我們確實(shí)目睹了事件本身或者看到了相關(guān)報(bào)道，我們也很難持續(xù)關(guān)注這些事件?？粗耸芸嗍橇钊送纯嗟?，何況問題又如此復(fù)雜，我們根本不知道如何去幫助他 人。所以我們會(huì)將臉轉(zhuǎn)過去。

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.

就算我們真正發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題所在，也不過是邁出了第一步，接著還有第二步：那就是從復(fù)雜的事件中找到解決辦法。

Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks "How can I help?," then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.

如果我們要讓關(guān)心落到實(shí)處，我們就必須找到解決辦法。如果我們有一個(gè)清晰的和可靠的答案，那么當(dāng)任何組織和個(gè)人發(fā)出疑問“如何我能提供幫助”的時(shí) 候，我們就能采取行動(dòng)。我們就能夠保證不浪費(fèi)一丁點(diǎn)全世界人類對他人的關(guān)心。但是，世界的復(fù)雜性使得很難找到對全世界每一個(gè)有愛心的人都有效的行動(dòng)方法， 因此人類對他人的關(guān)心往往很難產(chǎn)生實(shí)際效果。

Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

從這個(gè)復(fù)雜的世界中找到解決辦法，可以分為四個(gè)步驟：確定目標(biāo)，找到最高效的方法，發(fā)現(xiàn)適用于這個(gè)方法的新技術(shù)，同時(shí)最聰明地利用現(xiàn)有的技術(shù)，不管它是復(fù)雜的藥物，還是最簡單的蚊帳。

The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.

艾滋病就是一個(gè)例子?？偟哪繕?biāo)，毫無疑問是消滅這種疾病。最高效的方法是預(yù)防。最理想的技術(shù)是發(fā)明一種疫苗，只要注射一次，就可以終生免疫。所以， 政府、制藥公司、基金會(huì)應(yīng)該資助疫苗研究。但是，這樣研究工作很可能十年之內(nèi)都無法完成。因此，與此同時(shí)，我們必須使用現(xiàn)有的技術(shù)，目前最有效的預(yù)防方法 就是設(shè)法讓人們避免那些危險(xiǎn)的行為。

Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which is to surrender to complexity and quit.

要實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)新的目標(biāo)，又可以采用新的四步循環(huán)。這是一種模式。關(guān)鍵的東西是永遠(yuǎn)不要停止思考和行動(dòng)。我們千萬不能再犯上個(gè)世紀(jì)在瘧疾和肺結(jié)核上犯過的錯(cuò)誤，那時(shí)我們因?yàn)樗鼈兲珡?fù)雜，而放棄了采取行動(dòng)。

The final step – after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts.

在發(fā)現(xiàn)問題和找到解決方法之后，就是最后一步——評估工作結(jié)果，將你的成功經(jīng)驗(yàn)或者失敗經(jīng)驗(yàn)傳播出去，這樣其他人就可以從你的努力中有所收獲。

You have to have the statistics, of course. You have to be able to show that a program is vaccinating millions more children. You have to be able to show a decline in the number of children dying from these diseases. This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government.

當(dāng)然，你必須有一些統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字。你必須讓他人知道，你的項(xiàng)目為幾百萬兒童新接種了疫苗。你也必須讓他人知道，兒童死亡人數(shù)下降了多少。這些都是很關(guān)鍵的，不僅有利于改善項(xiàng)目效果，也有利于從商界和政府得到更多的幫助。