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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）是上天给我们所有人的恩赐。有了它，无论文化程度高低，都可以在谷歌上了解自己不懂的东西。
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识宝库【当然还有雅虎（Yahoo），或者必应（Bing），但是相比于谷歌，你懂的】，你就能从容应对一次有挑战的谈话或会议。但同时谷歌的“人肉”能力也会把你剥得干干净净，展示在人前，无论你有多小的错误或多大的成就。俗话说，能力越大，责任越大，但是谷歌有的时候也会把我们引上邪路。就在本周，《纽约》（New York）杂志写道，拒绝用谷歌“约炮”已经形成了一场“新禁欲活动”。下面谨列出过于依赖谷歌所导致的“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.
贪婪：对知识的渴求导致犯错
Greed: When your thirst for knowledge leads to errors
人们常说，机会总是青睐有准备的人，然而《财富》杂志（Fortune）总编辑苏安迪却因为准备得太充分而吃了个大亏。当时他正与雪佛龙（Chevron）公司的CEO约翰o沃特森一起用餐，苏安迪问沃特森在圣迪亚哥教士队的董事会中扮演了怎样的角色。事实上苏安迪是在吃这顿饭之前用谷歌搜索了一下约翰o沃特森的名字，然后在维基百科的一个页面上发现这支球队的董事会里赫然列着约翰o沃特森的名字。但事实上，这两个人只是重名，担任球队董事的是另一个约翰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.
沃特森的属下马上去追查了这个消息的原始来源，现在维基百科上的这个词条已经被修改了过来。但在《财富》杂志社却始终有一种淡淡的背叛感挥之不去。毕竟记者们如果没了谷歌还能干什么呢？但是谷歌总是爱把维基百科的搜索结果排在前面。现在我们对维基的信任已经动摇了——或者说至少苏安迪对维基的信任动摇了。
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
有时，大家可能会发疯似地谷歌任何东西，比如你的朋友、你的老板、你老板的小三、你老板的老板、你朋友的老板的小三的老板的狗（并不是说我们真的这样做过）……有时你希望了解的事情未必是你需要知道的，有时有些事情你本不该知道，但一旦知道了又忘不掉。这就是所谓的“信息消化不良”。比如《财富》的一个实习生曾经在谷歌里“人肉”很多人的名字，最后竟然发现他一个大学同学的父亲是个登记在案的性侵犯者。
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.
色欲：网络激情泛滥
Lust: When researching a romantic interest gets creepy
如果你还单身的话，那么大多数时候，你抱着认识别人的目的上谷歌，肯定是为了干一些羞羞的事。比如疯狂在Facebook上看异性的照片，一条一条地查看十来页的搜索结果，或是偷看一下别人的Instagram账户（如果是公开的）。但是如果你真的交了好运，与你搜到的网友见了面，你又会遇到一个两难问题：当对方告诉你她的一些隐私时，你是该假装惊讶，还是承认你已经知道了？因为在谷歌的帮助下，你已经知道了她的大学校友，她喜欢的颜色，她的家庭住址，她家车库门口的小路铺的是什么样的石子（这要感谢街景地图）……我们暂时说到这儿。
Sloth: When you lazily rely on the opinions of others
懒惰：失去自主思考的能力
Sometimes Google impressions trump first impressions. In a piece on Match.com, 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.
有时谷歌带给你的印象会打败你的第一印象。比如作家史蒂夫o弗里德曼在Match.com的一篇文章中写道，他有次与一名两性专栏作家一起约会，后来那位女作家第二天在网上搜索了一下弗里德曼的文章，就取消了他们原定好的第二次约会——尽管她原本觉得他本人非常幽默体贴。
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，有时候你根本没有时间来形成第一印象。现在人们已经越来越依赖在线评论，因此那些正面评价少的产品或者仅仅是总体评价不多的企业或产品就会没生意。哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）副教授迈克尔o卢卡2011年发表的一篇论文称，一家餐馆在点评网站Yelp上的排名每增加一颗星，收入就会提高5%到9%。但是如果一家新开的餐馆评价还不多，或者是那些餐馆换了大厨，是否也不值得去尝一尝呢？有些时候，有些事实是谷歌无法告诉你的。
Wrath: When you tamper with Google results
暴怒：操弄歌搜索结果
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.
维基最著名的一点是允许用户修改词条，有些时候人们会出于个人意图对词条进行胡乱修改。本届世界杯智利2：1战胜西班牙以后，维基百科上智利足球国家队的主页被改成了：“亲爱的西班牙，哈哈哈，跟世界杯说再见吧——智利。”另一个例子是今年五月中旬的斯坦利杯季后赛期间，纽约游骑兵队以3：1领先匹兹堡企鹅队。几天后，维基百科的企鹅队页面资料显示，企鹅队的拥有者是游骑兵队。虽然恶毒，但是不得不说还挺有创意。
Envy: When you’re jealous of someone else’s Google results
嫉妒：见不得别人“晒幸福”
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.
社交媒体可能导致嫉妒，甚至有可能导致抑郁。在2013年的一份研究中，密歇根大学（University of Michigan）的研究员伊森o克劳斯和菲利普o凡尔顿发现，随着人们花在Facebook上的时间越来越长，他的情绪和对生活的总体满意度就会下降。换句话说，Facebook可以让你产生嫉妒心，让你觉得自己变得更孤独，而不是更合群。克劳斯和凡尔顿没有调查其它社交媒体网络，但是我们可以想象，当你打开一个人的社交网络页面，看着其他人留下的一串串赞美和祝福，再看看他光鲜的履历，估计很容易就会让一个不如意的人黯然神伤。
Pride: When you expect other people to have Googled you
傲慢：希望别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.
当然，当今社会，在谷歌上搜索某个人的背景已经成了很正常的事，就跟饭前要洗手一样普通。无论是商务会议、请客吃饭、招聘求职，都要先把对方在谷歌上“人肉”几遍。但是如果你和某个人坐在一起，发现对方根本没有在谷歌上搜索过你，他们也不知道你是谁，你是什么感觉？估计会有些伤自尊，但是完全没必要。
Fortune (and Fortune!) favors the bold. Mind your sins. Go forth and Google, sparingly.
《财富》（和真正的财富）都喜欢大胆的人。小心这些“原罪”时不时出来作祟，但你完全可以继续使用谷歌，只是要注意节制。
