Bottleneck, this, Baidu gives such an explanation, generally used to describe career development encountered stagnation.This stage is like the neck of a bottle, a gateway to the exit, but if you don't find the right direction, you can be stuck at the neck all the whole time.Today, a friend of mine chatted with me (spitting) that his two most recent papers had been revised several times and finally rejected.He also said that ten articles in an international journal, this goal has become his curse, has not been able to the end.Is this what people often say is a bottleneck?I comfort him by saying that I've had a hard time at this stage before, and that the bottleneck is a time to pay particular attention to for all who aspire to development.
I'll help him with his analysis first. Why are your recent papers being rejected one after another?In my experience (in fact, I have read his ten papers carefully), your previous papers have basically the same research ideas, the experimental lines are basically the same, but the difference is that they change the nature of the material and the boundary conditions.The reason why your previous papers are so easy to publish is that your experimental instruments are novel and unique.But even if it is new, it cannot be changed without changing the soup and medicine in a row, and it is not new.Also, academia, even around the world, has a very small circle of people involved in your specific research, and it's just those people who come back to review internationally renowned journals.Think about it. How does it feel to have someone review your similar papers in a row?It's good not to say no directly, because every reviewer will check your previously published paper to see if you're making something that's really innovative.When my friend saw me say this, he was relieved and said, "Yeah, I really can't eat the old book, I have to do something new and break through the bottleneck."But how easy it is to get something new!It takes time, inspiration, opportunity, even luck, stress.
In other words, I understand the embarrassing feelings of friends facing the bottleneck.Friends who have done research may have this experience. In fact, everything we do is inertia, or more accurately inertia, because we are willing to do what we know, what we know, easy to do, easy to produce results.And in a different direction, or even in an area, there's a lot of risk here.Risk, especially for the Chinese, is the least favorite thing.We all choose to be stable and comfortable until we have to. It seems to be something in the bone.Let's add that even in foreign countries, buying a house for example is something we Chinese love the most.It seems that you have to buy your own house to feel safe.The foreign rental system is very perfect, the difference between buying a house and renting a house is not very big, in fact, are the houses of the bank, everyone to work for the bank.What I want to say here is a psychology, we Chinese people's pursuit of stability, is absolutely stability overriding.So what is the effect of this mindset on scientific research?That is to be afraid of the head and the foot, to suffer the gain and the loss.
So, how to break through the bottleneck, mentality is a key factor.So just having the right mindset can lead to innovation and breakthrough of bottlenecks?In fact, there is also a major environmental problem.This big environment is a university assessment mechanism.If a university checks your paper, fund number and other quantitative indicators, then in this atmosphere, I guess nine out of ten will choose what they are familiar with, short, quick, effective projects, because it is easy to pass the assessment.But science is not a partial Chinese problem, nor is it playing with its own, but an open, global game with no first and no second.The rules of the game here are to be followed and not to be followed.
Just now, speaking of the university assessment, I have been to Australia for four or five years, I feel that the colleagues around me are very desperate, everyone is fighting for a high and low.But to my surprise, I don't know what specific quantitative metrics we have here, such as limiting how many papers each person sends a year, how many funds they take, how many graduate students they direct, how much feedback they give, etc.What's more interesting is that if you don't offer to leave, no one will send you away, you can go ahead and do your research with absolute peace of mind.That is to say, a relaxed environment, with a group of desperately "elite" competing with the world's top players.This kind of elasticity and internal tightness is really a kind of wisdom.In such an environment, we can open up, dare to innovate, dare to face failure, it is easy to achieve real innovation results, break through bottlenecks, this is the charm of scientific research.
I recently chatted with my former tutor and learned that it was midnight and the tutor was still looking at the literature.To my surprise, he has been exploring a new field in recent years.Although related to his former "successful" field, it is very different, but in fact it is two disciplines.When I was talking to my senior, one of my younger brothers said, "It's too risky for a mentor to explore new areas so far."Yes, that would be a surprise.If not, wouldn't the prime time of the last few years have been wasted?Have this energy, do more projects, now how easy to earn money.I said, maybe you don't know the real mentor, and besides, the mentor's courage is worth learning from.This courage stemmed from his strong interest in scientific issues and his strong executive ability.Whether successful or unsuccessful, this challenge to self, the spirit of challenge to authority is beyond our reach.Our training is far from enough.