Author | Li Chenyang
After the volcanic eruption in Tonga, Wang Pinxian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, released a popular science video last year entitled "Island Volcanic Eruption Is So Dangerous?" Do submarine volcanic eruptions have an impact on us? " ushered in a wave of watching and forwarding.
But in an interview with China Science News, he said that he would not continue to publish relevant works on this topic: "What can be said has been said in the past videos, I will not chase hot spots, I will only do things at my own pace." ”
"I'm 86 years old, I don't care about anything else, I only care about time, I'm going to do what I want to do."
Academician Wang Pinxian has been very hot recently, very hot.
In the turquoise waters of the Paracels, he became the world's oldest diver with the feat of carrying out scientific expeditions aboard the "Deep Sea Warrior" at the age of 82.
On the Internet platform where young people gather, he is also a "popular science big V" that has attracted countless fans, Bilibili (B station) has 1.4 million fans, Douyin 560,000 fans, and has received more than 5 million likes.
Recently, Station B announced the list of the top 100 UP masters in 2021. Wang Pinxian's name is impressively listed.
Unlike other UP owners who have been on the list, the most popular comment from the old man is not "congratulations", but this:
The legendary experience of scientific research life and the image of the old naughty boy of science popularization have made Wang Pinxian become the "net red academician" in people's mouths.
"I don't think 'influencer' is a negative word. Influence is a great thing, and the key is what you exchange it for. He told China Science Daily.
For some scientists who do not want to be "red" and dare not "red", he not only expressed respect and understanding, but also expressed encouragement and expectation.
The following is the dialogue between Academician Wang Pinxian and China Science News:
"China Science News": Hello Academician Wang, how did you start your own "science popularization big V" road?
△ Wang Pinxian:
I started doing some science-like work early on. Once CCTV came to interview me and took some videos for me, and then they told me that these materials are very suitable for making some short videos on Douyin, and then they also designed an avatar for me, much like the old man at KFC, and I said you at least change the color. In this way, the Douyin account was opened, and soon there were many fans. Later, Station B and some other platforms also began to engage.
Don't hide from you, I don't know how to get these things myself, the State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology of Tongji University has a science popularization group, and many videos are made by them for me.
China Science News: In the process of doing this online science popularization, what do you feel the most?
It was that I didn't expect the online response to be so strong, that is, the one called "bullet screen", like a thunderstorm, rushing out, as if I could faintly hear the voices of those children.
If I take classes, the largest classroom is only a few hundred people. The articles I write are generally read by thousands of people. But on these Internet platforms, there are tens of thousands of people at every turn.
I felt happy, as if my family had made so many young friends.
"China Science News": Now many people call you "Internet celebrity academician", do you think this is a compliment or an offense?
I don't think "influencer" is a negative word, it should be positive. Some people think that the word "influencer" is bad because some people have smashed it.
Before that, an Internet platform approached me and asked me to sign an agreement saying that as many as there are tens of thousands of fans, there are privileges and benefits. I didn't sign it, what do I want these benefits for? I don't need money, and I don't need to make a name for myself with this.
But what do I want? I want to be influential. I was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in my 50s, and I have also served as a deputy to several sessions of the National People's Congress and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which has given me the opportunity to contact the leaders. Later, I engaged in ocean drilling, deep-sea research, and I relied on these opportunities, otherwise I wouldn't be able to knock on people's doors.
I recently proposed to build a deep-sea pavilion in Shanghai that leads the way, echoing the Shanghai Planetarium, corresponding to the two frontiers of space and deep-sea exploration. Soon there were media reports following up. If I don't have influence, I don't have anyone listening when I speak.
So some people will exchange popularity for money, and I hope to exchange popularity for influence, right to speak, so that in the last few years of my life, I can do something that I did not have time to do before.
China Science Daily: According to you, scientists actually need influence. We believe that society also needs influential scientists, and it needs to widely disseminate the voice of science and the ideas of science. But we also see that many scientists now do not want to be red, do not dare to be red, and are more cautious in participating in popular science activities and accepting media interviews.
There are several reasons for this. First, scientists are right to be wary of this "flow."
Scientists are not singers and stars, and scientific research work itself is done by "hiding". Especially those scientists who are still growing, before he comes to the stage with his achievements, people do not need to know him, do not need to delay his time.
Second, some scientists are not good at standing up and doing science popularization.
I have been lecturing in school all my life, and I deeply understand a truth: if the lecturer himself is not excited, it is impossible to make the listener excited.
Even if the student doeszed off, you can't complain, you can only complain that you don't speak well. And the worse the teacher, the more fierce, because he has nothing else to convince you, can only scare you with exam discipline or something; and the best teachers are usually more kind, and the reason is clear between talking and laughing. Therefore, scientists who dare to stand in the spotlight and talk about it still have their own confidence.
Third, you need to have a certain courage in the face of the public, because you will inevitably encounter some provocative and opposing voices.
I once gave a lecture and saw a man in the back row desperately raising his hand, and the moderator signaled that I could finish, but I still asked him to stand up. He said that I was wrong in one year when I talked about modern history, and I replied thank you for correcting it, "It is easy for ticket lovers to sing." Later, the host told me that this person was like this, always looking for opportunities to express himself. I feel very indifferent, you correct me, I accept it generously, but people respect me more. If I'm always worried about people pointing out my mistakes, it's not interesting.
Finally, there are some problems of the general environment, and scientific innovation requires a lively atmosphere.
I remember the former minister of culture and writer Wang Meng said, you have to speak your own words. We have not done enough of this, there are too many clichés, and the scientific community has a lot of clichés. And I think this phenomenon has gotten worse and worse in recent years, which is a very bad problem. Everyone follows others, follows others and says that the responsibility is also someone else's. This culture is very detrimental to innovation. You can't ask a brain to be able to innovate scientifically and only obey, that's contradictory. The combination of science and culture is creating a lively atmosphere.
So I think those of us who do science popularization are still very valuable. In today's China, science popularization is becoming a new consumer demand, the emerging science industry has put forward higher quality requirements, scientists can not stand up, to promote the cause of science popularization with everyone.