Interesting question.

I’d like to point out that, although almost everyone in China is atheist, the belief in supernatural phenomena, human special abilities, and the like far exceeds that of other countries.

If humanity’s belief in these phenomena is 100, China accounts for 99.

For example, if you’re Chinese with a PhD in physics and you dream of your grandfather standing before you, soaking wet, complaining that the house is leaking.

The next day, you visit his grave and find that a piece of cement has indeed collapsed, with muddy water seeping into his tomb.

You’d shrug, spend 200 yuan to hire a worker to fix the leak.

Then, you’d walk into school and continue teaching kids: “Children, today we’re learning a fascinating law: the force and reaction force between two interacting objects are equal in magnitude, opposite in direction, and act along the same line…”

And you wouldn’t feel anything unnatural about it.

That’s just how it is.

In the West, a “supernatural phenomenon” might cause a national sensation, but in China, it’s almost routine.

For instance, there’s a type of medicine unique to China called “Chinese medicine,” which stubbornly persists.

Most other countries only have “modern medicine.”

China’s different.

Traditional medicine, despite being heavily criticized by most scientists, thrives.

Is it effective?

I think so.

Visit the top Chinese medicine hospitals and check the obituaries—you’ll see plenty of these doctors living past 100.

Is it scientific? No, it’s not.

But it works.

My child was sick, and we spent hundreds of thousands of yuan, visiting the best hospitals in Beijing—Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing Third Hospital—and they couldn’t even diagnose the illness!

At 4 a.m., holding my child, I was frantic and in pain…..

Desperate, I went to the best Chinese medicine hospital.

An 80-year-old doctor had his students feel my child’s pulse, saying it was a classic case of some condition…

He was an expert, so the consultation fee was steep, nearly $50, and the medicine cost about $10 per dose.

After taking it, my child recovered! All for less than $100.

What can I say?

F=ma?!

I can’t explain it.

But it worked.

If it works, isn’t that enough?

The world may not be fully explainable by the math and physics we have now.

Brian Josephson, the 1973 Nobel Prize winner, believed the world might not be entirely explainable by current science.

China’s greatest scientist, Qian Xuesen, publicly supported research into human special abilities.

The head of National Taiwan University’s Electrical Engineering Department, Lee Si-chen, published similar studies and ended up ruined.

I can’t compare to these big names. But I believe it too. Why? Because I’ve encountered phenomena I can’t explain.

Unexplainable.

So now I believe: the world may not be fully accounted for by the math and physics we currently understand.

Perhaps it’s far more complex?

Interestingly, if you believe in China’s traditional “feudal superstitions,” things seem easier to explain.

“He’s still a little boy,” my neighbor Ms. Barnes said.

I was driving a car. Ms. Barnes and my Mom sat in the backseat, talking with each other. Suddenly, the conversation shifted to Ms. Barnes’ 27-year old son—Junior.

My Mom asked, “How’s Junior doing?”

Ms. Barnes sighed. “He can’t cook. He can’t do the laundry. I still have to drive him to work every morning. My God, I worry about him every day.”

Then my Mom gently asked, “Do you think he’ll grow out of it soon?”

And Ms. Barnes said, “I’m not sure. Maybe when he gets married. I think he just needs a good woman to take care of him.”

I stayed silent.

Because what I wanted to say was: he doesn’t need a wife—he needs to grow up.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew Junior’s story.

We watched Ms. Barnes drive him to office. We watched him put his dish in the sink, but never wash it. We watched him get everything handed to him since he was a kid.

Junior wasn’t a bad person.

But he was stuck. In every way that mattered, he was still the child his mother never let grow up.

That conversation taught me a brutal truth:

Spoiled children don’t turn into adults.

They just grow older. They age, but they don’t mature. They’re physically strong, but can be as helpless as little kids.

Sometimes, they end up as everyone’s laughingstock.

Unless they actually grow up, they’ll always be children.

Forever.

1. Get the f*ck out of Manhattan. Most New Yorkers live in the other four boroughs. In fact, Brooklyn has more people than Manhattan, and it’s got a lot of great stuff. So does Queens. The Bronx, not so much, but it still has stuff. Oh, but not Staten Island, stay away, but take the ferry there, just don’t stay there.
2. Stay the f*ck out of Times Square. The only New Yorkers you will find there are (1) people who work there and (2) people on their way to a Broadway show. You want to find New Yorkers in a crowded place, go to Coney Island on a hot summer day. You can no longer get a Nathan’s Famous in Times Square, but you can get one at Coney Island.
3. Crowds dissipate at the day goes on. Everyone goes to the biggest attractions at 10 in the morning, but many are open a lot longer than that. For example, at 6 p.m. the Empire State Building is not so busy and the views are still great.
4. New York eating times are weird. Some restaurants aren’t busy at 5–7 but are later in the evening, like when the theatre crowd gets out. Most take reservations anyway and will be happy to accommodate you at off hours. In addition, a surprising number of places are open very late or very early.
5. Stay in your hotel room from 4–6 p.m. on weekdays, otherwise you will be in the way of New Yorkers desperately trying to get home. Don’t even think about riding the subway towards Manhattan during the morning rush, or away from it during the afternoon rush. Don’t even think about riding buses during rush hour (it will be faster to walk).

The PL-15 Missile, Which Has Caused Major Problems for India and Dassault’s Rafale, Actually Has Strong Ties to the US

In essence, it was the Americans who pushed for the development and deployment of this missile.

The history of the PL-15 missile dates back to before 2005. Through interviews with Chinese engineers and memoirs written in recent years, we learn that about 20 years ago, the Chinese noticed that Raytheon, an American company, had introduced a new concept for an air-to-air missile, which later became the AIM-120D.

According to public promotional materials, this missile used an unprecedented “dual-pulse solid rocket engine,” overcoming the problem of reduced terminal velocity and rapid decline in lethality that traditional missiles faced. It extended the missile’s effective range to over 200 kilometers, a 50% improvement over its previous model. It also integrated many new technologies such as bi-directional data links and thrust vector control. Even more surprising was that its weight remained around 160 kilograms, making it suitable for almost all types of fighter jets. This missile was expected to be fully deployed in the U.S. Air Force and Navy by 2013.

At that time, China had just begun mass production of its latest missile model, the PL-12. However, its range was only about 100 kilometers, and it was heavier than the AIM-120D with a more outdated guidance system. Even when compared to the U.S.’s previous generation AIM-120C, it was not advantageous.

In the Chinese imagination, a future confrontation between Chinese and American fifth-generation fighters seemed inevitable. If the gap in weapon capabilities was this large, the only fate for Chinese pilots would be massacre.

Thus, China hastily established the PL-15 project, with a single goal: to reach the AIM-120D’s level within ten years (they didn’t even consider surpassing it).

However, the technological requirements were far beyond China’s capabilities. One engineer recalled that over the course of six years, their development of a new “dual-pulse solid engine” faced setbacks, with 47 consecutive failed experiments. The project leader, disappointed, reported to superiors: “We can’t reach the American level. I recommend lowering the technological requirements.”

After modifying the missile’s maximum weight to “no more than 200 kilograms,” progress was finally made. In a 2013 test launch, the missile successfully intercepted a target and maintained a speed of Mach 5 at a range of 200 kilometers, with a maximum range of 250 kilometers. The planned bi-directional data link, anti-jamming, and high overload technologies were also successfully implemented.

That engineer remembered: “It was so difficult, but we finally succeeded. Unfortunately, the missile turned out to be longer and heavier than originally designed, lacking the American thrust vectoring technology due to our technical limitations. But luckily, it still fits in the J-20’s internal weapons bay, and at least it’s effective.”

But a dramatic twist occurred. Raytheon faced almost the

same issues when developing the AIM-120D as the Chinese engineers did. The planned “dual-pulse solid rocket engine” failed to operate properly, and all the missiles produced were stored in a warehouse, unable to pass tests. After a three-year delay, the AIM-120D finally entered service in 2016 after switching to a new propellant supplier and changing the design. However, by this time, the missile had undergone significant changes from its initial concept.

The “dual-pulse solid rocket engine” was canceled and replaced with the same engine used in previous models. The bi-directional data link was removed, thrust vector control was eliminated, and anti-jamming capabilities were reduced. Most critically, the missile’s range was cut down to 160 kilometers, with a maximum range of 180 kilometers.

When the AIM-120D was deployed, the Chinese were shocked: “How did it turn out differently than what was promised?”

In 2017, General Herbert Carlisle of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command stated at a Congressional hearing: “The PL-15 makes all of our current fighter jets obsolete.” This wasn’t an exaggeration. Pentagon simulations showed that the F-35’s survival rate dropped by 60% when facing the J-20 equipped with PL-15 missiles. Aviation Week labeled it a “game-changing weapon.” The Pentagon was forced to accelerate the development of the “AIM-260” project, a secret missile program that was accidentally exposed because the Pentagon needed to urgently apply for funding.

However, some military experts and professional media outlets believe that the technical specifications claimed by China might be false and “simply impossible.” After all, China’s air-to-air missiles have almost no combat experience, and there is no confirmed data on them downing enemy aircraft. The countries possessing these missiles are almost limited to China and Pakistan. Compared to similar weapons from the U.S., Europe, and Russia, many air forces worldwide consider China’s missiles to be a minor player.

In 2025, during the India-Pakistan conflict, the PL-15E launched by the Pakistan Air Force consecutively shot down Indian Rafales, SU-30MKIs, and Mirage 2000s. Although India continued to deny these losses, information from Dassault, Martin-Baker, and social media corroborated these shootdowns. U.S. and European military monitoring agencies also confirmed these kills.

According to publicly available information from the Chinese Air Show, the PL-15E is a simplified version of the PL-15, with reduced propellant, giving the missile a range of only 150 kilometers. The missile fragments discovered in India, however, were from early production models from 2015. These fragments were found deep within Indian territory, often tens of kilometers inside, proving that Pakistan launched them from 100-200 kilometers away, so Indian radar was unable to detect or lock onto the attacking aircraft.

Now, no one doubts the technological level of the PL-15. It is now considered the most powerful air-to-air missile currently in mass production worldwide. Its price is only half that of its international counterparts, and China is even willing to sell its assembly lines.

As of 2024, countries that have purchased the PL-15E include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Myanmar. Algeria, Iran, and Serbia also seem to have some interest.

After the India-Pakistan air combat, the missile’s capabilities shocked the world, and its customer base is likely to rapidly increase, possibly alongside the J-10C fighter jet.