Episode 1 recap: Wang Miao refuses to enter the "Boundary of Science."
In the summer of 2007, after nearly six months of intense selection work, the selection of torchbearers for the Beijing Olympics torch relay has concluded. A total of 11,534 candidates were selected from provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and directly administered cities across the country. Various preparations for the Olympics are underway. This is one of the events in the 5th Beijing 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival. Over 30 Olympic management officials and experts and scholars from China and abroad are discussing Olympic humanistic ideas at a two-day forum.
Outside, there is a constant buzz of noise, but inside the house, it is quiet and peaceful. Every sound can be heard clearly, as if even the drop of a pin can be heard. A woman named Yang Dong sits at home, tightly holding a pen in her hand, constantly jotting down something. A spider outside the window flashes past her eyes. The woman murmurs that the conclusions of physics no longer exist.
The streets are bustling with noise, and the surrounding police officers have also arrived at the scene, reminding people to maintain order and protect the onlookers. The forensic team has also arrived to take photographs and collect evidence. A homicide has occurred at the scene. The victim is a great physicist. After the professionals finished their examination, they found no signs of homicide on the victim and also discovered sleeping pills at the scene. The preliminary assessment by the forensic team is that the scientist likely died from consuming a large amount of sleeping pills in a suicide, and the command center has quickly arrived at the scene of death.
The deceased's name is Yang Dong, and it was discovered that she died in her bedroom at home. Soon, the news reported this tragic event. The renowned physicist Yang died at home. It is understood that several scientists have committed suicide in recent years, which is a great disaster for the scientific community. The television station specially invited the famous biologist Pan Han to talk about his views on the matter. Reporters quickly interviewed Mr. Pan Han, who believes that the excessive development of technology is a pathological change in human society. When technology erupts in explosive development, it spreads rapidly like cancer cells, ultimately leading to the death of its host. He also pointed out that as scientists, they are only more aware of this fact earlier.
Meanwhile, Wang Miao is at home listening to the news on TV. Soon, there is a commotion outside the door. When he goes to open the door, he finds many strangers, some of whom are smoking. He quickly stops them, and the police officer Shi Qiang across the street is stunned by his actions. He immediately suggests talking to Wang Miao in the hallway, but Wang Miao tells him that smoking is not allowed in the hallway and points to the posted signs. Soon, Shi Qiang gets to the point and directly asks Wang Miao about his contact with members of the Science Frontiers Association.
The Science Frontiers Association is an influential international academic organization in the scientific community, and its members are well-known scholars who operate legally. Wang Miao does not understand why he cannot have contact with them, and Shi Qiang has encountered such a stubborn person for the first time. The person is uncooperative with their work. Shi Qiang's subordinates calm Wang Miao down and inform him of the meeting in the afternoon.
At the agreed time, Wang Miao arrives at the designated location with Shi Qiang. It turns out to be a museum. Shi Qiang warmly welcomes Wang Miao and apologizes for his previous reckless behavior.
Inside the museum, Chang Wei Si nearby asks Wang Miao about his feelings after seeing the list of suicides. Soon, Wang Miao also notices Yang Dong's name below, and other colleagues mention that most of the scientists who committed suicide had similar characteristics before their deaths. After the meeting, Chang Wei Si approaches Wang Miao and asks for any information he knows. Wang Miao explains that he has heard about those scientists' conferences, and their ideas were particularly innovative. Soon, Chang Wei Si makes a request to Wang Miao. He hopes that Wang Miao will join Shen Yu Fei's organization to further understand the situation inside. However, Wang Miao claims to be busy and quickly rejects the request. Before leaving, Chang Wei Si shares a lot with Wang Miao, leaving him deeply moved.
As Wang Miao walks on the road, he ponders over everything people have said to him. Time quickly returns to the past, where the nanometer accelerator is about to start, but the measured data does not match. Time quickly jumps ten months forward, and Chang Wei Si stands on the stage watching others work. He believes that Ding Yi is a good candidate because of his expertise and his status as Yang Dong's fiancé. It would be beneficial for everyone if he joined the Science Frontiers Association. However, the people around him do not agree with this view.
Extraterrestrial life must exist. There are 100-200 billion galaxies in the universe, and even in our relatively small Milky Way galaxy, there are 200-400 billion stars, each with at least one planet.
Even if we take a conservative estimate and assume that only one civilization can emerge per galaxy, there would still be 100-200 billion civilizations in the entire universe.
Therefore, the universe is not lonely; in fact, it can be considered quite lively. So why haven't we seen any aliens yet?
There are two possibilities:
Firstly, the distances between galaxies are vast. Even the nearest Andromeda galaxy is 2.54 million light-years away. Meeting them would require traveling at the speed of light from the Andromeda galaxy, which would take 2.54 million years. Meanwhile, our civilization's signals have only radiated from Earth for a few hundred years.
It would take at least twice that time for them to receive our signals and initiate a visit, totaling over 5 million years.
So, the message might be on its way, and they might also be on their way.
Secondly, civilizations may not exist simultaneously in time. Until now, even Earth's civilization cannot guarantee its own eternal prosperity.
Some civilizations may have perished before they could develop, and even if one in a hundred billion civilizations is enough to overcome all disasters within its own galaxy, the vast distances of space and time still pose significant barriers to communication. Even if a civilization were to develop the technology to travel for 2.54 million years, they would lack the necessary resources for sustenance.
Therefore, it is possible that civilizations may never meet. Can our Earth civilization last for another 2.54 million years?
Looking at historical records from the Qin and Han dynasties, which are already quite ancient, in the context of China's five thousand years of civilization, the hope of lasting for another hundred thousand years is a distant and idealistic aspiration. We're talking about ten times the span of those five thousand years...
It is possible that we are extraterrestrial beings being observed or experimented on, akin to lab mice on Earth. Therefore, we may never escape this circle, and if we are confined within their controlled sphere, how can we ever encounter other civilizations?
Intelligent life beyond Earth undoubtedly exists. We are incredibly small in the grand scheme of things, and unless humanity continues to evolve, we will be unable to explore the universe. Therefore, it might be best for us not to delve into advanced mathematics with our limited perspective as a newly emerged species. As for theology, all I can say is that it appears to be an elaborate deception of god-like proportions.
In the vast expanse of the galaxy, human existence is but a fleeting moment, and the distances are incredibly vast.
We might disappear before other extraterrestrial species even discover our presence. Similarly, other civilizations may cease to exist before we have the chance to discover them.
It is also possible that more advanced civilizations in distant galaxies exist and have already explored us, finding Earth's resources insignificant to their needs.
Our sun is approaching middle age, and Earth is gradually becoming less suitable for human habitation. As we explore Mars, if there are extraterrestrial beings present, we could potentially become invaders and colonizers, just as we might be the "Three-Body" civilization ourselves.
In the drama, what we see is the relatively mild suffering endured by Ye Wenjie and her father. However, the torment inflicted upon Ye Wenjie by fate goes far beyond that. It includes the blood-stained belt buckle, her fallen father, her sister hanging on the wall, her mentally disturbed mother, the betrayal by the young man with the surname Bai, as well as the chilling wind on Radar Peak at night, which made her heart as cold as iron. On the night she made her resolute decision to ignite the flame, she firmly pressed the launch button, calling out into the pitch-black night sky, "Come, come to our world..."
Disappointed with humanity, they place their hopes in more advanced civilizations. The typical characteristic of the Posadist ideology is the belief that more advanced civilizations must have a superior moral level and political structure compared to humanity. However, in the world of the Three-Body, the universe is cold.
Ye Wenjie initially wanted to believe in that journalist, but she was betrayed by the journalist. Later, she sought help from the Trisolarans, only to discover that she was betrayed by them as well.
Her original intention was to harness the power of the Trisolarans to correct human errors, but she found out that the Trisolarans had ulterior motives and wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Honestly, I really like Liu Cixin, but his writing style and storytelling are really poor and mediocre, especially in the first book of the original work. When it comes to adaptations, if they don't understand the need for cuts and edits, it's basically a complete failure.
Setting aside the plot, the lighting, cinematography, set design, and editing are all lacking. Even the performances of the actors are not cohesive. Some are overly relaxed, while others are overly dramatic.
The audience isn't here to learn physics, and when the character relationships in a sci-fi film are a mess, it's basically a disaster. Those flashbacks of Wang Zi Wen serve no purpose and leave the audience clueless about what they're trying to portray.
Li Xiao Ran's portrayal is neither here nor there. She lacks the presence to play a leader and doesn't capture the obsession of a researcher. I also can't understand why Wang Chuan Jun's character has a physicist's house as their wedding venue, and that pool table scene was just awkward.
There is no dramatic conflict, no suspense, no reasoning. The only thing the director tirelessly does is turn to the next page of the original work.
Is physics real?Physics absolutely exists.
In the context of a farmer and a turkey, their relationship is mutually constrained by their species, but the fact is that they both experience the force of gravity. This is a fundamental law of physics. Similarly, if one day an apple were to fly up into the sky, it wouldn't mean that physics doesn't exist, but rather that scientists need to further understand the laws governing the world. As long as matter exists, physics is real.
The more lacking in knowledge a person is, the more they believe in absolute things.
In the drama, when it is said that "physics doesn't exist," it means that physics, as perceived by the turkey, doesn't exist, but it doesn't imply that the farmer's physics doesn't exist. In other words, it signifies that the current knowledge framework has been overturned. It's similar to when the heliocentric model replaced the geocentric model in the past.
You might not have read the original work, have you? When it is mentioned that "physics doesn't exist" here, it does not mean that the laws of physics cease to exist. It is because the Trisolarans believe that human technological advancements are accelerating rapidly, and in order to prevent their fleet from being overwhelmed by Earth's technology upon arrival, they concentrate their energy and send two sophons (high-dimensional quantum computers, each the size of a subatomic particle) to Earth at the speed of light. These sophons disrupt the experiments of physicists and effectively block the advancement of fundamental physics for Earthlings.
I understand your perspective. Many people indeed lack knowledge and tend to have narrow thinking without logical or dialectical reasoning. They often lack the ability to think independently and critically, and their brains may be inclined towards laziness when it comes to contemplating the essence of things and causal relationships. They tend to believe in authority figures easily and prefer venting their emotional values. Assessing a person's judgment is primarily about examining the diversity of their sources of information. Unfortunately, there are countless individuals who live in an echo chamber of singular information, and often that information is distorted and biased. This is a major reason why people can be both ignorant and overly confident in their beliefs.
Ye Wenjie and Evans are different. Ye Wenjie comes from a privileged intellectual family, which was rare during that era. However, she experienced turbulent times, witnessed her family's persecution, and was labeled as a member of the "Black Category." She was falsely accused, betrayed, and exiled to the desperate Radar Peak.
Even when she was deceived by Lei Zhi Cheng, she felt relieved, only to discover later that everything was a lie. Just when she thought she would spend her life alone, fate gave her another chance to choose. After experiencing so much, she eagerly pressed the button that would impact two worlds.
Evans could have peacefully inherited his father's wealth and lived a carefree life. However, he is sensitive and kind-hearted. Despite the security that wealth provides him, he has an innate desire to protect against all cruelty. He exerted great effort but eventually realized that he couldn't change the insatiable greed of humanity.
Similarly, fate gave him a chance to choose and brought him to meet Ye Wenjie, but he chose to abandon humanity and use the Three-Body world to judge all of humanity.
One hopes for redemption and assistance from a higher civilization, while the other pushes humanity towards destruction.
One is called Ye Wenjie, the other is called Evans.
Three-Body One: You are insects. Three-Body Two: You are the insects. Three-Body Three: We are all insects.
The ants represent ordinary people like us humans. The current understanding of "Three Body" is that as long as the seed exists, civilization will continue to develop.
What it will ultimately become depends entirely on us humans, the so-called masters, with highly knowledgeable individuals manipulating those with lower knowledge.
As a fan of the original work, in terms of character selection, the elderly Ye Wenjie is a perfect fit, Wang Miao is about 99% fitting, but Da Shi's appearance doesn't quite match. After all, the original Da Shi had a full face of flesh, giving a fierce impression, but the actor's performance completely covers that up.
As for Ding Yi, the TV drama portrayal is a bit too artistic, giving the impression that they are more involved in art rather than scientific research. Keeping long hair for scientific research isn't about being elegant, but rather not caring about one's appearance, appearing unkempt.
Wang Chuan Jun seems to be putting a lot of effort into playing this role, trying very hard, but it's precisely because of this that it feels like it's being acted out. It would be better to relax a bit, be more natural, like Da Shi, believing that one is a scientist, not an actor playing a role, and not worrying about how well they perform.
And General Chang Wei Si is too official, more like a politician than a general. This point needs attention.
Overall, "The Three-Body Problem" TV drama has far exceeded expectations. I didn't expect Chinese dramas to reach such heights.
Finally, we don't have to rely on American dramas anymore. We have our own sci-fi drama. Hehe.
In fact, the death of Yang Dong was due to her discovery of the secrets in her mother's computer, knowing about the Trisolarans, Sophons, and her mother's betrayal of humanity. She also deduced the state of the dark forest in the universe.
Therefore, her faith in physics died, and her image of her mother died as well, leading her to decide to give up her life.
When she said that physics never existed, she meant that the universe had long been altered by advanced civilizations.
Thus, what determines the state of the universe is not natural laws but the will of advanced civilizations. Therefore, physics never truly existed.
The truth that Yang Dong comprehended was actually foreshadowed in the first book.
Do you still remember the sharpshooter and the turkey?
Before her death, Yang Dong understood that she was the turkey, and the thing she tirelessly pursued was merely a phenomenon easily controlled by the farmer or the sharpshooter.
Saying that physics doesn't exist is not because the results of the accelerator were interfered with, as even if the regularities are disrupted, they still exist.
However, based on the information she obtained from her mother, Ye Wenjie, Yang Dong deduced the dark forest and even deduced the early cosmic pastoral era deduced later by the human race in the Milky Way.
These things indicate that even the pillar she has always relied on, the physical laws, are the product of the behaviors of advanced intelligent beings.
This has completely pushed physics into the realm of true agnosticism, where even the foundational theorems that deduce everything are themselves the results of modifications, and it is impossible to determine under any circumstances which deduced "theorem" has truly remained unaltered.
This is the meaning of "physics doesn't exist" for her.
True unbreakable agnosticism is unacceptable to someone like her.
Let me explain to everyone who thinks this list is rough. In the original work, it is mentioned that this list was printed hastily and temporarily. Therefore, what we see here is a very reasonable representation.
The quality, plot, and performances have almost met my expectations! Highly recommended! I strongly suggest the production team to start filming the second and third seasons as soon as possible. Looking forward to the dark forest and the eternal life of the God of Death in the later episodes.
Excited for Luoji and Zhang Beihai!
Actually, I often think that the Earth is like a human being, and humans are like bacteria and microorganisms living on the surface of the Earth. Sometimes, rain could be seen as the Earth taking a shower.
And just like us, the bacteria and microorganisms on our skin may also feel like they are living on an object, with their own civilization and rules, and with scientists studying things like Earth's gravity and relativity, believing in a set of scientific principles.
This might explain why the universe is infinitely large, while the microscopic world is infinitely small.
Never in a million years did I expect this. My name is Bai Mu Lin, and from the very beginning, I intended to take advantage of the situation. You see, I had foreseen the upcoming policy trends, hehehe...
They assigned me as one of the translators for "The Silent Spring," which clearly indicated that the policies would lean towards environmental protection.
So, I wrote a letter exposing the rampant deforestation.
I was appreciated, promoted, married Bai Quanmei, and reached the pinnacle of my life. It was within arm's reach, hehehe... It still brings back a little excitement when I think about it.
............ Never in a million years did I expect that "The Silent Spring" would be labeled as a reactionary book. I was dumbfounded at that moment.
The reason for this unexpected turn of events was that acknowledging the book as correct and progressive would imply that capitalist countries still possess self-correcting mechanisms and that social forces can effectively restrain the greed of capitalists.
Clearly, this was unacceptable at the time. To save myself, I passed the blame onto Ye Wenjie, who helped me transcribe the book.
Even Ye Wenjie never in a million years expected this. She became even more desperate. My name is Bai Mu Lin, and never in a million years did I expect that I would alter the course of human history, ahem, ahem.
Truly, it was never in a million years.
The Earth Threebody Organization, formally known as the Earth-Threebody Organization, abbreviated as ETO.
Originally guided by the highest principle of "saving the decaying human society with the help of external forces," it later came under the control of Mike Evans, with the objective shifting to "eradicating human tyranny" and hoping for the Threebody aliens to take over the Earth (believing the world belongs to the Threebody civilization).
Subsequently, Mike Evans became the actual leader of the Earth Threebody Organization, while Ye Wenjie served as the spiritual leader (commander-in-chief). The organization consisted of numerous human elites from various fields, making it highly capable.
Its headquarters were located on the "Judgment Day," the Second Red Coast Base.
The Earth Threebody Organization was divided into three major factions:
1. Arrivalists: This is the purest faction among the Threebody rebels, completely despairing of human nature.
Mike Evans is a typical representative. Gradually, the Arrivalists' hatred towards humanity began to stem from different starting points, not limited to environmental concerns (typical representative: Pan Han) and war, with some even reaching abstract philosophical heights.
These individuals were mostly realists, harboring little hope for the extraterrestrial civilization they served. Their betrayal stemmed from despair and hatred towards humanity. Mike Evans' statement has become the motto of the Arrivalists: "We don't know what extraterrestrial civilizations look like, but we know what humans are like.
2. Salvationists: This faction emerged after a considerable period of time since the appearance of the Threebody rebels. It functions as a religious group composed of followers of the Threebody Church.
Another civilization beyond humanity undeniably holds great allure for the intellectual elite, easily giving rise to various fantasies. For a naive civilization like humanity, the attraction of a higher-level alien civilization is almost irresistible.
An imperfect analogy would be that human civilization has always been like an inexperienced youth wandering alone in the cosmic desert. Now, she (he) has discovered the existence of another gender, although unable to see their face and figure, knowing that they are somewhere in the distance.
The beautiful imagination of them spreads like wildfire. Gradually, as the imagination of that distant civilization becomes richer, the Salvationists develop a religious sentiment towards the Threebody civilization.
The Triangulum Australe becomes the Mount Olympus in space, the dwelling place of gods, and thus the Threebody Church is born. Unlike other human religions, the Threebody Church worships a real existing entity.
In contrast to other religions, the deity is in peril, while the responsibility of salvation lies with the believers (typical representative: Shen Yu Fei).
Surface Level: In "The Three-Body Problem," it is mentioned that the "Science Frontier" is a renowned international academic organization, with most of its members being top scholars. The organization itself has a relatively loose structure.
Its purpose is to address the disappearance of simplicity and elegance in classical theories of physics, which signifies significant difficulties and obstacles in the forefront exploration of physics. In the original work, the "Science Frontier" attempts to forge a new path of thinking.
In simple terms, it seeks to use scientific methods to uncover the limitations of science itself and determine whether there exists a "boundary" in the depth and precision of scientific understanding of the natural world, a boundary that cannot be touched or crossed by scientific inquiry.
The name "Science Frontier" stems from this concept. The organization proposes two hypotheses, referred to as SF:
1. The Farmer Hypothesis: In a farm, there is a group of turkeys, and every morning at 11 o'clock, the farmer comes to feed them.
A scientist among the turkeys observes this phenomenon and after observing it for nearly a year without exception, it discovers the great law of its own universe: every morning at 11 o'clock, food arrives. On Thanksgiving morning, it announces this law to everyone, but on that day, food does not arrive at 11 o'clock.
The farmer comes in and captures all of them to be slaughtered.
2. The Marksman Hypothesis: There is an expert marksman who shoots holes on a target every 10 centimeters. Imagine that on this target, there exists a two-dimensional intelligent life form.
After observing their universe, the scientists among them discover a great law: every 10 centimeters, there will always be a hole. They consider this seemingly arbitrary behavior of the marksman as an ironclad law in their universe.
These two hypotheses delve into the essence of cosmic laws and can be applied to the human worldview as well.
Deeper Level: The establishment of the "Science Frontier" precisely indicates that modern physics seems to have faintly touched this boundary.
However, after an investigation by the military, it was found that the scientists who committed suicide within two months had all had interactions with the "Science Frontier." The reasons for their suicides all revolved around the belief that "physics fundamentally does not exist," indicating that modern physics must have indeed encountered this boundary.
Logic: Three-Body I: We are ants. Three-Body II: You are ants. Three-Body III: We are all ants.
This is a post about the logic of the Three-Body series from our certified Three-Body expert. However, if I may be frank, his focus is misplaced.
The subject of the discussion is "ants," while the subject of the logic is "bugs.
In my opinion, this topic could also lead to a discussion about a different couple: Why are there so many close-up shots of chickens?
In the drama, when the foreign scientist commits suicide, the words he says to Shen Yufei are thought-provoking.
The ants firmly believe that a crack will appear on the window, but we can artificially create a crack, and none of it matters to them.
When projected onto human society, it is similar to how Shen Yufei leads scientists to commit suicide by claiming that physics does not exist.
And just like chickens observing the world of farmers when they are let out of the coop, the ants observing Shen Yufei and the scientists raise questions about the concept of Three-Body time for humans. In between these two, Three-Body time becomes the world of the farmer.
However, the Three-Body people haven't realized one thing: they could also be the turkey, doge.
The universe is a chaotic crossroad, devoid of traffic rules, traffic officers, and traffic lights. All the drivers are gulping down excessive alcoholic beverages, recklessly maneuvering through the streets based on their own whims.
Humanity is like a child clutching a handful of change, wanting to cross the road to buy a bottle of mineral water, engrossed in counting the coins and simultaneously distracted by the desire to kick a pebble to the other side.
The fact that humanity has survived until now is purely due to good luck. However, that luck has now come to an end for humanity.
It's amazing! The overall atmosphere is exactly as I imagined after reading the book. The music score deserves a perfect 10+. I give the entire production team a solid 10. It's so precise, adding or subtracting even a little would disrupt the flavor.
It's not that everyone must read the original work, but this is only the first episode. There are a total of thirty episodes, so please be patient. Even if it's a novel, the reason hasn't been explained yet.
Do you expect to finish "The Three-Body Problem" in forty minutes?
Generally speaking, it's impossible for a TV series to be 100% faithful to the original work, or even 90%. However, this series has managed to achieve such a high level of fidelity to the first book of "The Three-Body Problem," which is truly unexpected.
It demonstrates that the screenwriters have great respect for Liu Cixin and the fans of the original work. Moreover, the few adaptations in the series have stayed true to the storyline, which is very impressive.
In short, it's fantastic! I'm eagerly looking forward to the remaining episodes.