Chapter 59 Three Laws of Exploration and Summarization
[Interview transcript excerpt: Three major laws in exploration and summary:
The author met Zhao Bowen at the end of 2020. This professor of physics at Nanjing University had a tight schedule and was very busy with work. The date agreed on WeChat was postponed twice in a row before he found time to accept the author's exclusive interview.
We found a cafe near Zhongshan Road. The agreed time was 2pm. I arrived at 1:40pm, turned on my computer and phone on the small table, ordered a cup of tea, and waited until 2pm, when Zhao Bowen arrived on time. Nanjing's winter was still very cold, and there was a drizzle outside the glass French window. A tall and thin man pushed open the door of the cafe and walked in. He was wearing a gray trench coat, black trousers, tortoise-shell glasses, and holding a folding umbrella in his hand. He looked up and glanced around, and his eyes fell on me.
I waved gently and he waved back.
Purposefulness and carrying information, are these two physical concepts?
I asked.
No.
The man sitting opposite waved his hand and smiled.
These are two nonsense concepts.
Nonsense? I was a little surprised.
Strictly speaking, it's nonsense.
Zhao Bowen nodded.
We did not have time to do any further experimental verification - although it did show a guiding role in practice and was quite useful, but usefulness and correctness are two different things. Teacher Tianrui, you know our situation at the time. We were trying our best to save a dying horse. Everyone was in the dark. You only knew that the sky would fall down soon, and you knew nothing else. This was the most terrifying thing.
Zhao Bowen scratched his forehead.
If we study it in depth, this may be a major breakthrough that can subvert the modern physics system. However, at that time, the priority was to reverse the future and eliminate the disaster. Everything else was put aside. After all, if all human beings were destroyed, what would be the point of studying physics? Right? After the whole incident was over, we had enough time and manpower to study this problem... but we didn't have the chance anymore.
The professor picked up the hot coffee on the table and took a sip.
Mm, this coffee tastes okay.
He looked up and nodded at me.
That girl is a good kid.
He said suddenly.
The author was stunned for a moment, then nodded, yes, she is a good child.
Zhao Bowen knew he was speechless, so he smiled a little awkwardly and continued drinking his coffee.
Professor, you just mentioned that the concepts of purpose and information carrying do play a guiding role in practice. What is purpose and what is information carrying?
I said.
Yes, they do play a role. They give us a general direction and let us know which direction to explore. Purposefulness is actually a negative BUFF. It will make the world hinder you. For example, I believe that Teacher Tianrui must have had such an experience in your daily life. Something is missing. The harder you try to find it, the harder it is to find it. But if you don’t look for it deliberately, it will pop out by itself at some point.
Author: Is this simply because you are nearsighted?
Zhao Bowen: Are you polite?
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Zhao Bowen continued:
The result of this negative BUFF in Time Slow Delivery is that the stronger your purpose is, the greater the obstacles you will encounter and the greater the probability of delivery failure.
But purposefulness is our subjective thinking. It is merely an intention in our brain. For example, if I want to go somewhere or give this cup of coffee to someone, can this thought affect the objective physical world?
I have some doubts.
It's a bit mysterious, right? Just like the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat, the observer can decide whether the cat lives or dies. If you don't look at it, it is a superposition state of wave functions. When you look at it, it collapses into a certain state, as if the observer's own thinking is affecting the objective world.
Zhao Bowen smiled.
But here, purpose is not an idealistic concept, it has real impact. Let me still give the old example, Teacher Tianrui, what is the difference between throwing a stone outside the door and hiding it in a flower bed on the side of the road for someone to take?
The first behavior has no purpose, while the second behavior has a clear purpose.
I replied.
Zhao Bowen nodded:
What is the fundamental difference?
I choked.
Zhao Bowen took another sip of coffee and revealed the answer:
It’s very simple, the difference lies in whether it carries information, Teacher Tianrui...Have you heard of Shannon?
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The author never thought that he would discuss Shannon's information theory with a physics professor in a cafe. The white-haired, long-faced old man is undoubtedly one of the most important scientists in human history and the theoretical founder of the information age. He is a genius who has figured out the entire theoretical system by himself. The contemporary developed Internet and information industry - no matter 2G, 3G, or 456G, have to kneel down and call him the ancestor.
In Zhao Bowen's view, the fundamental characteristic of purpose is that it carries information. If you throw a stone out casually, this behavior does not carry any information, but if you bury the stone in a flower bed and wait for someone to take it, then it carries a lot of information.
One of the foundations of Shannon's information theory is that it reveals that the fundamental characteristic of information is to eliminate uncertainty. The more uncertainty is eliminated, the greater the amount of information.
It will rain tomorrow.
There is information in this sentence.
It will rain moderately tomorrow.
This sentence contains more information.
Next, Zhao Bowen changed the subject and told me about Maxwell's demon.
Teacher Tianrui, have you heard of Maxwell's demon?
Heard of it.
I nodded.
Maxwell's demon, a famous mythical beast in the history of physics, is as famous as Schrödinger's cat.
Maxwell's demon, the little demon that controls the valve, can detect the internal energy of a single particle and the speed of the particle, right? It lets fast-flying particles pass, and stops slow-flying particles. Zhao Bowen said, let's assume there is another demon, a big demon, and call it -
The professor glanced at me.
——Let's call it Tianrui Shuo Fu Monster, Tianrui Monster. This monster is very, very huge, so huge that it can cover the entire world. It can also control a valve, but this valve does not distinguish the speed of movement or the internal energy contained, but the amount of information. Targets carrying huge amounts of information will be stopped by it, while objects that do not carry information can pass unimpeded.
I suddenly understood what Zhao Bowen meant.
Was the reason why the Time Slow Delivery failed? Was it because the purpose was too strong and the amount of information was too large?
Zhao Bowen nodded.
This is why the burying of time capsules needs to follow the double-blind principle, which is actually weakening the purpose. Strictly speaking, the more times the time capsule is handled during the burial process and the more chaotic the steps are, the weaker its purpose will be. From the perspective of the world, its behavior is closer to random changes, the more uncertain it is, the less information it carries, and the closer it is to me throwing a stone outside.
This is deceiving the world.
I said.
Yes.
Zhao Bowen nodded.
This is deceiving the world.
Then...what exactly is the existence of this Tianrui demon?
I asked.
It's a disaster.
Zhao Bowen replied.
It was the coming of the black moon, a disaster that turned the world upside down. We called this mechanism the filter mechanism at that time. The world was like a big filter, filtering everything we sent. As a monster, it was very naughty and hateful, and it deliberately caused trouble for people. If you gave it a Rubik's Cube that was already twisted, it would definitely mess it up. But if you gave it a Rubik's Cube that was already messed up, it would be too lazy to move.
Did it do this voluntarily?
I asked.
Of course not. Whether it is Tianrui talking about the talisman demon or the big filter, they are just descriptions of this mechanism and phenomenon, using analogies to make it easier for people to understand. The essential reason for this result is the huge increase in entropy of human civilization and the dissipation and distortion of information after the disaster.
Zhao Bowen replied.
The more information a target carries, the more distorted it will be, and eventually it will be lost.
I said.
Zhao Bowen nodded: But the target that does not carry much information at the beginning will not be affected.
At this point, the author finally understood the delivery mechanism of Time Slow Mail. Through double-blind or even multi-blind burial methods, the purpose of the time capsule is reduced as much as possible, and its randomness and uncertainty are increased. The greater the uncertainty, the less information there is. At this moment, the information carried by the time capsule is diffused throughout the universe, and thus can pass through the big filter - this is the so-called one must deceive oneself before deceiving the world.
But it is not enough to just deceive yourself. A goal whose information is scattered throughout the universe cannot be found by anyone. It is like throwing a capsule into Xuanwu Lake at random and no one can fish it out. The next step is the second half of the plan, which is to let the girl find it.
Zhao Bowen said that theoretically it was impossible to find the capsule because it carried too little information, but they happened to have a savior beyond theory.
Icom725.
In order to survive, we must put ourselves in danger first. The life-saving straw that pulls us out is the Guiliangwu Radio Station.
Zhao Bowen said slowly.
This is amazing. If it weren't for the Turn 25 radio station, this plan would never have succeeded. It is the last key to completing the closed loop. If the radio station is transmitted, the information diffused throughout the universe can instantly collapse to a certain point, just like the wave function that spreads throughout the universe collapses into a specific quantity. Only with the radio station can the girl restore the already chaotic Rubik's Cube. At that moment, the originally huge entropy will drop sharply!
This is the third law of time passing slowly.
Zhao Bowen said softly.
It is also a summary and coverage of the first two rules.
——Every effort must be made to weaken the purpose and reduce the amount of information carried.]
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Bai Yang was silent for a long time.
"Got it?" Zhao Bowen finished the cigarette in his hand and rubbed the cigarette butt on the floor.
"So, time capsules are not the only way to transport supplies," Bai Yang said.
"Of course not only that." Zhao Bowen nodded, "In theory, as long as the three laws are followed, any method within the framework of these three laws will be feasible."
"Can you give her an air conditioner?"
Zhao Bowen was stunned. "What?"
(End of this chapter)
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