英国女王伊丽莎白二世来华访问时想见他，他说

我是一个赢家，我喜欢赢。

At a restaurant do you order what you know is great， or do you try something new？ Do you make what you know will sell or try something new？ Do you keep dating new folks or try to commit to someone you already met？ The optimal balance for exploring new things vs exploiting them once found is: 1/3. Spend 1/3 of your time on exploring and 2/3 time on deepening. It is harder to devote time to exploring as you age because it seems unproductive， but aim for 1/3.

The key to success in research is to focus on fundamental problems that have long-term impact.