Recently, there was a big news on the Internet, saying that as long as you spend 400,000 yuan, you can get the title of "Academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences".
To be honest, this sounds a bit unreliable, but we have to analyze it carefully, after all, anything can happen these days, right?
What the hell is this "European Academy of Natural Sciences"?
According to their own introduction, this is an international scientific organization, headquartered in Germany, with more than 1,700 academicians in 33 countries, which sounds quite lofty.
But here's the problem, the organization's place of registration in Germany is said to have "permanently ceased business". It's a bit embarrassing, an international scientific organization, the headquarters is closed, and it sounds a little wrong.
Let's talk about the gold content of this title of "academician".
According to Wu Jihua of the European Academy of Natural Sciences in China, they do not charge a fee for applicants, and they do not sell their fellowship status. This sounds quite reassuring, but the question arises again, why are there so many intermediaries shouting there, saying that as long as 180,000 can be "covered"?
This thing sounds a bit suspenseful, you say, if that's the case, then how do these intermediaries operate? Do they have internal channels?
And, let's take a look at those who have already received the title of "academician".
It is said that from 2021 to the present, more than 30 domestic experts and scholars have been elected.
This speed is faster than a rocket! But the problem is that there are entrepreneurs, professors, and even people without any academic background. This makes people a little confused, what is the selection criteria for this title?
For example,
One entrepreneur did not mention his academic achievements in his reasoning, but instead emphasized his "contributions" to business. This is a bit of a sour, does it mean that as long as you have enough money, you can buy a "academician" title to decorate the façade?
And, let's take a look at the selection process for this so-called "academician" title.
According to Wu Jihua, the European Academy of Natural Sciences adopts a strict academician replacement system, and elected academicians need to go through strict academic evaluation and legal procedures such as academician recommendation, formal review, defense review, voting election, presidium deliberation, notary notarization, and medal awarding.
This sounds formal, but the question is, is the process really that rigorous? If it's really that strict, then why are there so many intermediaries shouting there?
Also, let's talk about the term "foreign academician".
Wu Jihua said that the European Academy of Natural Sciences does not have this statement, because scholars from EU countries are from various European countries, and there is no so-called "foreigner".
Finally, we have to mention the "Encyclopedia" page on the official website.
Nearly one-third of the members on this page are said to be suspected to be Chinese. This makes people a little puzzled, if this organization is international, then why is the proportion of Chinese so high?
Wu Jihua explained that this list is not a list of academicians of the Academy of Sciences, but a list of members of the Academy of Sciences' management and economic departments. That sounds reasonable,
But the question is, why are there so many Chinese in this membership list?