We Are Only a Drop in the Ocean, Not the Ocean
Humans have not conquered cancer, yet the literature on it already fills warehouses. Merely reading it all is impossible; no one could finish in a lifetime. And by the time we finish the existing literature, new research may have overturned the earlier conclusions. Oncology experts who comprehensively master all cancer knowledge and deliver flawless care to patients are extremely rare—I suspect nonexistent, not now and never.
Of course, when AI advances further, robots that comprehensively master oncology may serve cancer patients—one hopes patients will like them. But new cancer research keeps sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain, so even AI will struggle to master it all. Medicine is a dynamic discipline in constant progress; rising stars always wash us up onto the beach.
Every oncology expert can tear another to pieces, because everyone has knowledge gaps; oncology develops through controversy. Thirty years ago we knew almost nothing of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer. Today we not only understand cancer at the molecular-biology level, but many young biologists master gene editing and can treat diseases—including cancer—with it. Even so, millions still die of cancer every year. What a thorny disease! How complex the human body! Human wisdom, before the evolutionary forces of nature, is ultimately child's play.
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer A. Doudna of the United States for developing CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing—a technology that can alter human evolution and was once held only by nature. Animal experiments already show that cutting out disadvantageous genes and inserting advantageous ones can breed stronger, better-performing animals. Held back only by unresolved ethics and unpredictable risk, this technology has not yet been widely applied to humans.
The medical revolution wrought by science and technology is enormous. Will humans one day use gene editing to solve cancer? No one knows yet. Molecular biologists themselves know cancer is triggered not by a single gene but by many genetic and environmental factors acting together. But it is beyond doubt that in a more scientifically advanced future, doing nothing to genes that could cause painful diseases in an embryo would be highly unethical.
Gene editing may also bring unpredictable dangers; once editing a gene triggers a series of adverse cellular changes, patients may pay with their health and lives—a price no one can bear. Science has produced catastrophic consequences before; the advent of nuclear weapons saddled physicists with moral burden. Fewer than 5% of the world's scientists work in research institutions; over 95% serve private companies, for whom private profit matters far more than human welfare. Over the past two centuries, scientific upstarts have used new technology to enrich themselves in every field, and disregard for others' lives happens daily.
Knowledge updates too fast for doctors to keep up. A US survey showed that over half of American oncologists fail on oncology knowledge; China is no better. I read every day, and upon finishing each book I feel: "How did I never know some of these points before?" Honestly, I find oncology a struggle; in my whole life, researching cancer will be an unfinished task, and I will die with knowledge blind spots.
So one should realize: we are only a drop in the ocean, not the ocean. As Zhuangzi said: "My life has a limit, but knowledge has none. Using what is limited to pursue what is boundless is dangerous; and knowing this yet still doing so is doubly dangerous. Do good, but do not court fame; do evil, but do not court punishment. Take the central pathway as your guide; then you can preserve your body, fulfill your life, care for your parents, and complete your natural years."
Knowledge is important, but wisdom above knowledge matters more. To "preserve the body and fulfill life" and "care for parents and complete one's years," one does not need so much knowledge—only limited knowledge and wisdom. The pursuit of knowledge should also stop at a proper point. A creature's natural span is finite, and each species' history on Earth is finite. We are all merely passing travelers, hurrying in and hurrying out; our coming and going are negligible to the universe. The knowledge we learn and our research are also trivial to humanity as a whole.
In essence, in this life we can learn only limited knowledge, innovate only limitedly, serve limited people, earn and consume limited resources, spend time with limited relatives and friends, and live out our limited lives.
Understanding this essence of life, one will not harbor boundless ambition and endless outward striving, still less blow up boundless responsibility onto oneself, bringing boundless risk and toil. Lightly, according to one's own interest, pick up some knowledge; do not turn study and work into a burden—otherwise one is better off not doing them. That is my own standard for myself.