Chapter 102
After sending the system intelligence away, Ji Zhixing spent a long time alone in the system space, feeling melancholy, before he could adjust his mood.
The next day, he spent some time writing his application for academician qualification, and naturally passed the review without any doubt.
While the trending topic of Ji Zhixing being awarded the title of academician is still on the list, a new term has emerged that rivals it: Ji Zhixing won the State Supreme Science and Technology Award!
The entry leads directly to a State Council document forwarded by People's Daily:
"After review by the National Science and Technology Awards Review Committee, approval by the National Science and Technology Awards Committee and review by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and approval by the State Council and submission to the President of the People's Republic of China for signature, Academician Ji Zhixing was awarded the State Supreme Science and Technology Award."
"Wow! The State Top Science and Technology Award! That's great, my idol has won another award!"
"Excuse my ignorance, but is this award really that prestigious?"
"That's impressive. This is the highest-level award among China's five national-level science and technology awards."
"Isn't Ji Zhixing too young? I think the previous laureates were all scientists in their seventies or eighties."
"This award isn't based on age. It's awarded to scientific and technological workers who have made significant breakthroughs at the forefront of contemporary science and technology, or who have made outstanding contributions to the development of science and technology, creating enormous economic or social benefits in scientific and technological innovation, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and the industrialization of high technology." In what way does Ji Zhixing not meet the requirements? He is entirely deserving of the award!
"Simply like me, all I want to know is if there's a prize?"
"Yes, 8 million!"
"Even though I've said it a million times, I'll say it again: doing scientific research is the most lucrative thing!"
"Academician Ji is really good at trending on social media, and what's rare is that the people also really like him."
"His skills are top-notch, and everyone is hoping he'll trend on social media more often. He's definitely going to trend the day after tomorrow."
"What's wrong?"
"If the Nobel Prize isn't awarded to him this time, I'll start to doubt the credibility of the Nobel Prize."
"That's right. The year he developed the photonic chip, I thought there was a 99% chance he would win the Nobel Prize in Physics. I never expected it to go to Professor Bayer from the United States who was working on controlled nuclear fusion, even though the technology wasn't mature at the time. I'm so confused. I don't know what the judging criteria were."
"It should be a sure thing for him this year. I've seen many casinos abroad have already started betting on the Nobel Prize, and the odds for Academician Ji are quite low, which means everyone is optimistic that he will win the prize this year."
In fact, almost everyone believes that this year's Nobel Prize in Physics will be awarded to Ji Zhixing without any suspense. This is because vacuum energy is simply a groundbreaking innovation that transcends dimensions, the kind that could usher in a technological revolution for humanity!
In 1785, Watt improved the steam engine, marking the arrival of the "Steam Age" of the First Industrial Revolution.
More than 100 years later, the invention and widespread application of electricity marked another major leap in the development of social productivity, and mankind entered the "Electrical Age" and began the Second Industrial Revolution.
The Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions, however, involved many fields and were evenly matched, so they did not have obvious markers.
The Third Industrial Revolution encompasses numerous fields, including information technology, new materials technology, biotechnology, space technology, and marine technology, ushering humanity into the "Information Age."
The Fourth Industrial Revolution involves many fields such as artificial intelligence, molecular engineering, virtual reality, and quantum information technology, ushering in the "intelligent era" for humankind.
The fifth industrial revolution is considered to be the "space age," and controlled nuclear fusion technology was once thought to be the most likely to play a major role in the "space age."
In fact, the United States released its National Space Policy and Space Energy Strategy in July, providing policy support for the future establishment of permanent facilities on the moon and exploration of Mars.
However, while controlled nuclear fusion can rapidly advance human civilization to a Type II civilization, it is not enough to support humanity's journey out of the Milky Way, whereas vacuum energy can!
With the emergence of vacuum energy, controlled nuclear fusion has had to take a back seat. Unlike the cluster-like development patterns of the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions, vacuum energy is an overwhelming force, the absolute and sole leader!
So even Ji Zhixing's haters could only curse in their hearts that this kid was really lucky to win the Nobel Prize in his twenties! All the news media had prepared press releases, just waiting to release them as soon as the Nobel Prize list was announced—some even rushed to release them.
As expected, Ji Zhixing was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics this year.
Numerous high-end brands have been contacting the Zhixing Research Institute, eager to sponsor Ji Zhixing's outfits for the Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet.
“Reject them all. I don’t plan to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony,” Ji Zhixing said to Zhu Ren.
Zhu Rendu wondered if there was something wrong with his ears: "W-why?!"
"The award ceremony for the State Top Science and Technology Award is on December 9th, and the Nobel Prize is on December 10th. Considering the time difference between China and Sweden, I cannot attend both."
When the two conflict in terms of timing, he would naturally choose the State Top Science and Technology Award.
The news caused a huge uproar.
A foreign journalist questioned Ji Zhixing: "Do you think China's highest national science and technology award is more important than the Nobel Prize?"
Ji Zhixing answered decisively, "Of course!"
Ji Zhixing's answer sparked widespread discussion. Some criticized him for being arrogant and disregarding even the Nobel Prize; others agreed with his choice, arguing that the Nobel Prize should not be overly glorified while local awards are ignored.
This kind of discussion is exactly what Ji Zhixing hoped for.
Many Chinese people have a Nobel Prize complex, as if only by winning the Nobel Prize can China's achievements in science, culture and other fields be considered world-class.
Indeed, no country can completely ignore the value and significance of the Nobel Prize. However, a nation's scientific and cultural level, and a people's self-confidence and self-reliance, should not be judged or established by an award within a Western discourse system. Especially when the West constantly promotes its political ideals and ideologies, the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature have deviated from the original purpose of the Nobel Prize and exhibit certain ideological tendencies.
Therefore, just as building local academic journals is essential to gaining global academic influence, it is time to change this mentality of idolizing foreign awards such as the Nobel Prize as the country's scientific and technological strength grows stronger.
Ji Zhixing wanted to use his choices to highlight authoritative local awards, hoping that his influence could become a catalyst to change the Chinese people's mentality of chasing foreign awards.
More and more people are joining the discussion on "evaluation criteria," and more and more people are realizing that China has become a leader in many fields and should set its own evaluation criteria, instead of always being a follower struggling within the framework of others.
Of course, reason is reason, and sentiment is sentiment; many people still regret that Ji Zhixing could not attend the world-renowned Nobel Prize award ceremony. Some persistent critics even mocked Ji Zhixing for showing such contempt for the Nobel Prize, arguing that the Nobel Prize wouldn't send him a medal, certificate, or prize money.
However, things took an unexpected turn. The Swedish Prime Minister suddenly announced a visit to China, bringing with him Ji Zhixing's Nobel Prize medal, certificate, and prize money. He then held an award ceremony at the Swedish Embassy in China, presenting the award to Ji Zhixing on behalf of the King of Sweden.
This overly proactive gesture of goodwill has drawn criticism from many Western media outlets.
"Others are proud to receive the Nobel Prize, but it is clear that the Nobel Prize is proud to accept Ji Zhixing's award."
"This is a wise move. In the year that photonic chips were invented, the final winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics were already widely questioned. If Ji Zhixing misses out on the Nobel Prize in Physics again this year, then no matter what the reason, the fairness and authority of the Nobel Prize will become a joke."
"We should see that the Swedish Prime Minister clearly took the opportunity to visit China with political motives, namely, to seek vacuum energy support from China."
Two other sentences were reprinted by Chinese media and circulated most widely.
One sentence is an undeniable praise from the academic community:
"The 21st century has many shining stars among humanity, and Ji Zhixing is the most dazzling one." — World Science Daily
There's another comment from the Eagle media, which is hard to tell whether it's resignation or bitterness:
"What's the point of setting up technological barriers against China? Ji Zhixing has already bulldozed off a completely different track."
Since the advent of vacuum energy, the United States has dropped all pretense. With controlled nuclear fusion not yet ready for practical application, the United States and many other European countries have postponed their coal, oil, and gas phase-out and emission reduction processes. The GECO organization, announced at the World Energy Congress, is now practically defunct.
This shameful and disgraceful behavior by the West has caused it to lose much of its credibility both domestically and internationally. Now, the moral high ground for environmental protection has completely shifted to the other side. Foreign Minister Qi has repeatedly and severely criticized some countries for reverting to their old ways of climate policy on various occasions, urging these countries to overcome their difficulties as soon as possible and return to the correct path of low-carbon and green development.
Following the award ceremony for the State Supreme Science and Technology Award, the Vacuum Energy Research Institute was solemnly established. When news broke that Ji Zhixing had declined the position of director, the entire nation knew that Academician Ji Zhixing had once again "favored the new and disliked the old."
Most people who are fickle and easily bored would be labeled as "unreliable" or "scummy"! But Ji Zhixing's fickleness is welcomed by the people of the whole country, because it means that he will create another miracle.
What Ji Zhixing will research next and which field he will target has sparked heated discussions online.
"Let's do the math: the Navier-Stokes equations are in the field of mathematics, photonic chips are in the field of computer science, and vacuum energy is in the field of physics. So I think Academician Ji probably wants to switch to a different field of research."
"Could it be that materials science also has great potential in the field of chemistry?"
Is it possible to make a complete 180-degree turn and switch from science to humanities?
"Maybe it's in the field of education. I've watched all his paper analysis courses, and they're really good!"
"Be bolder! Look at Academician Ji's audacity in fleecing people; he might just break free from Earth and venture into space!"
"It's possible! With vacuum energy, we won't need to worry about energy reserves in space. A lunar base is within reach, and the basic conditions for spaceships and interstellar travel have been met."
"Wow, maybe I'll witness humanity's civilization leap directly to the planetary level in my lifetime!"
The discussion became increasingly rambling, and the entire nation awaited the answer.
People's Daily invited Ji Zhixing for an interview, and Ji Zhixing agreed.
Facing the reporter's questions, Ji Zhixing gazed into the distance: "It can be said that my past life and my present life have been completely changed by knowledge..."
Although the reporter was puzzled as to why Ji Zhixing divided life into two stages, he continued to listen attentively.
"Knowledge changes destiny! I have an old friend who dedicated his later years to spreading the flame of knowledge. So, I want to continue his will, so that all those who study hard can have a bright future and use the knowledge they acquire to help more people."
Ji Zhixing withdrew his contemplative gaze and smiled brightly: "My research goal for the next stage is—learning systems!"
A note from the author:
①It begins with the learning system and ends with the learning system. That concludes the main text! There will be about four or five bonus chapters, updated tomorrow at 6 PM. Some chapters may be a bit fragmented, so please check the table of contents for summaries first, and subscribe only if you're interested.
② Refer to the entry for a description of the State Supreme Science and Technology Award.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
