Development and Research Progress of Extenics over the Past 40 Years

Professor Cai Wen, a nationally renowned expert with outstanding contributions from Guangdong University of Technology, published a paper on Extension Set and non-compatible Problem in the Journal of Science Exploration in 1983, marking the birth of an original Chinese discipline called Extenics. Extenics is a kind of science that uses formal models to study the laws and methods of extension and transformation of things, and is used to achieve innovation and handle contradictory problems. The year 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Extenics. Through the joint efforts of numerous Extenics researchers, the theory and methodology of Extenics has been gradually improved, and has been widely applied in fields such as engineering technology, information science and intelligent science, management and economy, education and teaching, innovation and entrepreneurship, and has shown its important application value and effectiveness. This article summarizes the development process, research overview, internationalization and socialization of Extenics, and briefly introduces the scientific significance and academic evaluation of Extenics followed with the prospects for the future trends in the development of Extenics.