不止一次，看到很多讲技术的文章里面出现过这个词语。今天终于弄懂了——通过朋友给的浏览软件，上了wiki。

我再一次感到，没有辞典能像WiKi一样，给出这样体贴人心、一清二楚的解释了。为了表达我对WiKi的喜爱，只好在此一一中英对照，给大家上次课。

In computer science, bleeding edge is a term that refers to technology that is so new (and thus, presumably, not perfected) that the user is required to risk reductions in stability and productivity in order to use it. It also refers to the tendency of the latest technology to be extremely expensive. The term was first coined by Peter Barus, a Superbase programmer.

在计算机领域，Bleeding Edge指一种最新的、因而也并非完美的技术。使用者为了它的新，就要拿稳定性和产量来冒险。它也指当今技术的每一步发展都越来越昂贵的趋势。这个词的发明者是一个超级数据库的程序员Peter Barus。

The term is formed as an allusion to "leading edge" and its synonym cutting edge, but implying a greater degree of risk: the "bleeding edge" is in front of the "cutting edge". A technology may be considered bleeding edge under the following conditions:

这个词，可以视作Leading Edge的另一种说法，Cutting Edge的同义词，但是Bleeding Edge更要隐含一种风险的含义：和Cutting Edge相比，Bleeding Edge更要前卫一些。通常，一种技术如果要被称作是Bleeding Edge，那么它通常会符合以下几种特性描述：

• Lack of consensus — competing ways of doing some new thing exist and no one really knows for certain which way the market is going to go.
• 没有公认——在达到同一目标的不同的技术道路之中，没有人知道，究竟哪一条路会成为市场的最终选择。
• Lack of knowledge — organizations are trying to implement a new technology or product that the trade journals have not even started talking about yet, either for or against.
• 缺乏认识——当一些机构开始对一项新技术或者新产品进行研发的时候，行业媒体甚至还没有开始对此展开讨论，无论是赞成，还是反对。
• Industry resistance to change — trade journals and industry leaders have spoken against a new technology or product but some organizations are trying to implement it anyway because they are convinced it is technically superior.
• 遭到产业抵制——行业媒体和产业界已经对某项新技术或者新产品进行抨击，但是一些组织和机构因为坚信其技术上的优越性而继续努力完善之。

The rewards for successful early adoption of new technologies can be great; unfortunately, the penalties for "betting on the wrong horse" or choosing the wrong product are equally large. Whenever an organization decides to take a chance on bleeding edge technology there is a good chance that they will be stuck with a white elephant or worse.

最早成功采用新技术所带来的回报可能会非常丰厚；然而，如果你下注下错了，你遭到的惩罚会同样可观。因此，当一个组织决定采用Bleeding Edge的新技术时，他们有可能因此而背上沉重的负担甚至更糟。

Recently however, the term bleeding edge has been increasingly used by the general public to mean "ahead of cutting edge" largely without the negative, risk-associated connotation concurrent with the term's use in more specific fields.

但是现在，在越来越多的普遍用法中，Bleeding Edge已经成为一个只是强调前卫性而没有风险性的词语。

An apt quotation concerning this issue is:"But when you're living on the bleeding edge, you should not be surprised when you do, infact, bleed."

一个引用环境是：“当你选择了Bleeding Edge的技术之后，你就不应该为此付出的代价而感到震惊。”