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"Science" is too broad, let's first talk about the mother of science. Einstein said, "Philosophy is the mother of science," and others say, "Mathematics is the mother of science." Whether it's mathematics or philosophy, both are based on rational exploration and reasoning. The key lies in "rationality." Only by being rational and not superstitious can we derive philosophy, mathematics, and various sciences.

The author himself is also a master's degree holder in physics. Physics is the most fundamental subject among all scientific disciplines, the soul and marrow of all technology, hence physics is also known as the "mother of natural sciences." Physics is a discipline that studies the phenomena of the universe, from atoms to the life and death of the cosmos, isn't that complex and intricate? What physicists pursue throughout their lives is "controlling complexity with simplicity." Physics experiments are full of data, but the highest level of physics is to distill complex data into concise formulas that alone can describe the myriad changes of the universe. For example, the classical mechanics formula F=ma, with it alone, can derive the content of one-third of a university general physics textbook. This formula also greatly helped propel the Industrial Revolution, that's what science is! Another example is the classic of electromagnetism, Maxwell's equations, which perfectly describe all phenomena of electric fields, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic waves. The formulas are so concise that they are breathtaking, beautiful to the point of trembling! With them, the subsequent development of electrical technology was able to advance rapidly, that's what science is!

Simplifying complexity and controlling complexity with simplicity is the ultimate holy grail that all sciences aspire to achieve, it is the highest level of science. But simplicity does not mean easy. From a heap of experimental data to F=ma, the formula is concise enough, right? Einstein's E=mc², even middle school students can recite it, it seems simple enough, right? But is it easy to understand? How to apply it? Isn't computer processing just 0s and 1s? Is it very simple? Yet from 0s and 1s, the data flood of the information age can be unleashed. Isn't Go just black and white stones? Yet with two types of stones, one can play to the point of astonishing heaven and earth, moving ghosts and gods.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) utilizes the concise "Tai Chi" symbol system, with just a few symbols like "yin," "yang," "exterior," "interior," "cold," "heat," "deficiency," and "excess," it can describe various physiological and pathological phenomena of the human body, regulate the transformation and direction of quality and energy, both prevent and treat diseases. From theory to practice, principles, treatments, formulas, and medicines are all integrated and comprehensive. A TCM physician only needs to grasp a few basic principles to handle the myriad of changing diseases. Such a mature discipline, refined through thousands of years and dozens of generations of rational reasoning and practical verification, how is it not science? It is the advanced science of controlling complexity with simplicity.

Modern medicine is still in the stage of dealing with a pile of complex data, far from reaching the highest level of science that simplifies complexity and uses simplicity to control complexity. Modern medicine has only achieved seemingly flourishing development with the help of contemporary high technology, but it has not yet established a macroscopic, simplicity-driven model of human physiology and pathology. For diseases, it can only treat the head when there is a headache and treat the foot when there is foot pain, controlling symptoms for a lifetime. It has not yet found the switch that regulates all phenomena in the human body, nor has it found the "F=ma" of medicine. However, TCM has long found it, and very successfully at that. In the author's view, modern medicine, which prides itself on being scientific, is still a discipline in its infancy. Its tendency to present a large array of numbers at every turn only makes it appear even more immature.

The unscientific aspects of TCM lie in the lack of standardized definitions, failure to utilize advanced scientific technologies, the existence of numerous factions, and the lingering obsession with deification from the feudal era, as well as a conservative attitude that resists innovation. Modern medicine appears scientific due to its scholarly approach, rigorous operational procedures, the application of contemporary technology, and evidence-based methodology, which are worth learning for TCM, which has been stagnant for a century.

For various reasons, modern medicine, still in its infancy, has become the prominent discipline of the contemporary era, while the mature TCM science has instead become an alternative therapy. In the author's view, disease prevention is still more comprehensive and macroscopic in TCM, and all nascent diseases should first be treated with TCM, with modern medicine serving as an adjunct therapy. TCM has a major principle: "Treat the symptoms in acute cases, treat the root in chronic cases." Since modern medicine indeed has unique advantages in treating symptoms, its value is reflected as a backup when TCM's symptomatic treatment is not effective. For treating the root cause, there is no choice but TCM.