Statium | "The United States attaches importance to basic science" the real significance of the mythology

Author: Jiang Xiaoyuan Shanghai Jiaotong University Lecturer Professor, the first dean of the History and Science and Culture Research Institute

The first two times (June 27, 28, 2022, "Jingbao · Pottery Lights" 35 and 36, linking the end of the article) We discussed two things: one is that the United States actually does not pay attention to basic science at all, and the other is that the United States does not pay attention to Why basic science hurts the feelings of some people. This time we will discuss the realistic significance of the myth of "the United States attach importance to basic science".

Mythology

As mentioned earlier, in China, the concept of "the United States attaches great importance to basic science" has begun in the book announced by Van Bush Bush in the book "Science: Endless Frontier". It has not become a national policy for the United States.

However, some people in the Chinese scientific community are engaged in basic scientific research or those who consider themselves to be engaged in basic scientific research, or have good desires or the ability to compete for social resources. It is not difficult to understand this), but it turns Bush's vision into a myth of "American attaches importance to basic science", claiming that "countless scholars in the United States are engaged in basic science research." And successfully let this kind of error view that has no factual basis nor data support spreads widely, so that for a long time, the Chinese public generally believes that "the United States attaches importance to basic science" is the fact that it is righteous.

This is quite different from the prosperity and prosperity of Voltaire and others, and the Utopia Chinese society ruled by the happiness of the wise monarch. Voltaire hopes to use the myth of an ideal country in a distance to criticize the French society and government around him. The above Chinese people also hope to use a myth of "attaching importance to basic science" in the distance to achieve their own demands -hope that the Chinese government will allocate more resources for basic science research.

Wedding wedding clothes for others

Someone must ask: Should we pay attention to basic scientific research? Many people who have not thought about this question will immediately answer: Of course it should be! However, things are not so simple at all.

All gravity, relativity, evolution theory, atomic theory, aerospace theory, double spiral model ... None of these first -class basic scientific achievements were made in the United States, but Americans used atomic theory to first create atomic bombs and nuclear power plants (earlier It is also the United States that sells nuclear power plant equipment). It uses dual spiral theory to make money in the field of genetic engineering and biochemical medicine, and use the aerospace theory to land the moon first. It is easy for people to have a problem: Since Europeans have made these first -class basic scientific theories, why do Americans always let Americans gain the economic fruits of these theories?

The answer is: because Americans pay more attention to applications and technology.

There is a fatal problem with basic scientific achievements: intellectual property rights cannot be protected. The most important means of modern business social protection intellectual property rights is patents. Are the first -class basic scientific achievements above patented? Nothing. Once the basic science achievements are made, it is the common wealth of all human beings, and anyone can use it.

Among the basic scientific achievements, the gravity of the British has been the most fruitful to date. Several old -fashioned powers have taken the lead in completing industrialization with the help of it, opening up colonial aggression and exploitation of global colonial aggression. Essence The economic achievements of atomic theory and dual spiral model have been taken away by the United States. Aerospace theory was due to the Russians before the October Revolution (in fact, still rooted in the theory of gravity), the former Soviet Union used it to lead the international, but now Russia is trapped in economic volume, and aerospace has become the three -family situation of the United States, China, and Russia. As for the theory of relativity and evolution, although the name is great, there is no important application that can be linked to industry and commerce so far, but it is just "drawing scenes" to the external world.

Therefore, from a historical and overall point of view, engaging in basic science research is not only to learn Lei Feng globally, but if you do not have enough application technology and industries, the result is usually wedding clothes for others.

China's amazing counterattack

If it is said that the myth of "the United States attaches importance to basic science" is to let China's basic scientific research get more resources, then this myth has spread for decades. What is the effect? The answer is absolutely unexpected.

On the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in the past 20 years, China ’s total science and technology R & D (total R & D cost) is divided into three parts: basic research, application research, and experimental development. Report) The classification and name are exactly the same. The following is a brief table compiled by the author:

It can be clearly seen from the table that in China for more than 20 years in China that quickly catch up with the world's advanced level, although the total scientific research funding has grown rapidly from tens of billions to more than 20 trillion yuan, the proportion of basic scientific research expenses has always been controlled 5 %!

For this impressive 5 %, some people have noticed it in China, but because of the myth of "the United States attach importance to basic science", this 5 % is reprimanded as "curse", they look forward to "benchmarking" quickly The United States and the West have greatly improved the cost of basic scientific research.

Should it be "benchmarking"? Let's take a look. In the past 20 years, which country is the fastest and rigid counterattack in science and technology? There is no doubt that it is China. If we can face the great achievements in technology and industries in recent years, shouldn't China's 5 % shocking 5 %, shouldn't it be fully affirmed? The decision maker's mind is extremely sober and is not influenced by mythology. In the table above, the data in 2020 is resentful to 6.01 -In fact, considering that the total funding of China's scientific and technological research and development has increased to more than 2 trillion, the absolute value of 5 % is also the absolute value of 5 %. It has greatly exceeded 100 billion, and 5 % is too much. You can consider controlling around 4 %.

Should China increase basic scientific research funds? The answer is definitely "don't". As for the future, when China's national strength is stronger and the world situation is more quiet, it is not necessary to think about it at that time.

Statium 035 issue | How did an article hurt "some people's feelings"

Statium 036 Issue | Why does the United States not pay attention to basic science?

Source | Jingbao APP

Edit: Chen Jianguo

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