The new PhD supervisor of the Chinese University of Science and Technology recorded the road of scientific research: he received 13 rejection letters in five years.

In 2020, an article on the well-known online platform "Zhihu" was entitled "What kind of experience is it that the doctor hasn’t published Paper in the sixth year?" The post triggered a heated discussion among many young scholars who were reading blogs, and was viewed more than 2.6 million times.

In this post, Shao Shuai, a young scholar who was studying PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at that time, wrote a ten thousand-word post through his personal account, telling that he had not sent an article during his five-year PhD, and even received 13 rejection letters.

The The Paper reporter noted that in May this year, Shao Shuai, who returned from her studies, updated this message, which aroused widespread concern: "I have recently returned to my alma mater, China University of Science and Technology, and now I am interested in enrolling master’s and doctoral students, as well as undergraduate students’ innovation and summer research programs. Welcome students from mathematics, physics, computer and other related professional backgrounds who are interested in theoretical computer science, especially computational complexity theory, and its cross direction with statistical physics, quantum theory and other related fields to contact me. "

Shao Shuai also attached his personal homepage in official website, China University of Science and Technology to his message. According to the introduction of China University of Science and Technology, Shao Shuai is currently a special professor and doctoral supervisor of Computer College of China University of Science and Technology.

Shao Shuai graduated from Hua Luogeng Class of China University of Science and Technology Junior College with a bachelor’s degree in 2014, and graduated from Computer Department of University of Wisconsin-Madison with a doctor’s degree in 2020. During his study, he also obtained a master’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in computer science. After that, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University and Edinburgh University respectively, and was also selected as a junior researcher at Wolfson College during his work at Oxford.

Shao Shuai’s main research field is theoretical computer science, and it also involves its cross direction with statistical physics and quantum theory. In recent years, Shao Shuai has made some research achievements in the complexity classification of accurate counting, approximate counting algorithm and phase transition phenomenon, and the equivalence classification of quantum entangled states, and has published many papers in authoritative journals and top international conferences.

Go back to Shao Shuai’s ten thousand-word message post two years ago. At that time, he wrote: "I think the most important experience in many answers is anxiety. Anxiety can’t graduate without articles, anxiety has to be postponed, and anxiety can’t find a job. I sometimes feel anxious, but rarely, for me, the biggest experience is’ not recognized’ and’ self-denial’. "

Shao Shuai thinks: "We all want something in return, which may be material or spiritual, but in any case, it is a kind of recognition for what we have done, just like when you answer a question in Zhihu, you will be eager for others’ approval. The same is true for doctoral students. It is not easy for a person to spend several years on a problem and study it repeatedly. We hope that this kind of hard work can be recognized, so as to realize our personal value. But if your work has never been generally recognized and accepted by the academic community in these years, the process of reading a blog will be particularly difficult. "

In the main body of the article, Shao Shuai recorded in detail the detailed process and mentality of his 13 rejected manuscripts. Like most young people who read PhD, Shao Shuai once doubted the significance of his contribution work.

He wrote: "That night, I struggled until midnight, but I still couldn’t change it. Since the first submission of this article, I have revised it again and again according to the opinions of the judges, and even many times the opinions of the judges are conflicting. I changed it this time and changed it again next time, not to mention carefully adjusting the line spacing and margins in order not to exceed 10 pages each time."

"In the constant rejection, time came to the fourth year of my phd. During this period, I was stuck in the most important problem I did for a long time, and I had no motivation and enthusiasm to do it. This kind of frustration does not come from the scientific research itself. In fact, I have never felt any frustration because the scientific research process itself is not smooth. re-search, repeated attempts, this kind of trial and error itself is also a part of scientific research that makes people happy and fascinated … In the process of being constantly rejected, my enthusiasm for scientific research is also being worn away little by little. "

"During this period, I will keep revising my rejected articles over and over again and re-vote. I put a lot of chocolates in the drawer of my office. Only by eating a lot of chocolates can I secrete a little dopamine and force myself to change the article and write proof. I used to watch some American dramas, and I felt that the people in them seemed to smoke, drink and take drugs as soon as they were decadent and sinking. As for it? Later, I felt that it may be really a bit of torture, and it can only be alleviated by external stimuli. Fortunately, I only love sweetness and have no other bad hobbies. "

Shao Shuai’s own photos of sweets. Zhihu diagram

"Sometimes I can’t help but recall the college life in those days, and recall that a group of high-spirited teenagers in those days, but when I look back, I find that we have gone so far. The road to the future has become gradually blurred. Most of the friends who used to travel together have gone to a new stage of life, while some friends unfortunately did not survive and left us forever. Sometimes you suddenly find that it seems that only you are still walking alone on this road, and you can’t turn back, and you can’t see the future direction. Even if you are firm, you can’t help but start to doubt. Do you want to go all the way to black? "

Fortunately, Shao Shuai’s persistence finally paid off. At the end of the article, Shao Shuai said: "I wrote my story in the hope of comforting everyone, comforting myself and encouraging everyone. Finally, I want to say that I am still trying to persist. Maybe I can find many objective reasons to explain why I am still so dead. For example, I am lazy and too lazy to try new things, which is why I depend on it. For example, I don’t have the pressure of the other half, so I don’t have to consider starting a family, or I am not particularly old, and it will not be a big problem to spend another two years. "

"But in fact, I know that there is only one reason that really keeps me going: I still like scientific research, and despite being rejected again and again, pure scientific research itself can bring me happiness. When I solve a problem and write a complete proof, even if some people find it boring, I can still revel in it. Reading a proof is like enjoying a piece of music and a painting, which is a kind of enjoyment of beauty. If there is any other reason, I should still be dissatisfied in my heart. I feel that I am not bad. "

Shao Shuai finally wrote: "When I wrote this answer before, I didn’t have an article after five years of doctoral study. In the following six months, my luck almost changed, and all five articles during my doctoral period were sent out, including winning FOCS/SODA, and I also graduated from my doctorate and found a post-doctoral job in Oxford. Of course, the happiest thing about this is that the first job that I was most concerned about and hit me hardest was finally accepted, and it was in the early morning of the day of my doctoral defense, which was almost the happiest moment in my whole doctoral career, although it may have come a little late. "

Shao Shuai’s personal homepage and his published achievements in the past two years. China University of Science and Technology official website Map

The Paper reporter noticed that his research achievements in recent years were listed on the personal homepage of official website Shao Shuai of China University of Science and Technology. As he wrote in the above article, it was all published after the message he wrote in 2020.