Chapter 712: The Nobel Prize

In 2001, Fuso planned to win 30 Nobel Prizes in 50 years, which was ridiculed by the Chinese media at the time, but 16 years later, Fuso people have won 25 Nobel Prizes. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

What is the reason why the Fuso people, who are also yellow-skinned Asians, have won so many Nobel Prizes? As a large country with a population of 1.3 billion, why do the people who have won the Nobel Prize so many fewer than others?

You can hate your opponent, but you have to know your opponent.

On October 3, the first day of the 2016 Nobel Prize draw, Fuso scientist Yoshinori Osumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

In the 21st century, the number of Fuso scientists receiving awards has grown rapidly. Since the beginning of this century, there have been 8 prizes in physics, 6 in chemistry, and 3 in physiology or medicine, for a total of 17 winners, with an average of almost one prize a year. Since 1949, when Yukawa became the first Fuso laureate, a total of 25 Fuso scientists (including two Japanese-American scientists) have been awarded. It can be seen that the efforts of the Fuso people in the Nobel Prize are concentrated in this century, focusing on the physics and chemistry prizes.

In 2001, Fuso issued its second Basic Plan for Science and Technology. The plan has ambitions to win 30 Nobel Prizes in 50 years. Based on the current situation, Fuso's Nobel Prize plan may become a reality.

Rao Yi, a well-known biologist and professor at Jingcheng University, said that Fuso's biomedical research reached a considerable level in the 1980s, and the breakthrough of Fuso scientists was in the early nineties of the last century. China is currently advancing, but it has not yet reached the level of Japan in the nineties of the last century, and biomedicine in general lags behind Japan by more than 20 years.

In addition to the scientists' ability to self-reflect and work diligently, Fusang's scientific research environment, evaluation mechanism, and financial guarantee have all contributed to it. It is particularly noteworthy that most of the Nobel Prize-winning scientists in Fuso have relatively good childhoods, like to be close to nature, explore nature, like to read, and are good at reading, and their parents have played an important role in enlightening and guiding their growth.

In the process of receiving school education, these awardees have invariably laid a solid foundation of knowledge, maintained their curiosity about the unknown world, had the guidance and guidance of excellent teachers, received the support of liberal and liberal academic policies, and benefited from a scientific and reasonable academic evaluation mechanism.

Exposure to nature and curiosity are the "origin" of scientific research

When a person comes into contact with nature at an early age, he or she develops the first and naΓ―ve interest and desire to explore, which is a very important scientific enlightenment education, and it is the road to produce a generation of scientific giants. ”

Yoshinori Osumi, who has been frail since childhood, is very fond of nature, collecting insects is a hobby, and he is also the compiler of elementary school science textbooks. In his opinion, it all starts with children falling in love with nature, science, and precious curiosity about the world.

"When I was a child, I was passionate about making model airplanes and semiconductor radios, and in the summer, I liked to fish in the river, catch fireflies, collect insects, and walk in the field with a net in my hand. Picking purple, wild celery, mutong, bayberry, and wild strawberry, you can feel the four seasons of nature. Looking up at the sky full of stars, you can easily identify the constellations, and the Milky Way rushes like a river on the ground. I didn't think about this at the time, but today, as a researcher of molecular biology majoring in natural sciences, this experience is the origin of everything. ”

Osamu Shimomura, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, said of why he got into science: "I don't do research for applications or any other interests, just to understand why jellyfish emit light." "It should be said that maintaining a curiosity about nature and the world around us is the direct cause that leads Nobel laureates into the world of scientific research.

The 1973 Nobel Laureate in Physics Rei Ezaki has this feeling: a person who has the initial and naΓ―ve interest and desire to explore through contact with nature at an early age is a very important scientific enlightenment education, and it is the road to the emergence of a generation of scientific giants, which should be extremely cherished, carefully cultivated, constantly inspired and cared for.

From the many Fuso Nobel laureates, we can also see their experience of getting close to nature and observing nature. For the 2002 Nobel Laureate in Physics, the most memorable time for him was when he was a child chasing races with his classmates in the mountains behind the school, pulling farm vegetables, and playing wantonly.

Although Fuso is an island country and has many unfavorable geographical conditions, the people of Fuso often have a sense of closeness and pride in their natural environment, and are also sensitive to various natural phenomena, which is reflected not only in daily folklore, but also in Fuso's literature and art, such as Kawabata Yasunari's "Snow Country" and other novels. School education in Fuso also attaches great importance to bringing children close to nature, and many kindergartens, primary and secondary schools will take into account the geographical conditions and preserve the local natural characteristics according to local conditions.

Reading leads the way of life

From the speeches and writings of several awardees, it is clear that reading is of great significance to their growth, and several of them have strengthened their life direction because of reading. In his book "I'm Not a Good Student," Koshiba Masatoshi confessed that when he was in elementary school, his homeroom teacher Hideo Kaneko gave him a book -- "How Physics Came About" by Albert Einstein, which made him very interested in physics and eventually embarked on the road of physics research.

Kenichi Fukui, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, wrote in "Straight Talk Education": "During my entire junior high and high school years, the one who influenced me the most was Fabre, who I can call the spiritual teacher and played an extremely important role in my life. ”

Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, has had a habit of copying books since he was a child, and he confesses in his book: "I wrote a lot of notes for reading and continued to read in this way, which made me who I am today." ”

Family education focuses on cultivating children's self-reliance

If reading is an intrinsic factor in the success of Nobel laureates, then a good home-schooling is an essential external condition.

Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, said that his father's influence was the reason why he decided to study chemistry. When he was 12 years old, his father took him to a new product presentation for a company, and the new release of a yellow nylon filament extracted from water, air and coal made him think that "chemistry is amazing", and he has been inseparable from chemistry ever since.

Kenichi Fukui was influenced by his father to develop the habit of studying hard and thinking diligently, and he wrote in his book: "As for studying, my parents took a non-interference attitude, and never once said anything like 'study hard.'" However, in my house, there is often a serious atmosphere that makes children want to learn. ”

Like Huaxia, Fusang has always attached great importance to family education, but it is worth noting that many Chinese families are now degrading their educational concepts, focusing too much on the material satisfaction of their children, or taking care of the big and small matters in the process of children's growth, and children also take it for granted that all their parents' property will be owned by them in the future. And when it comes to learning, many parents and students see college as just a stepping stone to determine their living conditions in the future.

Although Fuso also has this problem to varying degrees, the social atmosphere and traditional values still encourage families to focus on cultivating children's self-reliance and inculcate the idea of not relying on their parents from an early age.

After Fuso students are admitted to university, their parents are responsible for the tuition fees, but they have to earn their own living expenses beyond the tuition fees, otherwise they will be ridiculed by their classmates and society. After Koshiba Masatoshi was admitted to the University of Tokyo, he ranked last in the physics class in the first semester, which was the result of excessive tutoring.

Primary and secondary school teachers have more freedom in teaching

"Fuso theorists tend to emphasize the teaching freedom of primary and secondary school teachers, but in fact, there is more room for teachers to carry out curriculum design and pedagogical inquiry on the basis of the syllabus. ”

It is undeniable that Fuso education, like education in some Eastern countries, has the disadvantages of indoctrination and heavy examination, but in the past, our views on these issues were not objective enough, and the emphasis was somewhat excessive; in fact, Fuso was influenced by the New Education Movement and pragmatist education as early as before World War II, and a large number of educational experiments were carried out by the people, which greatly promoted the connection between education and real life.

After the war, Fuso also absorbed the educational theories and experiences of developed countries in the West in the process of continuous exploration. For example, the kindergartens and primary schools in Fuso do not place one-sided emphasis on the imparting of knowledge, but place special emphasis on children's life experiences; compared with basic education, Fuso's middle schools have a tendency to take examinations, which was once more serious, but the high schools have a credit system, and students have greater freedom to choose courses.

Fuso theorists tend to emphasize the teaching freedom of basic education teachers, but in fact, there is more room for teachers to carry out curriculum design and teaching inquiry based on the syllabus.

In addition, Fuso's basic education attaches great importance to carrying out a variety of extracurricular activities, and many schools have mobilized almost all teachers to participate in the guidance of extracurricular club activities, and even some student activities (such as the National High School Baseball Tournament, the National Student and Children's Invention Exhibition, etc.) have become a major event of concern to the whole people, which is in stark contrast to the high degree of nervousness of our whole people to pay attention to the college entrance examination.

Fuso has also set up a number of out-of-school educational institutions (such as youth homes) to broaden the horizons of young people. Enterprises are also keen to hold various science and technology competitions and other activities to stimulate children's enthusiasm for creativity. All these systems or measures will help students form a wide range of interests and hobbies, and lay a solid foundation for future career development.

Scientific research requires sensibility and intuition, and the best time to cultivate this sensibility and intuition is when you are a teenager who is covered in mud.

The evaluation of university scientific research is less affected by the model of quick success and quick profit

"The evaluation model of scientific research is essentially a short-sighted performance, which will weaken the research of basic education, and it is not conducive to young scholars to engage in scientific research and obtain large projects. ”

According to experts, Fuso's research universities have always set their sights on the world's frontiers and closely integrated them with teaching.

Professors at Fuso universities also have a high degree of freedom in the process of conducting scientific research. In Fuso, university teachers do not worry about being left out or losing their jobs because they have not produced scientific research results for a period of time, and they are rarely disturbed by the government and society in the process of research, such as assessment and evaluation, and can devote themselves to research for a long time. It was under this system that the Fuso people won the Nobel Prize.

Fuso's science and technology infrastructure plan is not directly managed and reviewed by the government, but by professional institutions. Moreover, the scholars who receive the program's funding, unlike the scholars selected for the program in China, immediately have a certain identity label and enjoy superior privileges in academic activities, and they need to carry out research seriously, and the research results are not evaluated by the administrative department, but by academic peers.

It is indispensable to have a broad vision and pay attention to international exchanges

"Fuso has produced so many Nobel laureates, which is not unrelated to the fact that Fuso scientists have a broad vision and pay attention to international exchanges. ”

Professor Li Zhongsheng, Ph.D. in economics from Fuso Chiba University, gave an example in an interview with the media: 1987 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Shin Tone Kawa is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, and his scientific achievements have been made in American laboratories; Hideki Shirakawa, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Ryoji Noyori, winner of the 2001 Prize in Chemistry, have both studied at American universities and are aware of the latest research trends in their respective fields.

Secondly, the first-class experimental conditions provide a solid guarantee for Fuso scientists. Especially for disciplines such as physics, chemistry, and life sciences, which place a strong emphasis on experimentation, first-class experimental conditions are particularly important, and sometimes even decisive.

After Ryoji Noyori won the award in 2001, the Fuso government allocated 70 million US dollars to establish a research center for him with advanced experimental equipment. It is precisely with its exquisite processing technology and strong industrial foundation that Fuso provides world-class working conditions for scientists to conduct innovative research.

The Fuso Keizai Shimbun also pointed out in a report that Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has been able to achieve great achievements thanks to the long-term support of the Nara Advanced Institute of Science and Technology University and the Fuso Science and Technology Promotion Agency. This means that Japan still retains the soil that allows the "possibility" to sprout.

The independent and free scientific research environment is an important reason

In addition to the guarantee of the scientific research environment, the consistent diligence and perseverance of Fuso scientists is an important factor for them to quickly catch up with developed countries in Europe and the United States in many fields and even maintain a leading position in the world. The free and independent research of Fuso researchers is also the key to the continuous production of results in the field of research.

Experts pointed out that the channels and forms for university professors and research institute personnel in Fuso to apply for research projects are actually subject registration systems, and there is no need for examination and approval at various levels, and a certain share of funds will be quickly allocated to ensure their research for several years. For several years, scientific research can be carried out from beginning to end, in a down-to-earth manner, without special public relations and bothering about funding application channels, without interference from the outside world, and relatively sufficient scientific research funds and a good scientific research environment provide an institutional guarantee for independent and free scientific research.

In other words, independence, freedom and freedom from interference are the main reasons why Fuso scientists frequently win Nobel Prizes. Fuso University, on the other hand, is mostly a research university, and its research drives teaching rather than a teaching school, which is an important reason why Japan frequently produces high-quality scientific research results. In addition to the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, Fuso has also produced Nobel laureates from Nagoya University, Tohoku University, Hokkaido University, and other universities.

Xiong Bingqi, an education expert, once pointed out that the most lacking thing in China's academic environment is not funding, but criticism and questioning, and there is no sense of "problem-oriented". Only by facing up to the real problems faced by China's academics, giving scholars more free space, and establishing an academic environment in which scholars compete on an equal footing, will China's first-class achievements show a blowout trend.

In addition, the high professional prestige and generous salaries of Fuso scientists also provide favorable conditions for them to devote themselves to teaching and research. According to the results of a 1995 survey conducted by Fuso's authoritative "Fuso Social Class and Social Mobility," among the 187 professions in Fuso, the ranking of university teachers in terms of professional prestige was 83.5, second only to judges and lawyers (87.3), and far higher than the 73.3 points of senior managers of large enterprises, 70.5 points of senior civil servants, and 58.2 points of actors.

In terms of economic income, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Basic Statistical Survey on Wage Structure" showed that the average salary of a professor at Fuso University in 2008 was about 11.22 million yen (about 900,000 yuan), which was much higher than the 6.63 million yen of national civil servants.

Basic research is "most favored" in university research

"In the 80s of the last century, Europe and the United States often accused Fuso of free-riding in basic research, so Fuso proposed a policy of cultivating world-class researchers, and it was successful to a certain extent. "Fuso Economic News" pointed out, "However, these alone cannot escape the close pursuit of Asian countries." It is necessary for Fuso to cultivate a large number of research talents. ”

According to a paper by the Institute of Science and Technology Policy of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Fuso, the number of universities in the second tier after the best universities in Fuso is very limited, and the trend of polarization is very obvious. In Europe and the United States, where basic research is strong, universities at this level are extremely active, and in general, the competitive environment is very fierce.

"Generally speaking, in order to transform science and technology into productive forces, it must go through a long process from basic research, to applied research, and then to development research. Relevant experts said, "However, Fuso was once a relatively late-developing country in science and technology, and in order to catch up with the world's advanced level as soon as possible, it went the opposite way, and adopted the strategy of starting from development and research, then tracing the origin of applied research, and finally going deep into the level of basic research, and achieved remarkable results." ”

After the Meiji Restoration, higher education mainly copied the German model and attached importance to scientific research. Gao Yimin, deputy director of the Center for Comparative Education Research at Beijing Normal University, told the media that the government and enterprises in Fuso attach great importance to their investment in scientific research, and their proportion of scientific research expenditure to GDP is 3.67% (2007), the highest in the world. Although university research funding accounts for only 18.3% of the total research funding (2006), the structure of university research funding is completely opposite to that of enterprises and other research institutions, with basic research funding accounting for the main part (about 55%), and basic research is infinitely close to the breeding ground of the Nobel Prize.

It's not that no one in China has won the Nobel Prize. What is intriguing is that when you don't win the award, you smile slightly, and once you win the award, you immediately question it.

Either everyone else has it, come, Mo Yan, take a look at the history of modern literature, in terms of seniority, why do you have it?

The good times in China that really belong to the expectations of writers are short-lived, with the decline of new poetry and the decline of traditional literature. Fortunately, there is a sudden rise of online literature, but now in fact, I can only slowly hide in the study, and write about the spring flowers and autumn moons of rebirth without asking about the world.

Professor Tu Youyou had a sentence in her acceptance speech that made people sigh and sigh: I also wanted to invite 85 scientists who had participated in the 523 project to come to Sweden to jointly publish a scientific research report on artemisinin, but I was afraid that the Nobel Prize Foundation would not be able to bear this huge expenditure, so in the end, I decided to come alone.

If you're not afraid of god-like opponents, you're afraid of pig-like teammates!

In 2013, after Chu Jian, a leader in China's autonomous industrial automation, was imprisoned, Dr. Wang Changli, the founder of Jingcheng Hollysys, immediately resigned from all positions and has remained in Singapore since then, without returning to China. That is, at this point, Huaxia's independent industrial automation companies were wiped out.

That evening, as Dr. Wang Changli was about to set off, he glanced back at the bleak sunset in the western sky. There, the wounds of an ancient people were dripping blood. (To be continued.) )