I remember there was a story like this.In the 1950s and 1960s, the National Engineering Plant, where many senior engineers, experts and scholars jointly worked on the engine project, was actually an engine technology imported from the former Soviet Union.In order to localize the engine, of course, we must first thoroughly understand the basic principles of the imported technology.There was a copy of the engine, with detailed drawings.The enthusiasm of our technical staff at that time was very high, day and night, overtime, within a short period of time had already eaten up the new technology.But the only thing that puzzled everyone was that researchers found a small slice of soap in the imported sample engine.We can't figure it out. Is it for lubrication?But there's no such thing on the drawing!Was it the Soviet experts who deliberately kept their hands on themselves?This really baffles our researchers!Finally, the leader said that since Soviet experts put a small slice of soap in the engine, there must be some logic. Although it was not marked on the drawing, we also put a piece of soap in it for safety.The technology was finally put into production, with a small slice of soap in each engine.Later, Soviet experts came to guide them, and technicians took the courage to ask Soviet experts why they had to put a small piece of soap in the engine, which was not marked on the drawing. Could you explain if there was any other effect?What little piece of soap?Why soap?Our staff made a quick report on the progress of the matter.The Soviet experts suddenly realized and laughed, saying that the little soap might have slipped in when I was washing my face. It was useless for the engine!The truth of this story cannot be verified, but there may be some reflection from it: the relationship between imitation and innovation.
Needless to say, many innovations are based on imitation.Now everyone knows that Japan, as an island nation, has a lot of technology that is first-class and even leading in the world.However, we all know that Japan's high-tech industry today started by imitating other countries' technology decades ago.At that time, that kind of imitation, it is said that there is not much superiority to our current "fake" technology.The question is, why can Japan's shanzhai technology finally go on the path of innovation and gradually form its own technological advantages, and can China follow the path of independent innovation? to actually upgrade the industry?This is really an issue that requires serious consideration.I've read a story about the development of Chinese companies in Vietnam before.Ten or twenty years ago, after Vietnam saw China's reform and opening-up, its economy grew rapidly and its people's living standards improved day by day.At that time, Chinese motorcycle companies, with cheap products (actually imported foreign production lines), aimed at the relatively poor Vietnamese people, quickly occupied the Vietnamese market, making a lot of money, but also lost the incentive to innovate.However, as Vietnam's economy took off, ordinary people became rich and soon discovered that Chinese products, although cheap, were not of good quality.More and more people would rather spend more money on motorcycles imported from Japan than on Chinese products.Finally, the Chinese motorcycle market in Vietnam is shrinking.
During my master's degree, I did a similar material experiment with a senior for half a year.The purpose of this experiment is to simulate the rock burst tendency of materials.This study is of great significance and is helpful to understand the phenomenon of gas outburst and water outburst in many coal mines.Before that, we have looked up a lot of literature about this experiment at home and abroad and studied it seriously. The first step is to try to reproduce the results of these literature.To my dismay, however, I did n-testing according to the proportion of experimental materials given in the literature and the experimental steps, but I didn't get the results I expected in the literature.In fact, the experiment itself is not difficult to do, the experiment process should not be a problem, but the results of the experiment are far from the theoretical expectations.In the end, the senior was also frustrated, saying that our work could not be done in vain, at least proving that the results of these published documents were not reliable.If you have time, I suggest you continue to study the new material proportions. There must be something more reasonable.In short, the experiment gave me the impression that it had ended in failure.At that time, I was so busy writing my thesis that I had to go to Hong Kong, so I put it off.After arriving in Hong Kong, the doctoral dissertation topic will not do this direction.But every time I think of it, I have a little bit of a dull pain in my heart, I regret it, but also a little unwilling, then why did not go further?I had a hunch that if we had gone one step further, there might have been something new!So-called innovation!Later, although I can no longer continue to do this experiment, but I always pay attention to the development of this field, that is, during that time, I found a foreign literature did the same experiment as we then thought, we were a little short! But the result was success and we chose to give up.This incident to me very big touch, from imitation to innovation, seems to be so little, but in fact I don't know how far!This is a process of qualitative change!
These stories hope to inspire younger friends.