Finding the Lighthouse for Research Organizations

Driving east from Los Angeles, the mileage on the dashboard finally settled at about 900 miles (nearly 1,500 kilometers). It was a long road trip, but for me, it felt more like a long-planned pilgrimage.

Ever since arriving in the United States, establishing a research institution focused on "entrepreneurship" has been an unwavering obsession. In the blueprint of this vision, the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) has always been a sacred benchmark—perhaps due to my preference, it is one of the most important, most interesting, and most mysterious interdisciplinary research institutions today.

Another reason that prompted this journey originated from a book I read many years ago: Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. Without exaggeration, it is one of the most profound popular science texts I have read. The book describes a group of unconventional minds (Nobel laureates in Physics and Economics, computer geeks, neurophysiologists) who gathered in a wilderness far from the worldly noise, attempting to decipher the frontier codes of human science with a completely new perspective. As a researcher, my instinctive curiosity was piqued: What exactly is a research institution like this?

After resting overnight in Albuquerque, the transportation hub of New Mexico, I drove north along Interstate 25 the next day, heading straight for the high-altitude Santa Fe.

The scenery outside the car window became desolate as the altitude increased. The sides of the road were lined with rolling sand dunes, low shrubs, and sporadically scattered adobe houses with a strong Native American flavor. Looking at the scene before me, I couldn't help but wonder: How could the institute—the one rumored to gather the top intellect and discuss the ultimate laws of humanity and life—be located in such a barren place, seemingly forgotten by modern civilization?

When the navigation announced "You have arrived," I stopped the car, and the sight before me was almost dizzying.

There were no imposing glass walls, no grand plaza, and not even a decent, large sign. A few modest, somewhat simple low-rise buildings were nestled in the trees on the hill, their walls marked by the passage of time. I genuinely thought I had mistakenly driven into a deserted primary or secondary school in a remote mountainous area of China.

But the moment I stepped into that simple courtyard, a crisp mountain breeze blew, and the famous saying of Tsinghua University’s former president Mei Yiqi flashed in my mind: "What is called a great university is not the presence of grand buildings, but the presence of great masters."

( A welcoming bench outside the Murray Gell-Mann Building at the Santa Fe Institute, honoring the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and co-founder of SFI. )

Standing on this barren land, looking at the whiteboards in the small courtyard covered with dense mathematical formulas and logical derivations, I fell into contemplation. As the head of the (Rocky Mountain) Global Entrepreneurship Research Center, this visit not only satisfied my curiosity but also answered three core questions in my mind about "how to build a top think tank."

I believe the reason Santa Fe is one of the best institutes in the world is precisely because it got the following three things right, and these are the stars we at the Rocky Mountain Center must look up to in the future:

First, Confront the Frontier with Interdisciplinarity

In the SFI courtyard, I recalled one of its founders, economist W. Brian Arthur. When I was studying at the National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University, China was undergoing a brutal wave of new internet business—the subsidy and price wars between ride-hailing apps like DiDi and Kuaidi were raging. Traditional economic theories could not explain the crazy logic of "burning cash for market share."

It was then that I read Arthur's research. He viewed business from the perspective of biological evolution and borrowed the economic theory of "Increasing Returns" to explain this new technological business model—you must cross the "critical mass" earlier than your competitors to win the future of "increasing returns," like the new species battle on the Amazon River—this is the reason for internet price subsidies. It was a moment of sudden enlightenment for me. For a while, I recommended his "Complex Economics" to everyone I met.

This gave the Rocky Mountain Center new inspiration. Knowledge can no longer be self-contained in sub-directories like "Economics," "Biology," or "Physics." Only by breaking down these sub-directories can more explanatory and insightful frontier knowledge be produced, especially in the age of AI.

Second, Confront Difficulties with Curiosity and Mission

Walking on the remote, quiet hillside roads of Santa Fe, you won't hear any discussions about "KPIs," "traffic," or "commercial monetization." There is only pure academics and curiosity about the unknown.

I deeply realized that only curiosity untainted by utilitarianism can nurture true insight; and only true insight allows a research institution to transcend cycles and grow perpetually. Location may only be a minor difficulty for SFI; more important are the challenges of persuading and recruiting top talent, fundraising, and so on. Only true curiosity and sense of mission can stand the test of time.

Third, Focus on a Sufficiently Long-Term Future

Reflecting on Santa Fe's vast and profound influence, and then looking at the simplicity and modesty that have been maintained for decades, the tension is moving. They do not build grand buildings because their gaze has long passed over the hills before them.

Today, we stand on the eve of the AI explosion. At a time when everyone is being swept up by technological anxiety and blindly following trends and direction, we, as researchers, must, like SFI, see a sufficiently long future.

The Rocky Mountain Center needs to answer a long-term proposition: In a future where AI can replace most logical operations and perception generation, what is the relationship of substitution and complementarity between AI and the most subtle parts of the entrepreneurial spirit—insight, creation from nothing, the courage for inverse thinking, empathy, and so on? This is the fertile ground that our institution needs to cultivate over the next ten, or even fifty, years.

The sun was setting, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were bathed in a magnificent crimson. I started the car and drove down the way I came.

The doubts I had upon arrival had vanished, replaced by a deep sense of mission. The Santa Fe Institute, with its simplicity and greatness, gave me a vivid lesson. It confirmed my belief that the (Rocky Mountain) Global Entrepreneurship Research Center does not need to pursue a flashy appearance or illusory popularity. As long as we identify the true problems of the era, maintain the purest curiosity about business civilization and human creativity, and take a long-term perspective—even if we start in a "simple adobe house"—we will eventually light the beacon of entrepreneurship at the edge of order and chaos.