"Literati despise each other", and even slander each other, seems to have existed since ancient times. The existence of this phenomenon will bring great internal friction and negative energy to the coordinated operation and the common overcoming of problems, especially to the unity and harmony of a unit. So how do literati do blind dates? In a simple word, tolerate the shortcomings of others! The bottom line is: don't violate regulations and ethics.
The ancients said that no one is perfect, and no gold is enough. The disadvantage is the embodiment of diversity and distinctiveness. Accommodating shortcomings and advocating diversity is the secret and key to promoting harmony. Because the premise of harmony is pluralism, the essence is complementarity, there is no harmony in singleness, and there is no right or wrong in the individual.
Gödel's incompleteness theorem in mathematical logic says that there are no perfect theories and perfect things in the world. The error theory states that everything has errors, as long as it is within the allowable range, it is qualified. It was recently discovered that in the beautiful solar system, the Earth is an "illegal" structure, but it brings life. The defect is the defect, and the defect is the imperfection and error. From a microscopic point of view, any macroscopic perfect object, as long as it is constantly magnified and observed, has microscopic defects. A table plane that, when viewed under a microscope, is undulating "mountainous hills". A strand of hair is a rough "straw rope" under the microscope. Just look at things with a magnifying glass, there are flaws and problems everywhere. A famous makeup artist said that there are no perfect people in the world, only beautiful people, and beautiful women are all drawn. Pretty is good-looking, with personality and temperament, not without flaws. Exquisite and refined, but also the beauty with errors. Everyone has imperfections, not only in terms of physiognomy and form, but also in differences and defects in personality, temperament, constitution, and thinking. The probable reason is that the universe, human beings, and society are still in the process of evolution, and it is a long historical process from low to high, from incomplete to perfect. Therefore, defects are the nature of the world, the manifestation of diversity, and everyone has shortcomings and faults, which is the manifestation of the commonality of things and the objective law.
Aesthetically, the defect itself is a kind of expected beauty. When the defects exist in the whole of beauty and reflect the connotation of beauty, the local defects just set off the sparkle of the whole, and the resulting beauty of the defects can give people a unique aesthetic enjoyment. Venus with a broken arm is a case in point. Only with defects can people think and understand, and only with defects can we feel the deepest call and power of human beings in pursuit of perfection and progress, so the beauty of defects has a positive meaning in aesthetics. Its essence is: it can evoke a special feeling of people, can stimulate other associations of people, and in the contrast with perfection, defects make people feel the need to pursue progress and perfection. There is a formula for aesthetics, beauty = symmetry + breakage. It can be seen that the true beauty of reality is flawed and flawed. Symmetry is equality, conservation, standard, and perfection, satisfying the principle of minimum action. A more academic term is that invariance under mathematical transformations is symmetry. Scientists have found that the space translational symmetry corresponds to the law of conservation of momentum, the space rotational symmetry corresponds to the law of conservation of angular momentum, the time translational symmetry corresponds to the law of conservation of energy, the normative transformation symmetry corresponds to the law of conservation of charge, and so on.
In fact, the beauty of imperfections also has philosophical significance. With defects, we continue to strive for perfection, strive to improve ourselves, and improve the surrounding environment, so that the whole world has a steady stream of progress momentum. The famous dancer Tai Lihua, who is deaf and mute, is known as the "messenger of beauty and humanity", she said, "Disability is a characteristic of human diversity; Disability is not a misfortune, just an inconvenience; People with disabilities also have the value of life! "The famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is an epoch-making genius in a wheelchair. In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Guan Yunchang, who shocked China, "carelessly lost Jingzhou", and the shrewd and capable Zhou Gongjin was so narrow that he ......died young in lamentationEach of these timeless characters has personality and physical "flaws", but it does not affect their tall image in the slightest. Imperfections are beautiful because they embody truth and individuality, highlighting the distinctive characteristics of a person or thing. Perfection is relative, defect is absolute, and if perfection is really achieved at a certain moment, then the moment of the death of this thing has also come.
From the point of view of systematics, perfection and omnipotence are just ideals and beliefs. Every thing and group of people is an element, a microsystem, or a subsystem in the large system of the universe, and it is only a very small part of the perfect system of the universe, an instant or a process. Only the big world, the big system, and the big society can be exquisite, wonderful, and harmonious. The world only has overall beauty, collective beauty, and system beauty, and there is no individual beauty, individual beauty, and branch beauty. Because beauty itself is coordination and harmony, combination is innovation, and comparison produces gaps. The individual beauty we usually see is actually a big system, because as long as it is infinitely divided, there are endless components, which is the concept of mathematical limits, and it is also a worldview and square problem. The essence of colorful colors is a spectrum composed of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, with wavelengths ranging from long to short. A symphony relies on many notes to be varied, each note is monotonous and boring, and only the interaction of individual notes makes the whole piece beautiful. The same is true of the human body, where a single organ cannot function and is of little use, only organically connected to form a beautiful human body, and each organ is used to the fullest.
Everyone has a personality, temperament, and habits, and the world is rich and colorful, and a single color is actually ugly. In fact, people with flaws and personalities are cuter and more attractive. In the late Warring States period, the military attache Lian Po and the civil official Lin Xiangru had very different personalities, but they could work together harmoniously, becoming friends of life and death, bringing peace and strength to the country. "Journey to the West" describes the success of Tang Seng Xitian's scriptures because his subordinates have their own personalities and skills, not all of them, and they can complement each other's advantages. The victory of the Chinese revolution is related to the differences and complementarities of the personalities of the people. The same is true for a unit, an institution, a department, a group, a region, a society, and a country. Complementing each other's advantages, uniting strength, and creating brilliance together is the viewpoint of materialist dialectics. Stubbornly pursuing individual perfection is prone to mental illness and brings pain and anxiety. No wonder the famous writer Su Dongpo said helplessly, people have joys and sorrows, and the moon is cloudy and sunny.
In fact, the latest discovery of the material structure to trace the origin of human beings can make us feel more relieved. In the ultimate state, human beings are tiny, tiny, thread-like "strings". This type of string is called a cosmic string, and the scale is very small (10-33 cm), and the vibrations of the different frequencies of the string correspond to different masses and energies. All "elementary particles" such as electrons, photons, neutrinos, and quarks are different vibrational modes or vibrational excited states of cosmic strings with different lifetimes. But the vast majority of "elementary particles" are fleeting, and their lifespans are astonishingly short, with the shortest living only about 100 trillions of a second, or roughly 10-28 seconds, that it is difficult to describe their decay process in exact adjectives. This way, it will be easier for us to understand. The real material world is actually a magnificent symphony played by the cosmic strings! Therefore, life is impermanent, life is short, and the starting and ending points of anyone are the same, and there is no need to care about immediate gains and losses, personal fame and fortune. Acknowledging the generality of shortcomings and appreciating the imperfections and beauty of the world is a great leap in human thinking and understanding, and it is a rational return to the original principle of human beings, which is conducive to a peaceful state of mind, to being a person in the world, and to implementing humanistic thoughts.
When we get along with our colleagues with this understanding and mentality, we create a harmonious atmosphere. Since everyone has shortcomings and shortcomings, don't blame, attack, and denigrate each other. Since everyone is not perfect, everyone has the value of existence, and one cannot be missing, thus forming a system of beauty. As the saying goes, there is no waste in the world, only fear of misplace. I am born to be useful, and everyone has their own strengths, each has their own shortcomings, and each has its own use. You can't attack the shortcomings of others with your own strengths, and you can't only see the shortcomings of others and not see their strengths. Whoever seeks perfection and blames, and who is tolerant of oneself and harsh on others, is prone to breed disharmony. Of course, we must strive for perfection in our work. First of all, we must be strict with ourselves, and then we must be strict with others, and we must first be hard with ourselves, so that "there is no mistake in my hand, please rest assured that I will do it". To admit that others have defects is to sincerely respect others, sincerely tolerate others, and help others with heart, so that you can have a good atmosphere, good popularity, and a good environment, and you can be truly happy.
We respect people who have shortcomings, but also struggle with their own shortcomings. We must carry forward our strengths, overcome our shortcomings, and learn from each other's strengths. Things are interconnected. The phenomenon of "quantum entanglement" in physics not only explains the phenomenon of twin induction, but also makes people realize that the connection of things can break through the limitations of space and time. The world itself is one, and there are various connections and influences between people. Things are intertransformative. The essence of the world is movement, from which energy is generated, which is then transformed into mass, and mass is the condensation of energy. Time is a product of motion and has no time in itself. Space and time can also be transformed into each other. Today's superior may be a subordinate tomorrow, today's subordinate may be a superior tomorrow, and today's stranger may be his own colleague tomorrow. Therefore, we should leave "redundancy" in our work - back roads and leeway.
In academic institutions where experts and scholars are concentrated, we should "tolerate failure, tolerate bigotry, respect individuality, and encourage innovation." For scientific researchers, perfection cannot be forced, and flawed beauty must be allowed. Disadvantage is generally an extension of the advantage, and sometimes the disadvantage and the advantage are two sides of the same coin, or even the same. For example, being too modest and overconfident can be disadvantages. Failure, paranoia, individuality, often coexist with innovation. All talents have flaws. Countless facts tell us that flawed people tend to be smart. Masters are often "big monsters", and big people often have "big problems". The key is that we look at people's mindsets, perspectives, and standards. Some are math geniuses, but imbeciles in life. Some are philosophers, but the five tones are incomplete. Respect, appreciation, tolerance, and praise of flawed scholars are important in an academic unit. We must overcome the first cause effect, the halo effect, the moonlight effect, and the Matthew effect, and look at talents dialectically.
Human rights are inherent, and all human beings are equal. In terms of personality and dignity, there is no distinction between upper and lower, high and low. As leading cadres, we must not use our power to oppress others, bully others, or humiliate others with our power. As long as it does not involve confidentiality, it is necessary to communicate and discuss more and solicit opinions widely. Leading cadres should be excellent motivators and agitators, show concern for their subordinates, ensure the reasonable fame and fortune requirements of scientific and technological personnel, tolerate people, talents, things, and words, and especially tolerate talents' strengths, shortcomings, faults, strengths, strangeness, and righteousness.
In scientific research units, colleagues should put down the microscope and pick up the telescope. It is necessary to create a relaxed environment and turn "literati despising each other" into "literati going on a blind date." It is necessary to create an atmosphere of "fate is important, goodness is superior, and harmony is precious", talk about fate, friendship, and harmony, and do not fight infighting, do not tear down the stage, and do not disguise. It is necessary to resolutely sweep away the residual poison and unhealthy tendencies of the "Cultural Revolution", and it is forbidden to buckle hats, beat sticks, and grab braids. Of the 8 billion people in the world, only those of us get together, this is fate, we must cherish it, otherwise we will regret it when we are old. It is necessary to be kind to people, give more love, build more platforms, and implement the truth, goodness and beauty contained in the scientific spirit into life and work.
A common mistake people make is to be polite to strangers and too harsh to those around them. Anyone who thinks others are wrong must be at fault, because you always use your own standards to measure others. If you don't ask for anything, you are certainly not human. People must help each other to make this society warm. "Harmony" is the core of Chinese culture. We should speak kindly and look pleasant, so that the family can be harmonious and the unit be harmonious. Confucius said, "The gentleman is harmonious but different, and the villain is the same but not harmonious", and the true gentleman has a personal point of view but stresses unity.
The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, scholars should have more academic exchanges, do not indulge in eating, drinking and having fun, become friends with wine and meat, and do not use ** to feast with each other. Holiday activities should be diversified, noble and healthy. It is necessary to practice strict economy, oppose extravagance and waste, and maintain the true character of hard struggle. Lasting friendship depends on heart-to-heart communication and value recognition. The harmony of the team depends on mutual inclusion and paradigm support.
As a result, the world is better, the career is smoother, the body is healthier, and the life is happier!
Li Houqiang, professor and doctoral supervisor of Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, revised in Sanya, Hainan Province on February 3, 2024).