URS “Ideas are Cheap, Show me the Data”
Reggie 叔叔的故事：想法是廉价的，给我看看数据 (Sonic 翻译)
I’ve always enjoyed taking young doctors on ward rounds, and teaching and talking with them about medicine, their patient, or life. At times, some young enterprising doctor would make a sensible suggestion about what could be done to improve patient care. I would compliment her, then often challenge her, that she could start a small research study to prove scientifically whether this suggestion would work or not in reality, and I could even help her design such a study. Very few young doctors responded to do that. It’s much easier to spout off great ideas, but it’s very difficult to do the hard work of proving that the ideas are really great. “Ideas are cheap,” I might remind them, “Show me the data.”
我总是乐此不疲的带年轻医师查房，并和他们探讨医学、他们的病人以及生命。一些脑瓜子很活泛的年轻医生经常就如何提高病人的医疗水平发表很有建设性的意见。我首先肯定她，然后总是激将她，要她开展一个小的研究来科学地证实这些建议事实上是否可行，我还甚至说我愿意帮她设计这样的研究。很少有年轻医生回应愿意去做这样的研究。信口开河的提出高大上的观点是轻而易举的，去脚踏实地的苦干以证实这个想法确实不同凡响却相当困难。“想法是廉价的”，我提醒他们，“给我数据看看,”(“ideas are cheap, show me the data”).
In fact, I had research fellows who even declared indignantly that someone had “stolen their idea” and published a paper that they were thinking about doing. I remember one time reviewing, on-site, a proposal by a young man at another famous institution. His proposal was similar to a research study I had nearly finished, and a paper that I was in the middle of writing, so I was able to critique it well, and even offer what I thought were good suggestions to improve it.
事实上，有时候我的研究生愤怒地宣称有人“偷了他们的想法”，并发表了科研文章，而这正是他们正考虑要去做的研究。我记得一次现场评审另外一个著名的机构的年轻人的标书。他的标书和我快要完成的研究有些相似，我的论文已经写了一半，所以我可以提出批评意见，而我提出的意见对改进他的标书是很好的建议。
Not too long after that, I published my research paper, and I received an angry letter from the young man that “I had stolen his idea.” Fortunately, I had adequate records that I was already far ahead in my research, way before I had even seen his proposal. I understood his sensitivity, and his “pain,” but in this instance again, “ideas are (sort of) cheap,” and “showing the data,” reminds us that “ideas are often competitive,” and actually doing, and publishing the research, is the key point.
那不久，我发表了我的研究文章，很快我收到了那个年轻人充满火药味的信件，声称我剽窃了他的想法。幸好在我的研究启动的很早以前，我就已经有了很多的记录，远远早于我看他的标书。我理解他的敏感和“痛苦”，这个例子再次表明，“想法某种意义上讲是廉价的”，需要“给我看看数据”，也提醒我们：“想法总是竞争性的”，着手去干，并发表论文才是关键。
We often might think our ideas are so novel and original, that we forget there are actually very few “totally original” ideas. Basically, all ideas come from previous ideas, in some form or other. A new idea always seems new to the one who thought of it, until he or she investigates and finds that other people may have come up with the same or similar idea, months or even years before that, sometimes so long ago, that the young investigator is probably not even aware of it, or had just ignored it.
我们经常认为我们的想法是如此新奇和独特，但我们忘记了事实上完全原创的想法是非常少见的。事实上，所有的想法都来自以前的观点，以这样和那样的形式提出来。一个新的观点看起来对于想起这个观点的 人来说是新的，等他或她做了调查才发现，数月或数年，甚至更久远的时候就有他人提出了相同的或者相似的观点，年轻的调查者可能没有注意到，或者忽略它。
I remind young people who like research, that we all read similar scientific journals, and logically we can think of what the next step in research should be. Which means that there are likely, in this world, maybe at least 10 or 20 people who think in a similar logical way as we do about the next research steps. And the biggest difference then is the person who jumps in, energetically dirtying his fingers, to do the actual research data collection, who doesn’t sit around just thinking of how great the idea was.
我提醒喜欢研究的年轻人，我们都在读学术期刊，逻辑上讲，我们都在思考下一步的研究如何去做。在这个世界上，也是一样的，有至少10或者20个人正和我们一样采用相似的逻辑方法考虑做下一步的研究。最大的区别在于有的人 投身入工作中，热火朝天的大干，去收集真实的研究数据，而不是坐在一旁只是想象那个创意是多么的伟大。
Of course, it is very important to have good ideas, but as we have been likely told, there is an ancient inspiration, something like, “success is 9 parts perspiration, one part inspiration.” I have this very sentence inscribed in my childhood book of good advice, which I just rediscovered recently. Do you remember the fun of childhood when your kid and adult friends started writing things in your memories book! (Actually, I do not know if kids still do that anymore; do they?) I have remembered this aphorism ever since then. I even “improved on it” in my mind, since I remembered it all along, as 99% hard work!
当然，好的想法是非常重要的，正如古话所教导我们的，“成功是九分汗水，一分灵感”。我在我最近找到的我孩提时代的记载箴言的手抄本里找到这句话。你还记得孩提时期你的小伙伴和成人朋友在你自行签名的手抄本上记事的乐趣吗？（事实上，我不确定小孩是否还做这样的事，他们还做吗？）从那时起这些格言警句我现在仍记忆犹新。我以为我自己全都记得，其实心里还是做了“改进”，我所记得的就是需要99% 的刻苦工作。
Photo 1 Childhood admonition to me, at 10 years old, for life: 90% perspiration can be fun.
图1 我10岁时的箴言，成功是一分灵感九分汗水
Execution is a key to any successful venture. This thinking is very Asian of course, similar to comments such as xin fu hau tim (early bitter, later sweet, in Cantonese) or bor biaa bor yeaa (no passionate struggle, no winning, in Fujianese), Asian versions of “no pain, no gain.” So, I would venture that everyone actually knows this in their hearts, but not everyone wants to pay the price.
任何成功的冒险都是以实干为关键。当然这个想法非常亚洲，和这些，如先苦后甜（广东话），没拼没赢（闽南语），亚洲版本，“No pain no gain,无劳无获”相似。因此，我敢肯定，事实上人人心里都知道这一点，但是不是每一个都愿意去付出。
Actually, I often think that the issue of “someone stole my ideas,” is just a quasi-lazy way of getting out of doing hard work. If we really have such a great idea, we could work at it and provide the data that proves it, so that others indeed might want then to really steal our idea. I appreciate the expression, “imitation is the best form of flattery,” which is very true. If our idea is really that good, I would hope that many people will aspire to “steal it,” especially to make the world a better world. Personally speaking, I would love if someone would steal all my best ideas (see URS counterfeits), and then improve on them.
事实上，我常常认为“某人剽窃我的点子”只是逃避努力工作的类似偷懒的方法。如果我们真的有好的点子，我们应该努力工作提供数据证实它，那时真的会有人想剽窃它。我欣赏这样的话“模仿是最好的奉承”，这是很真实的。如果我们的点子真有那么好，我真希望有很多人挖空心思的“剽窃它”，尤其是那些让世界更美好的点子。平心而论，如果有人剽窃我所有的好点子并改进它们，我会更高兴（参见Reggie 叔叔的故事：仿冒品）。
We had a great group of creative researchers working together when I was in leadership at our Children’s Hospital, and we came up with what we thought was a brilliant new idea, to call our cooperative, collaborative group, the first “Perinatal Research Institute,” a really novel idea at the time. The institute facilitated excellent cross fertilization of ideas and research among different research teams from different research disciplines, and was indeed a very fine idea. This idea has now been “stolen,” many times, to our great satisfaction, in various guises, at various hospitals and medical centers.
我在儿童医院任领导的时候，我们有一个由非常具有创造性的研究者组成的团队，我们称呼我们的合作者、协作团队为第一个“围生期研究院”，我们认为这是一个前无古人的想法，在那个时代是真正的破天荒的点子。这个研究院促进了在不同的研究路线下的、不同的研究团队从点子的孕育到实验的开展的跨越，是个真正的好想法。让我们非常满意的是，这个好的想法以不同的形式被不同的医院和医疗中心“剽窃”了无数次。
We even set up a very classy booth at the annual 4,000 attendees Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, the first time any hospital actually had any booth. We used this booth to highlight the Perinatal Research Institute for the first few years, and then, in later years, we highlighted many other features of our very fine hospital medical center, and various selected departments. We drew lots of attention when we first had the Perinatal Research Institute booth, and some cynical criticism about what we were trying to “sell.” But, in the ensuing years, other hospitals began to “steal” the idea, and pretty soon, every major hospital was having their special booth at the meetings. Ideas are really sort of cheap, but once actually executed, can be easily stolen, to good effect.
我们甚至在有4000人参加的儿科学术年会上支起了展位，医院有个展位这是第一次。在最初几年，我们用这个展位推广围生期研究院，后续几年，我们推广我们非常出色的医疗中心的其他特色，和多种多样的、精挑细选的院系。我们第一次围生期研究院展位亮相时，吸引了无数眼球，也招致了说我们准备“卖”什么的冷嘲热讽。但是，随后几年，其他大医院开始“偷”这个点子，很快，每个大医院在会场上都有他们的特色展位。想法真的非常廉价，但是一旦实践，容易被剽窃，并取得好的效果。
The concept of short-term missions to all kinds of countries is a very old one, whether it’s youth missions or medical missions. I started many short-term youth missions when I was actively involved in youth ministries at our church. But then a strange opportunity arose, to my surprise, that we might be allowed to bring in a medical missions team into China, at a time when China was just opening up to the outside world, after decades hidden behind a “bamboo curtain.” I “stole” the short-term mission idea and quickly adapted it to the numerous new challenges and environment of China in transition.
无论青年服务宣道 或者医疗服务，到不同的国家的短期服务都是一个非常成熟的方式。当我很活跃的在我们的教会从事青年事工时，我开始了很多的短期青年服务。让我惊讶的是，一个奇怪的机会来临，我们被允许带领一个医疗服务团进入中国，其时中国躲在“竹幕”背后几十年，才刚刚对外开放。我“剽窃”了短期服务的点子，并迅速的应用于无数的新挑战和中国环境的转换。
Photo 3: How we started MSI: we took experiences from many short term youth missions, and developed those into medical teams from 11 countries and states, achieving 5,000 visits in 10 years, a great borrowed idea.
图3 我们是如何开始MSI：我们从很多短期的青年服务宣道中取得经验，并应用于医疗分队，动员了11个国家和地区，10年来完成了5000次的访问，真是一个伟大的借鉴来的点子。
Pretty soon we were on a roll, “stealing” ideas left and right, to morph into a novel, and apparently, then one of a kind, medical missions organization for China. In this organization, we mobilized teams from more than 11 countries and regions, and arranged 5,000 visits during our first 10 years of existence. Ideas are quite cheap, can be stolen, and modified to become something unique, meaningful and lasting.
很快我们进展顺利，或多或少借鉴一下别人的主意，改变成一个全新的形式，很明显的，就这样形成了中国医疗服务团组织。通过这个组织，我们动员了11个国家和地区，在它存续的最初10年，安排了5000次的走访。想法是非常廉价的，可以借鉴，可以转化为唯一的、有意义的和持久的。
Back in Cincinnati, for our budding new church, I used to love to pick up kids every Sunday, from homes that could be far away, to safely bring them to hear the good word. Pretty soon, I noted that other people began to do the same thing. I began to advise people of the best way to do it consistently and faithfully, so it wasn’t just a one-time good deed. The good idea was now (lovingly) “stolen.”
回到辛辛那提，筹建一个新的教会，我经常每个星期天从很远的家中把孩子接来，安全的把他们送去听好信息。很快，我发现其他的人也在做这样的事。我开始建议大家持续的、忠实的来这么做，因此它不是一个一过性的好做法。这个好主意现在也被暖暖的“剽窃”了（有趣吧？）。
Later on in life, I stole a great idea from student ministry workers. I began to pick up scholars that were coming from China to study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, when they arrived at the Cincinnati airport. I knew how flustered people could be in their possibly first trip overseas, to land in a strangely named airport (Cincinnati is in Ohio, but its airport is in Kentucky, you figure that out), and to try to negotiate a foreign transportation system (no fast train connection to town).
后来，我从学生团契事奉那里“剽窃”了一个好主意。我开始迎接刚在辛辛那提机场落地的从中国来辛辛那提儿童医院学习的学者。我能理解他们也许在他们生平第一次海外之旅中降落在一个奇怪名字的机场（辛辛那提在俄亥俄州，但它的机场却位于肯塔基州，你是不是会百思不得其解），还要联系国外的交通系统时内心多么慌乱（和城市无快车交通）。
I found that the simple gesture of picking up foreign visitors at the airport, was just so helpful and warm, that I felt a great passion to keep doing that. Then, young “Peter” insisted on taking over this “job” from me, on the basis that I was getting “too old” for it. At first, I was kind of resistant, as if my job had been taken away. But Peter definitely did a much better job, even adding immediately, on arrival at the airport, 2 to 3 days’ supply of good Chinese food from his own restaurant, showing that a stolen idea, stolen many times, can become a much better idea.
我发现到机场迎接外国访问者这个简单的举动，如此有用而且温暖，让我倍感热情去一直干下去。后来，年轻的“Peter”坚持从我手中接过这个工作，认为我日渐“衰老”不再适合。开始，我还抗拒，仿佛我的工作被拿掉。但是Peter确实做得更好，到达机场时都带来从他自己的餐馆拿来的够两三天的中国菜，显示出偷来的主意，被剽窃好多次后会成为更好的主意。
Once my wife and I made the then rather bold step of taking early retirement in my fifties, at my so-called “prime of life,” I began to realize that it really was a brilliant, but executable, idea. My “role model, show me the data” effect became very encouraging to others, and I spoke to groups and individuals to encourage them to also consider this. And indeed, for those who were willing to also “show me the data,” their later lives were also specially blessed and meaningful. Others who talked about how great the idea was, but who never actually did anything about it, missed out. Ideas remain cheap, if not acted on.
一次我太太和我做了那时相当勇敢的举措，在我50多岁时就提早退休，在我所谓的壮年，我开始认识到这真是一个绝妙的、可执行的主意。我的“行为的榜样，给我出示了数据”的效应，对其他人而言是非常鼓舞的，我告诫团队和个人，鼓励他们也考虑这一点。实际上，这些乐意“给我数据”的人，他们后来的人生也被特别的祝福，非常有意义。夸夸其谈好主意，却纹丝不动的人，难以知道其中的妙处。好主意，如果没有行动，主意仍然是廉价的。
Actually, I do not really believe that “ideas are cheap.” I just said that to provoke you. Ideas are really very important, and great visionary ideas are critical. But nothing happens when we stop there. Those great ideas just wither on the vine, and die. Many great ideas are sadly, no longer around. Unfortunately, cheap, in a way. Take inspiration where you can. From your childhood autograph book. From the ideas of great people. From the greatest Book, written thousands of years ago. Steal the great ideas, and run with them, with passion and enthusiasm, and you will be amazed what happens.
事实上，我自己也不完全相信“想法是廉价的”，我这样说只是为了激发你的兴趣。想法是真的非常重要的，高瞻远瞩的想法更是至关重要。但是如果我们只是停留于想法，我们将一事无成。这些好的想法会逐渐枯萎，死亡。太可惜了，实在令人沮丧，因为好多好的想法烟消云散了。遗憾的是，从某一个角度来说，想法确实是廉价的。无论何地，捕捉灵感，从你的孩童时的签名簿，大人物的思想，从几千年前写就的最伟大的书里寻找灵感。借鉴那些伟大的思想，带着这些好的想法豪情万丈一往直前，未来所发生的事一定会让你非常惊奇。
