Chapter 204

They entered the operations room.

Sophia Sullivan didn't beat around the bush.

She spoke directly. "Professor, your research direction is flawed."

Professor Eleanor Watson was about to speak.

Sophia handed her a file.

"We spent the weekend reviewing the project's progress."

"We re-examined the research background, experimental methods, specific data, and the conclusions from the first two phases."

She looked up, meeting Eleanor's gaze directly.

"The lack of progress in the third phase isn't the issue itself."

"The entire project has been off-track from the very beginning."

The three of them discovered the problem together.

Hannah Morse and Marcus Lawrence were hesitant to speak.

Sophia took on the role of the bad cop.

Eleanor fell silent.

Sophia continued.

"I understand your personality."

"If you don't do something, you don't do it at all. If you do it, you see it through to the end."

"Even if it proves to be wrong, you demand data to support that conclusion."

"There's nothing wrong with a scholar's pursuit of perfection."

"But life is finite. Energy is limited."

"You could have corrected this early, but instead, you spent time proving the error."

"Is there any meaning in that?"

It was like seeing a car crash about to happen.

Why actually crash when you could just hit the brakes?

Eleanor let out a long sigh.

"I had wondered how long it would take you to discover the problem."

"One semester? A year? Two years?"

"I didn't expect it to be this fast."

Her eyes held emotion, surprise.

But mostly, pride.

Not only did they discover it, but they also compiled the evidence.

She patted the file without opening it.

She knew it was filled with facts.

There was no refuting it.

Sophia was stunned. "Professor, you—"

"You thought I didn't know it was off-track?"

At first, she might have truly been unaware.

As the research deepened, the problems emerged.

With Eleanor's ability, how could she not have noticed?

"Then why did you…"

"You want to ask why I didn't terminate it?"

Sophia nodded.

Eleanor's gaze dimmed.

"I'm not a good advisor…"

The project was planned four years ago.

Her health was already very poor at that time.

Coupled with Sophia giving up the combined Master's and Ph.D. program.

Eleanor fell seriously ill.

It took eight months of recuperation for her to improve.

She still couldn't devote herself fully to academia.

But the project couldn't be shelved.

"…It concerned whether the students could graduate on time."

Graduate students are supposed to conduct "research" with a "research" mindset.

How is that measured?

Paper output is the most important.

Next is the quantity and quality of projects done with their advisor.

This is also directly linked to their papers.

Eleanor fell ill, but the project couldn't stop.

The initial stages were left to the graduate students at the time to explore on their own.

By the time she recovered and returned to the lab.

The first two phases of the project were already completed.

These two phases saw two cohorts of students graduate.

If things went smoothly, the third phase would see this year's graduates through.

Eleanor: "…You think I didn't want to change course? It was too late. Too much had been invested. Even knowing it was a sunk cost, I could only double down."

The situation was beyond remedy.

"Fortunately, someone discovered the problem."

Did others really not sense it?

Sophia didn't believe that.

But once on the boat, they couldn't turn back.

They could only continue the mistake to the end.

For most graduate students, their ambition isn't in research.

A Master's degree is just to gain a slight advantage in the job market.

A thesis isn't an academic achievement; it's a graduation requirement.

If Eleanor suddenly overturned the project.

The previously graduated students wouldn't care.

But what about the graduate students about to graduate?

They had based their graduation theses on this project, preparing them long ago.

It wasn't that Eleanor didn't want to change course.

She couldn't!

"Blame my failing health, lying in the hospital for too long."

"When I discovered the problem, for the sake of the graduates, I didn't mention it."

"Later, I never brought it up."

Now, wanting to correct the deviation was impossible.

The circumstances were forcing her hand.

"But I am comforted that you discovered the problem so quickly and found the key."

Sophia was silent.

Eleanor suddenly asked. "What do you think of Hannah and Marcus?"

"…In what aspect?"

"Academic thinking, research talent, character, and attitude."

Sophia pondered for a moment.

"…Their overall conditions are good."

Both could think independently; otherwise, they wouldn't have discovered the problem.

After discovering the problem, they verified it immediately.

In this, all three were the same.

During the verification process, both displayed their respective strengths.

Hannah's thinking was active, her memory astonishing.

Marcus was calm and composed, able to view problems from a high level.

After listening, Eleanor smiled.

"It seems I didn't choose the wrong people."

"Since you've discovered the direction is problematic, and you have ideas in mind."

"This current project is meaningless to you now."

She spoke word by word.

"Follow your train of thought. Start a new project."

"But the lab…" There was only one.

Its scale was smaller than Alexander Laurent's lab.

It couldn't support two simultaneous research projects.

Eleanor: "Apply to the department for another lab."

A new project lab just for the three of you.

…

The conversation ended.

Sophia conveyed Eleanor's intentions.

Hannah's brows furrowed.

"So we just let this current project continue wrongly? Ignore it? Does the research still have any meaning?"

Sophia: "A wrong direction doesn't mean it's meaningless. Any conclusion is worth exploring, right or wrong."

"Now we have a clear direction."

"Rather than spending time verifying a mistake, it's better to explore what's correct."

"The latter holds more value."

This doesn't mean the former is utterly meaningless.

Scientific research is vast, academia boundless.

In the rolling long river, there is both right and wrong.

They interact, corroborating each other.

Building a healthy research ecosystem.

Clear river water, silt at the bottom, schools of fish within.

If it were just water, it couldn't be called a "river."

So next…