I would like to thank President Xu for inviting me to speak in this event. Today I would like to share three words with the incoming students: inspiration, aspiration, ambition.
They represent three levels of work or scholarship. Inspiration is usually associated with something more spiritual. So I use blue color to represent it. Aspiration is a positive aim one strives for. It is more secular or pragmatic, so I use green color to represent it. Ambition is a purely secular term. It can manifest in a positive or negative way. If it has a utilitarian aim, I will consider it as ambition with negative energy. I will use three examples to illustrate them.
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick proposed a double helix structure for DNA based on some experimental work by Maurice Wilkins and his colleagues. It laid the foundation for modern molecular biology. The three received Nobel Prize in 1962. It was both an inspiration and aspiration because of its original and unprecedented scientific insight and breakthrough. However, in the course of the discovery, W&C also showed a negative side of ambition. They initially did not acknowledge the crucial experimental work by Rosalind Franklin, who worked in Wilkins’ lab. Watson also revealed his patronizing attitude toward woman scientists in his famous memoir.
Wang Hong is a Chinese mathematician working in US and France. She solved the famous Kakeya conjecture and received a Fields Medal this year. It was an inspiration because of the intricate and creative proofs. It was also an act of aspiration because she won the race to solve a famous and more than 100-year old conjecture. However, less known about Wang is that her case was an antithesis of ambition. She was not a stereo type top student. She was not even an international math Olympian. In Peking U math, she was considered to be a "小透明",an English translation would be “she was a no-body”.
The third example is an ultimate form of inspiration, aspiration and ambition all in one. It was Chairman Mao’s decision to enter Korean War. Historical records suggest that there were reservations and oppositions from Mao’s colleagues because of the high risk and severe consequences. Yet Mao made a decision to enter the war and history judged him to be right. I use the Chinese phrase "独排众议" to describe this bold and far-sighted decision. First, it was an inspirational act. It was Mao’s incredible insight and judgment. Mao was a strategic and tactical genius. Imagine if modern AI were asked for suggestions. It would have decisively recommended against it based on the data available on both sides. But AI, no matter how much computing power it has, does not have the insight and judgment comparable to Mao’s ingenuity. AI would have failed completely in this case. It was also an act of aspiration because of its strategic aim to fend off the attacks before they reached Yalu River. And finally It was a positive energy ambition because it was a heroic act to defend the motherland.
Let me conclude my talk by suggesting that you can use the lens of inspiration, aspiration and ambition in planning and judging your work and study. Thank you very much for your attendance.