Beyond the Mountains-and-Seas Paradigm: Gaining Insight into the True Face of the World

Beyond the Mountains-and-Seas Paradigm: Gaining Insight into the True Face of the World

Sun Zuodong

Su Shi once wrote: “I cannot tell the true shape of Lushan Mountain, For I myself stand amid its midst.”

This timeless verse lays bare humanity’s deepest cognitive predicament. Most disputes and fallacies in the world stem not from flawed data, but from narrow dimensions of understanding, limited vision, and constrained mental frameworks. This holds true for scientific research, and for all things in existence.

Looking back on the development of modern bioelectrophysiology, generations of scholars have laid the bedrock of this discipline through Nobel-Prize-caliber in-depth investigations. From electrical-signal observations on the squid giant axon, to the formulation of the GHK and Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) equations, and further to the resolution of ion-channel structures and the proposition of the S4 voltage-sensor hypothesis — rooted in micro-scale experiments, these researchers captured the apparent patterns of bioelectricity and documented extrinsic phenomena of cellular operation. With precise data they erected an academic edifice that seemed complete. Within their cognitive frame of reference, their observations were authentic, their formulas internally consistent, and their conclusions practically applicable — undeniably “correct”. Partial truth is an indispensable stepping-stone toward holistic truth, yet it is not truth in its entirety.

Nevertheless, such correctness remains only truth within a confined perspective. Predecessors stood within the “Lushan Mountain of scientific research”. Focused on parts and immersed in fine details, they concentrated on static structures and fragmented superficial regularities, yet never stepped outside established paradigms to overlook the underlying logic governing bioelectric activity. The configuration of mountains and seas lies not in scattered peaks and valleys, but in overarching connections. It is like an observer fixated on single blades of grass, individual peaks and gullies, expending every effort to depict local scenery while failing to perceive the overall mountain range or the fundamental order governing nature. Perfection at the partial level can, paradoxically, become a shackle to holistic comprehension.

Genuine breakthroughs do not come from patching loopholes within old frameworks. They arise from dimensional elevation and the high-vantage reshaping of the bigger picture. Such is the genesis of the Potassium Channel Origami Windmill Model. Trapped by notions of protein-segment sensory functions and superficial charge-displacement phenomena, the academic community was bound by decades-long entrenched doctrines. This new dynamic model breaks free from the fetters of partial experiments. Grounded in fundamental physical principles, it applies the unified rules of electrostatic repulsion and coordinated tetramer rotation to string together scattered classical theories like beads on a thread, offering the prospect of a self-consistent, unified account for the overall operational mechanism of bioelectricity.

This is not a repudiation of prior researchers. Their experimental data and observational findings remain valid and authentic within their own cognitive dimensions, constituting indispensable stepping-stones for the discipline. Limited by their perspective, however, they could only interpret surface manifestations without penetrating the essence; they could fit local phenomena yet failed to achieve universal coherence. Standing inside the mountain, they saw only fragments; standing outside the mountain, we behold the full panorama. Observing the same object from disparate dimensions yields vast divergences in what is perceived as true or false, in depth of understanding, and in mental scope.

The highest form of human cognition consists never of endlessly delving into minutiae, but of surveying from a higher dimensional vantage point. Scientific progress always rests on those bold enough to transcend established frameworks. Unconfined by prior dogmas, unconstrained by mainstream consensus, and undazzled by superficial datasets, one may examine the world with broader vision, break through successive barriers, pierce the veil of cognition, and glimpse the most authentic nature of how all things function.

Within the mountain, one sees but a narrow stretch of mountains and rivers; stepping beyond its bounds, one apprehends heaven, earth and the universe. This is the true essence of scientific inquiry, and also the ultimate wisdom for discerning universal truth.