a biology student's musings

back to space

2009-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

eco-evo.spaces.live.com

Too entrenched there to move here..

杂谈

2008-10-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

真没想到，两个星期前漫天遍野的黄叶红花，

一周后就凋零作土，

丰满了大地，赤裸了枝桠。

枝桠只寂寞了一周，

又与白雪冰露结了新欢。

那是一个周四的晨早，

空中纷扬的雪子飘向飞速的自行车后，

感觉是那么的surreal。

看到白白的雪灰灰的天，我就会联想到冬日的武汉。

类似的场景，不同的是没有过年。

欣慰的是，这边的雪说来就来，

没有武汉白雪的忸怩。

同样的是这里的晴日蓝天：

一年三百六十天，三百都是晴空万里，

不像广州蓝天的奢侈。

然而，

忸怩过后弥足珍贵，奢侈得来方知珍惜，

所以，

武汉每一场皑皑白雪都那么记忆犹新，

广州每一个秋日蓝天都那么激动欣喜。

Why biology is more than genetics and biochemistry?

2008-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

The caption is the subtitle of a talk given by Eric Siggia. If ever there is talk that is deeply influential to me, I bet it is this one. If ever there is a single quote that keeps me contemplating for long and (maybe in the years to come), it is this quote.

When I was a second-year undergrad, I was obsessed in natural history, studying insects all the time. I was committed to study ecology then. Later, when I was in my third year, I met Chung-I Wu, who told me that genetics, which attempts to link phenotypes with genotypes, is the most fundamental subject in biology. I took it as true and decided to be a geneticist instead.

The birth of genetics surely marks a big leap in the history of biology. The later discovery of DNA as the genetic material is even exciting, indicating that the remarkable diversity exhibited by the organisms inhabiting this planet, from bacteria to plant, from fungi to vertebrates, share the same form of code of inheritance, and it is the change of this code that leads to the change of life form, hence the diversity. What a beautiful unity biology has achieved thus far!

The physicist and Nobel laureate Jean Perrin once said that the essence of scientific progress is to be able "to explain the complex visible by some simple invisible." Under such an insightful distillment, disovering DNA as the genetic material is surely a feat of scientific progress. The principle of natural selection brought up by Charles Darwin is undeniably another milestone of this kind, which is able to explain the diverse phenomena in biological world by a simple rule.

However, links between DNA and phenotypes, as genetics studies, are neither invisible nor simple. For the visibility, we know for sure there are macromolecular interactions in action down beneath the cell membrane; we can see them either through advanced microscopes directly or via experiments indirectly. For the complexity, generations of biochemists, cell biologists, and most importantly, geneticists, dedicate themselves to unveil the links, but, a bit discouragingly, we still don't know much about how genes conspire to produce phenotypes, especially when it comes to complex traits in higher eukaryotes.

For long it has baffled me that a great amount of graduate students are willing to spend their entire degree research on a couple of proteins and their interactions. An even more brash thought is, even they have discovered many important pathways, so what? It certainly sounds arrogant for the time being, when we are still naive about the physical basis of life and are making efforts to discover them. However, if we take understanding how life really works as our ultimate goal, I would think discovering some pathways can be, at best, some minor, if not trivial, success.

If one seeks to know how life really works, s/he is actually asking why, instead of how (as genetics/biochemistry/... pursue). In my opinion, knowing the answer to the why questions represents a big conceptual progress, while knowing to answer the how questions is not now.

That is why I have been thinking about moving to the bacteria/virus/yeast systems, after thinking about being a fly evolutionary geneticist for years. I think there is a spectrum of model organisms in biology. One one end is mammals like rats, which are extremely complex yet very similar to human so that studies of them can have promising applications in medicine, pharmacology, etc. On the other end are those microbes, which have beautiful simplicity, have been subject to most thorough studies and are the most probable for quantifications. If any true insight of the working of life can emerge, it most likely comes from them.

Biology is now in an era of rapid expansion, with many researchers with different backgrounds entering it each year. Among the other disciplines, I think engineering is the most useful as a tool and perspective for biologists. While scientists discover features and rules of natural systems, engineers invent systems with desired features under the same set of rules. Their perspectives are reverse and hence potentially complementary. At some points it may be rewarding to think in an engineering way of biological systems, and we may break a crack on the why questions.

Life is short. Besides doing what one is capable of, s/he should be more encouraged to do what s/he likes. Having a natural tendency of exploring things at a fundamental level, I look forward to such a move. It will be tough, but I just like it.

Summer

2008-06-11T17:21:00.001-07:00

It seems that today is the first day of summer, as it has the strongest summer flavor -- brilliant sunshine, gentle breeze, hot air, etc. The endless rain just ended.

I have been rather loose recently, mainly because of the thought that I am about to leave and should have some fun. However, as being about to leave means a new challenging life is about to start, I am beginning to realize that I'd better retrieve a good state and work hard on things that I am supposed to do before having some rest.

BTW, I have bought the plane ticket of 7.15 to Chicago. I will stay there until late August when I go to Cornell. So the last month comes.

媒体的职业道德

2008-05-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

事件具有代表性，我为其写三次。

Sharon Stone 的发言如下：

“Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I am not happy about the ways the Chinese were treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about
that because I don’t like that. And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine.

And all these earthquake and stuff happened and I thought: Is that karma, when you are not nice that bad things happen to you?

And then I got a letter, from the Tibetan Foundation that they want to go and be helpful. And that made me cry. And they ask me if I would write a quote about that and I said, “I would.” And it was a big lesson to me, that some times you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who are not nice to you. And that’s a big lesson for me...”

5月24日，莎朗・斯通出席戛纳为艾滋病筹款的慈善晚会，在红地毯上被记者问起对四川汶川地震的看法。莎朗・斯通先是称自己“不喜欢中国”，地震很“有趣”，随后又称被地震中的人和事感动，考虑为地震灾区“做点什么”。
http://msn.yoka.com/renren/shotmessage/2008/052766634.shtml

我想类似例子绝不匮乏。

中国人屁股摸不得，中国媒体缺道德。

再论Sharon Stone

2008-05-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

飞飞在我space里引了下面这么一段话作为评论。我觉得有必要highlight它，故另立一post。

随着事情的进展，中国外交部都已对此作出回话。一个艺人的随口几句，引来下至万千平民的口诛笔伐，上至国家外交部的公开表态，加之数月来中国政府和人民对待国外某些不友善举动表现出来的种种，我看到的是一个民族自卑带来的极度自尊。我一直认为，假如说中国真的是在大国崛起的话，就应有大国心态；但现在我们似乎离此还很远。

来源：http://www.xys.org/xys/ebooks/others/science/misc/wenchuan264.txt

好在当时的场景被全程录了像，弄清这个事件的来龙去脉并不难。下面来看看莎朗·斯通是怎么说的吧。

　　莎朗·斯通就像许多好莱坞影星一样，是个铁杆左派。按说左派同志应该是我们的同盟军，我们伟大的社会主义事业的同情者。

　　不过事实上，莎朗·斯通就像许多世界上的铁杆左派一样，是逢政府必反的主儿。莎朗·斯通对表现“极右”的我党我府向来不感冒，反而同情和支持老和尚等等弱小群体。可想而知，不属于“国际友好人士”，也没有被称为“中国人民老朋友”的莎朗·斯通嘴巴里面自然吐不出让中国人民动容的词儿来的。

　　这是众人皆知的事情。原本戛纳电影节和艾滋病筹款晚会与四川地震没有什么关系，香港爱国记者却提问让莎朗·斯通谈对四川地震的感想。

　　对阴谋文化缺乏了解的美国人莎朗·斯通当众脱口剖析了自己的心路历程。

　　记者问：你听说四川地震的事情吗？（作者评论：如果回答不知道或不太清楚的话，莎朗·斯通将会“死”得更难看）

　　莎朗·斯通回答：“我当然知道。”（作者评论：如果就此打住，就没事了）

　　记者追问：你有何感想？（作者评论：如果莎朗·斯通真的不关心中国人的话，那么她敷衍地讲几句同情和哀悼的套话，就过去了，或许还能成为“国际友好人士”呢。而事实上，她对中国的事情是一直关注的，而且在地震后的思想认识有所转变，于是，她就当众吐露了出来。不想却被一些中国媒体和中国网友“诛心” 了）

　　莎朗?斯通回答：“Well,你知道，这说来话长（或译为：这话说起来蛮有意思的，但绝不会是地震蛮有趣）。因为首先，我不喜欢中国对待西藏的方式，因为我觉得不应该对任何人不友善。”

　　“所以，我一直以来都很关注，我怎么样才能做些事情。因为我不喜欢这个样子。”

　　“我一直关注，我们该怎么样对待奥运会。因为他们中方对达/赖不友善。达/赖是我的好朋友之一。恰好在这时，地震发生了，当时我想，这是业报（karma）吗？当你对别人不好的时候，坏的事情发生在你身上了。”（作者评论：香港有线电视新闻画面上的将“I thought, is that karma?”这句话翻译为“这该是报应吧”。这应该是网民愤怒得要“奸”要“杀”的愤源吧！可见，
爱国媒体的刀有多锋利）

　　“然后，我收到一封西藏（藏/独）基金会给我的信。他们要去（中国）灾区帮助救灾。这让我内心哭泣了。他们（西藏基金会的人）问我是否可以考虑帮助做点什么事情，我回答说我会做的。”

　　“这给我上了一堂教育课。有时你必须学会低下头，去帮助那些原本对你不友善的人。这个事件对我来说是个很大的教训。”（谈话完）

　　从莎朗·斯通的肢体语言和表情，从她当时所有的谈话的语气和字里行间，都可以看到（至少在这一刻），莎朗·斯通是在当众反省自己，剖析自己的心迹。按我们革命群众的话来说就是当众作“自我批评”，而不是叫嚣中国人活该被地震报复。不想却引来了“杀”身之祸。可想，在大部分中国人的心里，要想说句真心话，该有多难啊！

　　我写到这里，我有个感慨：一句话，在对待中国的事情上，所有外国人，不，是所有的地球人，包括中国大陆人，如果你们的口里说不出好听的话来，就请你闭嘴。否则我们中国会让你们明白，中国人无所不能：犯强汉者，虽远必诛。看看后面的怒吼，就是证明。

　　中国媒体和网友对她的这段话的抨击，大概有三点。

　　一，“死伤数十万的大灾难”在莎朗·斯通口中成了“蛮有趣”的事情。

　　事实上，稍有英文知识的人都知道，“very interesting”一词在英语口语中应用非常的广泛，其含义众多，不只“有趣”一种。从上下文看，就会知道，这个词是用来描绘她的认识过程转变的，而不是描述地震的。是指她的思想转变蛮有趣，而不是四川地震蛮有趣。

　　二，不应该把地震这样的人类灾难与政治（特别是西藏）问题挂钩。

　　事实上，她并没有将地震与政治（特别是西藏）问题挂钩。她谈西藏政治的时候，地震还没有发生。地震后，她提到西藏，却是有关救灾的事情。当然，从她的谈话中得知，她的确将奥运和西藏的事情联系在一起，并一直在考虑怎么样做点事情。所以，结论：她将奥运和政治挂钩，却没有将地震与政治联系。

　　三，公开叫嚣死伤无数的地震是中国人的报应。

　　事实上，她与许多人一样，与许多普通的中国人一样。在得知这样的大天灾的时候，的确在内心有过疑问：这是不是业报（karma）？”。“Karma”是个佛教中的专业词汇，中文翻译为“竭摩”。不应该简单地作世俗解释。但是莎朗·斯通用这个词，确实有因果报应的意思，因为她后面的一句话为此作了注解：当你对别人不好的时候，坏的事情发生在你身上了。从高标准严要求的高度来讲，特别是对一个无神论者来讲，即使只在心中想这样的话语，也是一种罪过，是对死难者的不敬。有神论者莎朗·斯通也认识到她的内心挣扎了，所以才有这番公开的自我剖析。

　　所以，她并没有公开叫嚣，只是坦露了原本埋藏在她内心的疑问。这样的疑问许多人的内心都有，许多中国人，甚至灾民的内心都有（网友发言和灾区报道中都有体现），只是莎朗·斯通袒露了出来，对之剖析和反省，并为之哭泣。而大多数人却没有，也有类似想法的大多数中国人没有。

　　不想，香港爱国记者下了个套，却套出来莎朗·斯通的直爽和坦诚来。

　　同时，这个套，也套出了相当大的一批中国人的暴戾本性来。那些非人性的污言秽语，就是某些中国人的暴戾的证明。

　　那些非人性的污言秽语，太多太多，不便列出了。读者自己去看吧。

　　后记：简单搜索了一下，看到2002年，大陆媒体《信息时报》倒是说过台湾地震“是对陈水扁当局的一种报应，陈水扁上台后，做了太多违背天理和民众意愿的事，搞得天怒人怨。”还看到2005年《新京报》说美国卡特里娜飓风是大自然的报复。《新京报》还说“我们今天所面对的自然灾难，越来越多是由于人类过于 “快乐”地“征服”自然所引起的”。《新快报》说造成巨大人员伤亡的卡特里娜卡飓风是向布什施威。《上海青年报》则认为卡特里娜飓风是人类自吞苦果。至于将发生在美国的自然灾害与政治挂钩的报道和评论，更是无以计数。

　　在这里给一个中国门户网站的卡特里娜飓风专题的链接：
http: //news.sohu.com/s2005/05katelina1.shtml。看看这些媒体报道的标题吧：《7具尸体无人问津不如狗》；《老鼠以尸为食》；《警察抢劫杀人内部失控》；《盗匪横行，警卫队对劫匪格杀勿论》；《台湾学生目击强奸》；《新奥尔良避难所内大便膝盖高》；《人人都像动物随地大小便》。

　　在给一个另一个中国门户网上面的有关卡特里娜飓风灾害的文章列表。我们知道，这两个网站是没有自主报道权的，它的新闻报道几乎全部来自于中国的官方媒体。

　　从双子塔到新奥尔良美国安全神话破灭(组图) (20050911 05:49)
　　飓风扯下美国的遮羞布(20050906 08:35)
　　飓风吹破美国神话(20050906 06:09)
　　飓风卡特里娜教训“文明冲突论”(20050906 05:11)
　　飓风撕破美国的脸(20050906 04:44)
　　飓风刮起美国政治风暴(20050906 04:13)
　　美国应该自省？"卡特里娜"飓风与二氧化碳政策(20050905 10:30)
　　飓风过后美国人为何要趁火打劫(20050905 10:22)
　　卡特里娜飓风简直是天灾版911(组图) (20050905 10:22)
　　布什可以占领伊拉克为何难救新奥尔良(20050905 10:22)
　　飓风为何向布什施威(20050905 10:22)
　　政治飓风或将袭向小布什(20050905 00:00)
　　新奥尔良在暴行中绝望(20050903 05:32)
　　是什么让超级大国如此脆弱(20050903 05:32)

　　想必，在这次四川地震中，中国媒体上是不会出现类似的报道的。因为早在12日地震发生当日，有关部门就紧急召开专门的宣传工作会议规定了报道的方向。古人云：己所不欲，勿施于人也。

Sarah Stone gets blocked

2008-05-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

中国人的自尊心真是impressive，Sarah Stone口出狂言即引起惊涛骇浪万千波澜。世界上总有人持有你认为是傻逼的意见，有必要那那那那那那那那那那那那那那么的反应吗？就不能让智者归智者、仁者归仁者、傻逼归傻逼、林大鸟飞去？时间和能量都浪费在笔诛口伐上还如何韬光养晦？再说她语出佛教，即信一切皆有姻缘因果，很异端邪说吗？猜想她事后定是后悔万分，心想，真tmd 一言激起千坨屎，二语不合损万金。

stumbling across a not-very-old picture

2008-05-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Now,
She can hardly stand up,
they have broken up.
Some gets more affected,
some gets more cranky.
He? positive.

"There were such happy times and not so long ago how I wonder where they'd gone..."
Forget it.
C'est la vie.

出国，回国

2008-05-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

吴老师快回国了，事实上他并不孤独。今天偶然看到一篇介绍施一公的文章，其中说到他的很多观点，我都很赞同和钦佩。施一公（原）是Princeton的生物系教授，研究结构生物学，学术水平在华人圈内可谓无以复加。他毕业于清华，如今他已回到母校。人在奥运年嘛，咱们看看爱国如何爱得深沉。

摘录：

“普林斯顿大学是美国最适合做研究的地方，从条件上讲，如果只从科研角度出发的话，我确实没有必要回清华，我回清华的目的不只是为了做科研。我回来的根本目的是为了育人，教育一批人，育人在育心，做科研是育人的一个重要环节。我觉得现在的大学生缺乏理想，缺乏一种无论出现什么情况都不会放弃的东西。我想，如果引导正确的话，清华大学一定会有这样的一批学生，他们在为自己奋斗的同时，心里还装着一些自己之外的东西，以天下事为己任，驱使他们往前走，一定会有一批人这样做。如果这样，20或30年后，当我从清华退休时，我会很满意的。”

“我愿意将我的一些经历讲出来，让大家理解我为什么会有这些想法，我相信这些想法能影响一些人，当然，我不会奢望影响所有的人。像清华这样的学校，学生们必须立大志，担负起中国的将来。他们有非常好的素质和机会，但如果毕业后只为自己的柴米油盐关心，只为自己的房子和家庭担心，那是很不应该的事，至少我会很伤心。”

“我回来后，妻子和孩子也会回来。说实在的，我觉得他们在自然环境和物质条件上是有损失的，对妻子来讲则是完全地付出。但我对孩子的教育也有一些自己的想法。”施一公说，在美国长大的中国孩子有一个身份认同问题，他希望自己的孩子能在中国接受早期教育，有一种民族认同感，在他看来，“这太重要了!等他们上了中学、有一些自己的想法后，如果愿意出去学习，我也会送他们出去，让他们自己做选择。”

回国前，一位最好的朋友对他说：“一公，你现在豪情万丈，回去后肯定不到两年，就会被国内的大染缸染得看不见颜色了。”他对记者说：“我很自信我不会改，我的意志很坚定，我改变不了几十年形成的人品和做事方式，两年后不会改，20年后也不会改。如果改了，我会觉得很悲哀！我会问自己：回来干什么？”

他强调开始时会有一个适应过渡阶段，比如在普林斯顿，因为空气质量好，作实验时很少会出现被污染的情况，但他们去年在清华作实验时，培养的细菌经常被空气中的噬菌体杀死。因此，他们有个规定：所有实验室的窗户必须关闭，无论天气多好都不能打开……“总之，作一些调整，环境是可以适应的。”

回来全职工作还不到一个月，就有传言：施一公已经学会敬酒了！他说：“这句话不对，我在出国前就会敬酒了，这有什么关系呢？我有自己做事的原则，我不会做有违原则的事。我不会与这个体制格格不入，能接受的东西我会接受，不能接受的东西我不会做。”

施一公认为，科学家有两类：第一类是完全专心致力于学术，信仰学术，在学术上做得非常好、非常深；第二类是社会责任感更大一些。他说自己属于第二类：“当初我选择专业方向、决定做什么事情是根据社会的需要。”

“美国一些大学的院系在请我去做院长、系主任，在别人眼里，我在美国有光明的前景，但我认为我在美国的前途不如在中国光明。为什么呢？这是我内心的感觉，我觉得美国是一个发展得很稳定的国家，有没有我关系不大，如果我在职位上或科学上做得更好，对这个国家进步的贡献也就是从100到100.1或101，不过如此。但回国就不一样了，因为中国还有很多东西亟待改进，从科技体制和基金评审到大学教学和科研水平，相对于美国一流大学还有相当差距，我觉得我回来以后可以有更大的作为，这种成就感对我来说很重要。”

“没有世界一流大学，或者不是世界一流大学，偶尔也会有世界一流的发现，但对一个国家来说，这是不够的。中国作为一个泱泱大国，如果没有世界一流大学，不可能全方位成为世界强国。任何一个国家领导人，本着对国家和民族的利益出发，都会努力支持建设世界一流大学，这是大势所趋。”

出处：http://www.mitbbs.cn/article_t/Biology/31178508.html

Harvard想挖他，Princeton可以用钱摆平；他一旦想回国了，那么就是金山银库也留不住的了。

PS，还有另一种人：学术水平低下，并且本就无意在国外发展，借着国内招贤纳士的趋势，回国混得名利双收。同时还有另一种声音，对每一个回国的人进行质疑和攻击。他们的心态大概有两种可能：一是为了防范前述的那种沽名钓誉之徒，不明真相便指三道四；另一则是妒忌和恐慌，毕竟那些牛人回来之前他们是老大，经费全由他们拿，而回来之后他们就什么都不是了。

（一瞥http://www.mitbbs.cn/bbsdoc/Biology.html即可知道质疑攻击之事非虚。）

CNN

2008-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Evolutionarily speaking, CHN and CNN differ by only one mutation.

相煎何太急。

香港

2008-04-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

上周末去了一趟香港；此行著實驚艷。

這次是第二次；第一次是我高一暑假去美國的時候，路過住了兩宿。那時見的世面也少，僅是那林立的高樓就把我完全鎮住了。現代城市的壯觀華麗在那次給了我第一印象。

這次我自以為已有充分的心理準備，但香港依然給了我很大的驚喜。從空間上講，它離我居住的廣州不過百余公里，但它所表現出的城市風貌和市民心理與廣州截然不同（可以說優勝許多）。從時間上講，它的城市歷史不足兩百年，抵不上蘇州一個零頭，但人類的偉力使得在這一彈丸之地上（瞬間）樹立起一東方明珠。挖山填海，修路建樓，兩百年內，便有香港。

舊金山也曾讓我覺得驚艷，如一西方美女出現眼前；香港的驚艷則如一ABC，黃皮膚黑眼睛，但操著洋調番話。兩者都沒勾起我很大的認同感。在香港，你的國語很難派上用場；多數地方都得說我不太愛說的廣東話，少數地方你還必須得動用英語。漫步杭州，我的愉悅是放松的；因為蘇軾白居易他們就是我的祖宗，既是血統上的也是文化上的。他們漫步過西湖，游歷過靈隱，我自然也能。杭州的美麗如一鄰家女孩的親切。但在香港，我的心態是在打客場，處處小心，總恐違了規矩：她的美麗只能是驚艷，只愿遠處觀之不敢走進搭訕。

有人說，怎么會呢，香港到處都是中文，你如何懷有如此的心靈距離？在我看來，香港代表著中國文化的一極。在西安，在金陵，中國文化的代表是那斑駁的城墻，幽幽的小巷；那是我們文化的大后方，挖地三十丈釀酒儲糧，地下滿是谷物和芳香。在香港，中國文化則處在與西方文化抗衡的風口浪尖上，它的體現僅僅聚在那招牌上的一個個中國字和一個個黃皮黑發的中國人：是它們在提醒著我們還身處中國。事實上，這樣的提醒也趨漫漶了：商販們的默認吆喝語言是英語；一些公眾場所在周日就只能看到東南亞裔的傭人；有時標語的首行是英語，第二行才補用漢字翻譯；在我住的酒店里，電梯喇叭是先英語后廣東話地提醒你“大廳到了”，我忍不住用國罵回了一句“你他媽的就不能先國語后廣東話再英語地說？” 我聽說，回歸前香港的教育幾乎全是英語；回歸后政府反思教育，決定重用母語，結果每年入學招生的時候報紙上就滿是家長為了讓子女去讀英文學校而絞盡腦汁的新聞。看來我們文化的這一極在抗衡中敗下陣來了。

但想到一些事情后我又樂觀起來。在我看來香港和臺灣保存著中國文化的不少精髓；就像臥龍里的熊貓一樣：當年熊貓遍布西南，后來冰川來臨，熊貓分布一再萎縮，最后就僅存在于那些深山老林冰川無法肆虐的庇護所了。文化的冰川可以是很多東西，比方說文化大革命。也許自從文化大革命，也許還可以追溯到共產黨執政起，中國人的官方文化就只剩官腔套話了。什么“三個代表”、“八榮八恥”的屁話一個接著一個編。非官方文化呢，也難現五四時的朝氣蓬勃，大概只剩下一些創造諸如“宅男”一類詞語的網民了。但是香港則不一樣，大陸的文化冰川蓋不到他們，他們則如庇護熊貓一般保存了許多文化國寶。我這樣的感覺來源于一些流行歌曲：香港7、80年代的流行樂壇為鼎盛時期，許多歌詞寫得如宋詞般悠遠耐人尋味；盡管后來再難重現當年風光，但比之大陸的從來就是荒涼，也要好上許多。請看一詞：

《雙星情歌》填詞（兼作曲、歌手）：許冠杰

曳搖共對輕舟飄，
互傳誓約慶春曉，
兩心相邀，影相照，
愿化海鷗輕唱悅情調。

艷陽下與妹相親，
望偕白首永不分，
美景醉人，心相允，
綠柳花間相對訂緣分。

心兩牽，
萬里阻隔相思愛莫變，
離別凄酸今朝似未見，
明日對花憶卿面。

淚殘夢了燭影深，
月明獨照冷鴛枕，
醉擁孤噙，悲不禁，
夜半飲泣空帳獨懷憾。

在我看來，這首詞對意象的把握和感情的描寫幾近絕唱。事實上，如此的歌詞在港曲中并不罕見，黃霑、許冠杰堪稱大師。

西化蠶食中國文化的同時，也注入了先進的理念。從廣州到香港，短短一程，卻讓我感受到兩地市民心理的偌大不同。在一些基本的人文原則（如言論自由）上，香港市民有著和西方一樣的信仰。我游港大就驚奇地發現那里有（也許是全國唯一的）六四紀念雕塑（當地稱“國殤之柱”）；當天在雕塑旁還正在舉辦一記者招待會。這招待會的起由說來有趣：“國殤之柱”的作者，一丹麥雕塑家（他們叫“高志活”）意欲在五月二號香港奧運圣火傳遞的當天舉行一些示威活動，但被拒入境。我贊同這是香港政府討好北京的做法。于是一些香港人憤怒了，于是就有了記者招待會的抗議。當晚看電視我還看到，還是在港大，一哲學系的女生（看樣子還在念本科）面對記者拉起一藏獨旗幟說火炬傳遞當天要支持藏獨。且不論觀點對錯，光是這些做法在已經習慣被閹割思想的大陸人看來就頗為傻逼：就為了表達一己言論這么大費周折，累不累？事實上，我覺得由此看出他們有著很高的社會責任感。在我們終日想著工作、生活的時候，與我們僅百里之隔的一個城市里學生、市民正在為言論自由、政治立場而忙碌。

回來兩天了，想起香港，始終覺得很驚艷。

The Power of Algorithm

2008-04-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

In the project I am working on, I need to do a shuffling of an array of size over 2 millions. At first I thought it was rather easy, and quickly wrote a code myself based on the simplest logic: extract a random element of the array each time and store it in a new array, and repeat this process as many times as the size of the array. However, when running the code, I find that it is extremely time-consuming for a large array. Simulations indicate that the time required goes up quickly as the size of the array.

I have to find another solution. After reading related materials, I tried the so-called Fisher-Yates algorithm. To my wonderful surprise, the algorithm saves soooooo much time and the running time increases basically linearly with the array size, as shown in the following comparison (in unit of second):

Array size######My naive algorithm######Fisher-Yates algorithm
1,000############## 1 ################## 0
5,000############# 22 ################## 0
10,000 ############ 90 ################## 0.1
20,000 ########### 396 ################## 0.2
2,500,000 ######### Inf ################## 34

This is the first time that algorithm demonstrates its supreme power to me, and I am overwhelmed.

Wiki gets free

2008-04-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

I like Wikipedia a lot, but in China I have to view it using proxies -- a sneaky way in the government's eyes. Today I find that it gets free from the long blocking, and I feel happy to consider it as a sign of the retreat of political needs for the needs of exchanging knowledge and information.

Some People I Feel Thankful To

2008-04-07T08:15:00.001-07:00

In my application, I have received much help in various ways from a number of people. I feel deeply grateful to them for their helping me go through this important step of life.

1. Professor Wu. I wouldn't get so many offers were it not for his strong recommendation. Actually I suspect that UChicago has never admitted a student of ZSU before. I think I owe him so much that "grateful" is too weak a term to express my feeling. His selfless guidance and help along these years convince me that the scientific community is among the purest communities and fill me with the desire of reciprocating what I have received to the community by having students and treating them in the same way.
2. Professor Shi. She is my advisor in ZSU and a person of much maternity. I always get comfort and peace from her.
3. Professor Zhao-Bang Zeng. Also we have interactions no more than my having a course given by him, he happily wrote reference for me. It must make him disppointed when I finally declined NCSU where he is.
4. Professor Xionglei He. He is my good friend actually and I feel no pressure talking with him. He wrote two references for me.
5. Miao. Her reference book accompanied me through the toughest time.
6. Da. We are actually not mutualists, a term I once used. I get much more than I give. In fact he has been giving me valuable guidance throughout my undergraduate studies.
7. Feifei. He answered numerous questions of mine patiently when I first started application and was rather innocent. He is one of a couple of friends I made in college that I would value for lifetime.
8. Tab. His refinement improved my PS significantly. Also, he offered generous help when I needed someone to practice oral English with. In a word, he is most supportive. I deeply appreciate it.
9. Shen, Yang. He offered important help in my appliation to UChicago. He is also very supportive. Actually I worked with him for undergraduate thesis and he taught me a lot. I think he is more a valuable friend than a labmate.
10. Yijian, James Martinez, Huijie, Penghan, and some others whose names are missed here unintentionally. You have my most sincere thanks.

Sophie, my Sophie.

2007-10-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

(Some nonsense:
I haven't written any essay for long. For one thing, it is a long time since my sensitive and emotional years, when I liked reading poems and essays. Indeed, my blog has been a collection of "liushuizhang (流水帐)", which, judging from an aesthetic point of view, is no so good. Not correct to say I am devoid of sensations. Just not having an impulse strong enough to let me put things aside to document flashes of thoughts which, I think, are usually poetic and aesthetic.
But now I have one. )

The first line in the movie Cashback is, "it takes approximatedly 500 pounds to crash a human skull, but human emotion is a much more delicate thing." Indeed, that is why while we admire Su Shi (苏轼), or Xin Qiji (辛弃疾) for their poems full of ambitions and grandeur, we still appreciate Li Qingzhao (李清照) or Deng Lijun (邓丽君) for their poems or songs which focus on the human emotion which is delicate and whimsical in nature.

I have found something that I think can be a rule. Among the stars, or probably all people, only those who possess some uniqueness can stand out to be long appreciated and remembered. Marilyn Monroe is remembered as the sexy goddess, Uma Thurman is said to have the "beauty of sphinx", Gwyneth Kate Paltrow always presents a flavor of noble, Audrey Hepburn is the token of elegance, Cranberries is characterized by her unique voice, to list but just a few. Those who get caught in between are mediocre and ordinary and will fade soon. Among these stars, I'd like to pick one out, that is Sophie Marceau. I have just watched two movies of hers, Fire Light and FanFan, and that was more than two years ago. As one remarks, "her warm face and smiles can melt the icy stone."

Certainly my point is not the star herself. What I want to express is the joy that you have met someone really like her in your life. An amiable face, some unearthly smiles, a slender form -- that is, as I see it, what female beauty is most about. We were sitting, peacefully, at the deck of a ship which sailed across the pearl river. In retrospect, it was a most beautiful picture. Tall buidings at the two sides of the river bank, the remote sun shedding mild lights dyeing everything genially gold, soothing cool wind, a fire balloon hanging in the sky, and it was early Autumn. The beauty has the magic power that makes me to think if I go through the scene, as I have done, the rest are totally unimportant.

Since my undergrad junior year, I have gradually made up my mind to be a scientist. For a long time since then, I was a scientism (if my shallow thinkings can be labelled by such a philosophy), which meaned that I was such an advocate of science that I think everything else was much more inferior, if not worthless. Not until this May, when I happened to watch a movie (There is Something about Mary), and got excited from it for the next some days, did I realize the magic power of art, which captures beauty and offers soul consolation. Frankly, I am still convinced that the so-called aestheticism can be decomposed by our knowledge of neuroscience and psychology. Or put it in another way, the utterable exhilaration brought by viewing a setting sun can be ultimately explained by discovering the chemicals in action so that it is no more a very wonderful experience. But it seems so crude that I am somewhat reluctant to approach it.

For long I am rather curious of the attitude of artist, a pure one, towards beauty. How can a male artist observe a most pretty female form without having an erection? Is it a big lie from the beginning? Now it seems that I have some clues. The key may lies in that an artist is to view, to perceive, to appreciate, to document, to sublimate, rather than to peer, to possess, or to occupy. So, when seeing the rising sun by the beach, rich men come up with the desire to buy the land, while Claude Monet translates it into the everlasting painting Impression, Sunrise. When living by the idyllic Walden Lake, vulgars think about how to build up their own house so that they can occupy the scenes, while David Thoreau leaves the world with his famous comtemplation. When I was viewing the beautiful face next to me, the primary impulse might be to touch, to hug, to kiss, to possess, but, fortunately, what I thought then was to feel, to appreciate, to enjoy that tranquil moment.

On the face of the Fields Medal it says "to transcend one's spirit and to take hold of the world." Indeed, human are born to transcend. However, while transcendism is desirable, asceticism is not. Here lies an important art of life. Anyway, I believe that, since our most needs and wishes go unsatisfied, to transcend as an artist does usually rewards us with a better world.

about mathematcis

2007-09-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

It is an old topic, but I think I have some newer understandings.

One year ago, when I first moved to the east campus for my second degree of statistics, I cherished a notion that was quite distinct from my present one. I was naive then, having a somewhat religious and pious belief on the strength of mathematics. I thought, then, that mathematics might hold the key for the ultimate truth of nature.

However, as I know more and more about the application of mathematics in biology, I become more and more realistic. As a part of nature, biology has its innate properties and complexities that are intractable to math. Actually, it seems that, besides biology, most of our nature is intractable to math, such as meteorology. Physics has much math because it starts from very simplifying and ideal systems. Therefore, my previous conviction seems quite untenable.

What role does theoretical biology play in the filed? As I become more realistic, my answer becomes more conservative. I think it is helpful to integrating and systemizing what we know experimentally, and contributes conceptually. However, this role is limited, as can be seen from the fact that most of the cornerstones in biology are experimental discoveries.

I choose to study theoretical aspects simply because I like it. Of course, as biology becomes more and more quantitative, the role theoretical biology plays will become more and more significant. I hope to make some contributi0ns to this change.

Based on my current knowledge, the following branches of math are close to biology:
statistics (abundant branches)
probability (including stochastic process)
calculus (notably ODE & PDE)
linear algebra
Some other not-so-intimate branches include dynamic programming, game theory(behavioral study), etc. Hence, it is better to focus on and master these subjects than to study much math without grasping firmly these core branches.

In the following I'd like to talk about another aspect. I gradually realize the great distinction between applied math and mathematical theory. For those who mainly apply math, math is a tool and little theory is required. A very convincing example is the success of Newton in deriving the law of general gravity based on the Kepler's three observational principles. By his time the rigorous basis of mathematical analysis (calculus) had not been set up, which did no harm at all to its utility. Therefore, I think I don't have to waver at whether I should study those theoretical aspects of math any more. For example, for applying calculus, I think what I need to master includes how to develop a continuous model (involving instantaneous rate), calculating integration and most importantly, how to solve DEs. For theoretical aspects like epsilon-delta language, mid-value theorem of differential, I don't think they are necessary. I won't study course like real analysis until I later find it useful.

For those who wish to study more math, I suggest that taking courses may not be as helpful as they expect. In fact, as our academic careers go on, we will find that most of what we know are got from self-study. I think self-study has some advantages over taking courses, such as more flexible, less homework-oriented, less requirement-oriented (that is, you can study to the extent your think it is enough, rather than what teachers tell you are enough. In my probability course, my teacher told us that CLT, large number theorem, convergence in probability/distribution, characteristic function, moment function, etc., were beyond the scope of the course, which, however, turned out to be very important), etc.

In the coming semester, I will audit, not take, two courses: stochastic process and PDE (perhaps plus nonparametric statistics). I believe they will be useful and I hope I can master them relatively well.

My summer vacation

2007-09-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

7.2-7.6 Graduation
ceremony, taking pictures, dinner, seeing classmates off, etc.
It feels bad.

7.7-8.6 lab (miRNA project)
A dull month. Wu Laoshi came during the month.

8.7-8.23 WH
A very pleasant fortnight. Hometown, 14th floor, icecream, self-study, soothing weather, movies, grand parents, spicy food... The boredom I underwent during the lab month was compensated.

8.24-8.25 JM
A brief stay at home.

8.26-9.2 GZ
preparing for the coming semester by studying some math and population genetics.

In sum, it is a satisfying summer vacation. I spare no effort.

coming back

2007-07-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

I have not come here for long. The main reason is my having no access to the blogspot -- it has been blocked in China mainland. Thanks to 朱靖君, who is one of my previous classmates and studies computer science in Tsinghua, I can come here again using Firefox. I think I will keep using blogspot -- moving to another blog website is tiresome. Of course, this would reduce the number of readers substantially. But I don't think there is much room for the reduction -- it does not have many readers from the beginning. (actually, I have to say, Da is my biggest and best reader. So, never mind.) (If convenient, I will store a copy in my msn space when I write something here in the future)

Summer vacation has been its midway. In the past one month or so, I mainly kept doing my project on miRNA structure. To be honest, it is not fun, because its conceptual requirements are low and I mainly deal with technical stuff. Nevertheless, it does benefit me in some aspects, the most important one being strenthening my programming skills. I have a lot of programming practice throughout the project and I think I am not a low-level perl programmer anymore. However, due to the limited range of the tasks given by the project, I have not been given the opportunities of learning some advanced features, such OO programming. I do hope that I can get strengthened in these aspects.

Another weakness of mine exposed by the project is using softwares and numerical methods. An example: I have thought out a probability model of quantifying a biological process (it is simple, but I am proud of myself since it is my first time successfully applying statistical principles to biology), the results of which need first getting the likelihood function via symbolic calculations and second getting the MLEs of parameters. The first step is best implemented in software like matlab and second step seems solvable only through numerical methods. However, I know little of both of them previously. (I don't know how to do the second taks even now, since Wu Laoshi told me to write a simple descriptive paper, which does not involve the probability model.) Anyway, I think through this project, I know better what I have to learn in the future. (actually, Da has told me nearly three years ago the importance of using softwares)

I will spend some days more to give an end to this project. My state is just soso these days, and I have to adjust myself to my best.

What is coming is rather exciting. First, Wu Laoshi told me to do something on Drosophila genome analysis, which is more relevant to speciation theory. Although it has a technical beginning(it seems that I have to learn some bioinformatic techiniques before starting the analysis), on the whole it is more theoretical than what I am doing. Second, the lab gets bigger as two abroad students just came back (曾凯&贺雄雷). Their focuses are theoretical population genetics and regulatory networks, respectively, and they do very well at them. I am sincerely pleased that the laboratorial environment gets more nurturing.

It is just three months or so to my application. I have not thought about the application details and the schools yet. I just first do my science well and then think about the rest. Perhaps in the last days of the summer vacation, I can spend some time on them.

A bit ashamed to admit, I am still wavering on whether to continue studying for second degree of statistics. The main reasons include: 1, if I want my research exprience to be richer, I'd better spend more time doing research in the coming semester. However, if I take mathematical and statistical courses in the coming semester, the course load would be rather heavy. Plus the application process which may be time-consuming, I doubt if I can handle them. 2, most of the courses in zsu suck. I think it may not be a bad choice that I wait for one year more and take similar courses at US which are supposed to be much better. Furthermore, self-study is not bad. I will see if 曾凯 can guide me in research and then make the decision.

Most of my college classmates graduated and choose to find a job. Some of them find lucrative jobs and make big money, which will translate into comfortable lives in the near future. To me, this is a time when I reflect upon my passion on nature and science, and more importantly, have some adjustments on the attitude towards research. To outsiders, what a scientist or researcher stands for are their publications and astonishing discoveries, just like we think of the principle of natural selection when talking about Charles Darwin, or the law of relativity when referring to Albert Einstein. However, to the scientists themselves, their lives may be constituted by the small pieces of mirth brought by every small progress and discovery. It is the mirth and the sense of fulfilment that bind them to research. However, if the focus has shifted to publication or title, as is abounding currently, they have degraded to the level of politicians or businessmen.

Of course, everyone is seeking for happiness. To me, the happiness brought by research results is more substantial than by making money or something. We all have our life once; some may desparately want to have something, while some may wish to leave something. It is a rule that human history remembers most clearly scientists, thinkers and artists. Most of the plutocrats disappear without a trace on history.

thesis

2007-05-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working for my undergraduate thesis for long and it now comes to a critical juncture. I have to keep myself at a good state and keep working, partly for that topic I am working on is interesting and important, partly for it to be published so that my application will be further guaranteed.

So, at this time torrid and humid summer, after a long break, I have to get back to work even harder.

Graduation is coming close. See, I am still young and passionate:

@back mountain, Zhuhai. The distant view is the campus.

5.1 vacation (2007)

2007-05-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

After a long work without rest, I took a long break in 5.1 vacation.

5.1-5.2
I went to Zhuhai campus with some friends. The weather is OK, despite the burning sun, and we had a good time. Again, I saw the flying papilios (空中掠影，惊鸿一现), and many famaliar things. However, I did not spend much time recalling, nor did I get stuck in sentiments. Perhaps "now" has taken up so much of my life and "future" is so worth looking forward to that I do have to turn to "past" for spiritual comfort. Anyway, I am very glad of such a coming back, especially with some good friends.

One of my Shixiong's, an indeed nice guy. He is gonna leaving for uchicago this summer. His bent is at bioinformatics.

纽灰蝶

5.4-5.10
I went back to Wuhan. I left the city for Guangdong when I was three. Since then, I have never seen Wuhan in May. During my stay, the sky is almost always clear and the temperature is soothing, so the city seems quite a nice place this time of the year, unlike what it is like some months later.
I spent much time with my family, which is hard most often as work usually keeps my at school. My grandma's health condition is OK, so is my grandpa. However, their situation is a bit pathetic.
I also spent some time in wild. I climb the back mountain with two newly met friend, Caterpillar and Yinchijia, and knew many novel things.

Charltonius said that it was not caterpillar of Graphium sarpedon (Gs has no the yellow stripe).

琉璃灰蝶属种类

长尾蓝灰蝶

琉璃蛱蝶，寄主菝契

explaning the name

2007-04-20T00:26:00.001-07:00

My previous blog's name is "a naturalist's perception". However, I soon realized that I am not a naturalist, which, by common definition, refers to those studying natural history and most of them mainly engage in field work. Since I have left field work for long and I am now mainly interested in the genetic basis of evolution, the title no longer holds.

I'd like to position myself in a broad context, i.e., a student of biology. Indeed, every biological phenomenum is the product of evolutionary process, and is thereby intriguing. Of course, unlike traditional biologists, I'd implement a lot of mathematical and bioinformatic approaches.

a new site

2007-04-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

I have long been sick of the msn space site, which is slow and ugly. If I'd like to continue to maintain a blog, changing for somewhere nicer seems inevitable.

Well, I am not sure if this one, the blogger, is significantly better. Any recommendation of blog website is welcome.