British writer - Chapter 325 Cows and horses, just cows and horses!

Dirty dirty——

The speed of the train slowly slowed down,

Boston Station is within easy reach.

O. Henry and Lu Shi were discussing the writing of short stories, and they were chatting happily. When they heard the whistle, they showed regretful expressions.

He said helplessly: “I have to go to Washington, otherwise I will get off the bus with you here.”

Lu Shi was a little curious,

“Aren’t you settled in New York? Why are you going to Washington?”

O. Henry was slightly embarrassed and whispered: “At that time, I was sentenced to five years, but I was released from prison early. Therefore, I had to go to Pittsburgh or Washington to report every once in a while to let those bastards know that I was still in the country. “

If it hadn’t been for that dark history of being on the run, he wouldn’t have had to face such stringent scrutiny.

Lu Shi and Goodman couldn’t help but laugh,

Neither of them said anything.

O. Henry quickly said: “Professor Lu, after I finish my business in Washington, I will go to you and ask for advice on creation.”

Lu Shi nodded,

“Okay then. Let’s meet at Harvard.”

He and Goodman got off the bus and transferred to Cambridge.

Just like the last time I came,

The scenery of Cambridge is different from large cities affected by industrialization such as New York and Boston. There are no tall chimneys and billowing smoke.

The air is fresh, and occasionally there are birds chirping.

The sky is also bright.

The two walked out of the train station, the sun shining above their heads, making their bodies tingling with heat.

Not far away, someone noticed them and walked quickly,

“Professor Lu?”

Lu Shixun said loudly.

The person who came was a tall, thin, middle-aged man.

His hair is thick and curly, and his two mustaches are somewhat similar to those of Roosevelt.

He came up,

“Are you Professor Lu?”

He speaks English with a slight accent, and seems to be from Eastern Europe.

Lu Shi looked at the other party,

“Are you Mr. Tesla?”

Nikola Tesla,

Serbian-American inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer.

The unit of magnetic density was named after his surname, indicating his contribution to electromagnetism.

Tesla was surprised,

“You know me?”

Lu Shi smiled and said, “During last year’s Nobel Prize Ceremony, I heard a lot of anecdotes between you and Mr. Edison.”

Tesla is extremely depressed,

“I must be notorious, right?”

Although he was not the earliest inventor of the alternating current generator, his contribution to the improvement of alternating current was as great as Watt’s improvement of the steam engine.

The emergence of brushless AC induction motors frightened Edison, the inventor of DC.

Therefore, Edison bribed officials in some states to change the local death penalty from hanging to alternating current electrocution. He also hired elementary school students to catch cats and dogs for experiments with Tesla’s alternating current, and electrocuted the cats and dogs to show the harm of alternating current.

Tesla was criticized verbally and in writing for this.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

“Didn’t you already win the ‘Battle of Electricity’? Mr. Roentgen was full of praise for you.”

Tesla suddenly realized.

Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Röntgen for his research on X-rays.

In his early research, Tesla formulated many experiments to generate X-rays,

The X-ray energy produced by his instrument is much greater than that of ordinary instruments.

No wonder Roentgen sided with him.

Tesla whispered: “I thought Professor Lu misunderstood me…”

Lu Shi waved his hand,

“How could that happen?”

He changed the subject and asked: “Mr. Tesla, why did you come to me this time?”

Tesla took out a pamphlet from his body and replied with a smile: “I’m here on behalf of AAAS…ah, the American Association for the Advancement of Science.”

Lu Shi was a little surprised,

“Are you employed by AAAS?”

Tesla shook his head,

“It’s not an employment relationship. However, I recently accepted funding from the Morgan consortium to build Wardenclyffe Tower on Long Island. It is a 187-foot-tall iron tower with a 68-foot-diameter hemisphere at the top…”

What follows is a long speech,

To sum up, Morgan is interested in the commercial value of the project and wants to use this project to achieve wireless communications.

Lu Shi coughed lightly,

“Please tell me the key points.”

“Ah this…”

Tesla showed an apologetic expression and continued: “Such a large-scale project requires land acquisition and manpower. It is definitely impossible to handle with only money, so it requires the endorsement of relevant associations. Professor Lu is in Europe, and he must know more about academic tricks than me. .”

Lu Shi understood,

“So, the project review was approved by AAAS?”

Tesla sighed: “Actually, I didn’t want to get involved in this kind of thing. I just wanted to focus on doing experiments. But since I have my name on AAAS, I have to work hard.”

Lu Shi could understand why the other party disliked academic socializing.

The other party was suppressed by Edison, who was good at business operations, and would inevitably feel that this kind of transaction was dirty.

What’s more, while Tesla was “working” for Edison, Edison promised a salary of US$50,000, but later refused to pay it, causing Tesla to resign in anger.

With so many bad experiences, it’s no wonder that he just wants to do experiments.

Lu Shi was curious,

“You said you were working on a project in Long Island. Isn’t Long Island in New York? You can block me in New York! Why wait until Cambridge?”

Tesla:! ! !

“How could I forget this?”

Lu Shi: “…”

I feel that the other person’s eyes are a little clear and stupid,

He waved his hand,

“Forget it, let’s get in the carriage first.”

On the other side, Goodman immediately waved for a taxi.

The three of them got into the carriage.

The weather is very hot,

The narrow carriage was like a steamer, and the bumpy road and the faint smell of horse odor made people have to hang up the curtains completely.

The sun shines in, making your eyes hurt.

Lu Shi squinted at the scenery outside, then turned to Tesla.

“Mr. Tesla, what does AAAS say? Do they support Science’s decision to add impact factors?”

Tesla lamented,

“Professor Lu, you are really smart. You can guess my purpose even before I said anything.”

Lu Shi smiled,

“As we all know, Science is published by AAAS.”

Tesla asked: “Professor Lu, how is this impact factor calculated?”

In fact, Lu Shi had already told Jack London before,

But for people who haven’t seriously gone to college or been exposed to top journals, that kind of thing is still a bit difficult to understand.

Moreover, Jack London was still a liberal arts student, and he didn’t understand those things, so the telegrams sent back to the United States were naturally unclear.

Lu Shidao: “Simply put, the higher the impact factor, the greater the academic influence.”

Tesla raised an eyebrow,

“Influence.”

Lu Shi smiled and said, “Have you thought of Mr. Edison? Indeed, great influence does not mean high quality.”

He took out a piece of paper from his inner pocket.

Unexpectedly, the paper was soaked with sweat and the printed words on it could not be seen clearly.

Goodman quickly unpacked his luggage and rummaged through his notebook.

“Sir Lu, please write it by hand.”

Lu Shi took the pen and paper,

“Suppose we want to calculate the impact factor of Science in 1900.”

He wrote the formula on paper:

——

IF(1900)=A/B

in,

A=The number of citations in 1900 for all articles in this journal from 1898 to 1899;

B=number of all articles in this journal from 1898 to 1899.

——

It’s clear at a glance.

Tesla looked at Lu Shi curiously.

“You are really no ordinary writer.”

He had met too many people, and they talked a lot when explaining their opinions, and he couldn’t understand them for a long time.

That feeling is like being the author of hydrology.

But Lu Shi was completely different.

Although he is not from a science or engineering background, he is good at using mathematical language and can explain things clearly with a formula.

Lu Shi understood why the other party had such emotion, and joked: “Then you should read “Guns, Germs and Steel”. It is an interdisciplinary monograph and uses a lot of formulas.”

Tesla said: “I must read it if I have the chance!”

He looked at the formula again,

After a long while, he said: “Professor Lu, I think there are drawbacks to the impact factor. Its value is closely related to the field of the journal.”

Lu Shi said, “Tell me about it.”

Tesla noticed that Lu Shi’s attitude was very relaxed, so he smiled and said, “It seems that Professor Lu has already thought of it.”

Lu Shi spread his hands,

“I’d like to hear the perspective of a natural science scholar.”

Tesla thought for a moment and said, “Then let me give you an example. Professor Lu, you are a media tycoon. You must have heard of the Financial Times, right?”

Lu Shi said: “Of course. It is the most professional newspaper in the world, almost none of them.”

Tesla said: “The Mirror is a lower-level tabloid. How does the sales compare between the two?”

Lu Shi nodded,

“I got you.”

In the field of natural sciences, it also has its own “Financial Times” and “Mirror

,”For example, the former

Physics, basic mathematics…

The research field is difficult and difficult to understand, and it is inevitable that the research will be high-minded, the number of scientific researchers engaged in it will be very small, and the impact factor will inevitably not be high;

The latter, for example,

biomaterials……

The field is relatively simple and the experiments are much more repeated. Graduate students are generally the professor’s bullies, and naturally the more bullies the better, so the impact factor is likely to be high.

Some journals are even pronounced “magazines” and written “impurities”.

(PS: I know there are a lot of student-friendly materials, please don’t hit me, buddy)

Tesla shrugged;

“Professor Lu, you just mentioned “Guns, Germs and Steel”. Its sales should be far inferior to “Chao Wen Dao”, right?”

Lu Shi said: “They are not in the same category, so they are relatively meaningless.”

Tesla repeated: “Yes, that’s what it means, ‘They are not in the same category and are relatively meaningless.’ However, “Science” and “Nature” are both comprehensive journals. In order to improve the impact factor, they give up Theory, specializing in applied subjects is not a good orientation.”

He seemed to be lost in memories,

“Back then, I was studying at Graz University of Technology. The journals at that time had never counted citation rates, but I estimate that the change curve of the impact factor of journals in our field is like the Andes Mountains, rising and falling.”

This is actually a way of beautifying oneself.

Tesla did not graduate from Graz University of Technology.

Of course, Lu Shi would not expose it and continued:

“Why do you say that?”

Tesla replied: “Because research in natural science also has trends. After nearly 30 years of research, Joseph Swan made a vacuum light bulb that uses carbon filaments to energize and emit light, attracting countless people into our field. But later Well, Edison…”

He shook his head, said no more, and turned to ask Lu Shi: “Professor Lu, what do you think about these issues?”

Lu Shi said: “The way to cure both the symptoms and the root cause is of course to establish a sub-journal.”

Tesla heard about this concept for the first time,

“What’s the meaning?”

Lu Shi replied: “Take Science as an example. It can continue to be a comprehensive journal, but it will only publish the top and most academically valuable articles. The remaining articles can be divided into categories, such as For optics, we can definitely create a “Science·Optics”~”

Tesla nodded repeatedly,

Thought,

This really treats both the symptoms and the root cause.

But he immediately said: “There is still a problem. With the size of the current academic circle, it is simply impossible to support so many sub-journals.”

The corner of Lu Shi’s mouth curled up,

“That’s because students have no requirements when they graduate. Suppose, I am a master’s tutor and require that my students must have published papers in journals with an impact factor of 5 or above when they graduate. What will happen?”

“Ah this…”

Tesla was shocked,

When I looked at the landing, it was like a lightning bolt of enlightening wisdom blasted from Tianling Gai.

My heart said,

What a “genius” idea this is!

In order to graduate, students must publish papers crazily and quote crazily.

It’s hard to say whether the size of the academic circle will increase or not, but the number of papers published will definitely increase explosively.

In this case, the instructor must pay more attention to the impact factor.

Students will have to send out more papers.

After that, a spiral is formed,

The impact factor is completely tied to scientific research capabilities and has become the most important criterion for measuring a journal, and thereby measuring the work results of a student.

Tesla pondered,

“This is indeed a good idea, but it only works in the long run. What will happen in the next few years?”

Lu Shi said: “In the past few years, we have treated the symptoms first~”

Tesla asked curiously: “How to treat the symptoms?”

Lu Shi explained: “A weighting algorithm can be used to weight the impact factors to balance the various disciplines. If there are few people in physics and publish few papers, increase its weight; if there are many chemistry researchers and publish more papers, reduce its weight. .”

Tesla spreads its hands,

“This method is really simple. But the question is, who will set the weights? Nature definitely likes physics and mathematics, and Science definitely likes chemistry and biology. This requires an organization or individual that can convince all journals… …”

Suddenly, Tesla stopped talking.

He stared at Lu Shi closely,

Isn’t the person who will make all the journals happy just in front of you?

At this time, he finally figured out the true purpose of AAAS asking him to come to Lu Shi.

I complained in my heart,

Those old bastards have average scientific research levels, but they are very good at forming cliques in academic circles.

Tesla said to Lu Shi: “Professor Lu, have you ever thought about working in AAAS? You don’t have to work in shifts, just have a name.”

“Tsk…”

Lu Shi was speechless.

It’s like a mirror in my heart,

The other party is trying to win over me~

He smiled and said: “I study literature and history, how can I have that ability?”

Tesla waved his hand,

“AAAS is headquartered in Washington. Do you know what departments there are?”

Lu Shi shook his head,

“Which ones?”

Tesla twirled his moustache and said: “Executive Office, Finance and Administration Department, Human Resources Department, Development Department, International Project Department, Education and Human Resources Project Department…”

It’s all administrative departments.

Lu Shi: “…”

“What about the departments in charge of disciplines?”

Tesla smiled: “Generally in universities and laboratories everywhere.”

There is no other reason,

Departments in charge of disciplines need professors with excellent skills, and these professors often have teaching positions or research jobs.

Tesla continued: “So, it is not a question of ability at all, but a question of willingness. Professor Lu, if you are willing to work in AAAS, you can choose any department, even in addition to the position of chairman of the association.”

This is already a bribe from Chi Guoguo.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

“Mr. Tesla, why do you need to go to such an extent? The weight ratio is actually very simple. It is calculated based on the number of people in each discipline~ Assume that there are 100,000 people studying biology and 10,000 studying physics in the world…”

Before he finished speaking, Tesla whispered: “Professor Lu, I understand what you mean. However, there is still room for maneuver here.”

Lu Shi said: “Operation space? I think it’s fair!”

Tesla is quite helpless.

“Professor Lu, just pretend to be confused. Compared with undergraduates and graduate students, do the former count as human beings? Compared with students from MIT and Harvard students, do the former count as human beings? Moreover, some schools have laboratories, and some No, are students of the former considered human beings?”

At this time, MIT had not yet risen.

In the eyes of most Americans, MIT is a satellite school of Harvard that could be annexed at any time.

After saying so much, Tesla still feels that it is not enough.

He lamented: “Cows and horses are just cows and horses! They are not even counted as humans, so why should they be used as the denominator of the weight?”