Chapter 79
Generally speaking, the retraction of a published paper is a very disgraceful event for the author. It not only affects their reputation but can also have irreparable consequences for their academic career.
Ji Zhixing is now well-known in China and even the world. The retraction of his paper quickly sparked heated discussions.
"As expected, it's true that different fields are like different worlds. He's clearly working on photonic chips, but he insists on making a fuss about quantum chips. He's just making a fool of himself!"
"Ji Zhixing's recent actions are truly speechless. His refusal to collaborate with Academician Fan shows his selfishness; his audacity in writing a paper on quantum chips, a field he is not even an expert in, shows his arrogance. Sigh, I used to have a very good impression of him, why can't he cherish his reputation!"
"His academic genius aura is getting weaker and weaker. I used to encourage my students to follow his example, but now I don't know what to say about him."
Does anyone know why the paper was retracted?
"It's nothing more than data fabrication and plagiarism."
"Not necessarily. SCI papers are retracted mainly due to three reasons: 'academic fraud,' 'academic error,' and 'other.'"
"I just found it on the retraction watch website. I'll post a screenshot later."
Retraction Watch is an international website founded in 2010 by scholars Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky. It mainly reports on the retraction situation of major journals and provides continuous reporting and analysis on academic retractions.
The retraction of Ji Zhixing's paper can be analyzed in detail on the retraction watch website.
The paper attracted attention from all sides as soon as it was published because the functions and precision of the quantum chip described in the paper were so outstanding that they were almost on par with the world's most advanced quantum chip technology.
Therefore, all the major quantum chip research teams have thoroughly studied this paper.
After thorough experimentation and verification, the problem was quickly discovered.
The first to speak out was Professor Abel from Harvard.
He stated that Ji Zhixing's theory in his paper was interesting, but unfortunately, the foundation upon which it was built was flawed. With a crooked foundation, no matter how much you build, it will only be a tower built on sand, a castle in the air. Finally, he regretfully reminded Ji Zhixing to be more careful in selecting his citations.
The second to comment was Gugo's quantum computing team.
Last year, this team launched the Bristlecone quantum chip with 72 qubits, achieving an excellent result of 0.1% error rate for a single qubit gate and 0.6% error rate for a two-qubit gate, which can be said to give them absolute quantum supremacy in the world.
However, the quantum chip's two-qubit gate control precision described in Ji Zhixing's paper was as high as 99.67%, and the 0.33% error rate was a huge blow to the team! After frantically repeating the experiments in the paper, they found that it was just a false alarm.
The team leader, whose efforts had been in vain, bluntly pointed out all the flaws in the quantum chip technology cited in Ji Zhixing's paper.
One after another, authoritative quantum chip research teams pointed out the problems with this paper, and only then did Science editor-in-chief Taylor feel relieved enough to issue a retraction notice.
Screenshots of reports and analyses from the retraction watch website were wildly shared by netizens and quickly spread across various social media apps. Initially, many people responded with quick mockery and ridicule, criticizing Ji Zhixing for bringing shame upon himself internationally.
However, people quickly realized what was happening.
"So, if I understand correctly, the biggest problem with Ji Zhixing's paper is that it cited an incorrect technique from another paper?"
"Although I don't understand the technical jargon, the viewpoints of several quantum chip teams seem to be very similar. So, is there really a problem with a certain paper?"
"If a certain paper really has a problem, then what about You Know Who's so-called quantum chip..."
"Can the person upstairs be a little clearer? Is there any need to be so secretive? It's just that Fan Ji'an's quantum chip technology is being widely questioned."
"The public opinion atmosphere was so crazy a while ago that it made people afraid to speak."
"Is 'Beichen-1' real or fake?!"
Soon, the hashtag "'Beichen-1' authenticity is questionable" became a trending topic, attracting countless netizens to the search.
After a while, the topic's popularity dropped unusually quickly. Then, slowly, it continued to rise. After several ups and downs, it finally remained high on the trending search list, followed by a bright red "hot" mark.
Fan Ji'an roared in his office, "How can it not be taken down! Didn't the trending topic about the last published paper get taken down?"
He noticed Ji Zhixing's paper as soon as it was published in Science. He initially thought it would be about the latest developments in photonic chips, but it turned out to be related to quantum chips.
He had a bad feeling as soon as he saw the title, and he broke out in a cold sweat after reading the paper! Ji Zhixing's paper had ulterior motives; it was actually aimed at his quantum chip!
Fan Ji'an knew perfectly well how much of "Beichen-1" was real and how much was fake.
In fact, given another five to ten years, the real "Beichen-1" will most likely be unveiled. However, the photonic chip project team has emerged as a dark horse, and if allowed to develop unchecked, it will seriously challenge his authority in China's chip industry and erode his interests!
He couldn't tolerate any dissenting voices in the field he had controlled for ten years!
Therefore, he meticulously designed a logically consistent technical solution through data grafting and technical disguise, which directly accelerated the research progress and obtained his ideal "Beichen-1".
He dared to take such a risk because, given the level of expertise among domestic chip experts, it wouldn't be easy for them to spot the flaws in his technical solution. And deceiving the bureaucrats would be even simpler, since there's a natural divide between administration and technology.
Furthermore, he has mentored hundreds of PhDs, most of whom hold key positions in the semiconductor industry. Their deeply entrenched interests mean they neither dare nor would stand against him, and they can band together to speak out for him when dissenting opinions arise.
However, he never expected that Ji Zhixing would forcibly expose his technical solution to the international community by citing literature!
In the domestic chip industry, he wields absolute power. But internationally, he is practically helpless, and can only hope that renowned quantum chip teams will overlook this paper.
However, things didn't go as planned, and it eventually exploded.
The only way forward is to stop the spread of this information within the country as soon as possible in order to create more room for maneuver.
Fan Ji'an said firmly, "Tell the people at Tongming Media that I'll give them whatever money they ask for, as long as they can block this information online!"
Money makes the world go round; if the trending topic could be taken down last time, it certainly can this time!
"But Tongming Media says they've tried many times, but the spontaneous buzz has remained..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the agitated Fan Ji'an: "No matter what method you use, now! Immediately! You must! Block the news!" He slammed his fist on the table and roared.
The sounds of "bang! bang! bang" echoed outside the office, and the people at the Quantum Information Research and Development Center looked at each other in bewilderment.
Not everyone in the R&D center had access to Fan Ji'an's elaborate scheme, but Fan Ji'an's unusual behavior had led everyone to suspect that the truth was pretty close.
For a time, everyone at the Quantum Information Research and Development Center was in a state of panic.
On that day, major apps were all attacked by hackers and paralyzed for several hours before being restored by the unfortunate technicians. Although information related to the retraction of Ji Zhixing's paper disappeared on an unusually large scale, it quickly spread everywhere due to spontaneous discussions, with almost everyone discussing the biggest reason for the retraction of Ji Zhixing's paper—Fan Ji'an's quantum chip technology.
Fan Ji'an's lofty status in the hearts of the people was built on the success of "Beichen-1". When this foundation was shaken, Fan Ji'an's scientific research throne began to crumble.
Although some people still resolutely defend him, more and more people are gradually waking up from the collective fanaticism and returning to reason.
Online, the call to investigate the truth has become the mainstream.
"Science goes hand in hand with truth, but it is also inevitably accompanied by scandals." In fact, scientific fraud is nothing new. However, there is a natural barrier between academia and the general public. Under normal circumstances, the general public does not pay much attention to the ups and downs in academia.
Sometimes, after scientific research fraud is exposed, the main person responsible simply punishes himself with a few drinks and doesn't even receive any serious punishment—Chen Jin, who deceived the world with "Hanxin" back then, never received any criminal punishment.
This time, however, things are different. Fan Ji'an made a high-profile announcement of the success of the quantum chip, garnering nationwide public support. Now, those who manipulated public opinion have finally faced a backlash, with calls for a thorough investigation growing louder and louder, and related topics have firmly held the top spot on the trending searches for several days.
Public opinion was in an uproar, and soon the national level dispatched a joint investigation team to the Quantum Information Research Center to investigate the authenticity of "Beichen-1".
The investigation team drew on experts from major quantum chip research institutions across China, and also invited psychologists and criminal investigation professionals.
This personnel arrangement and subsequent measures demonstrated the country's determination to thoroughly investigate the matter. Public opinion gradually calmed down, and everyone awaited the final investigation results.
Over the next month, lies and truth clashed, power and fairness fought, and finally the investigation team solemnly announced the results: "Beichen-1" had a fatal technical defect.
The news caused a huge uproar! Within just a few minutes, tens of thousands of comments appeared under the related keywords.
"Holy crap, another 'Hanxin' chip! Back then, Chen Jin 'only' burned through 1.1 billion yuan, how much the hell did Fan Ji'an burn through?!"
"All that support I gave him before was a lie!"
"It's not entirely fake, it just doesn't reach the level of high-end chips that Fan Ji'an previously claimed."
"That's still fake! What we lack and want is high-end chips, okay!"
"I've wanted to say this for a long time. Fan Ji'an is using the name of chip manufacturing to grab land and suppress other research institutions in the same field. If he could really produce high-end chip technology, that would be one thing, but it turns out to be fraud."
"It's terrifying to think about. The legacy of the 'Hanxin' chip scandal still haunts us today. If 'Beichen-1' hadn't been exposed so early, what kind of desperate situation would China's chip development have faced?"
"It can only be said that thanks to Ji Zhixing's paper, the clues were accidentally uncovered."
"I have a feeling that Ji Zhixing did it on purpose. Otherwise, why would someone who works on photonic chips write a paper about quantum chips and specifically cite Fan Ji'an's work?"
"It was definitely intentional. His paper analysis forum immediately put all the expert opinions refuting his paper on the homepage, hoping that everyone would see them."
"To be honest, family scandals should not be aired in public. Making a scene and letting international friends laugh at us would damage the country's image. Ji Zhixing really doesn't know any manners."
"If the national government were to actually bring Fan Ji'an's quantum chip technology to the negotiating table, only to have it exposed by experts on the spot, then it would truly be a complete loss of face and substance!"
The survey results also provoked anti-China elements to jump up and down in anger.
"Heh! China is still 800 years away from developing its own high-end chips!"
"If even top experts are openly fabricating data, how can this country possibly be any better?"
For a time, the anti-China faction was overjoyed, and their voices of pessimism were heard everywhere.
However, their celebration didn't last long before they were silenced by a piece of news.
"Domestically developed photonic chip has been successfully developed and will soon go into production!"
A note from the author:
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