Pythagoras believed that everything is a number, each number has its own magical power. The thinker was not weak – all the achievements of students at his school were attributed to him. In addition, a hundred bulls were sacrificed to the gods on the occasion of the proof of the Pythagorean theorem. Obviously, there were resources! He claimed that he heard the music of the orbs and that it was from under his ribs.
There are many doubts about the music and the ribs, but with the magic of numbers, the old man was strong. Numerologists still use its source today, explaining to clients what wonderful numbers are included in the year, month and birthday. Recently, my classmate mastered the “Pythagorean square” and explained that now all the talents and destinies of our students are fully visible to him.
This view of numbers is not close to me, especially since the programs of the employees of the department, which I am honored to lead, give tens of billions of numbers every second, which cannot be viewed individually. We live very little – only about three billion seconds.
Of course, we are not as numerologists as the Chinese who do not have a fourth floor or apartment number 4 in their home, because according to their belief, this number symbolizes death.
However, there are strange coincidences.
In 1973, the movie “Committee-19” directed by Savva Kulish was shown in cinemas (there was also the movie “Dead Season”), scripted by SV Mikhalkov (author of the old and current Russian anthem). This movie describes how one of the UN’s working bodies – the Committee of the 19s – sent an expedition to Africa to study the outbreak of an unknown epidemic on the spot. It turns out that the fugitive Nazis, who used a small laboratory as shown in the movie, made a biological weapon that they tested on the locals. The film is impressive, and we – schoolchildren – discussed whether 19-20 people could actually create such a weapon.
Time has passed. And here are the scenarios of COVID-19, masks, ventilators, millions of deaths and of course money, vaccines, politics, rebuilding the world. Bill Gates predicts that the next epidemic will be ten times worse than this. He says: “The world needs to spend billions to save trillions (and prevent millions of deaths). I think it’s the best and most affordable insurance policy the world can buy.” As the people say: “War (sorry, epidemic) to whom, and mother dear to whom.”
I asked some leading biotechnologists in Russia how much time, money, and people would it take to organize a more dire epidemic than COVID-19. Oddly enough, everyone gave roughly the same answer: two years of work, about two million dollars, and the work of 19-20 skilled people. The 1973 movie turned out to be prophetic – we are already in a different reality. The efforts of hundreds of thousands of people are needed to create nuclear weapons in a country. Here the picture is different.
19 is it too little? And here opinions diverge. In Bashkiria there was a wonderful string orchestra – tours, excursions, claps, discs in the leading companies of the world. He was left without a rehearsal room and livelihood in the goddamn 1990s. Fortunately, a notable chemist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Petrovich Kazakov, worked in Ufa and during these years was Deputy Head of the Bashkir Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Which words! Previously, there were institutes in the Academy of Sciences … Now it is different – the Academy is separate, the institutes are separate. And so Kazakov managed to exceed both the hall and the modest salaries of 20 members of the orchestra, especially since the orchestra regularly gives concerts for the staff of the Academy. A week later the conductor came to him: “We are forced to refuse. I didn’t sleep all week – 19 of us and I was wondering who we could beat on the 20th. It doesn’t work at all – there is no one in Bashkiria who can play at such a level. ” Kazakov was upset – newspapers had to be rewritten, 20 had to be changed to 19, and I reassured him: “How seriously people take their work! It’s great that there are 19 people at this level in the Republic!”
Time has passed. And the funny thing is, sooner or later we find ourselves in the hands of doctors. I was lucky – after five misdiagnoses, I was finally correctly diagnosed and had surgery. I had to lie down for a long time, and I had a long talk with the surgeon who did the surgery, the department, the department, and the lecturer to the students, about various differences, and he talked to me about 19. he put it down and explained the Pareto law: “20% of effort gives 80% of results, 20% of men drink 80% of all beer, etc.” He regularly explained that I didn’t understand everything in this life, and eventually called a meeting where he and the staff of his department advised the students to go to themselves and have serious surgery.
Everything went above and beyond – the pictures, the slides, the international magazine they published. And everything is fine with the salary – nearby there is a paid clinic, where beds are made of expensive wood, and food from the restaurant, where, in fact, people work part-time: “I would go to the surgeons, let them teach me!”. And then the professor told me the result: from 40 medical students, this excitement after the giving meeting, the desire to go to his department arose … 2 (two!) The seriousness of the situation became clear to me: “Live a hundred years, then another hundred years of work, but then who will operate ?!” – “I have a surgical circle – 19 people from different universities. We meet, we discuss scientific studies, we operate on animals, we try new things. These 19 people will carry domestic surgery into the future.”
19 is too little! And how to reach them when they are masters ?! Maybe they don’t: the life of people who try new things is usually not easy…
However, time passes and we already begin to regret that unlike sharks, our teeth do not grow continuously and the teeth we have need to be treated. If they are not, everything becomes even more interesting. I ask the venerable professor how he is doing with students who will probably have to treat the teeth of our children and grandchildren over time: “We don’t teach now. The Vice-Chancellor said the lectures were awful. Allow them to read books and surf the Internet. “What are you doing?” – I’m training. “And how can you teach people who know nothing?!” – “Difficult”.
According to him, it is especially difficult in the beginning. Seriously experienced women from the second year come and offer to solve the problem individually. Or there is a beauty who enters the audience and does not have important underwear: “Get yourself in order now. I’ll be back in 30 seconds.” But first we work for reputation, then reputation works for us. The students learn that the professor gave more than a hundred and two in the last lecture and they will have to learn something.
“So there’s no future?” – “Eating. I have a circle.” – “Are there 19 people there?” – “How do you know? There we master six books written by the Germans (the trendsetters in this field) and the Japanese. The guys write articles, try to do science, learn new things.”
19 people are too few for the medicine of a whole country! I believe this 19! Good luck to them! I hope they fix our awkward situation.
The current situation will be forgotten like a bad dream, while all hope is for them. If they turn to you for help, help them. They will come.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.