The Essence of Scientific Revolution

This week, I reread Sapiens.

On the essence of the scientific revolution, the book states: “The Scientific Revolution is not a ‘revolution of knowledge,’ but a ‘revolution of ignorance.’ The truly great discovery that launched it was the realization that humans know next to nothing about the most important questions.”

At its core, the scientific revolution is about continuously questioning and exploring the unknown—not settling for existing answers.

That idea struck me deeply.

Before the scientific revolution—during the Agricultural and Cognitive Revolutions—the knowledge systems sustaining human societies were largely built on “stories”: human-made fictions and speculative reasoning.

Modern science, by contrast, rests on mathematics—and with it comes the demand for rigor: calculability, falsifiability, experimental reproducibility.

To be sure, capitalism and imperialism provided much of the early economic and political impetus for scientific advancement. Yet the intellectual liberation they enabled—unleashing unprecedented productivity—remains historically indispensable.

Even though nations retain distinct cultural traits, today’s mainstream global society broadly shares this scientific mindset—and reaps its benefits.

It is precisely because we admit our ignorance that we feel the drive—and the desire—to explore.

For individuals, acknowledging ignorance is the first step toward knowledge—and even wisdom.

The power of modern science lies not only in uncovering truth, but in having the courage to confront its own limits.

The Essence of Running a Company

Early in my entrepreneurial journey, a seasoned founder told me: “Running a company is running risk.”

At the time, I only half-understood.

Years later, after more experience, I see it clearly: risks are everywhere—some controllable, some not. All we can do is minimize the controllable ones.

Take team building: How do you gradually build a stronger, more cohesive team—and keep exceptional talent from leaving easily?

A founder from a publicly listed healthcare company shared three insights:

  1. Radical honesty—rare, yet essential.
  2. Fair distribution of value: Fundamentally, people come together for mutual interest. Once interests are balanced, trust and emotional bonds naturally follow.
  3. A product or business model with near-zero (or very low) marginal cost: As volume scales, costs don’t rise proportionally—meaning each additional unit produced incurs minimal extra cost.

Under such conditions, top performers are less likely to leave. Why? Because replicating the product or system is prohibitively expensive and risky—provided the underlying technology is solid.

Why does this happen? Because of a basic human tendency: “Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.” High marginal cost implies high replicability.

That’s why many MCN operators—once they’ve mastered the playbook—can easily spin off and start their own firms: sign a few influencers, and the operation is up and running.

Similarly, sales-driven agencies, pure distributors, traffic-focused platforms, and MCN firms struggle to retain true talent—even if they share most of the profits. It simply doesn’t stick.

Running

This morning, I watched the Guiyang Marathon live stream. Amateur elite runner Cen Wanjiang won the race in 2:20—beating international competitors. Watching him climb from fourth place to overtake the leaders one by one, then hold the lead to the finish line, was electrifying.

Marathons carry extraordinary emotional resonance—especially in person.

I’ve restarted running these past two weeks—and continued studying its fundamentals.

  1. First principle: Humans are born to run. Our genome hasn’t meaningfully changed since the era of early Homo sapiens, when daily long-distance running was essential for survival. Only the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions freed us from that necessity—without diminishing our biological capacity.
  2. Form matters: Land on the whole foot; lean slightly forward; swing arms naturally front-to-back—not side-to-side; keep your torso upright. Proper form protects your knees almost entirely.
  3. Cadence is key: Aim for 180–190 steps per minute—even during easy runs.
  4. Monitor heart rate: Easy runs should stay at 60–70% of your max HR; moderate efforts at 70–85%. This keeps fatigue low and injury risk lower.
  5. Start slow: Pace is secondary early on—hitting the right heart-rate zone is primary.
  6. Warm up before, stretch after: Never skip either.
  7. Running is full-body: Strengthen legs, knees, core, and abs—not just endurance.
  8. Cross-train with cycling: It builds aerobic capacity without impact stress.
  9. Set a goal: I’ve committed to running a half-marathon in three months. A clear target helps structure training—and makes planning concrete.
  10. Wall sits help knee resilience: But only with consistent practice.
  11. Frequency & progression: Run 3–5 times weekly, increasing weekly volume gradually.
  12. Effective progression: Begin with steady easy runs, then systematically add longer endurance sessions and interval workouts.