“我的電腦可能出問題了。我輸入密碼的時候明明輸的是數字，怎么顯示的全是星星啊？”當IT部門的員工接到這樣的技術求助信息時，他們一定很崩潰吧？好吧，這個例子可能有些極端。不過，據說大部分IT員工處理的都是人為因素導致的故障。

A carbon-based error refers to a problem with a computer or a program that is caused by the user rather than the machine. All life on earth depends on carbon, which forms the molecular bonds that make life possible. Therefore, to say that an error is carbon-based is another way of saying it was caused by a computer's human user. Carbon-based errors are a common problem for IT professionals, particularly when it comes to inexperienced users.

Carbon-based error指因為用戶的原因而導致的計算機或者程序錯誤，即“人為故障”。地球上所有的生命都是在碳元素的基礎上發展而來的，它是構成生命分子鏈的基本元素。因此，當我們說某個錯誤或故障是carbon-based，其實就是說這個故障是人為導致的。很多IT員工面對的都是人為錯誤，尤其當電腦使用者為新手的時候。

This slang term is most frequently used by IT professionals and other tech-savvy individuals who are always being called upon to fix errors that have nothing to do with the technology.

最常使用carbon-based error這個說法的自然就是IT專業人士和其他技術大拿們了，因為這些人經常被叫去處理一些跟技術一點關系都沒有的故障。