Chapter 785: Song Yi's Choice!

"Elder Brother Yi!" Fang Ziye pulled the car over, rolled down the window, and seeing Song Yi looking down at his phone, called out.

Song Yi responded and looked over; dressed in a long down jacket, his whole bearing appeared restrained and clean — basically no one could tell he was Tongji Hospital's "quality PhD."

Song Yi put down his phone, stepped over, and after opening the passenger door said, "Fang Ziye, you're doing well for yourself now!"

"I haven't even graduated with my PhD, yet you've got your car and house all sorted."

"Other people probably wouldn't believe we're from the same class." Song Yi remarked with worldly sentiment.

"I just got lucky, Elder Brother Yi — you didn't need to worry about cars and houses from the start anyway!" Fang Ziye replied with a laugh.

"Elder Brother Yi, what do you want to eat?"

Song Yi was a Han City local; his family's finances seemed average for Han City, but compared to most people they were still pretty good.

Aside from not buying Song Yi a top-tier luxury home, they'd also picked out an apartment near Tongji Hospital for him.

Song Yi had planned ahead: "It's this late, let's just eat barbecue nearby? I checked two places, reviews are both decent."

"I'll navigate for you; of course if Industry Brother you know this area well, you can just take me there."

"Let me see the two you picked first." Fang Ziye looked at Song Yi's phone.

"This one then; I've ordered from this place before, the flavor's quite good……"

"Elder Brother Yi, your PhD should be finished by now, right?"

The year Fang Ziye graduated was the two's first PhD year; Fang Ziye even served as Chief Resident for half a year, went to Enshi for nearly a year — reckoning it, Song Yi is already a third-year PhD student now.

"Defense is done, graduating this June, one year later than you."

"Don't know what to do recently, so I thought I'd ask Master to apply to follow you, Industry Brother, and learn up close for a while." Song Yi had built his defensive stake in advance.

Song Yi has already graduated early; presumably his work contract is already signed.

Fang Ziye wasn't surprised — after all there's talk that Song Yi might take First Prize in the Provincial Young Physician Competition right now.

That kind of First Prize is usually the private preserve of the province's top attending physicians, deputy directors, and associate professors.

For Song Yi to achieve this at his age, Tongji Hospital won't turn a blind eye.

Plus, Song Yi's research accumulation is already top-tier; nothing can bottleneck him in any aspect.

"Staying in Professor Duan's team is great — talent abounds, Senior Brothers are all very capable, lots of good talent too." Fang Ziye nodded, starting the car while endorsing Song Yi's choice.

Hearing this, Song Yi relaxed his shoulder joints and sighed: "Ah… staying with Master is fine, but there are just too many excellent teachers; most of our time is spent trying hard to integrate into the team."

"Our own ideas, if they're not exceptionally hardcore, have very little room to be exercised."

"It was like that in Jingdu, and it's the same with Teacher Duan here."

Song Yi turned his head to look at Fang Ziye: "Industry Brother, I'm only telling you this — don't turn around and go snitching……"

These two sentences from Song Yi made Fang Ziye's thoughts instantly liven.

Song Yi finished his Master's at Jingdu University Affiliated Third Hospital, then wanted to return to Han City for his PhD; his first choice was Zhongnan Hospital.

Outside rumor has it Song Yi's performance at Third Hospital was actually mediocre, so his PhD promotion "failed."

In reality it was so — if Song Yi were truly outstanding enough to make skin and hair turn purple with envy, his Master's supervisor wouldn't have let him leave.

And Song Yi's graduate supervisor was friends with Professor Duan Hong, yet Song Yi didn't make Tongji Hospital his first choice either, but settled for second best and sought out Professor Deng Yong.

"Elder Brother Yi has always wanted to do something of his own? Just never had the chance?" Fang Ziye probed.

"What snitching could I do? Even if I told Professor Duan the exact words right now, Teacher Duan would think I'm playing some counter-espionage scheme, deliberately disparaging you."

In an especially large team, if you yourself aren't outstanding to a certain degree — able to leapfrog challenges while very young — your ideas are hard for the research group to adopt.

Without adoption, you can only merge into others' projects and become a "helper"!

This is a very normal phenomenon; even outstanding talents like Lan Tianluo and Jie Han, now under Fang Ziye, can only avoid him and do small projects.

On major project direction choices, they simply can't compete with Fang Ziye.

If right now Fang Ziye's student Hu Qingyuan has his own ideas, but after he voices them Fang Ziye will most likely assess his thinking as inferior to doing well on existing projects.

Integrating into the research group this way, the returns in results will definitely be higher than Hu Qingyuan going it alone.

The former Song Yi and the current Hu Qingyuan occupy the same ecological niche.

"Actually I'm quite lost right now too." Song Yi shook his head, tone hesitant.

"At first I was pretty confident, felt I should do my own thing."

"But my Senior Brothers, my teachers all said the projects I want to do aren't very meaningful; the time and energy cost invested is disproportionate to the output."

"Better to just honestly help in the team than get some low-quality breakthroughs."

"The more I integrated into the research group, the more I agreed with this view."

"After integrating into the team, the workload and output efficiency are truly much higher than me blindly puzzling on my own……"

"But if that's the case, my earlier choice to return to Han City seems wasted."

Song Yi didn't arrogantly explain his "ambition" back then, just very calmly reviewed the past.

Actually think carefully and it's clear: Song Yi differs from his own student Tian Yao.

Tian Yao couldn't stay for a PhD, but Song Yi is different — his research output is enough, and he can pass the "specialty operation" special assessment for PhDs at Zhongnan Hospital and Tongji Hospital Trauma Surgery.

With such ability, if he couldn't even get into a PhD at Beijing Third Hospital, then Beijing Third Hospital Trauma Surgery's overall level would have long ascended above any other domestic hospital.

In fact, even at Jishuitan Hospital, the proportion of in-house staff who can take the special channel isn't very high.

Just slightly higher than ordinary hospitals; only after long accumulation and precipitation did today's deep foundation form.

Not just research foundation, but also manpower foundation and inheritance foundation.

Foundation is a good thing — it lets you have no worries for the future.

"Elder Brother Yi, when you came to our hospital for your PhD before, you valued not our small competition, but our research atmosphere, not so involuted??" Fang Ziye picked a somewhat grating point and asked bluntly.

Song Yi didn't hide it: "That was before; today's Zhongnan Hospital is different from the old Zhongnan Hospital."

"Fang Ziye, let's not bring up the past……"

"Good!" Fang Ziye nodded, and asked no further.

Everyone is a free agent; as long as one is a person, they have their own thoughts and ideas, their own choices and preferences.

Take his own student Hu Qingyuan, for instance — he can like Chen Xixian; of course he also knows he probably stands little chance of being with Chen Xixian; his liking for Chen Xixian is actually another outward manifestation of Chen Xixian's wealthy family background.

Take Lan Tianluo, for instance — he can also like studying medicine, even if his talent in medicine isn't his strongest suit.

Take Song Yi, for instance — he can also have his own likes; Fang Ziye can too……

After ordering was done, Fang Ziye and Song Yi sat down at a corner of the open-air shared tables, unzipping their down jackets slightly against the cold wind; part of Fang Ziye's voice was blown away, but it still reached Song Yi's ears precisely.

"Elder Brother, speaking honestly, if you weren't joining our team, I actually wanted to ask Professor Duan to bring you over for a while."

"Because I heard it from Liao Jia, and Liao Jia heard it from Nie Mingxian — you have some understanding of biophysics?"

Song Yi's eyes showed a hint of surprise and embarrassment: "Big Brother Nie Mingxian, where did you hear that from?"

"It doesn't really count as understanding — just in my spare time I've read a few related books, merely dabbled a little."

Fang Ziye nodded: "Nie Mingxian saw it back when he was at the Enshi Laboratory."

"Straight talk, no lies — Elder Brother, I really have some things I might need to ask you!"

"Our team is currently working on a spinal cord injury repair project; although we've made some progress, the follow-up projects will definitely still need specialists in two major categories: bioinformation theory and biocybernetics, and sensory and neurobiophysics."

"In these two directions, there aren't any absolute big shots right now… Elder Brother, you get what I mean."

The emerging research direction combining biology and physics hasn't been around for long; few people know of this research direction, let alone excel at it.

So-called experts and big shots are simply those who have gone deeper into a certain field than most people.

In a discipline with few practitioners, if you're the only seedling, then you're the sole inheritor; even if your ability isn't up to par, you're still a big shot.

Biology-related PhDs and professors won't think of meddling in physics-related projects; physics PhDs and professors have their own more important projects and won't think of having a fling with biology.

Under such circumstances, as long as Song Yi has some understanding of this area, it can save a lot of time cost.

To deeply understand one or two research directions, even the smartest person might need half a year or so.

This kind of emerging research direction isn't specifically reflected on Fang Ziye's panel at all; it might even have appeared only after Fang Ziye obtained the panel……

"Biocybernetics focuses on studying the control and communication laws of biological systems themselves; currently the most extensively and deeply studied areas are control and information processes at the organ and physiological system levels, including physiological system analysis and neurocybernetics."

"Current research content mainly concentrates on physiology and neurocybernetics."

"Neurocybernetics studies the information processing problems of the nervous system. Among these, research on neural networks and sensory information processing is the most in-depth. Brain theory and brain models are the central topics of neurocybernetics. Current brain model research mainly simulates specific brain structures, with research on the cerebellum and visual system being the most in-depth."

"But due to the brain's complexity, work in this area is still just the beginning. It might not even count as the beginning yet!"

Song Yi extracted the two topics Fang Ziye mentioned and disassembled them one by one to answer: "Sensory biophysics studies the biophysical mechanisms of the structure and function of sensory organs and the nervous system."

"Main contents include: 1 how humans and animals perceive the surrounding world; 2 how the brain stores information and puts it to use; 3 how to plan and execute actions toward the external environment; 4 how to learn from past experience to change one's own behavior; 5 how to focus on one sensation while excluding others; 6 how thought is produced, how judgments and decisions are made……"

"These are all theory-oriented things."

"Industry Brother, what you're doing is a spinal cord injury repair project; your main focus is the reconnection of information conduction. How to restore function, not why such a function exists, but how to control it."

"So, these two research directions are of no help whatsoever to your project, Industry Brother!"

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, insiders watch the doorway.

A research direction has its inherent themes and focus; Song Yi, with reason and evidence, directly shot down Fang Ziye's previous guesses.

Finding people from these two research directions cannot provide substantive help to your project.

Fang Ziye loved talking with smart people most: "Elder Brother, any ideas?"

"Any ideas you have, just put them out."

Hearing this, Song Yi frowned tightly.

Shook his head: "If I were to choose, if it's to help this project, bioelectromagnetics within biophysics might be of some help."

"This research direction is an emerging interdisciplinary field studying the interaction laws and applications of non-ionizing radiation electromagnetic waves (fields) with biological systems at different levels, mainly involving electromagnetic fields and microwave technology and biology."

"This research direction has roughly three relatively important research contents, which have a certain relevance to your project, Industry Brother."

"1, biological effects of electromagnetic fields, studying what biological systems produce under the action of electromagnetic fields (waves); 2, mechanisms of biological effects, studying why something is produced under the action of electromagnetic fields (waves); 3, bioelectromagnetic dosimetry, studying under what conditions something will be produced."

Song Yi isn't someone who has done these research directions; he's only read books, so naturally it's just understanding.

The answers he gave Fang Ziye at this moment were merely recitations of broad directions from his own knowledge reserve.

If Song Yi had gone deep, then he would definitely have done some basic experiments in depth; only after doing them would he have concrete speaking rights.

Song Yi is just endorsing, giving only theory.

But these things, to Fang Ziye's ears, carried another kind of enlightenment——

"The microwaves or micro-fields produced by microcurrent stimulation can stimulate the regeneration of local nerve channels?" Fang Ziye's eyelids blinked rapidly, as if he had suddenly accommodated something.

At present, knowledge is relatively excessive for the individual; no one can simultaneously master multiple disciplines.

If someone claims to master them, their understanding of mastery differs from yours too.

The knowledge Song Yi gave is all existing, not Song Yi's original innovation, yet these things are precisely Fang Ziye's knowledge blind spots.

Even with his wide reading range, there are still places books cannot reach.

Fang Ziye will definitely have places he cannot read in this lifetime.

As Fang Ziye stared at Song Yi, Song Yi himself got a little panicked first and explained: "Industry Brother, no one else gave me any minor-path tips."

In Song Yi's view, the current situation is "mutual willingness" between him and Fang Ziye!

But in reality, Song Yi knows he's the one coming to take advantage.

The height of Fang Ziye's current project group's project quality, even placed globally, is top-tier series.

If Fang Ziye just puts the word out, people willing to come hang around would be as numerous as cow hairs, and those willing to lose face and privately contact Fang Ziye wanting to come gild their resumes would definitely be many as well.

Otherwise, Song Yi would have contacted Fang Ziye directly and wouldn't have needed his teacher Professor Duan Hong to act as a go-between!

"Not so, Song Yi, you misunderstood; I was just thinking about what you just said."

"Our project group is currently only exploring treatment phenomena!"

"Treatment phenomena can only directly link a certain treatment method as effective, but cannot know why the treatment method is effective."

"If we want to make the treatment principle of the treatment method transparent, we can only start from the basic field."

"We also want to know not just the 'what' but the 'why'!" Fang Ziye's voice was cautious.

Currently, many clinical doctors know the 'what' but not the 'why'.

Although they can still be applied, they can never advance further on the basis of application. This is where the meaning of true scientific research lies.

Scientific research takes many forms; one type is "water papers" — for instance, summarizing and analyzing projects done by others, purely data-driven, assembly-line articles.

Meta-analyses and systematic reviews belong to this category; they are merely armchair strategizing on paper and do not drive much disciplinary development, only secondary analysis on existing data.

What is truly critical and important is the breakthrough in basic theory.

Even compared to genuine substance, even if Fang Ziye developed the phenomenon that spinal cord injury can be treated, it cannot match the substance of Fang Ziye researching the most fundamental principles and logic behind the treatment of spinal cord injury.

This is the most important thing!

Hearing Fang Ziye's explanation, Song Yi instead became composed: "Fang Ziye, your ambitions are not small, are they?"

The spinal cord injury treatment project could let Fang Ziye reach the summit in the domestic research community, even reach the summit in the world's medical research community, yet it might not secure the highest research award.

Generally speaking, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is only awarded to those who have made major contributions and major discoveries in basic research.

Even Yuan Longping's hybrid rice — Yuan Longping was only the culmination of application, not the first advocate of hybridization theory; therefore, regrettably, based on the nature of the Nobel Prize's establishment, the Nobel Prize was not fortunate enough to crown Yuan Lao.

Undeniably, Yuan Lao's achievements enabled hundreds of millions to escape hunger; in terms of contribution, most Nobel laureates' discoveries and contributions still fall short of Yuan Lao.

But this is the research community, the true research community — it does not recognize inexplicable phenomena!

Traditional Chinese Medicine's "stagnation points" also lie here.

Even some figures in the "TCM community" claim modern science belongs to extreme materialism, showing insufficient reverence for certain ignorant phenomena.

……

"Elder Brother, thinking about it is still possible, isn't it? When asleep you have everything; others can dream, why can't I?"

"Thinking of a thing, but not being enslaved by it — that is being awake."

Speaking to this point, Fang Ziye extended a relatively sincere invitation: "Elder Brother, I'll tell you the truth — for me, discovering the phenomenon that spinal cord injury can be treated is a good thing."

"It is also a very happy thing; they can bring gospel to patients, can tangibly make patients stand up."

"So, after I discover the phenomenon and summarize the corresponding relationship, I will apply it to the clinic."

"But I am actually also someone who likes to pursue the root and investigate thoroughly; I not only want to discover this phenomenon, I also want to explain and analyze this phenomenon!"

"These are the two greatest research pillars in my heart."

"One is the occurrence and development of tumors; the other is the current spinal cord injury, and the various functional impairments it entails."

"Elder Brother, are you willing to join my research group and do this thing together with me?"

Fang Ziye emphasized: "Up to now, you are the second member of our research group; I am the first!!"

Hearing this, Song Yi froze for a moment, his tone slightly astonished: "Didn't I hear that many professors at your hospital are following you in doing the spinal cord injury project?"

Fang Ziye shook his head lightly: "Song Yi, I'm calling you this formally."

"Song Yi, you and I are not them; youth is our greatest foundation."

"This matter is not a project that can be developed in five or ten years. Which of the professors in our team can afford to wait?"

"Even if they can afford to live, do they have that much energy?"

"Can they invest that much time?"

"Why must research groups try to be as young as possible? This question, Song Yi, you shouldn't be asking me!!!"

Fang Ziye raised his volume and tone: "Research groups are generation after generation."

"One generation passes, and they are gone… that is the power of time…"

Fang Ziye never denies the achievements and contributions of his predecessors, but neither does he blindly worship them.

Fang Ziye pondered deeply: why did Qiu Zhenghua and Old Professor Gu Yuandong not insert themselves into his bone tumor treatment project.

Not even to just hang their names on it.

Fang Ziye thought about this question for a long time, returning from the most superficial layer of age to the most superficial factor — still the reason of age.

Neither of them is the type to like hanging their names for "fame and reputation"; the achievements they deserved have long since been bestowed upon them.

Since they cannot invest sufficient energy, why add an extra hat of splitting credit to the young people's team?

One must know to serve old age!

The era belonging to their peak has already passed; they inevitably cannot keep up with the steps of the current era.

Even with a very good project, physiologically they may not necessarily endure it.

To speak unpleasantly, if they really joined the team, the project hasn't succeeded and they would already be dead.

Researching spinal cord physiology — how is that something five or twelve years can accomplish?

The most basic occurrence and development patterns of orthopedic tumors, redefining the nature of orthopedic tumors, redefining tumor types and cognition — how many years can that be done in?

How much does Fang Ziye look down on so many peers and predecessors in the whole world?

Tumor treatment has entered a plateau period of forty years!

Forty years, enough to bury a generation.

Even those who were only twenty-year-old brats forty years ago are now over sixty, older than Wang Xinghuan and the others!!!

These forty years of plateau are just such a large wave of people, mediocre all their lives, no one entering the history books, no one able to make the tumor world explode anew……

Hearing Fang Ziye so realistically strip away the greatest drawback of Wang Xinghuan and the others, Song Yi felt a kind of lonely coldness.

Old age.

This is a fact, but such a fact has long been diluted in the annual rings of time; in reality, what people say more often is that the old are still vigorous——

A family with an elder is like having a treasure.

Many universities, many teams, pride themselves on having a few old fossils in their research groups.

Very few people say that having a very young team is a very beautiful thing.

"Fang Ziye…" Song Yi looked at Fang Ziye, his tone slightly trembling.

Fang Ziye said: "The words are a bit crude, the reasoning a bit wild."

"But the most essential things are often this violent; they can't wait, they can't endure, this is the fact."

"The golden era belonging to these old professors was ten years ago; if they were fortunate enough to catch the golden wind vent, they have already obtained the era's benefits; if they didn't catch it, the current wind vent doesn't belong to them either."

"This is reality."

"The basic scientific research circle differs slightly from pure theoretical disciplines like mathematics and physics; in those disciplines, a flash of inspiration might solve a major problem."

"But in applied basic scientific research, besides needing a flash of inspiration, one also needs time for waiting and grinding..."

"By the time we might see them come out, we might also be old, all in our forties or fifties, even sixty-year-old middle-aged men, possibly an old man."

"Elder Brother, we are all growing; thirty and established, forty and unconfused, fifty and knowing destiny."

"The ancients already explained all this clearly long ago; it's just that before we were only reading them, now we are truly experiencing these principles."

"A person's lifetime is very short, so short there aren't several opportunities, and one can't concentrate on several things."

"The research projects I most want to do in this life are only three or four!!!"

"I also don't know how far I can get." Fang Ziye said.

Give people profit, people return profit.

Give people heart, people's hearts might return.

This is the most traditional barter, only the basic form has changed.

Fang Ziye has now also reached the point of being a rare talent; having good teammates, there is no reason to retreat.

Even if Song Yi has already made a choice!

But what does a signed contract matter, the breach of contract penalty I, Fang Ziye, can't afford to pay!

Thinking here, Fang Ziye said again: "Elder Brother, as long as you come, Professor Duan's side, I'll go do the work."

"The breach of contract penalty matter, I'll bear it."

"As long as you come!"

The previous Fang Ziye wasn't that he didn't value Song Yi, just that Fang Ziye himself didn't have the capital to value others.

Fang Ziye himself was half a bucket of water, no money no power, couldn't even solve his own food and clothing, needed to rely on Jiebiao.

He said to Song Yi then, you come hang with me? My future is boundless?

Dreaming of eating farts!

But now, Fang Ziye himself is money, himself represents scientific research power!

Not mentioning far, just in the Central China region, Fang Ziye's current team power is not weaker than any other medical team, counting any discipline, Fang Ziye can all think so!

This isn't exaggeration, but a fact, with factual basis, not drawing cakes.

"Industry Brother, don't be so anxious, let me consider properly." Song Yi replied with a smile.

"This matter is of course not urgent, you need to consider clearly."

"After all, this kind of choice requires even more caution than choosing a job; one step in, and it's not a few years to 'get free'!"

"Rather than you struggling then over whether to run, better to think now whether to enter this pit."

"After all, many recognized as geniuses who ultimately didn't get crowned with the genius title, are all due to insufficient output; in the process of choosing to force into new fields, they hit head broken blood flowing, hit suspecting life..." Fang Ziye's tone leaned serious, helpless.

Not mentioning other fields, just mathematics; geniuses trapped by a major conjecture are countless.

And can't be persuaded; still many rush forward one after another, continue emerging from the genius halo, until a lifetime of silent uselessness.

This is Fang Ziye's first time poaching in the strict sense; Fang Ziye also doesn't know if his methods are suitable.

Seemingly no "drawing cakes", actually drew an even biggest roundest cake; basically some talented ambitious people before such a cake, not much resistance.

Although Fang Ziye self-assesses he has a panel, very good chance to bring Song Yi soaring.

But the confidence expressed now is actually identical to other big shots' 'guarantees', none have especially detailed factual basis.

Selling the future this kind of thing, is forever illusory and intangible.

Choice is also extremely critical and important; one wrong step, a lifetime is muddled.

The process of eating barbecue appeared quite subtle.

Song Yi seemingly didn't make a choice, actually he already made a biased choice, because during eating he intentionally or unintentionally asked how Fang Ziye should reply to Professor Duan Hong.

After all Professor Duan Hong brought him three years, gave him resources, and Senior Brothers gave him help, all real and tangible.

Fang Ziye said: "Song Yi, I know your meaning."

"I also experienced your stage, so I can also provide you a selectable line of thought."

"That is no regrets and feedback! ~"

"For me, Zhongnan Hospital's help to me is not small, counts as gratitude heavy as mountain; many teachers gave me what they could."

"But now, I still choose to send out a part of things, but I have a clear conscience!"

"Because what I retain are all good, what I repay back also barely counts as worthy of their cultivation of me! ~"

"This gratitude thing, once a gratitude-virtue relationship forms, can never be repaid clearly; for example parents, for example Person of Gratitude."

"Since can't repay clearly, then don't think about repaying this concept clearly; having repaid is enough."

"Judge by heart not deed!" Fang Ziye's tone calm.

Because Fang Ziye just does it this way.

The attribution point is still one line: parents' nurturing grace, who can really repay clearly?

(Chapter End)