issue4:No field of study can advance significantly unless outsiders bring their knowledge and experience to that field of study.
We struggle for making a success day and night in our own fields. But why our effort often contributes little to the advancement of the study? The author shed light on the secret of the way to the success. We need outsiders to bring their knowledge and experience to our fields, just like a tree need to breathe in fresh air to grow well.
We tend to be blind to the simple facts just because we sometimes pay too much attention to the complex phenomena .Some experts in economics are keen on setting models which may be a little or even much different from the actual society. They contribute themselves to the complex calculation while overlook the simple factors such as the geographic environment, the ethical tradition etc. As a result, their suggestion to the government based on their research may not be adoptable. The situation would be much better if they have some geographers and some sociologists as partners during the research. Their knowledge and experience will play an important role in making breakthroughs in economic field. The onlookers see most clearly, that may be a proper old Chinese saying to explain the importance of the outsiders.
The wisdom of the outsiders can not only provide us important corrections but also significant complement. Nowadays, the division of science and knowledge is going deep day by day. We are facing an exploded information world where none of us can handle all of the knowledge we need. At the same time, the problems waiting to be solved become more and more complex so that no one is able to ravel them out without integration of verities of information and lore. The only way to resolve the conflict is the teamwork of people with different abilities. Take the study on biology for example. Before the computer is invented, it is even not imaginable to detect the orders of bases on the genes. But now we have completed the detection of the base order of the whole human genome which has 3 billion bases with the help of computer techniques. Without the high calculating speed of the computers, it will take you nearly 30 years to just count them one by one. Another convincing example is the research on the universe. The astronomers alone can never achieve great improvement as they may not have enough knowledge on mathematics and physics. A second limitation is the equipment for observation the space. Without the effort of machine engineers and other experts, the astronomers would become so “short-sighted” that they can only look up to sky and sigh.
When we are tripped by our own way of thinking, the advice of outsiders often offer us an altered degree to review the question. The tendency to form a rigid thinking habit frequently becomes impediments on the way to success. If we stick to the direction which may lead us to a terrible trap, it is possible to find it so difficult that we can hardly take a short step. However, the outsiders who study in a different filed may not have the same problem and help us change our views.
There are no true “outsiders” in any field. But the knowledge and experience of the so-called “outsiders” are necessary for the study in every field. Not only because they can see what we ignored but also they can give us a hand when we were restricted by our own thoughts.