With the development of the Internet and other sources of instantaneous information, many people strive to gain at least a working knowledge of many different subjects. They are so-called pancake people, they no longer concentrate their energies on one area of interest, but instead choose to spread themselves thinly over a large area. As a result, a new generation of pancake people have essentially1 become the proverbial jacks2 of all trades, but masters of none.

伴隨互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和各種信息途徑的進(jìn)步，不少人都力求在每個(gè)不同范圍都至少獲得一些基本的操作常識(shí)。他們就是所謂的煎餅人，他們不再將精力專注于某一個(gè)有興趣的范圍，而是讓我們的關(guān)注點(diǎn)淺淺地散布在一個(gè)非常大的范圍。由此，新一代的煎餅人就真的成諺語里說的門門通，門門松了。

The term pancake people is largely seen as a negative commentary on the current age of instantaneous information. The ability to access even the most obscure information in a matter of seconds may be seen as a positive social development on one level, but it can also cause some people to become less inclined to delve3 more deeply into one particular subject of interest. As a result, a generation of overloaded4 pancake people may become more obsessed5 with popular culture and less interested in the larger arc of human history.

在目前這個(gè)即時(shí)信息年代，煎餅人這個(gè)詞非常大程度上被看作是一個(gè)貶義詞。在幾秒內(nèi)獲得稀缺信息的能力可能是社會(huì)進(jìn)步積極的一方面，但同時(shí)也會(huì)讓一些人不想深究某一個(gè)有興趣的主題。結(jié)果，這一代信息過量的煎餅人或許會(huì)對(duì)時(shí)尚文化過分沉迷，而對(duì)人類歷史的更廣泛范圍卻鮮有興致。