百科知识视频之煎蛋小学堂79 啤酒生态平衡说

In the local shop,next to major beer brands,you might find microbrews with crazy names like Wild Skunk Ale,Fiddlehead Fuel,or Mudscker Stout,although I just made those up.While the big-brands run TV ads starring sexy skiers or tough guys with trucks,their small competitors have to scrabble for attention from the store shelf.

在本地超市里 大牌啤酒的旁边，你可能发现名字奇葩的微酿啤酒 像野鼬麦芽醇 蕨菜酒，虎鱼黑啤等等 虽然这些都是我编的。而大牌啤酒则在广告中以性感滑雪者和卡皮卡的硬汉吸引眼球，这些弱势竞争者们只能在货架上争夺人们的眼光。

That's because,much like a small shrub or fern beneath the tall trees in a forest,microbreweries live in the shadows of their larger corporate competitors.And,surprisingly,many species and businesses that eke out a living in the shadows of giants employ similar strategies to succeed in their respective dog-eat-dog worlds of intense competition for limited resources.

这是因为 正如森林中高树下的灌木丛和蕨类一样，小牌啤酒也生活在大公司罩下的阴影之中。令人惊奇的是 许多在巨人阴影下勉强度日的小企业和植物 采用了相似的策略以在这个到处是激烈竞争紧张资源的 狗咬狗的社会中生存下来。

The winners of this competition in the forest or beer business,as defined by sheer volume,are those that capture the most resources,sunlight in one case and consumers'dollars in the other.The mechanics differ-big trees capture sunlight by being tall and wide,While large brewers earn billions of dollars of profits by having a broad reach.Attracting customers with low prices,mild flavor,and large advertising budgets.

森林中或是啤酒市场的竞争胜者，因其“量大”而胜即前者中接受到最多的阳光，以及后者中从消费者手中赚到最多的钱，而机理有所不同 大树因其高大而捕获更多阳光，大啤酒商因其触及面广而赚得数十亿美金。他们通过低价销售 适中的味道和巨额广告预算吸引消费者。

The outcome is the same,though-by capfturing the most valuable resources before they reach others,dominant trees and companies exclude weaker competitors who employ the same tactics.But there are trade-offs to any strategy and being the best on average rarely works in all cases and conditions.That's how understory ferns and microbreweries can succeed-by specializing in conditions the "big guys"are not so good at:the so-called empty niches.

结果也大抵相似 通过在他人得到资源前占领 最有价值的一部分 大树和大公司排挤走采用相同策略的弱势公司。但是任何策略都过犹不及各项平均值最好并不能应对所有的状况。这就是微酿啤酒和低矮蕨类能成功的原因 他们擅长那些“大家伙”们不善的东西：这就是所谓的“空生态位”。

In deep shade,a fern can make a healthy,if modest,living by avoiding direct competition and investing prudently in just enough photosynthetic machinery to make a profit from the faint sunlight reaching the forest floor-leftover light not worth the extra effort for the big trees to capture up above.

在暗影中 歚类至少能够健康生存下来，他们通过避免与大树直接竞争 投入恰到好处的光合作用体，来从到达森林地面微弱的光线中获利而大树则不值得耗费精力 从高空捕获这些遗漏的阳光。

Ferns can even thrive on a photosynthetic income that's inadequate for the small offspring of many trees and thus the humble fern coexists with the tall timber above by competing on its own terms.Similarly,microbrews,which invest in being odd,trendy,and strongly flavored,can persevere by attracting aficionados not swayed by the marketing and lower prices of larger breweries.

蕨类甚至能在诸多树木后代无法生存的微弱光线来源中繁荣生长，这些矮小的蕨类因此能在种内斗争中与上方高大的树木共存。类似地 微酿啤酒将重心放在古怪 时尚和重品味中，因而能在波动的市场和大公司的低价战略中谋得自己的一席之地。

Sure,fewer people fall into this category just as fewer beams of sunlight fall through the canopy onto the forest floor,but where are resources,there's potential to survive.And survival is the goal of both ferns and firms,so it's not really that surprising that both nature and the economy,driven by the same kinds of competition,give rise to niches and diversification to canopy and understory in the forest,and in the supermarket aisle!

当然 这类人的确不多，正如极少缕阳光能穿过树叶 洒落在森林地面一样，但是只要有资源的地方就有生存的潜质。对于小公司和蕨类而言 生存是第一要义，因此 不奇怪由同类竞争所驱动的自然环境和经济体 会为森林中的蕨类以及市场中的微酿啤酒提供赖以生存的空穴和多样化的商品市场!