Chapter 26 Open Brain Index: How to Stimulate Your Imagination

Wang Jian's core technology will change the world. I really didn't expect him to be so amazing. ——Zhang Yaqin In Wang Jian’s resume before he came to Microsoft Asia Research Institute, there were a series of brilliant titles: "Professor", "Doctoral Supervisor", "Director of the Psychology Department of Zhejiang University", "Director of the National Professional Laboratory of Industrial Psychology of Zhejiang University", " China Director of Ergonomics Society", also mentioned, "He has presided over and completed dozens of National Natural Science Foundation of China, National 863 Program, various national ministries and cooperation projects with Motorola and Intel. "In the 5 years after he came to Microsoft, his titles were much less, he was just a chief researcher, and he was also the host of a research group, but he became the inventor of more than a dozen international patents. He is also a "digital pen" The founder and the owner of a photo. The former looks no different from ordinary ballpoint pens, but Zhang Yaqin called it "an epoch-making invention"; the latter filmed him discussing "digital pens" with Bill Gates " scene. On the screen, Bill took off his glasses, biting the eyepiece with his teeth, with a concentrated expression, and carefully looked at this magical little thing in front of him, looking completely fascinated.

The "pen" was rather clumsy and rough to begin with. "I'm too embarrassed to show it to Bill," he laughs.But he showed it to Bill Gates anyway.Bill was intrigued, told him to go on, and said he would be fine with whatever money he needed.Two years later, the "digital pen" took on a new look, and it was once again placed at a meeting of senior executives of Microsoft Corporation. The "smartest and richest man in the world" saw the mystery at a glance, jumped up immediately, and put his feet on his feet in excitement. He took off his shoes, jumped up, and jumped onto the chair.

"The first 25 years of personal computer history started with Bill Gates; the second 25 years may start with Wang Jian." Wang Jian's colleagues said so. Most people take this as a joke, but at least Bill Gates is serious, and Zhang Yaqin, president of Microsoft Research Asia, is also serious.When he talked about "Wang Jian's core technology will change the world, I really didn't expect him to be so great", he didn't mean to be joking at all.And Wang Jian's 8-year-old daughter is also serious. She wrote a few words under the photo: "Uncle Bill and Dad." It seems that the American "Business Weekly" also noticed some important things. Therefore, an interview note about Wang Jian said that Wang Jian "although he does not understand English, he is Bill Gates' technical consultant." The first half of this sentence is wrong, and the second half is not an exaggeration.

In the first two years since the establishment of Microsoft Research Asia, more than 90 papers with world-class standards have been published, more than 70 international patents have been obtained, and at least 12 new technologies have been transferred to the company's products.In the three years since then, they have more than doubled their research staff, published some 800 more papers, received more than 130 international patents, and transferred dozens of new technologies into the company's products.All of this is beyond the imagination of the founders of the institute, Kai-fu Lee and Rick Lester, Bill Gates, and all colleagues in the world.Among the hundreds of successes, Wang Jian's "digital pen" is perhaps one of the most exciting inventions.

When you have a "digital pen", the computer is not what it is now, it is just a pen and a piece of paper.The pen is black and looks a lot like the normal ballpoint pen you have in your hand these days, and the paper is real normal writing paper, which comes either as a single sheet or as a stack.You use this pen to write freely on paper, just like your work habits before the computer age, but anything you write will directly enter a remote computer terminal and become information that the computer can process.Obviously, you are still using a computer, but there is no host computer and monitor, no keyboard and mouse, and no "Windows" software operating system in front of you.

Wang Jian regards his "digital pen" as a treasure, but he doesn't know whether he is engaged in the work of changing history. He just said: "I like to think about things in the sky." Wang Jian grew up by the West Lake in Hangzhou, but he has the face and figure of a northerner. He always has messy hair, wrinkled clothes, a stretched neck, and a bumpy walk. You can't see it on him. Strange brilliance.If the teacher in his boyhood knew what he has achieved today, he would be stunned. In fact, it is hard to say that Wang Jian is the kind of good student in the eyes of teachers from elementary school to middle school.His homework is mediocre, he has never won any rankings, never participated in any competitions, and he has not even entered any good schools, neither "key high schools" nor "prestige universities". Being merged into Zhejiang University made him finally get involved with a "famous school".However, he has never considered himself to have any connection with the glory of this university.

"I'm too embarrassed to tell people which school I'm from." He said with a smile.These words sound modest, but those who know his experience know that it is his uniqueness. The uniqueness that he showed for the first time when he was 15 years old was that he "made a big decision": not to go to "key high school". Entering a "key high school" is the dream of most junior high school students in our country. For some reason, Wang Jian just doesn't have this urge.His grades were originally average and he failed in the first round of examinations for key high schools, but he passed the second round of examinations for expanded enrollment and was admitted to a "key high school".

It was a very memorable day, and the whole family was caught in an emotional ups and downs.The son's ability to enter the "key high school" means that one foot has already entered the university.For the mother, this was a great happy event, but the son suddenly said that he did not want to go to that "key high school".The mother was surprised at first, then disappointed, and then gradually calmed down, deciding to respect her son's choice. "You have to think about it," the mother told her son about the worst prospect. "If you don't get into college in the future, you'll have to go to the countryside."

Wang Jian chose to stay in his original school for high school.This school is just in front of his house, and it is a very common school in Hangzhou.But he likes it: "It has a long history and a good school spirit, but the enrollment rate is not high, and it doesn't feel as good as a 'key school'." Until many years later, Wang Jian could still remember what happened at home that day: "This is the first time I made my own decision, and it was such a big decision. Everyone in the family was a little unhappy. My mother may disagree, but I am especially grateful to her for respecting my choice." But when he thought of this incident in the future, he was still a little scared: "It is hard to imagine now that I will make such a decision. In fact, I am under a lot of pressure. If you can’t get into university, that’s really miserable.”

Looking back at this incident today, it is hard to say what special motives Wang Jian had for his decision, perhaps because he had just With the resumption of the college entrance examination, neither the child nor the parents have realized the significance of "key schools", but it is more likely that the will of the child's character not to "follow the crowd" has taken effect. I seem to be different from other people.When I was studying, I was very relaxed. I didn't care about grades, rankings, etc., whether it was a famous school, or what others thought of my grades, rankings or schools.My grades in primary school were actually quite poor. It was considered good if my mother didn’t scold me after each exam. I still remember one time when my grades were so poor that I had to go to the teacher for a review.I used to be a class president, but it wasn't because of good grades.When I graduated from junior high school, everyone was vying for the "key high school". For the first time, I felt the pressure of grades. After thinking about it later, it was actually possible to get into it.

After attending high school, Wang Jian became obsessed with running newspapers.It was a mimeograph tabloid, and he acted as the editor-in-chief. In fact, he did all the work of reporters, editors, art designers and even printing workers.He collects and edits himself, engraves steel plates, and prints newspapers by himself. He spent a lot of time on this, but he enjoyed it.He spent three years in such a mood.In the few months before the college entrance examination, the teacher analyzed the situation for the students every day, and calculated with his fingers that only seven or eight of the 50 students in the class could be admitted to the university.Looking at the report card, Wang Jian realized that he was not on the teacher's list, because he could only be ranked after the 20th.At that moment, he suddenly understood, "What a serious problem it was not to go to a key high school." When other people encountered this situation, they were either in a state of anxiety or broke their cans, but Wang Jian still went his own way.The college entrance examination is coming, and the students are studying hard day and night to meet the challenge, but he is still inseparable from his tabloid.The teacher said to him: "If you don't stop the newspaper, you will be finished." He thought about it and decided to let his newspaper have a bright ending.So sat down and wrote his last essay with all his heart.His Chinese teacher later said that this was the best article he wrote in his entire middle school. The article tells a true story.One day, he and a few classmates went to climb a mountain outside Hangzhou, which was the highest mountain in the area, remote and desolate.The teenagers climbed to the halfway up the mountain. It was getting dark, and the atmosphere of fear rose around, and it became more and more intense. No one dared to predict what was ahead.Some people began to doubt their own line of travel, and hesitated to move forward.But Wang Jian believed that there was no mistake on the road, and the goal was just ahead, which was a temple on the top of the mountain.So everyone encouraged each other, continued to move forward with confidence, and finally found the temple.Everyone cheered for a while, both excited and tired, fell down on the bamboo leaves all over the ground, and fell asleep with their clothes on.At this moment, a monk appeared in the vast night.The monk handed over an oil lamp, the light was like a bean, igniting a light in the darkness. This is the last story Wang Jian told his middle school classmates.After the lecture, he remembered that his goal now is not the temple on the mountain, but the university.Although he was not on the teacher's ranking list, he felt that the oil lamp was still guiding him ahead. The result of the college entrance examination was better than anyone imagined, and it also exceeded his own estimation.This student who has always been ranked below the 20th place actually got the third place in the class, which is really unprecedented.However, this result is still not good enough, 30 points less than the Zhejiang University score line he hopes to go to.As a result, the Department of Psychology of Hangzhou University admitted him.This is not a key university, but he is still very happy and feels that he is lucky, because many students in the class usually have better academic performance than him, but they have not been admitted to the university. He completed his undergraduate studies at Hangzhou University, and then continued his master's and doctoral studies.He had many chances to change to a better school, once in 1984 when he was taking the postgraduate entrance examination, but he still chose Hangzhou University; again when he was taking the doctoral examination in 1986, he still chose Hangzhou University; It was the third time that he returned to Hangzhou University and became a teacher.After many years, his school merged with Zhejiang University and became a part of Zhejiang University. He finally had the title of a prestigious university and became the director and professor of the Department of Psychology. This is the "brand" that many people desire. , It fell into his hands like a pie falling from the sky.However, as we have described in "Following Wisdom", he did not like the school's expansion and the ethos of doing nothing practical. He gave up his halo of a prestigious university and resigned from the department chair and professor. , the position of a doctoral supervisor, went to Beijing, and worked as an ordinary researcher in Microsoft Research. Many of Wang Jian's behaviors were incomprehensible to others, even the teacher was surprised.For example, most students' scores will fluctuate with the difficulty of the exam, but he is an exception.There was an exam, the questions were very difficult, only three of the 50 students in the class passed, and he got more than 70 points.Not long after, there was another exam. The questions were very easy. Most of the students got more than 90 points, but he still got more than 70 points.The teacher looked at the student a little strangely, and asked him why, but he couldn't explain it himself, he just said: Some people get high scores, but may not learn anything.I believe that what I have learned must be learned. I will not put in my stomach what I have not learned. There will be no such thing.I don't need to prove my ability in the exam at all.There is no need to use rankings to prove that you are better than others. After graduating from university, he wants to apply for graduate school.He is a liberal arts student. According to the examination rules, he must choose a science course.When other candidates encountered this situation, they would definitely choose what they were good at, but he actually chose his worst advanced mathematics. He filled out the registration form, went home and looked at the math reference questions, but he didn't know any of them.This student who has never worried about exams can't help but worry now.With three months left before the exam, he counted the time and decided to take unconventional measures.He borrowed a dormitory from the secretary of the school's general branch, locked the door, and did nothing but do math problems every day. At that time, he was trying to join the party, and the leaders of the party organization came to criticize him, saying, "How can an activist who is trying to join the party shut himself in a small room every day?" But he didn't care about these, and he was still immersed in the world of mathematics. reject any People come to bother him. "I just think I should learn mathematics, otherwise I won't have the opportunity to learn it in the future, and I may want to challenge myself again." He later described his experience in this way. "I didn't expect that I almost destroyed myself." Turns out he didn't ruin his grad school, in fact his test scores were pretty good, probably the best of the class.However, for this desperate move, his admission to the party was really delayed. It seems that this student not only "does not follow the baton of the exam at all", but also "does not follow the standards of most people at all".Such students are extremely rare and easily underestimated.Only one teacher found out that something was wrong, and gradually took a new look at this student. "Wang Jian," the teacher said once, "if he will achieve anything in the future, it will be due to his independence and imagination." To this day, whenever he has a sudden whim or encounters difficulties, Wang Jian can still recall the various episodes of his student days, and he can't help but be filled with emotion: "A person's imagination, creativity and his education The environment is related. I believe that everyone has imagination. Whether it will change with the environment is another matter. But in essence, do you dare to let your brain go there? go?" As this story is written here, we have already made it possible to list the formula for the "Brain Openness Index" as follows: Brain Openness Index = Imagination × Independence It is difficult for most people to get rid of grades, exams, and rankings, but if one day you are really doing what you want to do instead of what others ask you to do, then the exams are not important, and the rankings are not important Well, prestigious universities don't matter anymore. —— Hu Yaohua Hu Yaohua entered the university in a depressed mood.His first choice was Peking University, but unfortunately he did not succeed. The result falls on "Second Choice".At that moment, he felt that a phoenix had fallen into the chicken coop.He never thought that Microsoft would have a strong interest in him. In the last year of college life, Yaohua spent almost all of it in Sigma Building.It was 2001, and he came here as an intern student. The topic was to compile a set of programs, and then synthesize various forms of water on the computer screen.Whether it is a vast sea, or a trickle, or a pool of blue waves wrinkled by the wind, it looks more alive than the real water captured by the camera.This technology was soon used in Microsoft's products and sold all over the world.Today, hundreds of millions of people use his invention every day, and he himself has become an assistant researcher at Microsoft Research Asia. Microsoft Asia Research Institute has a strong "famous university" complex. Most of them are from famous universities, so they pay special attention to academic qualifications and especially favor Ph.D.Hu Yaohua is an exception in this building. He neither has a Ph.D. nor is he from a famous university. He is an undergraduate student in the Department of Electronics of Beijing University of Technology.Although this school is also a key university, those senior high school students who are a little bit better all admire "famous universities" like Microsoft employees. Their goals are Tsinghua University and Peking University, and Beijing University of Technology is largely a loser among them. where to go.Unfortunately, Hu Yaohua is just such a "loser".When he was in elementary school and middle school, his grades in the main courses were not very good, and he could only be considered average in the class. He participated in many mathematics, physics and chemistry competitions, but he never won a prize.He missed again during the college entrance examination, looking at the "Peking University" in his heart and sighing. In the autumn of 1997, Yaohua entered Beijing University of Technology.This school is willing to accept those candidates who have dropped out of Tsinghua and Peking University's volunteers, which is quite a far-sighted action.But when these students step through the school gate, they almost have a sense of shame.Some of them stopped coming because they couldn't bear this feeling. They would rather repeat the exam at home for a year, or try their best to find a way to study abroad.What makes Yaohua different is not that he will never fail, but that he has a different way of thinking about failure. But he still has at least a year of hesitation.He chose the Department of Electrical Engineering, not because he liked it.In fact he likes computers.He fell in love with computers when he was in the first year of junior high school. At that time, the 1990s had already begun. Although computers were not yet popular, they were no longer a rare thing.He joined the computer team in the school, went to the computer room to compile his own program, and then participated in the competition.Later, when he got his own computer, he spent more time on it.This kept him from doing very well in class, but he didn't care. "At that time, I decided that I was interested in computers, but I didn't decide to do this in the future." It is still difficult for this child to choose a major when applying for university.Just like most students who graduated from high school, he has no idea what the various majors in the university do. It’s just that he has been playing computer for 6 years, and he really can’t think of anything new that the university computer course can give him, so he gave it to him. Choose the electronics department yourself. "I was told that among the three fields of computer, automation and electronics, electronics is a more basic major with a wider coverage. I thought this was not bad, so I chose it." But at the beginning of his study, he found that the situation was not right.He is always unable to cheer up, and his mind always goes to other places during class, and his mood suddenly improves after class.His grades are always neither high nor low, and he is not in a hurry. When he sees that his classmates are better than himself, he is not in a hurry.The first grade is not over yet, and he can't get rid of that negativity.He went to the teacher and asked to transfer to the computer department, but the teacher disagreed, so he stopped insisting.He believes there are many ways to go after what you want. Computers have been his interest for the past 6 years, and from now on, he will treat it as a science.No matter what you learn, there is a big difference between active and passive.For the first time since entering university, Yew Wah has the feeling of liking the school.He began to study computer courses systematically, regardless of the courses set by the school, and only completed his own plan: the first grade learned the basics, the second grade learned the network, and in the third grade, he began to learn graphics. Everything in this field made him ecstatic.He is very hungry, hoping to get more information, but unfortunately most schools rarely involve graphics, only Zhejiang University can get started, and in his own school, it is only an elective course.He didn't choose. He didn't believe that there were many meaningful things that could be given to him in class. The way he chose was self-study. His self-learning ability is very strong. When he was in middle school, he always studied the courses before school started. When others started to learn, he would play computer games.So although his academic performance is often not as good as others, he has learned to learn.Now, he's doing it again.His "classroom" is in the school library, and his "teacher" is the most accomplished scientist in the field of graphics in the world.He spent all day in the school library, reading books one by one at a very slow speed, but he was very devoted, and the speed became faster and faster, and then he read books shelf by shelf.He has read hundreds of books in the computer field in the library. No one gave him homework, and no one gave him exam questions.The things that he has put a lot of effort into learning are usually not within the scope of the school's exams and credits, and he doesn't care about them.As for the courses set by the school, he only spends time on some of the most important basic courses, such as advanced mathematics. For most of the other courses, he only makes a surprise attack before the exam to get credits. Sometimes he can’t get credits. He doesn't care either. "What I care about is what I have learned. I never care about the test scores." Sometimes when you think about the scene at school, it must be very strange.Everyone lives in the same educational environment, and it seems that no one can change the educational environment, but as long as you change your views on education, you will soon become a different person. In the last year of university, Yew Wah has entered such a state.Although his grades in the courses stipulated in the teaching syllabus are mediocre, his knowledge and ability in the field of computer graphics are not only comparable to ordinary undergraduates, but even those master and doctoral students are difficult to surpass. It was this fact that made Microsoft interested in him. "When I entered Microsoft, I was very confident." This student who has not even graduated from a bachelor's degree said, "I don't think those masters or doctors are better than me." For him, the internship at Microsoft is a new phase.The first thing he has to do is to apply the knowledge of graphics that he has studied hard in the university for three years to practical research.Yaohua was very excited when he thought of his "digital water" in those days. He couldn't sleep late at night and didn't eat during the day. New ideas kept popping up in his mind, and he rushed to the computer to test whenever he had an idea. Now we can know that the two most important factors that make up the "Brain Active Index" are love and passion.Its formula is as follows: Brain Active Index = Love × Passion One day, a reporter discussed this issue with him.He said shyly and proudly: "If you count my study time, then I spend more time on the computer than all other subjects combined." "But you always have to finish school and pass exams?" "In comparison, I care more about my strength. As for exams, I don't particularly care." "Smart students do not necessarily have self-consciousness, but very conscious students must be smart. Do you think you are smart?" "No. I'm afraid that people will say that I'm smart. At least those students admitted to Peking University are smarter than me. If you want me to talk about geniuses today, I can't say a word. I think it doesn't matter whether a person is a genius or not. It doesn’t matter whether you are strong or not, what matters is being proactive, being aggressive, and bringing out your potential to be different.” “Being different is easier said than done, but how is it done?” "In fact, it also takes courage. It is difficult for most people to get rid of grades, exams, and rankings, but if one day you are really doing what you want to do instead of what others want you to do, then Exams are not important, rankings are not important, prestigious universities are not important. You will have a strong spirit of initiative.” "You are very lucky, you don't have a prestigious university, you don't have a very high degree, but you can find a good job." "Yes, there are very few people like me. The risk of doing this is indeed great. I didn't think about it at the beginning. If I think about it, how many people would dare to take such a risk?" Hu Yaohua let out a long sigh and ended his story. There is a saying in the West: A-level students are managed by others; B-level students are managed by others. ——Zhu Wenli "There is a saying in the West: A-level students are managed by others; B-level students are managed by others." Zhu Wenli said. The same meaning has another expression in China.The father said to his son: "The best student in your class will be your son's tutor in the future; the worst student will be your son's boss in the future." There are many who disagree with this statement.They will say that this is the self-comfort of those who are poor in learning.But when Zhu Wenli said this, his expression was not so much "self-comforting", but rather "self-reflection".Another Microsoft researcher, Zhang Qian, laughed happily when he heard this statement for the first time: "It's really possible. Our family is the proof. My second brother's academic performance is far worse than mine, but he is now He has opened several companies and has done well. My mother is willing to live with him.” Zhu Wenli is a researcher at Microsoft Research Asia, female.While you'd be hard-pressed to find evidence of sexism at Microsoft, it does have very few women among its hundreds of researchers around the world.So you can believe that Wenli must have something different. In fact, not only is she not a "bad student", but she is also the "A student" she herself called. She is a classic of an outstanding student in our country's education system: strict and delicate family education, parents' heart Good children, good students in the teacher's heart, all homework is 5 points, key primary schools, key middle schools, and then Tsinghua University. Her appearance is a bit like her name, dignified and quiet, gently covered with a kind of strength.She was young, but her one-room office in the Sigma Building indicated that she had some seniority in the Academy.She completed her Ph.D. in the United States, and worked as a researcher in an American company for several years.In order to help others understand some of her ideas, she always mentions her experience abroad, and she can't help but compare Chinese children with American children.She believes that "every child has his own wish in his heart, and he wants to realize it." But she doesn't understand, "Why Chinese children are always shy and cannot take the initiative to express themselves, take the initiative to solve problems, take the initiative to go Open up a new path?" Her ideas resonate with many Chinese students who have experienced Western education.Everyone put together their own experiences and came to a surprising conclusion: "In China, children with better academic performance may be less motivated; children with average academic performance may be more proactive." Then she said Explaining her reasons: No one is forcing you to do it, you have to do it yourself.This is initiative.There may be a character problem in this, as well as the problem of the influence of the surrounding environment.Do you have more rebellious elements in your personality?Or is there more obedience?If there are more rebellious elements, you may not take school education seriously, and you may not pay attention to teachers. Of course, you will not put all your energy on textbooks, and you may pursue some things you want to do.I don’t know if you have noticed that the students who often skip classes in college are people with more active minds.For example, Bill Gates simply dropped out of school.The so-called "good student" is actually to do the best that your parents and teachers ask you to do, and don't think about other things. Naturally, the initiative is less, which is what we call "five points + sheep", such as I was such a child myself. Wen Li's father is an engineer, and his mother is a planner of an enterprise. They are both typical intellectuals. Their family education is extremely strict, especially for this daughter.When Wen Li was a child, she was the kind of clever and well-behaved girl that everyone liked.Like all little girls, she loved dancing, dolls, and fairy tales.But the father, himself an automaton, decided that his daughter should be like him.His daughter had just entered school age, so he asked her to learn English at home. The father is very indulgent in everything about his daughter, except that he must be meticulous in his studies. He wants his daughter to listen to the English lessons on the radio on time, and there must be no slack.The year Wenli graduated from elementary school and entered middle school, China resumed the college entrance examination system, and all sensitive parents realized that their children's fate was about to change.Of course, this father was no exception. He began to ask Wen Li to learn mathematics, and he also explained the mathematics problems himself. Wen Li likes neither foreign languages ​​nor mathematics. "In addition to doing homework, I have to learn English and mathematics. I am very annoyed. I think this is a lot of things." In fact, she likes to read novels, foreign fairy tales, and Chinese "Li Zicheng". Prose style composition.But she is a well-behaved and obedient child who will not insist on her own ideas, so she will do whatever her father asks her to do. Eat when it is time to eat, do homework when it is time to do homework, sleep when it is time to sleep, and wake up when it is time to wake up.Day after day, year after year, everything is done step by step, never neglecting.She learns what her father asks her to learn; she doesn't learn what her father doesn't let her learn.Because the High School Attached to the College of Foreign Languages ​​is not a key middle school, her father would not let her go, so she would not go.Dad took a fancy to a key middle school and asked her to take the exam, and she passed the exam. "My whole life, at least before I went abroad, I have been studying under the persecution of my father." She said this when she grew up. She became a good student in the class. She was very serious in class and finished her homework on time. She always came first in the exams. Everyone said she was smart.For her, learning is not strenuous, but she has never had that kind of passionate feeling, "because I have never found something I like, and I have never explored. No one has given me guidance in this regard. I just Knowing how to complete the school curriculum, get a high score in the test, and get into a good school, I just took it step by step." The teachers were teaching her to take part in various exams and competitions, but none of the teachers asked her. She said to her, "What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your hobbies? What are you going to do in the future?" And no teacher said to her, "You must engage in a career you like in the future. You have to start exploring what you like from now on.” "Some students may have thought about these issues by themselves, and some students may not have thought about them at all." Wen Li tried his best to recall the situation at that time, and said: And me?At the beginning, I still thought a lot, always fantasizing about what I would do in the future, but later these thoughts were all buried by the exams and scores, and I couldn’t even dig them out!Our education never encourages students' initiative, does not encourage you to know yourself, does not encourage you to discover your strengths, does not encourage you to develop your interests, none of these.everyone is It's "follow the crowd". If you want to go to college, you will go to college. If you want to say that the computer major is good, everyone will apply for computer. No one will ask you if you like computers.The year I graduated was a "biology craze". The school called on everyone to learn this, but didn't ask the students if they were interested. In the second year of high school, students have to choose their own direction: liberal arts or science and engineering?This is the first choice that Chinese children face on the road of life.Wen Li actually likes literature very much.The two good friends are both interested in literature, and we often discuss novels together.She also likes art very much, and goes to art galleries to see various exhibitions. "Actually, if I had to choose, I might go this way. Maybe I'm a critic or something now, to study literature." But she chose science and engineering without hesitation at all, and she never thought that she would study liberal arts.Her father did not force her, but she knew that his father always wanted her to take the path of science and engineering.He doesn't like literature, and when he sees his daughter reading novels, he will say, "What time is it, do you still read idle books?" Public opinion in society doesn't value this, not only does it not value it, but also thinks that only those students who are not good enough in mathematics, physics and chemistry I just went to study liberal arts.The teacher also said to her: "Since your mathematics, physics and chemistry are so good, of course you should choose science and engineering." "Everyone thinks that whoever enters the liberal arts is weak. If a student who is good at mathematics, physics and chemistry goes to study literature, it will make people feel that he has suffered a big loss." Wen Li said, "So, it is said that I am allowed to choose, but in fact it is I had no choice, so I naturally took the current path.” By the prevailing standards, she is undoubtedly a good student, but she is not a self-conscious student.It was only after she entered Microsoft Research Asia that she began to think about what she was most interested in. "At this time, I have finished my bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D., and I am already 30 years old." She said.Looking back and thinking about my entire learning experience, I suddenly had a kind of "self-awareness".