At the symposium on strengthening basic research, the secretary-general of xi emphasized that “there is a constant effort to develop a reserve for basic research” and that “maintenance of the mission leads to the creation of new and dynamic youth talent”. Historically, the scientific revolution and industrial transformation, the “lights of dawn”, have, in many cases, come from basic research, in which youth are always intelligent and powerful。
As the source of the entire scientific system and as the principal body for all technical issues, basic research focuses on discovering the basic phenomena, patterns and principles of nature, exploring the essential characteristics of the physical world, building a bottom-up knowledge framework for scientific research and providing a theoretical base for research in other fields. In the history of science and technology in the world, the iterative development of science and technology is usually carried out in the form of a paradigm revolution, whereas the paradigm revolution of scientific research usually exists in the field of basic research during the transition of the old and new paradigms in a hidden or visible way. Many of the far-reaching underlying research findings were achieved by youth. For example, newton found calculus at the age of 22, lebnitz found calculus at the age of 28 and einstein at the age of 26. In the 14th and 5th years of the national priority research and development programme, 43. 3 per cent of young people under 45 years of age were in charge of the project; 80 per cent of the projects in the national natural science fund were carried out by young people under 45 years of age。
The youth group has a significant advantage in basic research, determined by the patterns of human cognitive development and trends in scientific and technological development in the great scientific age. By contrast, the long, difficult and uncertain cycle of basic research requires considerable time and effort on the part of researchers. Young researchers have a more systematic pool of expertise, curiosity and desire for uncharted areas, are more sensitive to the breakthroughs in basic research, are constantly experimenting with new tools and new methods that sustain strong thinking, are easy to challenge boldly and rationally, and dare to leave behind the many failures of a reputational burden. These are essential for basic research. To seize and use this golden period and to promote the multiplication and cross-cutting development of basic research, both in relation to young people's own scientific careers and, more importantly, to the competitiveness of national science and technology and their self-reliance。
Today, a new wave of technological revolutions and industrial transformations, represented by artificial intelligence, have accelerated, the boundaries of human awareness are widening, and the results of subversive theories are increasingly embedded in the interfaces, links and links between basic research disciplines. Together, scientific research is organized in a way that is increasingly characterized by “networked collaboration”. The organization of scientific research is more flat and efficient than traditional “teaching”, and is more responsive to the needs of the contemporary group of young scientists. In particular, in the area of basic research, this organizational approach has clearly lowered the “threshold” of innovation, making the burden of young scientists lighter and the space for free thinking and self-absorption more open, enabling them to increase exponentially the intelligence of basic research innovation。
Young scientists of the new era should cherish gold-like foundations of deep-drive research, with a “stool sits for ten years” to achieve more breakthroughs of “0 to 1” with boldness and courage, to influence and motivate more young people to explore the unknown world, to invest in basic research, and to make science and technology a powerful force of youth。
