Amateur Science in China
By Reginald Smith
There are several wonderful things about science from the viewpoint of an investigator. Indeed, one of the great benefits of being an amateur scientist is the simple fact that anyone and everyone can do science. Another important aspect of science is that it transcends all boundaries between people. People of all walks of life, incomes, ethnic groups, nationalities, etc. can come together and find commonalities through science. However, sometimes normal barriers of communication such as language and awareness can keep like-minded groups separate.
In particular, this article will focus on some of the efforts at amateur science currently going on in the world’s most populous country, China. It seems these days China is everywhere in the news media. Its rapid economic growth and growing clout make it an essential destination for businesses and investors. On the science front, China is also not standing still. China graduates more engineers than the US each year, though less on a per capita basis. The exact number of Chinese engineers is debated since some studies include two-year certifications and technical training schools in the statistics along with recipients of BS degrees. The key point, however, is that interest in science is also rapidly growing in China.
When I started studying Chinese, I would read internet news articles to practice my characters. Later, I actively looked for information on amateur scientists in the Chinese press. It is difficult to gauge exactly how prevalent amateur science is in China. Even with the Society of Amateur Scientists, it is difficult to gauge how many amateur scientists are in the US and there is no like-minded sister organization formed in China yet. There are, however, several resources and people I met that shed some light on the issue.
First, I met Dr. Song Tian, a professor at Beijing Normal University. Dr. Tian received his Ph.D in both the history of science and the philosophy of science. He also did postdoctoral work at the extremely prestigious Beijing University where he was associated with the Center for Science Communication which studies popular viewpoints on science and science’s relationship to society. Dr. Tian has researched public viewpoints of science in China and this led to him writing several papers on amateur science movements in China. In particular he distinguishes two kinds of public science. Roughly they translate to science fans and true amateur scientists. In a paper I translated that has been submitted to the journal Public Understanding of Science he states:
“Tian (2000a) coined the term “science fans” to refer to a peculiar crowd who want to do so-called scientific research outside of the scientific community. They attempt to solve certain grand scientific questions, attempt to overthrow certain well-established scientific theories, or are devoted to establishing grand types of theoretical systems. However, they do not accept or understand the scientific community’s basic paradigms of knowledge and therefore cannot have a basic communication with the scientific community. In general, their work does not possess scientific sense or value….The terms science fan and amateur scientist stem from necessity of differentiation. On the surface, science fans and this other group have many similarities. Amateur scientists also are not professional scientists, also like to engage in scientific activities in their free time, and even have some obstinate people, but they accept the paradigms of the scientific community. They are also capable of engaging in progressive exchanges with the scientific community, and simultaneously are capable of creating some valuable scientific research. These people could be called true amateur scientists.”
Specifically, Dr. Tian has become concerned that there are many people who claim amateur science’s banner but do not understand science. It was interesting to see that China, like the West has hundreds of people and websites that claim they can “disprove” the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, or solve difficult mathematical theories like Goldbach’s Conjecture*. He supports amateur science when people take the time and effort to really understand science and engage in thoughtful research. Happily, there are increasing amounts of amateur scientists in China that fit this mold.
There are many popular science magazines in Chinese. While in Beijing I enjoyed one called The Mystery of Science (Kexue zhi mi). A popular magazine on scientific topics. Also on the web I found Thoughts on Science (Sansi kexue zazhi). An online magazine at (http://www.oursci.org). In particular it focuses on many of the amateur aspects of science with links to many amateur science clubs in China.
From the links I have found, most amateur science in China, like elsewhere is firmly in the astronomy camp. Websites such as the Sirius Astronomy Page (http://www.dogstar.net/), the Public Astronomy Website (http://www.asci.cn/), and China Astronomy (http://chinaastronomy.com.cn/) directly cater to amateur astronomers through news articles and forums where people can discuss techniques, findings, or just get together. In fact, this will likely be a growing area for amateur science in China. Interest in space has boomed among Chinese since China launched its two manned spaceships Shenzhou 5 and 6 over the last few years and an amateur astronomer, Zhang Daqing, who discovered a comet.
There are also specialized web pages and societies for different interests. For example, paleontology and fossil hunting has found a popular science page of sorts on China Fossil Net (http://www.fossil.org.cn). However, when I tried to reach this page it tried to infect my computer with a Trojan so maybe it’s not good to check it out for the time being…
At China Insect Fans (http://www.insect-fans.com/) you can research in detail your favorite insects, discuss the insects in an extensive forum and even buy official Insect Fans tee shirts. Amateur robotics fans write interesting technical articles as well as discuss robots in the two great sites (http://www.roboticfan.com) and (http://www.robotdiy.com). Finally, who could forget ham radio which has a rapidly growing population of hams now it has been legal for some time. Many sites like QRZ (http://www.qrz.cn/home/) provide an excellent summary of resources in this area.
These interest specific groups are what China currently has lacking a general amateur science organization. There is an organization called “The World’s Strangers” (Tiandi Shengren) (http://www.tdsrjz.org/index.html) who emphasizes amateur science though they take on controversial ideas such as “second thoughts on relativity.”
China’s amateur science scene is still small but will definitely grow by leaps and bounds in the coming years. Perhaps one day an SAS like organization will emerge in China or SAS could spread to China!
* Goldbach’s Conjecture is a famous unsolved problem in number theory. In 1742 the Prussian mathematician Christian Goldbach wrote legendary mathematician Leonhard Euler with the following conjecture “Every even integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of three primes.” Euler later restated it as “Every even integer greater than 4 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.” Euler did this so 1 does not have to be considered a prime number (source: Mathworld; mathworld.wolfram.com).
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Science fans: A basic description and analysis of the emergence of a pseudoscience movement in China
Abstract: “Science fans” (minjian kexue aihaozhe) are a special group devoted to so-called scientific activities outside of the science community. They are different from amateur scientists (or science amateur) (yeyu kexue aihaozhe) in the way that they do not have proper channels for communication with the scientific community. The populations of Science fans’ numbers increased sharply in the early 1980’s in China because of the social environment, the public perception of science at that time, the misunderstanding of scientific activities by mass media, and the paranoid tendencies of science fans themselves. Research upon science fans can address the problem they have caused and provide some advice on the development of science communication in China.
Keywords: Science fans, amateur scientist(or science amateur),science community, social context, science communication
“Science fans” are a peculiar social group. Some regard them as a useful supplement to professional scientific research and encourage and support them. Some believe their actions are futile but their spirit is commendable. Some regard them as mad or crazy, and pity them. Some consider their research as pseudoscience and criticize them. Professional scientists generally think their efforts are useless and their visits and letters to professional organizations are a disturbance.
How should one comprehend science fans? Why has a large-scale movement of science fans emerged in China? The explanation will involve the multifold relationship among science, public, and society. Science fans are a valuable subject in the problems of the sociology of science and must be used to advance research into the communication of science.
1. What is a science fan?1
TIAN Song(2000a) coined the term “science fans” to refer to a peculiar crowd who want to do so-called scientific research outside of the scientific community. They attempt to solve certain grand scientific questions, attempt to overthrow certain well-established scientific theories, or are devoted to establishing grand types of theoretical systems. However, they do not accept or understand the scientific community’s basic paradigms of knowledge and therefore cannot have a basic communication with the scientific community. In general, their work does not possess scientific sense or value2.
Science fans are a very large group3. They are interested in almost every prominent academic fields, especially those with ideological value. In the field of mathematics many are dedicated to proving Goldbach’s Conjecture4. This problem attracts the largest group of science fans. Li Daqing (2002), a reporter with a large and influential publication of the scientific community, Science & Technology Daily, calls them “Goldbach Fans”. Even today, the Mathematics Division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences still receives sacks of letters and papers claiming they have proved Goldbach’s Conjecture. In the field of physics, they are devoted to overthrowing the theory of relativity5, quantum theory, or advancing new universal theories. There are even a few people researching perpetual motion machines. In the field of biology, there are those trying to advance new theories of evolution6. Besides this, in geology, psychology, and other scientific fields there is no lack of such people. There are some whose theories are grand beyond comparison from theories of cosmic creation to theories of Yin and Yang and the five cosmic elements(metal, wood, earth, water, and fire), from the food and drink of daily life to political economies. All encompassing but unable to produce concrete knowledge.
Science fans’ psychological characteristics, behavioral tendencies, writing style, etc. have many common aspects. In summary, their innermost characteristic is obstinacy. They have great trust in the peculiar worth and meaning of their own “scientific conclusions”. They cannot get along with the scientific community or communicate with normal people. They often live with illusions of grandeur. For example, they cannot truly understand other people’s opinions and can be prone to ignore unfavorable parts of other people’s opinions while exaggerating the parts they like. Sometimes they also engage in wishful thinking, for example, comparing themselves to those like Giordano Bruno7 and Galileo Galilei. They often run into opposition and interpret this as authority exercising oppression and persecution towards an outsider.
They also have a universal characteristic of conducting an intense and vigorous search along the lines of pure idealists. They generally cannot manage a good life, and some of them even depend on their parents and their wives and children after the age of forty. However, the difficulties of life actually strengthen their conviction of sanctity and solemnity. Many of them have faith that in the end they will become a great master. This conviction gives a silver lining to their difficult lives.
Science fans popularize their “research results” largely in the following ways:
1. Writing letters to introduce their systems and complain for a redress of grievances against them (targets perhaps are academic journals, science magazines, popular media, and government officials on all levels.)
2. Giving lectures (generally university campuses are their most favored places).
3. Publishing books at their own expense
4. Constructing their own research institutes8
5. Publishing their results on-line
Their “research theses” also have some general characteristics
1. They create many new terms, however, these terms have very little relationship to the technical terminology of the scientific community.
2. Confused logic without any direction
3. Often exaggerate the significance of their conclusions
4. Like publishing on the transcendental meaning of a question, especially in terms of national patriotism.
5. Often base their conclusion on possibilities which can only be realized in the future and can not be achieved by modern science --- especially, on the possibility of a scientific revolution that may be launched by themselves.
Besides, from the perspective of educational background, they usually have not received professional training on the field which they dedicate themselves to, nor have they undergone self-study to achieve a thorough understanding of the field. In fact, as a result of the science fans’ general nature, they have become significant subjects of sociological research.
Up to now, neither scholars nor the mass media refer to them by a standard name. Some call them “citizen scientists” or “amateur scientists”, both of which they like to refer to themselves as. This article’s author started referring to them as “science fans”. This has appeared in the media since 2000(TIAN Song, 2000c). Recently, Dr. Liu Huajie invented a new type of name, “Quack science fans” (jianghu kexue aihaozhe). This name is meant to inspire ridicule at their most blatant characteristics. Generally speaking, the work of science fans is not classified as pseudoscience(TIAN Song, 2000a) but as "science-imitating pseudoscience" or academician Hao Bolin’s (2002) so-called “fake science” (yan kexue). Pseudoscience in a sense has its own “scientific community”, it has its own paradigms, and even has its own “academic research publications”, for example with Chinese Qigong or parapsychology. Yet science fans all do things their own way individually. Another usual sign of pseudoscience is that it produces serious social influence in economic or political activity of society in China. Because of these reasons, science fans are different.
Science fans’ members consist of every sector of society including party cadres, teachers, civil servants, private sector employees, farmers, factory workers, and even the elites9. The age range is also wide with the oldest science fan being more than seventy years old. Generally though, the lower limit is around thirty years old.
2. The difference between science fans and amateur scientists
The terms “science fan” and “amateur scientist” stem from necessity of differentiation. On the surface, science fans and this other group have many similarities. Amateur scientists also are not professional scientists, also like to engage in scientific activities in their free time, and even have some obstinate people, but they accept the paradigms of the scientific community. They are also capable of engaging in progressive exchanges with the scientific community, and simultaneously are capable of creating some valuable scientific research. These people could be called true amateur scientists10.
It can be difficult to differentiate between the literal meaning of the terms “science fan” and “amateur scientist” in Chinese. Here one must not prepare to regard it as a language question, but accept the names as they are. Amateur scientists are also a very large group, addressing those engaged in a wide scope of scientific activity. For example, there are many amateur astronomers who spend their free time to observe astronomical phenomena. There are many amateur astronomers who are able to discover new heavenly bodies. However, on the other hand, they do not intend to overthrow the theories of modern astronomy, nor do they expect to establish a new overarching cosmic theoretical system11.
Amateur scientists at the same time have not become a special crowd, but are still common members of our society. The basic differences between the two groups consist of the following: amateur scientists and the scientific community conduct regular collaborations. Among amateur scientists, these collaborations occur very frequently. This is similar to the relationship between amateur and professional chess players. But science fans not only cannot conduct a progressive exchange with the scientific community, they also cannot carry out a mutual exchange among themselves. “Goldbach fans” are examples, each one of them independently creates their own “theoretical system” and wishes that other people would read about and understand their system. However, none of them want to read or even understand the “theoretical systems” created by any others. Therefore although there are many people, they are not a collective but rather an assemblage.
3. The social climate of the 1980s: asceticism, sacrifice, and the status of scientific ideology
Science fans also exist in other countries. Dasie Radner and Michael Radner’s (1992) writings about “cranks” belongs to this group. However, in China such a large-scale movement was rarely seen. If we sum up the personal reasons then science fans emergence as a mass-movement must have a social cause mirroring certain types of social issues.
Science fans’ way of life and spiritual conditions makes one feel confused. They can spend up to several dozen years living lives of difficulty and hardship. Several of them who don’t have material aspirations are normally regarded as pure idealists. This being said, where do these science fans colorful ideology of asceticism and spirit of sacrifice come from? We must search for answers in the decade of their education.
Prior to the 1980s, the main thrust of ideology was directed towards intensifying one type of worthy ideal: one person wants to have an ambitious ideal for example, winning honor for one’s country, bringing benefits to mankind, etc. For this reason, personal material desires and even life should be dedicated in the name of self-sacrifice. Not only the war time heroes Qiu Shaoyun and Huang Jiguang but the heroes of the peaceful era like Xiang Xiuli, Ouyang Hai, and Luo Shengjiao also got their reputation for their sacrifice for the cause of many. It was not sufficient to just sacrifice ones lifetime but also to emphasize the sacrifice of a material lifestyle--asceticism. Therefore the Daqing group12 are eulogized because they managed their oil production for the country first and put their own life such as building an apartment as secondary. Within this type of ideological context, asceticism and suffering both have great ideological value. Conversely, the extent of determination for asceticism and suffering becomes the measure of whether their spirit of idealism is wholehearted.
Science fans’ idealistic attitudes are compatible with this sort of ideological context. At the same time, this type of “Winning honor for an ideal” can also find its original from certain traditional ideals, for example Mencius’s “So it is that whenever Heaven invests a person with great responsibilities, it first tries his resolve, exhausts his muscles and bones, and starves his body”13. Therefore, there is much benthamism or utilitarianism concealing themselves behind science fan’s idealism.
Asceticism is a means for their idealism at first. However, when they find that their goals are far beyond their reach, they make asceticism as their goal. This is to prove that they still hold the ideal and believe it possesses a sublime meaning. This enhances their ability to endure a difficult state of existence and supporting their intense consciousness and feelings of superiority. However, why science? For example, why have the Goldbach's Conjecture realm of problems become the object of science fans' devotion?
From the beginning of the May 4th (1919) movement, science's status has increased daily. After 1949, scientism became the main sphere of ideological area. "Scientific" became a commonly used adjective representing correctness, brilliance, and right thinking(TIAN Song, 2000b). For a time, throwing oneself into scientific undertakings was happily chosen by many young people. However, during the time of the Cultural Revolution, although the term “science” still possessed ideological value, the social status of scientific work and scientific workers once again declined to the extent that they became ideological targets. In these times science was unable to be the means of “winning honor for an ideal”. After 1976, Chinese society began to experience an enormous change. In 1977, the college entrance examinations resumed. In March 1978, the National Scientific Plenary Session convened. “Science Spring” had suddenly arrived across China. Scientists once again received a lofty status. “Study hard, become great in number, travel throughout the world,” became the contemporary popular statement. General Science magazine had nearly ten years of circulation. Among these types of magazines, no longer published, is one whose title very much embodies the fashion of that time—We Love Science. As late as around 1980, in high school essays at the time there existed a common discrimination against the liberal arts---only people who were not talented enough for the sciences would study the liberal arts.
From this societal background, large numbers of science fans came into being. Goldbach fans are a very good case. Mathematics is abstract. Mathematical theories and Goldbach’s Hypothesis had nothing to do with Chinese people before . However, in January 1978 when Xu Chi’s article “Goldbach’s Hypothesis” about mathematician Chen Jingrun was published in People’s Literature, for the first time in several decades, a non-ideological scientist became a published expert. Chen Jingrun instantly became a public figure. Until his death, he was still the target of media attention. However, exceeding Xu Chi and Cheng Jingrun’s expectations, after “Goldbach’s Hypothesis” was published it was difficult to count the number of Chinese who attempted to join the ranks of those trying to prove Goldbach’s Hypothesis(Li, 1998). They all wanted to pluck this jewel from the crown of mathematics.
For example, 53 year-old Liu Pingwei, although he stopped his education after a year and a half of middle school, loved math and read about it whenever he had the chance. In 1970, because he had to stop working due to rheumatism, it was convenient to engage in mathematical research. In 1978, after he read Xu Chi’s article “The Goldbach Hypothesis”, he sprouted the idea that he wanted to find a method of seizing this “jewel in the crown of mathematics.” (Jin and Hu, 2001 )
In 1968, Zhuang Yan , after graduating from middle school in the city of Liaoyang, went to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. In 1976, after returning to the city, he worked for many years as a freight worker. In 1978, China’s famous mathematician Chen Jingrun tackled Goldbach’s Hypothesis, and concluded “1+2”, shaking the world. This inspired Zhuang Yan, who was 27 years old and had loved mathematics since he was young. He immediately boiled over with excitement and decided that he would use whatever means he had to try and pluck this jewel from the royal crown of mathematics! (Lu, 2002)
For a long time, the media praised “Goldbach Fans” and other science fans. You can make many analyses of these writings. Among these, not only can one obtain information about science fans but one can also observe the ways writers and interviewees understand scientific activities. Because there are different degrees of make-believe, exaggeration, and adaptation in the ideas of Science fans, this also gives us deeper clues to analyze their psychology.
The overnight celebrity status of Chen Jingrun, the simple statement of Goldbach’s Conjecture and social respect of science cause many to have the idea of winning popular glory with a dream of “plucking this jewel”. Of course, those who at last became stubborn Goldbach Fans are mostly from these biased viewpoints. So why do science fans with only a middle-school education believe that they can probably solve problems like Goldbach’s Conjecture?
China’s scientific terminology is known as it is passed from the top down when public’s comprehension is low, therefore the public lacks a basic understanding of scientific activities. In the times of the Cultural Revolution, slogans like "The elites are the most foolish, the lowly are the most intelligent", that devalued the position of scientific experts, deluged the public broadcasts. Even a scientific accomplishment such as the launch of China's first satellite was proclaimed as a victory for the Cultural Revolution. Most of the media models were laborers. Scientific experts very rarely came to the forefront. As events continued in this way it became easy to believe that professional training is unessential and unnecessary for scientific research and it is unnecessary to obtain a certain level of knowledge in scientific matters. From science fans' discussions and writings, one can see the brand on their thoughts from this era.
In March 2002, an author who was a Goldbach Fan wrote in a letter: "I firmly believe, the people are the wellspring of technology, and the public is the main body of science. Ordinary people can accomplish worthwhile contributions and can remedy defects of the larger personalities. Therefore, free rein should be given to the superior motives of ordinary people and their creativity and optimism should not be restricted. This is what the scientific education of China must promote." You can connect these words to many slogans of those years. For example, "The people, and only the people, are the true strength in creating history", "Unite all and unity is strength. Pool the minds and talents of everybody and work tirelessly for rapid progress", etc. In this age, you can still say that many people truly believe that science can be carried out by means of a vigorous mass-scale popular movement much like fighting a war or a conflict.
Like above, many reports of Goldbach Fans tell this sort of story: someone who reads Xu Chi’s reporting is infected by Chen Jingrun's genius, and decides to win honor for his country. It doesn't matter that they have only graduated from middle school. They still want to pluck this grand jewel from the crown of mathematics. This pattern allows us to see that Goldbach Fans' first goal is to win honor for their country and plucking this grand jewel is only the way they use to win honor for their ideals. In reality, they don't care about the significance of Goldbach's Conjecture in mathematics. Science Fans regard their dedication as worthwhile since the realm of science has a comparatively large influence on society and ideological value. Only these areas can satisfy their ideals of glory. Of course, only the areas of science that are easily comprehendible. In summary, science fans should satisfy two conditions: first, having received idealistic education and second, having experienced China's "Scientific Spring" of the 1980s. This is enough to make them devote themselves fully to science as a goal.
Due to the fact that the last group who received such idealistic education was born before 1970, Zhu Haijun, born in 1968, is mainly the lower limit for the age of science fans. In the period following 1980, the foundations of Chinese society experienced a complete revolution. This caused:
1. A less charged atmosphere of idealism in the public language and even in the mainstream ideologies.
2. Economics, law, management, literature, and even some practical engineering rapidly rose in social stature. Science's large importance actually shrank in scope. At this time, the atmosphere which produced large numbers of science fans no longer existed. Even if there are still some idealistic and self-sacrificing individuals, their target is no longer science. Due to similar reasons, an even larger scale of "literature fans" (minjian wenke aihaozhe) appeared in the 1980s, but in the 1990s they rapidly diminished. Now, they are mocked as "Adolescent Literature" (wenke qingnian).
4. The knowledge background of science fans and media misconceptions about scientific activities
Most science fans have not received a standard education in the sciences. How do they understand research then? From where does their knowledge and comprehension of science originate? According to the mass media reports, as well as, their own accounts, there are three main sources of their thinking: Primary and middle school education, self-teaching, and popular science books and the mass media. Due to the Cultural Revolution, many science fans 40 years or older have not even finished middle school. This sort of basic knowledge means that their self-teaching has many large limitations. Thus, science fans' most important path to understanding science is reading popular science books and using the mass media.
"100,000 Why's"14 represents a traditional method with the major goal of popularizing scientific knowledge. It touches little upon the scientific community’s science activities. The mass media also rarely touches on scientists’ actual activities. There are several standard descriptions of science. For example, scientists' classic depiction is wearing a white lab coat, bald, wearing glasses, having a gentle and pleasant demeanor, and appearing as an all-knowing and all-capable grandfatherly figure. They command universal respect, are aloof from common concerns, have their heart and soul dedicated to science, win glory for their country, and also struggle for the well-being of humanity. This style already has many characteristic types15. It became the media and the popular subconscious style of thinking. It also became a staple of popular discourse. Xu Chi’s descriptions of Chen Jingrun conformed to these images. Obviously, these images and the mainstream ideology before the 1980s are similar. They both venerate asceticism and sacrifice. Thus it is significant that science fans mold themselves in accordance with the images from the mass media and popular science. The description of the process of scientific discovery also has a similar type. "Eureka!"16 and "Grinding an iron pestle into a needle" are two of the representative images.
In popular science and mass media, there are many stories of scientific geniuses instantly making a brilliant discovery. Comparatively famous are Newton's apple, Archimedes bathing, Watt's hot water kettle, and Kekulé’s dream. Opposite stories are of the "failure is the mother of success" types, the most common of which is the "666" story which says an inventor experiences 665 failures and at last achieves one success. Madame Curie’s story of smelting pitch to obtain Radium is also this type of story17. These type of stories are in keeping with the folk saying "You only need to exert great effort, and an iron pestle can be ground to a needle" and conform with the ideas of asceticism and sacrifice.
The first type of story simplifies the rich process of scientific discovery into the last step of inspiration and opportunity. It simplifies it into the use of one's brain to create an idea. The second type of story emphasizes the effort model of discovery but ignores the high-level thinking of the original ideas. It transforms the process of discovery into merely simply a matter of technical labor. These two types of simple stories both have misconceptions towards the process of scientific discovery, and even scientific historians question their validity (Ortoli and Witkowski,1998). However, these types of recounts are stories rich with drama and conform with ideological language, so they are rich in inspiration. Thus, these sorts of stories are continuously created, circulated, and have become a part of the public discourse.
In the midst of such public discourse, it is not at all surprising that science fans invoke widespread sympathy and support. A media journalist wrote in an article supportive of Goldbach Fans:
“Mathematician Lu Zhujia said it well after Chen Jingrun died: Goldbach’s Conjecture will probably not be solved without the use of new methods. Therefore, some complicated questions are made easier by new ways of thinking. Are not the so-called ‘new methods’ just new ways of thinking? We should at least be interested when people try to employ new ways of thinking to solve this question.”(Wang, 2002).
This truly is the "Ground an iron pestle into a needle" or “Eureka!” type of method. The writer believes that the Goldbach Fans thinking has scientific value and therefore many of the Goldbach Fans can stumble upon a correct answer. It is as if Goldbach Fans were a mountain's hidden deposit of resources. This is a "needle in a haystack" view that with just a large effort the answer can be found. It also makes this seem as if it is some kind of treasure hunt--where you must beat the foreigners to dig up the treasure and win honor for your country. Sometimes the media describes science as if it was really like a sports competition--a field where within a short time it is determined who wins or loses and receives admiration.
In this way, popular misconceptions about science and certain ideological backgrounds give rise to a vigorous group of science fans. Asceticism and self-sacrifice provide the ideological value while stories of tireless effort and moments of inspiration provide them with a rational methodology. Science fans, on one hand, year after year "ground the iron pestle" and on the other hand expect an epiphany to descend upon them. It must be pointed out that traditional popular science books view science similarly and even strengthen these misconceptions. Even in this day and age, this sort of popular perception still exists, due to a sort of inertia, because for so long it was reinforced by the mainstream ideology. This can be used by science fans to look upon their own asceticism and self-sacrifice as a sort of idealistic heroism. Many science fans, even in the midst of debate, emphasize the value of the spirit of their work. Scientific research institutions do not want to outright reject them but rather tactfully deflect them. On the other hand, science fans and their sympathizers, often with boldness and assurance, roundly censure the scientific community for attacking the love of science and optimism of the masses.
5. Conclusion
The large-scale phenomenon of science fans is a social question which must attract close attention. Their existence signifies certain barriers between the proper communication of science to the general public. This means that the traditional means of communicating science to the public may have several problems. Even though the atmosphere that produced a large amount of science fans no longer exists, the mass media and the general public still continue to have many misconceptions toward scientific activities. Therefore, it would be beneficial to study this social trend in order to solve this and other related social issues, as well as, draw lessons about how to communicate information on scientific activities to the general public.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This article was translated from Chinese into English by Reginald Smith. All inquiries about the content of the paper should be directed to the author. This paper was originally published in Chinese in Natural Dialectical Research(Ziran Bianzhengfa Yanjiu) 2003, 7 p. 56.
FOOTNOTES
1 Science fans have not in general attracted the attention of the scholarly community. This paper was written using the following data 1)Mass media reports on science fans, 2) the author’s own data collected on science fans, and 3) direct correspondence with science fans.
2 Regarding the difference between science fans and the scientific community the author is postulating a theory and not just engaging in a discussion.
3 Since there is no relevant statistical data, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of science fans. The Mathematics Division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimates there are several thousand Goldbach Fans.
4 Goldbach’s Conjecture is a famous unsolved problem in number theory. In 1742 the Prussian mathematician Christian Goldbach wrote legendary mathematician Leonhard Euler with the following conjecture “Every even integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of three primes.” Euler later restated it as “Every even integer greater than 4 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.” Euler did this so 1 does not have to be considered a prime number (source: Mathworld; mathworld.wolfram.com).
5 At the Chinese Academy of Sciences' History of the Natural Sciences Division, researcher Song Zhenghai organized a group called "The Earthborn Men" and had a series of lectures. In July 2000, the First National Conference on Questions about Einsteinian Relativity was convened and published its proceedings as Second Thoughts on Relativity . Song Zhenghai was the editor (Earthquake Press, July, 2002) (in Chinese).
6 Among the most famous proposed theories of human evolution was that of Zhu Haijun. He believes that humans walk upright because human ancestors adapted to face-to-face sexual intercourse.
7Giordano Bruno was an Italian monk burned at the stake by the Catholic Church in 1600 for his spiritual beliefs but is falsely believed by many to have been burned for new science, hypothesizing the existence of extraterrestrial life, a view he did hold.
8 Feng Yiquan proposed that the Earth will leave the moon behind. He self-constructed a "philosophical geology" research department on Mount Tang (Tangshan). See South China Weekend 4/7/2000 edition. Article by Liu Xuejin "Feng Yiquan -- One man's 'theory'" (in Chinese)
9 The science fan with highest social level is Huang Wei up to now, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (a legislative advisory committee in the Chinese government composed of both Communist Party members and non-members) and a famous former general of Republic China. He has continuously claimed to have designed a perpetual motion machine. See Fascinating Limits--The Recollections of a War Criminal Administration Bureau Chief 1998:People's Liberation Army Press (in Chinese)
10 Two types of translations of "science hobbyists" have been discussed on the Rainbow Bridge Science Education Forum. A lot of friends on web provided many helpful suggestions and information. The author is grateful for their assistance.
11 On February 1, 2002 the International Astronomical Union's Commission on Minor Planets and Comets gave the name “Ikeya-Zhang” to the comet which was independently discovered by two amateur astronomers, one Chinese (Zhang Daqing) and one Japanese (Kaoru Ikeya). Zhang Daqing is an ordinary laborer in Henan province. He found this comet using a self-constructed 20cm reflector telescope.
12 Daqing, located in Heilongjiang province, is the location of China’s first large oil field. And the persons mentioned above all were heroes in Chinese public media and ideological context from 1950s to early 1980s, who were the models erected by the Chinese Communist Party.
13 Mencius quote translation taken from Hinton, David Mencius Counterpoint Press, 1999
14 The 100,000 Why's was a common children's introductory science textbook in China.
15 Archetype, a conception of psychologist Carl G. Jung.
16 Eureka is not the actual term used in the paper but rather ling ji yi dong which means the sudden fortuitous emergence of a great idea.
17 In reality, the 666 comes from the chemical pesticide C6H6Cl6 commonly known as lindane or benzene hexachloride. The 666 actually had no relation to the number of experiments performed.
REFERENCES
Hao Bolin (2002) “Pseudoscience and Fake Science”, Science (Shanghai), 2. (In Chinese)
Jin Nuo, Hu Pei (2001) “Huangpi Based Old Man Liu Weiping Claims to Prove Goldbach’s Conjecture” Wuhan Morning Daily 3/25 (In Chinese)
Li Daqing (1998) “Goldbach’s Conjecture. Who Wants to Pluck the Crown Jewel?” China Reader’s Journal 4/8 (In Chinese)
Li Daqing (2002) “Goldbach Fans ‘Proofs’ get a Cold Shoulder from Experts. Goldbach’s Theory is Still Not Laid to Rest” Science and Technology Daily 3/29. (In Chinese)
Lu Zhigui (2002) “Liaoning Man Attacks Goldbach’s Conjecture. Old Red Army Officer Sends a Report to the Provincial Governor” Liaoning TV Guide 3/20 (In Chinese)
Ortoli, Sven and Witkowski, Nicolas (1998) La Baignoire d'Archimède Paris: Seuil. (Chinese version by Beijing University Press in 2000).
Radner, Daisie & Radner, Michael (1982) Science and Unreason, Belmont: Wadsworth.
Tian Song (2000a) “Scientism, Anti-Science, and Pseudoscience” Natural Dialectical Research 9, p.19. (In Chinese)
Tian Song (2000b) “Scientism, Anti-Science, and Pseudoscience” Natural Dialectical Research 9, p. 15. (In Chinese)
Tian Song (2000c) “I see Science Fans” Science Times 3/27 B3. (In Chinese)
Wang Qianrong (2002) “Goldbach’s Conjecture: Famous Expert Suggests Avoiding ‘Wild Guesses’” Beijing Youth Daily 2/4 (In Chinese)
Keywords: Science fans, amateur scientist(or science amateur),science community, social context, science communication
“Science fans” are a peculiar social group. Some regard them as a useful supplement to professional scientific research and encourage and support them. Some believe their actions are futile but their spirit is commendable. Some regard them as mad or crazy, and pity them. Some consider their research as pseudoscience and criticize them. Professional scientists generally think their efforts are useless and their visits and letters to professional organizations are a disturbance.
How should one comprehend science fans? Why has a large-scale movement of science fans emerged in China? The explanation will involve the multifold relationship among science, public, and society. Science fans are a valuable subject in the problems of the sociology of science and must be used to advance research into the communication of science.
1. What is a science fan?1
TIAN Song(2000a) coined the term “science fans” to refer to a peculiar crowd who want to do so-called scientific research outside of the scientific community. They attempt to solve certain grand scientific questions, attempt to overthrow certain well-established scientific theories, or are devoted to establishing grand types of theoretical systems. However, they do not accept or understand the scientific community’s basic paradigms of knowledge and therefore cannot have a basic communication with the scientific community. In general, their work does not possess scientific sense or value2.
Science fans are a very large group3. They are interested in almost every prominent academic fields, especially those with ideological value. In the field of mathematics many are dedicated to proving Goldbach’s Conjecture4. This problem attracts the largest group of science fans. Li Daqing (2002), a reporter with a large and influential publication of the scientific community, Science & Technology Daily, calls them “Goldbach Fans”. Even today, the Mathematics Division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences still receives sacks of letters and papers claiming they have proved Goldbach’s Conjecture. In the field of physics, they are devoted to overthrowing the theory of relativity5, quantum theory, or advancing new universal theories. There are even a few people researching perpetual motion machines. In the field of biology, there are those trying to advance new theories of evolution6. Besides this, in geology, psychology, and other scientific fields there is no lack of such people. There are some whose theories are grand beyond comparison from theories of cosmic creation to theories of Yin and Yang and the five cosmic elements(metal, wood, earth, water, and fire), from the food and drink of daily life to political economies. All encompassing but unable to produce concrete knowledge.
Science fans’ psychological characteristics, behavioral tendencies, writing style, etc. have many common aspects. In summary, their innermost characteristic is obstinacy. They have great trust in the peculiar worth and meaning of their own “scientific conclusions”. They cannot get along with the scientific community or communicate with normal people. They often live with illusions of grandeur. For example, they cannot truly understand other people’s opinions and can be prone to ignore unfavorable parts of other people’s opinions while exaggerating the parts they like. Sometimes they also engage in wishful thinking, for example, comparing themselves to those like Giordano Bruno7 and Galileo Galilei. They often run into opposition and interpret this as authority exercising oppression and persecution towards an outsider.
They also have a universal characteristic of conducting an intense and vigorous search along the lines of pure idealists. They generally cannot manage a good life, and some of them even depend on their parents and their wives and children after the age of forty. However, the difficulties of life actually strengthen their conviction of sanctity and solemnity. Many of them have faith that in the end they will become a great master. This conviction gives a silver lining to their difficult lives.
Science fans popularize their “research results” largely in the following ways:
1. Writing letters to introduce their systems and complain for a redress of grievances against them (targets perhaps are academic journals, science magazines, popular media, and government officials on all levels.)
2. Giving lectures (generally university campuses are their most favored places).
3. Publishing books at their own expense
4. Constructing their own research institutes8
5. Publishing their results on-line
Their “research theses” also have some general characteristics
1. They create many new terms, however, these terms have very little relationship to the technical terminology of the scientific community.
2. Confused logic without any direction
3. Often exaggerate the significance of their conclusions
4. Like publishing on the transcendental meaning of a question, especially in terms of national patriotism.
5. Often base their conclusion on possibilities which can only be realized in the future and can not be achieved by modern science --- especially, on the possibility of a scientific revolution that may be launched by themselves.
Besides, from the perspective of educational background, they usually have not received professional training on the field which they dedicate themselves to, nor have they undergone self-study to achieve a thorough understanding of the field. In fact, as a result of the science fans’ general nature, they have become significant subjects of sociological research.
Up to now, neither scholars nor the mass media refer to them by a standard name. Some call them “citizen scientists” or “amateur scientists”, both of which they like to refer to themselves as. This article’s author started referring to them as “science fans”. This has appeared in the media since 2000(TIAN Song, 2000c). Recently, Dr. Liu Huajie invented a new type of name, “Quack science fans” (jianghu kexue aihaozhe). This name is meant to inspire ridicule at their most blatant characteristics. Generally speaking, the work of science fans is not classified as pseudoscience(TIAN Song, 2000a) but as "science-imitating pseudoscience" or academician Hao Bolin’s (2002) so-called “fake science” (yan kexue). Pseudoscience in a sense has its own “scientific community”, it has its own paradigms, and even has its own “academic research publications”, for example with Chinese Qigong or parapsychology. Yet science fans all do things their own way individually. Another usual sign of pseudoscience is that it produces serious social influence in economic or political activity of society in China. Because of these reasons, science fans are different.
Science fans’ members consist of every sector of society including party cadres, teachers, civil servants, private sector employees, farmers, factory workers, and even the elites9. The age range is also wide with the oldest science fan being more than seventy years old. Generally though, the lower limit is around thirty years old.
2. The difference between science fans and amateur scientists
The terms “science fan” and “amateur scientist” stem from necessity of differentiation. On the surface, science fans and this other group have many similarities. Amateur scientists also are not professional scientists, also like to engage in scientific activities in their free time, and even have some obstinate people, but they accept the paradigms of the scientific community. They are also capable of engaging in progressive exchanges with the scientific community, and simultaneously are capable of creating some valuable scientific research. These people could be called true amateur scientists10.
It can be difficult to differentiate between the literal meaning of the terms “science fan” and “amateur scientist” in Chinese. Here one must not prepare to regard it as a language question, but accept the names as they are. Amateur scientists are also a very large group, addressing those engaged in a wide scope of scientific activity. For example, there are many amateur astronomers who spend their free time to observe astronomical phenomena. There are many amateur astronomers who are able to discover new heavenly bodies. However, on the other hand, they do not intend to overthrow the theories of modern astronomy, nor do they expect to establish a new overarching cosmic theoretical system11.
Amateur scientists at the same time have not become a special crowd, but are still common members of our society. The basic differences between the two groups consist of the following: amateur scientists and the scientific community conduct regular collaborations. Among amateur scientists, these collaborations occur very frequently. This is similar to the relationship between amateur and professional chess players. But science fans not only cannot conduct a progressive exchange with the scientific community, they also cannot carry out a mutual exchange among themselves. “Goldbach fans” are examples, each one of them independently creates their own “theoretical system” and wishes that other people would read about and understand their system. However, none of them want to read or even understand the “theoretical systems” created by any others. Therefore although there are many people, they are not a collective but rather an assemblage.
3. The social climate of the 1980s: asceticism, sacrifice, and the status of scientific ideology
Science fans also exist in other countries. Dasie Radner and Michael Radner’s (1992) writings about “cranks” belongs to this group. However, in China such a large-scale movement was rarely seen. If we sum up the personal reasons then science fans emergence as a mass-movement must have a social cause mirroring certain types of social issues.
Science fans’ way of life and spiritual conditions makes one feel confused. They can spend up to several dozen years living lives of difficulty and hardship. Several of them who don’t have material aspirations are normally regarded as pure idealists. This being said, where do these science fans colorful ideology of asceticism and spirit of sacrifice come from? We must search for answers in the decade of their education.
Prior to the 1980s, the main thrust of ideology was directed towards intensifying one type of worthy ideal: one person wants to have an ambitious ideal for example, winning honor for one’s country, bringing benefits to mankind, etc. For this reason, personal material desires and even life should be dedicated in the name of self-sacrifice. Not only the war time heroes Qiu Shaoyun and Huang Jiguang but the heroes of the peaceful era like Xiang Xiuli, Ouyang Hai, and Luo Shengjiao also got their reputation for their sacrifice for the cause of many. It was not sufficient to just sacrifice ones lifetime but also to emphasize the sacrifice of a material lifestyle--asceticism. Therefore the Daqing group12 are eulogized because they managed their oil production for the country first and put their own life such as building an apartment as secondary. Within this type of ideological context, asceticism and suffering both have great ideological value. Conversely, the extent of determination for asceticism and suffering becomes the measure of whether their spirit of idealism is wholehearted.
Science fans’ idealistic attitudes are compatible with this sort of ideological context. At the same time, this type of “Winning honor for an ideal” can also find its original from certain traditional ideals, for example Mencius’s “So it is that whenever Heaven invests a person with great responsibilities, it first tries his resolve, exhausts his muscles and bones, and starves his body”13. Therefore, there is much benthamism or utilitarianism concealing themselves behind science fan’s idealism.
Asceticism is a means for their idealism at first. However, when they find that their goals are far beyond their reach, they make asceticism as their goal. This is to prove that they still hold the ideal and believe it possesses a sublime meaning. This enhances their ability to endure a difficult state of existence and supporting their intense consciousness and feelings of superiority. However, why science? For example, why have the Goldbach's Conjecture realm of problems become the object of science fans' devotion?
From the beginning of the May 4th (1919) movement, science's status has increased daily. After 1949, scientism became the main sphere of ideological area. "Scientific" became a commonly used adjective representing correctness, brilliance, and right thinking(TIAN Song, 2000b). For a time, throwing oneself into scientific undertakings was happily chosen by many young people. However, during the time of the Cultural Revolution, although the term “science” still possessed ideological value, the social status of scientific work and scientific workers once again declined to the extent that they became ideological targets. In these times science was unable to be the means of “winning honor for an ideal”. After 1976, Chinese society began to experience an enormous change. In 1977, the college entrance examinations resumed. In March 1978, the National Scientific Plenary Session convened. “Science Spring” had suddenly arrived across China. Scientists once again received a lofty status. “Study hard, become great in number, travel throughout the world,” became the contemporary popular statement. General Science magazine had nearly ten years of circulation. Among these types of magazines, no longer published, is one whose title very much embodies the fashion of that time—We Love Science. As late as around 1980, in high school essays at the time there existed a common discrimination against the liberal arts---only people who were not talented enough for the sciences would study the liberal arts.
From this societal background, large numbers of science fans came into being. Goldbach fans are a very good case. Mathematics is abstract. Mathematical theories and Goldbach’s Hypothesis had nothing to do with Chinese people before . However, in January 1978 when Xu Chi’s article “Goldbach’s Hypothesis” about mathematician Chen Jingrun was published in People’s Literature, for the first time in several decades, a non-ideological scientist became a published expert. Chen Jingrun instantly became a public figure. Until his death, he was still the target of media attention. However, exceeding Xu Chi and Cheng Jingrun’s expectations, after “Goldbach’s Hypothesis” was published it was difficult to count the number of Chinese who attempted to join the ranks of those trying to prove Goldbach’s Hypothesis(Li, 1998). They all wanted to pluck this jewel from the crown of mathematics.
For example, 53 year-old Liu Pingwei, although he stopped his education after a year and a half of middle school, loved math and read about it whenever he had the chance. In 1970, because he had to stop working due to rheumatism, it was convenient to engage in mathematical research. In 1978, after he read Xu Chi’s article “The Goldbach Hypothesis”, he sprouted the idea that he wanted to find a method of seizing this “jewel in the crown of mathematics.” (Jin and Hu, 2001 )
In 1968, Zhuang Yan , after graduating from middle school in the city of Liaoyang, went to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. In 1976, after returning to the city, he worked for many years as a freight worker. In 1978, China’s famous mathematician Chen Jingrun tackled Goldbach’s Hypothesis, and concluded “1+2”, shaking the world. This inspired Zhuang Yan, who was 27 years old and had loved mathematics since he was young. He immediately boiled over with excitement and decided that he would use whatever means he had to try and pluck this jewel from the royal crown of mathematics! (Lu, 2002)
For a long time, the media praised “Goldbach Fans” and other science fans. You can make many analyses of these writings. Among these, not only can one obtain information about science fans but one can also observe the ways writers and interviewees understand scientific activities. Because there are different degrees of make-believe, exaggeration, and adaptation in the ideas of Science fans, this also gives us deeper clues to analyze their psychology.
The overnight celebrity status of Chen Jingrun, the simple statement of Goldbach’s Conjecture and social respect of science cause many to have the idea of winning popular glory with a dream of “plucking this jewel”. Of course, those who at last became stubborn Goldbach Fans are mostly from these biased viewpoints. So why do science fans with only a middle-school education believe that they can probably solve problems like Goldbach’s Conjecture?
China’s scientific terminology is known as it is passed from the top down when public’s comprehension is low, therefore the public lacks a basic understanding of scientific activities. In the times of the Cultural Revolution, slogans like "The elites are the most foolish, the lowly are the most intelligent", that devalued the position of scientific experts, deluged the public broadcasts. Even a scientific accomplishment such as the launch of China's first satellite was proclaimed as a victory for the Cultural Revolution. Most of the media models were laborers. Scientific experts very rarely came to the forefront. As events continued in this way it became easy to believe that professional training is unessential and unnecessary for scientific research and it is unnecessary to obtain a certain level of knowledge in scientific matters. From science fans' discussions and writings, one can see the brand on their thoughts from this era.
In March 2002, an author who was a Goldbach Fan wrote in a letter: "I firmly believe, the people are the wellspring of technology, and the public is the main body of science. Ordinary people can accomplish worthwhile contributions and can remedy defects of the larger personalities. Therefore, free rein should be given to the superior motives of ordinary people and their creativity and optimism should not be restricted. This is what the scientific education of China must promote." You can connect these words to many slogans of those years. For example, "The people, and only the people, are the true strength in creating history", "Unite all and unity is strength. Pool the minds and talents of everybody and work tirelessly for rapid progress", etc. In this age, you can still say that many people truly believe that science can be carried out by means of a vigorous mass-scale popular movement much like fighting a war or a conflict.
Like above, many reports of Goldbach Fans tell this sort of story: someone who reads Xu Chi’s reporting is infected by Chen Jingrun's genius, and decides to win honor for his country. It doesn't matter that they have only graduated from middle school. They still want to pluck this grand jewel from the crown of mathematics. This pattern allows us to see that Goldbach Fans' first goal is to win honor for their country and plucking this grand jewel is only the way they use to win honor for their ideals. In reality, they don't care about the significance of Goldbach's Conjecture in mathematics. Science Fans regard their dedication as worthwhile since the realm of science has a comparatively large influence on society and ideological value. Only these areas can satisfy their ideals of glory. Of course, only the areas of science that are easily comprehendible. In summary, science fans should satisfy two conditions: first, having received idealistic education and second, having experienced China's "Scientific Spring" of the 1980s. This is enough to make them devote themselves fully to science as a goal.
Due to the fact that the last group who received such idealistic education was born before 1970, Zhu Haijun, born in 1968, is mainly the lower limit for the age of science fans. In the period following 1980, the foundations of Chinese society experienced a complete revolution. This caused:
1. A less charged atmosphere of idealism in the public language and even in the mainstream ideologies.
2. Economics, law, management, literature, and even some practical engineering rapidly rose in social stature. Science's large importance actually shrank in scope. At this time, the atmosphere which produced large numbers of science fans no longer existed. Even if there are still some idealistic and self-sacrificing individuals, their target is no longer science. Due to similar reasons, an even larger scale of "literature fans" (minjian wenke aihaozhe) appeared in the 1980s, but in the 1990s they rapidly diminished. Now, they are mocked as "Adolescent Literature" (wenke qingnian).
4. The knowledge background of science fans and media misconceptions about scientific activities
Most science fans have not received a standard education in the sciences. How do they understand research then? From where does their knowledge and comprehension of science originate? According to the mass media reports, as well as, their own accounts, there are three main sources of their thinking: Primary and middle school education, self-teaching, and popular science books and the mass media. Due to the Cultural Revolution, many science fans 40 years or older have not even finished middle school. This sort of basic knowledge means that their self-teaching has many large limitations. Thus, science fans' most important path to understanding science is reading popular science books and using the mass media.
"100,000 Why's"14 represents a traditional method with the major goal of popularizing scientific knowledge. It touches little upon the scientific community’s science activities. The mass media also rarely touches on scientists’ actual activities. There are several standard descriptions of science. For example, scientists' classic depiction is wearing a white lab coat, bald, wearing glasses, having a gentle and pleasant demeanor, and appearing as an all-knowing and all-capable grandfatherly figure. They command universal respect, are aloof from common concerns, have their heart and soul dedicated to science, win glory for their country, and also struggle for the well-being of humanity. This style already has many characteristic types15. It became the media and the popular subconscious style of thinking. It also became a staple of popular discourse. Xu Chi’s descriptions of Chen Jingrun conformed to these images. Obviously, these images and the mainstream ideology before the 1980s are similar. They both venerate asceticism and sacrifice. Thus it is significant that science fans mold themselves in accordance with the images from the mass media and popular science. The description of the process of scientific discovery also has a similar type. "Eureka!"16 and "Grinding an iron pestle into a needle" are two of the representative images.
In popular science and mass media, there are many stories of scientific geniuses instantly making a brilliant discovery. Comparatively famous are Newton's apple, Archimedes bathing, Watt's hot water kettle, and Kekulé’s dream. Opposite stories are of the "failure is the mother of success" types, the most common of which is the "666" story which says an inventor experiences 665 failures and at last achieves one success. Madame Curie’s story of smelting pitch to obtain Radium is also this type of story17. These type of stories are in keeping with the folk saying "You only need to exert great effort, and an iron pestle can be ground to a needle" and conform with the ideas of asceticism and sacrifice.
The first type of story simplifies the rich process of scientific discovery into the last step of inspiration and opportunity. It simplifies it into the use of one's brain to create an idea. The second type of story emphasizes the effort model of discovery but ignores the high-level thinking of the original ideas. It transforms the process of discovery into merely simply a matter of technical labor. These two types of simple stories both have misconceptions towards the process of scientific discovery, and even scientific historians question their validity (Ortoli and Witkowski,1998). However, these types of recounts are stories rich with drama and conform with ideological language, so they are rich in inspiration. Thus, these sorts of stories are continuously created, circulated, and have become a part of the public discourse.
In the midst of such public discourse, it is not at all surprising that science fans invoke widespread sympathy and support. A media journalist wrote in an article supportive of Goldbach Fans:
“Mathematician Lu Zhujia said it well after Chen Jingrun died: Goldbach’s Conjecture will probably not be solved without the use of new methods. Therefore, some complicated questions are made easier by new ways of thinking. Are not the so-called ‘new methods’ just new ways of thinking? We should at least be interested when people try to employ new ways of thinking to solve this question.”(Wang, 2002).
This truly is the "Ground an iron pestle into a needle" or “Eureka!” type of method. The writer believes that the Goldbach Fans thinking has scientific value and therefore many of the Goldbach Fans can stumble upon a correct answer. It is as if Goldbach Fans were a mountain's hidden deposit of resources. This is a "needle in a haystack" view that with just a large effort the answer can be found. It also makes this seem as if it is some kind of treasure hunt--where you must beat the foreigners to dig up the treasure and win honor for your country. Sometimes the media describes science as if it was really like a sports competition--a field where within a short time it is determined who wins or loses and receives admiration.
In this way, popular misconceptions about science and certain ideological backgrounds give rise to a vigorous group of science fans. Asceticism and self-sacrifice provide the ideological value while stories of tireless effort and moments of inspiration provide them with a rational methodology. Science fans, on one hand, year after year "ground the iron pestle" and on the other hand expect an epiphany to descend upon them. It must be pointed out that traditional popular science books view science similarly and even strengthen these misconceptions. Even in this day and age, this sort of popular perception still exists, due to a sort of inertia, because for so long it was reinforced by the mainstream ideology. This can be used by science fans to look upon their own asceticism and self-sacrifice as a sort of idealistic heroism. Many science fans, even in the midst of debate, emphasize the value of the spirit of their work. Scientific research institutions do not want to outright reject them but rather tactfully deflect them. On the other hand, science fans and their sympathizers, often with boldness and assurance, roundly censure the scientific community for attacking the love of science and optimism of the masses.
5. Conclusion
The large-scale phenomenon of science fans is a social question which must attract close attention. Their existence signifies certain barriers between the proper communication of science to the general public. This means that the traditional means of communicating science to the public may have several problems. Even though the atmosphere that produced a large amount of science fans no longer exists, the mass media and the general public still continue to have many misconceptions toward scientific activities. Therefore, it would be beneficial to study this social trend in order to solve this and other related social issues, as well as, draw lessons about how to communicate information on scientific activities to the general public.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This article was translated from Chinese into English by Reginald Smith. All inquiries about the content of the paper should be directed to the author. This paper was originally published in Chinese in Natural Dialectical Research(Ziran Bianzhengfa Yanjiu) 2003, 7 p. 56.
FOOTNOTES
1 Science fans have not in general attracted the attention of the scholarly community. This paper was written using the following data 1)Mass media reports on science fans, 2) the author’s own data collected on science fans, and 3) direct correspondence with science fans.
2 Regarding the difference between science fans and the scientific community the author is postulating a theory and not just engaging in a discussion.
3 Since there is no relevant statistical data, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of science fans. The Mathematics Division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimates there are several thousand Goldbach Fans.
4 Goldbach’s Conjecture is a famous unsolved problem in number theory. In 1742 the Prussian mathematician Christian Goldbach wrote legendary mathematician Leonhard Euler with the following conjecture “Every even integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of three primes.” Euler later restated it as “Every even integer greater than 4 can be expressed as the sum of two primes.” Euler did this so 1 does not have to be considered a prime number (source: Mathworld; mathworld.wolfram.com).
5 At the Chinese Academy of Sciences' History of the Natural Sciences Division, researcher Song Zhenghai organized a group called "The Earthborn Men" and had a series of lectures. In July 2000, the First National Conference on Questions about Einsteinian Relativity was convened and published its proceedings as Second Thoughts on Relativity . Song Zhenghai was the editor (Earthquake Press, July, 2002) (in Chinese).
6 Among the most famous proposed theories of human evolution was that of Zhu Haijun. He believes that humans walk upright because human ancestors adapted to face-to-face sexual intercourse.
7Giordano Bruno was an Italian monk burned at the stake by the Catholic Church in 1600 for his spiritual beliefs but is falsely believed by many to have been burned for new science, hypothesizing the existence of extraterrestrial life, a view he did hold.
8 Feng Yiquan proposed that the Earth will leave the moon behind. He self-constructed a "philosophical geology" research department on Mount Tang (Tangshan). See South China Weekend 4/7/2000 edition. Article by Liu Xuejin "Feng Yiquan -- One man's 'theory'" (in Chinese)
9 The science fan with highest social level is Huang Wei up to now, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (a legislative advisory committee in the Chinese government composed of both Communist Party members and non-members) and a famous former general of Republic China. He has continuously claimed to have designed a perpetual motion machine. See Fascinating Limits--The Recollections of a War Criminal Administration Bureau Chief 1998:People's Liberation Army Press (in Chinese)
10 Two types of translations of "science hobbyists" have been discussed on the Rainbow Bridge Science Education Forum. A lot of friends on web provided many helpful suggestions and information. The author is grateful for their assistance.
11 On February 1, 2002 the International Astronomical Union's Commission on Minor Planets and Comets gave the name “Ikeya-Zhang” to the comet which was independently discovered by two amateur astronomers, one Chinese (Zhang Daqing) and one Japanese (Kaoru Ikeya). Zhang Daqing is an ordinary laborer in Henan province. He found this comet using a self-constructed 20cm reflector telescope.
12 Daqing, located in Heilongjiang province, is the location of China’s first large oil field. And the persons mentioned above all were heroes in Chinese public media and ideological context from 1950s to early 1980s, who were the models erected by the Chinese Communist Party.
13 Mencius quote translation taken from Hinton, David Mencius Counterpoint Press, 1999
14 The 100,000 Why's was a common children's introductory science textbook in China.
15 Archetype, a conception of psychologist Carl G. Jung.
16 Eureka is not the actual term used in the paper but rather ling ji yi dong which means the sudden fortuitous emergence of a great idea.
17 In reality, the 666 comes from the chemical pesticide C6H6Cl6 commonly known as lindane or benzene hexachloride. The 666 actually had no relation to the number of experiments performed.
REFERENCES
Hao Bolin (2002) “Pseudoscience and Fake Science”, Science (Shanghai), 2. (In Chinese)
Jin Nuo, Hu Pei (2001) “Huangpi Based Old Man Liu Weiping Claims to Prove Goldbach’s Conjecture” Wuhan Morning Daily 3/25 (In Chinese)
Li Daqing (1998) “Goldbach’s Conjecture. Who Wants to Pluck the Crown Jewel?” China Reader’s Journal 4/8 (In Chinese)
Li Daqing (2002) “Goldbach Fans ‘Proofs’ get a Cold Shoulder from Experts. Goldbach’s Theory is Still Not Laid to Rest” Science and Technology Daily 3/29. (In Chinese)
Lu Zhigui (2002) “Liaoning Man Attacks Goldbach’s Conjecture. Old Red Army Officer Sends a Report to the Provincial Governor” Liaoning TV Guide 3/20 (In Chinese)
Ortoli, Sven and Witkowski, Nicolas (1998) La Baignoire d'Archimède Paris: Seuil. (Chinese version by Beijing University Press in 2000).
Radner, Daisie & Radner, Michael (1982) Science and Unreason, Belmont: Wadsworth.
Tian Song (2000a) “Scientism, Anti-Science, and Pseudoscience” Natural Dialectical Research 9, p.19. (In Chinese)
Tian Song (2000b) “Scientism, Anti-Science, and Pseudoscience” Natural Dialectical Research 9, p. 15. (In Chinese)
Tian Song (2000c) “I see Science Fans” Science Times 3/27 B3. (In Chinese)
Wang Qianrong (2002) “Goldbach’s Conjecture: Famous Expert Suggests Avoiding ‘Wild Guesses’” Beijing Youth Daily 2/4 (In Chinese)
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