Scientific Mission
Composition
The development of society has reached this point: we are gradually breaking away from the living conditions of natural animals: all members must directly participate in the most important aspects of survival. In order to obtain basic materials, a group of people have left the front-line production of material materials and specialized in maintaining group security---I believe this is an important milestone in the social division of labor, even if it is not necessarily the first step. When science advances to such an extent that most people no longer need to participate in the production of material materials that satisfy people's most basic survival, and more people are liberated from the front line of satisfying their survival, scientists will evolve from the semi-professional state they once were. became a professional group. And getting bigger and bigger --- the reason is very simple: human society has more spare energy to explore how to escape from the natural animal state more easily, and the remaining population is increasing --- I mean engaged in non-front-line production survival The increase in the number of people with necessities will inevitably expand the various groups of people who have been differentiated in various periods. As a group, they are used to maintain the living conditions of the entire human race. Don't argue with me that the group of politicians is the brain organization. , if we really want to make a metaphor, they are just part of the nervous tissue. Overview of the Scientific Spirit
Start simple with diverse thinking
Choose a simple object to start research, establish an ideal model, apply mathematics as much as possible, consider all elements completely, establish a theory, and through modification and expansion, Expand the scope of application. This is actually the scientific thought proposed by Descartes mentioned above, so it is called the Cartesian spirit. Not only have Newton's particle model and Clausius' ideal gas model achieved great success in physics, but they have also achieved great success in other fields. For example, in biology, Morgan was lucky enough to choose the simple object of fruit flies to uncover the Prelude to the study of genetics. The most important thing for a correct understanding of things is to avoid one-sided thinking and have diversified thinking. The brain's ability to process information is limited, so choosing simple objects first can avoid thinking about too many factors. More complex problems can be solved by superposition and processing in various ways using conclusions derived from studying simple problems, and more complex problems can be solved using quantitative and qualitative analysis of existing conclusions. Debate
Science is man-made, so it is related to people's quality. Debate and stimulation can quickly improve people's quality. Therefore, science needs an environment for discussion and maintenance of people's enthusiasm for science.
One of the hallmarks of becoming a scientist is to be an independent researcher first, which means that a scientist must have the autonomy to participate in scientific research, publication, communication and other activities. And how to win this kind of autonomy? This kind of autonomy is linked to achievements. To put it bluntly, the so-called achievements are nothing more than publishing articles or obtaining patent rights. This is crucial for a scientist whose career is in scientific research. In the past, we always emphasized that scientists should first have a scientific spirit. That is, if you want to make scientific discovery as a career, you must have a spiritual quality of dedication, truth-seeking, rigor and perseverance. This is the so-called scientific spirit. As scientific research became a social institution, especially when modern scientific activities took on the characteristics of *** dominance, science suddenly changed from "little science" to "big science", and science also became a profession. This is why scientific practitioners, like other groups in society, include white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, masters, apprentices, leaders, led, exploiters, exploited, and even capitalists, workers, and even scoundrels. Liar, boaster and faker, that's why.
In this sense, not all personnel engaged in scientific research activities can be called "scientists". Only those scientific researchers who have obtained "autonomy" and "independence" and can participate in scientific research and communication and other activities can be called scientists in the substantial sense.
Then again, whether you are an independent scientist or not, if you are engaged in scientific research, then you must have a scientific spirit. That means being realistic and professional, which has nothing to do with whether a person is a scientist or not.
Therefore, publishing some powerful articles at the postgraduate stage is a stepping stone for you to find a job. Otherwise, the task of publishing articles must be completed as soon as possible during the postdoctoral stage, otherwise you will definitely not have an easy life. Unless you are no longer prepared to engage in relevant scientific research. In other words, you are no longer prepared to be a scientist.
Scientific activities sometimes seem more like an investment in credibility, not only because in today's "big science" era every scientist needs someone to fund him, but also because scientists without credibility are not A scientist in a substantial sense. Someone seems to have said something: One scientist who has contributed is worth many politicians or generals. This sentence is not an exaggeration to evaluate scientists in the era of "little science". In the current era of "big science", we should emphasize the collective contribution of scientific research rather than the contribution of an individual. In reality, people are always accustomed to crediting the leader of a research team for scientific discoveries. Therefore, if scientific results can bring "credibility" to scientific and technical personnel, then those who benefit the most are often a small number of them, reflecting the common "Matthew Effect" in society.
This explains why scientific research is increasingly becoming a profession.
For a young person who is preparing to grow into a scientist, what you need is how to establish your own academic credibility in such an environment. In view of people's cognitive habits, it is difficult for a young science student not to need his or her tutor to give you some academic credibility. Therefore, when you choose a mentor, you must look at the person your future "mentor" will be. Especially to see if he/she can help you eventually become an "independent" researcher. In English there is a noun "Mentor" which is equivalent to "mentor" in Chinese. So the basis for judging whether your mentor is your "mentor", in addition to whether you really learned something, ultimately depends on whether your mentor plays a key role in your becoming an independent scientific researcher. role. This point is actually very important.
Maybe some people think that as long as the tutor can "teach students knowledge and solve doubts", it will be enough. I think that is far from enough. Because in addition to making scientific contributions, a scientist's responsibility must also be able to cultivate an independent scientist. This is actually one of the important tasks of scientists, and should be included in the contribution of a scientist.
Therefore, in today's scientific environment, a young person who aspires to become a scientist and is ready to devote himself to scientific research must pay attention to four aspects.
1. Recognize the importance of science and agree that science is necessary for human survival and development. Only with this concept can we love science and have the motivation and desire to dedicate ourselves to science.
2. Consciously cultivate scientific spirit and systematically master existing scientific knowledge as much as possible. In fact, this is an indispensable thing for a scientist.
3. Strategy. Choosing a mentor is the key.
4. Persistence. Continuously conduct in-depth research in a certain direction.
An ancient saying goes: Don’t be careless when choosing a career. Choosing a teacher is also a very serious matter.
From the perspective of the scientific revolution - the cyclical development of normal science, Zeng Bangzhe proposed that the scientific development stage consists of A pioneering talents, B integrated talents (Newton and Einstein, etc.) to C inherited talents (masters) students - as the saying goes, great teachers make great disciples), D conventional talents (who learn from type C), and then E(A) pioneering talents (students of D begin to question the theories and methods of establishing type B talents). Responsibility
Part 7 of the Vienna Declaration of the Third Pugwash Conference
Adopted on September 19, 1958
We believe that all countries in the world All scientists have a responsibility to contribute to the education of the public by promoting a broad understanding of the dangers posed by and the potential offered by the unprecedented growth of the natural sciences. We call on our colleagues everywhere to work tirelessly towards this goal, either by inspiring adults or by educating the coming generations.
In particular, education should emphasize the improvement of relationships between people, and any form of glorification of war and violence should be eliminated from education.
Scientists, because of their specialized knowledge, are in a better position to know in advance the dangers and potentials of scientific discoveries. As such, they have specialized skills and special responsibilities regarding the most pressing issues of our time.
In the current situation of distrust between countries and the resulting competition for military supremacy, all branches of physics, chemistry, biology and psychology have become increasingly involved in military research and development. middle. In the eyes of people in many countries, "natural science" has become closely linked to "weapons research and development." Scientists either receive praise for their contributions to national security, or receive curses for having brought humanity into danger by inventing weapons of mass destruction. Science enjoys increasing material support in many countries, mainly due to its direct or indirect importance to that country's military strength and success in arms races. This deviates science from its true purpose, which is to enhance human knowledge and improve human ability to control nature for the benefit of all mankind.
We deplore the current situation that has led to this situation, and we call on all people and governments of all countries to build a global situation with lasting, stable peace.
(There are 70 signed scientists. Such as Bogolyubov, Russell, Born, Pauling, Wigner, Yukawa Hideki, etc. Note: The Pugwash Conference as a collective was held in 1995 Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001) Examples of celebrities
The great scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein
Einstein graduated from the Technical University of Zurich in 1900 and was incorporated into Switzerland. membership. Received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Zurich in 1905. Served at the Patent Office in Bern. Professor at the Technical University of Zurich and Deutsche University in Prague. Returning to Germany in 1913, he served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin and professor at the University of Berlin, and was elected as an academician of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1933, he was persecuted by the Nazi regime and moved to the United States. He became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and engaged in theoretical physics research. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940.
When Einstein was young, one day the Kaiser's troops passed through the streets of Munich. Curious people flocked to the windows to cheer, and the children were fascinated by the soldiers' shiny helmets and neat footsteps. While fascinated, Einstein hid in fear. He despised and was afraid of these "war monsters" and asked his mother to take him to a land where he would never become such a monster. When he was in middle school, his mother fulfilled Einstein's request and took him to Italy. Einstein gave up his German citizenship, but he did not apply for Italian citizenship. He wanted to be a world citizen without any attachments. ...After the war, Einstein tried to build his dream of world peace on the basis of reality, and made a series of "peace" speeches in "enemy countries". His thoughts and actions brought him close to death: a Russian aristocratic female assassin with imperialist ambitions secretly aimed her gun at him; Albert Eyre also appeared on the blacklist of German right-wing assassins Einstein's name; Hitler placed a reward of 20,000 marks on his head. In order to maintain "harmony" between himself and the world, Einstein had to move from Italy to the Netherlands, then from the Netherlands to the United States, and became an American citizen. He believes that in the United States, people of all classes can survive in a barely acceptable friendship. (Excerpted from "Einstein's Reflections", Issue 5-6, 1985, of the academic monthly "Applied Writing"
The late nineteenth century was a period of change in physics. Einstein started from experimental facts and re- He examined the basic concepts of physics and made fundamental breakthroughs in theory. Some of his achievements greatly promoted the development of astrophysics, especially theoretical astrophysics. . The first mature aspect of theoretical astrophysics, the theory of stellar atmospheres, was established on the basis of quantum theory and radiation theory.
Einstein's special theory of relativity successfully revealed the relationship between energy and mass and solved the long-standing problem of stellar energy sources. Due to the discovery of more and more high-energy physical phenomena, special relativity has become one of the most basic theoretical tools to explain such phenomena. His general theory of relativity also solved a long-standing mystery in astronomy and deduced the phenomenon of light bending that was later verified. It also became the theoretical basis for many later astronomical concepts.
Einstein's greatest contribution to astronomy is his cosmological theory. He founded relativistic cosmology, established a static finite and boundless self-consistent dynamic universe model, and introduced new concepts such as cosmological principles and curved space, which greatly promoted the development of modern astronomy.
From the above information, we see the admirable side of scientists. However, scientists are not only scientific workers, but also real members of society. Therefore, some of them often also show greedy desires and extreme pursuit of power. Science does not equate to holiness, and scientists do not equate to high moral standards. This lesson has existed throughout the ages. We often see advertisements made by contemporary Western scientists for enterprises, but the results often disappoint us. In 500 BC, Hippasus, a disciple of the Pythagoras school in ancient Greece, discovered irrational numbers, but was executed by his teacher.
The lessons of history are to teach mankind. It is still an arduous task for mankind for science to completely step out of the shadow of political power and Lysenko and his like. The words of Norbert Wiener, the founder of cybernetics, provide a reflection on this event: "Science is a way of life that can only flourish when people have freedom of belief. Forced to obey orders based on external The belief is not a belief. A society based on this false belief will inevitably lead to destruction due to paralysis, because in such a society, science has no basis for healthy growth. "
In fact, An eternal problem in the existence and development of science is the contradiction between standards and innovation. On the one hand, the emergence of scientific knowledge will inevitably form relevant standards for judging right and wrong. On the other hand, the process of the emergence of scientific knowledge is a process of breaking through the original standards, so it will inevitably be restricted or suppressed by the original standards. This requires us to reflect more deeply on two tragedies of science: one is the consequences of promoting wrong standards; the other is the humanitarian disaster caused by wanton innovation. Nie Wentao said in a speech on appropriate technical training for grassroots hospitals: During this period from the implementation of the "restricted carbohydrate" dietary standard for diabetes (John Rollo standard) to the re-implementation of the "high carbohydrate" standard (such as the standard of Peking Union Medical College Hospital), countless patients suffered from mistakes. Diabetic diet treatment further damages health. How should the medical community face such a situation? The strong shock caused by this speech was that he raised a profound scientific ethical issue. Categories
Experts traditionally considered scientists include: Physicists Astronomers Cosmologists Chemists Biologists Physiologists Zoologists Botanists Geographers Geologists Ecologists Neuroscientists Computers Astronaut, Geneticist, Virologist, Dendrologist, Entomologist, Herpetologist, Hydraulist, Ichthyologist, Sports Medicine Scientist, Lepidopterist, Inventor, Mineralogist, Ornithologist, Rheologist, Seismologist. Toxicologist psychiatrist