pancake people 煎饼人

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.

随着网络和各种信息渠道的发展，很多人都力求在各个不同领域都至少获得一些基本的操作知识。他们就是所谓的“煎饼人”，他们不再将精力专注于某一个感兴趣的领域，而是让自己的关注点浅浅地散布在一个很大的范围。由此，新一代的“煎饼人”就真的成谚语里说的“门门通，门门松”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.

在当前这个即时信息时代，“煎饼人”这个词很大程度上被看作是一个贬义词。在几秒内获得稀缺信息的能力可能是社会发展积极的一方面，但同时也会让一些人不愿意深究某一个感兴趣的主题。结果，这一代信息过量的“煎饼人”可能会对流行文化过分沉迷，而对人类历史的更广泛领域却鲜有兴致。