My Medical Thoughts 6
The Open‑source Medical Idea: Characteristic Multi‑target Therapy with Large‑scale Traditional‑Chinese‑Medicine Compound Prescriptions
If readers have read from the preface up to the present section, you may well understand that the characteristic multi‑target therapy with large‑scale TCM compound prescriptions I advocate is essentially a philosophy for treating illnesses. Rather than a fixed, ready‑made formula, it represents a mindset for prescription formulation that can be continuously refined under this guiding principle.
My current priority is to polish the empirical formulas I have summed‑up over decades, and experiment with new formulations for ailments I have rarely treated before. Meanwhile, I keep absorbing new‑found medical knowledge to further improve my set of medical theories.
Not only is this theoretical system open‑ended in itself, but I am also ready to share all my research findings openly with fellow medical practitioners. For my whole life, I will not take the initiative to publish academic papers or pursue professional titles. My only wish is to remain a grassroots‑level general practitioner. I may never release monographs in my lifetime, or at the very least, I have no plan to do so in the coming decade.
From my perspective, when medical research is driven by the utilitarian pursuit of professional ranks and honours, it will largely lose its joy and turn into draining labour. Designing viable treatment frameworks and tackling previously intractable diseases is thrilling in its own right. Immersed in such delight, one has neither the spare time nor energy to concern‑yourself with trivial external gains.
Richard Feynman, my favourite physicist, wrote a book titled The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, a most evocative name. Like Feynman, many people in this world savour the pure pleasure of thinking, and I am one of them. As we all know, once a hobby turns into a full‑time career, it loses much of its appeal.
I used to be a half‑time programmer. The label “half‑time” stems from the fact that I mastered coding, code modification and online marketing skills, and ran cross‑border e‑commerce businesses for years with these capabilities. Still, I never formally worked as a programmer. I have tried out numerous open‑source programmes and engaged with open‑source communities, witnessing first‑hand how open‑source culture fuels technological advancement.
I even hope that one day, a senior programmer passionate about medicine will build an open‑source community centred on large‑scale multi‑target compound prescriptions. Enthusiasts can jointly develop, build and share this project. It will carry profound significance for medical progress.
Over this summer vacation, I learned new open‑source technologies with the assistance of artificial intelligence. I rebuilt my personal website with these upgraded techniques, fixing repeated system crashes triggered by heavy web traffic. With AI‑powered translation tools, I also constructed my multilingual‑site using brand‑new site‑building software. Through this experience, I deeply sensed how technological advances bring us greater convenience.
An idea crossed my mind: someday I will launch an open‑source medical project that unites AI, human physicians, patients and dedicated medical enthusiasts. I hope exchanges and joint efforts among participants can boost medical advances and bring benefits to more sick people.
I believe someone will embark on this project sooner or later. As technology evolves, the paradigm of human medical research will undergo earth‑shaking shifts. It is merely a matter of time before such an open‑source initiative emerges.
I love dwelling amid green mountains and clear waters. After I graduate, I plan to work as a licensed doctor at a village clinic in Mentougou District, Beijing. I will deliver medical care for local villagers and patients travelling from afar for treatment.
I intend to rent a small courtyard and a plot of farmland from villagers. I will grow fruits and vegetables, raise chickens and ducks, and plant roses and green plants around my house. I will practise medicine while embracing my ideal life of farming and studying.
Shaded by dense woods, this place boasts my beloved blue sky and crystal‑clear water. Every spring, tadpoles crowd the mountain streams, dark as spilled ink. Rolling mountains are blanketed by boundless, lush woodland. When night falls, the sky sparkles with stars and the chirp of insects fills the air.
There I can keep reading and writing, and connect with like‑minded medicine lovers worldwide via the internet. My family supports my choice and is willing to live this life alongside me.
A genuine large‑formula multi‑target therapy constitutes an enormous system, far too extensive for one single person to complete. Nevertheless, I can break the massive mission down into small daily tasks and accumulate progress steadily. Nearing fifty, I no longer crave instant success.
My paternal family carries genes for longevity. I may well live past eighty, granting me roughly thirty more years of dedicated research in this field. Making small strides each day, I can accomplish a great deal within three decades.
The vast ocean of medicine is broad enough for countless people to devote their entire lives‑long exploration. I hope I can lay one brick for the palace of medicine, and push healthcare toward higher effectiveness, safety and cost‑efficiency. I aim to safeguard the wellbeing of patients nationwide, as well as my own and my relatives’ health.
I must stress that, even though my research centres on multi‑target large‑compound therapeutic strategies, I never regard this approach as the optimal remedy for every patient. In fact, quite a few patients for whom this method failed later achieved recovery under alternative treatment ideas from myself or other clinicians. The multi‑target large‑scale compound prescription therapy is merely one promising, experimental scheme for stubborn diseases, rather than the sole solution.
Medicine is an endless discipline. Medical practitioners ought to stay humble, pursue excellence and strive for perfection throughout their careers. They must not allow narrow‑minded prejudice to cloud their vision and overlook the bigger picture.