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发帖数: 17532 | 1 看着还挺reasonable啊，不过老蒲让千老这么拼命，岂不是
断了他们活动心眼做码工的路？
发信人: CogNeu (cloudwater), 信区: Biology
标 题: Letter from Mu-Ming Poo
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon Sep 24 11:50:11 2007)
Permission:
CogNeu: You have my permission to post my reply letter to you on the web if
you wish to do so.
MM Poo
Letter:
Dear CogNeu:
Thank you for your inquiry on the authenticity of a letter I wrote in 2001 (
to my lab members at Berkeley). Yes, I wrote the letter (in English),
although the Chinese commentaries and quotes supposedly referring to the
letter were often inaccurate interpretation and sometimes outright
distortion of the content of the letter. Despite the fact that this was a
private letter that should not be posted in the internet and that it was
clearly a "politically incorrect" letter, I do not regret that I had written
it. In this letter I had stated clear my personal belief (which I still
hold) on what a beginning researcher should behave in the laboratory, in
order to be competitive in this tough world. In any case, this letter had
stimulated some useful discussions.
An important point I intended to convey is the intensity of efforts required
for a begining researcher to achieve success. The exact number of hours one
puts into the work each day is not as important as the extent one's heart
and mind are engaged in the research task at hand. The interest and devotion
to science are tightly coupled. Few of us are born with intense interest in
science. Our interest grows when we are able to enjoy the reward of our
research (the joy of finding things out, the feeling of personal
accomplishment, and other more practical benefits). Self discipline in
devoting one's effect in the task at hand is important for the beginner,
because the resulting success provides the critical positive feedback one
needs to embark on a career in science.
A final note to add. Since the letter was written, many of my lab members at
Berkeley did not fulfill my requirements. I have, however, continued to
provide my support to them without asking any one to leave my laboratory (
although one student did quit volunterily). Some of them had done quite well
without abiding to my rules, and others could have done better if they took
my advice more seriously. There are now quite a number of people who went
through my laboratory as students or postdocs. If you are interested, you
can always ask them directly about their expeience in my laboratory. |
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