Summary of the Key Points
This article uses the "Jiang Ping incident" as a starting point to reveal a common phenomenon: many Chinese people are shrewd and calculating in everyday trivial matters (such as saving small amounts of money), but they easily believe false information when it comes to matters of values and judgment of truth and falsehood, sometimes even treating ignorance as truth. The article also analyzes the reasons for this contrast—economic benefits over the past few decades have made it possible to live well by going with the flow, overshadowing the importance of knowledge. However, as these benefits diminish, the habit of being clever in small things but confused about big decisions will gradually affect crucial life choices, leading to significant losses.
I. The Jiang Ping Incident: The Truth Behind the Hype and Misleading Information
Jiang Ping was hyped by social media as a "math genius," but there is no official source proving that she was admitted to a university. The introduction card from her school seems to be AI-generated; even if she were actually admitted to Suzhou Institute of Technology (formerly Changshu University of Science and Technology), it would merely indicate the opening up of vocational education pathways for secondary school graduates. In today's context, the value of such an undergraduate degree is far less than that of a 985/211 university. More importantly, her "genius" label has been proven by Alibaba to be due to cheating—not self-study at all.
The hype from social media actually exploits people's fantasies about "grassroots success stories," but it is essentially the spread of false information.
II. The Myths Surrounding Those "Folk Experts": Why Do People Prefer False "Miracles"?
The article lists several typical examples of such myths:
- Deification of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Believing that old traditional Chinese doctors are better than modern ones, despite the fact that ancient life expectancy was low, and many ancient medical texts contain unverified remedies from an ignorant era.
- Fantasies about Traditional Martial Arts: Despite modern combat sports often defeating practitioners of these arts, people still believe in hidden masters in the mountains who refuse to compete.
- Feng Shui and Fortune Telling: Treating the I Ching as a universal solution and taking self-comfort from an ignorant era as absolute truth.
- Conspiracy Theories: Thinking that the World Cup is controlled by gambling syndicates, or that the "Youth World Cup" represents hope for Chinese football (when it is actually an unrecognized tournament).
These myths all share one common trait: they reject science and facts in favor of niche, mysterious stories that offer a sense of escape from reality or a desire for shortcuts.
III. Being Clever in Daily Life but Confused about Important Matters: Observations from Everyday Life
The article mentions a woman who runs a mobile phone shop; she is very good at calculating costs in her business, and her two daughters have worked hard to get into 985/211 universities. However, when it comes to Jiang Ping, she shows admiration, saying, "My daughters study too much; they aren't as self-taught as Jiang Ping." This contrast is common—people are willing to haggle over small things like onions but lose their judgment when faced with so-called geniuses or miracle doctors.
Why? Being clever in small matters is a survival instinct (such as saving money), but making important decisions requires logic, knowledge, and independent thinking, which many people lack. They are easily influenced by emotions and stories.
IV. The "Easy Wins" of the Beneficial Era: A Past Where Knowledge Was Overlooked
Over the past two to three decades, globalization and China's entry into the WTO have brought benefits that allowed many to succeed without relying on intellectual skills:
- Farmers in the Pearl River Delta made money by renting out houses.
- Uneducated bosses made their first fortunes through sheer courage.
- People within the system, even if mediocre, could enjoy high pensions.
These experiences led people to believe that knowledge was not important—following the crowd was enough to make money, and distinguishing truth from falsehood or thinking independently became unnecessary. However, this luck will not last forever.
V. The Return of Knowledge: Why Do People Suffer Great Losses When They Are Confused about Important Matters?
Now that the benefits are fading, social competition increasingly relies on real skills:
- Believing fake news on platforms like Douyin (such as claims that Europe is "dying") shows a lack of basic abilities, such as checking weather forecasts, which makes it hard to discern other lies in life.
- Constantly consuming false news without questioning it leads to losses in investments.
- People with confused values make mistakes in crucial life decisions (such as career choices, investments, education), and one mistake can outweigh all the cleverness accumulated in small matters.
The article concludes that being clear-headed about important matters and not fussing over trivial ones is what defines a normal life. Otherwise, one is living in a "jungle," focusing only on survival without critical thinking.
Conclusion
The core message of this article is to remind us not to be deceived by everyday shrewdness but to cultivate the ability to think independently and distinguish between truth and falsehood. In an era where benefits are declining, being clear-headed is the true key to survival. Spend less time calculating in small matters and more effort on important decisions to avoid constant setbacks in life.